#im working on oz and the rest

[constantvariations]

If Salem obliterated Vale, does that mean she has its relic?

[thatrandombystander]

I think I've been redpilled into attending conventions exclusively in cosplay.

I'm just going to be chasing the high from this previous weekend's cosplay meet-ups for the rest of my convention going life huh.

[foursaints]

saints I was fighting off sleep last night to write down questions I had about your OCs I would be honored if you’d indulge me in answering a few of them-

1. How did Theo and Freddie meet? Was it before/after their angel/devil entanglements?

2. What’s the magnetizing force(s) behind their friendship/situationship? What makes them feral about one another?

3. I can’t remember if you’d mentioned this before but how tall are they respectively?

I’m here to learn 📝 🥰

this is saints foursaints dot tumblr… you KNOW there has to be a size difference (^their morning routine)

i can’t believe you were thinking about them.. that is so crazy to me. just know that me & oz are having a meltdown every time you guys send an ask like this..... um. they're deeply unserious characters and we smack them around like barbie dolls

in any given au, they always meet at a halloween party :,).. in this one, they're dressed as each other's respective mystic entanglements. theo (avoiding socializing by going upstairs to quietly look at the diff. bedrooms & get sentimental about the lives of strangers) found freddie (super plastered & spilling tequila everywhere & in a sequin halter top & actively stealing family photographs as part of an elaborate revenge plan after the host insulted his haircut once several weeks ago) and they spend the rest of the night locked in the upstairs bathroom together. theo takes him home but they don't sleep together and that surprises freddie. freddie sleeps in theo's bed & likes how it smells & falls asleep with his hand dangling off the bed, holding theo's where he sleeps on the floor.

it's because they cannot STAND each other lol.. but also bc they are also more alike than they realize. freddie is a caterwauling diva who cannot tolerate not being Taken Extremely Seriously and theo is addicted to riling him up & making him blush & curse him out. theo cannot handle being proven Wrong and yet freddie is always on some 5d chess machiavellian mind-game shit & a few steps ahead of him. but it is punctuated by these rare & random moments that are disconcertingly tender (like halloween) and it freaks both of them out + they have a lil thing wherein they're immune to each other. theo has a bit of a halo effect on people & freddie tends to always get his way BUT because of their own situations it doesn't work on each other. but they're unaware of each other's situations. so they are both hysterically like WTF IS WRONG WITH HIM? I NEED TO GET TO THE BOTTOM OF THIS. <- excuse 2 see each other

3. freddie is 5’10 & theo is 6’3. if u see me exaggerating the height difference.. Hush..

IM SORRY FOR THE MUCHO TEXTO IM LITERALLY INSANE ABOUT THEM. but I suppose I am this long-winded with rosekiller as well so that might just be my personality. im not on my ipad rn but i will give you some ancient teddies that are in my laptop files

^ this one is literally from ?? 2020?? I think?? but it makes me laugh

[calliemity]

in my attempt of creating a Mushnik Content Movement, i'll throw my own hat into the circle. im not really one for headcanons so ill share some mushnik character facts and trivia :]

his character blurb says he "seldom smiles but often sweats"

unlike in the movie, stage mushnik is genuinely concerned about seymour possibly killing orin. theres actually some character contrasting between the two versions: in the stage show mushnik actively works to keep seymour from ever leaving the shop, and in the movie he wants to get seymour out of the picture

vincent gardenia, who played mushnik in the 1986 movie, felt that director frank oz only casted him because he liked his last name

in the movie, mushnik's lines while hes being eaten were replaced sometime after the workprint was made. originally, he properly screamed in pain and he cried out for seymour multiple times

gardenia and moranis had some trouble filming the part where mushnik asks for the "secret gardening tips" because they both would break character to laugh

lee wilkof, the very first seymour from the original cast from 1982, was supposed to play mushnik in the 2003 revival. after the entire production got revamped, he ended up being replaced along with the rest of the cast

[posttexasstressdisorder]

When in doubt, BAKE! Pt. 685: Saturday Night Bread

It's been one fuck of a week again, and my world has been changed drastically, and today I said fuck it I'm gonna bake bread.

This batch is about 60-40 Whole Wheat-White, a "Whole wheat Light"...it usually makes excellent sammy bread. It has some heft, but it's not so heavy as pure whole wheat.

Not sure if I've posted about THE BOOK yet, but this is THE BOOK if you really REALLY want to get good at baking bread:

"The Laurel's Kitchen BREAD BOOK", written in 1984 as a followup to the classic Laurel's Kitchen, by Laurel Roberston, Carole Flinders et.al. Carole and Laurel were both excellent writers, and the book is a pleasure to read. It's got the typical hippie wood cuts (they were in Berkeley, after all) and is my home bread-baker's bible. They wouldn't approve tonight's loaves, which are padded with white flour. lulz. I give myself lots of fail room when I haven't baked in awhile.

The original Laurel's Kitchen was the very first vegetarian cookbook I ever read, it was 1981, I'd just moved to Houston to work in the record stores...learned a lot from that book, but one trick they used can no longer be used, and they stressed that in the Bread Book: No baking in 48 oz juice cans (which they had championed in the first book). Now they line the cans with poisonous coatings, can't use them. Which is fine with me...I like my bread square/rectangular, when I'm makin' sammies.

Started this batch with 3 cups whole wheat, 2 1/2 cups white, and a tablespoon of salt, dry in the mixer bowl. Mix on low for about a minute to mix thoroughly. Replace the paddle with the dough hook.

In a 4-cup Pyrex measure, put 2 1/2 cups luke-warm water, and in a 1 cup measure, put 1/2 cup lukewarm water.

Into that one cup, put a tablespoon of brown sugar. Put another tablespoon of brown sugar in the large measure. Sprinkle one tablepoon of dry yeast into the small measure and stir.

With the mixer on the first speed, with the dough hook, slowly pour the yeast mix into the dry ingredients in the bowl. Follow with the rest of the water/sugar.

Now start adding small amounts of white flour until it begins to "pick up" and starts cleaning the bowl. In between these additions of flour, add, about a tablespoon at a time, 2 tablespoons of softened salted butter. The dough should pick up and become quite soft after a few more minutes.

After mixing on the first speed for about five minutes with the dough hook, turn it out onto a floured countertop and finish kneading by hand.

It'd been so long since I had my hands on some warm, live dough...and it made me smile, it's such an amazing feeling to work with it in its various stages.

Once it's become a good, solid dough from hand kneading for about five minutes, form it into large ball, and put in a large crockery bowl that's been buttered. Turn the ball to coat, place a linen towel atop and place in a draft-free, warm zone. That cabinet in the spot above the fridge is perfect. After about an hour and a half, it should be lookin' good, and a finger-poke in the middle won't "fill in".

Mash it down, making sure you get ALL the trapped air bubbles out. Form it into a ball again, and put it back in the bowl, and let it rise a SECOND TIME for about 40-45 minutes tops. It should take roughly half the time of the first rise.

Mash it down the second time, and flatten in to a big rectangle, and divide it in half. Let it rest for about five minutes.

Now form into loaves and put in the long bread loaf pans, pre-greased with shortening.

Put them back above the fridge, covered, for about 20 minutes, until they are just arching above the tops of the pans.

Put them into the 400 degree oven and let them bake for 15 minutes. AFTER 15 MINUTES, TURN THE TEMPERATURE DOWN TO 350, WITHOUT OPENING THE OVEN DOOR.

Let bake for another 30-40 minutes.

Loaves are done when they have a hollow sound when tapped, much like a watermelon when ripe.

Turn out of pans immediately and cool on racks until completely cool. Brush the tops with melted butter, if you like.

This is a good everyday bread for sammies and toast. Using butter, and using the higher temp for the initial "spring" time helps give this a solidly crunchy crust, and the blend of flours gives it a very nice texture and crumb. Yields two large loaves.

Baker gets first slice slathered in softened butter.

Y'all enjoy! I'm off to stand under the hot water for a good long while.

[toestalucia]

SHIPPING INFO. answer the following for your muse(s) so people know how shipping works on your blog.

what’s your OTP for your muse(s)?

im easy...........and like too much.......personally ! i prefer akira with the older wizards, ive talked about being in those ship tags ummmm a lot<3 i cant narrow it down further......the twins are an exception but ive been over that in the past. atm i like emu with mafuyu, rui, nene & akito a lot :D theres def more (like honami i think would be cute! and i do like her with tsukasa too, but emu tsukasa besties....), but im like twice her age so i think about that stuff so rarely LOLLLL i thought hard about the rest of my muses but.......?????????? eight/machina....perhaps...........sofia/forte.......yeong/tara......(cagli teehee)

what are you willing to RP when it comes to shipping?

i lov drama. with gran it comes natural cuz welcome to ur 'assuming things w/out asking' and 'thinks way too much into the future where they dont want to settle down' captain. i think akiras the most tender of all of them? and most likely to actually bring up issues? sofia is fun because i think about the event where she Doesnt speak in opposites and micah ends up rly confused........being accepted with her weird speech patterns..... natsume too, either staying at the accepting his weird behavior (jumping, scared expression, running) or having the 'i can see youkai' convo....yknow.....its good...i know tanuma alrdy had a convo like that (UNREAL CONVO i miss it) but yknow. Overall ! anything. mostly. theres some 'ohhh angst' topics im not interested in, so i think most stuff stay on the more lighthearted/loving side tho

how large does the age gap have to be to make it uncomfortable?

feel like a fraud everytime i say that i personally wont write akira with some of the 20yo's cuz im always close to deciding to make akira closer to 30. and then i say i like akira with figaro & oz......the ancient ppl......

are you selective when shipping?

rather than selective i just dont ask ppl........and i have no interest in making relationship calls nor liking them........i want to see where the writing goes first cuz i knoowwww i sometimes say gran would say x but then i write it and y happens yknow LOLLLLLL i'd be open to jumping into stuff on discord or something tho i think ? i think i could jump into romance stuff no problemo then cuz it'd feel slightly separated from here...?! cuz idk but theres something when i open this blog that i......its a very slowburn......if ure willing to spend some months writing so gran can become more accepting of the idea then its go go go. does this make sense. well either way im not sure tbh. grans a bit added difficulty too considering how i deal with their age LOLLL since cygames is pushing 15yo still. which gives me a headache seeing how the summer events etc are explicitly yearly.....i cannot write act3 gran as a teen, not when theres a political engagement with alliah like cmon....i refuse..........but since ure following this blog uve alrdy read this stuff in my rules/about LOL

either way akiras easier with romance. i just dont approach ppl about it. whenever i make that farmsim blog i wanna be more casual with this stuff tbh...T_^ for funsies............write some yearning...

how far do steamy moments have to go before they’re considered NSFW?

not far at all. LMFAOOOOOOOO i use that tag very liberally. its unlikely im writing that stuff anyway....

does one have to ask to ship with you?

:DDDDDDDDDD if i ask u we've probably written for years & years && its starting to reach crush-territory anyway (hello kaitlyn) but man idk what it is....romance is just difficult to write on tomblr rn for me...gran does not make this easier. the issues r endless. can i offer u akira.

how often do you like to ship?

(person whos always in ship tags) (smiley face) (smiley face) (smiley face) can u get into mhyk for akira....or farmsims....................ill ship everything in there.....

are you multiship?

YAAAAAA the idea of having 1 ship on my blog doesnt excite me. even tho i dont write romance atm. LMFAOABKAJD

are you ship obsessed or ship more-or-less?

do u wanna hear about the akifi doujins ive read. or the akifau art where faust puts a flowercrown on akiras head.

what is your favorite ship in your current fandom?

THIS IS HOW DIANTHA/CLARISSE CAN STILL WIN. i am also a sabrina/leona fan. 'did they interact' no but they should. ppl who lost their husband(s). ppl who both should be AT THE CLUB. me/canaria. me/crystal

finally, how does one ship with you?

u like my posts & listen to my ramblings and i twirl my hair and send u more asks and then it just happens. foolproof.

tagged by: @convxction faty my beloved my everything u should do it for ur multi too.... tagging: @shiningstages kait i think u should do this for ur multi and ramble............

[like-rain-or-confetti]

You're gorgeous...

You fell in love with the rogues all over again seeing their new outfit and the world is gonna know it!

The Riddler: He took a bow and opened his arms with a grin. "That's much better!" He grinned. You turned around to look at him and your jaw dropped. "What do you think!?" He smirked. You couldn't help it. You saw his new green suit and couldn't help but stare at him. "You married?" You asked. He raised an eyebrow his smirk remaining on his face. "Like you wouldn't be the first to know." You stood up and approached him. "You're...oh what is that word. My feeble mind has forgotten. It has a double meaning. It could be a temperature but it's also a description for attractive people. Damn, what is that word?" You smirked. He chuckled lowly, his arms wound around your waist as yours wrapped around his neck. "I believe the word you seek, my sweet, is I'm 'hot'." He replied. "That you are." You nodded with a grin and he pulled you in closer, capturing your lips in a kiss.

Scarecrow: He didn't say anything about his new suit but you noticed it immediately when you turned to look at him. He felt your stare and looked back at you. "I am not worthy." You declared flatly. He raised an eyebrow. "Hm? Of what?" "Of you." You replied. Jonathan rolled his eyes. "I need you to not stand beside me around other people because you show me up a lot. My self-esteem can't deal with that." Jonathan cracked a faint smile at you. "But what would I be without you?" He asked softly. "Still gorgeous." You replied. He disagreed. "Not personally. Very few are good at being attractive in looks and personality. You, my dear, have perfected the art."

Two-Face: Even with right side of all of his suits damaged and nearly burned to crisp. Somehow he still pulled them off. You gasped. "Look at you!" He immediately chuckled under his breath as you took his hands and stepped back to get a better look at him. "Is this for my benefit because im benefitting. Do I need to share you with the rest of Gotham? What if someone worthwhile takes you from me!" "Not a chance, gorgeous." Harv' smirked. He watched your eyes run up and down him. "I hit the jackpot with you." You mumbled just loudly enough for him to hear. He tore his hands free of yours for a moment to pull you in by the waist. "Funny, I could say the same about you." He mumbled as he kissed your neck a couple of times.

Black Mask: Roman always looked immaculate. Yet when his white suits were brand new, they popped. You had heard he had a couple of new suits coming and noticed immediately when he was dressed in a white suit and a black shirt and shoes along with lack leather gloves. You gasped, gaining his attention. His masked head turning towards you sharply. "How you doin'? Are you single?" You asked. A low chuckle emitted from his mask. "Not anymore, doll. I'm off the market." You sighed in 'disappointment'. "I'm jealous of your partner. They're very lucky." Roman walked up to you and stroked your cheek. "Lucky you." He grinned.

Penguin: You caught sight of his new coat before he left for work at the lounge. "Oz?" You called. "Yeah, sweetheart? I'm just about to leave." He looked at you whilst fixing his collar. "Looking good?" He asked. Sometimes he felt he had to check he looked alright. Perhaps it was insecurity. You didn't want to upset him by prying or make him self conscious about asking. You looked him over. "Imma marry you." You deadpanned. "Oh yeah?" Oswald smirked. You nodded. "Mhm." "I don't recall proposing, sweetheart." Oswald said. "Who said you'd need to?" He raised an eyebrow. You blinked. "I can't decide if I should propose right now or just kidnap you and force you down the aisle." You pondered and he chuckled. "You think about that whilst I head to work." He kissed your cheek. "Love you!" You held onto him, hugging him and kissing his cheek in return. You felt his hand on your back. "I love you more, sweetheart."

[starlightsaphron]

THOSE AUS LOOK SO DELICIOUS UHMM.....

this one!! How have their personalities/gear changed from the difference in raising?

I’m so glad that your interested in my ideas! I got two asks about this idea, but I actually have two different ideas for it. I’ll share the one that has more extreme differences in personalities and weapons/outfits here.

Basically Raven is a lone survivor from an attack by salem that took out the rest of team STRQ. Summers last wish was for raven to keep the kids safe, which raven knows will never happen if either salem finds them or the kids grow up close enough to oz to get sucked up into the war that killed her family. So Raven takes the girls and goes off grid in the wilds of anima.

Ruby and yang have grow up in a nomadic life style away from society. They are both highly insular people, yang in especially doesn’t doesn’t trust anyone outside of her sister and mother, while ruby has developed a curiosity for society as a whole. They don’t live as complete luddites but what little tech they do have is stolen from rare night executions into villages and used well past the point where others would have discarded it. Ruby has a small collection of curios that she is highly protective of and tinkers with constantly.

Yang is actually quite quiet in this au. She can get pretty animated when talking to ruby but even to raven she’s pretty reserved. Yang had to grow up even faster here, in part from how young she was when she learned to hunt animals and kill grim and in part because she was basically constantly in danger and never learned how to self express. I feel like she’s a little paranoid cause Raven’s told yang more about the threat of salem then ruby. She’s still do or die for any of her family though. Badmouth or attack them then you in for a world of hurt.

Ruby I think has a long bow, dagger and a scythe she trains with in secret. A chose made of rubys own volitions because of ravens struggle when reminded of her lost family. Another neat idea could be that instead of a long bow she’s got a beat up old long rifle that she maintains obsessively. I like the idea of full forest ranger Ruby and doing something a little different from cannon. I think that there would be a be moment in the fic when she eventually constructs a mechashift weapon.

For Yangs weapons I’m still a little in the air. As much as it pains me personally I have a hard time seeing a yang raised by raven becoming a brawler. I feel like Raven just got Yang a mechashift weapon for her birthday (give that’s normally when she’d become a huntress). Im kinda thinking a glaive/short sword/crossbow combo. Maybe with Japanese influences to tie it to omen? I feel like it would be built with the ability to modify more dust integration later

Gear is harder. I struggle with visualization with outfits as a general rule. I feel like she’s got a mask like her Ravens, smaller and less ostentatious but still a grim mask. She dresses in darker colors to help her stay hidden, with small yellow highlights or marks though. I feel like as the store progresses yangs outfit would change and include more color as she explores herself.

Ruby’s palette is some combination of green, black and red. I can’t completely work it out in my head but I know I want those colors. Her outfit would be some combination of her v4 outfit and woodland ranger. Maybe with a few different cloaks for different environments. She carries many different knifes on her but each one has a unique function and place.

[ozimagines]

Hello, if you are inclined to take some more weird ideas I had another one: that Martin Querns and Sean Murphy had worked together before (and were maybe more then co-workers??) but it ended badly, which is part of the reason that Murphy agreed to go to Oz and part of the reason for why they did not get along when Querns eventually shows up. But by the time that Querns takes over Oz at the end of the show they have made up again? Not sure if you wanted to do something with that?? Maybe McManus accidentally torpedo's dates? (or not so accidentally). Just some thoughts that I have had, if you wanted to do some thing with them by all means, I would love to see it. If not totally understandable. I hope today was less painful then yesterday. Thank you

FUCKIN WHAT?!?! Why is this the first I’m hearing of this pairing????? Well regardless, I’m on board. Like fully. Murpherns? Querny? Either way; OTP for the win!

Im gonna warn you I already have some ideas for this so it’s probs gonna be a multi parter.

Martin Querns and Sean Murphy in: Maybe I Will Part 1/?

Sean Murphy got the job at Attica easily. He’d graduated at the top of his class, so it wasn’t a shock.

He’d done his job. Didn’t complain. Team player. Everyone liked him.

Everyone except one.

The was one man who broke his balls worse than everyone else at work.

Martin Querns.

Every damn day there was something new with this guy. Plus he ignored protocol all the time. He justified it by saying it cuts down on violence.

Murphy was getting his morning cup of coffee. Two Splenda, splash of milk. Like always. If he was taking it at home he’d have added a finger of whiskey, but who could be picky with free coffee?

Where the hell was the Splenda?

“Looking for something?”

Sean, out of habit, rolled his eyes before he turned around.

Martin was standing there with two Splendas in his hand.

“Martinez was about to take them all for unit C. I snagged you a couple.”

“Thanks.” Sean responded, taking them from his hand, their fingers lingering a moment on each other’s. Sean looked away quickly. “Well?”

“Well what?”

“What is it today?” Murphy asked, deadpanned. “What’s the new way you’re gonna make my life hell?”

Querns just let out a deep chuckle.

“Well, if I took it easy on you here, people might suspect something.”

Murphy huffed. He knew that wasn’t the only reason. Querns was a born ball breaker.

He turned around to stir his coffee, not paying Querns any mind. No one at work suspected anything. At least not yet. It’d be inappropriate, sleeping with the boss. But fuck, it was Attica, a maximum security prison he spent most of his life in. Let him live a little.

“So no news today?”

“Well, actually,”

“Here it comes.” Murphy sighed and rubbed his temples. The coffee was NOT kicking in fast enough.

“Garbarino’s getting out of solitary today. We’re crowded in there and his was the least heinous of the infractions.”

“…Q*, he stabbed a guy in the eye with his own finger.”

“Exactly. No contraband and no violence against a correctional officer.” Querns smiled cheekily at Murphy’s defeated expression. “That said, he needs a babysitter.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Murphy downed the rest of his coffee and went to Unit A, where he was head officer. He felt a pat on his rear as he walked away.

“This fuckin guy.” Murphy mumbled under his breath.

It’s was an uneventful day. Two attempted shankings and one brawl. All broken up fairly quickly.

Querns was doing his rounds, as he ran Unit A. He stole glances at Sean at times. Sean stole them too.

There was something about that man. His confidence and no nonsense attitude. Turned him on if he was honest.

Sean didn’t speak about his sexuality. To be honest, he didn’t put a label on it. It just sort of was. It’s like ketchup on eggs; it’s not for everyone, but he likes it, so fuck off.

After work that day, he waited the appropriate time for others to go home, before changing out of his work clothes into his casual ones.

He walked outside to see Querns already sitting in the car. He honked, knowing the loud sound would make Murphy self conscious. He enjoyed embarrassing his lover. He was so easy to get a rise out of. 😂

“You’re gonna give us away one of these days. I can only use the carpool excuse so many times before people want in.”

“Hmm. That would be a problem. I wouldn’t be able to do this with others in the car.” He palmed Murphy’s crotch with a smile.

Querns have been attracted to the very serious Irishman since day one. That handsome potato face and beefy body. Damn. Called him his Irish Cream lover.

“Yeah yeah, Marty. Sure.” Murphy looked out the window wistfully before asking, without taking his eyes off the passing vista;

“How was your day?”

“Good. Until this cute coworker of mine disobeyed a direct order and let a known criminal be in his pod alone.”

“Cut down on violence, didn’t it?”

“I have taught you well. Who’d have thunk it?”

More silence.

“Well? You gonna tell me about your day or do I have to pry it out of you. Because I’m more than willing to do just that.”

“Fine. My boss broke my balls all day, but it was fine.”

“He cute?”

“Thinks he is.”

“Thinks?”

Murphy let out a small laugh and smiled tiredly.

“He’s not bad looking. Handsome, actually. Just pompous.”

“Sounds like that makes him cuter. You should ask him out.”

“Maybe I will.”

They drove in silence home, but they were holding hands over the stick shift.

That night was normal. They usually start dinner when they get home. Cooking it together. Tonight was take out night. Chinese.

Murphy watched Querns eat with chopsticks. He was never able to get the hang of it, but Martin made it look so easy.

“All in the wrist, Murph. All in the wrist.”

They got ready for bed separately, but slept together.

After a particularly passionate night, they laid next to each other, holding hands, Querns smoking a cigarette.

Tonight was normal though; brushed teeth and face washing. Then getting into their respective sides, a quick kiss good night, and then off to bed.

“‘Night, Murph.”

“‘Night, Q.”❤️

They continued like that for months. Cohabitating and causing each other angst the whole way.

It was good. Worked. For some reason, what they had complimented each other.

They were having ramen one night. They liked to do that. Get those thirty cent pack ramen that got them through school. Boil the kettle and make their bowls.

Querns always went big with the toppings. Scallions and enoki mushrooms and century eggs, and fish cakes and rice cakes, sesame oil and chili oil…

Murphy always made his with scallions and a fried egg. He wasn’t picky.

“Chili oil? Made it myself.”

“You ask every time, Q, I’m fine.”

Querns would always slurp the noodles loudly to get a reaction out of Sean, who always gave him what he was looking for.

They watched their shows together. At the moment, it was M*A*S*H. Murphy liked I Love Lucy, but every time he put it on, Querns would get more ideas on how to fuck with him.

It got to the point where whenever Querns gave him that mischievous look, Murphy would sigh and say something to the effect of “please, Lucy, not today. I’m so fuckin tired.”

Despite how much Martin got under his skin, Sean was happy to have him. He knew he was kind of a serious guy. It helped to have someone who reminded him to have fun every once in a while.

When they went shopping together, Sean almost never stoped laughing at Querns, who was the WORST impulsive shopper he’d ever met. Querns would justify all his purchases.

“Stop laughing, asshole. I don’t care if scent beads for the wash are superfluous, I gotta smell your stink ass all damn day, might as well get some reprieve”😤

When he was in a good mood, Querns would tease him back, joking that all his purchases were useless.

“Get onto me for buying a dragonfruit. Buying all this toilet paper. Like we’re building a fuckin bunker.”

It started at work one day, they were arguing about what to do about an inmate selling drugs. It was heated to say the least. Murphy finally got sick of his shit and tore him a new one, Querns smiling at him all the way.

“The fuck you smiling about?”

“You’re awfully sexy when you’re angry, potato boy.”

Murphy turned beet red and went to leave, when he heard;

“Drinks at The Golden Horse at seven tonight. Be there.”

And he showed. Despite his reservations, he actually went home, showered, put on a button up and slacks, and met the bastard there.

He’d been wearing a grey suit with a purple tie. Cut to his measurements. Damn… he had no right looking that hot.

Little did he know, Querns thought the same of Murphy’s rough, blue collar sex appeal.

They’d talked it over. Neither one mentioning whether or not they identify as gay. Just ordering drinks and talking.

Querns was drinking an appletini. Asked Murphy what he wanted.

“Irish coffee.” Was all he said, taking his spot next to Querns.

“Despite what you think of me,” Querns had said after a moment. “My sole purpose in life is not to break your balls. I take my job seriously but I’ve been doing it for a while and compromises must be made. Would you agree?”

Murphy nodded that he did.

“You gotta do what you gotta do. That’s fine. Just understand I gotta do the same.” He reasoned and Querns held up his drink to that.

“Seems fair to me.” He took a sip of his drink, a little drip on his plump lips. Murphy looked away, ever the gentleman. “Now, enough shop talk. Wanna tell me why you came?”

“Wanna tell me why you invited me?”

“Touche.”

Martin put a hand on Sean’s thigh, teasing the inner part with his fingers. Murphy didn’t shove it away, just sipped his coffee deadpanned.

“Gonna let me kiss those pretty lips or not?”

“Depends.”

“On?”

“Whether you’ve been drinking an appletini or not.” Sean replied, smirking into his drink. Martin reacted with mock hurt.

“You disapprove?”

“Of your jolly rancher kiddie drink? Just don’t want to feel like I’m kissing a thirteen year old girl.”

“Zing.” Was all Querns said before launching his lips onto Sean’s, who accepted it with delight.

He put his hands on Martin’s waist, biting softly at his lips.

They ended up tipsy in a taxi together, heading to Murphy’s place.

Sean could remember it like it was yesterday; stumbling through the door, tearing at each other’s clothes. Sean had tipped the cab driver extra for how lewd they were getting in the backseat.

“Who’s taking it in the ass?” Sean had asked bluntly, stripping off his tie and rolling up his sleeves.

“Ideally both of us, if my imagination of your stamina serves correctly.”

Hmm. Good answer.

That’s how they built their relationship. Occasionally, one of them took it up the ass, in bed or otherwise.🥲

They, of course, had their disagreements.

Their biggest blowup came a couple months later. They’d always disagreed about work, but they were always able to turn it off when they got home.

This time was different. It was different because someone had died.

Murphy was halfway through a bottle of Jack, listlessly switching channels. Martin was in the kitchen, silently drinking his gin.

Neither one of them said anything at first. Drove silently. Drank silently. Suddenly, Querns said, in a low, bitter tone.

“Don’t think I don’t know you blame me for this. For Erikson.”

Sean gritted his teeth but said nothing. He only sipped his whiskey. 🥃

Then, out of nowhere, he threw his glass at the wall and stood up.

“Turning a blind eye never hurt, huh? We have to make compromises? Have to give a little to get a little? Well, this wasn’t a little, Martin. Erikson wasn’t a little. Christ, kid was in his early twenties. Had everything ahead of him. Shanked because we didn’t check Leeland’s cell. Because you told us not to do a contraband check.” He took a deep breath but he was still shaking. All he was thinking about was that kid.

Querns thought for a moment, then said venomously;

“If you think it’s as simple as all that, then you’re really more naive than I thought.” He paused, shooting back the rest of his gin. “I’m not going to apologize for a 97% clean violence record. It was 43% when I arrived. I know what I do. I’m good at what I do. That’s what you fail to realize. This, while tragic, is part of the life we chose. I can’t hold your fuckin hand forever, Murph. Either you figure out how things are, or you pack up and get out-“

“Maybe I will!” Murphy spat back angrily, going to pack a bag and stay with his sister that night. If he had been looking, he’d have seen Querns’ bravado falter, even if only for a second.

He waited to get the rest of his stuff while Querns was out of the house.

Querns expected this. The famous Irish temper.

What he hadn’t expected was for Sean to be missing from work all week. He’s found out later that Sean requested a transfer. He only found out after it had been approved.

Only after Sean had left.

He drank alone when he found out. Didn’t know why it was bothering him so. Querns had lovers before. Lovers who left or he left. But this time felt different. It felt like a real loss.

Son of a bitch, he’d actually miss the whiny bastard.

Sean started at Oz a week later.

“Happy to have you, Sean. Em city is really shaping up. Think we have the future of prisons here.”

Sean nodded but he wasn’t listening. He was happy to be working with his old friend… that said… he’d miss Querns there every day. He’d miss the way Querns smirked right before giving bad news. And the way he strode through the halls so confidently.

It was a good year. Well, an okay year. They did what they had to do. But a year later is when shit really started going south.

McManus fired. Em City a shithole.

It wasn’t till Glynn sat him down and told him about the new hire that he knew he was really screwed.

“I’ve hired someone else to take over em city. You may know him from Attica.”

Fuck.

[guildofempyreans]

Chapter 2: "Become the Hunted"

//Next chapter's here! Well as we learned last chapter but also last year, Zandiel's fucking gone. So it's up to the rest of the Empyreans to find him! But how exactly are they going to do that? And what will they find on the way?//

“Sieg!” He could hear Ylva shout behind him, but paid her little mind.

  What did Folze mean, Zandiel’s “presence” was missing? And some other, powerful presence was there? Someone had just waltzed into their room and kidnapped him, then? And no one stopped them?

  But the use of the term “presence” made Siegril suspicious. Whatever was happening wasn’t normal, was it?

  Siegril flung the door to their room, knife in hand. Inside, it was empty as expected. With a huff, he took a cursory glance. Nothing suspicious was on the floor, nor the beds or drawers…

  The window was wide open, but that made sense. No one would kidnap someone through the front door. All this told him was that the kidnapper was either a klutz, in a rush, or purposefully left the window open for some reason. Possibly as a taunt.

  Siegril grit his teeth, stomping up to the windowsill. Nothing was there. No snagged piece of clothing, no blood, no visible fingerprints, and nothing like a calling card.

  “Ugh, ‘course they left through the window!”

  Ylva was at the door, holding her spear in one hand. Wing skittered into the room with her nose to the ground, sniffing around.

  “How long’s he been gone?” Siegril asked.

  “I’unno. Folze was just tellin’ me when ya walked in. And he prob’ly told Lee before me.”

  “Then…” Siegril stepped away from the window, taking another quick look around. “Ugh…!”

  “A-Alright, Sieg! Calm down!” Ylva smiled, but spoke with a bit of panic in her tone. “Ya know any clothes Ain’s worn a lot? I can get Wing ta try ‘n track ‘im down.”

  “Get whatever you want from his closet. Hurry.”

  “C’mere, Wing!”

  As he heard the two shuffle around, he began to tap his foot. Thinking anymore wasn’t going to solve anything. Who kidnapped Zandiel and why didn’t matter, they just needed Wing to pick up his scent. If this unknown presence entered and exited as quickly as Folze made it sound, then they could be anywhere on the ship by now, possibly even outside it.

  “Siege…!”

  “What?” he looked up to the door with a glare.

  “What?” Oz repeated as if it were a ridiculous statement. “What the hell’s going on here? You live in a place where people just get kidnapped like it’s nothing?”

  “This is the first time this’s happened.” he noted, looking down. He didn’t need this. None of this from Oz, and none of what was happening right now.

  Why was this happening right now? Why did this past week feel like such a whirlwind?

  “Dammit, Ain…!”

  A blueish blur went past Siegril. Wing was at the window, scrambling up the windowsill and into the outdoors. Once she landed, she turned back and barked.

  “Alright, she’s got somethin’!” Ylva shouted, holding onto Zandiel’s bright red cape as she leapt out the window. Landing on the ground, she turned around and jabbed her thumb towards the outside. “C’mon!”

  Siegril nodded, hopping out the window. He could hear Oz grumble as they also climbed out. He was silently thankful as everyone followed after Wing. Whatever was going on, it likely wasn't going to end peacefully. He’d rather go alone in that case, but Wing absolutely had to lead the charge. Stealth wasn’t an option with Ylva or Oz either. Strength in numbers was the next best.

  As the group followed Wing, it became more clear that they were heading towards one of the ship’s exits.

  “Hell…!” Oz wheezed as they ran. “You said it’d only been a few minutes right…?! How fast… is this person…?!”

  “Dunno.”

  Whoever they were dealing with was either highly efficient, working with others, or simply had some noteworthy speed. With that in mind, it was possible they were chasing down an Yggdroid. They generally fit the criterias of efficiency and speed, plus the fact that Folze seemed to have issues understanding their presence.

  An Yggdroid wasn't going to be an easy target. Knives wouldn’t work well against them, and Yggdroids had an innate resistance to bodily effects such as paralysis. Shaking his head, Siegril focused on following Wing off the ship with the others. This wasn’t the time to think so far ahead. They just needed to find Zandiel, first.

  Wing slowed to a halt as everyone stepped onto the grassy fields of the first island. Even though she was tired, she immediately got to work trying to track his scent.

  “Damn, it’s dark out here…” Ylva noted, looking up and holding her hand above her eyes. “The moon’s pretty bright, though. Think that means somethin’?”

  “No.” Siegril quickly responded, looking up as well. It was notably bright. “Maybe. I dunno.”

  “Eh, I was just kiddin…” she sighed, waving Zandiel’s cape around. “Hey, Wing. Come ‘n smell this again. I’m thinkin’ yer losin’ track ‘a him by now. ‘specially with stuff like animals ‘n monsters roamin’ around.”

  “While we’re taking a break…” Oz began, going so far as to lay down on the grass, “Anyone wanna tell me ‘bout this Ain guy?”

  “This isn’t a break. And he’s our leader. Guild leader.” Siegril answered, narrowing his eyes at Oz. A break was too lenient. They were just recuperating while Wing narrowed down his location.

  He looked away. “And he’s… one of my friends.”

  “That explains it. I was trying to remember if you ever acted so energetic.” they said.

  “I’m not being energetic.”

  “Well, guess I’m motivated again. Can't leave your new friend out to dry.”

  “Yeah…” Ylva chimed in. She was crouched down, holding out Zandiel’s cape, and her spear was on the ground. “And uh, now that yer all caught up on Ain, can ya tell me who you are?”

  “Oz.” they replied. “I’m a doctor, an’ I’ve known Siegril for some years. That’s…” they scratched their chin. “‘bout enough, right?”

  “Fer now, sure!” she replied with a nod. “Nice ta meet ya, Oz. Thanks fer helpin’ us!”

  “Yup.”

  In the meantime, Siegril watched Wing. She had left Ylva’s side, and kept her nose on the ground as she wandered nearby. Eventually, she raised her head, her tail wagging as she let out a bark.

  Ylva stood up. “Alright, enough layin’ around!”

  The direction Wing was facing…

  Of course it was towards the ruins. Siegril scoffed. That felt so obvious, yet here they were, wasting time. Whoever kidnapped Zandiel already went far enough to leave the ship. They weren’t going to stay on this little island. By now, they could have already taken the pole to the second island.

  To make up for it, Siegril began to sprint north.

  “Hey, wait up!” Ylva called. “Careful!”

  “I’ll be fine! I can see just fine.”

  “That ain’t what I mean!”

  Though he had to admit, he wasn't used to this much activity, or this many obstacles. When he had to run like this in the dark, it was usually to pursue or track someone in town. Relatively empty streets, straight roads or even rooftops…

  But as he nearly tripped over a tree root, he had to ingrain it in his mind again that this wasn’t the same. None of this was. He was exerting himself to rescue someone, not hunting down someone for money. Though, as he began to frame the situation as hunting down a kidnapper, he began to feel more in his element.

  …Was that right, though? To discard the thought of helping a friend for the thought of killing someone?

  Was that okay?

  He was nearing the bushes that led to the clearing they saw the first time they found the ruins.

  Don’t get hurt. Don’t die. Don’t–

  Siegril felt his foot snag onto something, and it was already too late to react. He fell down, face first, and began to tumble downhill.

  “Sieg!”

  Laying down in place, Siegril grumbled before trying to stand back up. He wobbled and nearly fell again, but managed to get back on his feet with a heavy breath.

  Looking up, he found that he’d nearly reached the bottom of the hill. From here, the ruins were already in sight.

  “I told ya to be careful!” Ylva stumbled down the hill with Wing, who galloped down only a bit more gracefully. “Just hang on fer just a second!” she requested, using her spear to keep herself standing. “What's gonna happen if ya get caught off guard like that when there’s monsters around?!”

  Siegril looked away, breathing louder than he was used to. She was right, he knew she was, but…

  “I just…”

  “Ain’s gonna be fine, alright?! We just–”

  “You don’t know that.”

  “Well Ain ain’t some defenseless piece ‘a paper, is he?!” she yelled, causing Siegril to simply blink in confusion.

  “Don’t gimme that look! Listen, we just gotta trust he’s handlin’ himself! ‘n it’s like I said; how’s it gonna look if we’re runnin’ ‘round outta breath ‘n get caught off guard by some monster ‘er tree root?!”

  Siegril could hear labored gasps and footsteps that nearly slid down the hill.

  “Uuuugh…!” Oz groaned. “Muh– Motherfucker…!”

  Wing whined, running up to them.

  “That’s…! The place, right?!” they asked, shakily pointing to the distant ruins.

  “...Yeah. Gotta be where he is. This’s the only place this way.” Turning around, Ylva raised her hand towards Oz. “You, uh… You needa break?”

  In response, Oz fell to their knees, leaning their head down in exhaustion. “Yeah, I’ll… catch up.” they said before pulling out a small green orb from their bag. An unrecognizable symbol was etched onto it.

  “Just… here.”

  Ylva leaned forward, narrowing an eye at the object.

  “Stun Sigil...” Oz said. “Ya throw it… an’ it stops whatever it hits from movin’ for a while.”

  “Gotcha! Thanks!” Ylva eagerly took the sigil off their hands. “Wing, stay with Oz til they’re ready ta go. Sieg? Let’s check the ruins!”

  Siegril nodded. “Thanks, Oz. Sorry.”

  They shooed the two away while petting Wing with their other hand. “Jus’ hurry it up.”

  With another nod, Siegril ran down the hill with Ylva. As the crunch of grass slowly merged into the clacking of sparse stone tiles, Siegril could feel something strange. His body was detecting a trace amount of flowing Mana up ahead, emerging from spilled blood. It was faint, meaning it belonged to an Earthlain or Therian. There was an unfamiliar, odd flow to it.

  It could be Zandiel’s. Unless he had injured whoever held him captive, or someone else was involved. Or it belonged to a simple adventurer who had nothing to do with this. Siegril cursed his inability to detect more precisely.

  Reaching the entrance, he hesitated, then stopped entirely. Up ahead, there was a heap of a person on the ground inside, wearing nothing but shades of dark brown. Their back was turned towards them. Taking out a knife, Siegril turned around and held a hand up towards Ylva. She stopped in her tracks, eyebrow raised, before quietly stepping up to the entrance.

  “What the…?” she whispered, peering over Siegril.

  “It's a person.” the same person this flow of Mana was coming from. If this was Zandiel’s captor, then he truly had handled the situation on his own. Still, who could this be? Narrowing his eyes, he found that this person also had long brown hair that blended with their outfit.

  Walking into the ruins, the figure became clearer, and so did their dark brown hat that matched with the rest of their outfit. Siegril could only grit his teeth in realization.

  “Alverion?!” Ylva gasped.

  “Wait.” Siegril reached a hand out, but she’d already pushed past him and was running up to the Zodiac.

  This wasn’t right. As suspicious as he was of Alverion, him being Zandiel’s captor didn’t make sense. But what was he doing here?

  “Alverion?! Hey!” Ylva was sitting in front of him, having tossed Zandiel’s cape over her shoulder. She hovered her hands above him with uncertainty.

  “He’s alive.” Siegril said as he approached. That much was certain, but how much longer he’d be if left alone wasn’t.

  His eyes widened once he saw the front of Alverion. There was a large diagonal cut through his jacket, revealing the skin underneath. The jacket had seeped in most of the blood flowing from the cut, but a very small pool had formed on the ground.

  “W-Whadda we do?! Dammit, I didn’t pack anything ta heal with!”

  “Oz’ll be here soon.” Siegril stated, taking a closer look at Alverion. His brows were furrowed in pain, even in a state of unconsciousness.

  The speed and efficiency that Alverion conjured his barriers in battle was admirable. For him to be caught off guard this badly meant that there was something– or someone– truly dangerous around.

  He looked at the small trace of blood on the ground, and found that a few drops had fallen north of him. That meant three things. One, Alverion had been pushed or stumbled back before falling. Two, he likely hadn't fallen unconscious instantly. And three, whatever attacked had hit from the north. But there wasn’t much room up north. The only thing ahead was…

  Narrowing his eyes, Siegril marched to the northmost door. He pried his knife into the middle gap, and flung it open.

  Siegril staggered back with a quiet gasp.

  “What?!” Ylva said. “What’s– whoa!”

  The section that once had the hand-like shape etched into it had seemingly been blown apart. In its stead was a small, open hole that revealed the other side of the wall. Leading up to it was a light trail of blackish red blood.

  Siegril sprinted over without a word. Fitting his head through the hole, he found the debris of the hand-like carving scattered around the hallway. The pieces weren't glowing red, and they weren’t blue like Zandiel said the carving initially was. The color had been completely drained, and looked like any regular carving. The only color on them was the blood that’d dripped onto a few pieces.

  Siegril looked down both sides of the hallway, but nothing stood out. The clearest thing was that the residual Mana in this blackish blood didn't match the usual Earthlain’s. Not entirely, at least. Truthfully, Siegril had no idea what kind of blood he was registering. Was this Zandiel’s? His captor’s? Whoever attacked Alverion, if that was a different person entirely?

  Zandiel had to be involved, given his odd connection with the carving. But…

  “The hell happened here…?!” his thoughts were interrupted by Oz. Wing was also whining. Siegril gave the room one last look over before leaving with a huff.

  “This Ain?” Oz asked.

  “No, he’s another guild member! You can help ‘im, right?!”

  Oz nodded, cracking their knuckles before a pale blue glow started to emit from their hands. “Well, thanks for not moving him. Gonna guess you didn’t… Outta the way, you two.”

  Ylva and Wing did as instructed. Oz sat down next to Alverion. With a low whistle, they hovered their hands over his chest.

  “Dunno how long he’s been out here, but...” they murmured, trailing off.

  “What’s goin’ on here?” Ylva muttered, crossing her arms. “Ain, Alverion, ‘n that blood in that room! Is the same person doin’ all this?”

  “Alverion being here’s weird.” Siegril noted. “Did Folze say anything about him going missing, too?”

  Ylva shook her head. “I’m guessin’ Alverion’s been gone, but you know how he is. Leavin’ ‘n comin’ back whenever.”

  That didn’t explain why he was here of all places.

  “Let’s keep looking for Ain.” Siegril decided.

  “But… I-I mean, yer right, but…”

  “I’ll take care of him.” Oz noted. “You three, get to searching. If someone tries to drop in an’ slash me, I’ve got a few tools, so don't worry ‘bout that.”

  “If… yer sure.” Ylva murmured.

  “Oz’ll be fine. Let’s go.”

  The three decided to group together, in case the attacker was still in the ruins. They began by checking the path that looped in on itself. That led them to the other side of the wall, where they could investigate the rubble more closely. To their dismay, it didn’t lead to any discoveries, not even when Wing checked around the blood.

  From there, they took one of the shortcuts to search the rest of the ruins. After the three dispatched a few monsters, Ylva opened a door, only to be greeted by a severed half of a purple wolf. The other half was only a few paces ahead.

  “What the hell?!”

  Siegril narrowed his eyes at the cleanly-cut beast, only for his features to smooth out in realization.

  “Ain…”

  Ylva gave him an incredulous look. “Huh?!”

  “We found monsters cut up like this in the Misty Ravine. The one who cut them was Ain, I think. Or one of his blood things.”

  “Wait, so– No, that don’t make sense!”

  “What doesn’t?” he asked, stepping over the monster.

  “I was boutta say, uh, what if he… hurt Alverion?” she trailed off before raising her voice again. “But there’s no way he would! No reason he would, at least!”

  “But if he summoned his blood, it could’ve attacked someone without him telling it to. …Maybe.” he lowered his voice, not wanting to believe he’d already bring it out again if it hurt him. But if he was taken away, unarmed, then he couldn’t entirely blame him. The only issue was that, if he did, then he was going to be unconscious somewhere.

  “Let’s keep looking.” he said.

  “Gotcha.”

  They were unable to find a trace of him in the ruins, and Wing’s trail seemed to end once they actually entered the place. The only conclusion was that he’d been taken through the pole. Ylva planned to let Oz know they were leaving, but Siegril stopped her. Oz wouldn't want them wasting time running back to them. Plus, they were treating Alverion. No reason to make them lose their focus.

  The three entered the pole, and were sent to the Isle of Solitude. With a deep breath, Ylva took a look around. She had Zandiel’s cape slung around her shoulder, and removed it in order to present it to Wing. Taking another sniff at the cape and the ground around them yielded no results. Wing could only whine as she raised her head.

  “Aww, ‘s alright, Wing.” she said, crouching down and scratching behind her ear. “Ain’t much else ta pick up on if he’s gotten this far.”

  “There’s ruins somewhere here, too. Maybe he’s in there.” Clearly the ruins had some importance to the situation, given what happened to that room.

  “Oh yeah, wasn't Luxes talkin’ about one on here one time?” she asked. “Didn’t say where it was, but someone at base camp’ll prob’ly know.”

  With a nod, Siegril ran ahead. The three made their way down the hill and through the lightly-paved road. 

  Reaching the camp, they could only see one campfire lit. Three people were sitting around it, clearly having been on their own excursion, and one of them seemed to be asleep. Ylva provided a quick greeting to the guild before asking about the ruins. One member, a Therian with long white hair, dressed similarly to the dancers of Tharsis, was the first to respond.

  “Ohhh, like the ruins on the first island? Yeah, we’ve heard! But last we checked, no one could find a way to open it.”

  “That’s fine! We just wanna see it!”

  “Huh. Well, it’s…” they turned to face the purple-haired Earthlain next to them, who had a scythe propped up to lean forward on. “Northwest, right?”

  “Hm? Ah… yes?” he answered, looking down at Wing, who’d approached him. “I’m not sure either, but northwest sounds right.”

  “Alright, thanks! That helps a lot!” Ylva said. “And, uh… Y’all got any supplies ya wouldn’t mind partin’ with? Like just a medica ‘er somethin’? We had ta rush out here without anything.”

  The Earthlain nodded. “We’ve got some extras, actually! You’re kind of in luck.” He took out three medicas from his bag and handed them to Ylva. “These were gonna end up sitting in our storage room like the others if we kept them.”

  “Uuugh, why’s Shara such a hoarder?” the Therian quietly lamented.

  “Well, thanks! Seriously, this’ll help!” Ylva stuffed one in her pocket before handing the other two to Siegril.

  “Sorry we’re in such a rush! Hope ta see y’all again!” she said as she started to jog towards the exit, with Siegril and Wing following behind.

  “N-No problem! Good luck getting it to open!” the Earthlain said.

  “See ya~!” the Therian called out, waving to the three in an exaggerated manner. “Oh! Wait! You know monsters start appearing on the west side, right? Careful!”

  “Gotcha! Thanks!”

  Once the three left the outskirts, Ylva spoke up. “Glad they were willin’ ta help! They were nice.”

  “Guess so. But the monsters…” Siegril murmured. “I didn’t think we’d have to run this far. Didn’t think we’d even leave Maginia.”

  “Yeah, I know…! I was hopin’ they could tell us more about the ruins, but at least we know about the area, now.”

  “We should slow down.” Siegril said. “I don’t wanna get caught off guard.”

  Ylva did so, and began to look around. “C’n only see a few feet in front ‘a me…”

  They were in a rather open part of the fields, leaving them vulnerable from all sides, while allowing Siegril to see far ahead. It was a double-edged sword that they could do little to weigh in their favor.

  “Thinkin’ about it, I ain’t ever seen any monsters ‘round the field. Wonder what they’re like.” Ylva clumsily tightened the hold on her spear, still holding Zandiel’s cape in one hand.

  “Here.” Siegril reached out and took the cape. He put it on himself, and gave it a quick flourish. It’s already served its purpose to find a trace of Zandiel, so wearing it or getting it dirty didn’t mean much in that regard.

  “Huh.” he murmured, lightly tugging on the collar. The thing was built like a neck warmer with a cape attached. It wasn't what he expected at all, but it made sense why it never seemed to fly off Zandiel’s body.

  “Heh, lookin’ good.” Ylva commented with a thumbs up.

  “...Not important.” he mumbled, bringing the collar closer to his face. “We don’t know exactly where the ruins are, so running anymore’s just gonna waste energy. Let’s walk.”

  His legs had been burning in exhaustion for some time, but pushing through something like that was normal. Now that he’d slowed down, it was catching up. Even Wing had plopped down into the grassy dirt.

  Ylva sighed in relief. “Yeah. Plus it’s too dark for me ta just run around like you ‘n Wing.”

  “Hm…” Siegril narrowed his eyes at her. Was there some way to help with that? He looked away, placing a hand on his chin.

  “You good?” Ylva asked.

  “Yeah.”

  “Uh… Ya thinkin’ about somethin’?”

  “Yeah.” he repeated. It took him a moment to realize what was happening; she wanted him to continue the conversation. He didn’t see much reason why, since he didn’t have a solution, but relented with a sigh.

  “I tried to think of some spell to help your sight. I don’t know any, though.”

  “Really? Aw, that’s sweet!” she laughed. “Yanno, I noticed you been usin’ yer magic more often!”

  “...A little more, I guess.” he crossed his arms and tilted his head up. There were a lot of stars out tonight, though they barely helped light the way. And if he was reading the moon’s location right, it was past one in the morning…

  “Damn! ‘s like, two in the mornin’, ‘er somethin!” Ylva said, surprising Siegril. She was looking up at the sky, too. “You said you can read this stuff too, right?”

  He nodded. “You’re good. At reading the sky.”

  Ylva scratched the back of her head. “Yeah, well…! I ain’t done it as much ever since I started joinin’ guilds instead ‘a runnin’ around forests all day, but–”

  She was interrupted by Wing’s low, deep growl.

  She faced the southwest. Her ears were raised, and her teeth bared. In that direction, a lone, black and white monster stood. It was clearly looking in their direction, and must have been aware of them before Wing made any noise.

  “‘s there somethin’ out there?!”

  “Yeah. It sees us.” Siegril whispered, taking out two knives. “Some black and white…”

  Narrowing his eyes, he realized that it wasn’t just one beast, but two. There was a smaller, similar-looking one inside the large monster’s front pouch.

  “...Monsters. With big fists.” he said. “There’s two, but one’s small.”

  “Wait, that kinda sounds like…”

  Wing snarled at the monster, who raised its oddly large arms and seemed to duck and dodge at nothing in particular. Was it charging up for something? Was it taunting Wing?

  Then, it slammed its fist into the ground.

  “Whoa!” Ylva shouted, holding her spear more defensively.

  Wing’s hackles were fully raised as she barked at the monster, who’d just leapt forward.

  Crashing down, the monster kicked up dirt and dust. It was still far enough away to plan something, but that one leap closer made its appearance clearer. It was a giant, kangaroo-like beast.

  Siegril squatted down, nearly casting a paralyzing effect onto one of the knives before stopping. He threw a hand to the side instead. “Gimme Oz’s sigil!”

  “Right!” she took it out of her pocket and handed it over.

  Siegril ran past Wing and prepared to throw, keeping his eyes locked on the beast. He had no idea how this sigil worked, but he knew it’d be better to wait until it was closer. He was confident in his aim, but not in what the monster could do in retaliation.

  It was approaching, but still too far to be sure…

  Thud.

  One leap closer, and Siegril could make out its beady red eyes and snarl.

  Thud.

  Another leap, and Wing’s growling had quieted down. She was still in a defensive stance, but it had lost some of its vigor. Siegril could understand why, and tried to not let it phase him. The size of these monsters had become incredibly clear, now. The child itself was taller than Siegril or Ylva, to say nothing of the parent.

  Thud.

  Only a few feet distanced the two. Now was the time. He had to treat this with the same confidence of throwing a knife to debilitate a human. Siegril reared his arm back, and with a grunt, threw the orb forward with as much force as he could. The orb soared straight ahead, as if it had honed in on the monsters.

  Making contact, a small burst of energy came from it. A second later, the monster let out a cry. Its body seized and struggled as sparks of light bounced off and around its body.

  “It worked, right?!” Ylva shouted. “C’mon, let’s get outta here!”

  Before Siegril could even stand up straight, a spark of light appeared in front of him. The orb had returned to him, though the yellow sigil etched onto it had faded out completely.

  He looked back up at the two monsters for a moment before running, leading the way to what was hopefully the ruins they seeked.

[tellmelittlethingsaboutyourday]

We just got back from our castle Halloween party and we had The Best time. We played all the games, saw all our friends, made some new friends and continued our 3 year streak of finding exactly 0 spiders in the spider hunt.

They hide big fake spiders outside the castle and then we have to go find them in the dark. I never find any because my mildly disabled butt looks at the woods filled with wet leaves and uneven terrain and overexuberent nerds tearing around in the dark and nope out. Ben never finds any because he is slow and very aware of the fact that he is the 2nd largest guy there and does not want to accidentally collide with/step on the smaller people. But he has fun and I sit by the window and listen or play games with the other people who abstain.

We always play all the games. We lured several people in for a flying frog game where we play aliens conquering Earth. We also played a role playing game names Rusalka, Ransom Notes, Monikers, Werewolf, and so many more.

The highlight of the weekend for me is always the costume contest. Last time we won most original and they're still talking about it, which made me super proud. This year we went as an alien and he went as an agent. Super fun. We won again, so Im super proud. I wore my medal into work today I was so excited. But the best costumes I found were the family who went as Labyrinth characters. She was Sarah, he was Bowie, and their daughter was Toby. Another couple went as Cocaine Bear and tore open bricks of flour. We had to pause the contest to sweep. Some friends of ours phoned it in with a store bought Wizard of Oz costume (no judgement, they're not as into the costumes as I am) but it was made accidentally great because another friend went as a t rex and proceeded to chase them down the yellow brick road before tripping and landing on his compressor. This was not planned but he rolled with it, screaming about how he was melting. But the grestest costume who should have beaten us by a lot (they did win best presentation) was the large group who went as our host. They all dressed as the professor and carried props of things he drags with him. So one of them had a huel bottle, one had a copy of his board game, and I couldn't make out the rest because I was in my dome and it was blurry and twinkle. But the best part? The VERY BEST PART? Two different groups decided to do this independently. There was a whole group with the professor and then a couple went as the professor and his former assistant, the Deputy. Again, nobody spilled the beans it was just a random happenstance. Love it. The professor probably busted something laughing that hard. We are already kicking back and forth ideas for next year but we agree: No More Cardboard!!

Love love loooove!!

[akaikami-cherryblossom]

HII IM SENDING THE QUESTION BACK TO YOU: your top 5 a3 plays? 👀

AAAAAAA FRIEND IN THE ASKBOX<33333 I didn’t even rb the ask game but I’ll take it because I need to get my thoughts out!!!! Btw this list took me hours because I am so indecisive but it was worth it🫶

5. Romeo and Julius

Even though it’s the first play introduced, it’s still one of my favorites and it has a special place in my heart. The only reason it’s so low is because it’s the first one newborn Mankai put on, so there are some pacing issues and I honestly just wish there was more. I’ve also been using it to lure some of my irl friends into A3! because who doesn’t like a million totally-not-gay plays? Aside from that Bokura no Kizuna is the song ever.

4. Harugaoka Quartet

This one doesn’t have the best plot in my opinion, but I still love it. I enjoy a simple plot with really well-written characters, so it works! That and the event story is one of my favorites of all time. I’m also biased because I finally found a recording of the Mankai Stage version and it is WONDERFUL. There’s this one part I really like towards the end where it’s just Ennis on stage and it’s completely dark except for a spotlight. He continues to practice the first part of “Spring”, getting frustrated each time. There is no dialogue. It’s all in his expressions. The last time he starts playing, the rest of the quartet joins him as the lights come up and aaaaaaa ;-;. It’s sososo beautiful I think it was adapted excellently!!! And the final scene with “Hajimari wa Quartet” is incredible I love the added harmonies oughhhhh…

3. The Floral Prince and Sympathy for the Angel

I couldn’t decide. Floral Prince is up here because it’s got SUCH a pretty fairytale aesthetic and the story is so fun and sweet. I always like a good fairytale so this is right up my alley. Sympathy for the Angel is really important to me hehe it was the first Mankai play I subbed and I ended up loving it the first time I read it.(And I’m biased because Sakuya’s Uriel>>>>>)

2. The Wonderful Charlatan of Oz

Another one of my absolute favorites. The second I read it I was already imagining how it would look on stage and it’s so incredibly well-done and fun to watch and aaaaaaa!!!! Also Rick is just genuinely one of my favorite characters of all time no matter how bad I feel for him. Oswald is such a compelling character as well, I think the way Someya portrayed him made him fun to watch, both annoying but still likable. Same with Yokota’s Rick. He’s loud and gullible, a little stupid, but really offsets Oswald nicely. Not to mention the FINAL BATTLE UGH!!! Incredible. Admittedly, I don’t love that the rest of the Spring Troupe has smaller roles, but I don’t think this is the kind of story you can tell with this many people. It’s just good overall.

Honorable Mentions:

SSR Family(The costumes are lovely and I like a lot of the characters and plot, especially Blanc and Nero, I think they’re interesting and well-written. And my wife is there)

A Clockwork Heart(Yeah I cried so what)

The Great Sardine Search(CLASSIC. Though I’ll admit I can only watch it once in a while because Shiro’s voice is super obnoxious to me)

Wonder Rush(It has the same vibes as Sardine Search but it’s got more of a modern vibe to it, plus the plot and costumes are adorable)

Welcome to Akebono-so!(My favorite Autumn play, especially given that I don’t typically like Autumn’s plays. I like the elements of both a fantasy world and reality, plus the characters are a huge selling point for me)

Fallen Blood(I don’t remember much of the plot, but I remember being emotionally smacked in the face once I finished reading it)

Nocturnality(Gay)

Die by the Sword(Gay again but this time it’s me for Orin)

Luminous Circus(The plot is meh but I live for the aesthetic and the event story mentally fucked me up)

Oh, Exquisite Gaia!(Not a mainline play, I know, but it was going on in A3EN the same time I was auditioning for a play about Greek gods and was really nervous. I ended up getting a lead role and I’m blaming this event because that play was also what solidified my place in more plays with that director. Plus I ended up basing my character’s movements and stuff on Azuma because I liked the way he did Gaia ajsjdbfj)

1: Le Fantôme de l’Opéra and Magician’s Pure Love

I couldn’t choose just one. Yeah. Phantom is one that I only really fell in love with because of the stage version. I remember it was late at night when I watched it, but once it finished my jaw was on the floor and I had to pause and process what I just watched. That good. Hang on I have a note in my phone with a bunch of notes on the stageplays I’ll copy paste some stuff from there:

-the English language does not contain the words I need to express how I feel about the Phantom performance

-it just does not have. Enough.

-I’m gonna try anyway

-THE OPENING

-THE MIRROR EFFECT

-GUY

-TSUMUGI

-THEIR VOCALS

-WHO TF WILL LIVE UP TO THAT WHEN MACKEY LEAVES

-THEIR VOCALS x2

-THE EFFECTS BEING SURPRISINGLY GOOD

-THE SCENE WHERE CHRIS PERFORMS WITH THE PHANTOM’S VOICE

-GAY. but also PHENOMENAL

-THE UNMASK PERFORMANCE

-I liked that they didn’t just leave it and decided to use it for a conclusion/bows

-the fact that it’s ACAPELLA

-CRIED

-thank you for coming to my TED talk

As for Magician’s Pure Love, I honestly loved it from the moment I read it. It reminds me of the ballet Copelia, but less dark. I also love the event story because, and I know some people disagree, it is peak Masumi. This is the closest we’ve gotten to the Secret Good Masumi That Lives in my Head. And I love it. Not even that, the play’s plot is a lot of fun and had me guessing over and over again. Also Koma is there<3

Augh that was a lot but hehe thank you for the ask<333

[arlecchno]

lmao the blonde parts are supposed to be teal but i havent had a chance to redye them in foreverr … also yes ! my xiao jacket ! its not the only one out there though LOL

the wall youre seeing is actually my best friend roofs long lost sibling , wall /j

BEFORE 6 !? i could never i always go to bed at like 12am …. im so sleep deprived on school days lol

ME AND THAT FRIEND DID SO MANY SILLY THINGS IN OUR MATH/STEM CLASS LMAO we used to play genshin wish sim (im very young T_T) and say weird things to summon characters (i told the computer id help make kaeya dilucs brother again to get diluc , and BOTH OF THEM CAME HOME IN THE SAME PULL) tbh ive always complained ab stairs so ,,, i cant even take the stairs in my building anymore bc i live on the 9th floor itd take way too long 😭

we have a lot of the same top 5s , kaeya , diluc , and scara share #1 because … yes . my favorite gal is fischl i love her sm -

i have 11 5*s (not including aloy) , and im currently pulling for sir acting grand scribe himself ! im at around late 30 pity , if he does / doesnt come home i will make self ship art because i dont think he would like that >:)

GOOD TO KNOW ITS GOING WELL im actually making notes for a fic i wanna write on call w my previously mentioned friend roof LOL ive had the idea ever since the nilotpala cup event , i really wanted to make like an actual fic based off of it bc that girl from the yae publishing house was supposed to or wtv HAHAH but im procrastinating on a title so im just . UGH - yk ?

i did have a good day both the day you replied and today ! i am injured but its not bad (only hurts when i move certain ways) , i went on a field trip for school today and got to go in a ✨stream✨ and pick up a little crawfish >:D i hope youre doing good as well !! its so nice talking to you lmao youre so cool

i might start sending doodles every ask , so heres a sketch of my genshin oc !!

my “question” issss guess what region theyre from ! or who they live with LOL the hint is that there are already playables from their region , and there are technically two regions theyre from ?? you can guess just one though ill give you the answer next ask :P

- jellyfish

i think it's because i'm already used to waking up early... even tho i'm a very sleep deprived student that sleeps at 12-1 and wakes up at 5 😔 i'm fairly a light sleeper so no matter what time i sleep, whenever my alarm goes off i'm always up by the second 🥲

and LMAOO i've played a ton of those wish sims to prevent myself from rolling whenever i'm saving up for a character, it works wonders

i didn't really expect you to like fischl!!! i like using her in events where we have her as a trial character lol using oz in her burst and flying around is so silly but i always have fun with it!

seems like we're both on the run for alhaitham :D currently have 72 pity and he still has yet to arrive... i do not have a guarantee whatsoever so the next time i pull i'm gonna be praying for him to come home 😔 i've already explored most of the new area for him

and that fic idea sounds interesting! i briefly forgot about that event so when you mentioned it i'm suddenly reminded of how fun playing with the fungi was!! hope you'll find many inspiration for your supposed title, and who knows, next thing you know you're hitting the post button for your fic 🤭

hope you're healing well from your injury also!! have lots of rest and don't overexert yourself too much, resting is very important hehe

it's nice to know that you went on a field trip :O i haven't been to one in a while so hearing it from you reminded me how fun it always is to go on one and escape school (tbf i think we can agree at least half of the students that volunteer on field trips only do it to skip classes LMAO #guilty)

i think if i had to guess, it's a mix between mondstadt and sumeru, maybe? i'm either really wrong or really right since my basic skills of knowledge on each regions' outfits are very minimal 😵‍💫

a question for you; how was your week? tell me all about it!! hehe i honestly like hearing people talk about their day and week because it's undeniably so interesting to know what others have been up to and how different some people's lives can be from ours! hope i'm not rambling too much... i just really like listening to people talk and talk about their life

[the-firebird69]

Duffman (every scene on the The Simpsons)

and he wants to introduce this beer...and you can bring them into crustys once we build them.  and with id.  and yes only Duff.  and he wishes to make the sode type box where you pull off the end of it only thetop part, and yui have a free dispensor and we love it need it will make it.  we do it.  the can too colors of the uniform not bown.  brown sucks.  and we do that too. this rules. we make the brew lol ahah need to

Thor Freya

we see it no we wont. well ok. we shall and use it on them now. need to.  we need small kegs..he will look. amll but not teeny.  

this will be our standard Duff growler and one larger.  and yes the bottles are brown njust not the labels

we stick with the growle for htis size yet use it for one that is the size of a beer ball. no beer balls thanks.  it is about 2.5 times this size.

this is hot.  and works in a refer.  we wil use this size Thor Freya

we all said the rest thusfar Olympus

acutally this is the standard 128 oz for us and the first is small. and it is really two beers at 16oz. not huge. but good.  we probably would use the large bottle though.

He says it too the 11 ounce is not a bad idea and usually they're like 12 ounces and then you would go to a 16 ounce bottle then the 22 ounce then the 32 ounce and then a 64 ounce growler in a 128 ounce growler. So there's only a couple changes on the left the lineup would look similar and we would of course have kins so we're gonna list that for Duff

Olympus

im helping yes and to decide 

Hera 

me too

Zues good

[thirsstt]

cw: journal

got a new job and while i’m moving less than i used to, im not exerting as much energy so i can eat less. i’ve reduced my meals to a 300 call cap so far and im going to do a 200 cap after i get paid on friday. i worked out this morning a little also. i can’t do to much because i recently fell and nearly damaged my knee for good. it turned out to be a sprain and a slight tear to my lcl but nothing time and rest won’t heal which is good because i don’t know what id do if i couldn’t work out anymore. moving is hard and my knee hurts but it’s just motivating me to be better.

today:

water (so far): 32 oz by 6am.

breakfast: two pieces of toast and a TB of peanut butter

lunch plan: pbj

dinner:?

[kdipshit]

Jesus motherfucking Christ ;

I would say I’m dependant on marijuana as my emotional regulation medication, so being off it, even for a day, I have seen that it drives me absolutely insane. Am I trying to ignore that feeling? I mean I fucking guess, the feeling when I’m off weed, is so unbearable, I must be choosing to run from the feeling. I have to be, other wise why else does that same sickening, disturbing anxious feeling come up. I’m finding it hard to sit with myself during these times, I’m usually crying, which is good, but my entire body shakes, my teeth chatter, emotional feelings become more real than physical touch, my emotional feelings are stronger than my senses.

Im not sure how long its going to take myself to pull it on up sober. I feel lost, but I know where to go. For the greatest time, I know where to go. Its a troublesome journey, like wizard of oz, I just gotta feel what I feel. I have so much faith that I will be alright. I’ve been writing with the door open, if you know what I mean, raw words, raw thoughts.

My drug and alcohol councillor is so happy that I’ve started a blog, I don’t know why I need this to be out there. I guess my energy is needed whenever I am, so I find myself always on the right path. Even during the sad moments.

I’ve put aside an hour to just write, my body is telling me I need to chill, for some reason my legs have been hurting for the past 2 days making it a massive effort just to walk, it has to be a sign, so I’ve been taking a rest and kind of laying down not really feeling productive, even tho I do everything I need to do throughout the day, I still feel like I’m stuck sometimes. I kind of have to trust that I will be okay, which I have recently learned so I’m not trippin. I just get scared about bad feelings or bad energies never going away. Again it’s pointing me to the fact that it’s my attachment to the feeling that isint letting me let it go. Just let go. Fuck I wish it was that easy. I’m sure it is lmao, but I might have a few blockages in my way still. I’m not afraid I’m just a little tired and need a break.

I can see my dark shadow lingering, behind the smoky mirror, behind the doors, behind my eyes.

Sometimes I feel like im an alien and none of this works for me. Am I really human? I dunno man. I guess not, it’s just a label right? I just am. Forget about language for a minute, forget about labels, attachments, thoughts and feelings, everything is still here without it all. That’s where I am. Accepting reality for what it is can get tricky when you experience psychosis. Never the less, it’s still there, it’s always there, the present, the now, it’s all that’s there.

Some days I’m just meant to be doing nothing but healing myself, with my same thing that wrecked me. Isint it ironic, of course if your brain can make u suicilly it can do the opposite. Just have to teach yourself.

Boredom is such a strong emotion, it’s stronger than most anyways, I can’t really be in my body when I’m bored, I don’t like the feeling, maybe boredom is a trigger lol. I guess I don’t like it bc I think I don’t, lol.