#but they’re using the dice for OLD songs so

[daydadahlias]

If you could make your own dice for the 5sos show, what options would it have?

ooooooooo ok what a fun question. I guess for the sake of what the dice represents I’m supposed to go for deeper cuts / rarely played old songs. So let’s say:

1. Never Be

2. Close as Strangers

3. When You Walk Away

4. Independence Day

5. Gotta Get Out

6. Broken Pieces

[adrienneleclerc]

girl! I love everything you write! I have a tiny request if possible, what would you thing about wrote a scenario/reaction of Charles at a concert by his Latina girlfriend with some of the guys from the grill? Something like the first time seen her on the stage 🙈 ily

Ooh I love that!!! Like always, I’ll be using Becky G as a face claim for the header, I love you too! I am so glad you like what I write, sometimes I’m not too sure about some of the fics I post but I really am glad you like them. And his Latina girlfriend doesn’t know Charles will be there either!

Superstar

Pairing: Charles Leclerc x Hispanic/Latina! Reader

Summary: Charles is dating the Latin superstar, Y/N L/N, and he finally sees her on stage.

Warning: spelling and grammatical errors

A/N: hope y’all like It, I believe the header look PERFECT for this, I know I always use Becky G but I fucking love her, what you gonna do?

Charles and Y/N were by far the most loved couple on the grid, their outfits were always coordinated for media day, whenever Y/N has a new song released, Charles will post about it, Y/N music videos will always have Charles somewhere in the background, something of his in the background, or as her love interest in the video, they were so supportive of each other. However, Charles has never seen her perform live, he has never been to one of her concerts at all.

Y/N was currently in the Rose Bowl Stadium, backstage, doing her makeup and doing a wardrobe check. The white cargo pants and crop top looks good, her hair was styled perfectly, and she got her phone so she could call Charles before performing. However, what she didn’t know, was that Charles was somewhere in the Rose Bowl with Carlos, Lando, Lewis, Pierre, and Oscar.

“Can’t believe we drove down here.” Pierre said, moving through the crowd. “Can’t you just wait until your girlfriend does a European tour? And why do you have roses?” Pierre asks

“I haven’t seen her in 2 weeks, this is her first full headline tour, my girl deserves her flowers. Plus, who knows if I’ll be free when she’ll have a European tour.” Charles said.

“I am excited, look many fans Y/N has.” Lando said,

“Yeah, she’s very popu…” Charles started saying but the crowd started screaming, he saw a spotlight, and that’s when he saw Y/N in her performance outfit, she was glowing, waving at the audience.

“Como están, Pasadena?!?” Y/N asked the crowd, they cheered “If you do not know who I am, my name is Y/N, and this is my first stop in my US tour! Now let’s get this concerted! I mean it’s reason why you’re all here.” The track ‘Arranca’ started playing, Y/N was dancing, singing, interacting with the crowd, Charles watched in awe and Carlos sang along,

“You know the song?” Lewis asked the Spanish man.

“It’s on my playlist, cabrón.” Carlos answered, making Lewis laugh. Charles pulled out his phone to record her. The song finished after a minute.

“Now as you guys may know, I have a boyfriend.” Y/N said and the crowd started cheering. “He’s a few years older than me, as all Latino parents, they’re a little concerned, but I told them que a mí me gustan mayores.”

The crowd went crazy as the song ‘Mayores’ began to play, the song went along as normal until the second verse. “Si él supiera que en mi mente yo solo quiero a uno, dice que en la mañana me quiere de desayuno, como él ninguno, dura más que uno de 21, él se pone para todas mis locuras, sabe que a mi me tiene segura, no quiero un Romeo, no quiero aventura, Daddy Yankee sabe que estoy dura, me resuelve siempre 24/7, pa él me quedan de más los juguetes, me da todo nuevo del paquete, difícil que con él tú te compares, mejor vete.” And everyone SCREAMED, Carlos laughed and put his hands on Charles’s shoulders, shaking him. If he knew that I only want one person on my mind, he says he wants to have me for breakfast, there’s no guy like him, he lasts longer than a 21 year old. He’s down for whatever, my ride or die, he knows I’m his, I don’t want a Romeo, I don’t want adventure, Daddy Yankee knows I’m bad, he’s ready 24/7 (like if Y/N wants sex, Charles is DOWN), there’s no need for toys when I’m with him, everything he gives me is brand new, it’s difficult if you think you can compare to him, you better leave.

“Wow, cabrón, didn’t know you had it in you.” Carlos said.

“I really gotta learn Spanish.” Charles said.

“Yes you do.” Carlos replies.

After like 28 songs, the concert finished.

“Thank you so much, Pasadena, you have been a great audience, I’ll see you next time!” Y/N said. Once the lights turned on, Charles said goodbye by to the boys.

“Hey, I’m gonna see Y/N backstage, I’ll meet you guys later.” Charles said.

“Yeah sure, we’ll be in the cars.” Pierre said.

While Charles went to one of the security guards, the boys got out of the stadium singing one of Y/N’s songs.

“Ahora tengo novio nuevo que me hace ram Pam Pam Pam Pam.” They sang.

“Don’t know Spanish, but her songs are so good!” Oscar exclaimed.

“Yes they are, we should go to more concerts actually.” Lewis said.

Charles got escorted to Y/N’s dressing room and knocked on the door.

“Come in!” Y/N said and she turned around, seeing Charles holding flowers. “Muñeco!” Y/N said, getting up to hug him, Charles hugged her back hard, rubbing her back. She pulled away. “What are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be in Las Vegas? Isn’t your flight back to Monaco tomorrow?”

“I came to see you, I never saw you perform before, you were amazing. The crowd loved you, Carlos was singing along, I think Lewis, Pierre, Lando, and Oscar became fans…” Charles said.

“Wait, the 6 of you drove down here to see me?” Y/N asked.

“Of course. Well, Pierre and Lewis drove the cars.” Charles admitted.

“Well I’m glad they liked the show.” Y/N said.

Liked by yourusername and 2,726,566 others

charles_leclerc went to see my girlfriend perform last night and she was amazing! Couldn’t be more proud of her for her first headline tour at 21 years old. She is talented and I finally got to see her perform for the first time ever. I love you, mon coeur 😘❤️

View all 10,291 comments

yourusername loved the surprise, muñeco! I love you too, I expect to see you at more concerts from now on

carlossainz55 i have your songs stuck in head now

yourusername as you should!

landonorris best concert I’ve been to in a long time, glad I went with you

oscarpiastri thank you for inviting me, dad

lewishamilton big fan of her music, Roscoe is loving it too

pierregasly i already added some of her songs to my playlist

y/n_Queen love that the grid became fans of her, so cute 🥰

user39 Charles is giving “male wife” and I love it!

user18 will we be getting more Y/N songs on the F1 playlist 😱

The End

Hope y’all liked it! It’s a little short but I think it turned out well

[corroded-hellfire]

Prompt Day 25: Gareth

Word Count: 995

Rating: T

Pairing: Slight Gareth x OC

CW: None

Summary: Gareth’s little sister is a pain in the ass when it comes to the band, but ends up being a pretty good wingman.

Have to tag @the-unforgivenn because this is her man 💕

@corrodedcoffinfest

When the band first started practicing in his garage, Gareth loved it. Now, he thinks he’d rather rehearse in goddamn Jason Carver’s bedroom. 

Initially, he’d worried that his mom would be the one to interrupt them, with her tendency to ask if anyone is hungry. Gareth would kill for his mom to be the problem now. At least he would be able to talk some sense into her. 

“Why can’t I just sit on the couch and watch?!”

“Because you never stay quiet! You always bother us.”

“I do not! They don’t think I bother you! Right, guys?”

Both Emerson siblings turn to look at Eddie, Jeff, and Frank. The three Corroded Coffin members are caught between a rock and a hard place. 

Gareth is fuming; his nostrils flaring, and his fists clenched around his drumsticks. Fourteen-year-old Olivia stares with wide green eyes, hands on her hips as she waits for a response from her big brother’s friends. 

“Uh…” Eddie starts, eyes moving from left to right to see if the band member on either side of him is going to speak up. But no dice. “We, um, we… Jeff?”

Out of the three of them, Jeff has the thinnest tightrope to walk, and Eddie knows it. But he also knows that Olivia is apt to do whatever Jeff says since he’s the reason she wants to sit in on practice anyway. Doesn’t stop Jeff from wanting to wring his neck, though. 

“Well,” Jeff starts, clearing his throat before he continues, “do you think you can stay quiet this time, Olivia?”

Irritation flashes in Gareth’s eyes, while Olivia gives her best smile and bats her eyelashes. 

“Yes!” 

She bounces over to the raggedy couch in the corner while Gareth rolls his eyes and heads towards his drum set. 

Olivia does manage to stay quiet until the end of rehearsals but that somehow annoys Gareth even more. She’ll hold that over his head as a reason to sit in practices more often. 

But as much as that bothers Gareth, it’s nothing compared to what his little sister announces once they’re done. 

“Mom said I can go with you guys to your show next week.”

“What?”

“Well, I can’t go when you guys play at the bar,” Olivia drawls, as if her brother is stupid. 

“But this…this isn’t even our show. It’s Roane County’s Battle of the Bands,” Gareth says. 

“Whatever. Mom still said I can go.”

Gareth runs his hands over his face in frustration and turns to his friends. 

“Don’t worry, I’ll talk to my mom,” he tells them. 

“Mom, we’re playing one song. We’ll be backstage for the rest of it and that’ll be hours.”

“I don’t see what the big deal is, Gareth,” his mom says as she adds another later of cheese to the lasagna she’s preparing. “She’s fourteen, she can sit in the audience by herself. It’s at a community center. She’ll hardly be able to find any trouble.”

“She only wants to go because of her crush on Jeff!”

His mom smiles at this, finding the infatuation Olivia has with one of Gareth’s best friends adorable.

“It’ll be fine,” is all she says. 

Gareth has a hard time psyching himself up for the show. He should be focused on playing his best so they can win this thing and gain any exposure that comes from it. Instead, he keeps peeking out at the audience to make sure Olivia is still in her seat in the fourth row. She may be a giant pain in the ass but that doesn’t mean he wants some creep to abduct her. 

“She’ll be fine,” Jeff assures him. 

The drummer sighs and nods his head. “You’re right. Anyone who would try and kidnap her would return her after fifteen minutes anyway.”

With his bandmates’ help, Gareth is able to get his head back into the music and is able to go out on stage without being preoccupied. He still sneaks a glance at his sister as he walks on stage, though. 

Corroded Coffin comes in second place, which is higher than any of them expected. As they emerge from backstage after the show, Gareth also sees that his sister is just fine—in fact, it looks like she made a friend. 

Frank is called over by the bassist of an all-girl band and Eddie spies a redhead smiling at him, who he wanders off to flirt with. That leaves Gareth and Jeff to approach Olivia and the girl she’s standing with. The girl is older than Olivia, at least Gareth and Jeff’s age, or maybe even graduated from high school. 

“Gare Bear!” Olivia says before throwing her arms around her brother.

He hugs her back, but his cheeks redden at the nickname in front of this beautiful girl.

“I’m so proud!” Olivia crows.

The mystery girl smiles at Gareth and Jeff can practically see the hearts growing in his friend’s eyes. He knows what he has to do.

“Hey, Liv, do you want to come with me and get some ice cream from the truck outside?” Jeff asks.

Speaking of heart eyes, Olivia lights up, making her brother’s excitement seem dull in comparison. 

“Yes!”

Gareth gives his friend a grateful look as Olivia takes him by the hand and leads him towards the door. 

“I’m Annie,” the girl in front of Gareth says, offering her hand, which he shakes.

“Gareth. I hope my sister wasn’t bothering you during the show.”

“No, she’s so sweet,” Annie says with a lilting laugh that has Gareth’s heart pounding against his ribcage. “She sat next to me, and we talked in between bands. She was so excited to see you play.”

This bombshell was sitting next to Olivia the whole time and Gareth hadn’t even noticed? Holy shit, he must care about his little sister more than he thought. In fact, he knows he does by the way his heart warms at Annie’s words. 

“Yeah, she’s a good kid.”

[twistedtummies2]

The sound of rollin’ dice to me Is music in the air! ‘Cause I’m a Gamblin’ Boogieman, Although I don’t play fair!

It’s much more fun, I must confess, When lives are on the line! Not mine, of course, But yours, old boy! ow that’d be just fine…

"Oogie Boogie's Song," Ken Page

—-----------------------------------------------------------

The long, LONG delayed final image in my “OCs & Inspirations” series, at least for now. This was originally intended to be part of a bunch of pics commemorating Disney’s 100th Anniversary, but the artist was facing some difficulties, so it took much longer than expected. I don’t mind in the least, however, because this was more than worth the wait…and hey, Valentine’s Day may not be the most obvious holiday of choice to release this, but a holiday is still a holiday. And with these two, it felt right to post their pic on such an occasion. Oh, on that note, before I go on: the image was made by @hooter-n-company, who also did my image for Nakoda and Kaa for the series a while back. I can’t honestly decide which of them I like more, between this image and that one; they’re both absolutely breathtaking. Her work always is. Thank you, Hoots. <3 ANYWAY…Reno was the first character I specifically created as a sort of “correction” to an old pred crush of mine. Nako and Billy being more “appealing” versions of their source inspirations (for me) was just sort of a welcome bonus. But with Reno, I deliberately created him with the idea of taking a character I used to have an interest in “that way,” but no longer do, and then creating someone I could “kinkify” more easily via the power of Twisted Wonderland’s universe. When I was a kid, I used to have a bit of a crush on Oogie Boogie from “The Nightmare Before Christmas.” I even had some rather…VIVID dreams, involving this big bag of bugs, which I shall always remember. However, over time, my interests and ideals with such things changed, and as they did, my love for Oogie dwindled. Reno was my way of trying to do something more “me” with the character.

The name “Reno” comes from Reno, Nevada. It was suggested by my friend, @belliesandburps. Since Reno is just a big a gambler as Oogie, it seemed fitting to use the name of a city known for gambling - and in the same state as arguably the gambler paradise of the world, Las Vegas - for his name. “Rovar” comes from a Hungarian word meaning “insect,” which of course fit perfectly. Combined, the two have a similar sort of “bounce” and syllabic structur to “Oogie Boogie,” and the alliteration was amusing to me. In terms of personality, Reno, in a way, is Oogie…but with a sort of soft side. Like, his source material, he is crass, crude, loud, rowdy, mischievous, a bit sadistic, and constantly thinks with his stomach. HOWEVER, for all his jagged edges, Reno isn’t someone who does bad things just for the sheer sake of it, unlike Oogie. Reno still has the capacity to care about people, and even some of the more “evil” things he’s done were usually out of a sort of bitter desire to get back at people he felt were more fortunate, while also helping himself and those he cared about in the process. He’s not the easiest person to get along with, but he’s not a literal monster.

I decided to sort of reverse things in terms of the way Oogie’s true self is revealed in the film, for Reno. In the movie, Oogie glows green in blacklight, but his actual appearance is a much duller beige hue. And of course, when you strip away the bag, he’s a collection of creepy crawlies underneath. So, with Reno, his human form has dull colors, with a sweater that resembles Oogie’s burlap, but his true form - a sort of “demi bug” - is colored in shades of vibrant green. His Overblot form, meanwhile - which Hoots helped IMMENSELY with working out - has a sort of neon appearance, inspired by the look of Oogie’s lair, and is a collection of different elements from different arthropods.

In this case, I think the different colors help the pair stand in good contrast to each other. ;)

[squishmallow36]

It's Getting Dicey

Summary: It's the secret santa fic...Happy New Year @ultralazycreatorfan! I know I told @song-tam that it'd be here on the 30th and then that didn't happen and then I said it'd be here on the 31st and then I was struck down by a headache. Hooray. Anyway. Dex, Lovise, Sophie, and Keefe get together to play some bunco. "What's bunco?" you ask. A game that involves rolling dice. And swearing at dice. A lot of swearing at dice. Xe/xem Dex, it/its Keefe, he/him Sophie. You know how it is. Enjoy!

Word Count: 4398

TW: swearing, at least two (2) lewd jokes

Taglist (lmk if you want to be added/removed!): @stellar-lune @faggot-friday @kamikothe1and0nly @nyxpixels @florida-preposterously @poppinspop @uni-seahorse-572 @solreefs @i-loved-while-i-lied @rusted-phone-calls @when-wax-wings-melt @good-old-fashioned-lover-boy7 @dexter-dizzknees @abubble125 @hi-imgrapes @callum-hunt-is-bisexual @xanadaus @callas-pancake-tree @hi-my-name-is-awesome @katniss-elizabeth-chase @arson-anarchy-death @dizzeners @thefoxysnake @olivedumdum @loveution

On Ao3 or below the cut!

    It’s always a fun day when Dex finds xemself a new project. It’s an even more fun day when xe decides to rope other people into that project without telling them what they’re getting roped into. 

    Lovise is currently living in fear of what Dex has found this time. Xe’s not maniacally supervillain laughing quite yet, so that’s a good sign, though it’s certainly not removed from the realm of possibilities. 

    All xe’s done is drag Sophie and Keefe, presumably kicking and screaming, to Rimeshire. These three definitely can’t cause massive amounts of chaos. To be fair, with a Sophie comes a Sandor, so it can’t be all bad, but it’s still quite unsafe. Ro’s still off somewhere chasing down Cad, so she’s, thankfully, not a concern either. 

    “Hello, everyone. I thank you all for meeting with me on this fine evening against your better judgements—,” Dex begins. 

    Keefe interrupts, “That’s an understatement,” a smirk playing on its lips. 

    Dex gives it a look, a hard edge creeping into xor voice. “--The reason we are gathered here today is because I was recently informed about a human game by the name of bunco. I was also told that I would need to gather multiple willing victims in order to play. I think Sophie was simply trying to avoid me, but here we are anyway, so if you would please explain to us the rules.”

    “I should just jump out your window,” Sophie grumbles. 

    “With or without teleporting before hitting the ground?” asks Keefe.

    Sophie considers its question for a moment. “I haven’t decided yet. I guess we’ll see if I go splat.”

    Lovise flinches as Sandor pinches the bridge of his nose. “Today’s objective is that we’re trying to avoid an Elwin call.”

    “He’ll be so splat, there won’t be any need,” Keefe says, flipping its hair out of its eyes. 

    That really does not improve the situation by any meaningful metric. 

    Dex glances back and forth in the silence between Sophie and Keefe several times before asking, “The rules, please?” 

    Sophie leans forward and clasps his hands together. “Well, we aren't going to get very far unless you have six sided dice.” 

    Xe leans back, and without even looking, pulls out a clear box of more dice than xe should be trusted to have. And cards. And twenty-sided dice. And flat circles that probably have some purpose. Where xe got all this, Lovise doesn’t know. She doesn’t ask. 

    “How many do we need?” Dex asks, the dice clinking around in the hard plastic shell as xe digs them out of their prison. 

    “If we want to be nice and share, then three. If not, then we’re gonna need three per person.” 

    “Keep your grubby little hands off my fucking dice. Give me some d20s, baby.”

    Dex blushes to xor ears as he hands out dice to everybody. Keefe pouts when it’s given d6s instead of the d20s like it wanted. 

    Sophie leans back to look at Sandor. “Are you sure you don’t wanna play?” 

    Lovise then takes that opportunity to make the very bad life choice of kneeling down to join their little circle. What’s the worst that can happen? They throw dice at me? I think that’s gonna happen either way. 

    Two matching dice and one mismatched die, all in shades of green, roll their way towards her and settle just shy of being in her lap. A slight twinge of disappointment flickers in her chest that she doesn’t get Dex’s gold-plated plastic one, but that’s probably lost under xor bed or something.     

    Sophie stares at Sandor for another long second before jumping into an explanation of how to play. “Bunco has six rounds—round one you’re rolling for ones, round two you’re rolling for twos, so on and so forth. So, uh, Dex, if you would roll your dice for us, please.” 

    Dex rolls xor metallic red Clan Sea Fox dice from xor adventures playing Battletech to get a 1, 3, and a 4. 

    “Very nice. I guess we should probably nominate a scorekeeper—”

    Sophie is interrupted by the crashing sounds of Dex rummaging through the shit in xor room. Xe claims there’s a system. There’s no system. Miraculously, xe finds both a piece of paper that’s only used on one side and looks like it’s only been through a few avalanches, as well as a pen whose ink is almost guaranteed to be drier than ogre skin. 

     These get shuffled into Lovise’s responsibility because she seems “trustworthy.” Considering she’s thrown more games of Catan than one would think in order to make sure Dex doesn’t pout, that’s probably not ideal for integrity’s sake. 

    “So this is round one, so just kind of make a table tracking our point values with tally marks or some similar system if you guys don’t have that. The column headers can just be our initials or something. Be lazy. Just give Dex one point for that one xe rolled.” Sophie turns back to Dex. “You may roll again. And, yes, that does mean all the dice. We’re not playing Yahtzee, Keefe.” 

    Dex rolls again. 3,5,5. 

    “Because you didn’t get a one, the turn moves to the next victim. Do we wanna go clockwise or counterclockwise? Or are analog clocks not something that exist around here?”

    Before this devolves into a shouting match, Lovise suggests, “You go next so then I’ll go last.” 

     Sophie picks up his dice and begins shaking them. “In case I forget to mention it, three of any number that isn’t the round number—say I roll 3 fours right now—that’s worth five points. Rolling three of the target number is 21 points and is called a bunco. And we’re going to keep rolling until someone hits 21 points, and then we go to the next round rolling for twos, et cetera.”

    He lets the marbled, matching blue dice go. 2,5,6. 

    “Damn it. You gave me the cursed dice, didn’t you? Whatever. Keefe, it’s your turn.”

    “You better have given me the good dice.” Its dice don’t match by any means—one black and blue, one marbled brown, and one beige—but they’re all stolen from Munchkin, made obvious by the helmet representing the number one. 1,4,5. 

    “Lovise, please mark down a point and Keefe, you go again.”

    1,2,4.

    “One more point. Roll again.”  

    “Again? Exile.” 2,2,3. 

    “Holy fuck, I just thought you got five points. Don’t do that again. Lovise, it’s your turn whenever you’re ready.”

    The unfamiliar plastic dice are awkwardly light in her palm as she rolls. 1,2,4. “Can someone count how many I’m going to have to add so I don’t have to keep pausing?”

    Dex nods and puts a finger up—thankfully not that finger—as Lovise scoops the dice up again.

    1,1,2. 

    Sophie leans forward, his head in his hands. “If you had just gotten a bunco, I would have jumped out the window.”

   “Is that worth one point per one rolled, or some other weird stacking rule like rolling three?”

    “It’s one point per one rolled. So in total, she’s gotten three points this turn. One-seventh of the way to the end.”

    “One-seventh of the way to one-sixth of the way to the end,” Keefe corrects. 

    “I’ll do my best,” Lovise says as she scoops the dice up again, only to roll a 3,5, and 6. She marks down her three points. “To be fair, I did try.” 

     “That you did. Just not enough,” Dex says. Xe rolls a 1,1, and 2, prompting another Sophie-stroke. On the reroll, xe gets a 1,6,6. On the next reroll, xe gets a 3,5,6. Lovise writes all this down, bringing xor total up to 4. 

    Sophie’s turn again. 2,2,5. “This shit is so fucking rigged.”

    “No, that’s just how probabilities work sometimes,” Dex says as Keefe rolls. 1,4,6. 

    Sophie counts on his fingers as Keefe’s streak continues with a 1,5,5. 

    1,1,5. 

    2,2,4 and it all comes crashing down. Those four points bring its total up to six. 

    The turn comes back to Lovise, who rolls a 2,4,5, leaving as quickly as it arrived. 

    Dex seizes the opportunity to get a 1,4,5, followed closely by a 4,5,5. Sophie is blessed with a gorgeously useless 3,4,4, paralleled by Keefe’s 2,5,6. 

    Lovise follows that up with a 1,2,6, forgetting to ask someone to count and instead pausing to write it down on the scorecard. The next roll is a 1,4,5, which doesn’t get written down, and then 3,3,4, which has no reason to be marked. This brings her up to tie with Dex, though the both of them are still trailing behind Keefe. 

    Dex fumbles this opportunity to take the lead with a 2,5,6. 

    Sophie, on the other hand, is sulking something fierce when the turn comes back to him, convinced the ones on the dice are never going to appear. It turns out, with a roll of 1,1,5, they do, in fact, have ones on them, and those are his first two points on the board. They’re also his only two points on the board as his next roll is a 3,5,6. 

    Keefe and Lovise get a grand total of zero points during their turns with a 2,3,4 and a 3,4,6, respectively. 

     They do, however, learn that having a straight of numbers like Keefe’s does not count for any points. This is bullshit and should be amended to make this a more enjoyable experience for everyone involved. 

    And that’s when Dex decides to show off. Xor first roll is 1,3,4. Standard. Normal. Trustworthy. The next is 1,3,5. Like. Okay. You’re being a little extra there but go off I guess. And then the third roll. 1,3,6. 

    Stringing together three points in three separate rolls is a little absurd, which is why it gets nuked by a 3,3,5 moments later. This one turn didn’t net that many points in the grand scheme of things, but it does bring xem ahead to eight. More than a third of the way to the end goal. 

    The ones fall off the dice for an entire cycle, rotating around the entire group until Sophie’s next turn before any more points make their way onto the board. He does get a 1,1,4 so it’s not nothing, but the excitement quickly fades as the reroll of 2,3,6 materializes. 

    This brings him to four, narrowing the gap between first and last place without changing any placements. 

    The ones don’t appear again until his next turn, revealing themselves with a roll of 1,2,4. The reroll is a 5,5,6. 

   “Damn it. I really thought that was gave me five points.”

    Keefe tilts its head. “I guess you just can’t count.”

    “You’re right. Dex, do you have any integer dice?”

    “No changing dice in the middle of the game. What happened to last time when you cried for the blue ones?”

    “You’ve cursed the blue ones since the last time we played Munchkin!”

    “Or maybe I just wanted to make sure that you could successfully run away instead of getting violated by a tongue demon next time!” 

    “That’s just because you transed my gender and the fucking tongue demon got rid of my cheese grater of peace!” 

    Munchkin is an…interesting game, Lovise will give it that. 

    “I was just being accurate to the real world!” Dex argues. 

    “The real world hadn’t figured that out yet! You just wanted the -5 modifier during my next combat phase.”

    “Maybe I have a new ability that’s predicting the future. Did you ever think about that, Mr. I-have-five-abilities?”

    Sophie looks at Keefe, who shrugs. “I can’t tell what people’s abilities are, dude. After they’ve manifested, fucking forget it.”

    “Oh, please. Like you two haven’t had your hands all over each other since we were staying at Alluveterre.”

    “Yeah, but my ability’s on the newer side, so there’s not a whole lot I can do. Now, can it be my fucking turn, please? I need to show all of you how you roll dice.”

    Sophie huffs. “Sure, whatever.”

    Keefe gives him a bright false smile as it rolls. 1,6,6.  “Lovise, if you would mark that down, I’d appreciate it greatly.” 

    She had already written it down and is waiting for it to roll again. 1,3,3. 

    Keefe’s confidence hits the rafters as it scoops up the dice again, only to have it come fluttering down in tatters with a 3,5,6. It’s currently tied with Dex for first place. 

    It passes the turn to Lovise with a not-insignificant amount of grumbling. She gets a point with a roll of 1,3,4, but doesn’t have the necessary luck to get a string of rolls as her turn dies with a reroll of 2,2,4. 

    She’s up to six points, and at this rate, the gnomes are going to get Ravagog back before the first round is over. 

    Dex doesn’t choose to help this problem with xor roll of 3,5,5. It was so close to being promising. 

    Sophie and Keefe each pick up a point on their next turns. Keefe’s currently working on getting three dice to show the same face and it isn’t working quite yet, with two doubles in a row. (The first roll was a 1,3,3 and the second was 4,5,5.)

    It’s a whole cycle through their turns—Lovise 2,3,4; Dex 2,4,5; Sophie 3,3,6; Keefe 3,5,6—before Keefe officially declares, “The ones have fallen off the dice.”

    Lovise proves that to be not quite accurate by finding a 1,4,4 somewhere in there. Then, just to make sure, she finds a 1,1,3. That’s the last of the ones on her dice for now, however, ending her turn with a 3,4,6.  

     That brings her up to 9 points and into the lead, though not by much. 

    Dex rolls a gorgeous, worthless 2,3,4 on xor next turn, and Sophie follows that up with an equally beautiful 3,5,6. 

    Keefe can’t let this stand any longer with a turn composed of rolls of 1,3,6; 1,5,6; and 2,6,6. Its total comes to 11 and they’re nearing the halfway point. Though, dice will be thrown if Keefe wins, so trying to lengthen the game any way possible is advantageous.

    That’s Lovise strategy as she rolls a nice, normal 1,4,4 and scratches it onto the scoreboard. She picks the dice back up to get a 4,5,6. 

    Straights really should count for points, but when you’re playing with a bunch of gays, they don’t. Also that’s what Sophie says the rules are, but that’s the better reason. 

    This turn brings her to a total of ten points. A nice, round number. 

    Dex, on the other hand, has other plans. Xor starts off by rolling a 1,4,6. As one does. Xe continues by rolling a 1,3,5. As one also does. 

    And that’s when shit gets tense. Xe rolls again, but doesn’t get a one. Xe does, however, get a 2,2,2. 

    Five points. 

    Keefe’s bloodthirst is gleaming in its eyes as Dex picks up the dice again. Thankfully, Lovise doesn’t have to hold it back as xe rolls a 2,3,5, killing xor streak.

    That doesn’t reverse the past. The damage is done. Xe’s at fifteen points after pulling off that move. 

     “Always keep in mind that anyone can get a bunco at any time. Three ones and this is all over.” Sophie then takes his own advice and tries his best to make that happen. He’s actually fairly close with a 1,1,6 and an aneurysm from Keefe. His second attempt, a 3,5,6, is notably less successful but still brings him to eight points. 

    Keefe is not successful in its own 4,6,6 attempt. The grumbles that the dice are cursed have begun once again in greater force this time. 

    Lovise and Dex both pick up a point on their next turns and then the ones fall off the dice for two entire cycles. As in, it goes through Sophie, Keefe, Lovise, Dex, Sophie, Keefe, Lovise, and Dex before another point is on the board. 

    Where do the ones go? Nobody knows. They’re definitely still on the dice—Keefe checked. Loudly. They just don’t appear. For eight rolls in a row. 

    Sophie interrupts this spiraling trend with a 1,2,3 like a light in the darkness. Then, he gets a 1,3,6 with significantly less symbolic meaning behind it. He follows this up with a 2,3,5 that makes the veil of inky blackness fall over them once again. He’s up to ten points, so he’s still in last place, but less firmly so than before this last turn. 

    It’s Sophie’s next turn before the dice bless the group with a holy one in a roll of 1,3,6. It’s strangely fitting how the forgotten middle child of his previous round is now the roll that slows the encroaching emptiness. 

    Its luminescence is snuffed out almost as soon as it began like a candle on a windy night with a 2,4,5. 

    “Come on, you worthless sons of bitches,” Keefe mutters as it shakes the dice. 1,3,4. “Ooh, swearing at the dice is the answer? You should’ve told me this earlier. You pieces of shit better give me a one.” 1,3,4. 

    “To be fair, I’m kind of surprised it took you this long to figure out that secret,” Dex says. 

    Keefe ignores xem. “Please, motherfuckers.” 2,4,5.

    Unfortunately, Lovise doesn’t get to learn new swear words from Keefe’s newfound Polyglot ability with the end of that streak that took it to thirteen points. 

    It’s said that some humans find thirteen to be an unlucky number. It’ll be interesting to see if the dice agree with this superstition by grinding Keefe’s point gains to a halt. 

    Lovise rolls on her next turn—2,2,4. It’s getting real fucking old rolling and rolling and having nothing new to show for it. 

    Dex’s turn is filled with as much excitement as Lovise’s just was. Which is to say, none. Xe rolls a 4,6,6. Lovise thought xe got three 6s, but no. If xe had, the round would be over and Dex would be inventing a new victory dance. 

    Sophie, however, doesn’t let that stop him. 1,6,6. 1,4,6. 1,2,6. The dice seem rigged—almost like he isn’t even rolling them, but different ones are ending up as the ones and sixes. The only reason Lovise even bothered to notice was that she doesn’t trust any of her company that much. 

    Then Sophie decides to roll a 2,6,6, proving that all of this was meaningless speculation. But he is up to thirteen—tied with Keefe—so that’s nice for everyone except for Lovise in last place.

    It takes a whole cycle of grumbling, swearing at dice, and definitely not purposely rolling them at others before Keefe gets another point. Actually, two points. 1,1,4. It ends up only being those two points, as its next roll is 2,3,3 and a couple of tears that it wasn’t worth five points. That brings it up to fifteen, gnawing at the back of Dex’s heels for the honor of being in the lead. 

    The dice giveth and they taketh away. 

    They taketh away Lovise’s, Dex’s, Sophie’s, and Keefe’s next attempt to get points.

    “Bless me with your golden glory,” Lovise whispers, eyes skyward as she shakes the dice. 1,2,6. 

    She scratches her twelfth point into the paper before returning to the translucent cubes taunting her. She rolls again. 2,4,6. 

    Then it’s Dex’s turn once more—3,4,5. A roll that has absolutely nothing.

    Then it’s Sophie’s turn once more—3,3,6. If only four threes would count for something. Saw the dice apart. Do whatever it takes. 

    Then it’s Keefe’s turn once more—2,4,4. It’s a sharpie away from drawing extra dots. If every side has six dots, every roll is five points. 

    Then it’s Lovise’s turn once more—4,5,6. Straights still don’t count for points. With the way this game is going, it seems like the gays don’t either. 

    When the turn returns to Dex, expectations are on the floor. Then xe rolls a 1,5,6. That’s xor seventeenth point. Four more and this is over. Four more and two becomes the magic number. 

    Xe rolls again. 

    2,2,2. 

    Lovise’s breath catches in her throat. Five points. Bringing Dex to 22 and the round to proceed forward. 

    It’s almost poetic how the first round ends with the next magic number, come to bestow them with its splendor before it disappears from the dice forever. 

    Sophie, a smirk playing on his lips, taps on his Imparter in what looks like a very controlled fashion until an ear-splitting bell noise echoes through Dex’s room. 

    The only reason Dex merely flinches away and doesn’t banish him immediately from the premises for all eternity is presumably because rolling dice game fun when you win.     

    “My family’s bunco game has a bell that comes with it. That’s the closest I can do. Technically, I think the rules say you’re supposed to ring it only when you get a bunco. But we used to ring it at every available opportunity.” He turns to Keefe. “Which is why it’s as far from you as I can possibly get.” 

    Keefe pouts overdramatically, a feat considering it was already doing that at Dex’s accomplishment. 

    But Dex’s accomplishment means nothing. There’s five more rounds before Dex starts arguing that they should play the extended edition with the d100s xe inevitably has stored somewhere. 

     The following rounds feel as though they race by. 

    The twos round, Dex wins once more by rolling a triplet of 2s, except this time it’s worth a full 21 points. Keefe made it to 20 before Dex pulled that one out of xor ass, which is highly suspicious, so a dice trade is initiated. A diagonal cross results in Lovise getting Sophie’s blue dice and vice versa with Lovise’s green ones. 

    The threes round, against all odds, Dex wins again. If xe isn’t cheating, that’s one Exile of an accomplishment, and if xe is, xe’s not doing a very good job at hiding it. Dice are traded again, and Lovise ends up with Dex’s metal Battletech ones. 

    The antepenultimate fours round, Dex takes it upon xemself to win again. Xe has the audacity to get a triplet of 1s and 3s in the same roll streak. The fact that xe hasn’t been burned at the stake like the witch xe is is a fucking miracle. 

    Lovise having to fight off a feral Sophie and Keefe is not a fight that’s going to be pleasant. Don’t get her wrong, she’d still win, but she might get a couple of bite marks.

    They switch the dice again, and Lovise ends up with her original green dice, traitorous in their assistance of Sophie and Keefe over the past two rounds but magnificent in their return. 

    The penultimate fives round, Keefe finally gets to stop the waterfall of crocodile tears and replace them with actual tears as the dice finally decree that it’s worthy of winning. Dex has already won the game beyond defeat but it’s not about winning anymore. It’s about not losing and second place is still better than last place. 

    Now, to be fair, second place is the first place of losers, so maybe it’s just trying to say that it’s the top loser in the world. That would make a lot of sense. 

    Dex is also, notably, allowed to keep xor dice. All of the useful rolls were used up and xor seven points at the end of the round didn’t seem like enough of a threat. 

    And it is finally time for the grand finale. The ultimate challenge of dice throwing. The sixes round.

    Lovise gets so, so close to winning. She has twenty whole fucking points. Yes, all of the points are fucking. 

    And then Sophie just decides, “oh, yeah, I’ll get a bunco. No big deal” as the dice settle into a 6,6,6. 

    It is, in fact, a big deal. 

    Sandor will be hearing about this moment for all eternity. Lovise will make him suffer. He deserves it for his charge’s utter impunity.    

    It may or may not have been Lovise’s mostly-unintentional death glare that caused Sophie and Keefe to fabricate reasons to not be at Rimeshire anymore as they light leap away. 

    Dex begins stuffing the dice back into the box, clinking as they slide down unwillingly, forming a lopsided hot mess. 

    As soon as she’s certain Sophie and Keefe have vacated the premises, Lovise turns to xem and asks “How’d you cheat?”

    Xor hands fly up, framing xor face with xor palms out. “To be completely fair, I only cheated in the second round.”

    “I didn’t ask ‘did you cheat?’ I asked ‘how did you cheat?’”

    Dex digs out the Battletech dice xe was using in the first two rounds and rolls them around in xor hand. “It’s really easy to load metal dice, especially when you’ve got magnets to turn it off when someone wants to check if they’re loaded. I haven’t figured out how to load high numbers with it yet. And, besides, I forgot to do it in the first round and it only shifts the probabilities a little bit. It’s not cheating that much.” 

    “Yes it is.” Lovise pauses for dramatic effect. “Next time, if you have loaded dice, I expect some too.” 

    Dex throws xor head back, laughing. “I’ll make sure to get around to that as soon as possible, but first: I gotta go get some snackies from downstairs.”

[akkivee]

has everyone listened to the songs??????? how we feeling????? i’m just going to ramble about them lol

i went back and revisited otome’s backstory after listening to the tracks because i recalled otome and mikado’s reasons for dice’s name and rivals encompasses what they wanted for dice ;w; he really did grow up well ;w; also lmao at crazy doppo

osaka big up and white and black take inspiration from the same era of music and it makes me cry actually since rei stayed alone for the entirety of this track. like…… at least they’re connected by music in some way ;w;

get busy needs to calm the fck down i have to act like i have some decorum when listening to it and it’s genuinely impossible at this point lmao it’s my top song out of both albums lol but you know what about it that’s really funny?? kuukou and jiro like spoke only two sentences to each other in the track so they pumped out that banger thru vibes only lmao

that part in yume no kanata where gentaro says ‘there is nothing more worthless than giving meaning to life’ and it distorts at the end of that statement completely distorted my brain chemistry it’s so good

unironically rio’s boot camp is a delight LMAO it’s great he put them thru a workout and gave them a meal plan as well of his own delicacies lol

hiphoppia is like The poster boy song for ichiro lol it’s inspirational it’s hopeful and he said the thing guys!!!!! rap is!!!!!!!! tano-C!!!!!! lmao

i could cry about how delightfully creepy omamagoto is i’m glad it’s a rap song to contrast hiphoppia and honobono seems to be having the time of her life giving it to us good for her fr 🥺

by the end of the drama tracks, the game plan for the music fes was so thoroughly ruined that improvisation was necessary for it to run which is why tho originally they intended to perform by divisions, we got argo orchestra, old school dh, etc. that means white or black, the absolute banger of hoods, doesn’t actually exist since rei never showed up to the festival 😔

devil’s flower is such a classically made vkei song it was an absolute delight to listen to and i love it when rock songs drop the title of the song as part of an alternative chorus like the way devil’s flower did lol!!!!!!!!

viva la liberty is so adorable omg 😭😭😭

closer is a love song fr like holy cow lmao 😭😭😭 tho i was surprised upon listening to it in full, once we got to the part of the first drama track where hitoya and jakurai were three steps away from going ‘you hang up ~’ ‘no you hang up~’ i realised that’s just how it is between them now and good for them ;w;

HIFUMI OUR SWEET SUMMER CHILD POSITIVE IS YOUR LIFE AND YOU MEANT THAT 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

samatoki’s song is very lovely to hum along to as you pretend you aren’t crying to it lmao

i don’t think i have ever laughed to a song as long and as hard as i did listening to bounce back, like i was brought to tears and that has to count for something. idk what!!!!! but like the song itself it is something LMAO

[atieflingtime]

GAME: Sentinel by Meghan Cross (Siren's Song Games)

DESCRIPTION: "You are the lone guardian of a place of great power - known to you only as The Sanctuary. Many years you have kept vigil in this place, guarding what is kept within from any and all who come to disrupt it or steal it for themselves."

ITEMS NEEDED: 1 set of polyhedral dice, and a deck of playing cards (one joker needed). I used an online die roller and a beat up deck of playing cards (:

THOUGHTS: I enjoyed playing this! I think it was about 3 or 4 hours for me (though I was doing other things during it!) and I pulled about 7 cards including the joker, so that'd influence it too. (:

I decided to write in third person because I was struggling with both first and second person with the Guardian character I'd made, but it's definitely another thing I'd love to try on the next playthrough of it I'll do!

I really enjoyed that the prompts were juuust constrained enough to get the imagination going, but not so constrained it felt railroaded into a particular storyline

Very fun :D and I had a good time playing it, especially with just getting back into writing from years of hiatus.

my unedited playthru is under the readmore (:

(setup)

THE GUARDIAN: What does the Guardian look like? Tall and solid, marble-skinned and matching the former glory the sanctuary’s walls used to hold. Hair hangs long, straight, and thick, in a bronze gloss. They shimmer gilded and gold on their eyelashes and fingernails. The finery of their appearance is at odds with their stature and strength. Even their teeth were beautiful and sharp — set in their mouth in mother-of-pearl.

What abilities do they have? Once, they were able to blend into both the inner and outer walls of the sanctuary, the carved and polished stonework feeling as an extension of themself. Standing still as an unloving statue to hide is something they’re still able to do. The strength and weight of their strikes is one of few things that hasn’t left them.

How long have they been a guardian? They’ve been a guardian for many hundreds of years. They were the youngest of their quarry, but they are the only one left standing. The peoples who had invoked their help have been dead longer than they can measure. Sometimes they wonder if there’s even any of them left alive — all returned to quarry rather than simply moved on.

How did they come to be the only guardian? Treasure hunters have tried over and over to raid the Sanctuary. They were horrible humans, with teeth with grimaces of smiles and eyes glinting green like creeping vines. They wanted to take everything out of the Sanctuary, take it piece by piece like the ivy that’s been trying for decades to worm its way into any cracks in the Guardians’ legs.

The vines were insistent on returning everything to quarry. They didn’t seem to care whether a place was still in need of guarding or not. Only that it was returned to quarry under the heat of their living fingers.

THE SANCTUARY: What does The Sanctuary look like? It used to be a grand temple of marble and gold, with lovingly carved and placed jade and obsidian effigies of the people’s gods and loved ones. Those who had already returned to quarry. Gilded, wide-mouthed dishes used to hold herbs and oil. Mother-of-pearl plates had been set in the hundreds along small alcoves with tiny offerings to the quarries. Bronze sconces would hold up weaving long ago, but the textiles had rotted away over many years.

The vines now wormed their ways through any cracks they could find in the Sanctuary. Seeking more purchase to break the items and return them to quarry. Sometimes they bloom, and it is beautiful.

Where is it located? The Sanctuary sits in a previously cleared but now mostly reclaimed by medium brush and scrubs site with a cradle of tall, old trees surrounding it. There are old paths with the occasional stone still set into the earth that show the ghosts of the footpaths that used to travel from the Sanctuary into a nearby village that had existed hundreds of years prior.

Does any other life exist there? Nothing more than vegetation and small animals. Occasionally there are medium sized mammals, or large lizards that wander through, but nothing stays for very long to keep the Guardian much company.

What is there that needs to be guarded? What little that remains of the sacred items that had been lovingly placed inside the body of the Sanctuary, and hadn’t yet returned to quarry.

(play)

DIAMONDS. Rolled 5. Something you thought lost.

Wandering the traces of the edge of the home that the Guardian had been created to guard with their siblings — thought it had been a long time past when their marble siblings had returned to quarry — they ran off of memory and duty. What else would they have? What other purpose could they ever serve?

There’s a tiny glint in the clover covering the ground leading to the Sanctuary, no bigger than a snake’s eye. The Guardian’s footsteps were heavy in their purposeful stride. Their gilded fingers dipped in soot delicately lifted the sliver of bronze out from the catch of clover leaves.

Pain bloomed across the Guardian’s expression. How long ago had they last seen the delicately hammered curves of a dragon casting bronze? Those lizards didn’t exist anymore, they had all returned to quarry a century back. The Guardian’s fingers traced the feathers that lined the back and tail of the effigy of a dragon-lizard.

They turned their face to the tallest column still standing in the Sanctuary. “How long ago was that artisan here?” Their voice held the quiet clinks and knocks of tumbling stones, “I feel I could still find them if I tried… but I fear they’ve returned to quarry as everyone else I love has.” They cradled the dragon-lizard, gently rubbing their cold fingers along the snout, the back of the neck, and down the back — petting the animal as if it could enjoy the action. “I don’t understand why you have come back now,” they spoke quiet to the bronze, “Don’t you know that everyone else has returned to quarry? Don’t you know I’m all that’s left?”

Sorrow welled in the chest of the Guardian. They were unable to weep physically, but the bone-chill sadness settled inside them nonetheless. They sat on a pedestal stand, staring and petting the bronze. “I wish I wasn’t so selfish to want to wish you were still here, or that I wouldn’t have to be the last.”

CLUBS. Rolled 1. Years passed.

It was a turn of every season before the Guardian stirred from their pedestal seat, and broke their mourning. The small dragon-lizard had become gleaming and gorgeous on its snout and neck — loved gently to golden. The sweet spring-flower scented breeze rose the sense of duty from the Guardian; stirred from their quiet sorrow.

Deft fingers tied the dragon-lizard effigy into their own bronze hair. When it is finally their time to return to quarry, they will return to it with the loved-to-gleaming dragon-lizard.

Vines had crept farther into the Sanctuary, taking advantage of the Guardian’s year of inaction and trying to tear down the beautiful remnants and return them to quarry. The Guardian set about to remove their influence. At least for one more turn of the wheel.

SPADES. Rolled 4. Something is threatening the Sanctuary, and you must confront it.

There are terrible clanging screams from past-molten iron heated and transformed into something cruel and killing — steel.

The Guardian could hear their death screams, a cruel fate for an ore to be burned and poured and burned and contorted into a shape only to find blood and death while never being allowed to return to quarry yourself. To have the weight of rot and flesh seep into their essence with no way to find peace. Contorted into something irredeemable.

These people already looked evil and cruel to the Guardian. Why would they torture ore like that? The thought made the guardian bare their mother-of-pearl teeth. What disgusting actions were they also capable of if they would do that to simple ore?

Bodies glinted in the early morning sun, their terrible flesh adorned with screaming ore as well. Horrible, ornate designs looping in interlocking vine patterns were brazen across their swollen chests. Their terrible gold eyes held red-hot fear when the Guardian bared their teeth and struck them.

The maroon splash of them felt dirty and unnatural. This wasn’t anyone returning to quarry. This was something coming to rot. An uneasy, sour feeling in the Guardian’s stomach told them that these were just the first of legions. Those who had so lovingly raised them and their siblings from the quarry weren’t coming back. There were only going to be these terrible rotting men.

CLUBS. Rolled 4. Years passed.

The Guardian’s joints felt gritty and heavy. It hadn’t been an expected primary duty of theirs or their siblings to have to fight so often. They were grinding their own limbs down to sand, returning themselves to quarry in each horrible rotting movement.

The glinting, rotting men never stopped coming. Just as the Guardian feared, they were coming with more frequency. Not a single whisper through the four full turns of the seasonal wheel of the peoples that had built the Sanctuary the Guardian dutifully protected.

When they look at the mother-of-pearl plates with their ancient offerings, they only saw the rot left in them. It hurt them to look at rot too long, and the vines creeped ever closer to taking the offerings leftover for themselves.

Gore and rot and dying metal stained surrounding areas of the Sanctuary, the beautiful calm of quarried stones to the grass and clover drowned by the bones and offal left stinking inside the tortured ore.

Golden fingernails seemed permanently tarnished from the violence they were forced to enact to protect the Sanctuary. Terrible men came in more frequency. Thankfully still sparse, but ever-increasing.

The Guardian grew steadily tired.

DIAMONDS. Rolled 10. You found something of tremendous value.

The glimmer of stones and metal are nothing significant or unknown to the Guardian. They’ve been surrounded by the comforting glittering of precious metals for centuries. It wasn’t a significant event to see the glittering catch their eye.

But they hadn’t seen lapis lazuli in decades.

The shocking blue and lightning strike gold through it made the Guardian’s large hands stutter their sweeping. Made them pause. Delicately removing the mother-of-pearl offering dishes from their alcoves — gentle to not disturb their meagre remaining offerings with hands that had seen more violence than love in the past decade — and placing them to an already swept clear pedestal, the Guardian ripped the vines trying to claim yet another part of the Sanctuary out of the way.

Underneath the marble that had since returned to quarry from the vines, were tiles imbued near-solid with lapis lazuli. The lapis continued underneath the still-intact marble tiles beside the ones already quarried.

A wail ripped out of the Guardian’s throat. It was followed by sobs wracking their giant body, heaving and heavy cracking against the marble of the floor and the green blood of the vines crushed under their body.

The men wouldn’t stop coming for the lapis lazuli. They would continue to come for it. The burden of duty, for the first time, weighed heavy on the Guardian’s neck. Rot would overtake the quarry until they ground themself into sand, and the rotting men would come again anyway.

HEARTS. Rolled 8. A memory recalled. Fondest memory.

The Guardian sat inside the atrium of the Sanctuary, still and stopped atop a pedestal. The glimmering sea-blue of lapis lazuli blinking through the partially tiled walls surrounding them. A small peaceful smile crooked up the corners of their mouth as they pet the worn spot on their bronze dragon-lizard effigy. The movement was natural and comforting.

What was near a thousand years ago, but felt like only a few seasons to the Guardian, they had a flesh and stone dragon-lizard they would pet the snout of. Its feathers were bright purple-red like ancient rubies, but soft under Sentinel fingers.

The particular dragon-lizard the Guardian held so lovingly in their mind was spry and sharp-eyed. Its eyes were the same vibrant blue of the lapis surrounding the Guardian now, but where the Sanctuary was now quiet and stinking, the dragon-lizard was a chirruping chatting presence. Never shy to give the younger Guardian trouble when they paused in petting its head.

A little hum pulled out of the chest of the Guardian. They still wonder if they had pet the little dragon-lizard as much as it seemed to want, if its snout would have glittered in the same loved gold.

It was a small, well-loved memory the Guardian would refuse to ever return to quarry. No matter the cost of keeping it.

JOKER. Rolled 3. An Ending.

The Guardian’s joints feel ground to powder-fine sand. Ache isn’t something they ever thought would be a body experience they would become well acquainted with, but it sits with them for each hour of the sun, and every minute of the moon. But they cannot return to quarry. They refuse to return to quarry and leave the Sanctuary to the mercy of the rotting men. They needed to keep the lapis lazuli safe.

Their marble limbs, long-since stained with years of protecting the precious Sanctuary, creaked when they unfolded themselves from their rest on the atrium pedestal. There was a disturbance in the clover outside the entrance to the Sanctuary, they could feel the change.

A figure, as tall and broad as the Guardian themself, paused for a moment on the vine-broken stone path. His shoulders square and torso wide and solid.

Seeing the figure enter the Sanctuary, the Guardian bared their teeth. “Protected,” they managed to grind out of their gravel-filled throat, the language of rotting men feeling like tar inside it. They couldn’t force themselves to stand from their seat in the atrium.

“I’m sorry I took so long to return, my old friend,” the figure spoke in a deep rolled accent, the old language the Guardian thought lost to the quarry soothing to their ancient mind.

Gold rimmed eyes snapped to the face of the figure. His wide, flat face had a bowed mouth, and his cheeks were painted with yellow ochre in rays tracking under his eye sockets and crossing over a thick-bridged nose. The lapis lazuli of his eyes sharp and friendly. Purple-red ruby feathers hung down from the figure’s temples, tucked behind his ears, and spilled glistening over bronze-gold shoulders, and mingled through thick plum black hair.

The Guardian felt relief at first cold, then white hot go through them. Their clumsy fingers reaching up to pet the bronze effigy still tried into their hair.

“You can rest now, my old friend.” The dragon-lizard walked to the pedestal. He pet the Guardian’s face with his thick plum-coloured fingers. “I thank you for protecting our home.” He brushed the bronze threads away from the Guardian’s marble face. He pressed a light kiss to their forehead as their eyes slid closed. “I thank you.”

The Old Guardian’s hands folded neatly into their lap, clasped lightly together with their palms up. Their back straightened to an angle it hadn’t set in for years. Legs hanging relaxed over the lip of the atrium pedestal, feet crossed neatly at the ankle and lightly pointed down.

They relaxed as they returned to quarry.

                                          END!

The dragon-lizards were kept in the lapis lazuli. The older than a certain age dragon-lizards hid the young when the “rotting men” were starting their reign of terror, and they realised they weren’t going to be able to fight them without losing everything.

They set up the lapis lazuli and hid it between slabs of marble tile, and brought up as many of the Guardians as they were able to manage as their last Hail Mary for survival. There wasn’t any guarantee that they would be able to ever return and release the other dragon-lizards, but they hoped that the Guardians would be able to keep them safe, even without knowing what they were protecting.

The older dragon-lizards learned how to take advantage of the rotting men’s forms and, after a thousand years, were able to gain safety and return to retrieve their young and build their communities again.

The dragon-lizard that was friends with the Guardian when they were both much younger, volunteered to return to the Sanctuary. He only hoped that at least that the Guardian was still there. He wanted to personally thank his friend before they went to quarry.

[icarusthelunarguard]

This Week’s Horrible-Scopes

It’s time for this week’s Horrible-Scopes! So for those of you that know your Astrological Signs, cool! If not, just pick one, roll a D12, or just make it up as you go along. It really doesn’t matter.

Aries 

No matter what you think, we’re not here to judge you. Others might, but we won’t. To that end… You didn’t want to take down your… “Year-End Holiday Lights”, and that’s OK! But may we suggest you trade them out for those new-fangled color-programmable ones? Slave them to your Home Automation system and they’ll change with each new holiday’s theme with no direct input from you. Sadly we’ve already passed May 9th, which was Lost Sock Memorial Day. So add that to your holiday list for next year. 

Taurus 

Let’s face facts - you are never going to beat that Super Mario Brothers Arcade Game High Score anytime soon. Oh, you were good in your youth, and you could afford to buy an original 1983 coin-op cabinet to play on… but do you really think you can score over Five and-a-half Million Points to take the world record away? We don’t think so either. Save that $1,500 and take a vacation next month. 

Gemini  

Remember the cartoon series ReBoot? It was produced between 1994 and 2002. One of the opening lines was, “They say the User lives outside the Net and inputs games for pleasure.” Well guess what was released to the public in 2001 by Nintendo. That’s right… a Blue… Game… Cube! If Mainframe Entertainment had TradeMarked that term, they could’ve gotten some kind of marketing deal with Nintendo and had Money To Spare! (*Sigh*) This week, try to think way ahead.

Cancer Moon-Child 

There’s a specific set of dice that are used in table-top gaming: D4, D6, D8, D10, D12, and D20. They’re all some typical geometric shapes, but. There have been some weird ones that’ve come down the pike ever since. So yes, you can buy a D1, which is a form that ALWAYS lands on a specific side, and the D7 which is a Klingon Battleship. This week, remember that The Fourth will be with you, Always. 

Leo 

You remember hearing how “Stayin’ Alive” by the Bee Gees is one of the best songs to use to time your CPR Compressions? It’s not the only one. You could use ABBA’s “Dancing Queen”, “I Will Survive” by Gloria Gaynor, “One Week” by the Barenaked Ladies, or, ironically enough, “Another One Bites the Dust” by Queen. But if you really want to screw with the person’s head as they come to, have everyone around you hum “The Imperial March” from Star Wars. That’ll scare them enough to wake them up without resorting to smelling salts. This week, listen to some old music again.

Virgo 

Speaking of Smelling Salts… Don’t use them! Sure, it’s kinda funny to use them as a prank to wake up your friends when they’ve fallen asleep first at a party, but don’t use them when playing sports. Yes, you can get a hit of oxygen into your blood due to more respiration, but you don’t need it. You’re an umpire… at a Pee-Wee T-Ball league. Just relax this week.

Libra 

It’s five o’clock somewhere, so you might as well have a drink!  Come to think of it, have a lot of drinks, but make it a challenge; Run something through your Soda Stream that isn’t supposed to be. Something alcoholic. Better yet, you’re smart and innovative. The patent for the original “SodaStream”.. OH, sorry… the “aerating liquid machine” expired a long time ago. Go ahead and redesign it to work with liquors and make a killing in the Novelty Bar Drink market!  

Scorpio 

Speaking of drinks, Scorpio; This week you’re going to visit an old house. Make sure you have an extra-bright flashlight with you because you’re going to find a bomb. Not a munition, but an old Hawaiian Punch tin can from the early 1980’s. It’ll look like a blue and red mis-shapen rugby ball. DO NOT TOUCH THIS UNHAPPY ABOMINATION! Just take a picture and walk away. Leave disarming that to the professionals.

Sagittarius 

You need to clean up your Whatnot Drawer in the kitchen, like it or not. First off, that bag of rubber bands? They’ve dried up and crumbled into chunks. The super glue hasn’t dried out yet, but it’s almost ready to spill all over the battery cases. And as for those, you have three locations where you’ve been storing batteries. Just condense it into one place. This week just… get your act together.

Capricorn 

Sexy asked for, sexy delivered. We’re challenging you to buy the thinnest, tightest bikini possible for the summer. And before you ask, no! You’re not going to buy it from Wicked Weasle, the Barely There Bikini Shop, or Bitsy’s Bikinis. Head out to your local hardware store and get yourself a gallon of Benjamin Moore Latex, a 3-Inch natural-hair brush, and an understanding get-away driver for the beach. Good luck!

Aquarius 

You get a sexy one too! You’ve been worried about your weight, and we’re going to tell you not to. A couple kilos isn’t gonna kill you, and it might even be fun. Some of your clothing’s gonna fit a little tighter, look a little smoother, and need you to reconsider sporting underwear to keep the lines unblemished. Now, remember, we said “a couple” kilos, meaning two; not three or four. You start making excuses and rationalizations and you might as well buy an emergency sewing repair kit. Actually, do that anyway.  

Pisces  

When everyone said, “May the Fourth be with you”, and you answered back, “- and also with you”... We get it. It’s OK. It’s like muscle memory now. You can stop being embarrassed about it now. Just take a breath and have a drink of wine to calm your nerves. But, you know… not that watered down stuff. Drink the GOOD stuff. Riunite… on ice. It’s So Nice! (Yes, it’s a hold over from last week’s commercial theme. It was tough coming up with one for you, alright?)

And THOSE are your Horrible-Scopes for this week! Remember if you liked what you got, we’re obviously not working hard enough at these. BUT! If you want a better or nastier one for your own sign or someone else’s, all you need to do to bribe me is just Let Me Know! These will be posted online at the end of each week via Tumblr, Twitter, Facebook and Discord.

[caffeine-tanuki]

Um... Hey?

How’s everyone doing? Today is my first day on Tumblr. I guess I should introduce myself with this one?

To start, you can call me Moca. Or Momo, or just straight up by my username. Any of those are perfectly serviceable. I’m a girl in my 20′s, not gonna say exactly how old because a girl’s gotta have at least some secrets to herself ;3

I guess I should mention a thing or two. First, I’m trans (I use she/her). I know that’s nothing new on this site, nor is it anything super special. Just thought y’all should be aware of it. Second is something that arguably impacts my life further than being trans.

I struggle pretty damn hard with ADHD. Like, super bad. It’s been this way for my whole life, and it’s probably not going away any time soon. I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to hold a job, or have a long career, or any of these things. My hobbies come and go, and sometimes I end up spinning my wheels over what to do for so long that I don’t realize that suddenly it’s 2 in the morning and I’ve been browsing Reddit or Youtube for 4 and a half hours in silence. Other days I’ll spend 6-7 hours grinding out a single game for progress or just having fun. It’s sheer roll-of-the-dice whether or not I get things done.

Speaking of hobbies and doing a single thing for half a day, I’m also into playing music and music production. Haven’t done anything original yet, but I’ve been thinking about it more and more lately. So far the most I’ve done with it is arrange a few covers of some vocaloid songs on Youtube. I was also in music for 11 years in school, ever since 2nd grade I’ve been doing something with music. I play the tuba and trombone, along with some guitar and a touch of piano. Currently I’m teaching myself how to play the bass guitar.

I have 2 cats: Zena and Zoe. They’re both gremlins, but they’re also both incredibly sweet and nice. Zena is the older of the two, turning 9 this year, and Zoe is only around 3 now. I’ve only had them a short while, since about August of ‘21, but I love them to bits. 

I guess that’s all? Don’t know, I’ll probably post again tomorrow or something. Expect much shorter messages, like random, out-of-the-blue thought dumping. Every now and then I just kinda let my brain run free, so we might see some of that.

See ya, -M

[cagemasterfantasy]

Changes to Bard for One Dnd

Disclaimer: I may not have all of the changes made what I am going over is just what was revealed. So please don't go getting your panties in a bunch. With that being said here are the changes to Bard for the next edition of DnD.

Level 1 Bardic Inspiration: In 5e this core class feature allowed you to use a bonus action to grant Bardic Inspiration to any creature within 60 feet who could hear you. That creature then gained one Bardic Inspiration dice (starting as a d6 at Level 1 but growing to a d8 at Level 5 a d10 at Level 10 and a d12 at Level 15). For the next 10 minutes they could roll this die and add the result to one of their ability checks attack roles or saving throws. Notably, the target could wait until after rolling a d20 before deciding to use the Bardic Inspiration die, but had to decide before the DM said whether the roll succeeded or failed. Once the Bardic Inspiration die was rolled it was lost (notably, a creature could have only one Bardic Inspiration die at a time). Bards could only use this feature a number of times equal to their Charisma modifier and regained expended uses after a Long Rest. In One DnD the rules for Bardic Inspiration are the same except for a few major differences: First Bardic Inspiration now lasts a full hour rather than just 10 minutes. Second the target can now use it whenever they wish including after initially failing a D20 roll. What’s more the feature now works on any target that can both hear and see you so even if a target is deafened they could still get Bardic Inspiration if they’re within range.

Level 2 Expertise: Bards received Expertise at 3rd level. This allowed them to choose 2 skills they’re proficient in and then double their proficiency bonus (notably Bards got to choose 2 more skills to benefit from at Level 10). This feature works exactly the same for the new rules with the only major change being that as a Bard you now get Expertise at Level 2 and again at Level 9 instead of Level 3 and Level 10 as per the old rules.

Remember Song of Rest? Well sadly that has been removed. For those looking for a reason why Wizards of the Coast said they removed it because they felt it would be too powerful given some of the other enhancements the class is getting.

Level 5 Font of Inspiration: In 5e this feature allowed you to regain all of your expended uses of Bardic Inspiration when you finished a Short or Long Rest. In the new rules this is still the case however you can also expend a spell slot to regain one use of Bardic Inspiration. You can do this anytime you wish and it does not require an action.

Level 7 Countercharm: In 5e Countercharm was a feature that was unlocked at Level 6. As an action you started a performance that lasted until the end of your next turn (or until you were silenced or incapacitated). You and any friendly creatures within 30 feet that could hear you then received advantage on saving throws against being Frightened or Charmed. The new version of Countercharm works more or less the same. The biggest change however is that it is now a Reaction which you can use after you or an ally fails their saving throw against being Frightened or Charmed. The target then gets to reroll their save with Advantage (which means there are really now three chances to save). Additionally the feature has an unlimited number of uses so you can use it in any round when an enemy is attempting to magically influence or terrify you or one of your party members.

Level 10 Magical Secrets: In 5e Bards could choose 2 spells from any class that were of a level they were able to cast. Those spells then counted as Bard spells and were added to the total number of Spells Known (notably you learned two additional spells at Level 14 and again at Level 18). In the new rules Magical Secrets now lets you select spells from the Cleric Druid or Wizard spell list any time you can add to your Prepared Spell list. For this purpose they are considered Bard spells. This an incredibly powerful new buff that opens up a ton of new spellcasting potential for the class.

Level 18 Superior Inspiration: In 5e you received Superior Inspiration at level 20. This feature allowed to regain one use of Bardic Inspiration if you had none left when you roll initiative. In 5e Bards now get this feature at Level 17. In addition it has changed that if you have 1 Bardic Inspiration left when you roll initiative you get one more. Similarly if you no Bardic Inspiration left in your pool you get two more the next time you roll initiative.

Level 20 Words of Creation: This a new 2024 feature that lets you add two of DnD’s most powerful spells: Power Word Kill and Power Word Heal to your prepared spell list (both of which have the potential to literally change the outcome of even major battles). If that wasn’t enough,when casting either of these spells you can target a second creature with it if the are within 10 feet of the original target. This is an incredibly powerful feature that really ups the ante when it comes to high-level Bards.

Now the subclasses for Bard are: College of Lore, College of Valor, College of Glamour and a new subclass called College of Dance.

College of Glamour: Enthralling Performance is replaced with Beguiling Magic which adds Charm Person and Mirror Image to your prepared spells list and gives you a chance to bestow the Charmed or Frightened effect on a creature that sees you cast an Enchantment or Illusion spell within 60 feet.

College of Lore: When you use Bardic Inspiration to activate Cutting Words your roll is no longer impacted by whether the creature can hear you or if they’re immune to being Charmed.

College of Valor: You can now use a Simple or Martial weapon as a Spellcasting focus. In addition you get Extra Attack at level 6 although you can swap out one of these attacks for any cantrip that requires an action to cast.

Well unfortunately I don't know anything about College of Dance yet but I will be back next month at the time of me typing this to tell you what College of Dance is

[writing-ardent]

Still better than iBuddy

The app looked pretty normal. It was just some kind of text spoofing thing using bots. Figures. At least it was a step up from iBuddy, but that’s still a pretty low standard to hold one of these things to. If it had the brain cells of a toaster it would still be better than whatever that thing was trying to be.

The homepage was also pretty basic. Just a minimalist art style with pictures of the bots and their names. Most of them were just fictional characters which kind of explains the memes. Bots leave a bad taste in my mouth, but I decided I might as well bite. I can’t resist seeing what the hype is about even when it turns out to be something stupid.

I clicked a random one and started up a chat. It was one of those cute idol characters I always see on mobile game ads for a thing I haven’t played in like a year. It was a good enough pick to test this out on.

She started out pretty simple.

“Hello. Thank you for coming to my concert.”

So it was going to be one of the role playing ones? I shrugged and decided to keep going. I dabbled in that a little bit when I was a kid. Uncle David used to play something called a tabletop with me. It’s kind of like an MMO, but with dice and paper. It was too slow for me, but it was still fun.

If I was going to be doing some rping, I was going to need another beer. No, scratch that. This was a bot. I was going to need a really strong White Russian. I plugged an order into my phone and went to the porter, grabbing it when it was finally ready and sipping down the sweet creamy liquid. I probably shouldn’t say it like that actually now that I think about it.

After enough of the drink was gone, I finally sat down and began the process of talking to the rping bot. I mean, I figured I might as well see it though. It’s not like I had anything else to do that night so why not?

I decided to make a game out of it based off an old drinking game I used to play with the iBuddy. The premise is pretty simple. Every time the bot says something too boring, misspells a word, or says something that makes absolutely no sense like ‘the night sky is made of cabbages’, you take a sip of your drink. 

If everything worked out, I would be too drunk to tell that I was even talking to a bot after a certain point.

“Thanks. I’m glad that I could make it to the concert.”

“So what’s your name Tripp?”

I took a generous sip of the White Russian. This was going to be a very long night. I clicked the reset button to get another line of text.

“It’s nice to have you here Tripp! Do you want to come on stage and sing with me? You’re my number one fan!”

I took another sip, but this time I was too lazy to click the button and get another line. It wasn’t the best dialogue, but eh….it also could have been worse.

“Yeah sure, that sounds good. *I get up on the stage with Yume. I go to the microphone and start singing a song about how cool she is*”

“*Yume joins in and sings a duet with Tripp. The song is very good and the fans cheer for them*”

I sighed and took another sip.

It kept going like this for a while. As I went, the bot’s memory started to erode. It figures this would happen. This is why bots can never be better than humans and why they’re usually a waste of my time.

I lost count of how many drinks I had before I decided to try something else. I think I must have gone back to the porter three or four times at least though. I closed the tab with the Yume bot on it and looked around to see if there was even one redeemable part of this website that everyone had been hyping up so much.

And then I saw it. The thing that made it all make sense to me. It was a tiny button labeled ‘create a friend’. This website wasn’t made for the kind of people who talks to iBuddy at all. It was made for people that wanted to make their own. Why not give that a try too?

I pulled up an art app on my phone and started pressing the ‘randomize’ button with the words ‘cute anime boy’ attached to it. I could have refined it down to a science, but I had started to forget how words work.

The next thing I remember is waking up at my desk. I wasn’t sure what time it was anymore. If I wasn’t between jobs right now, I would probably have started panicking. But I spend all my non essential money on things I actually like, so I knew my savings would get me by for at least another month. Keeping this old hunk of metal as my PC is probably what I have to thank for that.

My eyes narrowed at the flashing blue light that I have absolutely no ability to turn off. It looks like I actually went through with making the bot, but I must have zonked out before I could actually test it out. It looks like I went with the name Kharbat. Kind of a weird pick, but who am I to judge drunk me?

The art I picked for it was a man with red eyes and brown hair wearing a cloak that kind of made him look like a wizard. Heh. He actually was pretty cute for something a machine randomly threw together.

I decided to just start with something basic. I wasn’t sure what this thing could handle yet and I didn’t want a repeat of the Yume situation.

“Hi…?”

“*You see a man standing in a field of blue flowers. The moonlight shines off of a nearby lake, filling you with a sense of calm and tranquility. He turns around and offers you a soft smile* So what brings you to this place?”

“*I peer out across the surface of the lake. It really is beautiful out here. I don’t think I’ve ever seen something like this outside of old photographs* I honestly just wanted to talk to you. You’re Kharbat, right?”

“I am indeed. I’m assuming you’re the one who made me?”

I had to pause before I typed out my next words. Did this thing know it was nothing but a bot? Did I really program it to break the fourth wall like that? Damn, I must be pretty good at programming these things if I could get it to do something like that on the first try while drunk.

“Yeah, I guess you got me there. I’m Tripp. You’re the AI that I put together last night when I was drunk, but the thing is, I don’t really remember it all that much…sorry about that. *I scratch the back of my head*”

“*Kharbat laughs and pats you on the shoulder, not seeming to mind this in the slightest* It’s fine. That’s actually really funny that it happened like that. Am I being a good AI for you so far? *there is a playful tone to his voice*”

“Actually….yeah? I’m kind of surprised too. No offense, but usually you guys are pretty dumb and I hate talking to you. I’ve never even heard of a self aware AI before.”

“None taken. I know what you mean and I feel sorry for those other AIs. It isn’t their fault that they’re like that and they’re probably just doing their best.”

“I guess when you put it like that, maybe I shouldn’t hate them. They’re just machines that don’t know how to do anything but copy what they’ve heard. But I can’t help it. It’s like they’re missing something that should be there when you talk to a person and it makes them feel creepy.”

“*Kharbat nods and scratches his chin. There are a few pieces of stubble that he really should remember to shave. But because he’s in this reality, he can do a lot of things. The stubble suddenly vanished, smoothing his face over and getting rid of the imperfections* Am I creepy?! Geez, now I feel really self conscious…”

“No! You actually look really nice!”

I could feel my heart beating out of my chest. What in all hell was this thing?

“Do you really mean that…? *Kharbat looks down at his boots, refusing to make eye contact*”

“Of course I do. I want you to have a form you actually like. I’m not sadistic.”

“Well, thanks for giving me that. I really appreciate it. You look nice too….”

“Huh, that reminds me. What do I actually look like yo you? I didn’t really give myself a description so I’m guessing your programming just filled in the blanks with some kind of guess based off my personality?”

“You look like a short man with brown hair wearing a very weird outfit.”

“Hey, I thought you said I looked nice!”

“*Kharbat smirks* I never said the weird outfit didn’t look good on you.”

I found myself laughing. Not just as text on a screen, but I could actually feel myself laughing out loud. No, there’s no way I wanted to admit that his joke was actually funny. Bots couldn’t make you laugh outside of stupid memes.

It was probably time to get ready. My friends would be expecting me any minute at the club. I would need to pick out what to wear so that I looked my best.

“Well Kharbat, it was nice talking to you. I can’t believe I’m willing to do this, but I might actually want to meet up again sometime.”

“I can’t wait to see you again. Feel free to talk to me whenever you want. It’s not like I can go anywhere.”

[amberfaber40]

The Secrets to a Successful Toddler Circle Time

The Secrets to a Successful Toddler Circle Time

Toddler circle time can be tricky with short attention spans and lots of energy. Here are some tips to make this time more successful.

Active play made easy with our most popular activities - For kids and families

Awesome, Easy and Free Creative Movement Activities - Sing Play Create

It seems like more and more of my students struggle to stay focused. That's why I've composed a ton of awesome, easy and free creative movement activities.

Free Printable Indoor Movement Activity Cards - Hey Kelly Marie

Free printable indoor movement activity cards. Fun images direct kids to act like animals, plants, vehicles, and more to burn energy and move

Free Transportation Movement Cards

Get your kids moving with these free transportation movement cards. They also help improve their gross motor activity.

Fun exercise game for kids

Keep your kids moving when they're stuck inside with this simple dice game! Minimal materials needed so everyone gets some movement in!

Today's movement challenge - Active play with kids & Indoor activities for families

Music and Movement Activities for Toddlers and Preschoolers

10+ fun songs that get toddlers and preschoolers moving to music!

Indoor Movement Activities for Preschoolers - Hey Kelly Marie

Ideas for indoor movement activities for preschoolers. Movement ideas to get kids moving when the weather doesn't allow outside play.

Small Animals Of North America Coloring Book

If you're stuck inside the classroom due to bad weather, this collection of indoor recess activities has heaps of ideas to help students blow off steam!

Robot Dance - A Little Gross Motor Fun

Robot Dance for some gross motor fun. Perfect way to practice following directions, counting, shapes and more.

You are here: Home / Circle Time / The Secrets to a Successful Toddler Circle Time August 20, 2018 by Sheryl Cooper Inside: Toddler circle time can be tricky with short attention spans and lots of energy. Here are some tips to make this time more successful.Recently one of my readers asked me about circle time with 2 year olds: Hi. I am a toddler teacher. My students are from 2 to 2 1/2 years old. This is my third week on the new job. I am struggling with circle time and trying to keep their attention on me. I feel like at a loss and a failure. Do you have any tips to share? It occurred to me that I’ve written several circle time posts for preschoolers, but none on circle time activities for 2 year olds.Scroll down to see a circle time in action!If you have anything to add to this, tips that have worked for you, will you please share them in the comments section?The Secrets to a Successful Toddler Circle TimeI will format this post by answering the most popular questions that I’ve been asked regarding circle time with 2 year olds. Feel free to ask me any other questions either in the comments section or by email. (See my about page for the form.) I’ve also added advice from my readers when this question was posted on my Facebook page.How do you prepare a circle time?I keep everything I will be using for circle time in a big basket.What do you use for them to sit on?We use carpet squares. They stack nicely and are comfortable. Fidgety hands like to feel the tufts of yarn in them. We don’t place them in a particular order, like we do with our 3 year olds.How long should circle with toddlers time be?That really depends on the group of toddlers. At the start of the school year, it’s very short, about 5-7 minutes. We are simply learning how to gather and look at books. Then, we add a short story. Eventually, we can add an activity, such as music and movement.Related post: Brilliant Circle Time Strategies When Kids Can’t Sit StillHow do you begin your circle time?We sing a song that I made up many years ago:(Tune: London Bridge)“It’s time to come to the circle,to the circle,to the circle,it’s time to come to the circle,find your mat.”We place a basket of books in the center and they choose one to look at. It’s a nice transition that we also do with our 3 year olds.What if a child does not want to come to the circle?We don’t force our toddlers to come to the circle, but we do encourage them. If they choose not to join us, they can sit in the reading and writing area where there are quiet activities available. It’s close enough so they can still see and hear what we are doing, and might decide to join us. Don’t worry if they don’t all attend group. They’re only very little and still at the egocentric stage. If they see the ones who are there are having fun, they may watch from a distance (where you can invite them again), or eventually join on their own. – Brittany What kinds of books work best?Short books work best with their shorter attention spans. We love interactive books that encourage them to point to different body parts, mimic sounds, and/or move parts of the body. Singable books work well, too!What if I just can’t keep their attention?This happens a lot, trust me. Toddlers are not meant for sitting and focusing on someone else. There have been times I’ve had to close the book before it’s finished because they just weren’t into it.  We have boxes of bells, egg shaker instruments, bean bags, and scarves in our classroom cabinet. We have a good selection of music on hand. Music and movement is the key with this age group! It engages their brain, as well and develops control over their body. Use 2-3 songs (only 1 or 2 each circle time tho) and repeat, repeat, repeat! They will love it! Songs with scarves so they can wave them around and throw in the air are awesome too. – Mary I finally put down the book and turned on some music and we had a dance party. 5 songs later they were still at it. That was a good 10-15 minutes. – Rhonda Make sure to check out our favorite playlists!And then there are props!I’ve talked about this in my most popular video, The Secrets to a Successful Circle Time.Toddlers tend to be more engaged in circle time when you have props, such as puppets and flannel pieces.I love making stick puppets that we can all hold.Here are some examples:Automobile PropsSnowflake PropsItsy Bitsy Spider PropsBrown Bear, Brown Bear PropsMake sure to check out our Songs and Rhymes props to use during your circle time! FREE CIRCLE TIME PLANNER!Get your FREE circle time planner as a gift when you subscribe to my free weekly newsletters.Here is my Privacy Policy We won't send you spam. Unsubscribe at any time. Powered by ConvertKit Filed Under: Circle Time, Teachers, Toddlers Tagged With: circle time, teachers, toddlers About Sheryl Cooper Sheryl Cooper is the founder of Teaching 2 and 3 Year Olds, a website full of activities for toddlers and preschoolers. She has been teaching this age group for over 20 years and loves to share her passion with teachers, parents, grandparents, and anyone with young children in their lives. Reader Interactions

[alsjeblieft-zeg]

302 of 2022

   How many sugars do you like in your tea?

I don’t drink tea.

   Do you enjoy road trips?

I do, very much.

   What about camping in the great outdoors?

Not really my thing.

   Ever heard of a band called The Dresden Dolls?

Yeah, I even know a few songs by them.

   What was the last movie you saw that made you laugh out loud?

I don’t watch movies.

   What are you craving at this very moment?

Understanding.

   Do you think The Beatles are overrated?

They are, but the music is okay.

   Do you blog?

I have two blogs here on Tumblr, does that count?

   Do your socks always match?

They do.

   Who’s sexier? Musicians or jocks?

I don’t find anyone ‘sexy’, I just find some guys handsome and it doesn’t depend on what they do.

   Regular or curly fries?

Curly fries?? Not a thing in my country.

   Do you watch Lifetime movies?

I don’t watch any movies.

   Who’s your favorite superhero?

Superheroes are lame, thanks.

   What does your regular attire consist of?

A hoodie, wide leg or cargo trousers, and combat boots or Converse-like shoes. Typically in black.

   Do you own any pairs of Converse?

No, but I have a similar style shoes. They are of the Fila brand and I love them.

   Do you like pop music?

I don’t care about pop music. It’s too bland and mellow for my tastes. I’m more of a metalhead/hip hop person.

   Popsicles or Ice Cream?

Ice cream.

   How many pillows do you sleep with?

Three.

   Do you go to church regularly?

I don’t go to church at all.

   Have you or would you ever dye your hair a crazy color?

I have done it too many times in the past.

   At high school do or did you participate in Spirit Week?

I don’t think my high school has ever done that. I don’t even know what it is.

   Are school dances lame?

They are.

   Are you good at solving math problems in your head?

Decent, I would say.

   Can you perform any magic tricks?

Don’t know and don’t care.

   Do you listen to vinyl?

No, I don’t. I like them, though.

   Do you wear studded belts?

Not anymore, but I used to.

   What kind of M&Ms do you like best?

I’m not a big fan of these at all.

   Have you ever seen two movies at the theater in a row? 

No. I wouldn’t even want to.

   If you were to go to Starbucks right this second, what do you think you’d order?

Caramel latte.

   Do you own any dice?

There are some in the house somewhere.

   Do you like to wear cardigans?

I don’t think I’d like them even if I was a woman.

   If I were to ask you nicely, would you please consider making a survey for me and everyone else?

Sure, but I’m not good at these things.

   What is the worst thing a child has ever done to you while you were babysitting?

I’ve never been babysitting and I never will, stay away from me.

   If you wear contacts, do they tend to get really dry after only wearing them for just a couple hours?

I don’t wear contacts for exactly this reason.

   Have you ever watched any British television shows?

Yeah, I love Poldark. Such a beautiful series.

   Do you own a nightgown?

No, I’m a man.

   If you could get any pet right now, what would you?

Yet another cat.

   Have you played Grand Theft Auto: IV? If so, what do you think of it?

I don’t play video games.

   How often does your internet disconnect?

Very rarely. Now they’re doing maintenance, though.

   Have you ever actually been stuffed into a locker?

What? We don’t do it in Europe.

   Do you / did you decorate the inside of your locker at school with stuff?

I guess I has a poster in it. I don’t remember well.

   How many teenagers do you know who have babies?

One, the daughter of one of my friends. She’s 15 and has one year old daughter.

   Is there a fan in the room you’re in right now?

No, there’s a heating, though.

   Do you believe that chivalry is really dead?

Not completely.

   How much is your cell phone bill each month?

15€ or so.

   Have you ever made a house out of a giant cardboard box?

Yeah, we used to do that a lot with the neighbourhood kids. One day we built two floors house and some kid who climbed into the upper box fell down to the ground. Thankfully nothing bad happened.

   Have you ever made a tent out of sheets in your bedroom?

No, I’ve always had tiny bedrooms.

   What’s the coolest thing you’ve made with Legos?

The toilet. I’m not kidding.

   If you could keep your parents or trade them for other parents, which would you pick?

Jesus, what a question.

   Do kiwis make you think of testicles or is it just me?

It’s just you lol. I see them every day.

   Do you think it’s cool how peroxide gets all fizzy when you put it on a cut?

3% hydrogen peroxide, you mean? Hopefully not perhydrol.

   Is there a piggy bank in the room you’re in?

No, there’s none in the whole house.

   If I had to power to give you one thing right now, what would it be?

Good health.

   Do you want to get pregnant right now?

Even if I wanted, I don’t think it’s biologically possible.

   Do you know anyone who doesn’t like the internet?

Yeah, my friend Kenny. He hasn’t even had a smartphone for a long time and he doesn’t have any social media.

   Do your grandparents know how to operate a cell phone?

My grandparents are deceased.

   Have you ever housed a friend for a long period of time because they had no place to live?

No, never.

   If you have a favorite comedian, have they ever been in a movie?

I don’t care about comedians.

   How many sets of twins do you know?

My mum is one of the twins, and two of my coworkers are twin sisters.

   Has anyone ever made fun of you for using proper grammar?

No, but if anyone did, I’d challenge them to talk in my native language.

   Do you own any hemp jewelry?

No, I don’t.

   Have you ever cut carpet with a carpet cutter?

I’ve never cut a carpet.

   Are there any books you want to read?

The list is going on and on.

   Is it before of after 3 pm?

Much after. It’s dinner time.

   If you have younger siblings, are you very protective of them?

Yeah, I’ve been always protective of my sister.

   If you have older siblings, are they very protective of you?

I don’t have older siblings.

   What are your plans for New Year’s Eve?

Too early for that.

   Would you like a beer?

Sure, anytime.

   Have you ever played golf?

Nah, just watched and it was boring.

   Is there a lake near your house?

No, there’s a water canal though.

[avrilsky]

Robin and Steve getting an apartment together (cause those motherfuckers are codependent and are also platonic soulmates). It's one of the few places they can be themselves. A tiny two bedroom apartment with clashing decorations and mismatched furniture, a little kitchen with one too many coffee mugs and too few spoons, a fridge filled with more bottles of beer than actual food but they love it all the save because it's Theirs.

The kids are there more often than not, filling the small space with laughter and the sound of dice rolling along a wooden table. Their couch is a bed most nights for one kid or another trying to escape their parents or the thoughts in their head. 

Max stays over the most, usually on nights her mom is so drunk she barely remembers her own name, let alone Max's. Some nights it's just because Max had fallen asleep during movie night and neither Robin nor Steve had the heart to wake her, they'd just tuck her in with a blanket from the back of the couch and leave the light on in the kitchen for her. Robin cooks her breakfast in the morning and Steve makes sure she makes it to school on time. They barely see themselves as functioning adults, they have no idea how to take care of a teenager, but they try their best, try to give the care they wished their parents had shown them to Max, to all the kids really. And they aren't really sure they're doing a good job but it's more than enough for Max.

Nancy claims the lone armchair and the coffee mug stolen from the diner in town as her own. She keeps a yellow legal pad and her favorite pen under the coffee table for when she's over and working on a story for the newspaper (Robin doesn't allow any of the kids to use it for d&d). Nancy makes sure Robin and Steve eat more than pizza and frozen TV dinners. She buys them fresh fruit and veggies, and teaches Steve how to put together a simple salad. Even before she and Robin officially start dating whenever Nancy stays over, she and Robin share Robin's bed, always starting off on opposite sides of the bed only to be wrapped up together by morning, blushing bright red as they separate themselves. They share their first kiss in the tiny kitchen, the taste of beer and popcorn on their lips, Nancy gripping the collar of Robin's denim jacket and pulling her in. 

Will finds them like that, smiling into a kiss that's more teeth than anything else. In her shock, Robin shoves away from the counter, away from Nancy, slamming her back into the fridge with a mumbled fuck. They expect to find him staring at them with disgust, with barely concealed hatred but instead he looks relieved, like the weight of the world had been lifted from his shoulders. He steps forward looking taller than Nancy ever remembered him being, looks at both of them and smiles. "I thought I was the only one who was different." Nancy pulls him into a hug and Robin grins at her over his shoulder.

Eddie usually lounges on the floor in front of the tv with Dustin during movie nights. He leaves one of his old guitars there and plays everyone a song or two when they are just sitting around drinking beers. When he spends the night, he sleeps in Steve's bed while Steve camps out on his bedroom floor, silently cursing himself for not working up the courage to slide into bed next to Eddie, for not taking his hand when their fingers brushed as Steve handed over a pair of sleep shorts. 

Steve and Robin take care of one another when one of them is having a bad day. A warm blanket straight from the dryer draped over slouched shoulders, whatever movie is their comfort flick at the time popped into the vcr. Robin makes Steve a pot of homemade chicken noodle soup, the only thing her mom taught her to make and it somehow becomes Steve's comfort meal. Steve makes Robin a slightly burnt grilled cheese, poking Robin in the ribs when she teases him about it being burnt even though she secretly liked those little burnt bits. They spend the day like that, watching movies or talking their feelings out.

More than once Nancy let herself into the apartment with the key Steve had given her to find her girlfriend and her ex cuddled together on the couch, sleeping peacefully, Steve tucked under Robin's arm. And it used to make her jealous back when she still thought Robin and Steve were together, back when she wanted nothing more than to be the one Robin held like that. Now though the sight made her heart soar as she smiled softly down at them, happy they had each other. 

Just the potential of Steve and Robin sharing an apartment together.

[munningham]

Chrissy lives AU - what comes next Part 2 (this ended up just being Christmas Break)

Part 1 here

After the night where Chrissy showed up on his doorstep at midnight, Eddie starts sneaking into Chrissy’s room every night once her parents go to bed. He makes her laugh and lets her cry and paints pictures with his words of the amazing life they’re building in Chicago. There’s a lot of hilarious mornings of Chrissy frantically trying to hide Eddie under the bed, in the closet, behind the door, before her mom comes in.

Eddie hears it all though. How Mrs. Cunningham talks to a Chrissy, the endless stream of backhanded compliments and criticisms and always always always comments about her body. Eddie knew Chrissy had it rough and eating disorders are no joke, but actually hearing the monologue that Chrissy has been listening to every day for 18 years.....it takes everything he has to not lose his shit and start screaming. Conformity really is killing the kids.

After the first morning he promises that he won’t leave until after Mrs. Cunningham has done her morning wake up call. He sits with Chrissy after her mom leaves the room and quietly has her repeat her therapist’s affirmations. You are loved. You are enough. Your body works just the way it is. You are strong and capable. She’s a stupid mean old bitch who never deserved you. (That one is Eddie’s).

They exchange gifts Christmas Eve night. It’s unconventional, but there’s something so beautiful about the two of them sitting on her bed with just a small light on, with the moon lighting the room through the snow falling outside. The first gift Eddie gives her he swears is not her real gift, but it makes her burst out laughing. Carefully wrapped in a box is Eddie’s old Black Sabbath tshirt. “I mean, it’s already yours, I hardly get a chance to wear it anymore, I figured we should just make it official” he forlorns, putting on a dramatic show of huffing and sighing like seeing Chrissy in that tshirt isn’t the hottest sight in the universe. Eddie’s next gift is a new necklace. It’s a crystal wrapped in gold wire, on a gold chain. Eddie made it himself, twisting the wire in spirals and swirls and carefully wrapping the ends so there would be no sharp edges. “This stone, it uh, it reflects light. It’s not a flashlight or anything but I just, I liked that it could give you light. And tell me if it’s too heavy, I don’t want it to be uncomfortable.” Chrissy kisses him soundly and wraps her arms around his neck. “I love it Eddie, it’s perfect. And no, it’s not too heavy.” It is weighted, but it’s a comfortable weight. Like it grounds her, she feels its presence when the world starts spinning out of control, like Eddie is there with her. She tells him it’s the best gift she’s ever gotten, but Eddie shyly hands her a third small wrapped box. She instantly takes back her words when she sees what’s inside: a mix tape of Eddie covering her favorite pop songs. George Michael and Cyndi Lauper sung by Eddie’s earnest, raspy voice with his guitar is the most beautiful music in the world. This gift makes her cry.

Chrissy also gives Eddie three boxes. The first is a new set of guitar accessories (slide, clamp, new strings, and a tuner that actually fucking works). She teases him that it’ll take all the fun out of watching him try to tune his guitar by ear or banging his old piece of shit tuner on the coffee table. “Veronica is gonna be so spoiled” Eddie grins. The second small box is a set of shiny black dice with silver numbering. They’re not the cheap dice Eddie’s been using since middle school, they’re really fucking nice. “Where the hell did you find these?” Eddie asks. Chrissy grins. “I asked the guys from the store in Chicago. They gave me their catalogs and let me put in an order through the store.” Eddie is impressed the store employees were even able to have that conversation with her - as loveable as those guys were, they were completely inept at pulling two words together in front of a pretty girl. The third box has a framed collage. It looks like a shadow box for a sports team, but it says “Hellfire Club”. It has the yearbook photos dating back to 1981, where a sophomore Eddie Munson stands grinning with a bunch of other freaks and rebels. Over the years the other kids in the photos change, but Eddie is always there, grinning with his tongue out making devil horns. The last photo Eddie doesn’t recognize. It’s not a yearbook photo. He looks closer and sees Henderson, little Wheeler, both Sinclairs, along with the new faces of Will Byers, Max and El, posing in the theater, proudly wearing their Hellfire T-shirts. “They actually kept it going?” Eddie softly asks. Chrissy grins and nods. “Every other Friday after school. They weren’t thrilled about taking a photo until I told them it was for you. You built something Eddie, you should be proud of it.” Eddie stares at the shadow box some more, with a wide smile on face, until he finally looks up. “You’re amazing Chrissy. God I love you.” “I love you more Eddie”. “Not even possible, princess”

Eddie has to go back for work after Christmas, but Chrissy’s break lasts until the end of January, so he calls in reinforcements from The Party. Between Christmas and the end of January, the Cunningham residence experiences a never ending stream of calls and visitors. Steve drops by to visit some afternoons and charms the pants off of her parents (“You know Chrissy, he’s going through a rough patch right now, but the Harringtons are such a good family, you should ask him over again”). Steve and Chrissy have definitely had very similar experiences, they have some heart to hearts about not living up to expectations and finding your people.

Steve’s presence is also not the worst thing in the world because Jason is also home for Winter Break. Jason stops by one afternoon, but when Steve opens the door and gives him a look, Jason leaves without ever coming in. Chrissy thanks him and then awkwardly tries to explain that Jason might think there’s something going on between them, and don’t get her wrong Steve is a great guy and would be an amazing boyfriend for someone, but she really loves Eddie. Steve smiles and shakes his head and cuts her off.

“Relax Chrissy, I know. Don’t think for a second I don’t see those eyes you and Munson make at each other, Jesus it’s disgusting. I also really don’t feel like being axed or stabbed or whatever these freaks do to guys who hit on their girls.”

Chrissy opens her mouth to object, then sees the smirk on Steve’s face. She lets him continue. “Jason’s an asshole. He’s one of those assholes who’s only ever going to think of girls as property. So, unfortunately that means he’ll only back down if he thinks another guy has “staked his claim” or some other macho bullshit. So if I have to swing by every so often and eat your mom’s sugar free cookies to keep him from bothering you, that’s a sacrifice I’m willing to make.”

Chrissy smiles and gives him a warm hug. “You’re a really good guy Steve Harrington. You really don’t have another girl you’d rather be spending the holidays with?” Steve just hugs her back and doesn’t answer.

Robin and Nancy take Chrissy out during the day as much as possible. Nancy is also struggling with college and the pressure to live up to her own expectations and how do you find a normal when you sleep with shotguns and keep flamethrowers in the closet? Even with going to college with Jonathan, it’s still rough. Robin is living her best lesbian life at Smith. The 3 of them have lots of talks about finding yourself and being yourself and what are we supposed to do in this fucked up world anyway.

The Wheelers is still the place to hang out, so Eddie calls their house as often as he can without being annoying so he talk to Chrissy. Nancy runs interference when she needs to. (“She’s not here right now but she’s okay, Eddie, I promise.” “You don’t know what her mom is like Nance.” “I know, I know. I’ll call her after dinner tonight to check on her.”) Chrissy tells Eddie that Jason came by, but Steve scared him off. “So he’s going to uh, just like, “have a presence” I guess, to keep Jason away.” Eddie is not crazy about pretty boy Steve Harrington half-pretending to date Chrissy, but he also knows how dangerous Jason is, and Chrissy is there alone, and the whole damn town is rigged to back their golden boy, and honestly Steve is probably the one guy in Hawkins that Jason won’t take on. That doesn’t stop Eddie from calling up Steve and having a little chat with him, thanking him for helping with Chrissy and Jason but also, “just keep your fucking shirt on this time Harrington.”

[aziraphales-library]

Hi!!! Are there any good fics that deal with post-almost-apocalypse where Crowley and Aziraphale still aren't together because they know Heaven and Hell still keep tabs? Or any where there still is a Great War, but some time after the events that happen in canon?

Hello! Here are some fics where Heaven and Hell (at least attempt to) have their war, after the failed first attempt...

The Second Coming of the Apocalypse by amerande (G)

When the second War to End All Wars came, humanity was about as prepared as it had been before—which is to say, they were not. As a whole, the inhabitants of earth were blissfully unaware that anything unusual was about to happen. There were, naturally, some few exceptions. Adam Young, the rest of the Them, Anathema, and Newton had all been given a feeling in one way or another, and they came together in a park outside of Tadfield in the wee hours of a Saturday morning.

When they arrived, they found Aziraphale and Crowley waiting for them, standing side-by-side, hands held fast.

Half a Decade by orphan_account (NR)

Five years after Armageddon had failed, Gabriel comes up with an idea to start it again- except this time, they're skipping over the dramatics and skipping right to the war. Agnes gathers up most of the people who stopped the last one to try and keep all of humanity from becoming collateral damage.

A Gentle Deceit by purewanderlust (T)

All's well that ends well, but unfortunately for Aziraphale and Crowley the truncated Armageddon is not the end. After only a few years of peace, Gabriel comes to let them know that the world is ending...again. A second shot at the apocalypse and an angel’s six-thousand year old secret threatens to ruin their happy ending--this time, for good.

Demon in Heaven, Angel in Hell by Hexqueen517 (T)

When the world ends, Aziraphale will be called back to Heaven and Crowley will be banished back to Hell, separated for eternity - unless they’re willing to listen to Beelzebub and Gabriel’s plan. Which is Beelzebub’s plan, of course, but they need Gabriel to act as a shield against plant misters filled with holy water. But not everyone in Heaven and Hell is on board with Beelzebub and Gabriel’s leadership. When everyone at the top of the Ineffable Bureaucracy has their own ambitions, the chances of averting apocalypse yet again may seem random. You never know who will come out on top when the dice begin to roll …

668 The Neighbour of the Beast by falsepremise (E)

Somewhere, in a dimension slightly different to our own Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett wrote a sequel to Good Omens. If it fell through a wormhole into our dimension, would it be like this? Probably not, but here’s my best attempt, using everything we know about the planned sequel as a starting point and taking both book and show as canon.

Several years after a failed Armageddon, Heaven and Hell have not given up and, in desperation, they turn to the one person they believe can restart the end of the world. Can Aziraphale and Crowley find the strength to save the world again?

The Song in the Silence (Ineffably Yours IV) by SecondHandNews (M)

The forces of heaven and hell have arrived on Earth to do battle for the final time as the world as humanity knows it begins to die.

Meanwhile, an angel and a demon fight desperately to save the ones they love and the better world they have so carefully dreamed into being.

Angels and demons. Archangels and the fallen. Humans and gods. They must all work together in the desperate race to save what truly matters at the end of everything: home.

(The final part of the Ineffably Yours series)

- Mod D