#eli doesn't write sometimes

[eli-writes-sometimes]

Soldier, Poet, King Tag

Thanks for the tag, @oh-no-another-idea!

Rules: take this uquiz to find out if you're a soldier, a king, or a poet, then use this Picrew to make yourself as that!

This was so fun! :D

No pressure tagging - @new-royston-cursebreakers @writingamongther0ses @charlesjosephwrites and anyone else who wants to!

[elllisaaa]

hi eli!! hope you’re well 💖💖 was hoping you could write husband headcannon for dino? including nsfw hc? 🫣 i know you wrote bf hc dino but i feel like husband hc would hit differently ykno lol tysm!! 💖💖

HUSBAND!CHAN hits different, that's true, because if as your boyfriend he was whipped, now he's a simp and he isn't ashamed of it.

he's so proud that you're his wife that he doesn't even call you by your name anymore, always saying my wife this, my wife that, because he cannot get enough of saying it, knowing that you're his forever brings a smile to his face and a warm feeling in his chest everytime. chan is also a sucker for the way you present him as your husband, and it's like he's never gonna get used to it. even if now that you're married he should trust you even more and feel less possessive because he knows you're his through and through, it gets worse. everytime you're out together, he needs to have his arm wrapped around your waist or your shoulders, showing off to everyone that you're taken, showing off his ring to anyone. even in private, chan is a lot more clingy and touchy (which is surprising because he was already very clingy and touchy before) but now it is necessary for him to be with you all the time, he never lets you go. and now that you're his wife, he can easily take you with him during tours and any event. it allows you to travel too, seeing so many cities and countries you didn't think you would ever visit.

"we're going to berlin next week honey, i'm taking you with me."

chan still feels shy sometimes when you compliment him, but now, he has found some ways to make you blush too. now, he's the one to fluster you most of the time instead. he's the type to retweet the posts saying "goodnight to my wife, fuck everyone else" without feeling any guilt because it's true. he takes the opportunity that he's your husband now to take care of you and spoil you even more. the way he sees it is that he has to be even more worthy of you and not make you regret marrying him. he buys you jewelry, clothes, books, flowers, everything that you want and need, and even what you didn't even asked for, he's always one step ahead of you to make you smile. you would've thought that after so many times, you would've been used to his affection and his tendency to spoil you, but you weren't, and chan loves how you react just like the first day when he gives you something new.

"this necklace is so pretty on you " - "but channie, it was so expensive…" - "don't worry about it my love, i just love to make my gorgeous wife happy."

HUSBAND!CHAN whose sex drive is even higher now that you're fully his, now that you live together.

chan cannot take his hands off you anymore. the day of your wedding was the happiest day of his life, yes, without any doubt. but as the night came to an end paired with the many drinks he had, by the time everyone left, he could hardly holdback from fucking you right there. chan definitely fucked you while you were still wearing your wedding dress and he was still wearing his suit. and then he spoiled you all night, only really falling asleep as the sun rose up through the window. also, during your honeymoon, chan had the same energy going on. he spent so much time in between your thighs because he couldn't get enough of your taste and the way you were his wife now.

"come on honey, please just let me give you one more. you can do that for me right ? my gorgeous wife…"

at first, he was scared that a routine would settle in your intimate times just as it did with your everyday life. and he didn't want things to get boring, so i think chan would probably want to try a lot of new things with you. he asks you to make a list of all the things you wanna try out, and he also makes a list. whenever the two of you have the time and the energy for it, you pick something from your lists to spice things up. you love that chan tries to keep things interesting, but you also do things to surprise him too and he melts down from the inside everytime. a lot of people told him that once you're married, nothing's refreshing anymore, but chan always brags about the fact that he never once got bored with you. there's also a lot of public sex with him once he's your husband, because as i've stated before, he cannot take his hands off you. be that at the fancy restaurant he took you out to, at a birthday party of one of your friends, in the middle of the park you planned your picnic date to. every occasion is worth pushing his dick inside of you.

"fuck, yes, bend over just like that for me. gonna make you scream my name for everyone to hear."

[xiaq]

Would you ever write a story or book about Kuzy? I need more of himmmm ❤️ one of the few characters I'd read MF for though I feel like if anyone would be chill about finding out he was bi and going with it, it'd be Kuzy lol #yeshomo

@rainbowsandcoconut

I don't currently have any substantive plans for a Kuzy story, but if you want some of my brainworms about him/his eventual romance, here you go:

He lives right next to a firehouse and there's a cute, kickass firewoman (cis, leans androgynous) named Nicole "call me Nic" with whom he has occasional banter-moments (I used to live next to a firehouse and if they were out front they'd always chat with me when I walked the dog; I loved that community dynamic).

One night after a rough game, Kuzy is going for a walk and Nic is sitting out on a lawn chair in front of the house processing a rough call, and they have a moment of shared vulnerability together, looking up at the stars. She's the child of immigrants and they bond over how stupid the English language is. Kuzy tells her about Eli/Hawk and she mentions that she loves dogs but can't have one with her work schedule.

Over the next few days, Kuzy can't stop thinking about her. He wants an excuse to see her more often that doesn't feel creepy, so he goes to the shelter nearby and offers to exercise dogs. Now, he has a perfectly good reason to walk past the firehouse (sometimes multiple times a day!) on the off-chance the firefighters are out and he can politely offer a dog's brief company for Nic's enjoyment.

Except he's not super smooth about it because the rest of the folks at the house realize pretty quickly that the giant Russian walking dogs only happens to walk dogs on the days that Nic is on shift.

Convenient.

This continues for longer than it probably should. Until Kuzy is hosting some of the Hounds and one of the rookies does something stupid. Not sure what. I'm thinking gets his hand stuck in an expensive vase. Or maybe his head. And Kuzy very sheepishly has to walk him over to the firehouse like, "hello, this baby is my responsibility, can you please rescue him?" And they eventually get the thing cut off of his hand/head/whatever but one of Nic's bros pulls Kuzy aside and says, "maybe you should just ask her out instead of coming up with increasingly more creative excuses to talk to her—at this rate someone is going to get hurt" and Kuzy is like, “ok, this was 100% not contrived and while I would like to go out with her, she is a goddess who saves lives and I am but a goofy athlete, undeserving of her attentions," and Firefighter Bro like, "you know, I think she'd settle for you."

So, spurred on by this bit of hope, he's like, "I need to do this right, this can't just be some hookup, I like her." And he starts Operation Woo Nic.

And the whole time Nic is like, "would you just fucking take me home, I would like to bang you," but he's trying so hard to be a gentleman about it that she lets him for a while. She's never been woo'ed before. Might be fun. Eventually she gets fed up and when he's dropping off cookies or whatever on his daily dog-walk she's like, "hey, do you want to be my boyfriend? Yeah? Great. We should have sex about that. My shift ends in three hours, what's your address?"

It is possibly the best day of Kuzy's life.

Anyway. As usual, there's no real plot, just vibes. But he is Smitten. And she is hopelessly endeared. And she's certified as a paramedic, so she's constantly ragging him for his little injuries and keeping him honest about PT. At some point she gets injured in the line of duty and he gets to be suitably dramatic and probably make declarations at her hospital bedside. He dotes on her for a while during her recovery.

And eventually he convinces her to move in with him so she can be close to work and she's like, "yeah? That's the only reason? For the ease of my commute?" And he says, "well that but also because I love you more than I thought was possible and when we're not together I miss you like a limb and our schedules are shit enough as it is, I'm greedy for every second I can have with you," and she's like, "yeah, fair enough."

So. Not really sure how it would end, but uh. There you go! Kuzy and his Firefighter Lady. Also he definitely foster-fails multiple times and hires a full-time nanny to take care of all his and Nic's dogs when she's on shift and he's traveling. It's great.

AND I imagine some very funny cultural confusion moments when her family (Japanese) interacts with his family (Russian) but they all generally bond over their shared love of fermented foods and dumplings. And alcohol. There are hijinks.

Ok. The End!

[sscarletvenus]

one thing about ptj's writing that always leaves a bad taste in my mouth is sometimes i feel he doesn't completely grasp the issues of abuse and sexual trauma, mostly and majorly for the female characters, but the male characters too.

take for example mira getting sexually assaulted by the cult leader and camp instructor, zoe's transaction with logan, club vivi, vin'mom being raped and killed by the shaman, sujin being abused and preyed upon and sexually assaulted before getting beaten to death by taejin... ALL of this feels so catatonic, almost unnecessary in its cruelty. this is a horrible world no doubt. but whatever he inflicts to his female characters seems to be done purely for the sake of shock value, almost like an indelible grief or hurt or helplessness a MALE character has to overcome in his path to nirvana. it is never shown what the woman feels about her own violation, no impact of it can be seen on her own life before she dies or simply forgets and moves on (kinda telling of the author's attitude towards how victims ought to react...).

then lets talk about the male victims. daniel gets stalked, goo and gun and eli were all minors who trained under a man who unironically touches people's genitals and brags about doing so, olly gets raped, eli gets groomed (i will not argue here about this one), sinu is shown naked often with the woman who brainwashed him. not mentioned in the comic but should be pondered upon is the fact that jake and jiho were in juvenile prison, a place with alarmingly high rates of sex crimes. dg is an idol who deals with invasive fans (sasaengs in real life are legitimately terrifying). seongji and vin were the ritual vessels for a cult. but this aspect of their trauma gets completely brushed under the rug, as if even alluding to it would take away from their strength and uhhh, masculine nature.

much to be thought about his treatment of his own characters...

[yandereunsolved]

Platonic Yandere Eli (Liquid Snake) and Tretij (Psycho Mantis) w/ parental soldier darling

Tretij keeps putting them in my mind.

gender neutral darling. (Eli refers to darling as 'mother/momma/mommy' because of his daddy issues.) I am a it/they/he Psycho Mantis truther. I also hc Liquid uses any pronouns. I just write her mostly using he/him for clarity.

tag: @plslovemeforeverandever (more platonic yan Eli w/ Tretij as a plus)

Tretij just floats around, parental darling, soaking in their pain as well as that of their comrades. They aren't sure why they're enamored with you. All they know is that something about your mind soothes them. Your thoughts are... welcomed. They make him smile.

You have a floating ginger accompanying you everywhere. It definitely attracts unwanted attention, which sparks Eli's jealousy. He already has to share momma with Tretij. Now you keep getting weird looks and more interactions with other soldiers because of both of them! It isn't fair.

Eli will stick close to you. He may go as far as hanging off your pant leg, huffing when you politely ask him to get off. He is always carrying some type of weapon to stab someone if they take up too much of your time.

He's also constantly trying to take your attention away from Tretij. He looks up and can tell it knows he's jealous. It loves making him jealous. It will go as far as to manipulate your mind so you forget Eli is near you.

You have to try to have conversations about boundaries with Eli and Tretij. It doesn't go well. Eli ends up choking Tretij while it giggles.

If Eli tells Tretij to stop being mean, then he'll probably listen. They respect Eli enough. But ultimately, your word outweighs Eli's.

If you work under evil polycule, then it'll be... messy.

You are torn between listening to Big Boss and taking care of your newfound children.

Evil polycule wants Tretij banned from Mother Base. It has been seen working with the enemy and compromises their defenses heavily. Then again, considering you can 'control' it, they reluctantly let him stay. No one really likes them, though. Tretij is more than okay with this. You still try to get them to build relationships with people other than Eli and yourself. This leads to it hugging you tightly and crying through their mask.

Eli is just Eli about it. He is violent towards Big Boss and most everyone else at the base. You have to pull him to the side and parent him. He usually doesn't listen to you; however, he does take it into consideration! Baby steps.

It's hard to get them to sit down and do activities that pertain to their age range.

Eli hates reading and can never sit still long enough for you to read aloud. Tretij is more interested in violent horror and thriller books. Those aren't exactly appropriate for the two of them.

Recreational sports never end well. Eli gets too competitive, and Tretij likes keeping the equipment out of his reach.

Card games and board games may go okay. That is, until Eli rage-quits because Tretij is reading his mind and anticipating his moves.

They both like arts n' crafts, oddly enough. Just keep the scissors away from either of them.

Tretij likes making jewelry for the three of you. He makes a bunch of bracelets and necklaces for you (and he expects you to wear them at all times unless it is absolutely necessary that you don't). He likes making earrings, paper crowns, and anklets for Eli. He makes keychains that he can hang off his clothes.

Eli likes drawing. It's mostly him drawing himself killing his father in various situations. You've had to remove the color red from all of the art supplies because he uses it so much. He definitely had a fit about that. He also draws his family: you, him, and Tretij. Thankfully, in those ones, nobody is killing anyone. Sometimes. At least you aren't ever the one being killed!

And when Tretij and Eli draw together... it's disturbing.

"Eli, why are you drawing Big Boss getting eaten by a shark while Kaz and Ocelot drown in a pit of fire? Tretij... is that... the person who flirted with me also getting eaten by another bigger shark?"

You have your hands full with these two.

[jerzwriter]

A/N: Day 24's prompt in @creativepromptsforwriting 30-Day Writing Challenge is to write a story using the words: crown, dance, and smile. I decided to write something for my Eli x Zoe x Troy headcanon from Wake the Dead—a triad I've been wanting to explore more for a while now. I hope you enjoy this short story!

Book: Wake the Dead, Pixelberry Choices Pairing: Eli Sipes x Zoe Rivera (MC) x Troy Hassan Rating: Teen Words: ~1,500 Summary: A day of scavenging doesn't go as planned, but a treasure is found all the same.

Tagging @choicesficwriterscreations (Fics of the Week), @choicesmonthlychallenge (saphires, rubies), @choicesprompts (pride month) and @polyamships

30-Day Challenge Masterlist | Wake the Dead Masterlist | Full Masterlist

Troy leaped out of the van with childlike glee barely a second after Eli shifted it into park. He was already rushing up the wooded hill when Zoe grabbed the back of his leather jacket.

“Easy there, Hassan,” she said softly, not eager to attract the attention of any undead that might be lurking nearby. “Safety first, remember?”

Eli approached from behind, his eyes already rolling. “You act like you’re new to living in a post-apocalyptic hellscape,” he muttered, then turned to Zoe. “I told you we should’ve brought Angel and left him back at Olympus.��

“But then I would have missed the castle!” Troy whined.

It wasn’t exactly a castle, and the estate perched at the top of the hill had clearly seen better days. Ivy clawed through its shattered stained-glass windows, and grimy marble tiles buckled beneath years of abandonment. But the old structure still held an air of majesty. If you closed your eyes, it would be easy to imagine a prince and princess, or perhaps a smug venture capitalist or two, descending the grand staircase in front of the towering oak doors.

“We can’t blame him for being excited,” Zoe offered, trying to keep the peace.

But Eli wasn't moved. “Yes, I can,” he shot back before she even finished.

Zoe gave them both a pointedly amused look. “Well, I can’t blame him... but we still have to stick together and stay quiet. Rules still apply.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Troy replied with a salacious grin, waggling his brows. “I love when you get bossy.”

Eli dragged a hand down his face. “Correction: I should’ve stayed back at Olympus.”

"Stop," Zoe laughed. "You would have missed us terribly!" Linking arms with both of them, she led them up the hill. “Come on, boys. “Let’s see if this place is as impressive on the inside as it is on the out.”

They were greeted with the thick scent of moss and damp wood - and it was quiet, too quiet, as if even the slightest creak might wake whatever ghosts still lingered within. There didn’t seem to be much left to find; the place had clearly been picked over. But that wasn’t going to stop them. They’d long since learned that sometimes a can of peaches or a sealed bottle of iodine could be hiding where you least expected it.

Zoe moved cautiously through the old ballroom, a blade strapped to her thigh, ready for whatever might come. But even as she kicked aside a chunk of fallen plaster, she was enchanted. “This place must’ve been something back in its day,” she whispered.

That’s when Troy popped his head out from behind an ornate cabinet, grinning like a child who’d just found where his parents hid the stash of Christmas gifts. “I found our new currency,” he beamed.

Eli didn’t even look up. “If it’s another scary porcelain doll, I swear to God...”

Troy ignored him and walked dramatically toward Zoe. “My lady,” he said with an exaggerated bow. Then he revealed it - an old, slightly tarnished crown. It still glittered softly despite its obvious age and several missing jewels.

“Wow,” Zoe blinked, taking it in.

“It might be real gold... the sapphires and rubies are probably fake, but it’s still a beauty.” Troy looked pleased with himself. “I found it in a busted display case. We can’t eat it, it can’t patch a roof or clean a wound, but you have to admit - it’s got style.”

Zoe took it from his hands; it was much heavier than expected.

“Who do you think it belonged to?” she asked.

“A fallen aristocrat,” Troy guessed. “The last of her line. She probably escaped to America after World War II. She was expected to marry well and keep the bloodline going, but ended up living out her days in quiet exile after the discovery of her scandalous affair with her stable boy.”

“You’re wrong on all counts,” Zoe declared. “It belonged to the fiercest queen in the land. She fearlessly defended her people before running off with not one but two lovers, then she built a new world from the burnt ashes.”

Troy raised a brow. “Huh. That story sounds oddly familiar.”

Zoe nudged him with her elbow. Then, without a hint of ceremony, Troy retrieved the crown and plopped it onto her head.

“It’s crooked,” she wailed.

“It’s perfect,” Troy smiled. “Just like you.”

Eli finally glanced over. Surprisingly, he didn’t have a sarcastic retort - just a soft glance with a hint of something warm in his eyes.

Zoe stood up straighter and assumed a commanding air, smoothing her grease-covered jeans as if they were a flowing silk ball gown. “I believe,” she said, spinning slowly, “that it is proper to bow before your queen before requesting a dance.”

Troy immediately dropped into a deep, absurd bow.

Eli was unamused. “We’re supposed to be scavenging.”

Zoe glared in his direction in mock horror. “Do you dare to deny your queen?” She circled him, her low tsk-tsk-tsks echoing off the cavernous walls. “Do you not remember the first time you danced with me, Lord Eli?”

“Barely,” he grumbled - but the small, involuntary smile that tugged at his lips was betraying his stony facade.

“It was right after we settled into the lodge,” she went on. “You barely knew me at the time. But you still danced with me.”

“Yep,” he muttered. “And I told you then what I’m telling you now – I knew better than to say no to you. You would have just kept pushing until I gave in.”

“Correct!” She beamed. “You were a smart man back then, but you’re denying me now?”

Troy stepped behind her, voice dripping with mischief. “Get him, Your Majesty! I’m sure we could find a dungeon and leave him here.”

Zoe stifled a laugh. “Duke Troy, I'm afraid you’d miss him terribly if we did."

Troy leaned his head on her shoulder, studying Eli in mock consideration. “I don't know," he said, rubbing his chin. "It depends on what kind of dungeon we’re talking about.”

“Oh, for Christ’s sake,” Eli grumbled. Knowing he was outnumbered and secretly wanting to play along, he stepped forward, giving the world’s most reluctant bow. “May I have this dance?”

“Your Majesty,” Zoe corrected, as Eli smirked.

“May I have this dance... Your Majesty,” he repeated.

“You may,” Zoe replied regally and took his hand.

They moved slowly through the dusty ballroom, workboots scuffing across the cracked tile. Troy started to hum some ridiculous waltz, and Eli shot him a look.

“If you keep that up, I’m stopping.”

Troy sauntered over, his hand resting on Eli’s before he pressed a kiss to his cheek. “You wouldn’t dare.”

Zoe chuckled while twirling into Eli's embrace. "Duk Troy? Do you care to cut in?”

“With pleasure,” he grinned, nudging Eli aside with theatrical flair. “I get a slow dance!”

"Yeah," Eli rubbed the back of his neck. “But I’m not humming for you.”

“Rude!”

Zoe winked at Troy, stopping the moment they waltzed in front of Eli. With a grin, she removed the crown and placed it on top of Eli’s head.

“What are you doing?” he asked, a touch of worry in his eyes.

“I – Queen Zoe – am crowning you King.”

“Oh yeah,” he chuckled. “King of what?”

“King of our hearts, of course,” she declared sweetly, her voice full of sincerity.

Troy barked out a laugh. “Now I have to dance with you, King Eli. I mean, you look hot as hell in that crown.”

“God help me,” Eli muttered, but he allowed it. “Again - just to shut you up.”

“Remember this, Queen Zoe!” Troy hollered as he twirled Eli around the room. “As long as we keep yapping, we can get this man to do anything we want!”

"Duly noted!" She grinned, placing a hand over her overflowing heart. She could have watched them all day - Eli stiff and grumbling, Troy obnoxious yet graceful. She couldn’t remember the last time she felt this much joy.

After allowing them to have their moment, she stepped in, falling into their eagerly awaiting arms. The three swayed together in the silence, and despite Eli’s usual reluctance, even he didn’t want to stop.

“You know,” she teased, “the ‘music’ stopped a while ago. But here we are - still holding on to each other.”

Eli placed a kiss on the top of her head, a warm smile on his lips. “We don’t need music for that.”

Troy kissed Zoe’s cheek, then leaned over and kissed Eli’s temple. She turned and kissed them both in turn, then closed her eyes and simply breathed, wishing to commit this precious moment to memory.

Eventually, Eli gently removed the crown and tucked it into his bag. “Come on,” he said. “As nice as this is, it’s going to get dark soon, and I want to get us home safely.”

He gave one last look inside a nearby cabinet and shook his head. “Not much of a haul today.”

Zoe stepped up beside him and laced her fingers through his. “I don’t know about that. I think this was one of our best finds yet.”

Troy slung an arm around both of them. “Yeah. Being here with the two of you today – it was worth more than a thousand cans of peaches.”

“And pineapples,” Zoe added with a smile.

“Hey – let’s not get ahead of ourselves,” Eli chuckled.

They walked through the long, faded corridor together as the sunlight quickly faded, making it back to the van just before dusk. Zoe gave the estate one last look over her shoulder.

“Let’s go, boys,” she smiled. “Olympus awaits.”

And with the crown packed safely among bandages and a few loose batteries, they drove back toward the only kingdom that mattered – the one where they had each other.

[vialviolence]

Hiii! If your requests are open may I request a Demetri Alexopoulos x reader where the reader is Kyler's sibling and doesn't take his shit and stands up for Demetri?

Hiii lovely! thank you so much for requesting and of course!

Private Protector

Demetri alexopoulos x fem!reader

your brother was a jackass if you were honest, he was rude and mean and didn't care for anyone other than himself and his friends. It was annoying because you did care for him, he was your brother nonetheless but sometimes it was infuriating having to deal with him. You weren't popular like him, sure people knew you but you didn't like being around him or his group, they were cliquey and rude. It was true that you would rather spend your time with demetri and eli than your brother and kyler knew that which is how you landed yourself in this situation

there you sat in the library with eli, demetri and miguel as they talked about sam and if they would have super-powers what they would be. You rested your head on your palm as you stared at demetri and laughed softly at his words.

"Are you insane? Let me ask you. What is the best superpower anyone could have?" demetri asked and you thought for a second but eli responded before you could

"Super strength." he said and you thought about it, he was right

"Wrong. Invisibility. A distant second would be super speed to run away fast" demetri said and that was when you heard the aggravating voice of your brother and had to bite back a groan

"run away from who?" he asked and you turned to him

"Whom. It's the object of a preposition" brucks corrected and you laughed softly before you noticed demetri and the others going to stand up and you followed suite

"Hey, where you going? Oh, look at this freak. Oh. Oh, sh¡t! What kind of girl would ever kiss this shit?" kyler asked as he grabbed elis face and the next few minutes went by until miguel and eli ran off and you and demetri were left alone with your brother, kyler went to grab demetri and you grabbed his arm before he could touch him

"you go anywhere near him and i will break your arm" you threatened your brother with a bite in your tone and he stared at you

"what? you actually care about this freak?" he pushed and you twisted his arm making him let out a groan

"that freak is my boyfriend and if you even think about talking to him or coming near him, i will make your life a living hell, got it?" you questioned your brother as you dead eyed him and he made eye contact

"youre insane" he stated

"says you big brother" you teased and let go of his arm making him scoff, shake his arm and walk away. You stared at his retreating figure before you turned to demetri and smiled

"you okay? youre gonna catch flies with your mouth open like that" you teased him and he shook his head with a smile as he walked over to you and grabbed your hand

"i think i just fell more in love with you than i already was" he stated as he kissed your cheek and you laughed as you nudged him and grabbed his hand walking out of the library

"lets go dork" you stated

"your dork" he retorted without a pause and you smiled

"yeah my dork" was all you said as you left the library with him. it was true that you were his protector and you always had been. his private protector

A/N: hi lovely, i tried to write this as best as i could but i didn't know if this was exactly what you wanted! thank you so so much for requesting and come back with requests anytime

[danosrosegarden]

edward shimmer edward shimmer edward shimmer edward shimmer edward shimmer edward shimmer edward shimmer edward shimmer edward shimmer edward shimmer edward shimmer e

on occasion - edward nashton x gn!reader headcanons

elijah's anniversary celebration: post one!

✨ shimmer prompt: give me a character, and i will write a piece on how they would handle having a crush. ✨

{contains: edward being flustered and obsessive, general fluffy butterfly feelings!}

note: i am so sorry it took me so long to get to these. you can expect quite a few pieces to be published in the coming days! thank you for reading and supporting my work. xoxo, eli <3

♡ It would all be far simpler if Edward had the ability to admire in moderation. If only he could offer you the smallest speck of his heart, the littlest share of his love. That was just his problem. Edward Nashton did not love, but when he did, moderation was not possible. He loved all-encompassingly, with wide, sparkling eyes full of hope and a wildly skipping heart doused in desperate desire. There was nothing he could do to shake you from his thoughts. He simply wasn't able to rip you away from his brain.

♡ You didn't even do anything special; you just lived your life. But that was enough. Your pure, unfiltered existence was enough to have him entranced. Ever since you moved into his complex, he spent his days going crazy, waiting by his cellphone for a text or call. Hey, Ed, I'm off work! Wanna hang out? Hey, Edward, I'm going to the store! Want me to pick a treat up for you at the bakery section? God, you were so thoughtful. So caring. So funny and witty and so irresistibly you. Everything about you had him begging for scraps. Any piece of your backstory or future goals only fueled the crackling fire burning in his soul.

♡ Edward recognizes that the enormity of his longing could be perceived as overbearing or creepy. That's the last thing he would want, to scare you away. He can barely survive each day in his skin as is; he couldn't live with himself if he made you uncomfortable. So he does what he can to hold back. He declines your invitations to hang out sometimes so as to not seem clingy. He leaves you on delivered for a little while, even though he's practically glued to his phone, the intense, monstrous ghoul of FOMO looming over his shoulder.

♡ Even still, his crush is pretty pathetically obvious. He laughs hard and loud each time you tell a stupid joke. He blushes deeply when you compliment him, and his anxious finger-fiddling and lip biting isn't lost on you.

♡ Crystal clear, grade A anxiety. That's how he deals with a crush. He feels a rush of wildflowers bloom colorfully and brightly in his heart each time your name appears on his phone or he sees you in the complex's hallway. His stomach churns and his palms get clammy and goodness, he feels like an awkwardly love-drunk adolescent when he sees you: your glittering, smiling eyes, the way you walk and talk and smile at him...it all swirls around through his body like a whipping windstorm.

♡ He doesn't have the option of not overthinking every interaction, either. Did I say the right thing? Did I act the right way? Was I...cool? Jesus, he really did sound like a teenager, not a grown, mature man in his thirties with a real adult job and real adult responsibilities.

♡ The occasional high of courage shoots through him. He'll occasionally initiate a hang out session. He'll occasionally drop off a gift, maybe a baked pastry or a little trinket he found at the thrift that made him think of you. He'll occasionally write letters and practice speeches confessing his feelings towards you, and he'll occasionally rip the papers up and cringe into his pillow at the quivering in his voice.

♡ Maybe Edward doesn't know what to do with these monstrous feelings of adoration now, but it'll come to the tipping point where he can't bear the feeling of those blooming flowers in his heart anymore. They will outgrow their cage eventually, and he can only pray that you'll accept them and tend to them with him.

[nine-blessed-hero]

Writing Share Tag

Tagged by @aquadestinyswriting, TY!

Rules: Share a recent excerpt

Tagging back (reminder this is DruidX's fandom sideblog): @aalinaaaaaa @ieppiq @wispstalk @rhikasa @eli-writes-sometimes @hannah-heartstrings @artdecosupernova-writing @mythrilpencil @aquadestinyswriting @reneesbooks @oh-no-another-idea @winglesswriter @pheita

Jenifer chewed her lip more, before answering, "Pistachio Matt said he thought he saw you on the news, something to do with that terrible situation in Holland, but Orange Matt said he was wrong, because you would have said something if you were involved, and no one wants to blo-ssoming ask you cuz they're a bunch of flowering cowards, and now you turn up on my doorstep and you're hurt and I am tired of not knowing anything." Aderyn's gaze slid to the crockpot. "We're worried about you."

Gave Aderyn some friends ^.^

(Jenifer's children are in the next room, which is why she's not directly swearing.)

In the first draft, Aderyn was very much a lone wolf, which may have been influenced by me writing it during the pandemic. But I realised while that might suit her drifter lifestyle, it doesn't suit her character which is garrulous and extroverted.

So I decided that she must have a broad network of friends all over the country, and some of them must know each other and keep tabs on her and each other with an instant messaging service. And if she has these friends, they're going to worry when she drops off the radar, with no notice, for over a week.

[viktheviking1]

The scariest people are never the ones who immediately creep you out. They are the ones who are expert at seeming trustworthy. You may already know someone like this, and not realize it yet.

Be it on the Internet or in real life, it is important to be cautious around anyone who starts suggesting things you aren't comfortable with or asking for information that is none of their business.

Things no one taught you about the Internet!

Starting with minors (17 and under in the US)

DON'T POST YOUR AGE! Or age rage. Or birth year. Do not write 'minor' in your bio. This is probably the most common and most dangerous mistake! You will be actively targeted.

Don't pretend you're an adult!!! If a creep sees that you wrote 18 or older but act like a minor, they will do all the same tricks to become your friend, and know they have a legal loophole because they can always claim they didn't know! This is almost more dangerous than just saying "I'm a kid, come hurt me"

Instead just don't say anything! Don't post it anywhere, and don't add it to your bio. If someone asks you for your age, just block them.

Don't share your name or nickname! Even if you don't share your last name, they can pick up enough details about you over time that even a first name is enough to find you.

Instead, use a totally different name! Something like Eli_Bloodsucker is way more fun, just don't use it if your real name or even a real life nickname is Eli, Eliza, Ellie, or anything else even remotely similar!

Don't talk to anyone directly! Be it in comments or asks or in direct messages, they're all dangerous. It doesn't matter if they say they are a minor or an adult. If you can't see their face, don't talk to them. If you find a real life friend you didn't know had an account, don't talk to them. That might not be your friend. You can text your friend directly or talk to them in real life about it later.

Instead, just spread positivity purely form likes and reblogs. Pretend the comment and chat buttons are lava or acid or something. Don't touch them.

Don't share ANYTHING about where you live. Not even country. Don't tell someone about how it's always humid where you live or that there's a storm where you are.

Instead, you can share about weather vaguely later. For example, "a few months ago it snowed and I slipped on ice."

Don't, talk about an activity that would even hint that you are a minor. Don't talk about school, don't talk about piano lessons, don't talk about martial arts class, or football practice. Don't mention growing out of your clothes. Don't mention how your mom grounded you. Don't talk about your little brother barging into your room.

Instead, before posting any stories from your real life, ask yourself if this could also easily apply to someone in their 20s living with roommates instead of family members and working a full-time job. If the answer is yes, then post it, if not, don't. (Good example: I burnt my eggs but I didn't want to waste it so I still ate it. Bad example: My dad made me eggs this morning even though I hate them, and made me eat them.)

Don't post or share pictures or videos of yourself online. Someone can either use it to find you or steal them to lure your friends or other people your age into trusting them.

Instead, find a picture of a duck with a mustache online, and make that you're profile picture. Find a map of Australia and post that as your "outfit check". Way more fun.

Do not trust the person who reblogged this. Do not trust the original poster. Creeps will sometimes post about Internet safety as part of their plan to make you trust them.

So how can you tell who to trust, and who not to? You can't! That's the Internet. Better to play it safe than to risk your actual life over a post or a trend

Adult Internet safety:

Idk, it's your life. You know the consequences you might face. Make your own damn decisions. If your dad can't tell you what to do, then I sure can't.

Oh, and don't interact with people you know, or think, are kids. There is help available for those who are tempted to do this. Don't go down that path. There are resources, there are other ways. Having thoughts isn't a crime, acting on them is. PLEASE talk to a licensed professional.

[eli-writes-sometimes]

oh

[attyisavailable]

Do you got any Haru and Aki general dating headcanons?

ABSOLUTELY

Also forgive me for my writing w/ them, I have not gotten far ✋️ (Haru is still stuck in kitsune form..)

Haru🌸

-Did he tell you that you look pretty/handsome today? Of course he did. This man does not waste a single opportunity to tell you how attractive you are.

-Shares clothes with you, and by sharing, I mean he hides his clothes in your closet. He absolutely LOVES seeing you in his clothes, he's got several reasons. Would you like the list? Of course you would, but I'm too lazy. One of his main reasons being that he just thinks they suit you, another main reason being that he's a little possessive and seeing you in his clothes reassures him that you're his.

-SPEAKING OF BEING POSSESSIVE. He is, but not to a concerning (*cough* Cole *cough*) amount. He's, as said in a dialogue before, used to being a lover. He's had lovers come and go, but you? Nawh, you stayed, and he's not letting that go. He trusts you with being loyal, though.

-Slighty envious of Fuyu's tails. He wants to cuddle you with that many tails, but he does what he can with the ones he got. He likes wrapping his tails around you, both around your waist if you're walking together.

-He'll listen to whatever music you recommend him, but he prefers playing anything romantic or with a certain vibe to it. Though he mostly prefers the sound of your voice (once did a pick-up-line like this).

Aki🍁

-A bit opposite from Haru. Rather than using words, he prefers using actions and gifts to show you affection (and steal kisses). Most of his gifts are probably stolen.. But it's not like you mind, right?

-Sometimes purposely gets himself stuck in his own traps and pranks just so you have to help him out. If you say he can do it himself, he'll give an excuse about having a hand cramp or a bad paw if he's in kitsune form.

-Boundries? What're those? He moved in the moment you cured him from the curse. Like Eli, he kinda just invited himself over. Think of it as him saying it was a sleepover, except his stuff is there 24/7 and he doesn't leave unless he's got something to do or a prank to set up.

-SPEAKING OF PRANKS, you ain't safe from them, buddy. If you wear makeup? He'll switch your foundation with face paint. If you read books? He'll find a book of the same cover, just blank pages. I guarantee you, it doesn't matter who you are or what your interests are, he'll find a way to mess with you a lil'. Loves seeing your confused or startled expression, thinks it's cute.

-He's a bit scared of losing you. He's the youngest out of the three kitsune, plus with what happened to the summer clan? He thinks he won't be able to protect you if anything were to happen, but he'll be fine after a little reassurance.

Mb 90% of this was me rambling

[squishyneet]

the power of yapping forever

One thing I really want to discuss about Lookism is the use of what I like to call "filler scenes" or "filler dialogue". These are scenes that used to show that a certain character is involved with, in the area of, or is aware of another storyline they were not previously a part of. An example of this is Goo being introduced in Busan. The point of doing this is to reveal a character's knowledge or participation while maintaining their previous facade. In other words, forever hinting at their story without telling it.

I had this thought yesterday that I feel like sometimes PTJ doesn't know how to write his own characters. And I was trying to figure out why and I think this is it.

These "filler scenes" with sometimes filler information/dialogue are sometimes just meant to showcase a character rather than actually you know...characterize them. This is not the case for all of them. One FANTASTIC example is the scene where Daniel finds Goo in Samuel's office. We learn more about Goo's story, his sneaky ways, his viciousness, and he meets Daniel all in one. Plus it sets them up to have a potential relationship later (which is currently being picked up).

A bad example (imho) is the scene where we see Goo introduced in Busan. He's just kind of sitting on a car, mentions that he's depressed, goes on about Gun. It's not really anything special. It doesn't reveal anything important about him. It's actually kind of drawn out. The only thing we find out in the end is that he doesn't like Gitae.

Now, I can't talk about this without mentioning the scenes where the characters talk to the camera. I'm talking about those old panels of Gun, Goo, and Tom Lee essentially talking to the reader and revealing important information. Nowadays, if I remember correctly, this is more common with Eugene. These scenes are a great storytelling device and are not inherently bad, but they're not really anything special either.

Another example is all of the times we see Gun and Goo in flashbacks and they're doing something fun together while also revealing important information (think Gun telling Eli's story while fishing). Some of these a little weird imo, but they happened so early on that they were accepted as integral parts of their story.

And then! Sometimes these filler scenes are not even meant to connect a character to anything, they're just meant to show the character doing stuff. Like Sinu and Yeonhui banging in a bus. Out of place. Weird. Not necessary. Stop it PTJ.

After this surface-level investigative endeavor, I have come to the conclusion that these "filler scenes", while they can be great, can also depict the characters in a weird way and that's why sometimes seeing them feels really off. Or it reveals filler information that just is not necessary or...desired really.

My point is that I think, in the process of writing and drawing these filler scenes, PTJ strays from what we already understand the character to be, and it can sometimes come off as inauthentic or out of place. I also think this is why people get tired of reading Lookism. They read for so long and PTJ never gets to the damn point, just gives these filler panels that do nothing. And what happens is, because PTJ doesn't want to tell their story yet, he's stuck writing filler stuff and it comes off like he doesn't know his own characters. Although, maybe this is just me..

Edit: I forgot to add! Another great example is Depressed Goo™ last week. That scene shows that Goo is clearly not taking care of himself (living off of ramen, coke, and soju) and despite his keeping up his appearance (hair and clothes), he's struggling on the inside. Preferring to stay inside and game alone and remaining very irritable as he consistently fails to beat Gun's high score. This is a great characterization that actually relates to the story, even alluding to Goo's likely weakness.

[dandylion240]

As storytellers, there are so many pieces of our craft and I'm curious how you would rank each step of the process. Rank each of the following on a scale of 1 to 5 (1 lowest, 5 highest):

Setting up the scene (building sets, decorating, etc),

Posing the sims (creating / find poses, and setting up the sims),

Styling the sims (cc hunting, time spent in cas),

Writing the dialogue/story,

Editing the photos.

Send to three other story simblrs and get to know more about each others favorite and least favorite part of this crazy process!

Thank you so much for the ask. I listed this from 1 to 5.

Editing the photos. - I hate editing photos and try to do as little as possible. I don't have re-shade or G-shade in my game so I rely heavily on filters to sharpen and brighten my pictures. it's the one thing that I find daunting in the whole simblr story telling genre. I tend to treat pictures as an after thought. Something that should enhance the story but not be the story. I think that's mostly because I write prose and not just dialogue. I struggle with this so much.

Setting up the scene (building sets, decorating, etc) - Building is not my strong suit. I have ideas, many many ideas which are difficult to replicate in the Sims. I have spent hours looking for lots that someone else has made and trying to tweak them to what I envision. I do like decorating houses and I will have my main sims redecorate their homes to show the passage of time. I'm in the process of redecorating Jayden and Ethan's home for part two of Imposter. I do think the more I try to build what I imagine the better I become but I doubt it'll ever come easy.

Posing the sims (creating / find poses, and setting up the sims) - I have a love hate relationship with posing. I find it frustrating finding the right pose for the story and often just make do with what I have. Or I find a pose I want for a scene and then can't find it when the scene is finally ready to be posed. Sometimes I just like posing my sims when I see something cute but I haven't done that in a while and I kind of miss it.

Styling the sims (cc hunting, time spent in cas) - For my main characters I love dressing them up and finding CC for them. I see things and I know that's what Jayden or Jonah would wear. I even do that with Eli, Josie and Jolene. They're so vivid in my mind and their personalities lead the way. Like Josie is obsessed with the color yellow, she often wears yellow as it's such a happy color. Also she's not a girl who likes makeup or dresses. She prefers baggy comfortable clothes. It's harder to dress her than it is for me to dress Jolene. Jolene prefers the tight, revealing clothes. Eli likes the color pink and often wears it except for when he's performing. He needs to portray a certain tough guy persona. It's harder to dress him like that because it's an act and it doesn't suit him. So he always looks off to me. When it comes to characters I don't know I find it harder to dress them.

Writing the dialogue/story - my favorite part of the sim's writing is writing the story. I often write the story first then force the game through builds and poses to illustrate the story. The writing comes first, which is why prose comes so naturally to me.

[jumperth]

Character Sheet Dropped!

I’m new to writing character sheets. Bear with me lol this is what I got so far!

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

Casual Outfit

Martial Arts Outfit

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

Name: Elijah Jump (Last name used to be James, he chose Jump.)

Alias/Nicknames: Eli, Jumper, Jump, Jumpy, Coffee Guy

Date of Birth: July 13th, 1996

Age: 21

Gender: Male

Sexuality: Heterosexual

Species: He’s only human

Disorders: ADHD(He doesn't know), PTSD [???]

Addictions: Caffeine, [???]

Physical Conditions: Chronically tight neck and shoulders

Speaks: English

Height: 5’9”

Race: White

Ethnicity: Greek

Hobbies & Interests: Martial Arts, Weapons, Weightlifting, Anime, Computers, Cooking, Music(Rock, and metal but is also open to other genres), Nature, Researching, Learning, Video Games, Fishing, Building, Meditation, Philosophy, Spirituality, Magic, Psychology, Animals.

Stims: Cracking his knuckles, stretching his shoulders, fixing his hair, flying, pacing, pressing fingertips together, toe wiggling, leg bouncing, spinning objects on fingers.

Favorite Foods: Steak, Steak Sandwich, Chicken, Chicken Sandwich, Fried Fish, Gyros, any food with flatbread.

Favorite Drinks: Water, Iced Coffee, Mountain Dew.

Favorite Animals: Ravens, Dogs, Bees,

Favorite Song: Pink Floyd - Comfortably Numb.

Magic: Small amount of Daisy’s(It's growing alongside him), Healing Magic, Creation Magic, Cloning Magic, Light Magic, Learning Fire Magic, currently developing his own magic.

Powers & Abilities: Enhanced Human Physical Condition(Strength, speed, durability, etc.), Enhanced Learning Ability, Sensing, Teleportation, Flight, Shapeshifting, Healing, Cloning, Creation, Light Manipulation, Fire Manipulation, (Magic abilities are at basic levels but he is learning quickly.)

Skills: Mental Strength, Meditation, Observation/Analysis, Skilled Martial Artist/Hand to Hand Combatant, Skilled with Various Weapons, Research, Strategy,

Weapons: Two Katanas “E” for Elijah and “J” for Jumper, Pistol, [???]

Alignment: Lawful Neutral

Fun Facts: He randomly balances on stuff, he also likes to wander and explore a lot.

Theme:

Battle Themes:

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

Personality:

Elijah is a really kind and caring guy, he is very polite and respectful, very warm, tries to be as good of a listener as possible, and tries to help in any way he can. He's very selfless, sometimes to his detriment. He may seem quiet and serious at first but once you get to know him you see more of his true lighthearted personality. However he’s an absolute coward. When he’s in a situation where he feels powerless, helpless or where he has no control he panics really easily. He is a huge overthinker and worries a lot but manages it pretty well with meditation. He talks with his hands a lot, he's also very animated and dramatic. He generally trusts people but can be skeptical at times.

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

Relationships:

Elijah James Sr: Father(Deceased) - “I miss you dad… I hope.. Wherever you are, you are at peace..“

Daisy Bell: Little sister figure, best friend - “I really care for her, she’s like the little sister I never had.. Man she’s literally a whole entire God now.. I’m glad I finally got my memory back thanks to her..”

The Old Friends: - “I need to find the others and speak with them..”

-Kenzie Flynn: Little sister figure, best friend - “I really care for her, I’m glad she’s ok after all this time and that she’s getting the help she needs.. I was always so concerned for her back in the day.”

-Bobby Mendoza: Best friend - “He’s chill as always, I’m glad he knows I’m back.”

Grat: Good friend and mentor. - “He’s really fun, cool, and has trained me a lot in magic.”

Alice: Friend. - “She’s very kind and helpful.”

Zailyn: Friend and mentor. - “She’s really kind, caring, wise, and knows a lot.”

Aculia: Friend and mentor. - “She’s nice, really energetic. She offered to take me on as her student.”

Star: Friend - “I feel sorry for ‘em, it’s like looking at myself.. Constantly doubting myself.”

Sleuth: Friend. - “He’s very smart, however he is really paranoid.. Though I believe in time he will improve.”

Internet Dummy: Friend - "They're very nice."

Ebro5: Acquaintance. “He seems like a good guy, I just haven’t really spoken to him.”

[???]

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

Before Daisy House - June 1996 - November 2016

Daisy House Era - November 2016 - Present:

[Massive WIP]

-First appearance at the house, no memory of anything beforehand, except the alias “Jumper” and being a martial artist.

-Saw all the memories, including the games made by Cultivator, anything pertaining to Daisy’s childhood on roblox and her friends didn’t trigger any memories for him. But there was this familiarity to them.

-First met Daisy again during a November Holy Day, with a small feeling of familiarity.

-Saw the old friends, each time he saw them they felt more and more familiar

-Has gotten closer to Daisy overtime

-Only recently has he started to “Wake up”, keeps getting the feeling he knew Daisy and the old friends at some point. Every time he meditated he saw his old self but he had no idea who he was. (Well now he knows!)

-Became more desperate to find out who he is.

-Was learning magic from various mentors(Still is)

-Will get his memories back from a trigger, most likely from a conversation with Daisy. (He got em back!)

-Went to visit Zailyn, ended up with her guiding Jumper towards the idea of him being Elijah

-Spoke to Daisy, told her that she felt familiar to him. Daisy used her powers to resurface Jumper’s memories, and they had a heart to heart and reunited. He now remembers he’s Elijah. Now… Only time will tell what happens. (PRESENT)

[peculiurperennial]

A Sheep-Thief Problem

I recently had the spontaneous urge to write a short story about my Sheep-herder curb, Mousara. It's not very long, and I may or may not continue writing it sometime in the future.

But I thought I might as well share it so that it doesn't sit around in my notes gathering dust.

If you're interested, you can read it by clicking the Keep Reading.

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

Mousara ela-Curb had a sheep thief problem. As one of the renowned Sheep-herders of the Lowland curbs living among the southern mountains, it was her duty to ensure that no harm came to the sheep under her watch, until her pack leader deemed it appropriate for the pack to take a portion of the number of livestock available, while leaving just enough sheep left so that they could replenish their numbers.

It was very important for a Sheep-herder to monitor the number of sheep that were culled; too few sheep meant fewer lambs, which meant fewer sheep to feed the pack. If a Sheep-herder lost too much of their flock, there would be severe consequences. Negligence was not tolerated by Mousara’s pack leader.

And so, Mousara did not tolerate sheep-thieves.

At the beginning of the Fall season, Mousara had boasted a flock of twenty-five sheep among the cliff trails. Due to the fact that sheep required ample feeding grounds to graze and forage, Sheep-herders often had to travel quite a distance outside of their pack’s territory in order to maintain their flock.

This was normally not an issue, at least, amongst other Lowland curbs. The multitude of packs living in the southern plains had an overarching rule regarding sheep, and that was that: a Sheep-herder’s right to shepherd her flock where ever the grass grew was sacrosanct. A pack who pillaged another pack’s livestock was shunned and harassed by the mass majority, as sheep-thieves were looked down upon and labelled as barbarians. Less-than-kin. No better than primitive Highland curbs.

So, either Highland ghosts are haunting my flock, Mousara thought bitterly as she counted her sheep for the dozenth time. Or some other sneaky animal has been spiriting away my lambs while I am not looking.

She counted twenty sheep. Fifteen ewes and five rams. She did not factor in the newborn lambs as what she deemed the “Official Headcount” when she told her leader about the number of livestock the pack had. It was a given fact that nearly half of the lambs born this season would not make it to adulthood. And the mothering ewes always put up so much of a fuss if the curbs took away their lambs too soon after they were born.

Mousara had managed to convince her leader that it was better to wait until the lambs were weened before plucking them from their mothers, since the ewes’ paternal instincts only lasted about as long as they were producing milk. After that, they hardly batted an eye at the curbs dragging off one of their own.

Twelve lambs had been born at the beginning of the season. Three of which died of natural causes. However, three more had suddenly and mysteriously disappeared within the same day, without a single trace.

Mousara had tried to track the missing lambs down, expecting their trails to end at a cliff edge, since lambs were clumsy and lethal falls were all too common a fate for the uncoordinated. But instead she found the trail disappearing off in a muddle of other scents that she could not properly identify.

It could have been a rogue creasia who might have been clever enough to conceal their trail, she admitted, but that seemed unlikely. The last group of creasia that tried to scrape out a living in the southern plains had failed miserably, and either all died or went crawling back to Leeshwood. Since then, no creasia had been spotted within the southern plains for the past two years.

It was always possible that an Ely-Ary was poaching her lambs, but lambs were such a meager mouthful to the gigantic birds that Mousara was disinclined to pin one of them as the culprit. Even a small Ely-Ary would find a newborn lamb to be nothing worth eating. Besides, the southern packs and the Ely-Ary living at the peak of the southern mountains had a… Well, it would be rather presumptuous to call it a "treaty", Mousara reckoned. It was more like a “mutual-understanding”. As long as the Lowland curbs avoided venturing too high up into the mountains, the Ely-Ary generally didn’t bother with them.

Mousara had speculated, (mostly to herself since none of her fellow pack mates cared), that Ely-Ary primarily fed on the great fish from the sea. She had seen a skeleton of one such great fish being discarded by an Ely-Ary— the cursed thing had nearly fell on Mousara herself! And Mousara suspected that the overgrown bird had done it on purpose too!

Even now, she could remember the bird’s weird, screeching guffaw as it flew away while Mousara had been busy fussing over her frightened flock.

Anyway, what had she been thinking about again?

“Oh, right, the sheep-thief!” She spoke aloud, to the bemused baa’ing of her flock. It was not unusual for Mousara to speak her thoughts aloud with a sudden abruptness that many of her peers found strange. Usually such instances happened with no regard for the immediate topic being discussed, which resulted in Mousara being subtly excluded from conversational circles, as the parties involved found her spontaneous outbursts to be disruptive and confounding.

Mousara was, admittedly, more than happy to be engrossed within the contents of her own mind. As a Sheep-herder, whose job naturally required one to venture out with their flock away from the pack, this suited her just fine.

“Maybe a ferryshaft…” She murmured as she moved through the throng of wooly bodies.

A ferryshaft sheep-thief was more likely than any of the other potential candidates. Their dispersed herds traveled a lot and some traveled quite far abroad. But a traveling ferryshaft herd produced quite a lot of noise…

“A lone ferryshaft, then.” She decided with a flick of her ragged ear. “Sneaky, sneaky, rogue ferryshaft stealing my lambs!”

But stealing three lambs at once? One ferryshaft meant only one set of jaws to carry away a lamb. Maybe if the ferryshaft took one lamb, then hid the body, before taking more lambs? But why take more than what one ferryshaft needed and risk detection?

Mousara was snapped out of her speculation by a signalling yip from atop a cliff, causing her to pause and look sharply in that direction.

Oh right, she technically had two subordinates. Sheep-herders were hardly expected to tend a flock all alone, after all. However, herding sheep took long and arduous training under a mentor, and most curbs found the task of watching over sheep unbearably dull. So, most of the time, Mousara’s subordinates were comprised of the pack’s younger members who were still transitioning from adolescence to fully mature adults. They had no skill in the art of sheep herding, but they made for good look-outs.

The youngster on watch nearest to Mousara was a scrawny runt of a thing who had a most unfortunate name. Flea.

How he got such a demeaning moniker wasn’t too hard to guess. Flea was a small, ugly dark brown thing with wiry hair and a crooked tail, with a patch of missing fur on the end that never seemed to grow back properly. He also had a propensity for whining and complaining at every and any opportunity.

Nobody liked him, which was most likely why he was conscripted as one of Mousara’s look-outs.

And now here he was, yipping and howling like crazy. The noise was making the sheep anxious, much to Mousara’s annoyance.

“Shut up! Your wailing is upsetting the flock!” She barked sharply as she stormed up the side of the cliff and landed neatly beside the young watcher, much to the latter’s surprise.

“But- I saw-“ The adolescent began before being harshly cut off with a swift cuff to the ear from Mousara’s forepaw.

“And your noise likely alerted the thief and allowed it to escape! Have you no sense?!” She snarled while the other whined piteously. “You should have come down and alerted me quietly about the thief’s presence! We do not posses the support of the entire pack to call upon with your incessant yowling. Use your brain next time, pup! Understand?”

“Y-yes, Sheep-herder Mousara…”

“Good! Now what did you see?”

“I-I saw one of the lambs wandering towards the tall grass. I thought nothing of it at first, it wasn’t that far from the rest of the herd, but then s-something snatched it away.”

“‘Something’?” Mousara prompted. “Be more specific, pup! What snatched it away? Did a ferryshaft poke its head out of the grass and grab it—“

“A ferryshaft? N-no it—“

“Was it a creasia, then? If so, we ought to return to the pack and-“

“It wasn’t a creasia. It-“

“A rogue curb? Ancestor’s bones, when I get my teeth on whatever sniffling coward thought they could steal from my flock-“

“It wasn’t any animal!”

That made Mousara pause, and she narrowed her eyes quizzically at the other curb. “What do you mean?”

Flea licked his lips, clearly overwhelmed and trying to compose himself after having realized he had just shouted at his superior. “It wasn’t- It wasn’t any animal that I had ever seen. It was strange, Sheep-herder Mousara, it was like…a snake, almost. Or maybe- it might have been a large pheasant? It had a small head, I think, and it grabbed the lamb by the neck and pulled it into the tall grass!”

Mousara considered Flea’s words with clear skepticism. “You say that you saw a snake-pheasant…”

Flea had enough awareness to look ashamed at his inability to properly articulate what he meant. “Well, I thought it was a snake… but it could have been a pheasant, though I’ve never seen a pheasant take a lamb before. It didn’t look like it had eyes, though. But then again- I only saw it for a brief moment! So, I don’t know…”

Mousara had half-a-mind to just start boxing the incompetent runt over the ears until he started making sense, when she heard the sound of another curb approaching and turned around to growl at her other subordinate.

“What are you doing away from your post?!”

Varris, a sleek specimen just on the cusp of reaching adulthood, was a much more dependable individual when compared to the likes of Flea. His only fault was that he was unabashedly naive, almost to the point of obstinate ignorance. So, it had been decided by the pack that sending him to do watcher duty with the Sheep-herders would be the surest way to wisen him up, at least before he could get himself killed. He was otherwise expected to be a promising addition to the pack.

However, Mousara disliked him about as much as she disliked most of the rotation of watchers she received to aid in guarding her flock.

“Sheep-herder Mousara, sir!” Varris spoke in a rush, winded from running but obviously excited by the way he practically bounced on his paws. “The flock is running away!”

“What?!” Mousara squawked in alarm, whirling around and ogling in open mouthed astonishment as she watched the last of her sheep disappearing into the tall grass of the valley beyond.

Never in Mousara’s many years of herding sheep had she ever witnessed a flock dive headlong into the tall grass. The docile creatures practically treated any significant amount of thick foliage like it was a solid wall, instinctively aware that their wool made it all too easy to become tangled and thus easy prey to creatures who stalked the underbrush. It was why sheep preferred roaming the cliffs rather than the woods or plains.

“We should go tell the pack!” Varris suggested. “I think this is one of those times where we run away and get more curbs.”

Flea made an unconvinced sound, squinting reproachfully at Varris. “I don’t think that’s a good idea. If our leader finds out you let the flock run away…”

“I didn’t let them run away! If we go now, we might make it back in time with reinforcements before whomever is taking the flock can go very far.”

“I don’t know… Maybe we shouldn’t—“

“MY SHEEP!” Mousara shrieked, diving down the side of the cliff at such speed that her hindquarters nearly pitched over her head. She hit the ground in a shower of loose dirt and ran after her flock without so much as a backwards glance.

Varris and Flea watched as the Sheep-herder went, before looking at one another. A mutual understanding seemed to pass wordlessly between them, before they scrambled to catch up with their superior.