#green = purchase

[plenty-of-eggs]

staff sucks at making these badges they should hire me for ideas

10k notes...to me - Reach 10k likes and/or reblogs!

Time to log off! - Block someone!

Wait, what was I doing? - Scroll through 100 posts of one tag.

The President's New Shoes - Congrats on buying those sick tumblr laces! Just don't mention how you got them. ;)

Against my Will - Have a tumblr blog for at least 4 years.

X marks the spot! - Let people know you came from Twitter!

r/196 - Let people know you came from Reddit!

War...war never changes.. - Enlist in the Skeleton Army once again.

Misha - For survivors of the Mishapocalypse.

Not again... - For "sexyman" connoisseurs.

No Rest for the Wicked - Show off your SuperWhoLock pride!

[seat-safety-switch]

Budgeting is one of those challenges we all have. No matter how rich you are, there is a fixed amount of money you can lay claim to. There's probably more things you want to buy with that money than you can afford. And there's a lot of lame, boring things you have to buy, like electricity and toilets. So you need to budget, to make sure that you don't accidentally impulse-purchase yourself into the poorhouse. Is having a working third gear in your truck really worth eating dumpster-dove Spam for a few weeks? Putting it down on paper will help you decide.

In times long past, this was a lot easier to do. You could physically see your money, and then stuff some of that money into your mattress. Back then there wasn't as much stuff to spend it on, too. Just booze and horses, and gambling was limited to how many of your neighbours wanted to play cards. Nowadays, at all hours of the night, a holographic anime maiden will invisibly reach her impossibly long fingers into your virtual wallet under the pretence of "just hanging out," and use your hard-earned dosh to play the slots in a country whose name you can't pronounce.

Budgeting had to advance with the times. Of course, the banks certainly aren't going to help you. They want you to spend way too much, so they can then sign you up for fancy products and charge you interest rates and user fees. That's why I started a new kind of bank. It's called SwitchBanc® and it is important to understand that the spelling is legally distinct in this country from the actual word "bank," for reasons that my attorney will disclose to you upon request.

Here's how it works: we hold on to all of your money, and we spend it for you. Sure, some months you might not get anything, other than a little note saying "we had to buy the cheap oranges again." And then, out of the blue, you'll get that Super T-10 you were dreaming of, with the straight-cut gears and the monster-short final drive to help make that quarter mile. Sure, it's not a five-speed, but our team of experts and complex mathematical analysis have proven that you were just going to keep it in fourth most of the time anyway. Importantly, you never have to worry: we'll take care of it on your behalf.

Of course, this service can't be provided for free. All those actuaries and shit cost money, not to mention their dorky little green visors and our insanely expensive advertising campaign. So once in awhile, we're going to dip into your money for something we want. As a treat, really, we deserve it after working so hard for you. Say, have you seen the brand new 5-speed Tremec TR3650 in my truck? I really had to save up for it.

[savanaclaw1996]

Heart of a Lion-Leona Kingscholar x Fem! Reader! (Birthday Fic)

Happy Birthday to our favorite Dorm Leader of Savanaclaw and lion prince, Leona Kingscholar! Happy birthday, my beloved king of my heart!🎂🦁💖 Also, major thanks to the beautiful Miss Raven for lending me her fic as reference and mongpht for the language of flowers. Thank you!

Warnings: mentions of Chapter 2 spoilers!

Word Count: 2,043 words.

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

You wandered around the town below the hill where the prestigious Night Raven College sat. Finally, you spotted the place you were searching for: the jewelry shop.

You remembered the day Cater took you, Ace, Deuce and Grim out shopping for some plates and cups since Grim accidentally broke them. As you browsed around the jewelry shop, you spotted a beautiful golden ring sitting in a display case.

There was a regal golden lion's head carved into the ring and you could see the inscription carved inside the ring, "Heart of a Lion". You smiled. "That ring would look perfect on Leona-senpai's finger." you thought. "And it somewhat matches his nobility...in a way."

Even when you arrived home, the image of that ring had never left your mind. "Once Leona's birthday arrives, I'll get that ring for him." you promised yourself. And so, before the month of July came, you worked hard at Azul's Mostro Lounge daily to earn enough money to buy that ring as a birthday present for Leona.

Once you've scrimped and scraped enough money, you didn't hesitate to head towards the jewelry store and purchase the ring. Once you made your purchase, you quickly headed back to Night Raven. Just in time for the birthday celebrations at Savanaclaw.

The party at Savanaclaw was a blast! Balloons of coconut white, muddy brown and charcoal grey dotted the green shrubbery near the waterfall. Beneath the waterfall, glowing leaf lanterns floated idly in the water.

On the buffet table, there were apple fritters, courtesy of Epel, hamburgers, potato salad, shish kebabs, barbequed misuji meat, exotic fruits and in the center, a large, three-tiered cake with white vanilla icing and chocolate and mocha-flavored crispy pearls.

Leona stood at the very center of the lounge, clad in his blue mage birthday robes. You swear you've never seen anyone more handsome than Leona. He looked like a true mage in those robes.

Cater was with him, phone in hand. He was to be his birthday interviewer. As you approached them, you heard Leona answer Cater's first question, "If I'm going there by flight, I'd like a place that's in the middle of nowhere that not many people go to."

When Cater replied that it'll be difficult to enjoy touring and leisure, Leona responded that he just wanted to relax and that in a quiet environment where no one will disturb him, he wanted to sleep calmly.

You felt your heart sink a little when you heard his words. You've always known that Leona wasn't always the social type. He much preferred his own company rather than anyone else's.

Even though you've had a huge crush on him for quite the longest time, you doubted if he'd ever have feelings for you, too.

"A quiet place where no one will disturb you. You're right, that doesn't sound like a bad way to spend the time." Cater replied. Leona smirked. "Right? As a dorm leader and club captain, I usually always have something to worry about." he said. "It means I need time to rest my body and mind sometimes."

You rolled your eyes at that. "Obviously." you thought. Then Cater asked Leona the final question. "What's something you'd like to do in the upcoming year?"

"Not be held back, that's all." Leona replied simply. Neither you nor Cater were prepared to hear that answer at all. Were you going deaf, or did you clearly hear Leona say that he wasn't going to be held back? "Wh...! Huh, that's all?!" Cater asked in disbelief.

You couldn't help but smile at his answer. You heard that he held himself back for over 3 years because of poor attendance and him not putting any effort in studying. But you knew better.

Leona has always held himself back because he didn't want to go through the painful hassle of the palace life. Being the second-born prince, he always got the short end of the straw. Always being overlooked, no matter how hard he worked to be recognized.

You thought back to the time of that inter-dorm Magical Shift Tournament. When you and your friends found out that Leona was the mastermind behind the incidents, you confronted him. And that was when you saw the emotions in his eyes.

He looked frustrated, angry that everything he had worked so hard for had slipped through his fingers yet again. And when Lilia rebuked him, saying that a collar fits him more than a crown would, and that he would never be king, the words felt like a final nail in the coffin for Leona.

Watching Leona become so broken and defeated, you couldn't help but feel your heart break at the sight of him. You even heard how hollow his voice sounded as he spoke. "This agony, this despair. How could any of you possibly understand?!"

And then, his Overblot happened. After you managed to defeat him, you glimpsed at his past memories. Being badmouthed by the servants of his palace, being pressured by his desire to be respected and recognized, trying to best himself against Malleus but failing...

Even though Falena, Leona's brother and King of Sunset Savannah tried his best to support his little brother, Leona just coldly brushed him off, not wanting his pity.

When you both woke up, you saw that Leona was willing to do his best at the tournament. Even after Savanaclaw lost the match, you were somewhat happy to see Leona being determined to win next year's match, even though you don't agree with his underhanded methods.

As time went on, even though it wasn't noticeable at first glance, you could see the steps of progress Leona has made, little by little. Even though he was still lazy, languid and downright arrogant, you could see the bits of kindness, determination and will to live shine through.

Even now, you felt a sense of pride and joy for Leona for making it this far. Tears brimmed in your eyes as the memories flashed through your mind. "Leona-senpai..." you whispered, holding back a choked sob...

"Hey, herbivore!" Leona's baritone voice cuts through your thoughts like a blade, snapping you out of your musings. "How long are you going to stand there?"

"Oh, right! I need to give him his gift!" Without wasting another second, you hurried over to his side with the little black box with a golden bow in your hand. Leona raised an eyebrow as he watched you approach him with something hiding behind your back.

"So, you came to wish me a happy birthday, huh?" he asked with a smirk. "Well, ain't that admirable of you. So, what did you bring me, then? At the very least, you are presenting a gift to royalty. As such, I'm sure you've prepared a very fine gift."

You froze, starting to panic. A fine gift? Well, it is pretty expensive. Will he like it, though? You were starting to get anxious.

"I'll take it off your hands, so show me what you got behind your back, already." Leona demanded, holding out his hand. You gulped silently. "Well, here goes nothing. I hope he likes it." you thought as you handed him the black box.

Leona opened the box and saw the ring. "Huh. A gold ring." he said casually. "I've got plenty of those, you know." You nodded, knowing how much jewelry he has, being a wealthy prince and all.

"This ring is different, though." you said. This was it. It was time to confess how you felt towards him. You took a deep breath before you started to explain. "There's a reason why I picked that ring for you, senpai. I picked it because it reminds me of you."

"Leona, I understand that you've been through a lot over your lifetime. Everything from your childhood to your Overblot episode to now. That ring you hold in your hand symbolizes strength, courage, resoluteness and nobility."

"The words etched in that ring say, "Heart of a Lion". I sincerely believe that you do have the heart of a lion, despite what others say and think of you. Even though you can be lazy at times, arrogant, smug, bossy, snide..." Cater snickered at your descriptions.

"True." he whispered. Leona shot him a quick glare, telling him to shut up as you continued. "...You truly care about other people, even though you never show it outwardly. Leona Kingscholar, please consider this ring as a token of my unchanging love and support to you." you said as you gave him a small bow of respect.

"No matter what happens, I hope that you will be able to go beyond, to be able to reach for the stars, even though they seem very far. I have absolute faith that you will."

Leona was silent as he listened to your little speech. After you finished, a short silence fell upon the lounge. You wondered if he thought your speech was too boring and silly. You lifted your head, and you were about to apologize when you saw the smile on Leona's face.

"So I have the heart of a lion, huh?" Leona asked, admiring the golden lion ring. He looked at the inscription in the ring and smiled. "Guess you've got some taste, herbivore."

Your heart swelled with joy when you saw Leona slip the ring onto his index finger. He held up his hand, the golden ring glimmering in the light. "Thank you. It's a very meaningful gift." Hearing those thankful words coming from Leona, you smiled as more tears streamed down your cheeks.

A soft sob escaped from your throat as you tried to swallow the lump in it. "How embarrassing. Crying in front of Leona on his birthday? What's the matter with you?!" you berated yourself mentally.

You raised your arm in a frantic attempt to dry your tears, but they just kept coming. "Please, just stop crying!" you silently pleaded. You then noticed movement coming towards you and you looked up at Leona.

Your cheeks flushed red. But before you could apologize for putting on such a babyish display, Leona wrapped his arms around you, embracing your body. "Le-Leona?" you asked, feeling your heart beating rapidly in your chest.

"It's okay, herbivore. You're just happy, right?" Leona whispered in your ear. You nodded. "Sorry about that." you apologized. Leona shook his head. "Don't worry about it. Thanks."

You smiled. "You're welcome." Cater held up his phone, capturing that sweet, tender, loving moment on video. Leona will have to deal with him later...

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

Finally, it was time for Leona to take off on his broom. As you and Leona walked down the cobblestone path of Main Street, Leona then reached towards his broom's bouquet and plucked out a golden orchid.

He held it towards you. "For you, herbivore, as thanks for the speech." he said. You know what that orchid meant. In the language of flowers, the golden orchid symbolizes love, luxury, beauty and strength.

Leona had all those: strength, beauty, luxury and love. You hoped that one day, with your perseverance, love, courage and strength, you'll be able to stand by his side as his beloved queen.

You smiled as you took the orchid from his hand. "Thank you, Leona." you replied gratefully. "Happy birthday, my beloved king."

Leona gave you one last wink before he hopped onto his broom and flew off into the night, leaving behind a trail of golden petals and sparkles.

As Leona soared higher and higher, he looked up at the evening sky. Thousands upon thousands of bright, shining stars dotted the inky darkness, some of them streaking across the heavens, leaving behind trails of stardust.

Back in his homeland, the stars were said to be the great kings of the past watching over everyone down below. Your words echoed in his mind, "No matter what happens, I hope that you will be able to go beyond, to be able to reach for the stars, even though they seem very far. I have absolute faith that you will."

As Leona gazed at the glittering golden lion ring on his finger, a great spark of hope ignited within his heart. "One day," he silently vowed, "my story will be told throughout the ages. My star will be shining the brightest, the greatest of them all. And (Y/N)'s alongside mine." And he will see to it that that promise comes true.

[vivaamor]

family video

warnings: mild swearing & smut, vaginal fingering, robin being a total hottie

relationships: robin buckley/ female reader

summary: you meet robin while shopping at family video

hawkins, indiana. it was a quaint and quiet town, vastly different from the beaches of california that you'd just moved from. your dad always joked that people in hawkins didn't ever go outside and enjoy the sun like everyone done in california, that they were all vampires who would dissipate if they stepped foot outside.

the bell over the front door of family video chimes as you step inside the store. it was empty and you didn't even see any employees until two of them walked through to behind the counter from the backroom. one of them was a boy who you assumed was around your age; long hazelnut, curly locks framed his face, wearing a blue polo and a green vest that read family video. next to him stood her. short brown hair and bright blue eyes, several rings decorated her fingers, a navy blue t-shirt on her top half and again, the signature vest.

you browse around the store, looking for one movie in particular. "looking for something?" came a quiet voice, the girl behind the counter now standing behind you, her hands clasped behind her back. you read her name tag. robin.

"romantic comedies?" you ask, following her as she turns on her heel and walks down an aisle across the store. "thanks,"

she smiles softly, tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear. "anything in particular?" she tilts her head, her eyes flickering over to the other employee. "you could say i'm a rom-com historian."

"um, the breakfast club. dunno if that counts as a romantic comedy, though." you giggle, looking down at the carpet shyly.

she smiles bigger, putting her teeth on display. you decide that she has a nice smile. "it does in my book." she bends over, grabbing the movie off the bottom shelf. "here you go."

"thank you," you take it from her, running you thumb over the cover. she stays standing there in front of you, running her eyes over your features. "any recommendations, robin?" you ask, eyeing her name tag. "you know, as a historian."

"hmm, well..." she walks around the romantic comedy section, stepping into the comedies. "well, not much romance, but..." she shows you the cover of another movie that reads ferris bueller's day off. "more of a comedy than a rom-com, but it's easily becoming a classic."

you take it from her, reading the description on the back. "never seen it," you admit, looking up to meet her eyes again. "i'll take it. mia sara is ridiculously cute, totally worth ninety minutes." robin's eyes widen, thanking a god she doesn't believe in that you might not be into boys. "can you check me out?"

robin swallows hard, struggling to speak. "uh, yeah, i'll- i'll take you over at the..." she motions to where her coworker is waiting.

"the counter?"

she nods quickly, "the counter, yeah. i'll just, uh..." she takes the two films from you and meets you upfront, practically body slamming steve out of her way. she rings you up, and packs your purchases in a paper bag, handing it to you. "uh, that's five dollars."

"wow, that's cheap." you note, handing her a five dollar bill.

the boy whose name tag reads steve fake coughs, "she used her employee discount." he coughs again, earning himself an elbow from robin.

"oh, you didn't have to do that, thank you."

she chuckles nervously, shaking her head. "it's not a problem, really. you'll have to let me know what you think...?"

"y/n," you answer, "don't worry, i'll tell you all about it, robin." you wave goodbye to the two employees, walking out of the store.

-

you stare at the two movies that you took out of the bag and placed on the kitchen table, trying to decide which one to watch tonight. the breakfast club was a masterpiece but on the other hand, that cute girl at the video store recommended the other one. "where is it?" you mumble to yourself, looking around the kitchen for the phone book, and then moving onto the living room. eyeing the book shelf, you pull out the yellow book with a thick spine and flip the pages until you stumble onto family video, a phone number listed beside it.

"hello?" it's a boy's voice, probably steve's. you'd only been there two hours ago.

"hi, this is y/n... from earlier. is robin there?"

you can hear his scoff on the other end. "yeah, she just clocked out but she hasn't left yet. one second. robin, that girl from earlier is on the phone, she wants to talk to you." you giggle to yourself as she gasps, asking him holy hell, okay! one minute!

a few seconds later, she comes to the phone. "this is robin."

"hey robin, it's y/n. do you have any plans tonight?"

-

it took robin all but an hour and a half before she buzzed your apartment. you buzz her in, a knock on your door coming two minutes after that. you glance at yourself in the mirror. you hadn't changed from earlier, a sunflower yellow cropped t-shirt and a black skirt, along with a grey, whole cardigan. you open the door to reveal the girl from the video store. she'd changed from earlier into a black sweater and dark blue denims, you guessed because the sun set and it was a little cooler out. "hi." you smile, opening the door wider and allowing her to step in.

"hey." she grins sheepishly, holding her hand up. "i brought red vines." she kicks off her converse, handing you the bag, which you toss onto the couch. "i like your place." she nervously fumbles with her rings that adorn her long fingers.

you look around at your shitty apartment. "thanks, it's kind of like a prison cell, just a little nicer." you lived in a small studio, all you could afford. "my dad lives down the street. i moved here with him, but we decided it was time i get my own space."

"where'd you move from?" she asks, following you to the couch and sitting next to you, an awkward couple inches between you.

"california, actually."

she chuckles, "wow. california to indiana. why'd you move here if you weren't gonna stay with you dad?"

"didn't want him to be lonely." you shrug, pressing play on the remote, the beginning credits of ferris bueller's day off playing on the small television in front of the couch.

"ah, so that would explain why you're so tan." she notes, watching your eyes crease as you smile. "i wondered, being that hawkins hasn't had a good sunny day in a few weeks with all the rain recently and all."

you smirk, "it's from all the sun burn."

"i like it." she tells you, her eyes moving from your face to your hair, braided back into pigtails. "i like your hair, too."

"you like a lot of things," you tease. "thank you." it's quiet in your apartment for the next hour, the living area dark, only lit by the screen of the television. you glance in robin's direction, her hands are in her lap and she's sitting on the other end of the small couch. "water?" you ask and she nods, watching you get up and walk to the kitchen, returning with two glasses. "here." she smiles at you as if to say thank you and you sit back down, only this time, you sit closer to her, your thighs nearly touching.

robin's heart is beating out of her chest. she curses at herself for being such a dork. she was always bad with women, either saying too much or not enough. steve always made fun of her for the way she would ramble when talking to a pretty girl. she looks down, your hand stretched over your thigh and slowly, she moves her hand over yours. smiling softly to yourself, you turn your hand over and intertwine your fingers with hers and she nearly passes out from that action alone, thinking to herself, holy shit holy shit holy shit.

the two of you sit like that, your knees pulled to your chest, humming along with the music playing in the background of the movie. "god, i love cam-" before you can even finish your sentence, robin moves her hand away from yours and holds you jaw, turning your head towards her and she leans in quickly, pressing her lips against yours. it takes you by surprise and hell, she took herself by surprise. the cold metal of her rings presses against your jaw, her tongue licking at your bottom lip, requesting entrance, and god damn, you give it to her, deepening the once soft kiss.

your hand gets lost in her hair, crawling onto her and straddling her lap, your free hand balanced against the arm of the couch as she leans her back against it. you moan against her mouth, the kiss alone causing a reaction between your legs. she obviously notices by the way you rock your body, her hand drifting down to between your legs and dipping under your skirt until she makes contact with your damp panties, rubbing you through them. you pull away from the kiss, traveling down to her neck and leaving open mouthed kiss, pulling a quiet moan from her. she's driving you crazy. you push her hand against you harder with your free one, encouraging her.

she slips her hand underneath your pink panties, pushing them down your thighs and rubs at your naked clit with her thumb, pushing two fingers inside you until her rings are covered in your arousal. pumping her fingers in and out of you, she develops a pace, rubbing harder at your clit. "harder," you mumble against her marked up skin, throwing your head back when she pushes harder into you. she decides it's her turn to leave marks all over your throat, nipping at the skin under your jawline. she curls her fingers inside you in a come here motion, smirking when your breath hitches in the back of your throat.

"fuck," she groans, loving the way you sound as you moan. you tighten around her fingers, your body informing her that you're close. "so pretty," she mutters against your skin, kissing her way back up to your lips and smashing hers against them in a heated kiss. she continues to pump in and out of you once you've come, helping you ride it out before removing them. you pull away from her, breaking the kiss and looking back at her blue eyes, brushing a strand of her hair behind her ear with your fingers. you go to undo the zipper on her jeans, but grabs your hand and kisses your knuckles. "you can return the favor another time, i promise. i'm kinda sleepy."

"do you want to stay here?" you offer, beginning to climb off of her but she keeps her hold on your hand. you look at her questionably, climbing into her embrace when she stretches out her arms.

she scratches your back lightly, drawing her fingers up and down over your top. "i liked listening to you." she admits, planting a kiss on your jaw.

"you like everything."

she nods with a chuckle, "including you."

thank god for family video.

[donnetellotheturtle]

Siren

Upon the vessel “the sundrop” Varian works as an engineer. Though being the youngest in the crewmen, he earned the respect of Captain Rapunzel.

Varian loves sailing. He loves the freedom. He loves the sea, the new places he gets to go.

The only problem is, the sirens.

Hugo was a merman. A ruthless fighter of the Kaldur gang. Most merpeople don’t mind those above, as long as they’re not attacked by them.

The Kaldur gang had a different approach. Either use their voices to lure stupid sailors to their deaths, or take them out from the inside out.

Chapter 1

This was not the first time Hugo had gone on land. Not the first time he’d traded tail for feet. Not that he liked it. He couldn’t move as fast with feet. His voice was also not as hypnotic. It was still beautiful but he wasn’t able to send men hurling themselves over a ships edge without the waves.

But, as Donella had put it, shit had to be done about the sundrop.

That ship had weathered all their worst attacks, most beautiful songs, and the most annoying part is not a single one of them had died.

How rude.

The plan was simple. Go in, find out who exactly was responsible for the ship never sinking, and take them out, lure the rest of the crew into their territory, and the other sirens would come in and have their bloody prizes.

So Hugo, with the help of Donella, purchased a few pairs of clothes. He settled on a green collared shirt, a pair of black poofy pants, and a pair of boots. Most of his clothes were that in different colors. Along with that a bag, and a few trinkets. A conch shell to speak to Donella and Cyrus while he’s on the surface in case of emergencies, and some coins for travel.

With annoyingly dry hair, and eyes that couldn’t see quite right on dry land, he began his mission.

It wasn’t hard to spot their target as it came into port. They had followed it here after all.

He spotted someone on the deck, black hair with a teal stripe. Baby blue eyes.

The perfect target.

--

Varian took his first steps onto solid ground in a month. He breathed in the fresh air as the unloading crew started to swarm the docks for their ship. He stepped around them quietly. In the kingdom of Arendelle, no less. It was beautiful. Snowy mountaintops surrounded the space even though it was blazing summer.

“Varian?”

He looked over to captain Rapunzel. She changed her hair a lot. Just a year ago, she had long blonde hair but she had her husband cut it off when it got too annoying to deal with. She then let the blonde color grow out and now she had brown hair with gold tips. It fit her with her gold captains hat.

“Yeah?”

“Can you pick up some supplies for me while you’re in town?”

Varian nodded. “Yeah definitely!”

Rapunzel gave him a list and he headed out towards the shops. His first stop was the alchemy store towards the front. He had to pick up some chemicals for the flynnolium.

Inside it was pretty quiet. It was just him and the shopkeep. The woman did nothing but wave, not looking up from her book. Varian headed to grab what he needed.

The door opened. A boy with blonde hair, green eyes, and sharp features. He looked around as if this was his first time seeing everything. Varian shrugged. He had work to do. Even if that guy was pretty.

He was quick in gathering his supplies, including some extra safety gear. Rapunzel paid the tab for things regarding the ship so he worried less about the price.

His first stop done, and his things carefully stowed away in his backpack, he headed out to his next stop. Checking his list, it looked like they needed ice for some of the perishables. He’d go get the ice and bring it directly back to the ship so it wouldn’t melt before they got it to the ice room there.

He came over to that stall. A man with a flop of blonde hair and winter wear. Varian thought that was weird but realized that’s probably because he just got back from the mountains. Still, it was a bit much. He quickly paid for a couple blocks of ice as well as a small cart to roll it on. It would be useful for his tools later.

He headed back towards the ship. Most of the main crew were pretty much off it, repairmen doing any minor repairs that needed to be done while the crew themselves did their shopping. He walked around the men, going inside, and down the stairs to the icebox. He didn’t need to do much, just get it down to the Cargo hold and push it into their cold room.

As he walked, he spotted a familiar face. Blonde hair, sharp features. That guy from the alchemy shop. Was he following him?

Varian shook his head. Probably just an coincidence. This place wasn’t that big, afterall. He kept going until he got to the docks again.

It was surprisingly hot here. Or maybe he was just working hard. He carefully moved past the repairmen, down into the hull, then even further down into the Cargo hold. He pushed everything in, then headed to his lab, otherwise known as the paint room. Rapunzel had let him use it due to his…explosive experiments.

He threw all his things down, checked some of his experiments, and left quickly.

As soon as he got onto the deck. Those green eyes again. They were staring at him specifically. Varian wasn’t sure what this guy’s deal was.

Then the guy disappeared into the small crowd. Varian glared at nothing in particular as he once again left the ship. If he caught that guy again, he’d see exactly what his problem was.

With a sigh, he stepped back off and looked at rapunzels list. Next were some foods. That was easy enough.

“Really?” He paused at Rapunzels voice. Poking his head over to where he heard it, he saw Eugene and Rapunzel talking to the guy he just saw.

“Well if you want a job you gotta be comfortable with sailing. Can’t be having any slackers on our boat.” Eugene leaned on Rapunzels shoulder casually.

The guy chuckled. “I mean I’ve never actually sailed…”

“Hey.” Varian said, making himself known. “You’ve been following me.”

The guy just raised an eyebrow. “excuse me?”

Varian looked at Rapunzel. “this guy has been following me all morning.”

He laughed. He fucking laughed. “Sure sweetcheeks.”

Varian glared. “Don’t call me that.”

The guy winked. Varian moved to punch him before Eugene grabbed his arm. “woah kid! It’s alright!”

Rapunzel let out an awkward chuckle. “Okay. Whats your name?”

“Hugo, ma’am.”

Varian let out a squeak of disbelief.

“Okay. What can you do?” Rapunzel asked, pointedly ignoring her little brother.

Hugo thought for a second. Varian glared daggers at him.

“Im good at knots?”

Rapunzel thought for a second. “How do you feel about machinery?”

Hugo shrugged. “I’d be willing to try to work it. Can’t say I’m familiar with coronan tech though.”

Rapunzel grinned. “Well goodie! Varian here can teach you everything you need to know!”

Varian blinked at her, mouth agape. She couldn’t be serious. She gave him a very pointed smile.

“Welcome aboard, Hugo. If you don’t have anything else to do, why don’t you and my head engineer stay together until we cast off for Rosas tomorrow morning?”

Hugo smiled wide at Varian. It didn’t meet his eyes. Varian didn’t trust this guy further than he could throw him and he couldn’t throw him at all.

“I’d love to. If it’s okay with you, goggles.”

“Don’t call me that either.” Varian huffed.

“You two have fun now.” Eugene took his wife’s hand and they started heading towards the way Varian had came.

“Hey wait-“

“Oh don’t worry goggles.” Hugo said, leaning on Varians shoulder. “We’re going to have lots of fun.”

Varian glared and pushed him off, trying to leave him in the dust. Rapunzel couldn’t just stick him with this asshole. He had to go get her and make her reconsider.

Hugo chuckled. “You have some spice to you goggles.”

“I told you not to call me that.”

Hugo walked besides him, smiling that sharp, unnatural smile. “oh come on.”

“My name, is Varian.” He huffed.

“Fine, fine.” Hugo was quiet for a second, looking Varian up and down. It made varian uncomfortable. He felt like he was sizing him up for something. Like prey. He would not be made to feel that way.

“Stop that.” Varian growled.

To Hugos credit, he blinked, cleared his throat, and looked away. No apologies or anything but it was better than him staring like that.

“Why did Rapunzel hire you anyway?” Varian asked.

“It must be my charming wit.” Hugo said.

Varian just rolled his eyes and kept walking.

They got to a stall where Varian fished out some coin to buy some produce.

“…what are we doing?” Hugo asked.

“Buying food for the ship, obviously. We’re going to be on the sea for a couple months. And I don’t know about you but fish for dinner every night does not sound good.”

“Well there’s a lot of kinds of fish you can eat. Different ways to eat them too.”

“all of which we’ll have exhausted in the first month. Is this your first voyage?”

Hugo didn’t answer, instead electing to walk over to another stand. Varian rubbed his forehead.

This was going to be a long trip.

Later that night, everyone met back at the ship. Lance, the cook with his two daughters, Catalina and Kiera. Cassandra in charge of defense, Yong their cabin boy, Nuru, assistant navigator to Rapunzel, Rapunzel the captain herself, Eugene the Helmsman, Varian the chief engineer and now Hugo the secondary engineer.

All repairs had been done on the ship, which Rapunzel had paid for. Inside, everyone started settling for dinner. Lance was cooking.

Varian settled into his seat next to Nuru, sighing deeply.

“what’s your problem?” Nuru asked.

Varian watched as Hugo came in through the door. Varian scowled. “Him.”

Hugo came strutting in like he owned the boat, and sat right next to Varian. “Hey sweetcheeks. Miss me?”

Varian nearly whipped around and punched him. It was lucky that Lance that came through the door with the food at that very moment. Varian huffed and turned away.

Nuru and Yong both giggled at that.

Luckily, Hugo was quiet during dinner. While the crew chatted and joked, he stayed stoic, eating his food and retiring to his bed without a word. That was weird to Varian. The guy who had talked his ear off just hours earlier was quiet.

“Huh.” Varian stood a moment after shoving the food into his mouth, following Hugo.

Hugo was walking on the lower decks not far from Varian. He was rubbing his face and bumping into things like he couldn’t see.

Did…did he need glasses?

That thought made Varian pause. That might have been why he was squinting so much earlier. He thought Varian didn’t notice, obviously.

Varian thought for a moment. Making glasses wouldn’t be that hard. All he needed was some metal and glass.

Cursing his annoyingly big heart, he headed down to his lab to begin.

--

Hugo couldn’t fucking see.

In the dark light, his vision was even worse. It wasn’t like this in the ocean. The water always made it easier for him to see.

God’s he couldn’t even see the sign for his bedroom. He needed a lamp.

He looked to the closest lamp which was slightly down the hall and went to grab it, sighing. Donella had better be grateful.

He pulled it off its hook, looking around. It didn’t help a whole lot but it was better than nothing.

Coronan writing was also not his strong suit. The language itself? Simple. He’d been speaking it since he was a kid. So much so that he didn’t even have a strong accent. But trying to understand it written down was much harder. He just looked for the four letters that were his name in Coronan on a door.

After a minute he found it, scribbled on a note and pinned to the door by a nail.

Stepping into the room, he was happy to find that it was all his. Small, but his. One cot, a small desk, and a small burrow to put his things in. Not that he had much. He figured he should probably start putting away his things.

Conchshell first. He carefully wrapped it in some clothes so it wouldn’t get damaged, then put it in the back of the bottom drawer. Not like anyone would go looking anyway.

Next he put his regular clothes in. Rubbing his neck he realized how much weight effected him on land. Or boat. His back already hurt. Is this what humans had to deal with on a regular basis? No wonder they were so rude.

Once done, he looked out the porthole. The ocean proper was far away and Donella had left as soon as Hugo was set. He couldn’t help but feel a little homesick already.

He shoved it down. This was too important to get weepy on the first night.

Still, he wished he could jump back unto the ocean, feel the tug and pull of the waves, swim with the wildlife again.

This was going to be a long trip.

>

Read this on A03!

[sylvia-forest]

[CN] Shaw's 6th Anniversary ASMR - Game

⚡ Warning: This post contains detailed spoilers for an ASMR which hasn't been released in EN yet!⚡

[This was translated with the help of Google translate!]

[door opens and closes + footsteps sound]

So diligent, 

still burning the midnight oil at this hour? 

'Jeweled Tabletop Game Manual'? 

What are you looking at? 

Another new board game? 

Trying to make me experience ‘the taste of defeat’ again? 

Seems like losing that last board game still bothers you. 

Not convinced, huh?

Fine, 

I'll play another round with you. 

What if I lose? 

I'll let you call the shots. 

How about that? 

Is this punishment satisfactory? 

But I have to say, 

the chances of me losing are close to zero. 

Don't just talk about me

—what punishment will you accept if you lose? 

Huh? 

Tap on the forehead? 

Although it lacks creativity, 

fine, I reluctantly agree. 

But let's be clear, 

don't try to weasel out later. 

[flipping of cards sounds ]

Where's the game manual you were reading? 

Let me see. 

[flipping of pages sounds]

Each round, you can take three tokens or buy a card. 

Actions cannot be repeated. 

All cards, except the first row, are flipped face down. 

Buy cards according to the color and quantity of tokens marked. 

Flip the next card for each one purchased. 

The first to collect six cards wins. 

Alright, 

let's begin. 

Such simple rules, 

I can grasp them with just a glance. 

[shaw’s soft breathing + clinking of coins??]

Hm…

[continuous clinking of coinsounds]

Buying cards already? 

And spending six tokens?

[shaw scoffs]

 Hm, 

quite bold. 

Tsk

you're just one step ahead. 

Victory is only assured when you have the last laugh. 

Why do I keep collecting tokens for several rounds? 

Don't ask what you shouldn't know. 

[continuous clinking of coins + flipping of cards + shaw's breathing sound]

Did you flip the next card? 

[shaw chuckles]

Sure, 

lucky. 

The tokens I need for the card you just flipped, 

I happen to have. 

—One red, 

—two green, 

—one black. 

Ah

got the card 

and spent only four tokens.

[shaw laughs]

Don't just stare at me with wide eyes; 

pay attention to your 'assets.' 

If you're not focused, 

be careful—I might catch up in a bit. 

[again clinking of coins + flipping of cards sound]

Hey, I said, 

I already have four cards in hand. 

Why hasn't your second one landed yet? 

[shaw scoffs]

I said earlier, 

overtaking you would be easy. 

It's called the latecomer seizing the lead. 

[shaw chuckles]

Still, strategizing? 

Alright, 

I'm waiting for your last-ditch counterattack. 

Its my turn again

—One blue, 

—one white, 

—plus two red. 

Ah, 

got the sixth card. 

Six to three, I win. 

I told you, 

I won't lose at board games. 

Hm? 

Want to know the secret? 

Say something nice and I'll tell you.

Just this level? 

You'll need at least ten sentences. 

[seems satisfied with her answer and clears his throat]

This is about right. 

I'll consider you passable. 

The secret, let me tell you. 

Listen carefully. 

For strategic board games like this, 

accumulate tokens in the early game 

and use the fewest tokens possible in the late game to earn the most cards. 

Have you heard of 'simplicity is the ultimate sophistication'? 

Although it's just one sentence, 

it works every time. 

If you don't believe me, 

I'll play another round with you. 

[shaw sighs]

But before that, 

let's settle the punishment. 

[rustling of clothes sounds + shaw soft chuckle]

Hey, 

I haven't made a move yet, 

why are you avoiding it? 

It's more comfortable in my arms? 

[shaw clicks his tongue]

Stop it, 

you buried your face so deep I can't see it. 

I think you're trying to weasel out again. 

Hm? 

Change to a different method? 

Hm, 

that works too. 

[kiss + shaw chuckles]

I think this one is not bad. 

[more kisses + heavy breathing + rustling of clothes sounds]

End punishment? 

Of course, we can't leave it at that. 

A bet is a bet. 

You have to listen to me.

[more mouth watering kisses + his sexy breathing sounds]

_

[chouhatsumimi]

How to Get (Free) Manga in Japanese from Honto.jp*

(*If you already have an account!)

I hope to get out a post about setting up an account sooner or later, but we'll give this a go for now!

Go to honto.jp There's an option to use the site in English, but we're skipping that for now. We're also only buying digital at the moment, so we're going to skip worrying about shipping. Close the pop-up.

2. Type the name of the book/series you're looking for into the search bar. This time we're looking for とつくにの少女, The Girl From the Other Side. (Note that I tried searching for 外国の少女 and didn't get the correct results, so do be careful how you type in what you're looking for.) Unselect the green option (紙) from next to the search bar, since right now we're only looking for digital (電子). Then click 検索.

3. You can see various volumes of the series appearing below. Right now it's showing up with the most recent at the top, so we'll scroll down until we see とつくにの少女（１）. Alternatively, they often sell sets up to the most recent volume released, so if you want to go all in, you can look for the option [全1−11 セット] とつくにの少女. In this case we need to scroll to the bottom and go on to the next page. Just a note that they do sell "complete" series even if the series is still publishing new volumes, and you'll have to buy future volumes as a new purchase. Also, it will not allow you to purchase both the full set and a single volume of the same series at the same time. Buying as a set vs. buying individually does not affect how the volumes appear in your library, but it can affect how coupons apply sometimes, if there's a deal on sets.

4. Here we are! とつくにの少女（１）! If you don't want to buy it right now, you can click 欲しい本に追加, but we're purchasing, so we're going to click the big orange (電子書籍を)カートに入れる.

5. Now you can see it's changed to カートを見る, and there's one item in our cart up top! Before we check out, though, let's take advantage of some of the perks of using honto.jp.

6. By hovering over Myメニュー at the top right, we can get to あしあと抽選ポイント and クーポン一覧.

7. Let's visit あしあと抽選ポイント first. You earn points by buying things on the website (1 point for 100 yen, I think?), but you can also enter the point lottery for a chance to win free points every day! Usually you only get one point, but it's still fun and a penny saved is a penny earned, right? Click the big blue button that says あしあと抽選にチャレンジ！

8. Next go to クーポン一覧. Go through and collect 取得する on the right side of all of them, we don't care. They're free. Most of them are for smaller publishers and only apply to specific books we're not interested in, but the ones at the top are going to help us get 20%~25% off if we're lucky! 25% is about the best deal you get on honto.jp, every once in a while you may get 30% or perhaps 40%. There are better sales, but they won't apply to the popular items.

9. All our coupons now having turned from blue to gray and saying 取得済み, we go to our bonus round... the free manga area! Click the logo in the top left to go back to the main page, and then look for 無料の電子書籍 right underneath the search bar.

There are hundreds and hundreds of free options, usually the first or first few volumes of a series. (They're to get you to buy the rest of the series, but they can save you some money!!) A lot are kind of whatever, but there's usually a few really good ones there, case in point Blue Giant (first 4 volumes) and Shadow House (first 3 volumes) are free right now! Sometimes they're only free for a limited amount of time after which they'll still appear in your digital library but you can no longer open them, but we don't care about that right now, go get your free stuff!

You can add the first volumes to your cart very quickly by clicking the orange button underneath the covers, but if you want all the free volumes, click on the cover to open in a new tab, which will take you to the page for the first volume. Click on シリーズ一覧 under the title and author, and that'll take you to a list of the volumes like we saw before, if you scroll down.

Now that we're here, go crazy hitting the orange button, but make sure you're doing it on the volumes that say 0円. They like to mix the paid volumes in with the free ones. If you look at the title you can see the free ones are only going to be available to read until March 16th, but whatever! Free stuff, even if it's temporary!

Something weird is going on with Shadow House, I don't know why there are two different free ones, I think that's an error on the part of the site. We'll just pick one for each volume. This one says 期間限定無料配信, so I think that means you get to keep it as long as you get it for free during the free availability period!

10. Now that we've rounded up what we want, click on your cart (電子書籍のカートを見る) in the top right. This'll pop up when you hover over the cart icon.

Look over your list, make sure your free books are free, and your total off to the right is what you're expecting, then enter your password on the right to continue, then hit the orange button that says 購入の手続きへ進む.

11. Now it pretty much looks the same, except we're logged in. It saves your payment information, so you won't have to enter anything (danger!! if you like buying books, there's no step of having to get out your credit card to make you think about your life choices!)

BUT we do want to save money, so we'll use our coupons and points! Click on the white box with the blue outline that says クーポン/ポイントの利用

12. Apply your coupon!! (One per purchase). But see, this is why we collect all the coupons, because apparently とつくにの少女 happens to be from one of the publishers that has a good sale on now! I think it automatically applies the best one, but it's good to check, especially if you have more than one item in your cart that costs actual money. You can see how it reduced from 605円 on the previous screen to 363円 here. By clicking 全て利用する on the right, I can also apply all my points to bring it down that much further! (Or click the lower options to use some or none of your points.) If points expire, I buy things off this site too frequently to have noticed... Then click 変更する in blue at the bottom to save your changes.

13. STOP, think about if you're ready to pay!! Then to finish, click the orange ご注文を確定 on the right! You can see I'll earn 2 pts to save on future purchases from this order. (It looks like it's less than 1 per 100円...)

14. DONE! You can open up the app on your preferred device, download your new purchase(s), and start reading! You can also read in-browser by clicking ブラウサで読む.

You'll see your purchases on My 本棚

Hover over the cover to bring you to this screen, then select シリーズの本棚を見る to go to the mini-bookshelf for all the volumes in that series (I only have one of とつくにの少女, but that's what shows up anyway).

It shows me the volumes that are missing in gray, but if I hover over the one I have, I again see ブラウザーで読む. Click on that to finally read!

Ta-da! I think it also pops up with instructions about using the arrow keys to move the pages, or your can click on the sides of the pages to get them to advance in that direction.

Happy Reading!!!

[justforbooks]

Things you didn't know about board games

Many of us loving playing board games and people have been playing them for millennia. Here's some fun facts about this excellent pastime

1. We have been playing board games for millennia

Chess, checkers, backgammon and Go all have origins in the ancient world. King Tut was buried with multiple sets of an Egyptian game called senet. Hundreds of pieces of Greek pottery depict Ajax and Achilles hunched over a board in the midst of play. And the Ashanti people of Ghana are believed to have created a board game called wari, which you may know as the count-and-capture game mancala.

2. It wasn’t until the 19th century that board games began to be sold commercially

The first, The Mansion of Happiness, came out in England in 1800. The “mansion” was heaven, and players raced to get there. Decades later, an American named Milton Bradley reworked— and rebranded—it as The Checkered Game of Life.

3. Ludo has roots in ancient India, where it was called pachisi

Pachisi is from the Hindi word for “twenty-five,” the highest possible outcome of a single throw. But whereas Americans only tweaked the name to Parcheesi, the British decided to call it Ludo (‘lew-doh), Latin for “I play.” So when Englishman Anthony E Pratt developed his murder-mystery board game in 1943, he called it Cluedo, playing on Ludo. (In some countries, it’s called Clue.)

4. Around the world, the colourful cast of Cluedo can look quite different

Professor Plum was originally called Dr Orange in Spain. Mr Green goes by Chef Lettuce in Chile. Mrs Peacock is Mrs Purple in Brazil and Mrs Periwinkle in France, and in Switzerland, she’s Captain Blue, a man.

5. Board games occasionally inspire screenwriters

There’s the 1985 mystery Clue, the 2012 action movie Battleship and the 2023 fantasy film Dungeons & Dragons: Honour Among Thieves.

6. At least one board game is being adapted into a television show

The game's creator was a famous French filmmaker , Albert Lamorisse, who wrote and directed the 1956 Oscar-winner The Red Balloon, also created a board game he called La Conquête du Monde (Conquest of the World).

Parker Brothers, an American toy and game manufacturer, introduced it to the US soon after, and renamed it Risk.

7. Another game inventor, Alfred Butts, called his game a couple of other names before Scrabble

Butts first called his creation Lexiko, then Criss Cross Words, before settling on Scrabble—a word that means “to hold on to something.” The hugely popular game has been translated into 29 languages and more than 150 million sets have been sold around the world.

8. Over a game of Scrabble, Canadians Chris Haney and Scott Abbott came up with the idea for their game, Trivial Pursuit

Its success launched a years-long legal battle with an American encyclopedist who claimed Haney took trivia from his books, something Haney readily admitted to doing. In the end, the courts decided you can’t steal trivia and dismissed the suit. During the 1980s, Trivial Pursuit outsold even Monopoly, racking up $800 million in sales in 1984 alone.

9. At the highest levels of play, it’s not all fake money

The winner of the World Chess Tournament takes home up to 60 per cent of the €2 million purse, with the runner-up receiving the smaller share. Even the Monopoly world champion takes home real cash: US$20,580, the amount that comes in a standard Monopoly game.

10. Arguably the wrong person is credited with the creation of Monopoly

The American who sold Monopoly to Parker Brothers in the 1930s, Charles Darrow, often receives the credit for creating the game. But it was another American, Elizabeth Magie, who, decades earlier, earned a patent for her invention, The Landlord’s Game.

Players purchased railroads, paid rent and occasionally ended up in jail. Ironically, Magie’s aim with the game was to show the evils of accumulating wealth by bankrupting others.

11. Monopoly was a polarising game in communist countries

Fidel Castro banned it in Cuba, and it was also banned in China for much of the 20th century. But an even more dramatic bit of board game history occurred during the Second World War. Since prisoners of war in Germany were allowed board games, American troops hid maps, compasses and real money inside Monopoly sets to help them escape.

12. The idea for the kids’ classic game Candy Land came from Eleanor Abbott, an American polio patient

In 1949, Abbott wanted to create something for children to play in quarantine. In fact, illness has served as game inspiration many times. In the British mobile-app-turned-board game known as Plague, players take on the role of deadly diseases trying to mutate and spread across the world. Conversely, in Pandemic, created by an American, players try to contain the spread of diseases and discover cures.

13. Thousands of new games are released each year and there's annual awards for the best

How can you tell which ones are worth buying? One reliable indicator is the Spiel des Jahres (“Game of the Year” in German), a prestigious award given each summer by a jury of (mostly German) game critics who volunteer to play and vote for the winning games. Previous award recipients include Settlers of Catan, Dominion and Ticket to Ride. 

Daily inspiration. Discover more photos at Just for Books…?

[1997thebracket]

Round 1F

Green Day’s Nimrod: For what it’s worth, it was worth all the while. Nimrod is the fifth studio album by American punk band Green Day. The 1997 album was a departure from the band's earlier punk sound, embracing a more diverse musical style that incorporated elements of pop, surf rock, ska, and folk; this could be seen as a catalyst for further popularizing the blended subgenres of pop-punk and folk-punk/acoustic punk. The album features several hit singles, notably Good Riddance (Time of Your Life) which would become one of Green Day's most recognized songs to this day, and sports one of the more iconic album covers of the 90s. Nimrod explores a range of themes from personal introspection to social commentary, and its stylistic experimentation demonstrated Green Day's evolving artistic maturity; the album's eclecticism paid off in commercial success and earned the band a firm place in mainstream music while retaining some of their alternative roots.

Perfect Blue: Come, stay with me in Mima’s Room. Perfect Blue is a Japanese animated psychological thriller directed by the late Satoshi Kon, released theatrically in 1997. The story revolves around a former pop idol, Mima, who leaves her sugary and girlish pop band CHAM! to transition into a more mature acting career; life soon takes a turn for the surreal as she becomes the target of an obsessive stalker, and begins losing sight of herself in the darkness. As the lines between reality and delusion blur, the plot unravels on itself and weaves through themes of identity, celebrity, and the psychological toll of fame. The critically-acclaimed Perfect Blue is celebrated by its enduring fandom for its mind-bending narrative, striking visuals (one scene, taking place in a submerged bath, was famously rumored to have been purchased for recreation in Darren Aronofsky’s Requiem for a Dream) and its unsettling exploration of the human psyche, placing it squarely at the apex of gut-twisting anime filmmaking.

[actuallys8n]

idea : from the text thread in-game when beel asks you for more ink cartridges, the answer i chose + his response was just too cute i had to write this

warnings : fluff, gn!reader (no pronouns), friends to lovers sorta

wc : 800 - a shortie

enjoy cuties!

Red, blue, black, green… What color does he even need? You sigh in frustration, the task at hand increasingly more unclear as RAD supplies significantly more options for pen cartridges than you had initially thought. Your eyes glance down at the glowing phone screen in your hand, Beelzebub’s vague text message unchanging and unhelpful.

One of each should be fine, then.

“He’ll never run out of ink, now.” You say to yourself with quiet confidence, eagerly pulling a single pack off each peg and turning towards the register at the front of the store. Certainly going above and beyond his expectations will earn you several kisses from the handsome demon, right? Although Beel has a tendency to be pretty dense, often brushing off your attempts to flirt as platonic affection / general care for a friend– much to your dismay. 

Deciding a more direct approach is necessary, you took a chance and sent the risky text requesting a kiss as repayment. Thankfully your anxiety turned to elation when his response was in agreement with these terms. Finally, finally, finally he’s returning your signals – albeit through the thickness of his skull. 

Though a kiss is still a kiss, one that is surely to lead to a few more… even if not today.

The cashier only raises their eyebrows at your selection of multi-colored cartridges. “Couldn’t decide?”

“Something like that…” You respond with a shy smile, burying your phone in your pocket and pulling out a prepaid school card to finish up your purchase so you can hurry back to the dorms. 

Beel grins wide when a faint knock sounds at his door – it’s either the take-out he just ordered or it’s his favorite human. But judging by the lack of a delivery announcement, and that it’s only been a minute since he clicked ‘Place Order’ on the app, he assumes it’s the latter and quickly rushes to the door to let you in. 

“Y/N, thank you for–” He hesitates, brilliant fuschia eyes dropping to the four packages of ink in your hands. “…w-why are there so many?”

Red, blue, black and green now readily available for all his writing needs. There’s another silent pause as he realizes he probably should have been more specific in his message to you, and the thought makes him chuckle. 

A smile tugs at the corners of your lips, his cute laughter like music to your ears, igniting a tingly, warm feeling at the top of your tummy. You can’t help but laugh too, the innocence in your actions slightly embarrassing you to the point of hilarity. At least he thinks it’s funny, and not excessive. Though you doubt the demon of gluttony could ever feel as if anything in his life is truly excessive. 

Beel’s hands are quick to cup your cheeks, the grin on his face unfaltering as he swoops down to peck your lips– pressing into you slow and gentle, lingering only for a second before standing straight again, his own cheeks flushed pink and eyes looking anywhere but at you. It’s instant, but he’s floored. Kissing you feels like breathing, sleeping, eating… It’s natural and easy and he could do it forever. 

You huff, looking right at the floor, arms jutting straight out towards his to hand over your delivery as quickly as possible so you can promptly turn on your heel and run down the hall, back to your room to probably (definitely) scream into your pillow.

That kiss was way more embarrassing than you thought it was going to be, and your feelings for him are quickly beginning to bubble up, boil over and burst out of your seems like they never have before. There’s no way– no way you can hide from him after that.  

Judging by the reddened, incredulous look on Beel’s face, his thoughts are not far off from your own. He knows he likes you, probably more than he should – more than a friend, for certain, but he didn’t think a little kiss on the lips would be that nerve wracking. And why does he wanna do it again?

He scrambles to collect all the packages from your hands, muttering a short “thank you” and desperately searching his empty brain for something else to say before you try to leave. 

“No problem!” You squeak in response, breath caught in your throat, heart pounding and eyes wide and… why do your cheeks feel so hot all of the sudden? 

Beel clears his throat and side steps out of his door frame, making room for you to enter with a gesture of his hand– now tightly gripping on to two of the four ink packs.

“You should come in,” he breathes, blush still painting his cheeks a delightful shade of pink. “I just ordered take-out, w-we could share some if you want.”

:’) my first om! fic… ill post some nsfw stuff again soon. watch out.

master’s list

[kaatiba]

After the Forest - A Book Response

After the Forest by Kell Woods showed up as a newly purchased item at my library, and after reading the summary, I downloaded it as an e-book on Libby. I love fairytale retellings, and this one about Hansel and Gretel (or Hans and Greta, as they're known in the book) looked promising.

This post will contain spoilers, so scroll past if that sort of thing bothers you!

Overall, I really enjoyed it! I was hooked from the first page by the very close and cinematic first person perspective. All my senses were engaged, and I was intrigued that this story would be grappling with Greta and Hans' trauma from being abandoned and then getting kidnapped by a cannibalistic witch, as well as the reputation they earned with their escape-by-murder.

I was also delighted that this story wove in the tale of Snow White, Snow White and Rose Red, and Rumpelstiltskin! I even felt there were some sly references to Beauty and the Beast and Bluebeard! The magical realism of it all was wonderful too -- I do enjoy stories that feel like they could have happened, once upon a time and long ago. Speaking of magic, I was fascinated by the distinction between tattermagic and greenmagic, and the cost and effects of both.

The characters are all flawed -- Hans has a gambling addiction spurred/made worse by being trapped in the village he longs to get away from, Greta is spurned as a suspected witch who is deeply affected by her experience with the gingerbread witch and the loss of her parents, and frequently makes bad but understandable decisions. Supporting characters Christie and Rob have their own secrets and secret pasts that haunt them and, though well meaning, are often selfish and harsh with others. Even the antagonists are humanized, making complex villains of them all. I love that kind of character work.

As for the romance between Greta and Mathias; it was soft and sweet and so understandable. I especially loved Greta's constant refrain of 'Were they blue, or green, his eyes?'. Mathias was a lovely character, fully realized and wonderfully kind and sad and noble. One quote that made me catch my breath with the beautiful yearning romance of it all was: 

"I know you're angry [...] Even so I would follow you to the very edge of Hell had I the scent of honey on your skin to lead me."

Even out of context, it's such a sensual and longing bit of dialogue, but in context it's simply breathtaking.

Speaking of: the prose! Very lovely, very deft. Sometimes entrancing and sensory, always deft rather than flowery to the point of disorientation, and every character had a distinct voice. 

While I did feel like the middle of the book unfolded a bit too slowly, I think once I understood that this book was about Greta and other characters' internal development just as much as it was about the mysteries of the plot, I was able to settle into the unraveling of it all. The characters themselves aren't aware of the genre or story they're in, after all. I'd need another read to determine if my impression that they were sometimes a bit too obtuse or made decisions that were clearly bad ideas was just a result of my outside perspective and familiarity with the tropes.  Still, this concluded in a very satisfactory -- or at least well-grounded -- and heart-wrenching manner for all involved! I recommend it to anyone who enjoys adult retellings and expansions of fairy tales, romantic tragedies with happy endings, complicated family dynamics, the effect of trauma and grief, and magical realism.

Content warnings for the novel (non-comprehensive): brief instances of sexual harassment, assault and rape (non-graphic), gore and murder, references to cannibalism, brief/implied but non-graphic sexual scenes, and mind-altering magic using blood.

[softlysuited]

The Sunless Skies Log

I started up a new playthrough of Sunless Skies, which I've played for about an hour previously and know nothing about except it seems Extremely My Shit. And, given my april new years resolution, I thought it would be fun to start a little log of my adventures!

Here follows the tale of Comrade O'Conner, a former revolutionary and asylum inmate dreaming of immense wealth who has taken the helm of a ramshackle old locomotive named The Orphean, just returned from a disastrous voyage in the Blue Kingdom (I'm excited to find out what all this means!) --

Session 1

15 March 1905 - 28 April 1905

Upon arriving in New Winchester, we took on a few new supplies and learned of a quest: Verdant Seeds for a Florid Landscapist in Titania! Not knowing where Titania might be or how to acquire Verdant Seeds, we nevertheless took on the quest.

Heading north-northeast, we sighted Titania before too long. But without any Verdant Seeds to give, we had to depart. Not without some new companions, however: the Rat Brigade, rodent mercenaries who signed on as our Chief Engineer. Fuel ran dangerously low on the journey back to New Winchester, but we survived. Unfortunately, buying some new fuel left us nearly empty of coin.

Next, we found the pretty greens of Port Avon, and Verdant Seeds! Our necessary refueling meant we could only purchase one sack, and the Florid Landscapist required five. But this is what beginnings are made of! We established a healthy little trade route between Port Avon and Titania, earning just enough to stay ahead of our supply and repair costs.

The Orphean in Titania

During these interminable runs, we joined the Tacketies in attacking one of the Queen's locomotives like any respectable revolutionary, and aided Titania against an attack by a swarm of Chorister Bees!

Alas, as we closed in on Port Avon for the third or thousandth time, we found there we no more Seeds to be sold! We would need a new source. We had hoped there would be a little surplus left over for another Jerusalem cannon or perhaps some more crew, but it seems we were to come up empty yet again.

Oh well. Surviving is better than the alternative.

Current Crew: Captain: Comrade O'Conner Chief Engineer: Rat Brigade

[zipitmythicalsunset]

Chapter 2: BloodBath River

(ALL SONAS HERE YAYAYAYAYAYAAYA)

(This is all from X.Gs pov, an important note is that due to the area she had grown up in, she has learned to speak all 3 (kelpie selkie and siren) main mer languages fluently, also Tw. This chapter is called Bloodbath river for a reason, I think i got a bit graphic but i have no idea where that border is so- E)

It's been an hour since dawn, and the town is already up and busy, people raiding the cafe for coffee to keep them up and going, others walking their dogs or chatting blissfully to one another. Unaware (or uncaring) of the lady with blue eyes piercing through a black veil with the gray, ominous Sunday hat sitting up top of a closed bookstore.

X.G has been so…tired

Everyones been. None of the other kelpies who she's been so close with she considers family have been active on their group chat. Life on land seems to have also been rough over the course of a few weeks. Most of her family live among humans, how, she can never know.

Maybe it's because they were born on land, and they had found the appeal there that she was blind to. Even then, the second their true form is revealed, no matter how good of a person you may have been. you're immediately a monster. Someone that deserves to be locked up and soul sucked out in a disgusting smelling lab. And be treated as a mere object, and when you finally die, nobody will remember you. Why run this risk? What was the appeal that she couldn't see? She wanted to know. It’s kinda her thing, to understand things she probably wasn't capable of understanding.

X.G looked around to the sea of humans below her, watching them all scatter to do whatever they had planned to do today. There's more than usual, that's odd. In the sea of busy people, she had spotted a familiar figure. blonde hair with strands of green slaying a white dress. X.G perked up and bounced off the building she was sitting on (earning a few gasps from a few bystanders. heh) and ran over to the blondie.

“Nora!” she basically yelled out, and Nora had spun around at the call of her name, perking up when she saw her friend running to her. “Hey X! how have you been?”

X.G held Nora in a one arm hug, in which she happily returned. “M’tired, life in the forests feels slow and the fog is starting to pick up. I almost lost my kitty bag yesterday when trying to get to Momma Yami’s home cave thing..” she grumbled, looking down midway through her sentence and patted her purse just to confirm she still had it. wandering around in the foggy eerie woods searching for her dropped bag was not fun. Nora simply chuckled. “I can imagine, the flower shop has been very busy. I’m closing it for the weekend because I somehow ran out of stock.” That. That right there had caught her by surprise. Nora tended to overbuy stock. So the thought that she ran out was shocking. “That busy?”

“Mhm, mainly tourists. Heard some point of interest or something opened up to tourists to check out and they came flocking, hotels packed and well yeah,extra money but nobody was ready for that.It's all haywire.” Ah. That explains why there's so many people around, and the extra boats, seriously, they appear out of thin air…speaking of..“Hey, that does mean you're free for the weekend, right?” She questioned hopefully. Nora had begun walking again, X.G following along behind her. “Yeahh, you got any plans I can tag along with?”

“No but we can maybe go- '' A familiar ring cut X.G off, coming from both of their phones. Someone had pinged them in the group chat, that used to happen a lot. But ever since these tourists had come and eaten everyone's free time. This is the first Ping this month. The girls looked at each other and whipped their phones out. X.G scrambled her phone out of her purse in the sea of other objects she purchased yesterday, out of its many waterproof covers, and clicked the notification.

🥗🥗🥗 Salads and sides🥗🥗🥗

Bloo: @everyone hey i know we’ve been busy, so sorry for the ping. But me and Vi are going to walk from the exit of the river and upstream to the cove at its start. just to take a breather from all the humans. Probably gonna spend the night there. Anyone else free to come hang with us?

Bloo, you goddamn life saver.

X.G and Nora looked at each other “Well, that solves that problem.” Nora said, laughing. X.G chuckled “Bloo is always there when you need her, even unintentionally, isn’t she?” Nora hummed in confirmation while she texted the group chat.

The former looked back down at her phone after a few moments of just laughing at the coincidence. she can see through her black veil that there are already 5 new messages, including nora.

bloo: @everyone hey i know everyones been busy, so sorry for the ping. But me and Vi are going to go from the exit of the river and walk upstream to the hidden cove near its start at around 12 pm. Just to take a breather from all the humans and chit chat. Probably gonna spend the night at that cove. Anyone else free to come hang with us?

(replying to bloo) Finnick: Eh, why not, nothing more entertaining to do anyway.

(replying to bloo) Cici: HECK YEAH! I'VE BEEN SO BORED AND I MISS YOU GUYS >:D

(replying to bloo) Whisper: ooo~ well i don't see why not, I'll bring some snacks and a couple of drinks! :D

(replying to bloo) Nora: shops closed for restock, it will be nice to get some fresh air :>

(replying to bloo) Beetle: hm…sure! Sounds like fun!

Smiling, she has typed out her response.

(replying to bloo) X.G: a walk would be nice, count me in.

sent.

Not 2 seconds after, Bloo had started typing again and had sent another message.

Bloo: all right! It's nice to see that almost everyone has free time this weekend!

It's something to look forward to, and she can feel Nora’s buzzing excitement next to her. It's a break from the town and work- with 8 out of 10 members of her family, she couldn't blame her. She herself missed listening to them chatter away and doing less than responsible things. It can get annoying trying to keep them out of trouble, yes. But if her friends weren’t chaotic children, what fun would there be?

——————————————————————

The meeting time was 12PM

Everyone was here by 11:30AM

The part of the beach where the river was is kept untouched by everyone, including tourists. After all, you'll never know when you'll get bonked by a gator.

The residents of the town found out the hard way

Poor fucker.

Vipera and Bloo had just arrived, ironically last, to be fair, they were technically 30 minutes early. Nora basically rushed X.G out of her jacket and sweatpants to show the outfit that fit much better with her kelpie form and hurried them over to the river at 11 AM so they wouldn't get side tracked and be late. X.G didn’t like to be rushed, but she still couldn't help but chuckle at her friend's shenanigans. Nora didn't wanna be late. Not at all

The river itself was maybe 100 feet wide and gashes into the land, carrying anything along that happens to fall into it.

Well, almost everything.

The river's current may be strong to a human, but a kelpie's powerful tail can easily swim against its current, though slow and inefficient… X.G and her family will know, they are no stranger to walking up this river to the cove.

“We are all ready, right?” asked whisper. Snapping her once again out of her thoughts. Vipera and Finnick were nodding, Finnick was holding a pretty big, black cooler bag. That probably has the stuff Whisper brought along. “Mhm, all ready for freddy.” Beetle joked. “I'm ready to go already!” Cici practically shouted impatiently. Nora and Bloo were holding a thumbs up “Me and Bloo are up and ready, how about you, X.G?”

She looked at each of her friends under her veil, she had removed her blue contacts- sky blue eyes have been replaced with blood red ones- and nodded

“ready”

And they were off

——————————————————————

At 3pm, all was well, everyone had switched to their true forms. Everyone was talking, telling stories they haven't had the chance to tell anyone, doing a few goofy things here and there, playing chess without a chessboard- actually a couple of games without their respective items. Vipera and X.G were in the middle of a tic tac toe match when Cici decided to make the first moment of the walk.

Cici was talking to Nora and making plans about one thing or another, when she looked at the river they were walking to the right of, dramatically gasped, and jumped inside. Giving everyone a heart attack until she surfaces 10 seconds later, jumping out the water with a fucking massive bucket, big enough to hold a child, and pretty well intact.

“GUYS LOOK A BUCKET” Cici yelled out with pride, holding the bucket like it was that baby lion cub from that one popular movie Bloo made X.G watch a while back.

silence…

Somehow, Everyone but X.G and Finnick had the same idea, and had gotten to their knees and began praising the bucket like it was the motherfucking lord and savior Jesus Christ himself.

….It took almost half an hour to convince everyone to continue walking, Cici kept the bucket though.

-

At 6 pm, They had stopped to take a break and eat some of the snacks that Whisper had gotten. Some cookies, water, and sandwiches . Bloo had snagged a few fish out the river to snack on. Some didn’t like raw food though. Whatever, it was eaten anyway. Bloo has always been the best at catching fish bare handed. Never ever lost any contest before, even if 3 people were working together, Bloo somehow always got more. X.G has always been VERY curious where she got her skills from. But she always says she's self taught. Fine then, keep your secrets, you blue tinted sentient plant.

-

At 9 pm, they had a simple conversation, a release of information about a pretty random topic. One that they had no idea would be relevant later.

“Hey X.G!” CiCi called, swaying the bucket around. her kelp hair swinging around almost smacking Vipera, who was chit chatting with Finn.

“hmmm yeah whats up?” X.G responded, pausing her game of connect 4 with Beetle- well, imaginary technically, the setup was in their heads and where they placed their next piece by saying which column out of 9 they wanted to place their piece in. They’ve done it for years now, it's second nature to remember such things.

“You spend your time out in the wild and all, seeing deers, traversing tree roots, and swimming with the fishes, yeah?”

“What about it?” she asked.

“well i’ve had this question for a long while now but never had time to ask because busy month and all, but how the FUCK do you keep your clothes clean and not even torn up in the slightest?!” CiCi nearly shouted.

“Actually, that's a good question. X, I know you're careful and all. But I don't think anyone is that careful, and your kelpie outfit doesn't even have a blood stain. how?” Asked Beetle, now also curious.

“Huh? Oh, Atlan tech. Neat shit aint it?” X.G responded casually. “Pardon me, what tech?” asked Nora, now interested. Great, everyone was interested now, all eyes were on her. hhhhhhhhhh-.

“Atlan tech.” she replied again. All of her friends looked at each other, each confirming with one another with a simple look they had no idea what she was talking about, and looked at her and gestured for her to elaborate. Why did she expect them to know what she was talking about?

“well….you guys know the atlantis myth right?”

Everyone nodded in confirmation. Well, here goes nothing…

“yeah that's a real thing”

silence. they have stopped walking, nonhuman eyes gone wide, staring at her through her veil, this feels ominous now.

“Holy crap…” gasped Whisper, shocked, and so was everyone else, now looking at each other processing that information, some in disbelief, others fully believed her.

“Wait really?!” yelled CiCi, flabbergasted. “Not in the way you think, however.” She added, and now all eyes were on her again, just like that. “It ain’t an underwater city that was run by humans and is full of gold or whatever the tale was. It's actually a Country sized city run by seafolk. Works like humans, just less tech advanced because it’s underwater, and, well, its under fucking water. Also they all hate humans. Funny isn't it?”

“And…nobody knew about this… because?” Finn asked, still doubting X.Gs admittingly pretty unbelievable claim.

“With all due respect, Finnick. Do you really think a COUNTRY SIZED CITY OF SEAFOLK THAT HATES HUMANS WILL LET A HUMAN LIVE TO TELL THE TALE?” Bloo pointed out.

“Pfft, that too, but really it's because there's a weird barrier that prevents anyone from seeing it and you gotta sing a certain song to an underwater shrine to enter.” X.G stated bluntly, not really questioning it.

….

“Ok normally id question that but then i remembered im arguing a civilization that made the most durable clothes i’ve ever fucking seen thats quite literally right in front of my eyes- just how are those two related mind you?” Finn asked, giving up on questioning X.G’s words. After all, she’s no liar to those close to her. They’ve been each other's family for a long time now. Everyone knows each other like a book they’ve read a million times. They know well the most X.G can do is half lie without stuttering her words or start avoiding eye contact.

“Long story, make it short, combined a bunch of animal genes together to create a genetically modified organism that produces a substance that which combined with a different genetically modified organism’s GUTS and a couple other things makes the most durable and questionable shit ever fucking created.” She said without a second thought. She can feel eyes piercing through her veil. She didn’t look away, or show any of her giveaways when she lies. Because she isn't.

“Hold on …how did they figure that out?” Vipera asked, Whisper and Nora hummed in agreement, having the same question.

“To be honest not even i wanna know” The Blood-eyed kelpie half chuckled out.

“Im wondering how the fuck they made a gentically modified organism that assumingly can mass produce this stuff.” Cici said, still baffled. “That…isnt my area of expertise.” X.G replied with a small giggle.

“Well, the Alfredton Marine Institution or whatever has a lab base right next to the left side of the river, we'll be a few minutes from the property line at like 3:30 am or 4:00 am, why not go ask them?” Finn said sarcastically. Earning a few laughs from the other seafolk.

“Jokes and clothes aside, you gotta take us there someday.” Beetle said jokingly, Whisper nodded her head in agreement. “I wanna see this barrier thing.” The blue eyed selkie Joked too. “Alright bet, when yall free to go on vacation to Atlantis? Outsiders are free to come and visit as long as they dont eat someone. ” X.G stated as if oblivious that the two were messing around.

“Wait fr?” Beetle said, shocked that their joke can actually happen.

“Mhm!”

“Oh heck yeah.”

Beetle won that Connect Four game, by the way.

-

At 10PM, the group took a small detour to a nearby open field to mess around with the fireflies. Beetle became the crowned heir of the fireflies since they insisted on following them around. Fitting. It was fun too, Cici had caught Finnick + 10 fireflies with the bucket she got. Which spawned a “game” of chase between the two idiots. They were back on track on the river within the hour, but only because Cici had run out the field and back to the river with Finnick on her tail and everyone else had to run after them, also prevent one from killing the other.

-

At 12:30 am,when their destination was maybe 4 or so hours away, her gut told her something was TERRIBLY wrong.

They've been walking for maybe 13 hours now, and everyone was starting to get droopy, but Whisper had also brought a bunch of energy drinks. God bless her for thinking ahead. But that means all her senses were not being dragged down by sleep. And every single one was screaming at her to be prepared to fight something, something she couldn't see or hear at all.

This didn't go unnoticed, however, not at all.

“Hey X, what's up? You seem to have lost your stride .” asked Beetle. “Yeah, I was about to ask the same thing, your energy is quite tense. '' said Nora. Of course those two will notice, they’ve always been more aware of their surroundings, they would have noticed X.Gs stiff posture a mile away.

“My protective instincts are screaming at me that something is wrong” X.G replied, it was true, but that instinct has been wrong before, but she was highly alert nonetheless.

Whisper immediately went stiff, turning around to look at her red eyed friend. “I'm…not the only one who's getting a strange feeling?” Ok, something is definitely wrong. If her instincts were nudging her, she would pay no attention to it, but they were screaming at her to protect someone. AND Whisper was getting the same feeling, who just so happens to have just as good hearing as her. Fuck no, something is wrong and she has to be re-

“Guys, chill out, if something happens, it will happen. Just don't ruin the good time before something else ruins it.” scoffed Finnick. “We are in the middle of nowhere, worst case scenario we get jumped by a bear or something.”

…..As much of an asshole Finn is and how rude of a brush off was, he was right. nothing could be done about it now, and nothing worse than a bear can attack them. So for now, she stayed on alert.

-

And X.G’s glad she did.

It all started at 3:05 AM, an hour and a half away from their destination.

she heard something

It sounded like a scream.

a human shriek.

The air had all tensed in as she stopped walking and looked across the river where the noise had come from, eyes widening as goosebumps prickled every scale on her body.

“Whisper?” she heard someone ask. maybe it was Vipera, or was that Nora? Whoever it was- they are implying that Whisper had heard the scream too, so it's not just her. “Hey, X.G what’s up?” asked Beetle- wait was that Finn? She couldn't care to check, nor to respond.

“Hey guys you good?”

“Did they hear something?”

“I don't hear anything”

“X and Whisper have the best hearing here, They probably hear something we can't”

“X.G looks like she's watching ghosts strip dance in the sky and Whisper looks like she had watched someone deepthroat some cacti.”

“What kind of simile is that, Finn?!”

“It's been a few minutes, X.G, Whisper, come on we gotta go”

She heard something again. Another shriek, in the distance. but it wasn’t human….it sounded like…like…

. . .

Changing to her higher form has always been a painful process, she always did it slowly. So when she threw her bag at Whisper to catch (which she barely had time to do, being distracted and all) and changed into her higher form in 5 seconds, everyone was alarmed.

Vipera got the hint, and changed into her higher form, not as quickly, but still quite urgently. Whisper had heard it too it seems, and had run over and jumped onto X.Gs back, immediately looking up at where the sound had come from once she was settled. Finn and Beetle decided that this was pretty serious, and had followed Whisper's footsteps. Her horse-like figure allowed them to do that easily. Nora, Bloo, and Cici all stood by the water, ready to jump in and swim against or with the current

“What is happening exactly?” Bloo asked, alarmed

“No idea, but it seems like Whisper and X.G had heard something alarming enough that we gotta be ready to move.” Nora said, trying to keep her cool, but the worry and alarm was obvious in her voice.

“No shit! But what did they hear!?” Cici nearly screamed, emotions of terror, alert, and weariness fused in one.

“Bro we dont fucking know! Jus-“

“SHUT THE FRICK FRACK UP YOU BROKEN BOBBLEHEADS WE ARE TRYING TO LISTEN!” Whisper yelled abruptly, cutting Finnick off before he had a chance to really start.

For a few minutes, nothing can be heard besides the current of the water. And their alarmed breaths.

And then she heard it.

it was loud enough for everyone to hear it, in fact.

selkies, kelpies, and sirens, the most intelligent creatures in the ocean. Each having their own similar yet unique languages, but there is ONE phrase that is the same across all three, and in that moment, her fellow companions understood why she, and Whisper were so alert. Why her instincts were screaming at her to protect someone. Why Whisper has had a strange feeling for the same amount of time.

“PLEASE HELP ME!!”

She’s never moved so fast in her life.

She was running so fast upstream. Kelo flying everywhere as her hooves smacked the river so hard that it made bubbles that she can run on, and run she did. It was draining her energy fast-but she had more energy than the average Kelpie, especially in this form. She can hear Vi somewhere to her left. and the sounds of splashes behind her as powerful kelp tails move against the powerful current of the river behind her.

There was still screaming, cries for help.

A child’s cries for help, they were begging, pleading cries.

They needed to go. Go and save the child from whatever danger they were in.They needed to get there YESTERDAY.

…The screaming abruptly stopped. She can hear voices now, but she didn’t care what they were saying and focused on her hooves to keep herself running correctly on the water. But whatever it is, it has the kelpies on her back riled up as they were now rambling in their anger. Mainly Finnick and Whisper, they were livid.

When they finally arrived, she realized why.

10 guards, and more approaching. Every single one had malice on their faces, which quickly turned to terror and shock as she ran on the grass where they were. She can hear Vipera getting out of the water somewhere behind her. and the sounds of Cici, Nora, and Bloo bursting out the water on the left and right sides of her.

her eyes looked around for the child that had called out for help. Then she spotted them—There, on the floor, next to a guard who was holding an active taser, definitely injured

Was a red, four armed siren kid.

“SURPRISE, YOU SCALES FUCKS” yelled Finnick, as the three kelpies jumped off her back.

And thus, the fighting began.

“Whisper, get the child to safety on the other side of the river” X.G demanded in their native language. Whisper didn’t think twice before following the order.

The red eyed mare wasted no time before bolting to the one closest to her and ripping their intestines out , listening to their screams of agony as blood tainted green kelp red..before making a human pancake with a hoof to the face and a satisfying crunch.

She looked up in search of her next target, catching a glimpse of Whisper putting her foot through the taser wielding man's chest. Thankfully without getting shocked. before scooping up the child and doing what she was told to. Good, Good. X.G had found her next victim, turning around and bucking their upper half off and began trampling their body. Organs, blood, and other bodily fluids exploding out like a piñata hit with a wrecking ball. She didn't fail to notice the glint of a shiny, used needle on the floor where the little siren once was and happily trampled that too with merely a thought.

Agonized Screams of terror and pleas for mercy filled the air while red tainted their kelp and clothes. The ones in the distance have caught up, the smarter ones ran back to wherever they came from, while the foolish ones had attempted to intervene a few had tried to shoot at them, stupid, stupid and cruel and foolish and COLDER THAN ICE. The bullets only made them stop taking their time and marked who died first. The kelpies slaughtered and fought. Tearing limbs off , listening to the terrified, wonderful screams, filled to the brim with agony and PAIN and DREAD and REGRET for their actions. For whatever harm they have caused to the innocent siren Whisper whisked to safety. Speaking of, While Finn rips heads off, left and right, what they deserve- they don't deserve their minds, they are far too cruel to have them. While Bloo rips them apart for their livers like the amazing hunter she is. While Vipera eats the terrible, cruel humans in one bite. While Nora makes sure they are unrecognizable to whoever comes and finds the bloodbath they leave behind. While Beetle leaves holes where their hearts should be, as they do not deserve them. They were fake anyway. EVEN while Cici makes sure there isn't a body, just a few organs, maybe a few limbs, skin scattered around, smashed bones, no name to put on it even if they tried. What they deserved, what humans all deserve is this birthday party of crimson and copper and screams right here. Among all of that, She also can hear Whisper maniacally laughing, even though she's trying to keep herself quiet for the child's sake. Her heightened hearing can still catch the laughter through all the screams and pleas for mercy and gunshots and the crunch of bones and dripping of blood and organs falling on the floor and the RED. That wonderful usually innocent laugh now also tainted beautifully by blood. X.G hears something else too, but she’ll address it later, but right now.

They have far too much blood to spill.

She wasn't sure about her comrades, nor had time to make sure they were ok, but besides the few hisses from pain, none of them ever cried out. Too bad for those even more idiotic humans. They made quick quick work of them all. When they were all done, the best way to describe the battlefield was a messy 3rd grade group collage, the blood being the canvas, with bones, organs, skin, and dead bodies being clumsily glued onto. Withthe occasional accidental flicker of what little green grass that didn't get tainted by the blood .

…

But now it’s over, the moon highlights the glimmers of blood on the now red grass and kelp that is their “art” project…Speaking of kelp, X.G looks at her friends. she herself besides a bit of kelp damage, has come out unscathed..

Well, Also Vipera, everyone else has maybe a few bruises, maybe a few stab wounds. Not sure why the ones in the distance didn’t immediately run at the sight of eight “monsters” tearing up their fellow coworkers, but X.G didn’t really bother to understand human logic. They were just stupid most of the time.

“Hey X.G, you know alot about sea mons- seafolk, right?” Whisper called out from wherever she was in their language. “Yeah, why?” X.G replied back. “…Do you know what I'm looking at?”

huh? Did Whisper find something? Or was there something wrong with the kid? She looked around at everyone else, who was walking towards the other side of the river, diving in the water to help remove the blood and jumping out to where Whisper probably was.

“Holy shit X.G GET OVER HERE!” Finn yelled out back in common tongue, flabbergasted by whatever he was seeing. Well then, if it's that serious.

She slowly turned back into her kelpie form…slowly…and painfully, the tough skin shrunk and hooves turned into claws until she was back in her kelpie form. X.G looked down at her…perfectly fine outfit and dusted it off and adjusted her hat. She really didn't know how the Higher form works and honestly she doesn't really wanna know. She’s so tired now. All that running on water and fighting for an undetermined amount of time really drained her energy, not to mention switching to her higher form so quickly. Pray to all that is holy that there's still an energy drink in that cooler bag. Speaking of, where is it?

“X.G!” Vipera shouted like a mother being ignored by their child being told to come downstairs. “COMING, I'M COMING!” X called back, running to the river and jumping in, the current tried to take her, but even when tired as she is right now, she was far too strong for that and easily swam to the other side before jumping out. Spotting Whisper and everyone else surrounding her. Sighing she trotted on over. “Ok what is going on?” She looked around, spotting the cooler bag on the floor- and the bucket too, seems like Whisper went back for them. She opened the bag and thank god there's still 4 Monsters. Grabbing one and immediately chugging it, she looked around to find what everyone was losing their minds over with new found energy.

And then her eyes landed on the kid. She spat out some of her drink and made her spit out words she’d thought she'd never say when talking about a sea creature.

“What the jesus christ FUCK am i looking at?!”

And for a good reason, That siren has TENTACLES, FUCKING TENTACLES. THE SIREN HAS TENTACLES. WHY?

“Wait, you don't know?” Bloo asked nervously. “Nope nada never have i never seen this in my life.” X.G blurted out. Holy shit. She’s never seen anything like this before. She thought she had seen all seafolk types, she thought wrong. “Why is it only showing itself now?” Nora asked, furrowing her brows. And everyone grunted in confusion…until she remembered something…

“I saw a used needle on the floor next to where the kid was laying. Maybe they paralyzed him with some toxin or whatever.” She recalled, yeah, she trampled it in her anger and spite.

Nora hummed, satisfied with that answer, but pretty fucking mad now. And so was pretty much everybody else, how could they not? Who were those people and why were they trying to capture a baby siren with tentacles? She looked from the baby siren to her friends as if their eyes had answers.

And in a sense, they did. After all, they can read each other like a book. She can tell who's thinking and who has an idea by that look in their eyes.

“Whisper, don't be shy. Ican't be that weird, state your theory.” X.G asked bluntly, Whisper was always the kind to listen to other people's thoughts and ideas before speaking her own, but right now she’s the only one with one. And now suddenly all eyes were on her. oops.

“W-well…” The shy sky eyed kelpie started. “What if this little one is genetically modified , and wherever that blasting alarm is coming from is the lab? And- and it was trying to escape and got caught?” Ah, right, the other thing she heard during the fight. that blasting alarm. Issue for later, but that idea, That's… “Ok yeah that IS a weird idea” Finn stated.

“But she's right…” Nora started, attracting all eyes to her. “I mean, the folks at Atlantis with a lot less tech were able to fuse a bunch of different animal genes and traits together to create two for their own benefit. What is stopping a lab of ice cold, cruel humans from giving a siren an octopus trait- wait do krakens exist? Doesn’t matter, point across, besides, Finn, you yourself said that we will arrive at some Marine institution at around 3:30, and it was 3:05- maybe 3:10 when X.G looked like she was watching, and I quote “ghosts strip dancing in the sky” Nora was glaring at Finnick now. “Well, it's like 3:40 ish now, so this has to be it, right?”

“Ye-Yeah! EXACTLY what I was thinking!” Whisper said more confidently.

The next few seconds were deafening as the realization of what that could mean slowly but surely made its way into the others' heads.

“There are more in there….” Beetle pointed out, despair overtaking their face.

“We don't have the energy,time or even a plan to save them all!” Finnick pointed out, “Come on, let's just take the kid and go already!”

“Wait, can we atleast go and cause some destruction? I haven't gotten all the rage out of my system yet!” Cici whined.

She let her friends argue about their next move, while her eyes drifted to her kitty bag that Whisper was now wearing.

Whisper had never gone in the water, she probably jumped across the river, As her bag isn't wet. It was a durable little thing, meant to withstand the harsh environments she climbed through. Yeah, it is true she almost lost it in the foggier woods, but she wasn't quite looking for Yamitsukis cave when she did. She had planned on going there, yeah, but that was before she bumped into a red headed selkie. Said Selkie was heavily armed, a rifle, a pistol, and a bunch of other weapons she could see from her carrier-like bag she was using.

Ironically, that Selkie was a darling to chat to, a lovely lady, a traveler, in fact, from Atlantis. It is not frequent she sees another like herself, so that was a pleasant surprise. She also had a mini shop, she was going to buy something from it when she realized her precious cat bag was gone. That kind Selkie- Eleanor, had helped her find it. And then they split paths.

Not before X.G had purchased five hand grenades from her and put them in her purse. With a discount too, at the promise she won't mention her to anyone else. Something just told her to do it, and she understands now. You see this is why she listens to her gut most of the time.

She looked at all her friends, Finn, Whisper, and Beetle seemed pretty calm and collected and just concerned about the child. However, Bloo’s hands are clenched in fists so hard to the point it's probably cutting skin. Nora's eyes are twitching and her foot is tapping. Vipera’s claws keep bracing around nothing and her eyes keep glancing over at the fence. And Cici, as per usual, is letting her rage be known to the world with clenched fists and pissed stomps. Yeah, They gotta get that out of their system before anything, lord forbid what happens later if they don't.

“What are the kids' injuries?” X.G thought aloud, cutting off whatever argument they had going. “Some bleeding bruises we gotta patch up later, a pretty deep stab wound in their top right shoulder, but a bit of kelp can keep that fine for a few hours now, besides that and he's probably sick. He's pretty ok.” X.G took the time to stare at the little guy. He was mostly blood red, Besides his dull orange-gray fins and his odd sunray-like orange and yellow head frills. Wearing a dirty old white gown. Along with having four arms, He also had four eyes, that definitely isn't normal. His tentacles have a pattern of dull orange spots with red ovals. His scales looked so dehydrated she kinda wishes Whisper had dunked him in the river. Even through the black tint of her veil she could tell he was definitely neglected there, poor kid. He didn’t deserve this.

“Whisper, can you give me my bag? I have an idea.” She asked, stretching her arm out to her cat bag expectantly. In which Beetle took the bag off of her and gave it to X.G, since Whisper was still holding the little siren-kraken kid. “What idea can you possibly have?” Finn scoffed. “And is it a good one?”

“Ok, who else here still feels unhinged and angry and wants to kick more ass still?” She asked just to confirm. As expected, Nora, Bloo, Vipera and Cici happily raised their hands. “Great, go run hop that fence over there and get it out of your system. We don't need a hole in the wall later. When we see them hop that fence to come back, we do what these legs were built for and book it.” She explained. “Yeah but, where do we run too?” Beetle wondered aloud. “To Momma Yamis house.” Finn Deadpanned. Yamitsuki was basically their mother, and the cove wasn't a better option, and eight suspicious looking “humans” pulling up to town, 6 of them having their clothes stained with blood (Vipera was in her higher form during the whole fight)with a tentacle siren isn’t a smart idea.“She lives a few miles away from here though, we should probably all chug an energy drink, those four morons will be high off adrenaline anyway.”

“Wait, you won't just send them over the fence, how exactly do you want them to get it out of their system?” Beetle asked suspiciously. For a good reason, Nora and Bloo are both on steroids when pissed. If Nora and Bloo are using steroids as a pick-me-up, Vipera and Cici is just straight up cocaine abuse. “well…i have the perfect solution” X.G giggled, opening her back and revealing what she had bought the day before “NUKES!” she joked. Getting a mixtures of panicked screams and joyful cheers from her friends, this was such a stupid idea but who the fuck cares.

The girls grabbed the nukes, really liking this terrible idea, and bolted over the river and over the fence to set off the hand grenades. Yeah, they are small, but causing a bit of chaos and destruction is what they need right now. Lord have mercy if one gets too riled up and makes the roof fall in at Yami’s cave.

“X, what the FUCK were you thinking?! Has the sleep blocked your common sense?!” Finn snapped at the red eyed kelpie. “First of all, I was thinking about the consequences if they punched a wall in the cave out of rage, and it caves in on us!” X.G snapped back. “Second of all, probably, but there's no point in arguing it now* She pointed out, turning her head to Whisper. “Whisper, give me the kid and the three of you guys crack a monster in there, we are gonna run for a few miles without break so you better be ready.”

“No, actually putting the kiddo in the bucket will be easier since you'll be able to use your other hand to help traverse the trees.” Beetle suggested, pointing at the bucket Cici had found all those hours earlier. “Good idea beetle! Finally someone who isn't on crack with the ideas” Finn scoffed. “I mean yeah we just killed maybe 30 or so people and our clothes are covered in leftover blood that will probably stain. But holy shit, fucking GRENADES X.G?! WHERE DID YOU GET THOSE FROM?”

“Look mate I promised not to speak of the buyer, that's for you to find out for yourself.” X.G replied back while zipping her cat bag closed. Earning a grumble from Finn, his eyes piercing through her veil. Whisper had placed the kid gently and comfortably in the bucket and took out three monsters, which she tossed two to the other two kelpies before grabbing the cooler bag and basically forcing Finnick into it. “Guys, seriously, enough arguing, just Chug and be ready. They'll hop the fence any second now.” The normally shy kelpie pointed out before cracking her drink and chugging it all down. Finn mumbled a complaint about how it's not supposed to be chugged normally before doing the same with him. Beetle had already finished theirs and just threw the can at Finn before picking it up, taking the other now empty cans and yeeting them back into the cooler.

They can't really Litter.Momma Yamitsuki will lose her mind if she finds out they did that, and angering the 9 foot tall Kelpie is not a good idea, no siree.

The four kelpies stood there, waiting in anticipation for their other four members to jump the eerie barbed fence on the other side of the river. The bucket is big and firm enough for Whisper to put it over her shoulder like a carrier bag. The little mer curled up inside in a fetus position comfortably. ya know, If he wasn’t badly hurt, dehydrated, and probably starving, it would've been pretty adorable.

Ah, and there's the screams. Looking away from the little one and over at the fence, Nora, Bloo, Vipera, and Cici were running over screaming wildly.

“RUN NOW!” Cici screamed, alarmed and maybe a bit of terror in their faces.

Well that's all they needed, but they hadn't heard the explosion yet, and they took quite the while. So what the fuck is going on? Didn’t matter, they had hopped the fence now, and they were all off. Eight pairs of animal-like haunches slamming the earth, going faster than any human racer can ever dream of going with heavy breaths. Oh and the baby siren passed out in the bucket.

“What's going on!? Where's the expl-“

BOOM!!

That wasn't a hand grenade explosion. No way.

The explosion was so powerful, rattling the floor around them like an earthquake, causing them all to nearly trip, but they somehow managed to quickly regain their footing and continued to sprint forward. Not an idea where they were running, but that doesn’t matter, all they know is that Yami’s cave is to the right of the massive river, so that's where they went, and were going. Don't stop, the Adrenaline and Energy drinks were doing their jobs pretty well, well enough? Only one way to find out.

“WHAT THE FUCK HAPPENED?!” Someone yelled. Theres no way in fuck she was paying attention to who was saying what. she needed to put her focus on her surroundings, to determine where they are and where they need to go. Yeah, she knows the woods like the back of her hand. But let's be real, why will she go anywhere near any human civilization while in her true form?

To save a neglected and abused siren kid from a lab of torturers, apparently.

“Well at first Cici dropped her grenade and we were looking for it-” started someone, probably Bloo. “NO TIME FOR BUILDUP, JUST SAY WHAT HAPPENED.” shouted someone else through gasping breaths for air. “OK, I FAILED TO NOTICE HOW CLOSE TO BLOO I WAS WHEN I THREW MY GRENADE AND I HIT HER ELBOW WHILE SHE WAS MID THROW, HER GRENADE MISSED OUR TARGET BY A LONG SHOT AND LANDED UNDER A BUNCH OF THOSE MASSIVE TRUCKS IN THE PARKING LOT.” Another blurted out.

Oh, of course, Big trucks mean a lot of gas, the fact that it landed under them adds salt to the wound. “HOW THE FUCK DID YOU MESS THAT UP?!” screamed someone else. “EVERYONE SHUT YOUR DARN CRYHOLES YOU WET DOG SMELLING PLANTS, YOU GONNA WAKE UP THE BABY!” ok that one was whisper.

“But where are we going?!” someone pointed out. “I'm working on it!” X.G yelled in reply “I'm waiting to see if we can find a landmark that I've seen before or something!” Her heart was pounding and the exhaustion from running had started to take over, eyes darting around like a hawk looking for any kind of landmark as to where they were going.

and finally, she spotted something, for a flick of a moment. Two trees that had grown weirdly and had fused together. She knew those trees. With that landmark, and the direction they were running…that meant…

..OH SHIT

“EVERYONE STOP RUNNING NOW!!” X.G screamed, trying her best to slow herself down and not run into Finnick, who was ahead of her. It took a few devastating seconds, but eventually they all came to a halt, heaving and holding their knees while their throats took in the much missed air.

“What's wrong X?” Bloo finally asked after she caught her breath, concerned. “Yeah, what happened?” Beetle also questioned. “I saw something I recognized. Two trees, we are way too far north” X.G unconsciously looked at where she saw the trees. “Yamis cave is maybe another 10 minutes run down south if we continue at that pace.” Fuck, right, her friends knew her better than this. She can feel everyone's eyes piercing through her veil. “X.G what are you leaving out?” sighed Beetle. “We don't have time for this, the fact that none of us have passed out yet is a miracle.” They complained.

“Andddd we are running head first into a massive sinkhole.”

“O h”

“yeah”

“Let's just go to Yami’s cave, lead the way X.G, you seem to know what you’re talking about .”

-

It all started at 3:05 AM.

Safety was reached at 4:35 AM.

And off they went, easily the worst 15 minutes of her life, the exhaustion quickly began to slow down her steps and made the journey much longer then she hoped. Yeah, it was only 5 minutes extra, but still. Also why were they still running? Good question, because fuck their health, the kid’s is more important. Oh yeah lets not forget that their bloodbath masterpiece will be found much sooner than they would have liked.

At last, they had reached the vine-blocked cave. Yamitsuki somehow had been able to find a way to control the vines in the area. These ones are near indestructible. They were all so tired, lightheaded, and on the brink of passing out. “MOMMA OPEN UP ITS AN EMERGENCY.” yelled Bloo in their language urgently and tiredly.

“HOLY SUGAR ICED TEA!” Yelled a familiar voice. as they heard aggressive stomping towards the cave entrance, and suddenly the vines were gone.

“CHILDREN- WHAT HAPPENED?!” screamed the purple eyed kelpie. Actually they probably looked terrible, eight adult kelpies, most of which clothes have some almost hour old blood stains on them, not to mention

“EXPLAIN…IN THE MORNING…” Finnick said in between breaths.

The older kelpie wasted no time rushing them inside the cave, settling them all down in the beds in one of the many “rooms” of the cave. Usually there were young seafolk in this cave, but the youngest had recently grown out of it. Momma Yami always knew how to care for anyone. She was grateful for that, sleep is now blurring her vision so much she can't see anything and she can’t even say a coherent word. You see this is what happens when you switch to your higher form too quickly, run on water, then run a marathon all in an hour or so.

“The bucket!” She heard Whisper yell somewhere. “Baby…bucket…lab…hurt…” the blue eyed mumbled.

“Baby what?” asked Yami, probably grabbing the bucket and seeing the little one still unconscious in it. Actually how did he stay unconscious through all of that chaos? “oh sweet heavens- CARRIE DARLING PLEASE GET OVER HERE AND HELP ME OUT.” Yamitsuki called out.

Ah, right, Carrie, the other kelpie that didn't reply to Bloo’s message in the group chat. She's in college for marine biology. So she’s…. probably…very…busy….

“WHAT HAPPENED……..IS THAT……. FINNIC…SIR… TENT…..X….” were the last words she heard before exhaustion had finally pulled the crazy kelpie under into its pitch black waters.

(Not really words if you asked her, more like a pile of junk.)

@intistone ive made a mistake somewhere it was suppose to be a oneshot with maybe 6k words NOT A WHOLE FIC THAT ALREADY HAS OVER 10K WORDS- im so so sorry yes there will be more chapters but rn ima go cry i reread this SO many times theres probably so many mistakes and shit that dont make sense.

[starsandauras]

Prompt 23: Suit

FFXIV 30 Day Writing Challenge Prompt 23: Suit

“And here I thought I left situations like this behind in Sharlayan,” Thancred complained lightly, doing up the buttons on his newly purchased justaucorps as he watched himself in the mirror. It was almost strange to see himself in such formal wear, he was certain the last time he’d worn something like this in sincerity was at one of the formal parties the Leveilleurs would sometimes hold.

He certainly hoped he would enjoy this more than he ever had those oppressive things. Not that Lady Ameliance set out to host such parties, but she was fighting against the shadow Fourchenault would always cast on such events.

Urianger came up behind him, and their eyes matched in the mirror as the Elezen straightened Thancred’s lapels, smoothing the fabric down before draping his arms over his shoulders. He too was in a justaucorps, and Brigid had managed to get him into a dark shade of green instead of the grays he had started to favor of late. It contrasted nicely with the storm blue of his own. “You’re certain you don’t wish to remain with the children?” Thancred asked, looking up at him as a hand settled on Urianger’s arm.

Cred was no longer the darling accessory, to be draped along Brigid’s chest and fawned over by Ishgardian ladies, and so he, alongside Ryne and Gaia, was relegated to the nursery of House Fortemps. The girls were able to beg off under pretense of watching over the five year old, and Ryne especially seemed relived to not have to spend an evening rubbing elbows with Ishgardian nobility.

Urianger shrugged, leaning down to nose at Thancred’s hair. “We need only remain long enough to satisfy standards of propriety,” he said. “I am well versed in timely exits, after so many years.”

Thancred hummed softly, thinking about it. As one of Louisoix’s primary students, Urianger would have been required to put in appearances at formal events held very early on. “Yes, of course.”

“Well now look at them, pretty thing,” came a drawl from the doorway, and the two men smiled as they looked over, Thancred making a point to lean even more into the taller man. “A cozy pair they are.” Hilda crossed her arms, her justaucorps in a soot black (second hand from the looks of it as well, barely visible patches and overdyed to escape the inevitable fading, only noticeable to someone who had personal experiences with such things), legs in the same dark trousers Thancred and Urianger were wearing. She was grinning widely, hair tied back with a scarlet ribbon, matching her eyes perfectly.

At her side stood Brigid, giggling behind a hand. She was corseted quite happily into one of the high house gowns, the Rhotano blue shade perfectly setting off her hair and eyes, while matching well with the blue and green Urianger wore. Peeking out from under her hem, which nearly brushed the ground, were her practical boots. They all knew there were quite the number of peticoats and slips hiding under that dress, as well as a couple of fire crystal shards sewn into the lining, in an attempt to keep Brigid toasty warm. “Aye, quite cozy,” she agreed, pecking a kiss to Hilda’s cheek before almost gliding over to her husbands, a faint rustle attending her.

“Hello, Spitfire,” Thancred greeted her warmly, reaching out for her hand and brushing his fingers over the rings settled on it.

“My desert rose,” Urianger said softly, reaching for her other and threading their fingers together. “Thou art as lovely as always.”

Hilda rolled her eyes fondly. “Honeymooners,” she teased. “Now c’mon, it’s the first ball of the season and that little wedding of yours is still the talk of the town.” Despite that it had been nearly six moons ago.

“Aye,” Thancred said on a sigh, putting an arm around Brigid’s waist, the trio walking over to Hilda. “Let’s go put in our first appearance in Ishgardian high society as properly married.” He wrapped his other arm around Hilda’s waist, tugging her close and earning another eye roll.

“And scandalize the lot of them, already with a mistress on your arm, and in front of your lady wife and lord husband at that,” she joked, but relaxed against him anyway.

Brigid laughed brightly, her hand still holding tightly to Urianger’s. “And ‘twill be such fun,” she agreed, winking in her girlfriend’s direction. “Cannae be waitin’ to be readin’ ‘bout it in the society papers!”

[i-can-even-burn-salad]

Fabled Lands

[ID: A banner showing a huge sea monster, attacking a small sail boat in a green, turbulent sea. The game’s logo, reading fabled lands in golden letters, is in the top left corner. End ID.]

This game was a spontaneous “hey I like how the graphics look” buy which I did not regret. It’s an adaption of a game book series - which is something you absolutely need to know before you consider buying this. There are some negative reviews complaining about the core mechanics of this, which is even more ridiculous considering there’s a demo.

[ID: An open book overlaying the game window. The left side reads: Sokara. Outside the city gates hang the bodies of many dead people - labels around their necks read: ‘Rebels, executed by the state for the good of the people.’ “You’d best behave yourself if you don’t want to end up like one of them,” grates a guardsman, nodding towards the swinging corpses, as you pass through the great eagle-headed gates of Marlock City. The right side shows a drawing of a fortified city with icons for places like the harbor, the marketplace and more. End ID.]

So, it plays like a game book; just without the pesky need to manually keep track of anything. You click on locations you want to visit, and roll some dice for what event you might encounter. Sometimes, the outcome is pure luck; otherwise you need to roll against your stat points, say against thievery, to check if you remain undetected, or against charisma, to check if you manage to convince someone.

Your character cannot level up with experience like in most games. The only way to gain a new level is to complete one of very few available, class-specific quests. Other ways to increase stats is gear and trinkets, as well as temporary scrolls and potions. You can access a stash at many cities, but you need to purchase it in each of them.

[ID: An open book overlaying the game window. The left side reads: A troop of bearded and unwashed pilgrims approaches you. They are whipping themselves with ropes, and crying out phrases such as “We are not worthy” and “Forgive us, great Ebron, for our foul sins” or “Pain and suffering is the way to Ebron’s heart”. They are members of a fanatic sect of the Church of Ebron called The Flaggelants of the Soul, whose members believe that they can earn the goodwill of their god through pain. Obviously, they are quite mad. The right side shows a selection of options, the first two of which are grayed out: 1. [Requires Title: Masked Lord or Masked Lady] You are a noble. 2. Or you have blue skin. 3. Otherwise. End ID]

Are there a few downsides if you consider this a video game? Sure. Every time you visit a spot, you roll for the same events. Meeting the same pilgrims for the 12th time because you’re running in circles can get a bit tedious. On the other hand, there’s nothing stopping you from abusing positive game mechanics, if you find a repeatable event or action that gives a reward. Speaking of running in circles, there’s nothing to guide you to quests or to tell you where to go. You stumble off into the distance, and if you stumble the wrong way, you’re dead.

I’ve come across little need for combat so far. It’s grid and round based, nothing to write home about. There is a guide out there about how to 100% this game on ironman with a 0% chance of dying, so you can definitely master it, taking notes and planning routes, if you’re into that kind of thing. I personally just want to have a fun time, read about The Horrors, and try not to die while shamelessly abusing quicksave in case I do.

[ID: The inventory panel. The right side shows the player character surrounded by equipment slots. It’s a female ranger looking figure with a green hooded cape, blonde hair, a bow on her back and a bird on her shoulder. The right side shows the inventory, most of which is covered by an item detail popup which shows Ring Mail armor. The item description reads: Surprisingly protective for a thing made out of holes End ID.]

So why do I love it? First of all, I really like the artstyle. That’s what drew me in in the first place. Then I loved the writing; it’s just the right mix between gruesome and funny that makes me happy. Call me easy to amuse, but the item descriptions are hilarious, and I thoroughly enjoy being devoured by bloodsucking killer plants in an execution pit.

[ID: Details for an item called Green Carpet [trophy]. Its description reads: It has seen the world - shining, shimmering, splendid. End ID.]

The game is steam deck verified, and (unlike a few others, cough, cough) deserves that. It plays really well on it. The default idea is using the touchscreen, but you can enable the mouse cursor in the settings and use the trackpad instead. If you enjoy the tiniest amount of fiddling, binding keys like A/B to Space and Esc allows you to roll the dice and exit menus with a button press.

Of course, it works well on desktop, too. There are only the most basic settings, and no accessibility options - large font size isn’t overly large either. It can be played exclusively with mouse, with only some keys (like I for inventory) bringing up menus.

[hiddenendings]

Hello again! For a head canon/drabble, may I have your thoughts on what kind of socks the boys wear and where they get them? Are they the type to get a 12 pack of plain white for the holidays, or are they more the sort to buy themselves/each other train-themed knee socks?

This took 12 days to answer, but my god did I want to write something good for this one. See? I always answer my asks in the end, guys, it just takes a while sometimes!

Relationship: Blankshipping (Ingo/Emmet, Kudari/Noboi) Rating: Explicit (for mild sexual content) Word Count: 2,922

AO3 Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/39129003

Summary: Nobori has always had the habit of indulging his twin and buying Kudari socks with funny little patterns. His latest purchase, however, has Kudari planning to give Nobori a little surprise of his own.

***

Kudari could recall exactly how it had started. 

Growing up, he and Nobori had worn very plain socks. They were typically white or black and occasionally blue when given by their more distant relatives. When they became a little older, and set out on their pokemon journeys, they had switched their monotone socks up into an absolute mess of a pile so each of them always wore one white sock and one black sock. 

It was a trend that had continued until their early twenties when Nobori had come home from an errand and handed him a package with that cute little quirked up smile of his, telling Kudari he had seen ‘it’ and thought of him. ‘It’ ended up being a six-pack of white socks with little yellow trains running across them in every direction. Kudari had not expected to love them as much as he had, but, well. How couldn’t he? They were train-themed socks and they were a gift from Nobori. That was all the reason Kudari needed to love them. 

Since then, every few weeks, his wonderful big brother had gifted him socks of various themes, designs, and even styles. 

Socks that were gifted to him in the spring tended to have garden themes, often being green and pick and, to some degree, water-proof. Even living in a desert didn’t save them from the rainstorms they would sometimes get, and working in the subway meant puddles were a hazard, so Kudari always appreciated each and every pair.

Summers tended to end with him wearing ankle-length socks that were just long enough to be comfortable in his shoes. They were typically white and had bright, fun patterns that Kudari loved to look at when walking around the house without his shoes. While his favorite would forever be the first fun pair Nobori had gifted him, a close follow up was the one with Joltik and Charjabug skittering around. 

When Autumn came the socks tended to come with the more novelty type of designs, ones that Kudari always rolled his eyes and complained about but still wore and loved to pieces. The jokes and puns were neverending, but the black and purple ones with Chandelure flames might have been some of the best. Especially with Nobori’s flushed cheeks and possessive look in his eyes when Kudari had worn them that first night. 

Winter might have been his favorite. Those socks were long, warm, and fuzzy. Nobori never failed to find socks that were the perfect texture for him to handle, and it often left Kudari snug and warm and cuddling up in Nobori’s lap. The feeling of Nobori rubbing his hands up and down Kudari’s legs over the socks was merely a bonus.

Throughout the years the socks were always different, Nobori careful to never buy repeating patterns. Each time, however, without fail, Nobori’s smile was always the same. 

It was that same smile Nobori had when he thought Kudari wasn’t looking. It was the smile that showed how much pleasure his big brother was getting in indulging him with little treats and gifts and attention. It was the smile that was his and the one Kudari worked to earn. 

Now, however… now had brought something new. 

It had been an average day so far, Nobori returning home on their day off from picking up some groceries along with a bag from what looked like a clothing store. It had let Kudari know he was about to add to his collection. What had been odd, however, was the way Nobori seemed… distracted. It had taken an actual second or two to read him with how hard he was trying to hide it, but Kudari finally realized. 

“Nii-san, is everything alright?” Kudari asked, looking up from the bag that had been given to him and watching a pink flush spread across his brother’s cheeks before he was turning to put groceries away. 

“Perfectly fine!” Nobori was definitely embarrassed about something. He was also trying to keep Kudari from realizing he was embarrassed. “If you would like to put those away, however, I will begin dinner preparations.” 

Kudari didn’t even get to answer, watching as Nobori busied himself and almost bounced from one end of the kitchen to the other, filled with nervous energy that Kudari very rarely saw from his twin. It was interesting. Still, Kudari was nothing if not a good little brother. 

Stepping into Nobori’s path just so, Kudari caught the other in a quick kiss before he could course correct. It soothed a nervous part of him when Nobori relaxed into the pressure smoothly and easily as he always did. Kudari finally pulled back after one or two more kisses — three at the most — before kissing the tip of his brother’s nose. “Thank you for the gift, nii-san.”

“Anything for you,” Nobori responded with that soft, rolling chuckle that always had Kudari feeling light and airy. “Would you like to help with dinner…?”

“Of course!” Kudari snagged one more kiss before breaking away and rushing towards their room. “I’ll be right back to help!” Kudari had never been a great cook, but time with Nobori was time with Nobori, and that was time Kudari would never waste a second of. 

Getting to their room, Kudari grabbed the pair of socks from the bag as he set it on their bed, curious as he looked them over. The socks, a few inches above an ankle cut, didn’t seem to be anything that would cause Nobori to be embarrassed. They were definitely cute! The bottom had a stylized pokeball open, a beam of light revealing an Eelektross wind its way around the top edges of the sock. They were definitely going to go into his daily rotation. 

“Ah… nii-san is being so odd,” Kudari mumbled to himself, hearing an absent little chitter of agreement from the few Joltik that had made a nest on their bed. Kudari couldn’t help but reach over to scratch one on the head, asking curiously. “Why do you think he was being so odd?”

More chittering was his answer, which… wasn’t all that much of a helpful answer. It was cute, though. “Mm. I see. You make good points,” Kudari responded seriously, unable to help his amusement as he chuckled and picked up the pair of socks. Maybe he was just being paranoid? Or something had happened to Nobori on the way home?

Still mulling over the possibilities, Kudari dropped the pair of socks back into the bag and paused at the odd sound they made — as if something else was in there. Were there two pairs in the bag and he had missed one of them? Ah! Perhaps the second pair was the one that had caused Nobori to become embarrassed!

Peeking back into the bag, Kudari blinked blankly at noticing that the tissue paper, which he had originally not even registered, was a deep, dark red covered in a faint black pattern that interlocked in a way that reminded him of the rails at Gear Station. Odd. Verrry odd. 

“I have not seen this pattern before,” Kudari commented, pulling back to actually look at the bag. It was in one of those cardboard-like paper bags, the inside a clean, pristine white while the outside was a deep black. Kudari couldn’t help his burst of glee at seeing it was their colors together. He didn’t recognize the store name, though. He wasn’t sure he could even read it. Something in Kalosian? 

“Ooh, maybe they were expensive socks and Nobori is embarrassed by how much he spent,” Kudari chuckled, not seeing any price tags or receipts, but certain Nobori would be embarrassed over something like that. 

Shaking his head, Kudari reached in to pick up the paper, already planning on saving it because the pattern was nice. He had to pause, however, at seeing the second supposed pair of socks finally being unveiled. It was like Nobori had been trying to hide them at the bottom of the bag. Why would he… oh. Oh. 

The ‘socks’ were not socks. At least, Kudari wasn’t sure he could classify them as socks seeing as the bulk of them were made of delicate black lace that seemed to be designed to slide all the way up to the very bottom of his thighs, a few inches past the knees. 

“Ahh, what a naughty nii-san,” Kudari mumbled to himself, feeling his grin kick up even wider and a flush of his own spread across his cheeks as he saw the complicated series of straps designed to hold the socks up. They weren’t what he would usually see online and meant to be held up with a garter belt, but instead they had an elastic band to them that was designed to hold them up, covered by long black strips of silk that seemed to be designed to tie around the leg to further hold it into place. The stripes had a nice paralleling pattern, little studs of inlaid metal to hold them into place and reminding him of the trains they so loved.

On the front of the straps were two little white bows, pure and pristine in a way that had Kudari sharply biting his lip because Nobori had bought these for him, which meant… did Nobori want to see Kudari wear them? Neither of the two had shied away from the occasional fun outfit or roleplay adjacent outfits for when they were wanting to try something new, but they had never gone as far as lingerie. Ah, but then… 

Feeling his heart start to pick up in excitement, Kudari gently set down the ‘socks’ and went over to their shared dresser, digging around under a pile of his clothes on the bottom drawer to reveal the black pair of lace panties he had bought on a whim when last shopping with Kamitsure. They had been more of a joke — or maybe a self-made promise to bring up the idea with Nobori. The fact that Nobori had gotten him something that would match just perfectly, well… Kudari wasn’t one to question his fortunes in life. 

“ Kudari? ” The call of his name snapped him out of his thoughts, Kudari standing and rushing to the door to better hear Nobori’s voice, always softer when they were at home. “Did you still want to help?”

“Ah- Just a moment, nii-san!” A bolt of brilliance struck him and Kudari beamed as his fingers twitched around the lace pair of panties he only just realized he was still holding. “I’m just changing into something more comfortable!”

Nobori shouted something back, but Kudari wasn’t quite sure what exactly it was he might have said because he was already rushing to strip off his clothes and slide into the lingerie, heart beating wildly and cock already starting to grow hard at the thought of how Nobori might react to him. Would he be excited? Touched? Turned on? Indulgent? Kudari could work with any of those, especially since a look down showed that his rapidly hardening cock was straining against the lace of his panties, just barely held in place by the thin fabric. 

He had a feeling that Nobori, whether excited or embarrassed, would be appreciative of the site. He had been right, too. The panties matched perfectly, sitting low on his hips and barely doing a thing to hide his rapidly growing, and very interested, cock.

“Hm. Perhaps just to be safe…” Kudari went to their dresser once more, poking around before finding a nice black dress shirt of Nobori’s that he slid on, buttoning it up and quickly glancing in the mirror. The shirt was one hardly won as it had been bought a size too big, but that meant the sleeve cuffs were resting at Kudari’s palms, the shirt itself stretching down long enough to cover the top of his panties. The two may have shared everything, but Nobori did always like to see him in things that were ‘his.’

Poking his head out of the bedroom, Kudari made sure the coast was clear before he quietly walked back towards the living room. Nobori had last been in the kitchen putting away groceries and working on starting lunch, but… yep. Verrry good. Nobori, while waiting for the oven to heat up, going by what was on the kitchen table, had sat down on the couch and was reading something on his phone. He was perfectly distracted.

“Nobori-nii-san! I tried on the new socks you got me,” Kudari said, watching Nobori lightly jolt before starting to turn his way, Kudari excited enough to bite his lip again to try and keep his smile natural instead of wide and eager like it wanted to be. “Can nii-san tell me what he thinks of my new outfit?” 

Realistically, Kudari wasn’t expecting too much. If he was lucky then his sweet big brother would blush and stutter and have that adorable blush on his face he had when he was really embarrassed and just as turned on. Most likely, Nobori would be a little flustered and caught off-guard before giving Kudari the attention he definitely, definitely wanted.

Which was why Kudari was thrown for a loop when Nobori blankly stared at him before turning his phone off and setting it aside. He wasn’t getting up, or looking flustered, or- Or anything! Had he… been wrong? Had this been something put into the bag by mistake? Did Nobori not like it? Maybe- 

“Kudari.” The call of his name snapped him out of his thoughts at once, Kudari the one to flush in embarrassment because he had not- He had not been expecting Nobori to sound so- So calm and amused and low and deep and- Well. Kudari’s cock hadn’t needed any help getting harder, but Nobori’s voice was definitely helping. “Come here.” 

There had probably been another time in his life when Kudari had moved just as quick, but he couldn’t recall it as he rushed to stand in front of Nobori, not sure what to do with his hands as they clenched and unclenched at his side. Luckily Nobori, the world’s absolute best twin and brother and other half, gently took them and guided them to rest on his shoulders. 

“Look at you,” Nobori chuckled, the sound shooting a bolt of pleasure straight through Kudari’s body and down into his cock. “You went and made yourself all pretty for nii-san, didn’t you?” Ah. Ah. So that was why Nobori had placed Kudari’s hands on his shoulders. To keep him from collapsing as his knees went weak. The words were one thing, but the look that he was being given… as if Nobori wanted to devour him then and there. “All wrapped up like a present. Are you going to let nii-san unwrap you, Kudari?” 

Before Kudari could answer, Nobori’s hands were on his hips, sliding under the long shirt with a couple of his fingers slipping under the lace trim of the panties and stroking against his skin. Kudari knew his brother’s hands weren’t that cold, but they certainly felt it with how hot and heated his skin already was.

“N- Nii- san.” Alright. Maybe Kudari was a bit more into the idea of lingerie than he had initially thought he’d be. Especially with Nobori and that laugh of his, and then a finger was hooking around the waistline of his panties and pulling it out before letting it snap back against his skin. The sound of it was loud and sudden in the room, the shock of it making him jolt and shiver as his cock ached. 

“Honestly,” Nobori tsked, Kudari whining when he felt Nobori’s hands slide around to cup the globes of his ass, sliding past the delicate lace material and digging his nails in. It was the grip and the nails that let Kudari know that Nobori, at least, was just as affected by everything. “Look at you. Already getting those new panties of yours all dirty.” 

Wha…? Kudari managed to gather enough brain cells to look down, blinking in mild surprise at seeing his cock was practically drooling pre-cum that had begun to stain the front of the lace. Somehow, he didn’t think Nobori was actually that upset, not when- Fuck. Not when his face was shoving it’s way up against his cock, hot breath fanning over him and sending him gripping onto Ingo’s shoulders to keep himself from spiraling into pleasure immediately. 

“That’s alright, though, Kudari, that’s alright,” Nobori teased, voice rough and heavy as Kudari heard him inhale a large, deep breath that sent Kudari whining. “Nii-san will clean you up.” Whatever game Kudari had tried to set up failed utterly and completely as he felt Nobori’s mouth trace the outline of his cock, breath fanning out around the lace and tracing along the overheated skin in a way that had him shoving his hands into Nobori’s hair instead, gripping tightly to keep himself from screaming. 

That chuckle, right against his cock, had his knees buckling, Nobori the only thing keeping him up. Kudari was sure the teasing couldn’t get worse before he squeaked out a strangled gasp as he felt a warm tongue begin lapping at him through the lace. The barrier of it, the wet saliva that seemed through the lace, soaking his cock even as the lace itself was dragged up and down-

Kudari was definitely going to be buying a lot more socks and underwear in the future. He also definitely had a new favorite.