#cubes and balls with shadows

[magic-belodie]

Hello Everyone, I gave myself up for drawing classes. Next Tuesday, I have my first lesson. I get in total 6 lessons. My teacher e-mailed me with homework. Here are the finished drawings.

Assignment 1: cubes and balls with shadows Assignment 2: Roman statue Assignment 3: fruit with shadows Assignment 4: draw the lines of three random objects without looking at the paper

[starhvney]

Hello, Star! This is my first time requesting a fic from anyone! I absolutely adore your writing 💖 It's been especially lovely since my Aphmau Hyperfixation came back full force this year(as I'm sure it did for everyone else 😂) I'd like to place an order for Zane, Garroth, and Lawrence, please, from Mys😊 A tea, with cream, and cinnamon rolls on the side 🥰 I hope you have a wonderful night ✨

𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝟎𝟒: 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐮𝐩 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐜𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐫!!

𝐭𝐚𝐠𝐬: romantic tension, fluff, snowy storm

𝐚/𝐧: thank you so much, i’m honored to fulfill your first request!!! i hope you have a wonderful day/night, too!

𝐌𝐀𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐋𝐈𝐒𝐓 ☆ 𝐖𝐈𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐍𝐓 𝐌𝐀𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐋𝐈𝐒𝐓

𝐙𝐀𝐍𝐄

The smack of snow against Zane’s chest interrupts the peaceful moment between the two of you, pulling a groan of annoyance to leave his lips. His face whips up at your scorningly, though not slightly intimidating to you.

“Hey!”

Your laughter erupts across the backyard as you watch Zane swipe away the snow from his coat, his nose wrinkling and eye narrowing at you. The reflection of the white snow against his face made his irises practically glow, both beautiful against his dark hair and almost startling when he’d glare at you.

“What the hell was that?” he huffs, pointing at you accusingly.

You calm yourself down enough to quiet giggles, clasping your hands together. “A snowball!”

“You’re lucky I actually enjoy your company. Or you’d be dead for that,” he warns, the “anger” in his voice lack of any real backing. “You’re lucky I even came out here while it was about to storm to build a snowman with you! I’m freezing!”

“Oh come on, Zane. I didn’t even throw it hard,” you rebuttal, holding your arms out. “You can get a free shot.”

He seems to consider it, before shaking his head, turning away. “Whatever…”

You snort, returning to continue building up the base of your snowman. You don’t get one roll in before a ball of snow smashes into your shoulder, knocking you over onto your side with a yelp. Boisterous laughter erupts, this time with you on the receiving end of the evil satisfaction.

“Ugh… that was dirty,” you groan, wiping off the snow that hit your face as more falls on your head from the sky.

Crunched footsteps approach you, a shadow covering your hunched form. He continues to snicker as he looks down at you, his already tall figure seeming like a looming giant.

“Oh come on, I didn’t even throw it that hard,” he says in a mocking tone, tilting his head with a raise of his brows.

“Yeah well I didn’t knock you over!” you argue, before relenting with a sigh. “Fine… lesson learned.”

He seems appeased enough with your mumbles, hands grasping onto your shoulders and lifting you back up to your feet. His hands brush the remaining snow from your hair and jacket, shrugging his shoulders.

“Good. Know to never challenge me, or I-“

“Oh shush.” Your hand lightly shoves his shoulder back. “Are we gonna make this snowman or what?”

𝐆𝐀𝐑𝐑𝐎𝐓𝐇

The power has been out for thirty minutes by now. Wind whistles against the side of the house, whipping the snow over the yard and covering the lights that lined the sidewalk. Seeing them fight to glow even as the white blanket covered them was mesmerizing, so much so that you hadn’t noticed Garroth leaving your side until he came back.

“Staying warm?” His voice carries across the living room, his footsteps padding over to your side.

You turn to look up at him, glancing over at the space heater that was trying its hardest to pump some hot air into the rapidly cooling house.

“Mhm,” you hum, despite how the chill was starting to get to you. Your fingers and toes felt like ice cubes.

Regardless of your answer, a thick blue sweater gets tossed onto your face, the familiar scent of his detergent surrounding you.

“Well… there’s a sweater so you can stay warm. I think the battery in that thing lasts long but I still don’t want you to be cold if it turns off,” he says sweetly, eyes darting away as he moves something else behind his back.

“Oh, thanks,” you murmur, eagerly taking hold of the thick material and pulling it over you. “Uh, what’s that?”

He offers you a straight-toothed smile. “You said you were bored. Soo-“ His hand reveals a portable bluetooth speaker. “I thought of something we can do.”

You raise your brow, a small chuckle leaving your lips. “Which would be…?”

He doesn’t respond at first, setting the speaker down on the window sill and pressing play. A romantic, festive song starts to play as he holds both hands out to you—bowing like a gentleman as he waits for you to take them.

“A dance?”

A disbelieved huff leaves your lips, though you can’t help the growing smile spreading across your face. A warm large hand lands on your waist when you’re on your feet, bringing you close to him as he guides you around the dim living room.

He begins to hum, not quite on tune with the music—exaggerating his voice as he dips you. It successfully gains him a sweet giggle from your lips; which he returns with a satisfied chuckle.

“You are so corny,” you lightheartedly tease as you’re scooped back up to your feet.

“Maybe. But you’re smiling,” he spins you, expression soft when he pulls you back in. “So my goal was achieved.”

𝐋𝐀𝐔𝐑𝐀𝐍𝐂𝐄

“I want to open a restaurant someday.”

The warm fire crackling next to the both of you reflects off Laurance’s face, the orange glow flickering across his handsome features as he looks off with a dream distant in his eyes. His hair was messy, not bothered to be styled as the snow storm billows against the windows, trapping you both inside.

“Restaurants are a lot of work, but I think you can do that. You’d be amazing,” you assure him, resting your arms on your knees as you shift on the floor. You two were so close to each other now, too close for any normal friendship.

He smiles softly at you, eyes shifting to yours again as he leans forward. “Oh, you think so? That I’m amazing?”

A flush rushes over your cheeks. “I said you would be. But you are amazing now, yeah…”

He looks smug, but doesn’t comment on your clear embarrassment, instead tilting his head. “Mm… and what do you want? In the future?”

You swallow, looking away from his intent gaze as you try to gather yourself. “A few different things. I guess one of them is to travel.”

“I’ll take you there.”

Your heart stutters in its already uneven pace. This man would be the end of you. He said that so assuredly, so full of confidence. He knew what he was doing every time he’d “accidentally” brush his hand over yours or stare at you like he was all yours to have.

“…What?”

“I’ll take you wherever you want to go. We can travel together someday.” He holds out his pinky finger, batting his eyelashes at you in expectation. “Promise?”

You resist the small urge to roll your eyes at his smug, flirtatious behavior. He’d never let up on it for as long as you’ve known him, and at the rate he’d been doubling down on it recently you doubt he would ever stop.

His pinky links with yours as you meet him in the middle, sealing the deal with the childish gesture. An excited grin threatens to burst on his lips, but before you could comment he twists your hand into his bringing it up to his mouth to softly breathe against them.

“Your hands are too cold,” he explains, raising an eyebrow at you when you only gape your mouth open in response.

“You know… there’s a few other things I want in the future, too…” he murmurs, pressing the palm of your hand against his cheek. “Wanna hear it?”

©starhvney 2024. do not plagiarize, feed to any AI, or repost my works to any sites.

taglist: @wasting-away-on-the-internet @angelhyperfixates @valentique @arienic @dazedbydeath @theaquaticplant @starsbrightly @kalegrinch @izzybella1807 @marst4rz

[fandomtrumpshate]

Unlisted Fandoms Challenge

Welcome to the LAST update on write-in fandoms for FTH 2025 (only one day left to sign up! go Do The Thing!)!! We have a LONG list of fandoms for you - TWO HUNDRED EIGHTY ONE write-in fandoms this year. So far!

And there's been some movement near the top of the list. Jeff Satur, with 10 signups, still holds the lead, but in second place we now have a TIE. Control (Remedy Game) gained *four* new signups to match Zhen Hun / Guardian's 9 signups. Cabin Pressure has also moved up the rankings, with three new signups bringing it to a total of 7 to claim third place. Whew! Just below them we have:

a four-way tie for fourth place with 6 signups includes-

6 Alien Stage 6 Carry On 6 Dimension 20 6 Dungeon Meshi / Delicious In Dungeon

two fandoms with 5 signups each, in fifth place are-

5 BBC Ghosts 5 White Collar

which brings us to an eight-way tie for sixth place with 4 signups each-

4 Detective Conan 4 Fire Emblem Awakening 4 It - Stephen King 4 Pathologic 4 Roswell New Mexico 4 Schitt's Creek 4 The X-Files 4 Transformers 4 Voltron: Legendary Defender

and with 3 signups each, an 11-way tie for seventh place-

3 Dungeons and Daddies (Podcast) 3 Fields of Mistria 3 Fire Emblem Fates 3 Inception 3 Iron Widow 3 MotoGP RPF 3 Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint 3 Rusty Lake/Cube Escape 3 Stand By Me/The Body by Stephen King 3 The Goblin Emperor Series - Katherine Addison 3 Zhen Hun / Guardian (drama) RPF

Below the cut are 56 fandoms with 2 signups each, and 195 fandoms with a single write-in.

2 Animorphs 2 Attack on Titan 2 Avatar Legend of Korra 2 Beyond Evil 2 Biggles Series — W. E. Johns 2 Binan Koukou Chikyuu Boueibu (Cute High Earth Defense Club) franchise 2 Black Sails 2 Bridgerton (TV) 2 Britpop RPF 2 Castlevania (All Media Types) 2 Challengers 2 Cherry Magic 2 Conclave (2024) 2 Dan and Phil (rpf) 2 Dangan Ronpa 2 Dead Boy Detectives RPF 2 Digimon 2 Dishonored 2 Dr. Stone 2 Due South 2 Dune (Villeneuve) 2 Five Nights at Freddy's - All Media 2 Fruits Basket 2 Grantchester (TV) 2 Gravity Falls 2 IndyCar RPF 2 Jeeves and Wooster 2 Kingdom Hearts 2 Law & Order: Special Victims Unit 2 Link Click (Shiguang Dailiren) 2 Lovecraft Mythos 2 Lucifer (tv) 2 MAS*H 2 Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury 2 Nirvana in Fire (琅琊榜) 2 Oasis 2 Princess Tutu 2 Sailor Moon 2 She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018) 2 Slow Horses 2 Sonic the Hedgehog (Games) 2 Team Fortress 2 2 The Blue Wolves of Mibu 2 The Empyrean - Rebecca Yarros 2 The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (TV series) 2 The Poppy War 2 The Stanley Parable 2 Tiger & Bunny 2 Tower of God 2 Universal Century Gundam 2 Valdemar Series by Mercedes Lackey 2 What We Do In The Shadows 2 When the Third Wheel Strikes Back 2 Word of Honor 2 Yu-Gi-Oh! 2 ジョジョの奇妙な冒険 / JoJo no Kimyou na Bouken / JoJo's Bizarre Adventure

1 10 Things I Hate About You (1999) 1 A Court of Thorns and Roses 1 Akatsuki No Yona 1 Among Us 1 Ancient Greece 1 Arctic Monkeys/The Last shadow Puppets 1 Arknights 1 Around the World in 80 Days (TV 2021) 1 Babylon 5 1 Back to the Future 1 Baseball RPF 1 BBC’s Musketeers 1 Bendy and the Ink Machine 1 Binan Koukou Chikyuu Bouei Bu Love/Happy Kiss 1 Black Doves 1 Black Jewels 1 Bob's Burgers 1 Books of the Raksura - Martha Wells 1 Boygenius (Band)(RPF) 1 Brilliant Minds 1 Brokeback Mountain 1 Buddy Daddies 1 Bullet train 1 Canji Baojun De Zhangxin Yu Chong (The disabled tyrant's pet palm fish) 1 Cassette Beasts 1 Castle 1 Charmed (1998) 1 Countryhumans 1 Criminal Minds 1 Cyberpunk 2077 1 Danger Force (TV) 1 Dark Deception 1 Dark Rise 1 Dead by Daylight 1 Death Note 1 Descendants 1 Destiny 2 1 Dexter 1 Dexter: Original Sin 1 Divergent (Movies) 1 Dominion of the Fallen - Aliette de Bodard 1 Downton Abbey 1 Dragon Ball Z 1 Dragonball 1 Dragonlance 1 Dragonriders of Pern by Anne McCaffrey 1 Emma - Jane Austen 1 Ensemble Stars! 1 Etta Invincible 1 Fairy tale 1 Fangs of Fortune 1 Farscape 1 Fear & Hunger: Termina 1 Finder no Hyouteki / Finder Series 1 Flight Rising 1 Formula 2/3 RPF 1 Frieren 1 Game Changers Universe (Rachel Reid) 1 Gangsta (Anime & Manga) 1 Generation Loss (Web Series) 1 Gilmore Girls 1 Giselle 1 Grimm 1 Hatoful Boyfriend 1 Haven (TV) 1 Helluva Boss 1 Henry Danger (TV) 1 High School Musical (Movies) 1 Hikaru ga Shinda Natsu 1 Hikaru no Go 1 HLVRAI - Half-life VR But the AI is Self-Aware 1 Holby City 1 Homer's Epics, Ancient Greece Religion and Lore, Epic The Musical 1 House MD 1 I Am Nobody (CDrama) 1 In Other Lands 1 In Stars And Time 1 Infinity Train 1 Initial D 1 It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia 1 Jet Lag The Game RPF 1 Jurassic Park (Extended Universe) 1 Kamen Rider Gotchard 1 Kane and Feels 1 Kuroko no Basuke / Kuroko's Basketball 1 Kushiel's Legacy 1 La Casa de Papel (Money Heist) 1 Law & Order 1 Lays of the Hearth-Fire Series - Victoria Goddard 1 Lies of P 1 Life is Strange 1 Live A Live 1 Lord Seventh/Qi Ye 1 Malory Towers 1 Mass Effect 1, 2 or 3 1 Metaphor: Refantazio 1 Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries 1 Mononoke (2007 series and 2024 movie) 1 My Time at Sandrock 1 Mystic Messenger 1 Mythology 1 Nancy Drew (TV 2019) 1 NBA RPF 1 Nerdy Prudes Must Die 1 Norah Grant Bruce's Billabong books 1 October Daye series - Seanan McGuire 1 Oh No! Here Comes Trouble 1 Once Upon A Time 1 Order of the Stick 1 Outlast games 1 Over the Garden Wall 1 Pacific Rim 1 Paradise Of Thorns 1 Peaky Blinders 1 Person of Interest 1 Persuasion - Jane Austen 1 Pirates of the Caribbean 1 Power Rangers (2017 movie) 1 Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen 1 Prodigal Son 1 Project Sekai 1 Project Zero/Fatal Frame 1 Psych (2006) 1 Puella Magi Madoka Magica 1 Qiang Jin Jiu (Ballad of Sword and Wine) 1 Quantum Break 1 Ranma 1/2 1 Resident Alien 1 Resident Evil 1 Rise of the Guardians 1 Riyria Revelations 1 S.C.I Mystery 1 S.W.A.T. (2017 show) 1 Saint Seiya 1 Sanders Sides 1 Saw franchise 1 Scooby Doo: Mystery Incorporated (2010) 1 Shipwrecked Comedy 1 Skulduggery Pleasant 1 Sleeping Beauty (1959) 1 Slenderverse 1 Sonic The Hedgehog (movies) 1 South Park 1 Spinning Silver (Novik) 1 Spirited 1 Squid Game 1 Starkid Musicals (no hp) 1 Static Shock 1 Stray Gods: The Roleplaying Musical 1 Super Sentai 1 Tales of Arise 1 Tales of Series 1 Tatort Saarbrücken 1 That 70s Show 1 The A Team (either the 2010 movie or the 1980s series) 1 The Coffin of Andy and Leyley 1 The Devil Judge 1 The Glass Scientists 1 The Good Place 1 The Hands of the Emperor - Victoria Goddard 1 The Librarians 1 The Masquerade Series 1 The OC 1 The Pairing - Casey McQuiston 1 The Paradise of Thorns 1 The Radiant Emperor 1 The Silt Verses 1 The Umbrella Academy 1 the vampire diaries universe 1 The Venture Maidens 1 The Walking Dead 1 The West Wing 1 Thousand Autumns 1 Thunderbirds are Go 1 Tokusatsu 1 Tron 1 Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicles 1 Turning 1 Under The Skin (Cdrama) 1 video games by Arkane Studios 1 Wander Over Yonder

1 Warriors / Warrior Cats 1 Watcher Entertainment/BuzzFeed Unsolved RPF 1 Weak Hero Class 1 1 Wind Breaker 1 WNBA RPF 1 Wonka 1 World Trigger 1 Xenoblade Chronicles series 1 Yellowjackets 1 Young Wizards (Diane Duane) 1 Yuwu (Remnants of Filth) 1 Zatch Bell 1 Zombieland Saga 1 บ้านหลอน ON SALE / Peaceful Property (TV)

[rassotheraccon]

If the SK were based off of the nether mobs and how would change their characters.

Gene being a wither skellie- his sword would do poison damage. He would be a bit taller than normal. Instead of having red outer marking it would be black and grey, but still those red eyes.

Sasha ghast- her voice can bring fear with a simple breath, she is very very pale, she can throw fire balls but has a long cool down, she is very light. Sasha sometimes seem more like a ghost

Vylad enderman- dude is tall, and lanky, just tall and lanky, he doesn't really talk much but he does make these vibration noises, can teleport, doesnt like eye contact

Zenix magma cube- his shadow knight armor is black with the under part being red. He can get very hot. His shadow knight form can be both big and small. Hes got lava stuff. He kinda glows like lava in his shadow knight form.

Laurance blaze- he has orange hair. He has orange hair, he has orange hair. And he can shoot fire with a less cooling time than Sasha. He pulls the fire from fire that floats around him when in his shadow knight form (blaze rods). When in his shadow knight form it looks like he is part fire. Don't touch him he will burn you.

I'm debating letting Sasha and laurance float bc their mob counter parts can but like only in the nether and full anger.

[tparker48]

Request from Anonymous

Evening had arrived as the streets of the neighborhood began to quiet down. Cars pulled into their driveways, people from inside heading into their homes. In a car resting inside a garage, would be a man named Hogan. He yawned as he got out of the car, tossing his safety cap to his workshop tool table near the front of his car. He dragged his feet toward the main door, and the cold breath of the air washed over him. The corners of his construction gear bulged into his arm pits, the sound of tears seething from his shoulders. He lowered his bag toward the wall, and his body became lighter, like a boulder had just been lifted from his back.

“One down, now I just gotta get these..” He sucked in his gut, grabbing the zipper of his uniform as his stomach bounced across his waistline. Sawdust splashing into the air, casting its particles into the sunlight as they danced from the laundry room window. He took to his pants, and let out a satisfied grunt as he kicked his boots off. “That’s better.”

He kicked the leathery shoes next to the washer machine, tossing his clothes into the opening as he walked bare into the living room. He grabbed his headset from the living room table and put them on. He crashed to his stomach on the floor, his console turning on along the shelf. After hours of work, what better way to unwind than through quality gaming.

He crashed to his stomach on the floor, his console turning on along the shelf. "Let's see what the boys are up to on deathwatch."

He flipped through the screen to his game, turning on his microphone as he searched through the lobby.

—--------

An hour had gone by since Hogan started to relax, enjoying the peace of enjoying the peace of with his online friends. The screen flashed with chaos as effects danced around the frame, Hogan’s call outs booming through the acoustic’s of the living room. But  another chaos brewed in the shadows, as a small pair of eyes peeked from the folds of a crumpled towel. Inside, would be Peppe, staring at his hubby’s backside.

“He’s finally home.” he said, a low giggle escaping from him. “Took longer than expected, but at least it gave me time to prepare.”

He dug into his pocket and fetched a tiny piece of gum, unwrapping its plastic blanket as it overtook his chest. He folded into a cubed shaped ball, and chewed at its end until the entire thing fit into his mouth. He savored the fruity flavor filling his mouth as he slinked out from beneath the towel, the smell of gas fumes polluting the air as the giant soles raked through the fibers of the carpet. 

He crept faster, the path narrowing as it centered toward Hogan. A mountain of hairy muscle rose before him, the elastic fabric over the mounds spreading atop like a blanket of snow.  After many times of venturing to his ass, he got tired of the view. It reminded him of being on an island, guarded by a musky volcano as it swayed overhead. He’d think he’d feel bad pranking his hubby all the time, but damn did it feel good to watch him squirm. And with an opportunity like this, it was too good to pass up.

He approached the crease between Hogan’s legs, the lining of crack rocketing over the bubbled ridge. He stepped upon the bulk of his crotch, sweat oozing from its surface like a leaking sponge. Must’ve been working hard out there on the construction, he thought, even after an hour of cooling still his backside was wet.

“Typical, Hogan. Big guy’s certainly not making it easy.” he rolled his eyes, gripping into the white fabrice along the left leg.

He clung to the bushed of hair, pushing into the thick borders sealing the mounds inside. His foot creased into a loose fold, warmth from beneath the fabric against as the smell of fresh sweat poured into his nose. He puffed his nose to ease its stinging sensation, continuing his climb aboard the mounds.

Sausage fingers reached from the other mound, piercing the lining of his crack Peppe dragged to the center. “Damn sweat’s going in the wrong places.” Hogan said, sliding his now glistening palm from the crack.

"Easy horsie, can't have your rider bucking off with the reins." Peppe whispered.  

He climbed to the top of Hogan’s ass and caught a glimpse of the horizon. A slope met before him as it climbed to a meaty neck above, the Tv screen flashing behind Hogan’s frenzied hair. He cherished the view for a moment before digging through his pocket, pulling a bulky string from inside. He opened his mouth and stuck the end of the string against the sticky mass, molding it with his tongue to ensure it was secure.

 Phase one of his great prank was complete, now it was time for the main event.

He approached the top of the elastic fabric, peeling a corer for himself as he tucked his feet inside. He shimmied himself between the mounds, watching the warm flesh rise as they spilled over his chest. Hogan’s fingers returned, stamping just a foot from Peppe as it stirred in place. 

“That works.” He said, shimmying the rest of his body as he slipped beneath the surface.

 The damp fingers wagged above as he dove into the mounds, flesh molding his body as they swallowed the light. Strands of hair snagged at his limbs, the scent of dry cement reaping his nostrils as sweat dashed into his clothes. After all was said and done, he had to remind Hoga to take a shower. Any more scents added to his musk and he’d be a walking gas station. The hairs thickened as they spread into him like a brush, revealing a red puckered star as it winked with sweat. It blew kisses as Peppe wisped past its folds, cushioning at the bottom as his foot sank between two soft boulders. 

“Target acquired,” He spat the gum from his mouth. “and just enough hair to strap on.”

He placed the wad against the ridge of the hair taint, cherry picking bunched hair as he molded them into the gum like clay. Hogan’s  legs shuffled, scooping Peppe close as he planted against the warm testicles.  

"What’s this guy teabagging for? Our team won that fair and square! Let me get a crack at him, I'll give him some nuts he can teabag!"

“As competitive as ever” Peppe mumbled, peeling from the damp skin. He spun a portion of the string to anchor Hogan’s hairs. They sprawled out like a row of vines, their sweat soaked surface brushing against him as if it were a paint brush. Before long, the task was complete, hairs wrapping around the gum as if they were holding it up. “Like a bouquet of smelly vines.” he patted at the top of the gum.

He crawled toward the bottom of Hogan's balls, the dampened fabric appearing as it stretched behind him. Peppe followed its path until it curved upward, taking to the thick hairs covering the mounds as he crawled back the way he came.  They slid through his fingers, his body cast back down as he tumbled into the mustache covering his anus. Its bristles tickled his nose as he swatted them away, grabbing a handful in a bunch as he climbed up its length. 

“Yeah that’s right, take all these nuts!”Hogan roared, his own thighs moving as the sac below squished into the fabric. 

Peppe fought its sway, gripping harder at the strands of hair as he reached  toward the slanted lighting of the crack. He slithering his palm back into the cool world of the living room, shimmying the rest of him through the caked mounds before Pulling the rest of the rope out of his pocket.

“Alright..that’s my workout for today.” Peppe wheezed.

 He climbed back to the top of Hogan’s waist, and looked to his head. Still he faced the Tv screen, even after traveling through his underwear. Just what he was expecting, and now it was time to retrieve the fruits of his labor. Wrapped the end of the rope around his wrist, the line straightening as it darted beneath the fabric like an anchor.

“Oh ho, prepare for a sting of your life Hogan.”

"Well done guys, we managed to pass that squad without setting them off. Too bad we can’t say the same for you..”the mute icon appeared on the side of the screen,Hogan batting an eye backwards. “..Peppe.” 

He froze at his words. “Huh?!”

 the string tightened as he yanked him beneath the underwear, like a fish caught on a hook as he burrowed through the mound of flesh. The dimmed space greeted him once more, his face dragged along the hairs resting in the bubbled valley. From what took minutes turned to mere seconds as he was dragged beneath the bulk of the testicles, fingers fiddling at the string as if it were a spider retracting its web. His back clung to the wad of gum at the taint, the fingers taking to his side as they jammed him beneath the muscular boulders. He gritted beneath its weight, the clammy skin spooning his ears as they acted as restraints on his head.

The ground shifted as  fingers pulled the waistband apart, Hogan’s face peering inside. "What do we have here, a munchkin taking a dip in my underwear."

Peppe shuffled a fold from his mouth. "What gave me away?"

"Come now, as many times as you explored my body, don't you think I would know if something complex was in the way?" He dwindled a finger through his pubes decorating the round spheres between his legs, swirling a patch of Peppe’s into the mix. "Hair pulling. Tsk, you gotta do better than that, dumpling."

"What can I say? It's a classic."

"Uh huh, charming. You know you're getting  punished for this right? I missed a lot of shots because of your meddling. Naught, naughty." He squeezed his legs together, Peppe’s lips smacking as they puckered like a fish. "Unfortunately we’re still in a game, so consider this a taste of what’s to come."

His smile disappeared as the waistband clamped at his waist, a gust of musk washing into Peppe before the thighs shifted, and  Hogan’s weight pushed at his back. "Hubby! Come on, you can’t be made at this face. You can’t do this to your dump-" a solid surface cushioned his chin, the bulk of the giant testicles plonking atop his head. “pling..”

A soft chuckle vibrated the walls. "Oh no, you’re not getting off that easy, hun. No matter how adorable that face is."

Taking the slow route huh? Just like him to toy with him slowly. Peppe rolled his eyes forward,wiggling his head to relieve pressure from his chin. Sloshing muffled from the orbs cupping his face, like giant silos filled to the brim with water. Its body heat grew hotter as its muscle flexed, the shaft knocking out of place as it drooled into the white fabric. He was getting off at my capture, and he called him the naughty one.

But even caught, he wasn’t going to give up just yet. He shifted his gaze into one of the orbs, inhaling the dried sweat coating the skin as he leaned his fingers to his jacket. He pulled the bottom of the fabric from his pants, shedding from its layer as he pressed it into the clammed ceiling. He gazed into the maw of the musky cave, the loose skin sagging as if were going to collapse. 

 There wasn’t enough room to pull the string, but he wasn’t without options as he looked to the flexing muscle.  He laid upon his back, taking a handful of the soft skin as he pulled himself upward. The humidity between was rough feet, his skin skidding against Hogan’s as it peeled off like a sticker. The skin only grew firm as he reached the stem of Hogan’s cock, its barreled underbelly cushioning his chin. After moments of climbing, he sighed as the ever growing pressure slipped from his feet, the bag of sac collecting as the length of the shaft rested upon him.

He planted his feet upon the balls, and Hogan shifted. "What are you doing down there?"

"Putting my plan into motion. I'm gonna make you submit to your dumpling!" Peppe declared.

"Sure. And just how are you going to do that."

A smile crept along Peppe’s face, a foot peeling from one of the testicles. "Creativity." He spread his toes across the bulging testicle, and wiggled them into the tender muscle. He added his other foot, and pressed it to the other as he marched over them. 

A groan rumbled through the air, a thigh thrusting and a clunk came from outside. “Mmm..kneading my balls huh? Bold, I’ll give you that, but it's gonna take more than a few foot rubs to get me to cave.”

"That's for sure. This is just the appetizer." He cradled his limbs to the corner of the member, holding it against his body as if it were a body pillow. He worked himself beneath its underbelly to the top of the shroomed head. Its flesh radiated with warmth greater than the balls below, a salty stream spilling upon his shoulder as it guzzled from the slit. He ringed his fingers between its lips, the stream widening as it spilled at his neck. "You know the thing about being small? You can reach just about anywhere?"

He wiggled a palm over the slit, and jammed it inside. Its creamy fluid lubricated his arm, driving it to his shoulder as the lips clamped onto his shoulder like a sleeve. He plunged his other hand inside, and began to twist them through  the soggy folds as it trailed through the tight opening of the shaft.

Hogan’s body bucked, a sharp moan piercing the air as the sounds of buttons clacked from above "Oh..ff.."

Peppe's eyes became starry eyed. "Gotcha now."

He wormed more of his body toward the front of the underwear’s pouch, clinging his feet to the puffed edges as they peeled the hood away. The muffled grunts turned to purrs, Hogan’s entire waist beginning to thrash as if it were in a trap.

"Still thinking about surrendering?" Peppe giggled with excitement, grinding his elbows to circle the rest of his arms between the tight tube.

A digital voice announced that the game paused, the sound of a controller toppling to the side. "Give me 2 minutes,boys." Hogan's voice boomed, the space shifting as. Gravity tossed Peppe atop the bulging cock.

The inner tube tightened his arms like a vice, its girth nudging between his legs. The fabric yanked off and light blurred his vision, forcing Peppe to wince as his eyes raced to adjust. His gaze eventually relaxed, As Hogan’s met his, peering from the mountainous torso  high above.

"Now you done it, dumpling. You managed to make me cave?”

"I did? I mean yeah, I did! Take that, Hubby.” He declared, but looked up to a smile peering across his face. “You uh..you aren’t mad are you?”

“Me? Not all. In fact, I'm ecstatic.”

“You..are?”

“Yeah..” He replied. A palm raised beneath him, clasping at the center of the shaft. It pumped at a steady pace, getting stronger as it gripped at Peppe’s arms. “I get to do punishment early.”

Oh shit. Peppe tugged at his arms to get them free, shimmying his shoulders to lighten the pressure, but a suction locked them down, the cock’s throat pulsing as they tucked his arms together. Fingers curled around his back, hoisting his lower half into the center as it tilted toward the cock slit. He wrestled between the thick fingers, a thumb pressing his head into the lips as they  gummed the sides of his cheek.

The thumb trailed over his neck to the rest of his body, plunging Peppe deeper into the urethra. He was caught in the pull of the suction inside, guiding him through the tight crawlway of the tube as seed lathered into his side like lotion. The tender walls manhandled his body, thrashing him about in its attempts to gobble him up. The lips slipped higher, funneling to the tips of his toes as he sunk deeper. The cool air left from his feet, and the shaft became alive as its walls tenderized his body.

Outside, a lump traversed through the cock's underbelly bulging, sliding down at snail's pace as it flattened against Hogan’s twisting palm. He gritted his teeth, pumping harder to knock the protruding bulge from its spot as he massaged its soft ridges as it parted the walls inside. It bobbed over the base of his shaft, a finger tilting it for Hogan to see for himself. With a simple clench, the bulge launched and it plunged past the surface of his crotch, its form wisping through his inside as it curled down to the meaty low hangers throbbing below.

The World was dimmer in this region of Hogan’s body, the waves of muscle squeezing him like toothpaste through the tubes. He couldn’t move his body, his blood rushing to his head as he tried to face upward. He doubted it’d help with the surrounding fluid, gunks of slated goo lathered his face, sending his senses ablaze as his head began to swirl. The wall hugged closer as an opening arrived, his head smothered as  more salty fumes spewed into him like a ventilated shaft. 

He found himself in a round chamber, white goo secreting from the walls as they collected into a large body at the bottom of the fleshy dome. 

"Your balls?” He shouted, the sphincter encircling his neck. “Who shoves their love life into their balls?"

“Consider it a special treatment just for you. I was going to just shove you into one of my boots, but then you went and got me hard.”

Lumps caved from the walls, and the chamber became slanted. The white goo rose like a roaring tide, submerging Peppe’s head beneath its surface. It shrouded like a fog, the pink walls near him blurring with white smudges.

“Quite the load isn’t it dumpling? All thanks to you.” 

the tight tube squeezed at his body, rocketing him into the milky mess as he flailed to the surface. He inhaled the tainted air, splashing to keep himself afloat. "Okay, foul play! You’re playing dirty, how am I supposed to have fun in here?"

“Sorry, hun, that’s not my problem. You’ll just have to sit in timeout like a good boy.”

 The chamber flipped once more, spiraling Peppe  from wall to wall as if it were a tube mixer. He felt nauseous as he dunked and emerged from its gooey surface, his efforts to cease derailed as his palmed slid from the soft wall. It was only when the pool flipped to the ceiling did the swirls cease, and it crashed atop of him.

Hogan’s laugh vibrated the walls, crusts forming into the seed as it rocked in place.. "Ready to call it quits?" 

"You..can't possibly think..I'd give up after that." Peppe panted, his head spinning amongst the seed.

"Yeah I thought not, you’re too stubborn for that. Ah well, perhaps a little marinating will teach you to behave yourself." The chamber swayed as steps rang through the walls, the fluid jumping as it crashed upon a solid surface. "I'm back boys, what I miss?"

Peppe groaned as Hogan faced his attention elsewhere, his head bobbing against the milky waves as he tilted to the ceiling. He looked to the shriveled star in the ceiling, seed squeezing from its folds like a wet rag. That was his way out of this filled chamber, but it was too out of reach to grasp. He pawed at the doughy walls for leverage, hoisting upon the soft lumps to escape the milky pond. But their surface melted upon contact, spilling him into the seed once more.

“This is getting me nowhere, how’s a guy supposed to move when everything around you is muscle?” He tried again to reach for a fold, its surface slipping into the fluid as it glossed the wall beneath.

A moan erupted from above, the walls caving as waves splashed him in its epicenter. He resurfaced, looking to the walls as they battered the fluid along his borders. “He felt that?” He puzzled, swimming to the wall behind him. 

He smeared a layer of gunk from the lumpy surface, cupping his palm to split its flow to the rest of the seed. When clear pink muscle appeared, he pressed his fingertips into the soft wall, twisting it as it sunk breath its surface.

The walls shook again, and Hogan’s moans returned. When it finally settled, a smile crept upon his face. To think Hubby’s sweet spot would be right at the source of it all.  He swam closer to the wall, tapping his foot at the submerged flesh. When soft ground touched his toes, he shifted his legs into a running motion, his feet pattering against the muscular wall.

A sharp moan echoed the walls, Waves splashing in the seed. "What are you doing now?" Hogan's voice muffled.

"Improvising." he turned himself toward the wall of flesh, grabbing a handful as seed lubricated his hands. The chamber unraveled, globs of gunk slamming against the opposite wall as it crashed at the ceiling before it pattered onto his shoulders.

Hogan’s grunts turned to whimpers as the folds compressed and expanded,it battered its contents. "Stop being.. a brat." he strained, the walls beginning to pulse..

The seed’s current grew stronger, sweeping Peppe from the walls as he swirled around the rim.The walls compressed, and the ceiling closed in as the sphincter spasmed in place.

"Almost there, just one more push.." he assured himself, clinging to the corner of the folds to continue his efforts.

 The once spacious chamber shrunk to the size of a quarter, a mere gap separating Peppe from the chamber’s quivering lips. He massaged its folds to the best of his ability, the substance overtaking his arms as they splashed about his wrist. The walls squeeze closer as the fluid reached his chin, forcing him to tuck his nose close to the salty folds. 

"Here goes nothing." he managed to muster, taking a breath as he kissed into the center of the sphincter.

He sunk beneath the seed’s surface, suspended in the middle of the sac as the walls surrounding him became restless. Hogan’s grunt's grew louder, distorted as they became strained. Hard thumps shook the chamber, and the star above winked before it opened its entrance like a floodgate. A suction dragged at his body, pulling him against the widening entrance. Its lips barely passed his shoulder, the current flowing through his armpit as he held his breath.

A watery slosh echoed the chamber, before Hogan’s roar overwhelmed it.

---------------------------------------------------

Hogan’s body tensed, the controller in his hand slipping to the pocket of the couch. He stared weakly at his seed soaked palm, its grip still stroking his shaft as his hips bucked. "Can’t.. Hold it in..I.." he choked on his words, his head launching back into the cushion of his sofa. 

His hips locked, and seed erupted from his cock. Its warm fluid flowed like lava from an active volcano, a creamy stream filling his shorts as another drenched the corners of the chamber. He huffed as he regained control of his body, looking down to his member. its meaty length throbbed against his inner thigh, satisfied as it returned to its flaccid state.

In his weak stare, he looked to his bulging sac, the swollen orbs drooping over the side of the couch. "You kinky bastard.." he huffed softly, staring at the right nut that rocked slowly.

Inside, the pond had all but drained from inside the chamber, reduced to a hollow husk as fluid dressed the walls in webs. Stuck against the ceiling, Peppe remained, smothered by a wad of gunk as it dripped to the bottom of the chamber.

"I told ya..I wasn't finished." He smiled weakly, peeled from the ceiling as if he were a sticker. The chamber softened his fall, as it rocked slowly.. "How'd your game go?"

Hogan looked toward the screen, bits of his fluid dripping from the corners of the frame. Banter boomed from the microphone, gamertags from both his team and the opposite team flashing,

"Eh, they’ll.” he said. "Really wanted to get that streak. Was gonna get it too, until a twerp decided to get frisky.

"oo bummer." Peppe said. “Guess it goes to show you can’t shove something in your balls and not expect consequences.”

A flick shook the testicle. "Don't be so high and mighty, Dumpling. You're still in punishment time. But since you saved me the trouble of unloading in there, it’s only fair you do your part in making it.”

“You want me to make the pool all over again, didn’t you just climax?” Peppe asked, picking up a soft huff from the walls. “Wait a second, you’re not trying to get me to build up all that just for you to enjoy it personally?”

“I..I have no idea what you’re talking about. It’s simply a fitting punishment for a brat like you.” he said. “Just be sure to rub them deep. So..so I’ll know if you’re doing your task.”

Peppe places his hands at his hips. “Uh huh, sure.” he traveled through the mush  of seed toward the wall, reaching at a palm as he scratched at its surface. The chamber jostled in place, heavy thumps returning as they shook the walls.

“Oo..just a little to the right..”

“Do you want me to pleasure you with both my hands, Hogan?”

“Yeah..Er! I mean no-”

“Hah, gotcha. You’re totally into this!”

“Why you little-..this is supposed to be punishment. You’re not supposed to be enjoying this!”

“It’s not like I’m going anywhere. If I’m gonna be put to work, I might as well have fun with it, right? Oo! Now that I think about it, this space is just enough to bounce around it.”

“Dumpling, I forbid you to even try- Mm! No stop-mm..eassy in there!”

[teratocrat]

His grip on my shoulder tightened. "We have books here bound in the hides of echidnas, krakens, and beasts so long extinct that those whose studies they are, are for the most part of the opinion that no trace of them survives unfossilized. We have books bound wholly in metals of unknown alloy, and books whose bindings are covered with thickset gems. We have books cased in perfumed woods shipped across the inconceivable gulf between creations - books doubly precious because no one on Urth can read them. "We have books whose papers are matted of plants from which spring curious alkaloids, so that the reader, in turning their pages, is taken unaware by bizarre fantasies and chimeric dreams. Books whose pages are not paper at all, but delicate wafers of white jade, ivory, and shell; books too whose leaves are the desiccated leaves of unknown plants. Books we have also that are not books at all to the eye: scrolls and tablets and recordings on a hundred different substances. There is a cube of crystal here - though I can no longer tell you where - no larger than the ball of your thumb that contains more books than the library itself does. Though a harlot might dangle it from one ear for an ornament, there are not volumes enough in the world to counterweight the other. All these I came to know, and I made safeguarding them my life's devotion."

Gene Wolfe, Shadow of the Torturer (1980)

[theoutcastrogue]

[D&D 5.5] The Sneak Attacker's cheat sheet: ways to attack with advantage

This list is drawn from the 2024 PHB and DMG. I'm listing first general rules that apply, and then specific methods arranged by the level when they become available.

The list can serve as reference for any Rogue handbook. But it's also, rather accidentally, a list of how to impose all the relevant conditions (blinded, stunned, etc), so I think it's useful for the whole party, and especially debuffers. Check this out if you enjoy using spells and abilities to debilitate opponents, so that your sword-swinging buddies can then swoop in and finish them. Teamwork!

The Basics: you roll with advantage when you

attack while Invisible [see below]

attack a Blinded target [see below]

attack a Prone target within 5 ft (negated if you use a Ranged weapon, de-negated with Crossbow Expert (lvl 4))

attack a Stunned target

attack a Restrained target

attack a Paralyzed target

attack a Petrified target

attack an Unconscious target

[but NOT when you attack an Incapacitated target: this condition now means you can't take actions, but you can still move]

The Invisible condition

can be gained both by magical means and by taking the Hide action: whether you cast a spell which alters the very fabric of reality or you just lunge behind some crates, by the rules you're Invisible

please note that stealth rules make no sense and nobody knows how they work, just assume that IF it works, you get advantage

the advantage is negated if "the creature can somehow see you" (whatever that means)

the advantage is negated if you're in range of the target's Blindsight

the advantage is negated if you're in range of the target's Truesight (including from the True Seeing spell) or See Invisibility spell, even if you gained the Invisible condition by taking the Hide action [this is RAW, not a suggestion; my suggestion is fuck this stupid rule]

Tremorsense doesn't matter

The Blinded condition

the advantage is negated if you're in range of the target's Blindsight

if the condition comes from trying to see in Darkness, the advantage is negated if you're in range of the target's Darkvision (unless you're a Gloom Stalker)

Tremorsense doesn't matter

LEVEL 1

attack while Invisible from the Hide action, 1 attack normally but you can retain the Invisible condition with Cunning Strike: Supreme Sneak (Thief 9), or the Skulker feat (4) if you miss

attack after you've damaged the target with a Vex weapon

attack after an ally within 5ft of the target used the Help Action to Assist an Attack Roll

attack spending a Luck point from the Lucky feat (1), prof. bonus times / long rest

target is affected by Faerie Fire (Bard/Druid 1st, Drow Elf 3, Magic Initiate feat 1), negated if you can't see the target, though the spell does negate the benefits of Invisible, up to 1 minute with concentration, 20-ft cube evocation, DEX save

target is affected by Guiding Bolt (Cleric 1st, Magic Initiate feat 1), 1 attack

target is Blinded because you are located in Darkness (assuming you can see, so generally you need Darkvision or Blindsight, unless somehow you're in Darkness but the target is not)

target is Blinded because you and/or it are located in Heavily Obscured space (assuming you can see, so generally you need Blindsight)

target is Blinded from Colour Spray (Bard/Sorcerer/Wizard 1st, Magic Initiate feat 1, Shadow Touched feat 4), ~1 round, 15-ft cone illusion, CON save

target is Prone from Unarmed Strike: Shove

target is Prone from a Topple weapon

target is Prone from Ball Bearings (Utilize action, 10-ft square, Dex DC 10)

target is Prone from a Goliath's Hill's Tumble, Hill Giant lineage, 1/day

target is Prone from Command: Grovel (Bard/Cleric/Paladin 1st, Magic Initiate feat 1, Fey Touched feat 4)

target is Prone from Grease (Sorcerer/Wizard 1st, Magic Initiate feat 1), 1 minute, 10-ft square conjuration, DEX save at casting/entering/ending turn

target is Prone from Tasha's Hideous Laughter (Bard/Warlock/Wizard 1st, Magic Initiate feat 1, Fey Touched feat 4), up to 1 minute with concentration

target is Prone from Thunderous Smite (Paladin 1st)

target is Restrained from Ensnaring Strike (Ranger 1st), up to 1 minute with concentration

target is Restrained from Entangle (Druid/Ranger 1st, Magic Initiate feat 1), up to 1 minute with concentration, 20-ft square conjuration, STR save at casting, Athletics checks every round

target is Restrained with Manacles that are fixed in place (Utilize action DC 13 Dex (sleight of hand), target must be grappled etc to begin with)

target is Restrained with Rope and their legs are bound (Utilize action DC 10 Dex (sleight of hand), target must be grappled etc to begin with)

target is Restrained with a Net (replaces attack, DC 8 + Dex + proficiency bonus)

target is Unconscious from Sleep (Bard/Sorcerer/Wizard 1st, Magic Initiate feat 1, Fey Touched feat 4), 1 attack, 2 successive saves for unconsciousness, up to 1 minute with concentration

LEVEL 2

attack with Reckless Attack (Barbarian 2) applies to Str-based attacks

target is Prone from being hit by an Elk / Mastiff (Druid 2 wild shape)

LEVEL 3

attack while Invisible from Invisibility (Bard/Sorcerer/Wizard/Warlock 2nd, Shadow Touched feat 4), 1 attack only

attack a target that relies on Darkvision to see while in Darkness and Invisible from your Umbral Sight (Gloom Stalker Ranger 3)

attack with Steady Aim (Rogue 3) bonus action, and cannot move in this turn at all, unless you're an Assassin 9 in which case you can move after the attack

attack with Assassinate: Surprising Strikes a target that hasn't taken a turn yet during the first round of combat (Assassin Rogue 3)

attack with Feinting Strike (Battle Master Fighter 3) bonus action

attack while both you and your duplicate from Invoke Duplicity are within 5 ft of the target (Trickery Cleric 3) bonus action to cast / move the duplicate 30 ft

target is Restrained from Web (Sorcerer/Wizard 2nd), up to 1 hour with Concentration, 20-ft cube conjuration, DEX save at entering/starting turn, Athletics check every round

target is Restrained from Nature's Wrath (Oath of the Ancients Paladin 3) 1 minute, targets you can see within 15 ft, they save every round

target is Paralyzed from Hold Person (Bard/Cleric/Druid/Sorcerer/Warlock/Wizard 2nd, Abyssal Tiefling 5), up to 1 minute with Concentration, target saves every round

target is Blinded from Blindness/Deafness (Bard/Cleric/Sorcerer/Wizard 2nd), lasts up to 1 minute, target saves every round

target is Prone from a Trip Attack (Battle Master Fighter 3)

target is Prone from Open Hand Technique: Topple (Warrior of the Open Hand Monk 3)

target is Prone from being hit by Primal Companion: Beast of the Land (Beast Master Ranger 3)

target was hit by an ally's Distracting Strike (Battle Master Fighter 3)

target is within 5 ft of an ally using Rage of the Wilds: Wolf (Path of the Wild Heart Barbarian 3)

[2014 Legacy] attack after you've used a bonus action for Insightful Fighting (Inquisitive Rogue 3) requires an Insight vs Deception check, lasts for 1 minute

LEVEL 4

attack with Mounted Strike from the Mounted Combatant feat (4) while mounted, a target smaller than your mount and within 5ft of your mount

target is Grappled by you and you have the Grappler feat (4)

target is Prone from being bashed by someone with the Shield Master feat (4)

target is Prone from being hit by a Giant Goat / Warhorse (Druid 4 wild shape)

target is Restrained from being hit by a Crocodile (Druid 4 wild shape)

target was critically hit with a bludgeoning weapon by someone with the Crusher feat (4), 1 round

LEVEL 5

target is Stunned from Stunning Strike (Monk 5)

target is Blinded from Hunger of Hadar (Warlock 3rd), only if you can see in magical darkness, up to 1 minute with Concentration

target is Prone from Eldritch Smite (Warlock 5)

target is Prone from Cunning Strike: Trip (Rogue 5)

target is Prone from Sleet Storm (Druid/Sorcerer/Wizard 3rd) area effect

target was hit by Shining Smite (Paladin 2nd), up to 1 minute with Concentration

LEVEL 6

attack while Invisible from your Steps of the Fey: Disappearing Step (Archfey Patron Warlock 6), 1 attack only

attack a target you've connected to via Awakened Mind: Clairvoyant Combatant (Great Old One Warlock 6) Wis save, 6+ minutes, 1/short rest normally

LEVEL 7

attack while Invisible from Greater Invisibility (Bard/Sorcerer/Wizard 4th), up to 1 minute with Concentration

target is Blinded from Fount of Moonlight (Bard/Druid 4th) until the end of the next turn

target is Restrained from Evard's Black Tentacles (Wizard 4th)

target is Prone from Telekinetic Thrust (Psi Warrior Fighter 7)

LEVEL 8

target is Prone from being hit by a Brown Bear / Dire Wolf / Tiger (Druid 8 wild shape)

LEVEL 9

attack while Invisible from your Mislead (Bard/Warlock/Wizard 5th), 1 attack

target is Blinded by Blinding Smite (Paladin 3rd) up to 1 minute with Concentration, target saves every round

target is Blinded by Jallarzi's Storm of Radiance (Warlock/Wizard 5th), up to 1 minute with Concentration, no save, area effect

target is Paralyzed from Hold Monster (Bard/Sorcerer/Warlock/Wizard 5th), up to 1 minute with Concentration, target saves every round

target is Prone from Yolande's Regal Presence (Bard, Wizard 5th)

target is Restrained from Telekinesis (Sorcerer/Wizard 5th), 1 round

target is Restrained from Conjure Elemental (Druid/Wizard 5th), up to 10 minutes with Concentration, target saves every round

LEVEL 10

attack after an you or an ally used Zealous Presence (Path of the Zealot Barbarian 10), bonus action, 1 round

LEVEL 11

target is affected by Otto's Irresistible Dance (Bard/Wizard 6th) up to 1 minute with Concentration

target is Unconscious from Eyebite (Bard/Sorcerer/Warlock/Wizard 6th), 1 attack only

target is Restrained or Petrified from Flesh to Stone (Druid/Sorcerer/Wizard 6th)

target is Restrained from Otiluke's Freezing Sphere (Sorcerer/Wizard 6th), 1 minute, Str (Athletics) to break free, targets swimming on the surface only!

target is Blinded from Sunbeam (Cleric/Druid/Sorcerer/Wizard 6th), 1 minute

LEVEL 12

target is Prone from being hit by an Elephant (Circle of the Moon Druid 12 wild shape)

LEVEL 13

attack while Invisible from your Psychic Veil (Soulknife Rogue 13), 1 attack that deals damage only

attack with Studied Attacks (Fighter 13) 1st attack after you've attacked target and missed

target is Blinded or Stunned from Divine Word (Cleric 7th)

target is Restrained, Petrified or Blinded from Prismatic Spray (Bard/Sorcerer/Wizard 7th)

target is Stunned from Staggering Smite (Paladin 4th), until the end of the caster's next turn

target is Unconscious (1 attack) or Stunned (1 minute) from Symbol (Bard/Cleric/Druid/Wizard 7th)

[2014 Legacy] attack a target previously hit in the first round of combat with Ambush Master (Rogue Scout 13) lasts until the start of the Scout's next turn

LEVEL 14

attack while Invisible from your Nature's Veil (Ranger 14) bonus action, lasts until the end of your next turn

target is Prone from Power of the Wilds: Ram (Path of the Wild Heart Barbarian 14)

target is Unconscious from Cunning Strike: Knock Out (Rogue 14), 1 attack

target is Blinded from Cunning Strike: Obscure (Rogue 14), lasts until the end of target's next turn

target is Blinded from Searing Vengeance (Celestial Patron Warlock 14), lasts until the end of the current turn

LEVEL 15

target is Prone from Earthquake (Cleric/Druid/Sorcerer 8th)

target is Blinded from Holy Aura (Cleric 8th)

target is Stunned from Power Word Stun (Bard/Sorcerer/Warlock/Wizard 8th)

target is Blinded from Sunburst (Cleric/Druid/Sorcerer/Wizard 8th), 1 round

LEVEL 17

attack while affected by Foresight, lasts for 8 hours (Bard/Druid/Warlock/Wizard 9th)

attack while a duplicate from Improved Duplicity is within 5 ft of the target (Trickery Cleric 17)

attack while Invisible from your Cloak of Shadows (Warrior of Shadow Monk 17), lasts up to 1 minute under conditions

target is affected by your Hunter’s Mark (Ranger 17) up to 1 hour with Concentration

target is Prone from Destructive Wave (Paladin 5th) 30-ft emanation (sphere), CON save

target is Blinded, Restrained, or Petrified from Prismatic Wall (Bard/Wizard 9th), 1 minute

target is Restrained or Unconscious from Imprisonment (Warlock/Wizard 9th), until dispelled

target is Stunned from Rend Mind (Soulknife Rogue 17), 1 minute, saves every round

[2014 Legacy] use Master Duelist (Swashbuckler Rogue 17) to reroll with advantage an attack that missed

LEVEL 19

attack while Invisible from the Boon of the Night Spirit epic boon feat, 1 action’s (or bonus action, or reaction) worth of attacks only

MAGIC ITEMS

attack within the 30-foot radius Dim Light shed by a Candle of Invocation (very rare)

attack within 72 hours after drawing a Jester on the Deck of Many Things (legendary)

attack your sworn enemy with an Oathbow (very rare)

attack elementals while wearing a Ring of Elemental Command (legendary)

attack a creature that dealt damage to you, as a Reaction, with a Sword of Answering (legendary)

FOR COMPLETION'S SAKE

Optional Rule: at the DM's discretion, you may roll with advantage when you attack a Frightened creature. (Flanking is not an optional rule any more.)

Note: the number next to classes is class level where the relevant ability is gained, the number next to feats is class level required to take it, and the number next to spells is spell level, e.g. "Paladin 2nd" is a 2nd lvl spell, filed under Level 5 when Paladins get it.

[wordpress link]

[thereareeyesinsidethetrees]

celestial au stuff

-shermie sees things in thermal vision. there’s probably a better word for that but you know what ae mean. he chose not to have glasses made for him

-stan sees everything extremely bright. this is useful for night or really dark areas where he can easily spot anything that may be lurking in the shadows. this is agonizing during the daytime. he wears sunglasses, specially made for him by fiddleford, to help with this

(in other words, to answer dipper’s question- why does the sun need sunglasses?- because the sun has photophobia)

-ford can only see direct sources of light. stan is the literal sun, so he always appears as the brightest thing around to ford, even if he isn’t giving off any light at all to others. stan is luminous enough that he also lights up a very small area around him. ford uses this to look at runes and solve cubix cubes (gifted to him by fiddleford) and such. fiddleford made him glasses that brighten everything up a little bit, though everything appears extremely dim and blurred to him when wearing them. he opted to forgo these glasses and just get sunglasses like stan, because of course ae made him photophobic as well what were you expecting

-they both really like the ocean. stan likes the way it evaporates around him, only to pour back down from the clouds. ford likes the way the waves pull towards him and follow his every move, like a flowy ball gown dress. it’s his favorite place to stim cause of how the waves react. when he looks underwater, everything (including himself) appears bioluminescent to him, a reference to his association with eyes. meanwhile, stan likes to make sea glass (he likes making specially shaped ones as gifts for the niblings)

-both the niblings have some article of clothing they always wear that are references to the stan twins. for dipper, his vest has a sun pattern on it. for mabel, she, of course, wears a different sweater every day. so she instead has a selection of capes, cloaks, shawls, and ponchos- all moon and/or night themes- that she wears over her sweater

that is all for now

[ominous-faechild]

SUN AND SHADOW

BONUS SCENE: “DELUSIONS OF GRANDEUR”

(actually this is from mid book 2 LMAO)

[this scene contains major the arcane rifts spoilers and moderate sun and shadow spoilers! continue with caution!]

CHARACTERS:

♝ Freya Ula (pov) ♝ Eugene Salles

TIMELINES:

approx. 815 AA (global timeline)

word count: 1.9k

Freya: [minding her own business, studying in the library like she'd been the last time she ran into him]

Gene: [purposely came in just to see her]

Gene: [and, of course, his powerful Chaos aura gives away his presence]

Freya: —

Freya: [tensing slightly, quickly looks up]

Gene: [forces gives a soft smile as their eyes meet across the room]

Freya: [tenses even more—]

Freya: [subconsciously remembering how ill she'd felt after their first encounter. Figures it was because of him for one reason or another and is not looking forward to it happening again]

Gene: [still heading over; voice as careful as always) "—ah. I was hoping to come across you again. Frey, right?"

Freya:

Freya: (cautiously) "… yeah."

Gene: [smile turns a bit apologetic, but he stops at her table]

Gene: (gently) "may I sit down? I'd like to speak with you about something."

Freya: ,,,

Freya: [chews the inside of her lip slightly, looking away

Freya: (trying to sound dismissive, but awkwardness leaking through) "yeah. Sure. Whatever."

Gene: [pulls out a chair to sit down across from her; saying all the while) "thank you."

Gene: [takes a slight, deep breath, reflexively summoning his definitely-not-rubix-cube mental shield puzzle and awkwardly fidgeting with it]

Freya: [looks to him with the movement]

Freya: ,,,,,

Gene: [except, at the same time, awkwardly looked away himself]

Gene: [still fidgeting as he stares into space himself; carefully) "—right, so. I figure proper introductions are in order."

Puzzle-ball: [click]

Gene: [seemingly ignorant of it, finally looks back over to her with another forced, slightly-awkward smile on his face]

Gene: (a hint of awkwardness in his voice) "as I said before, my name is Gene. I didn't lie. However… I'll have you know I'm an avatar of Magic. The Existential God of Magic."

Freya:

Gene: [slightly quirks an eyebrow at her] "I don't think I have to explain the concept of 'avatars' to you, do I?"

[Small narrative explanation of it if not explained before in the story; Freya would know of Soren as an avatar of one of her hometown's local gods]

Freya: (quietly, caution clear) "… no."

Gene: [gives a slight, curt nod, awkwardly looking away to stare past her ear]

Gene: (carefully) "right. Well, as you can probably imagine, I'm powerful. I have quite a few…" [click] "—relatively unheard of magics myself."

Freya: ,,,,,,,,,,,,

Freya: [knows he's leading into something and NOT excited to find out what it is, especially with his clear awkwardness… especially compared to his apparent collectedness with their first meeting]

Gene: [eyes flicking to meet hers; matter-of-factly) "in short: I'm a telepath. As I figure you don't know what that is—"

Freya: [doesn't]

Gene: "—I'll explain. It means I'm capable of reading people's minds. Hearing their thoughts."

Freya: ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Gene: [looks away again—this time completely—and tilts his head to the side as though deep in thought as he continues evenly) "—including many other things, but. Point is:" [takes another slight deep breath, then turns to meet her eyes again] "—I can also see memories."

Freya:

Puzzle-ball: [click] :)

Gene: [still seeming completely ignorant of it; matter-of-factly) "—and, as one of Magic's avatars, I'm extremely sensitive to magic. So. One of the first things I noticed about you was the immense amount of memory-altering magic wrapped around you."

Freya:

Gene: [takes a slow, deep breath, completely looking away again]

Ball: [click!]

Freya: [clenches her jaw, glancing away for a moment as she struggles to keep her cool and focus on what he's saying]

Gene: (voice ever-so-slightly uneven and thick) "I'm not going to lie to you, Freya. I approached you because I was curious about it, and wanted to figure out why it was there. If it was there for a good reason or not, and to 'fix' it if that wasn't the case."

Gene: [pauses for just a moment—]

Freya: (cautiously) "… it's been months. Why didn't you come here sooner."

Gene:

Gene: [fingers stilling on the puzzle, looks to her with an eyebrow lifted as though to ask: 'did you seriously just ask me that?']

Gene: (a slight edge to his otherwise-even voice) "you weren't here for a while. And I was busy. I'm often travelling all over the world. I'm an avatar, and I have my own life. This was the soonest I've seen you since I've decided to tell you, and I had something to take care of before I wanted to address it with you. I've taken care of it."

Freya:

Freya: [oops, fighting tears, but flexes her jaw from repressed anger—]

Gene: (the edge to his voice growing clearer) "Now. Do you have any other questions?"

Freya:

Freya: that is so, 100%, a threat :')

Freya: [remembering and re-recognizing his immense magical aura; answers cautiously) "… no."

Gene: [nods slightly, eyes dropping under her ear again and voice returning to matter-of-fact) "right."

Gene: [takes another slight deep breath, his eyes dropping to the ball he's been fidgeting with]

Gene:

Gene: (to himself) ah. When did I bring this out? :')

Gene: [and takes a deeper breath, closing his eyes for a moment, before looking away and returning to fidgeting]

Gene: (voice slightly tense) "obviously, I've come to the decision to tell you about it. And long story short—"

Ball: [click] :)

Freya: [eye twitches, but forces herself to close her eyes and take a deeeeeeeeep breath]

Gene: "—you have magic altering two 'kinds' of memories, clearly by two different people."

Freya: [irritation dying away and blood going cold, hesitantly looks back at him]

Gene: [still not looking at her. Has his face turned away from hers, subtly pinched, and is staring blankly into the distance]

Gene: (only having paused for a moment, continues) "The first kind: mostly early childhood. They're changing memories. They're less serious, but I figure you'd still like to know about it. Then, the second kind. They're…"

Gene: [falls silent, chewing his lip slightly as he struggles for words]

Freya: [silent, waiting for him to continue and really not sure how to take all of this—] 😰

Ball: [click] ;D

Gene: [takes a slight deep breath before continuing) "… they're hiding memories. Repressing them so you cannot acknowledge them. Well—" head tilts to the side again "—technically some of them are a mixture of both, but…"

Gene: [sighs, then finally meets her eyes again]

Gene: [hints of defeatedness on his face, but voice as neutral as before if not slightly tired) "some of them were from the first person. Once again, less serious, but still something I'm certain you'd like to know. The fact that they were changed—the implications—are more serious than the contents themselves."

Gene: [slight pause—]

Freya: [swallows, then gives a hesitant nod] 😅😰

Gene: [gives a weak, slightly-forced smile, then averts his eyes again]

Ball: [click] :)

Gene: "… then there's the last bit. From a different person, someone I hesitate to refer to as a 'person'… more from h—their behavior than their… status."

Gene: [hesitates slightly, then continues] "these memories are incredibly serious, completely concealed very well. They will change a lot if you choose to know them, and I want to warn you."

Gene: [meets her eyes again]

Freya: [has a lump forming in her throat; very nervous about what all this would mean]

Gene: (voice as serious and somber as the subject itself) "remembering these things—all of them, not just the last ones—can lead to some personality changes. They will cause revelations that might change your opinions of people you know and cause some incredible complications in your life. This is some serious stuff, that will have a massive impact on your life."

Freya:

Freya: swallows :')

Gene: [silent for a second, face twisting as he glances away—]

Ball: [clicks!] :)

Gene: [sighs slightly, shoulders slumping as he drops eyes to her chest—]

Freya:

Gene: [—then his eyes widen, cheeks flush pink, and he quickly looks under her ear again]

Gene: (quickly, wincing slightly as he stutters) "s-so, I'm he-here to mak-e you an of-offer."

Gene: [hesitantly meets her eyes again, taking a slight deep breath]

Gene: (seriously, words slowing, but still slightly accelerated) "I can re-move th-those en-chant-ments on you, l-letting those memories return to you. They will hit you full-force, and you will re-remember long-re-repressed things of variable importance. Wo-uld you like to remember anything?"

Freya:

Freya: [shocked. Didn't think he'd actually be able to remove them, but thought he'd just be telling her… which she wouldn't fully trust in general, especially because he could have any number of ulterior motives]

Freya: (to herself) … but he's also a—what, a "telepath"? Who's to say he wouldn't be faking them in general?

Gene: (at the same time, more carefully) "I can release any of the three kinds—"

Freya: … and who's to say he's not in my mind right now?

Gene: [is, in fact, in her mind]

Gene: [—comes to a sudden stop]

Gene:

Freya: (mostly to herself, but knowing he can hear) so that's a yes. >;'D

Gene: [sighs, looking up, seemingly rolling his eyes]

Gene: (cautiously) "… yes, I'm in your mind. T-to be honest: faking memories is incredibly complex, and not s-something I'd b-bother with for s-someone like you."

Gene: [drops his eyes to her, eyebrows raised slightly and hints of irritation on his face; an edge to his voice) "I'll be blunt: you're not that important. I'm being kind by doing this for you. I have countless other things I could be doing right now, but instead, I'm here to unlock memories that have nothing to do with me."

Gene: [flexes his jaw slightly, then gives an ominous, angry-looking smile]

Gene: (voice harsh and yet matter-of-fact) "you are but a simple girl with nothing to your name but a fortune. I work for one of the most powerful gods in Existence. There's literally nothing you could offer me, and no reason for me to bother with faking anything for you."

Gene: [warps out of his chair, instead teleporting to his feet behind it. Has his cane cradled between his hands as he leans forward on it, staring down at her intensely]

Gene: (harshly) "You are D-tier at best and I am a B-tier who can take on S-es. I'm sure you might have no idea what that means, so let me put this into words you can understand."

Gene: [tilts his head to the side, face slowly twisting in bitter rage as he continues) "While I am far from the most powerful being in Existence, I can battle them and escape unscathed. You are a simple girl with delusions of grandeur. Stop assuming everyone else 'has it out for you' when you mean nothing."

Freya:

Freya: [whoops, stunned—]

Gene: [face flattening and voice evening out) "I have no reason to 'fake' anything for you. It is a kindness I am offering you. So, last chance: would you like me to unlock any of these memories for you?"

Gene: [takes a slight deep breath, eyes closing as he leans back and his cane disappears for the ball again]

Ball: [clicks as he continues, making visibly Gene ease up]

Gene: [slowly returns his eyes to her. His voice evening out again, starting only subtly thick) "I can remove any or all of the three: early childhood changed, most of your life repressed and changed, and/or the recent, completely repressed. Would you like any of them removed?"

Freya:

Freya: [swallows, trying not to think about—]

Gene: (harshly) "You are a simple girl with delusions of grandeur."

Freya: [closes her eyes, taking a deep breath and forcing herself to go over what he said about the memories]

Freya: … my whole life? How can everything be a lie…?

Ball: [click] :>

Freya: that is SO fucking annoying, Levebolg save me.

Freya: [puts her face in her hand, fighting it, the knowledge that he's probably still in her head, and the omni-present paranoias that he 'has it out for her' back]

Freya: [swallowing and flexing her jaw, hesitantly looks up and meets his eyes]

Gene: [just watching her carefully; fingers fidgeting with the countless buttons on the ball, flipping and turning it before pushing seemingly random ones in and causing others to pop out]

Freya: (hesitantly, voice breaking) "… I'd like to know. I—I want to know what's been kept from me."

Gene:

Gene: [face softening slightly, nods]

Gene: [and—eyes flicking to the chair—awkwardly moves to sit back down, face twisting slightly]

Gene: (voice slightly soft) "I figured. We'll start with the earliest ones first."

My poor, poor autism baby boy Gene. Trying to avoid eye contact but also keep an eye on the person he's talking to. That could neeeeveeeerrrr cause any problems! 😄

(sobs because I relate)

ALSO WHAT ABOUT THOSE ROASTS!? AM I RIGHT!? 🤣

Everything taglist:

@honeybewrites @the-golden-comet @illarian-rambling @ashirisu @urnumber1star

@the-letterbox-archives @48lexr @aalinaaaaaa @thecomfywriter @an-indecisive-nerd

@seastarblue @rae-butter

"Delusions of grandeur" taglist:

@inadequatecowboy @write-with-will @corinneglass @tallgirlpidge @darkfairiefey

@toywave

Hiatus party taglist:

@aalinaaaaaa @sm-writes-chaos @teamarine777 @caffeinated-starsailor @oliolioxenfreewrites

@nightmaricwriter @lunaeuphternal @inadequatecowboy @princessuncertain @storyteller-kara

@themongosianhorse @nczaversnick

divider by @saradika

[nininikki]

𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐏𝐘 𝐁𝐈𝐑𝐓𝐇𝐃𝐀𝐘, 𝐌𝐑. 𝐏𝐑𝐄𝐒𝐈𝐃𝐄𝐍𝐓 | eren jaeger x black fem!reader

IV. it’s all coming back to me now

✧ summary! — your complicated feelings for eren come to a head during his star-studded ball.

✧ warnings! — alcohol consumption and mentions of it, mentions of sexual activity (piv), mentions of male masturbation, adultery, age gap—reader is 29 and eren is 40, some POV switching, angst

✧ author’s note! — WHEW, it’s here! after looking at nothing but this google doc for the past few days my brain is so damn fried so all i can say is THANK U ALL SM for all your love and for just existing &&& i really hope you like it! 💘🫶🏽💋💋

✧ word count! — 3.6k series masterlist! / previous chapter!

14 MAY, SIX MONTHS AFTER THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION

“i mean, it sounds stupid now, but…you should’ve seen the man.” mikasa said, her face screwed up in a scary smugness. “from my perspective, at least. it was like…” she took a big gulp of sparkling water down her throat, and chewed on some ice cubes to wash it down. hurt channeled at the network of veins on her neck, and you still hadn’t quite processed the fact that you were the cause for it.  “it was like night and day.”

***

14 SEPTEMBER, TWO MONTHS BEFORE THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION 

“and ms. (y/n), who exactly are you wearing tonight?”

no matter how he tried, eren just couldn’t help the way he stared as you smoothed your hands over the skirt of your dress. it was pink, and just the right shade—the kind that reminded him of soft cotton candy melting on his tongue. the beauty—the grandness—of your ensemble was akin to walking through an entire forest of showering cherry blossoms.

“none other than mugler, of course.” you responded, flashing the oh so lucky reporter an award-winning smile. despite evening shadows that had begun dusting against his front lawn, the flush of crimson crawling over the collar of his leather jacket and peeking at the top of his neck was striking. 

what was he doing? there was an onslaught of guests piling in—all ranging from a-list celebrities to politicians with enough influence to make or break his campaign at any given moment. eren supposed he should care. and he was really, really trying to. had you not been so you, or had he not been so stupid, simply looking at you wouldn’t be such a strain. then, as quickly as that thought crossed his mind, he condemned himself for even allowing it to. he was the reason for his unfaithfulness (or, more technically speaking, his desire to be unfaithful). 

it was he who had fought tooth and nail with his very own resolve after each and every one of your phone calls, trying to keep his hands above the buckle of his belt long enough to rationalize the thoughts coursing through his head. it was he who, no matter how he tried, couldn’t find the will to fight those same temptations under the cold spray of shower water—tugging his painfully erect cock until the faint whisper of your name left his lips and the remnants of his disloyalty trickled down the shower walls. it was eren who wouldn’t be able to get the sound of your laugh out of his head even if he struck it against those same shower walls forever.

just as eren began to take his eyes off you, they landed on his wife, who was just scurrying past nearby and looked utterly delighted to see him. “ah, there you are!” mikasa’s hands found his, and she craned her neck up at him to receive a kiss on the cheek. in the time it took him to oblige her wish, her lips were in perfect position to whisper, “levi wants us to dance later.” against the shell of his ear. he understands then that his mission for tonight is to be married. he was going to sweep mikasa off her feet on the dance floor and laugh with her over a couple glasses of champagne. but first, he was going to kiss her on the cheek and tell her how radiant she looked, because that’s just what good husbands did.

***

“aren’t they cute?” hange cooed in your ear, their watchful eye turned subtly toward eren and mikasa. he was stamping a kiss over her cheek, and then spinning around to assess her outfit. if your lip reading skills served you well enough, he was saying something along the lines of, “you look amazing.”

upon catching mikasa’s diamond wedding ring glinting in the light of the setting sun as she tucked a stray lock of hair behind his ear, you briefly considered choking from the onslaught of bile climbing up your throat. “the cutest.” you chirped out instead. hanged snaked an arm around your waist a little tighter than usual, and you let them. you were gonna need it. “c’mon, i think the party’s heading inside.”

***

the jaeger ballroom was something of a spectacle. carved into the arched, sky high ceilings were designs so ornate they looked to be paintings. opulence filled the air, along with the chipper aroma of freshly poured champagnes and the staticky buzz of tipsy chatter. 

“i can have you five movie deals by the end of the night.” hange hypothesized aloud, their eyes hungrily scanning the throng of stars socializing about. 

“is now really the best time to be pimping me out?”

“honey, i can’t think of a better time than now.” their eyes lit up at the sight of an esteemed director laughing heartily over what couldn’t have been his first glass of champagne. “now, if you’ll excuse me.”

“oh, hange, please,” you half pleaded. the last thing you needed was to be alone with all your thoughts. 

hange only retracted their arm from the comfort of your waist and kissed at your temple. “you’re gonna thank me for this, don’t worry.”

you tried not to let your shoulders drop before the eyes of so many people as you carried yourself over to the bar. it was delightfully vacant and ensconced beneath just enough shadows to grant you a little bit of privacy. as you maneuvered yourself and your dress upon a chair, the memory of eren and mikasa gushing over one another poked and prodded at your brain incessantly, as if with the intention of making it explode behind your skull. 

you couldn’t help but wonder if the glances you two sneaked to one another in public, or the conversations shared during the late hours of the night, or the mutual feelings that surely plagued his thoughts as well as your own, were all just…that. a secret, an affair, a rendezvous. something dirty and scandalous and not meant to purge past the dark of night. 

who were you kidding? of course they were. no matter how little he loved his wife, (although, you couldn’t be a hundred percent sure eren didn’t love mikasa. and that made you feel a little sick) she would still be his wife. and you’d still be…well, you didn’t quite know. 

“hi.” came eren’s voice behind you, accompanied by a tap to your shoulder. you were so nestled within your head that you were hardly even startled. 

in a few lithe strides, he was standing in front of you. “hey, you,” he really did look so perfect tonight. and it didn’t help that he was looking at you like you were perfect too. “how’s your ball going?”

eren’s voice took on a joking air as he surveyed the area. “not too shabby, i’d say.” for whatever reason, when he brought his gaze back to you, they seemed as if they’d never leave. “what about you? what do you think?”

as you pondered over an answer to his question, you couldn’t help but notice the way he took the plush skin of his bottom lip between his teeth for a moment before releasing the now smoothly damp, blushing flesh from its confines. only one word came to mind. “beautiful.”

at that, eren’s eyes pressed shut for a moment before opening again, seemingly miles brighter than before they closed. “that makes me happy to hear.” embarrassingly, your entire body warmed at the lower octave of his voice, and for a moment you hated that he could do this to you. “and, hey, speaking of beautiful things,” he nodded towards you, and if it were possible, his voice was even sexier when he said, “i haven’t been able to stop looking at you all night.”

somehow, your composure was still intact. “is that so?” 

“absolutely.” eren beamed. “if you’ll let me, i’d love a dance with you at some point.” 

as you took a moment to let his words seep into your skin as they always did, his attention was drawn to something on the other side of the room, and without much forewarning, he quickly said, “excuse me, (y/n).” before whisking away. 

***

“put your hands on my hips.” mikasa murmured, and then smiled politely when eren did. he hoped it wasn’t too painfully obvious to the onlookers that mikasa was skilled in ballroom dance and he was not. “everything’s going well. i’ve spoken with investors, and they’ve all seemed promising.”

eren whispered before spinning mikasa in a circle. “good to hear.”

they danced in silence for a few beats until mikasa said, “you could try and look at least somewhat in love.”

eren fought the urge to drop his smile, and spun mikasa into a dip. mikasa’s face came up flushed, smiling, and framed by a few out of place hairs. “really hard to do when you’re in my ear about investors.”

still beaming, she said between her teeth, “well, not everyone can just sit on their asses all day. one of us has to care about your career.” 

“god, you’re unbelievable.”

“am i wrong?”

the song ended, and the pair tried not to make it so obvious they were eager to get their hands off each other. eren could see a tangible effort put in by his wife to keep smiling, no matter how artificial, and he wasn’t sure whether he feared or admired it more.

***

you were out of there. from the moment he took mikasa’s hand and led her out to the dance floor. from the moment he twirled her body around in a graceful little circle. from the moment you watched them look into each other’s eyes in the way only a husband and wife did. you were so out of there.

sneaking away was easy. by now, everyone (including hange, who you could see had now taken to flirting with a random caterer) was drunk off their asses, and likely couldn’t tell you from a can of paint.

once you were outside, breathing began to feel manual. the diamonds around your neck were strangling. the jovial sounds of the party inside still rang in your ears. you weren’t far away enough. so, you ran. you ran through the vast, flourishing garden that lie behind the spacious property. you ran until the soles of your feet ached with each step. you ran until the memory of eren dancing with mikasa didn’t hurt so much.

you didn’t stop until you were in an area ensconced by trees. it’d have been completely dark if not for light emanating from the beaming moon. a tall stone fountain trickled nearby, and you wasted no time sitting on its edge. as your heart tried to climb out of your throat, a late summer breeze swept through the trees and covered your bare shoulders in goose flesh.

you wondered how you would muster the courage to go back to the party. you wondered how you would even find your way back. the gardens were a tall, grassy maze that you had hardly any business running through in the first place.

“(y/n)?” you heard a voice call. or rather, the voice—his voice. you had half a mind to brush it off as some kind of hypothermic delusion until eren smoothed through the entryway. his gaze caught yours from where you sat at the fountain, and incommunicable relief passed his eyes. “there you are,” if there was still any doubt that he was real, it was all extinguished when he wandered into the moonlit area towards you. hands folded politely behind his back, his hair a little messier than usual. “you had me worried for a moment.”

“guess i owe you a dance, then.” you attempted to joke, fighting off the shiver that threatened to rack your limbs.

“you owe me more than that, i think.” the glimmer of the moon made him look like an angel, and the firm tone coloring his voice did nothing to help. “like an explanation, maybe. as to why you’re out here.”

“how’d you even find me?” you challenged. “this place is,” you waved your arms high above your head as if to showcase its size. “massive.”

“i actually own the place, if you didn’t know.” you fought the urge to smile at his wit. eren took his hands from behind his back to unveil a pretty pink chanel heel. he only needed to hold it up for a second to know it was yours. “and i think you dropped something off on the way.”

you pulled up the skirt of your dress to see one foot still clad in its respective heel while the other was only sheathed in your nylon stockings. how much adrenaline had been coursing through your body for you to have not noticed? still inspecting your practically naked foot, you held your hand out to take the shoe from him, but he disregarded it as he kneeled before you. “no, let me.”

there was something especially intimate about this. about how delicate eren was being with you. his hands were big, but so capable of being gentle. the skin of his palms were so warm against your ankles, the tips of his fingers so light against your soles, you almost found yourself giggling at the pleasantness of it.

once he was finished, you stood, admittedly a little too flustered. “thank you.”

he seemed to barely acknowledge it, only nodding as he rose to his feet. “now, are you gonna tell me why you’re out here?”

for what felt like the first time the entire night, you finally allowed your shoulders to sink under all the emotion they had been carrying. “it’s silly.” eren’s gaze was unwavering, but soft nonetheless. he had the kind of eyes that made you want to tell him everything.

you turned your back to him, unsheathing yourself in the warmth of his stare. could eren hear the rapid thumping of your pulse? could he hear it skipping when he said, “i’m sure it’s not.”

“no it’s, uh,” gingerly, you began walking around the fountain, and you could hear his footsteps trailing close behind. “being jealous of a man’s wife, that’s…that’s, um, really stupid of me, actually…” your mouth was clumsy as it fumbled over the words, and you could only conceal the stupidity of your confession with a sardonic chuckle. “i should go.” you whispered, turning to face him again, with no intention of leaving.

“don’t.” eren protested. through your peripheral vision, you saw his hand reach for yours, and you were unsure whether you should flinch away or push yourself closer. 

your voice was a hair away from breaking. “there’s nothing for me out here.” you knew what you were saying. you understood its implications. eren was far from nothing, but he was also a fool if he believed the feelings you shared could ever go beyond this patch of land.

“how could you even say that knowing how i feel about you?” eren braved a step toward you, searching for the passion—the devotion—in your eyes that was so evident in his.

“how you feel about me?” the utter absurdity of it made you laugh, and it was then you registered the moisture building in your eyes. “yeah, like that means anything.” 

“and it doesn’t?” 

“it can’t!” the words escaped you in the form of a bitter, scratching scream. eren’s eyes only softened. “you’re married, so it can’t mean anything.”

“i think,” absolutely nothing could prepare you for the feeling of his fingertips brushing against yours. once, twice, then three times. something about each little touch made it a bit more real. now, your feelings were more than that. now, he was touching you. “i think it already does.”

it all happened so fast. you barely got the chance to think, this is such a bad idea before his fingertips were skating briskly up your arm and both of his hands—so big, and oh so capable—were on either sides of your neck. caressing the skin there, assessing the thunder of your pulse, pulling you closer until the tips of your noses brushed against one another.

the first syllable of his name left your mouth in a choked whimper, and that was all you could let before eren kissed you. 

soft. that was the only possible word. his lips were tender and sticky with champagne. you could tell he was testing your waters first—brushing his lips against yours ever so gently, allowing you to get a taste of one another before he went in for the kill. he planted a soft one on your bottom lip, then another when you felt yourself trembling. then he was at your top lip—also trembling with newborn nerves but still just as eager. “tell me to stop and i will.” eren breathed into your mouth.

you considered it for a moment. you considered letting the warmth of his hands leave your skin, letting him go back to the party, letting him leave you. his eyes were serious, and you could tell he was considering it too. you closed your eyes, grazed your lips over his just a fraction or so, and that was all the answer eren needed.

when he took your lips properly for the first time, it felt as though they were no longer yours. eren kissed you passionately, slowly, as if kissing was all you would ever be able to do. and you let him. as his tongue slipped between your already parted lips, you let yourself get lost in the champagne taste that lingered on it. you let him kiss you for so long that you’d started to get dizzy from how little you were breathing. and you loved it.

you loved having his mouth on you. you loved little wet sounds that emanated whenever he took his lips off yours. you loved how he was holding you—one hand at your nape and the other cupping your jaw. you loved how good he was making you feel. “eren, more.” you had managed to say between kisses.

and it seemed he was more than happy to oblige. he took his lips over your neck as if they belonged there, nipping and sucking at that same frenetic pulse point like he was hungry for it—hungry for you. you held his hair back as he worked down your neck and over your collarbones. eren’s eyes darkened as he smoothed his lips up and down the valley between your breasts. not yet kissing, but running his mouth over the delicate skin. “can i kiss you here?” he asked, voice muffled by desire as he palmed your left breast.

“uh-huh,” you nodded, and eren had dropped down on one knee for better access. smoothly, you maneuvered the straps of your dress off your shoulders just in time for eren to pull you in. 

his hands on your waist, his tongue making busywork over your pert left nipple, his name on your lips. “you like it when i touch you here?” he asked, the tip of his nose nudging the spot where his mouth had just been. you nodded again.

eren took a hand that had been on your waist and let it drop over your ankle. “what about right here?” then that hand was moving up your calf. “and here?” towards the back of your knee. “you like this too?” up the doughy flesh of your thigh, where he took his time fondling the nylon-covered skin. “oh, yeah, i know you like this.” he murmured as you squirmed.

“you’re so warm,” eren groaned as his remaining joined the other under your dress, both kneading your thighs whilst teasing the skin between them. the tip of his thumb grazed over the crotch area of your stockings and you shivered. “can i feel you here?” 

yes. the answer was so obvious that you’d hardly felt the need to say it. just as your mouth began to open around the response, a monstrous clap of thunder roared across the sky, followed by a burst of lightening, which was then followed by gentle rainfall.

it was like the rain had been trying to sober you. all the warmth, all the lust, all the irrationality—all rinsed away by the rain and its growing freneticism. hurriedly, you readjusted the shoulders of your dress and helped eren to his feet. “we should get out of here.” you sighed, swallowing a gulp. “before we get too wet.”

eren only nodded, his hands having settled on your waist. you waited for him to take them off, for the moment to be over, for your need to touch him to finally dissipate. you waited and waited, and it seemed he was doing the same.

finally, eren moved to slip his suit jacket off his shoulders and set it carefully over yours. “here, let me,”

“you shouldn’t.” you tried, already attempting to shrug the expensive material off of you.

eren persisted, “i want to.” as he tugged it over you more securely. “now, let’s get out of here.”

***

it was only eleven o’clock. the rest of the party, still inside and blissfully ignorant to the rain, weren’t there to see eren escort you into your car. 

“is your manager still in there?” eren asked once you were nestled safely in the backseat.

how angry would hange be if you left them there for the remainder of the night? how angry would they be if you pulled them away from a good party (and potentially even better money) just because you’d gotten a little carried away with eren in his garden?

“i’ll call them in the morning.” you decided.

tags ✧˖*°࿐ — @nyanglock @beyondsuki @punkologist @taylarxse @ittostan @rensbby @madsoncrack @shawtynoire @braxxinterlude @kai7911

© NININIKKI. do not translate, copy, or modify my works in any way shape or form.

[themoonlitsojourner]

"I'm sorry. You did what?"

Blood tossed a hand over his shoulder, robe sleeve flapping. "I hired a mercenary. Now, I know you and your team are well-equipped and trained. Ha! I should know, I trained you."

Jinx purses her lips and focuses her eyes at the back of Blood's white hair rather them rolling them toward the back of her head. "Of course."

"But we have far too many other concerns. Too many balls in the air to devote as much attention as we would need to to this one. So! I outsourced. She's very good." He shoves open the last door, shoulders visibly relaxing as he enters his lab.

"And you trust this... mercenary?" Jinx curls her fingers around the edge of the open door, leaning against it.

"Of course. She was trained by the best of the best."

"Are you going to leave me in suspense."

"No, no." Brother Blood beckons. An acolyte swings open the door on the other side of the room. Blood drops into his chair, smiling at the visitor and steepling his fingers. "Tremor, is it? Welcome!"

She's taller. Eyes darker. Clad in armored orange and black, but there's no mistaking. Terra.

"I believe you've met? Tremor, this is Jinx. My protégé and this academy's star graduate. You've met in combat a few times, yes?"

Terra lifts shadowed eyes to Jinx. "Yes. We have."

"Once or twice." Jinx lets her gaze travel down Terra's straight shoulders, slim belted hips, all the way to her heavy combat boots. Military grade. Oh, how the mighty have fallen. "When you were a Titan."

No flicker of recollection, no pang of regret. Terra just turns her attention to Blood. "You have the contract. Are we all good?"

"Yes." He reclines in the office chair, studying his newest toy with casual interest. "You will provide daily updates to either I or Jinx. If there are any concerns or questions, you will consult with us as well."

"Right."

"You will have access to our extensive resources, as needed."

"I won't need them." Long, straight locks of thick blonde hair fly up, just slightly, as Terra turns around.

They watch her go.

"I like that one."

"Where on earth did you find her?" Jinx crosses her arms. "She dropped off the face of it after the Titans debacle."

"I know a guy who knows a guy." Blood wiggles his hand in the air, already swiveling to a massive tome. "I think she'll be perfect. Let me know if you run into any issues. Give her whatever she needs, number three clearance level. Oh, and you'll be running recruitment today?"

Jinx grips the doorknob. "We will."

"Splendid! Say hello to Amanda for me."

The door does not quite slam under Jinx's grip.

~~~

"Looks like a washout to me." Gizmo tosses back a jello cup and slurps loudly. "Budget assassin. Come on, we could do better in our sleep."

Mammoth lifts his head. "Huh. Think she'll choose the chicken or the beef?"

The dice clatter to the table in a satisfying almost circle. "If she's learned any sort of discernment, she won't eat anything from this cafeteria at all."

"Ah, come on." Mammoth pops a plum into his mouth and crunches. "Ish not soo bad. What, you got a fifteen? Is that good?" Leaning over, he squints at the dots.

"It's fine." Jinx sweeps the dice into her fist. "Who could possibly be worth hiring an actual mercenery for?"

"Washout," Gizmo mutters, sawing at a slab of chicken.

"Blood didn' tell oo?" Mammoth asks around a mouthful of mashed potatoes.

"No." Jinx shoves back her chair. "He didn't." She steps around the table.

"Wait!" Gizmo squawks. "Do not engage! Classic cafeteria rules, numbskull!!"

The crowd parts, individuals much taller and broader than Jinx catching sight of her and sidestepping, others shrinking back into themselves with nervous smiles.

Terra leans over a loaded cafeteria tray at an otherwise empty table, fork nudging at ambiguous meat cubes. She lifts her chin from her hand as Jinx approaches. "Hey."

Something like relief flickers in her dark blue eyes. Jinx stops at the far edge of the table. "Hello."

"You're-" Terra glances away. "You've really moved up, here. Made a name for yourself."

"I have." What is this? Why are they having this conversation? "You're taller than I remember."

Terra's cheeks flush, ever so slightly. Curious. She's also paler than she was. Not nearly enough sun. "I- yeah."

"You've been doing this a while?" Jinx runs her fingertips over a chair back. "You have experience?"

Her expression flattens. And Jinx could swear a layer of color vanishes with it. "Yes."

Such somber eyes. "Then this should go smoothly."

"It will." Terra looks back to her food.

"Good." Jinx pushes off the chair. She strides back to her table.

Gizmo is sputtering, arms waving, face red. "What was that?! Are you crazy?? What were you-??"

"What did she say?" Mammoth's hazel eyes watch Jinx thoughtfully.

"She'll do fine." The words scratch at the back of Jinx's brain. They're something Blood would say. "We have nothing to worry about."

"Oh yeah?" Knife scraping into his plate, Gizmo jerks his eyes across the room. "'Cause I heard some stuff. You know what they say about freaky little Washout and her mentor??"

Hair falling in front of her eyes. Long fingers brushing it behind her ear. "I know." Jinx follows Terra's hand as it falls to drum on the tabletop.

"They say that she-"

"I said I know, Gizmo."

A huff, and he rolls his eyes. "Yeah, well, I was just saying..."

"She looks sad," Mammoth says, suddenly.

"Yes." Jinx turns a die over in her fingers. "She does."

[intothedraft]

Chapter 35: Roan is the world's worst boyfriend

Layane hides until the sound of her magical boyfriend stabbing men to death stops. There is nothing to suggest any of the men are left alive, which I guess means the 'my own shadow' thing was a misdirect or (more likely) a leftover from when I originally planned to include Shafina in this scene.

Whoops!

[Layane] felt someone touch her shoulder, she turned. Roan. “Hi,” she muttered weakly. He hugged her, and Layane looked over to the other side of the cave over his shoulder. Clemant, Clemant was still stuck… They broke apart. “We have to save my sister,” said Layane. “Did you hear what the man said?” said Roan. “But…” “We can’t, Layane, we can’t.”

I have read and reread the last two chapters several times, trying to work out what Roan meant by 'what the man said'.

If we assume Roan was there all along, which means he watched Clemant get trapped in the ice prison without intervening, didn't grab Layane while the bad guys thought she was unconscious, then waited a strangely long time before stepping in after one of the men attacked Layane, he probably means what the man said about the ice prisons being able to withstand millions of tonnes of pressure.

So by, 'Did you hear what the men said? / We can't, Layane, we can't', Roan means: "It's impossible for us to save your sister, so we shouldn't bother trying. Even though she's literally just in an ice cube and one of my country's leaders is a massive ball of fire. Based on what the man said, no point."

Lovely.

If we assume Roan isn't the world's worst boyfriend, and that he arrived immediately before he first spoke, well... this is everything the Hivemind said since he appeared. I've even been generous and assumed he caught the end of the monologue.

Unnamed man #1 (man who attacked Layane): “I have waited for this moment,” (...) “For most of my life. Your horrible stupid little family, always killing us… but now, we will kill you both. And the main line of Croes will be gone. Forever.”

Unnamed man #1: “Do you know who said that?”

Unnamed man #1: “Men, get in here, we may have company,” [armed men then swiftly arrive]

Unnamed man #1: “Are you sure?” [That Layane did not hear who spoke]

Unnamed man #1: “Where are you?” (...) “Come on, I know you’re hiding in here somewhere!”

Unnamed man #1: “Ha ha,” (...)“Show yourself, wherever and whoever you are, otherwise…” (...) “…I’ll shoot her,”

Unnamed man #2: “Oh, if it isn’t our friend,”

Unnamed man #3: “Er… we kill you now,”

Unnamed man #1: “No,” [In response to Roan saying 'get off her']

Unnamed man (unclear if this is #2, #3 or another): “Hand her over or we’ll shoot!”

So nothing that would make sense of Roan's dialogue. If the Hivemind had said something along the lines of, "Dozens more of us are on the way to kill you!" or "This whole place is gonna collapse in five seconds!" or something else along those lines, that would make sense.

But no. There's nothing.

Seeing as Roan has (presumably) killed all of the present members of the Hivemind, and none of the Hivemind's dialogue since his arrival suggests that anything will happen to them if they hang around to rescue Clemant, I assume he did mean the million tonnes thing.

Tears started to stream down her face. “Do I have to choose between you and her?” she yelled.

Again: it's not much of a choice, is it? OBVIOUSLY save your four-year-old sister who is slowly freezing to death.

“I’ve only really known you for a couple of weeks, but I’ve known her for

Good. She's finally getting it.

six years!

Oh. Clemant is six now, I guess. Either two years have passed since the war started or I forgot how old she was.

(Or, as my fiancée suggested, "Layane counts the year her parents took to conceive Clemant as knowing her, because they were very open about the whole thing.")

They hear a gunshot, so Roan drags Layane out of the cave.

As in, he grabs her arm and runs with her out of the cave. Even though he can fly.

Sigh.

Whatever is outside the cave isn't described, so I have no idea if they run out of the ice caves straight into the battle. I assume not, as I hope I'd describe that, or at least throw in a passing comment about it.

Layane desperately tries to persuade Roan to stop, which would make a lot more sense if he was flying, because presumably if he was running she could just rip her hand out of his grasp.

“Stop!” she cried out. “We have to save my sister!” Roan stopped running, and turned to look at her. “You should have stayed in the fort.” “But I wanted to see you!“ cried Layane. “But you obviously know your sister better,“ he said.

Is... Roan jealous that Layane cares about her sister more than him, a boy who she has only known for two weeks and who tried to kill her a week ago?

“I know a way to save her,“ Layane said Calmly. “I can show you and you can help me if we just turn back!“ He sighed. “Ok, I’ll do this for you,“ he said. “How?“

"UGHHHHHH. Fine, babe. I guess I'll go save your fucking sister. If I have to."

“The cold air is generated by a large fan-thing,“ she said. “There has to be a way to switch it off.“

The Hivemind said ice could withstand an insane amount of pressure, and showed off a magic little robot thing (where is the Puridonne, anyway?) that made the massive ice cubes, but... sure. Getting rid of the fan will fix this.

Or... Roan, how about you grab your crystal, which I assume you still have, say 'Flairishia' and get her to come and melt everything?

Nah.

They ran back to the cave, and sneaked in through the door. Layane led Roan to the huge machine, and pointed to it. “We need something to jam it,“ she said.

Flawless plan. Not sure what they mean by 'door' though.

They find a rock to jam the fan's blades, rather than unplugging it from the generator it must be plugged into. I guess Roan wouldn't know what electricity is, but surely Layane does?

They threw it at the machine, and it sparked, the fan stopped. “It could take some time for the heat to actually go,” said Roan. The machine started to fall. It was falling… falling towards them… “LOOK OUT!” Roan grabbed Layane and pulled her away from it. It made a huge crash and small stones fell from the ceiling.

I get that this is a first draft, but come on. Why did Roan describe the cold air as 'the heat'? How does Roan know how a fan works? Why does everything happen so quickly? Why did the fan fall?

Layane ran up to the ice that Clemant was being held in and put her hand on the side of it. “We’re going to get you out,” she said. But the ice was still metres thick…it would take hours… days, even weeks to unfreeze itself…

I may be wrong, but I don't think Layane would be able to see Clemant in the ice prison if the ice truly was 'metres thick'.

Hate to agree with Roan, but right now Clemant seems pretty unsavable.

Also, there's a man with a gun somewhere. God knows where, because he hasn't been brought up since Layane and Roan ran back into the cave, but somewhere.

“LAYANE!” yelled Roan. Layane turned. She looked behind her. One of the Dying Screams. Right behind her. It had an axe, it swung at her… she screamed and ran…

Oh, right. The titular Dying Screams. Maybe it killed the shooter? Let's be charitable and say yes, even though canonically the Screams and the shooter would be on the same side.

If I really wanted to make Layane have to choose between Clemant and Roan, I could have made it happen here. If I'd given Layane a way to rescue Clemant that was actually working, maybe by picking up a flamethrower or something, she could have been freeing Clemant when Roan was attacked by a Dying Scream. Then, in that moment, Layane would have to decide between rescuing Clemant from freezing to death, or saving Roan.

Instead, it's... this.

Layane sort of chooses Roan, in that she runs away, leaving Clemant trapped in a block of ice (that Layane had no way to free her from).

Roan and Layane kept running… He led her around the fighting, but then they were noticed, their footsteps were too noisy… Layane pulled her swords out of her belt, and held them, ready.

Another good example of, 'where the hell are these characters, El?'

“The human child will die.” “The human child will not,” said Layane.

Presumably the Dying Screams said that. I don't know if they meant Layane or Clemant, nor can I tell from Layane's response who she thinks they meant.

Roan and Layane fight the Dying Screams, but no matter how many times they hit them, the Screams just keep coming back.

“How do they die?” she yelled. “No one has any idea what so ever,” muttered Roan.

I know that they stay alive in the magic book, so Roan is technically telling the truth, but kids: if you thought very long and hard, you'd remember at least one way that's worked to stop them in the past.

For a short while, Roan and Layane continue to fight. Then Roan tells Layane to run, because the Dying Screams won't make like their name and just die already. The Screams also keep hissing, 'The human child will die', which I've just realised they're probably saying because they're under the Hivemind's control, so I guess they mean Layane, seeing as Clemant is already slowly freezing to death.

Something landed on Layane’s head. She looked up. A drop of water had fallen off a nearby tree branch… if they jumped they could reach it, they’d be safe for now… “Look up,” whispered Layane, a the Dying Screams came closer and closer, and Roan jumped upwards, the wind catching his wings and making him fly to the branch, catching onto the tree branch and climbing up. The Dying Screams were angry… they screeched and tried to jump to reach him… obviously they couldn’t fly…

I guess the Dying Screams can't fly. Okay. Hey, apparently there's trees wherever Layane and Roan are!

I'm not sure where the water came from. Did Saphirah make it rain right before the battle? During the battle? I can't remember how her powers work, because I didn't really care about Saphirah. She was just there because I didn't want there to only be four Ladies. I do find it funny that the Lady I cared the least about is the one who became a wife and mother (assuming that her family is unchanged since draft 1).

(...) but then they fixed their glare on Layane… “The human child will die.” Layane jumped, but missed the branch, Roan was taller than her, he may have got up easily but she couldn’t…

Wait... didn't Roan carry her up? He can fucking fly and he didn't carry her up?

She jumped again, her fingers skimming the branch, but she couldn’t grab onto it, it was much too slippery… “Layane!” yelled Roan. He reached down as far as he could from the branch he was on, Layane jumped again, and grabbed his hand, but the Dying Screams had grown impatient… A searing pain in her stomach… She screamed… Roan pulled her up… The blood… She blacked out.

You fucking suck, Roan. You don't even deserve the mug. That would be too kind a gift, because even though it's proclaiming you're the worst, the mug would still be a functional, useful item.

Credit to sassattackmugs on Etsy. If you want to buy a mug for your terrible boyfriend, apparently that's the place.

[roseate-felidae]

Cats are liquid game by last quarter studios

It is a free mobile platform game.

They have a tumblr @catsareliquidgame

So the game is a platform story game. You play as Lumi, a female cat in the rough shape of a ball, that has ears, a tail, a happy blue cat face. She can turn into liquid and gains other abilities later. These include a flying gas form, a cube that can turn off dangerous barriers and an explosive to break down other specific barriers.

The game narrates you throughout each level. Sometimes your own thoughts and sometimes someone else talking to you.

Anything orange can hurt or kill you. You have three lives. Lumi is aware of this. Lumi also glows in the dark levels.

The first game (a light in the shadows or ALitS) is her, on her own, navigating the levels desperately trying to leave.

The second game (a better place or ABP) has her and three friends (one sad, one neutral and one angry, represented by corresponding colours). They each have their own abilities and try to help Lumi with her mental health.

Below the cut is some lore

I shall start with the second game (a better place or ABP). This is actually a Prequel, which I will explain after.

Lumi fights off her depression with the help of her three friends. Later her friends do not leave the platform place like they should have. As they were "fixed". This leads them to start to loose themselves and die. Before dying they give a peice of themselves to Lumi.

The first (green) makes her turn green when she uses an ability. The second (red) turns her red when she gets hurt. The last turns her blue when she uses her water ability.

Blue friend dying and Lumi's water form change after this. Before it was white.

Red friend dying and Lumi's colour change when hurt. Before, it flicked white and transparent. Now its red.

In the end she cannot save anyone. She decides to make a new world in which no-one can ever leave. This is titled "a light in the shadows".

A light in the shadows (ALitS) was the first game. It is about Lumi learning about the dangers of orange objects and abilities. We learn she is here to escape from the deaths of someone. That is because she knows you respawn here. But she desperately wants to leave this place. Strangely, when she reaches the end, she decides that she wants to stay and resets the game by dying.

Most likely, she keeps trying to leave and then resets it at the end. This would erase her knowledge, explaining how she does not know about the fundamentals about the game, despite knowing it in ABP. Making her trapped in an endless loop.

The evidence for ABP being a prequel includes: the end level name being the same as the first games name (a light in the darkness), her changing colours with water form, and injury. The death she is escaping could refer to her friends. No-one else is mentioned. In ABP she also says to keep smiling. This may explain why her expression never changes when hurt, unlike in ABP.

Screenshot above shows her water form is Blue. Not white.

A character apparently found in every level of A light in the darkness is a purple cat with no face. We don't know who they are. Apparently, they are always watching. They are slightly transparent.

The purple one also created the cube. The cube is controlled by the cat (by using some of her lifeforce) to travel over the orange areas and press buttons. These unlock barriers. If the timer runs out before Lumi reabsorbs it, Lumi will die. In "Companion" levels in ALitS, it is explained that the cube is sentient, and its purpose is to make Lumi feel emotions again. They hope its to help her. They are hurt by purple colours.

According to the reset levels in ALitaS, Lumi was locked in this place by her owner. The owner started acting weirdly and said she reminded him of someone. Lumi cannot remember who though.

[fantasiac]

sonic stagger thinggg

Wisps function like elemental shields, getting hit doesnt cause you to lose rings, but it also removes the wisp entirely, they also have their actions bound to R2, and stop you from being able to use your insta shield

you can collect wisps, some have a meter and run out when an action drains from the meter, or the meter goes down over time, or you only lose the wisp when you take damage (these are the best ones). if you take a wisp to the end of a level, you get a color coin, you can add 3 of any kind to your Wisband, each color coin has a different upgrade that gets added as a passive effect, there arent upgrades for all of the wisps, but some wisps will give you the same type of coins, some coins are more overpowered and can take up 2 slots on the band (you get 3 slots), speed and flight characters have slightly different changes to their upgrades, but the all function the same over characters in the same type, so sonic and amy would have the same wisband upgrades, but the same color coin would be changed to a different upgrade that suits the flight moveset for knuckles and tails

Wisps ==

Boost Wisp, functions like normal boost (action drain)

Drill Wisp, functions like knuckles' battle dig attack; you go underground, you cant see yourself, but there's a little drop shadow for where you are, symbolizing you're underground, the longer you go underground, the higher youll shoot out of it when you surface. you can use this dig to quickly avoid obstacles, or for example, there's a hallway with laser gates completely blocking the way through, you can dig under to bypass that (I hate locking paths off by powerup, so maybe that'll just be an introduction area that teaches how the wisp works) it can also be used the same way on walls and cielings, and it can be used as a slam that does more damage the higher you fall from (damage drain)

Laser Wisp, shows a reticle on the wall your facing, and it will teleport you there, it has a set distance, but you can use it to skip wallspin sections, it also uses the homing reticle and keeps the lazer beam in the entering direction, it can also rebound off of enemies to do a lightspeed attack but you have to aim it differently, it works a lot like shadow's chaos shift ability in sonic dream team (action drain)

Burst Wisp, gives you a dire dash, it shoots you in the direction you hold, if you hold no direction, it bursts up this also keeps your momentum, you can also hold it to charge, giving you a bigger burst, you can charge 3 times, a 3x burst uses all 3 of your normal bursts, but it launches you as high as 4, and a 2x burst, launches you as high as 3, so it could be good to do 1x burst upwards, then a 2x burst forwards sometimes (damage drain)

Spike Wisp, makes sonic's jumpball bigger and does 3 damage, also increases the damage done by spinblade, and makes wallspin lossless, so you dont lose height, its parallel. it also keep ALL of sonic's momentum up an incline or wall when curled, as opposed to before where you lose all of your momentum and traction in a ball (damage drain)

Hover Wisp, when held down, sonic floats, he keeps his momentum, but he loses it slowly over time, you can pair this with different moves to change the trajactory, like doing it right fter a bounce to go upwards fast, or after a ring rush (action drain)

Cube Wisp, alters the slam attack to make a shockwave, the shockwave freezes all enemies in cubes, the cubes make them take more damage, also, just having the shield can turn blue rings into platforms, when you get close enough (damage drain)

Eagle Wisp, gives sonic the flight characters glide (time drain)

Lightning Wisp, allows you to create a burst of lightning that staggers all enemies, also doing a homing attack does damage to surrounding enemies because of the lightning burst, and the magnetizes silver rings as an idle effect, but it sucks up gold rings caught inside the burst, this is so that you can still use a neccesary ring rush without ruining it, just because you have a wisp (time drain)

Ghost Wisp, lets you walk through enemies without taking damage, it can also phase through walls that would normally only be able to be broken by knuckles or amy, and obstacles like spikes (time drain)

the wisps are designed to be extensions of your moveset, instead of how they can function in sonic colors, where the effect of one completely halts your flow and makes you focus in that type of gameplay (like the colors hover wisp (I don't like the colors hover wisp)), so in theory, you don't have to slow down with any of these wisps, which helps because the game uses momentum, and having a wisp that doesn't blend well with that momentum wouldn't be very fun

[pixeljade]

Had a dream that they came out with another Distant Lands episode of Adventure Time which actually explained all the cosmic entities, framed through an explanation of where Prismo's sleeping old man came from. In the dream, the old man's name was just Paul and he was a guy on earth during the days leading up to the mushroom war who slept through everything. His family made jokes about how he would probably sleep through the apocalypse, and he couldnt hold down any jobs because he was always so sleepy. He had a wish to someday make the perfect pickle, but nobody took him seriously. He also had a small dog who always got jnto mischief. Meanwhile, in his dreams, he was communing with various gods, especially the cosmic owl. At some point the cosmic owl just casually says to him "Oh actually the apocalypse IS coming lol" and he just freaks out, and cosmic owl just says something about seeing if he can get him a job with his boss, changing the subject awkwardly. Paul says "yeah sure, whatever", and then wakes up to an air raid as bombs are dropping in his neighborhood. He runs, and falls down into a sewer, which somehow lets him survive the initial blast, but he get irradiated. From then on out we see Paul moving from refugee camp to refugee camp, surviving the final days of humanity, while his dreams seem empty, and he laments that even what he thinks are his imaginary friends have given up on him. Meanwhile, we're shown Cosmic Owl going to their boss, who we only ever see as a ball of pulsing light which changes color constantly, and speaks through a monotonous drone. The Cosmic Owl then gathers all the cosmic entities to discuss Paul, and all of them agree that Paul is worth saving--of interest is that Scarab is amongst those saying this. But that direct interference just to save one guy isnt okay. But what they CAN do is pull out his inner cosmic essence and ascend him to godhood, something Cosmic Owl laments as not being ideal. So then Cosmic Owl comes to Paul, as he's ain a group of survivors, the children of which have animal hats, and Paul is about to turn into one of the goo monsters that result from radiation. Cosmic Owl says he has a way out of his horrible fate, but its kinda a monkey's paw type deal. Paul simply says sure, and Cosmic Owl tells him to shut his eyes, and focus on what his inner cosmic essence tells him he should do. Paul just smiles sadly and says, he's met so many people who never got to see their wishes to fruition, he just kinda wants to be able to bring their wishes to life. Suddenly, Paul's shadow starts turning pink, and Cosmic Owl whisks him away from earth, knowing that he cannot be there any longer, pulling him to one of the many random floating rocks in space. And then boom, suddenly, reality unfolds into the cube Prismo lives in, right above Paul, and Paul heals up and falls into a deep sleep. Prismo and Cosmic Owl have a quick conversation, where its clear Prismo has no memory of Paul's life, but Cosmic Owl makes some comment about pickles, and Prismo lights up talking about making pickles. Cosmic Owl smiles gently, appreciating that there's still a little bit of Paul in there, even if Prismo isnt him. Cosmic Owl explains his job as wishmaster real quick, and goes on his way to report back to the others. Prismo starts flipping through channels, fast forwarding through ones, and ends up seeing Jake making bacon pancakes and smiles. Then we cut away to Cosmic Owl with the other entities from earlier, explaining Prismo, and Scarab gets pissed. Scarab apparently really loved talking to Paul, and now Paul was forbidden to ever awaken, so long as Prismo was free to be himself. He swore vengeance on Prismo then and there, saying that if he made even the slightest mistake, he would take him down and bring Paul back. And thats when the episode ended.

And yes, i do dream entire episodes of things sometimes with complete plot points. My brains just like this.

[interdimensionalburnout]

>Berri's arrival is preceded by a camera drone, hovering in what appears to be a serene airspace. The sky stretches on for miles and miles, and in no direction is there even the distant speck-shadow of land. Instead, visible here and there, amid distant wisps of things that may have been clouds, there were great holes, ripped open and in some cases stretching on for miles. Great wounds, windows into and out of this space, all of which reveal different destinations, or else they bleed other images. Wherever in the multiverse this is, it is clearly falling apart.

>The sky has a distant, pinkish hue, bright with midday light and no sun to source it from, as the camera drifts around to face its master's entrance. Berri's ship, The Guilty Cocker Spaniel, appears in this new reality. It's a flicker of an image of a ship, at first, just one, then two, and within milliseconds the ship has solidified entirely into this crumbling, alien vista. The Spaniel is a blocky and graceless ship, looking more like a series of copper-colored shipping containers has been mashed, asymmetrically together. A blocky cockpit sits at its front, situated like the head of a turtle in its shell, and a quintet of thrusters are situated in the aft. The thing is a haphazard mess, but as it flickers into this existence, it comes to a drifting stop, turning on an impossible time given its design.

>The camera drone's aperture flutters shut, reopening with a zoomed-in shot at a loading bay door, fixed to the side of Berri's ship. The door opens on Berri, flooding the dark interior behind her with a sharp light. In her hands is a staff, a polished copper thing, made of disconnected pieces that seem to be held together by some magnetic force. Berri's stance is as casual as her dress, which is a pair of flip-flops and capris, a sports bra, and an ubuttoned brown cardigan, but she carries herself with an unerring confidence reflected in her smirk. The woman ashes her cigarette into the void around her, before clanking her staff on the floor of her ship. There's a slow wave of light, like displaced glitter on the wind, that spreads backwards from her feet. Machines behind her respond, various details hidden in the shadows of their looming forms glowing red.

>With another shuttering of its eye, the camera drone has zoomed back out, letting its wider sight capture several bug-like machines practically shoot themselves out of that hangar door, each one missing Berri by mere centimeters, reaching torpedo speeds only seconds after they've launched. Eight free-floating devices, each one the size of a rhino and built like wingless bugs, streak through the sky, coming to stops at such unbelievable distances that even the drone can no longer see them. The drones traveling the furthest take the most time, easily hurtling across this empty space for a daunting six minutes, at ever-increasing speeds. After three minutes, the echoing thunderclaps speak to broken sound-barriers.

>By this time, the drone has hovered its way back to The Spaniel, hovering around Berri's head and watching over its master's shoulder as she observes an octet of red dots, moving across a palm-sized screen. Two more minutes pass before the first red dot, the one closest to what must be Berri's location on the screen, turns green. One after another, the drones reach their established coordinates, and their tracking marks turn green. Satisfied with the cube of empty space they've formed the corners of, Berri clicks her staff on the floor again. The various charms, orbiting around the displaced ball of opaque white glass at its center, all shutter in unison, before that glass center seems to send a ripple out through the air around it. In response, the charms and tokens, all copper, all uniquely carved or shaped, all assume specific locations around that orb. Berri clicks the staff off the floor once more, and utters a command word. The syllables and sounds, the word itself, is lost in the audio distortion, as her voice seems to echo ahead of the words, but the command is heard clearly by the staff, which fires a white beam of light from the central glass orb.

>The beam of light trails off into the indistinct horizon, but it remains visible, even as it splits into several beams, hurtling in opposite directions and impacting the drones. Impossibly vast lines of glowing white light trace the outlines of a truly massive cube. It seems to hang in the air, this spectacle of light, for just a second, before the entire space explodes with white light in a violent flash. There's a thunderclap, as an incomprehensible amount of air attempts to fill in the space that Berri had just stolen, but as the camera drone's ability to see comes back, it's clear that Berri didn't just take a bajillion cubic meters of air. Based on the gaping tears, the instinct edges, and the black-and-white static beyond, Berri stole a healthy chunk of this reality, spiriting it away... somewhere. The video cuts as Berri lets out another puff of smoke and snickers to herself.