#maybe I'll clean this up and render it later

[dashing-through-ecto]

A doodle of rockabilly Jazz because I saw a cute dress.

[dr-friendship]

So I tried to draw Springtrap from memory on my tiny Tuxedo Sam Sanrio notepad while sitting in the passenger seat of a car--

And I liked the little doodle so much I decided to render it out on Krita. (At least for a few hours but then I remembered how many tiny details Springtrap's design has and kinda just gave up-- XD )

Anyways here's a (mildly scuffed) stinky rabbit I'm gonna go to bed.

[redslug]

Helping Neuroslug help me

Admittedly it took me an embarrassing amount of time to figure out and start using inpainting, but now that I've had a taste of it my head is spinning with possibilities. And so I'm making this post to show the process and maybe encourage more artists to try their hand at generating stuff. It really can can be an amazing teammate when you know how to apply it. For those who didn't see my first post on this, I've trained an AI on my artworks, because base Stable Diffusion doesn't understand what anthropomorphic insects are. That out of the way, here we go:

I noticed that a primarily character focused LoRA often botches backgrounds (probably because few images of the dataset have them) so I went with generating a background separately and roughly blocking out a character over it in Procreate. Since it was a first experiment I got really generous with proper shading and even textures. Unsurprisingly, SD did it's job quite well without much struggle.

Basically masked out separate parts such as fluff, skirt, watering can, etc. and changed the prompt to focus on that specific object to add detail. There were some bloopers too. She's projecting her inner spider.

Of course it ate the hands. Not inpainting those, it's the one thing I'll render correctly faster than the AI does. Some manual touchups to finish it off and voila:

The detail that would have taken me hours is done in 10-20 minutes of iterating through various generations. And nothing significant got lost in translation from the block out, much recommend. But that was easy mode, my rough sketch could be passed off as finished on one of my lazier days, not hard to complete something like that. Lets' try rough rough.

I got way fewer chuckles out of this than I expected, it took only 4-5 iterations for the bot to offer me something close to the sketch.

>:C It ate the belly. I demand the belly back. Scribble it in...

Much better. Can do that with any bit actually, very nice for iterating a character design.

Opal eyes maybe?

Lol

Okay, no, it's kind of unsettling. Back to red ones. Now, let's give her thigh highs because why not?

It should be fancier. Give me a lace trim.

Now we're talking. Since we've started playing dress-up anyway, why not try a dress too. Please don't render my scribble like a trash bag. I know you want to.

Phew

I crave more details.

Cute. Perhaps I'll clean it up later. ... .. . SHRIMP DRESS

[luxuki-1]

Like I said I would, I'm going to go through the details I hid in my recent FNAF painting. Not because anyone asked, but because I want to and I'm proud of everything put in

1. Michael's design is my own! I've pretty much had the same concept for the design since SB came out. I just really liked the idea of having part of his jaw missing for no particular reason other than it looks cool. But, I have since moved the jaw gap to the other side, as well as defining scars and wrinkles.

2. I've already posted Golden Freddy but here he is again. I redrew the original poster since I really didn't feel like I just should just slap the original on there. Since I had that freedom now, I decided to make references in the design to later games since it is appearing as a hallucination(?) to Michael. Obviously there are blood stains around the mouth to reference The Bite of '83 and I also added tear stains to reference Evan/CC, said victim of the bite.

3. The classic "Celebrate!" poster. The same thing with Golden Freddy, I didn't feel like I should copy and paste the original so I drew it myself, but this time I only drew the bottom half of the crew since you'd only see that part anyway. Maybe one day I'll fully recreate the poster but for now, this is it lol (You may also notice that I gave each of them different leg shapes, to make them more distinguished from each other other than just colour)

4. And again, didn't want to just copy and paste, so I re-typed all of the newspaper clippings myself in Canva. They say pretty much the same thing as the originals, but I'll still put them here anyway in case anyone wants to take a look:

5. I also recreated the children's drawings myself. Fun fact: I actually used my NON-dominant hand to draw most the basic shapes. I figured that if I drew with my dominant hand, the lines might look too clean, showing my obvious years experience. It's silly but I really wanted it to look and feel like a child drew it

6. It ends up being pretty much invisible in the final painting, but on the floor you can see old confetti and blood stains on the tiles

7. If it wasn't obvious; cup from the Security office is here too

8. Now it should it obvious by now that I chose to not draw the security office. Why you ask? I'm still new to drawing more detailed backgrounds, and I really didn't feel like drawing the office in the moment lol so I opted for the hallway, and I think it still looks pretty good with what I was going for

9. As a bonus, here's the original sketch I planned out. As you can see, I was originally planning to have more posters, some featuring the missing children. But in the end, I decided to scrap it and leave room for the wall to be more detailed since I thought it looked bare. Also, if you look closely, you can see a faint plan for a shadow over Mike. I was originally planning to put a shadow of Freddy there, but when I really started finishing up the shading, I realised that the extra shadow would be too much for an already dimly lit scene

And that's pretty much everything! I had so much fun doing all the little details and references, even though it did end up being more time consuming lol. I also tried out a bunch of different rendering techniques and I think they really helped pulled everything together. I'm definitely going to try my hand and making more paintings like this in the future ^^

If interested in seeing the full process, here's a link to the speed-paint:

[ashwii]

What’s your render process? It’s so pretty ^.^

Hehe thank you!!!

I'll use an out-of-context Night drawing to share the process XD

So first I'll make my sketch, line art, and then my flat colors. A lot of the time, I'll add in some gradients and subtle glow at this stage just to add in some more color variation for when rendering comes around. I also dont draw in all the details yet — like the string that'll be around his brooch later or his face marks. Whatever I feel like will get in the way of the painting process and will be easier to add in later, i leave out for now.

Now the ✨️ugly portion.✨️ For the lighting and shading, I use a paint brush. For the shadows, I'll usually pick them from the wheel myself, rather than using a Multiply layer. Then, for the lights, I'll almost always use a nice bright orange color on a Luminosity layer (note that this is on Paint Tool Sai — the equivalent to Luminosity is an Add layer on most other programs) and slap those on where I think the lights go.

Shit's really messy at this point djejejwj but that doesn't matter toooo much. 80% of the drawing comes from the next step, the painting. It doesn't matter much if ur lights and shadows are messy rn cause it's gonna get all cleaned up anyway aha.

And now we're onto the painting, and this is the point where we merge everything down into one layer and start going ham :0. Usually, what I do is I take Paint Tool Sai's Water brush + Marker brush and start blending out all the colors and cleaning everything up. I color pick whatever part of the drawing I wanna clean up, then I'll blend it out and define the shapes until i feel satisfied with how it looks :DD this part of the drawing took around 2 to 3 hours maybe? Like I said, this is most of the drawing process aha

AND NOW THE BEST BIT, THE COLOR CORRECTION AND FINAL DETAILS !! This is where I make the glowy bits REALLY glow, and make the colors look a little more cohesive :0. Also, I up the contrast more, make them darks look darker and them lights look lighter >:D

And that's pretty much it, I think 🤔🤔 if there's anything anyone would like me to go into more detail with, I'm more than happy to answer :0 I like playing art teacher hehehehehe ❤️❤️✨️✨️

[izloveshorses]

we're almost to the halfway mark, so i thought i'd share another progress update on this little (big) project!! (previous update)

i've almost finished drawing half of all the assets (according to my spreadsheet) and then we can start assembling them into a "book." the bulk of the assets are characters/costumes, but i've also completed several props and started working on some backgrounds as well. I need to decide how the book will be laid out before i make much more progress on those, though. i've been trying to hold off on finishing the principal cast because i think saving them for ~dessert~ will keep me motivated to power through the rest, but i'm so anxious to get to them because i want to play with them in photoshop and put them on their associated backgrounds like little paper dolls 🙈 so that's why ballet tuxedo!dmitry doesn't exist yet, and why i've yet to color the rest of anya's act ii wardrobe.

anyway. progress in my workflow is hardly ever linear, but you can kind of see how i approach the rendering process from these images, i hope. the drawing carries the weight of the image so that step always takes the longest, since getting the likeness, the proportions, the folds, and the expressions right is the most important. if any of that looks off no skillful painting or rendering can save it.

and then i always color skin first because everything else (clothes, hair) goes on top of skin. you can see the color palette i'm using is the same for almost all of them, though act ii requires a few more saturated hues than act i (bright blue, some reds, and green every once in a while). coloring the rest in doesn't usually take very long. once the flats are down i go in for a final pass, laying down those patterns and textures that always give me a hard time lol. and then i clean up and recolor the line work and mark it as done! since i'm working digital i use alpha lock and clipping masks for that.

director's cut commentary of each image included (under the cut bc this post is already so long):

anya's act ii lineup. her phtk outfit is the only one i've marked complete (the linework on the others is still black and need just a few more touchups). I've yet to lay in the flats for the maroon travel coat because i think the drawing needs more work. i might change a few things on big red, maybe her expression, but i haven't decided yet.

dmitry's act ii lineup (sans tuxedo). he just needs a final pass on the first two on the left, and then his finale look is finished, because it's the same from act i :)

vlad's act ii lineup. he's almost done, just needs a final pass on the finale and phtk outfits.

lily's act ii lineup. i'm going to redo the pattern on her neva club dress (linda cho i love u but god) but otherwise she's all finished.

the dowager's act ii lineup. she's done! :) maybe i'll find something to pick at later but rn i'm marking her done lol.

petersburg citizens from rumor! i think these guys are all done. there are more people i could include, but there isn't enough variation on the costumes to make it worth it imo.

neva club patrons. the only two marked complete are the two on the left, sergei the doorman/the male server and count leopold. i still need to find a good reference for the female server lol.

the press! just the men for now lol. i used the obc program as a reference for this one, so i'll get the two ladies in soon :)

the hussies! i've marked it complete, but. we'll see if there's more adjustments i can make.

there's still more i've completed that's not pictured, but i'll definitely share more soon. act i is nearly finished entirely, which is cool, and the only big ensemble sheet i've yet to make much progress on is everyone in phtk. i may end up just drawing one or two people from that and then copying them with different patterns because, honestly, the shape of the dresses and suits are all very similar. hopefully that won't be boring to look at lol.

if there's anything in particular you'd like to see/have any questions, or even suggestions, lmk!! and follow my 'anastasia illustrated guide' tag for more updates :)

[silvergolddraco28]

He’s Mine- Roleplay with @sanityisinthemusic

Chapter 4 Shade Heart; Life Blood

Warning mentions of blood and prevention of healing wounds!

Macaque appeared in another room, the child still cuddled into his arms. "Okay Xiaotian, let's get you tucked in," he purred. He used his tail to push the blankets on the low bed back. 'No point in a crib when dealing with a little monkey. Just means he'd be falling from even higher when he climbed the bars.' You be a good boy for Baba and take your nap okay? No trying to sneak out of bed. If you want something, you call for Baba."

He leaned forward and placed his son down on the bed, tucking him in. "Now that you're quiet, maybe the wind will tell you more things as you fall asleep."

"More stories?" Xiaotian cooed sleepily, looking up at his baba as he snuggled into his bed.

"Maybe the wind will let you know about more fun stories you can ask me about later." He patted his head as he watched his child smile and giggle before snuggling further into his bed. He wished his child a good nap before he slipped from the room. He walked to the kitchen, letting the bowl full of fruit pits appear on the counter for him to empty and clean.

A muffled noise came from Wukong’s room before it went silent followed by a clatter of a chain hitting the ground. Macaque froze, brows furrowing as he tilted his head, ears fanning out as he listened. 'Wukong shouldn't have been able to...' He dropped into a shadow portal, appearing in the shadows in the darkest corner of the room to see what it was his mate was up to. His fur bristled as he saw the shackle sitting harmlessly on the ground.

The shadows in the room condensed, shifting and reaching toward the king as he appeared behind him, wrapping one arm tightly around his waist and the other hand coming up around his throat, gripping around the collar that marked the king as his. "Oh dear, it seems that I overestimated the shape you were in, didn't I?" He murmured in his ear, tail lashing behind him. "Up and so active for someone in your condition." His grip tightened around the other's throat, making it harder for him to breathe. "I really should have gotten a shorter chain, huh?"

Laying on the ground was a simple piece of paper with a runic circle drawn in golden blood that softly glowed with power from the very earth instead of Wukong’s power. “I never was… one to sit… still very long…” Wukong replied instinctually trying to pull Macaque’s hand away from his throat to properly breathe.

Mihou's claws dug into his neck, nearly enough to make him bleed. "And here I was trying to be good to my mate." Wukong's pathetic attempts to free himself did him no good. maybe against a mortal, he'd still be strong enough to resist, but not Mihou. "And you just had to go and disappoint me. Bad call Gem." Shadows condensed around them. Uncaring for any pain that might be caused to his left leg and many other wounds. He dragged the king to the bed, throwing him onto it. Immediately the shadows wrapped around the king, roughly turning him before binding his legs and feet to the corners of the bed. "I suppose I'll have to teach you why you should behave, won't I?" He said, his tone strangely calm as he reached down, undoing the belt holding the robe together, letting it fall open.

Wukong bit back a cry from the pain flaring up from his healing wounds going as far as biting the inside of his cheek just to keep silent while his tail coiled protectively between his legs unsure what it was Macaque was planning now that Wukong had been rendered immobile.

Macaque began to undo the bandages he had been so meticulous to wrap around his injuries, eyeing them. Some of the smallest ones had started to close properly, but there were still some in bad shape. And the bullet holes had a ways to go before they fully healed. "I didn't want to do this you know. If you'd just behaved, I wouldn't need to punish you." He tossed the bandages to the ground, letting them be swallowed by a shadow portal. "But I guess you never were good at behaving." He ran his claws over one of the wounds.

Wukong choked back a scream as the healing wound was torn open staining Macaque’s claws a bright gold. The blood-covered claws easily cut much deeper than intended, drawing out a scream of pain from the golden monkey while hot golden tears leaked from Wukong’s red and gold eyes.

"Wow, I think even your flesh might be more delicate. The great stone monkey's pelt is fragile now." He noted, frowning slightly at the scream he hadn't been prepared for as his ears pinned back. "I forgot how loud you are though. I'm glad I placed such strong seals around Xiaotian's room after seeing those ears. That scream could wake the dead." He lightened the pressure so his nails only just cut into the skin of his side as he left a bloody trail down the side of his abdomen toward the next wound. "Maybe I should just make it so you can't walk for a while, hmm? Then you can't try to do anything stupid again and I won't have to do this."

Wukong couldn't respond as his hips were forced to twist exposing his back and lower spine as those blood-coated claws lightly grazed the skin under the fur. “…Dont…” Wukong softly pleaded to the dark monkey.

Macaque's ears twitched and he smirked, tail flicking behind him. "And why shouldn't I? You were the one who tried to run away from me. It's not like you won't heal. It might just take a while." He dragged those clawed hands down to the golden fur of his right leg and buried his claws in as he bent the leg until he heard the specific sound of snapping bone.

Wukong screamed spots in his vision while feeling something snap. ‘He… he snapped the bone of my leg…’ Wukong realized as the pain spiked and he passed out from the pain.

"His pain tolerance is lower than I thought. I'm going to need to be more careful," he mused, pulling his bloodied hands from soft flesh. He stood for a moment, before stepping into the attached bathroom, washing his hands. Summoning a bowl from the kitchen and a lot more bandages, as well as materials for another splint, he filled the bowl with clean water and grabbed a rag, going back to the room to tenderly clean and bandage his foolish mate, as well as change the bed sheets and the ruined robe to a similar robe in dark purple. He even opened the window to let some fresh air in, and the heavy smell of blood out.

A single drop of the golden blood had managed to drip right to the floor and began to spread an essence of Life in the form of a rapidly growing plum tree with gold-tinted fruit.

The wind began to whisper to the black monkey with information from the past.

”What do you mean I'm now a Life God Nuwa!?"

"Your blood is not that of a typical demon, mortal, nor celestial. When you had been extracted from all those impurities that process also caused a change in your very blood and your core.” a warm motherly voice spoke in a calm tone.

“But I'm just destruction! You've seen what I do! I've destroyed countless lives!”

“And yet you left enough for them to grow back stronger and encourage life."

Macaque spun, staring wide-eyed at the tree as the wind whispered its secrets to him. "Life God?" Had his blood just blossomed into a whole tree? What had happened to Wukong after the journey? He frowned as he thought more about the message before his tail lashed in annoyance. "Right, because Wukong left me so much room to grow when he murdered me. Guess I was the fertilizer, huh?" He asked nobody as he walked over to the tree, staring up at the golden fruit hanging from it. He'd need to get rid of this tree, but what was going on with the fruit? He bent his legs and lept up for the fruit, covering the distance with ease. Upon landing, he studied the fruit for a moment. 'If he's a life god, this fruit is probably safe to eat.' He sniffed it once, before taking a small bite, ready to spit it out if it tasted poisonous.

”Gah! What the hell?!” a familiar voice cursed with a background of monkeys. “Your kidding me… just a damn drop creates an immortal fruit tree!?! Heaven can't find out about this! Bad enough my blood is eight times more potent than an immortal elixir. Now I have to be careful about getting cuts unless I want to end up sprouting peach plum and pear trees everywhere!” the frustrated voice ranted. A ruling of a branch followed by the sound of someone eating a fruit. “A lot sweeter than heaven’s peaches… and they grant immortality… okay keep the gold-tinted fruit away from any of the babies until they are old enough to decide if they want one."

The fruit was so sweet. Sweeter than he'd ever had before. He looked down at the golden pear, then up at the tree in front of him. This... this was an immortal fruit tree then. Wukong's blood produced these. And his blood was a powerful immortal elixir. If this was known by the outside world, Wukong might not have managed to escape his current fate for nearly as long, and certainly would not have been his mate. Not that he wouldn't have just killed whoever had managed to force Wukong to be his mate, because they had no right to touch his King. Still, it would have caused him a lot more trouble. He quickly ate the fruit he'd grabbed, silently mourning the golden ichor that had been so thoughtlessly tossed away or washed down the drain. He looked at the tree again, and then sighed, carefully picking his lovely mate up to carry him to another room to rest of his punishment. He wasn't in any rush to relock him to his shackle right away, he wouldn't be going anywhere any time soon, nor was he likely to wake up. He would need a bit more time to figure out what to do with the tree.

”I'm sealing away the Stone Palace under a New Moon Seal. The only one that could open it once it's erected has passed away and if I try to open it I'd end up unconscious for several centuries. I will still live here on the guard house to at least protect the Stone Palace."

He let the seals fall away from his ears to hear the wind better as he walked. 'Why would he want to lock away the stone palace though? And why even lock himself out of it? What happened there to make him lock it away?' He had to wonder about that. Maybe he should pay a visit to the palace shortly?

”Why didn't I just listen to you?!” Wukong’s voice cried sounding to be tucking into a bed of some sort. “Why! Why didn't I just come home when you asked Mihou?! You were right! It was all for nothing! What kind of King lets himself become a puppet?!?” several soft things were thrown about before the sobs started up. “I… I can't live here without you Moon… it… it hurts too much to be in our nest… and not smell your scent anymore… A new moon seal will be perfect... Once your soul is reincarnated the seal will break and maybe… maybe then… we can have a proper life and family like we always wanted…”

He paused ar that, his steps faltering at the surprise. After a moment, he whispered, "Thank you, old friend. That was very insightful." He truly did appreciate his connection to the wind, particularly in moments like this. He looked down at his precious king, sleeping in his arms, something tightening in his chest that almost felt like the love he'd had for the King. Something he could easily convince himself it was, despite the dark mixture of possessiveness and protectiveness tainting something that was once so pure. He lowered his head, pressing a kiss to the forehead of his precious mate. "Don't worry Wukong. You'll get the rest of your wish. I'll get to work on that, promise," he whispered against his forehead. He smiled, plans already falling into place in his head as he carried Wukong to his very temporary room. He had much work to do, and he wanted to get it done as quickly as possible.

[sims3fiend]

Sims 3 Error 12 "fixes"

Been looking at the infamous error 12 today while playing bald gate and have made a lil bit of progress that I think I should put somewhere, mostly so I don't forget. (AKA just use dxvk for smoother gameplay AND less crashes!)

While none of this is really a complete fix, I think it's a step in the right direction and someone smarter than me might be able to skip a couple steps on their path as a result.

The issue: Sims 3 is a 32 bit game and has a hard limit of 4gb RAM. I have no idea what happens if it hits that limit because I don't have a save bloated enough (yet), but I'm guessing it'd crash. The base game on an extremely bloated save (for me) sits around 2600mb-3100. For whatever reason, saving the game causes a spike in RAM usage ranging from 50 - 400mb+, which if you're lucky will error 12 you, and if you're unlucky will crash you, throwing your last hour+ of gameplay into the bin.

In general, if you're around 3200mb usage, you should've saved 10 minutes ago.

A couple "fixes": Part of the issue is that the game seems to load certain objects/textures into RAM, with VRAM being capped at around 840~mb on a good day, and (maybe?) contributing to the overall limit. Easy way to fix this seems to be using DXVK, which, for me at least, removed the RAM bump when objects are loaded. 0 lots detail loaded? 2700mb, 13? 2700mb. I might write a proper installation guide for it, but for now there's a bit in my general performance tweaks post, along with my config. Another fix is, of course, the tried and true, quit your game every hour, clean your save, pray to god thing, but at certain family/save sizes it does seem like you're just kind of circling the drain. I would recommend if you are playing a 300 person household who own the entire town, dropping ObjectSizeCullFactor down in your graphics.sgr file (also in my tweaks). It's personal preference but 20~ should be mostly unnoticeable while greaaattly helping the initial bloating. I've noticed around a 250mb~ drop from the default settings, but that could just be luck. The rest of my settings don't(and shouldn't) have any impact as far as I can tell, but I'll look more later. Another thing that might help if you're already getting the error and desperately need to save, is unloading lots. There's probably a cooler way of doing this, and there's potential for a mod, but try flying your camera into a far corner, entering the map mode, pressing tab and looking up into the sky/towards nothingness before saving. This gets me around 150-200mb

Setting max detail lots to 0 also helps, but isn't exactly doable for most people (lowest is 1 in game). TS3W.exe+86C647 writes to the value if you're feeling zesty. There's other addresses that could potentially help but ¯\_(ツ)_/¯. Ideally this would be automatically set when saving, or even more ideally, we could just call a purge/reinitialize every so often. I'm pretty sure the game can reclaim memory, I've seen it happen, I just have no idea what triggered it.

Other basic render-based settings seem to have no impact on RAM/VRAM, which is in line with my sgr stutter findings about clipping distance and fog. Still need to test more tho.

Anywhoo that's all for now. I'll probably keep at it tomorrow, I'd like to see what exactly is causing the bloating and if it's vram based or ram, I feel like it's something really silly that should be easy to fix, but we'll find out

[sailxrmxrs]

took a little break from writing to recharge the brain but expect some fun christmas content now that december is upon us. before the fesitivities begin, however, let's give alexei a little moment to shine bc i haven't actually written a solo fic for him yet. today we change that. now everyone's beloved science boy is for SURE the type to overwork himself and not realise until he gets sick so who else should take care of him other than mc <3 also bc a sleepy alexei is adorable. enjoy the alexei softness gamers! also maybe opening requests again for some inspo hehe. fantasy rory coming to a tumblr near u too soon <3

Being roommates with Alexei meant a lot of late nights after work, sharing food you'd ordered in because neither of you had the energy to cook. A pleasant routine had settled and you couldn't really fathom a time before this close friendship with Alexei. However, something that set you both apart was the ability to relax. Where you valued your time at home away from work, letting your brain rest and indulge in comforts and hobbies, Alexei did not. Even when the two of you would watch a new show together, or go out for food, Alexei was always thinking about work. If he could, he'd stay in the lab working long into the night, only stopping when you physically dragged him away from his current projects. His late nights combined with his early morning starts meant it was inevitable he'd get sick. Despite his determination to prove otherwise, Alexei was only human. And that meant his repeated late nights would soon catch up on him and render him useless to his own immune system.

It only took a few more days for Alexei's inevitable fate to strike. You were cleaning up the kitchen from your breakfast, the tv providing background noise, when you heard Alexei's door open. Dark circles ringed his eyes as he slowly trudged out of his room, a blanket wrapped around him and his cheeks flushed feverishly.

"Uh oh. Someone's sick," you observed, taking a bite of toast as you watched him collapse on the sofa. "Told you to rest more."

Alexei answered with a groan, his energy levels too low to offer any sort of intelligent response. He burrowed deeper into the cushions, tugging the blanket around his shoulders for extra warmth. Despite it being a result of his own blindsided eagerness to work, you couldn't help but feel sorry for him. Alexei was usually a bright little ray of sunshine in the mornings so to see him look so defeated made your heart sink. Luckily for Alexei, today was a day off for you. Initially, you'd planned to spend it running a couple necessary errands before hibernating away in cosy clothes in your room but some adjustments could be made for Alexei.

"Instead of moping over there, you should get yourself back into bed. Can you manage any food right now or do you just want to sleep it off?"

Alexei contemplated his options for a moment before he begrudgingly pulled himself up off the sofa. "Sleep. Food later."

"Got it. Still, you should drink some fluids first. I'll grab you some water and a spare blanket from my room." By the time you'd gotten Alexei a glass of water and retrieved the blanket in question, he was already fast asleep. His body was so exhausted that he'd collapsed before even getting himself fully into bed. You left the glass on his bedside table, pulling the covers and blankets over him so that he would stay nice and warm as his body caught up on all the sleep it had missed. You pulled the curtains taut and quietly closed the door as you left. Judging from the gentle snores coming from Alexei, he wouldn't be waking up anytime before noon which meant you had a couple hours to run out for some ingredients to make him the perfect comfort meal. It wasn't often that you got to cook for Alexei so you weren't intending on letting this opportunity slip you by. Especially because you knew that in a few hours once Alexei was fully rested, he'd be aching to get up and go about his day like normal despite the strain on his body. Getting him to relax might just be the hardest task you've ever set to accomplish.

Once you'd returned home and got to work on Alexei's food, the real work begun. As you'd suspected, the moment Alexei woke up he made the executive decision to get out of bed again and join you in the kitchen, claiming to be all better now. Of course, this wasn't true in the slighest but there was little you could do for the moment so you let him sit and watch you finish preparing the ingredients.

"As soon as this is all in the pot simmering away I'm putting you back into bed, you know that, right?"

"I already slept I'm fine. Besides I have a report to finish for Monday," Alexei complained as he reluctantly drank sips of water while you glared directly at him.

"Were my ears deceiving me or are you seriously talking about work when you are sick. From overworking and not sleeping. Alexei Demidov I swear you are going to be the death of me." You halted your actions, a half-chopped carrot under your hands momentarily abandoned while you scolded Alexei.

"I'm not sick or overworked. I was just a little tired. Which I'm not anymore."

"Sure. Is that why when I checked your temperature earlier you had a fever? Because you are in perfect health? And don't even get me started on the overworking. I've never met someone more willing to work overtime."

Alexei puffed his cheeks in defeat, knowing that as a scientist himself he couldn't refute the evidence of his high temperature. "Enjoying your job is hardly a crime."

"True, but you can always have too much of a good thing. Perhaps this is the ideal experiment into why rest and relaxation is vital to one's physical wellbeing."

"Perhaps." Alexei sipped at his water, watching as you went about the kitchen clearing up the utensils you no longer needed now that everything was cooking. He quietly observed, only responding with little nods and short answers to your questions about the food. Having food prepared specially for him was a new feeling for Alexei, and it was one he rather enjoyed. He liked the closeness of seeing the process but found the gesture of you going to such lengths to look after him even more comforting. Even if he didn't believe he needed such treatment, he would have been lying if he said he hated it. To be doted on like this was incredibly rare so maybe it wouldn't be so bad to let you continue treating him like this? After all, he did have a slight fever—even if he didn't feel ill himself.

By the time his food had finished cooking, you were already ushering Alexei to either get back into his bed with the pillows propped up or onto the sofa where you'd drag his duvet and blankets. He opted for the sofa as he clutched the warm bowl in his hands and took a first bite. His eyes closed in satisfaction, the heat spreading through every inch of his body.

"You better not get any ideas of working even more because you won't be getting this sort of treatment next time," you commented, tossing the bundle of blankets beside Alexei so as not to spill any of his food. "Special treatment only for people who deserve it."

Alexei took another bite before answering. "You really think I'd do that?"

"Hm, maybe not on purpose, but yes. Anything for some more of my cooking," you teased, falling back onto the other end of the sofa, tucking your feet under one of the blankets.

"Never knew you could cook this good. I might need a lesson or two from you."

You'd gotten yourself a bowl of food to enjoy with Alexei, knowing the comfort meal was exactly what you needed after a long week of work. "Don't get excited, this is one of very few recipes I've mastered. Mostly because I made it all the time as a student when it got cold."

"Still, I appreciate it. Thank you." Alexei smiled, his cheeks still flushed with fever, but looking a lot more rejuvenated than they had been earlier in the morning. After he finished eating, Alexei got himself comfortable under the covers again, swearing he wasn't about to fall asleep. He was just getting cosy. Until you looked over ten minutes later and saw that same sleep-induced calmness cover his features. His lips were curled in the slightest of smiles and his hair tumbled over his eyes. A bemused grin covered your features as you rose from your seat to check up on him. His temperature had almost returned to normal but there was no need to disturb him now. So instead, you brushed the hair from his forehead, leaving a soft kiss in your wake before leaving him to sleep the rest of his fever away. But before you could go, a hand reached for your arm and weakly tugged. Alexei was still mostly asleep, the last remnants of his consciousness encouraging you to join him. What kind of person would you be to refuse such a sweet request? So you managed to balance yourself beside him, the blankets sufficently covering you both before sleep called out and lulled you into its grasp.

[nathank77]

4/29/24

6:25 a.m

I had heart palpitations and was having shortness of breath after my shower at like 4:50 a.m.

The stupid hallucination said Kristen a few times and It bothers me bc I'm traumatized and I know I have to act but like it's time consuming. Either way I'll see what Erin says later today and just do it from there regardless. It's been a month.

I shaved my mustache and face cause I feel dirty af. And I just can't deal with it. I did it after the shower. My face is a little mad but not really.

I'm really lonely still. I cleaned my wire mess and got it all organized but it took a lot and triggered me to shower bc I believe a mouse was back there like 6 months ago... anyways, it looks good.

I finished my bully video but it took hours to piece together. I'm posting it tomorrow even though it's pointless.

Dating sites are going awfully. I'm cute idk whats wrong with people. I got to go do community service or meet ups soon.

Im worried the Xanax won't knock me out but I'll turn to Benadryl and hydroxyzine worse case.

Idk. I just hope Erin stays in private practice. I'll find out later today.

Either way I'm glad i had a game weekend I needed it. I'm hoping I can dedicate more time to it. I realize that my bully save file is missing something I can't ever get back so I have to redo the whole 100% playthrough.

I still got to troubleshoot shit to get my cloud saves... I reset both my Xbox ones s systems tonight after beating bully. And I'll try whatever I can on my series x... maybe it'll work... if not then that fucking sucks but I shouldn't have to play on old beat up systems with rendering issues.. maybe part of the issue is I was signed on, on three systems in Total.... now it's just one..

Anyways I hope I sleep well and I hope I can make time for gaming, community service, meet ups, and dating...

I'm going to set up a MacBook appt asap but Kristen is a priority.

I hope I don't have palpitations when I close my eyes.

[keefwho]

September 29 - 2023 Friday

6:31pm

I'm doing this funny little thing I do, and used to do to a much greater extent. My tummy is a little bit upsetti tonight but not a lot, something I'd consider normal even. But sometimes I'm susceptible to thinking about worst case scenarios. In this case I don't even know what that is. I know I can't be sick. It's almost impossible that it's food poisoning. So I don't know what I'm afraid of. Feeling bad I guess? Also I'm worried this headspace will carry over to tomorrow when it will really matter since I'm getting my groceries. I told myself I have to go no matter what and thats what I intend to do. I know there is nothing to be afraid of. My "fears" are always unrealistic and obscure. Tomorrow I intent to keep that in mind when I gotta go to town. It's only a 3.5 hour trip, not actually a long time. As shown last time, I can easily go that amount of time without having to use the bathroom which is something I'm nervous about. Only because I really don't want to use a public restroom unless its just to pee maybe.

I know tomorrow I'll be okay. My brain tricks me into thinking that suffering will last forever or will always get worse. I need to remember that I'm being lied to.

11:47pm

Today was okay, I was worried I wouldn't stay on task like the past couple of days but planning exactly what I was going to do in the morning paid off. Breakfast was a bologna sandwich with baked beans. I also woke up to a pretty decent scan of my room that rendered overnight so that's good, still tidying it up though. The stream went okay, I got pretty frustrated at both the YCH I had to do and my friend who is always correcting me on basically everything. It's something I've noticed for awhile and today it was bothering me. We watched the final episode of Courage which made me tear up more than I thought it would.

After stream I did a very good job cleaning. I put away my clothes, wiped down my entire kitchen area, and vacuumed. Right after I did my whole workout very diligently. Lunch was a bowl of tuna spaghetti while I watched the Fionna and Cake finale. The show in general blew my mind and gave so much grand lore that I wanted. It also left a lot open in a way that is obviously set up to explore later.

I admit I didn't do all my afternoon work but I didn't feel the need to. I did some good sketching and my friend wanted me to play Roblox with him which I also wanted to do since I knew he wouldn't be playing long. So we did that for a little bit before I left the call and was just chilling. My tummy started behaving weird around this point. I was basically waiting for Daisy to be free because I wanted to chill before VR and play my new game Tiny Atolls. She alerted me when she got in VR and then we had a nice little night of hopping places. It seems like neither of us knew what we wanted to do at first. We tried a couple Halloween mazes which were meh and tried joined off some people. My tummy hurt and I didn't quite feel the socializing mood but it got better. At around the time we were in the Namco museum I started to get in the right mood and had a lot of fun. At some point 570 joined and we hopped a couple places before getting off for the night. Daisy watched me play my new game as she went to sleep and it was cozy.

I'm not feeling so nervous about tomorrow anymore since I feel better now. I also know this can't keep being a problem, it just can't be. I have to get over it eventually to the point where it won't even be a second thought. So I'm trying not to get into a weird headspace where I overthink. Tomorrow I'm gonna wake up and shower like usual before doing a chore not much harder than any other. It has it's own benefits too like how interesting it is to see other people for once and I get nice things like a coke icee and fast food. Last time went smoothly so that gives me my hope for tomorrow. I also always have Daisy I can text if things get iffy. I'm not trapped.

I really want to get better about knowing what I want to do. I don't want to be boring, I want to be able to be the entertaining one if I have to be. The one that can find something to do when there are no other ideas. I think I usually know the kinds of things I want to do but I instinctively dismiss them.

[shi-daisy]

Black Moon Rising Pt. 2

Welcome back everyone! Here's part 2 of this lil' AU fic. It was gonna be longer but I already went pass the deadline for like 40 min. So I'll just continue it in the final prompt it the week. Hope you like!

@ulquihimeweek

Ulquihime Week- Day 6- Sacrifice/Possession

Black Moon Rising (Pt.2)

"Inoue, what have you done?!" Ichigo asked in disbelief.

"I did what I had to. Ulquiorra was going to die, and I saved him. That's all that matters."

"All that matters?! Have you looked at yourself?! You're a hollow now!"

"And so were you."

Ichigo looked hurt, but she didn't care. Back at Karakura, she had the same expression whenever they pushed her out of the fight. This time the tables were turned.

"That's not the same, and you know it."

"Is it now? Because if I recall correctly you brutalized Ulquiorra in ways far more horrifying than any of us could imagine, you tried to desecrate his body, you stabbed Ishida-kun when he stopped you, and you were about to kill me before Ulquiorra broke your mask and redirected the cero onto himself.

That's quite different from holding a conversation like we are doing now." She smiled venomously. This change seemed to be bringing out all of the negative emotions that she kept hidden for years. It was relishing.

"I went into that form to protect you! You called for help, I couldn't do anything so my hollow took over."

Orihime rolled her eyes. "Yes, yes, you're everyone's hero!" she sarcastically imitated her old self. "Spare me Ichigo, you didn't go into your hollow form to protect us, you did it because you lost, and you can't endure a loss!"

That got a rise out of the redhead, Uryu held him back. "Inoue, we all came here to save you! What happened wasn't ideal, but Kurosaki was just trying to help."

"Funny how you defend him after almost getting cut open, Ishida-kun.

I didn't ask anyone to come for me, the sole reason I came to Hueco Mundo was to protect everyone! But you couldn't understand that, could you? Inoue's the defenseless princess in the tower, so she must be rescued! We need to step into enemy territory without a plan, and fight everything in a ten-mile radius to save Inoue!

Well, that's done. We've all had our fights and your brushes with death, but I am finally safe. I won't return to Karakura, this form is now permanent, and I have no doubts that the shinigami will have me executed. The Orihime Inoue you knew is gone forever. Leave, tell the others I am dead, and don't return to Hueco Mundo. I won't ask nicely again."

Ichigo's anger was redirected at Ulquiorra. "You! You did this to Inoue!"

"I'm afraid you're mistaken Kurosaki. This transformation was the woman's choice, not mine. Unlike you, I believe she's wise enough to choose what's best for herself."

The shinigami prepared to attack him, but instead of clashing his blade with Ulquiorra's he was stopped by Orihime.

Upon transforming, she'd also gained a zanpakuto, her Rikka's powers had been transferred into it, and the shape of the hilt matched that of her hairpins.

“Don’t you dare touch him!” she growled.

“I’m not going to let darkness take you, Orihime. I’ll defeat whatever took possession of you and we’ll all go back home together.”

“You don’t get to decide for me. Not anymore.” From the moment she woke up, Orihime felt a shift taking place within her. Her body and soul had both changed, and this final disregard for her desires was the final nail in the coffin.’ All anyone ever saw me as was the damsel in distress, not even capable of choosing my own fate. Those days are now over.’

“Woman, do you require my assistance?”Ulquiorra asked her.

She smiled at him. “I shall fight alone, If it’s not too much trouble, could you please take Ishida-kun somewhere safe? I don’t intend to hold back.”

“Understood.”

She teleported both herself and Ichigo away from the scene. The shinigami looked ready to fight, but the moment she attacked he restored to blocking. Ichigo didn’t attack her.

‘The moron still thinks I can’t fight.’

Her eyes darkened, now gold over onyx, Orihime charged a cero into her sword. One strike of her blade all it took to break Ichigo’s zanpakuto.

“You’re out of weapons Kurosaki. I’ll let you go if you swear to leave me be.”

Instead of retreating Ichigo stood his ground. “I won’t leave you.I swore to bring you back home safe, and that’s what I’ll do!"

“You really can’t take a fucking hint, can you?!"

She raised her palm towards him, firing a golden cero. Ichigo tried to evade it, but without his Bankai, he was not fast enough. Ichigo kneeled, half of his body was bloody and mangled due to the blast, but he could survive those injuries.

“Last warning. Surrender or I will detach your head from your body.”

“I won’t! I won’t let Ulquiorra get away with what he did to you! I will save you even if I have to kill him again!"

Orihime would have just rendered him unconscious, had it not been for the threat he made against Ulquiorra, Orihime looked him in the eye directly, her gaze was steel and it seemed like in his final moments Ichigo finally understood she did this out of her own accord. Sadly, it was too late, A delicate strike of her blade cut through him, his eyes remained opened, full of realization, but also lifeless.

Orihime cleaned the blood off her sword with one stroke. ‘At long last, It’s over.’

***

There were many outcomes he had expected from the battle, seeing Orihime return to las Noches with the head of Kurosaki Ichigo was not one of them. Soon after arriving she had fainted and he took her to his room and had one of the medics look at her.

As predicted, Orihime woke up a day later. Her wounds were fully healed, and she was happy to see him as well. 

“What happened after the battle?” she asked.

"Lord Aizen has won. He's the new Soul King, but I'm afraid your old town has been destroyed."

She looked sad, but didn't weep. "I see."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize. This was bound to happen."

"If you feel rested enough, we were summoned to the throne room. It's urgent."

"Okay. Let's go."

The walk to the throne room was silent, yet pleasant. Orihime held his hand, and he returned the gesture. It seemed she was fond of the gesture.

Before coming into the throne room he ran into the medic that examined Orihime.

"Hello Cuarta, I see Inoue-sama is healthy." The blue haired woman extended her hand to Orihime. "Nice to meet you, my name's Jeanne Dae, I was your medic."

"Nice to meet you too, Jeanne-san. Thanks for taking care of me."

"My pleasure, I must warn you both, Lady Anna has asked for you specifically and she's slightly stressed. Best not to piss her off."

"Um, I hate to come of as ignorant but who is Anna?"

"Lord Aizen's wife. She's his second in command now and also Soul Queen. Just be polite and you'll be fine. Best of luck!"

Once the medic Arrancar left, they stepped into the throne room. He was surprised to see Halibel and her fracción there resting. Nnoitra was also there talking to Anna. She looked to be angry.

"Nnoitra, I swear, if keep pestering me I shall rip out your remaining eyeball and make you eat it!"

That made the whole room grow silent.

Orihime was slightly intimidated. Anna was six feet tall, with pale skin, black curly hair, and cold blue eyes. Those worries subsided when the woman spotted both her and Ulquiorra.

"Cuarta! You're still as handsome as ever! And you must be Orihime Inoue. I'm Anna María, it's nice to finally meet ya."

"Hello Lady Anna, it's nice to meet you too."

"I'll be quick since I'm sure you both want to rest. Now that Sosuke has finally achieved his goals we won't be returning to Las Noches. I want the both of you to rule over Hueco Mundo."

They were both surprised. Ulquiorra spoke first. "With all due respect, why would you chose us out of the remaining Arrancar?"

"Simple. You and Inoue-san were the ones who finally took down Kurosaki. He was Soul Society's triumph card and I'm certain that if he had lived the outcome of our plans would've changed. The two of you are the most powerful among our ranks and took down our greatest foe. It's only natural to have you take over. What do you say?"

Orihime felt a little uncertain, she had never taken a leadership role before, but the offer was tempting.

Ulquiorra was indifferent to the offer, still he would accept if only to keep order in Las Noches. Without Aizen some of the Arrancar might go unhinged again.

"I'm willing to accept the offer, but I'd like insurance that you, or Lord Aizen will provide us with assistance if necessary."

"You have my word, Cuarta. Inoue-san, what about you?"

"I never considered myself a leader, yet this is an opportunity I don't want to waste. I'll give it my all."

"Excellent! I knew I could count on you both. Now, there's a slightly more personal matter I must address.

Some of your friends for Karakura survived, I can relocate then to Naruki City and give them fake memories of a nuclear explosion occuring in Karakura. This way they'll safe and fully taken care of. Is that alright."

Anna handed her a tablet with pictures. She recognized Tatsuki, Keigo, Mizuiro, Chizuru, Michiru, Ryuuken, and Don Kannonji. Those were the only survivors.

"Yes. Please make sure they're taken care of, just...don't let them know I am alive. I'd prefer it if they all thought of me as dead."

"Consider it done. Finally, Yasutora Sado and Uryu Ishida are locked up in the dungeons, if you authorize it, I shall free them and get them the aforementioned services in Naruki City."

"Yes please do so."

"Alrighty then, I think that's everything. I'll be returning to my other duties, you're dismissed."

With that the tall woman left them and went back to her duties. Ulquiorra noticed she was holding her zanpakuto. 'No doubt she's been ordered to carry out executions.'

"Next on the list it's that Kuchiki Captain...Hmm maybe I'll choke him with that dumb scarf of his." Anna was walking away towards the cells. A reckless idea crossed Orihime's mind.

"Wait Anna-san! May I be granted permission to visit Ishida and Sado?"

Anna was skeptical but allowed it anyway. "Yes, of course. I'll escort you."

***

Ulquiorra waited in the entrance to the dungeons. He knew Inoue was capable of handling herself yet he felt uneasy.

"You're jealous the princesa wants to visit those other men."

Grimmjow appeared from the shadows, it seemed Anna had him as a guard.

"What do you want Sexta?" he asked.

"Nothing. Just heard you and Orihime are the new rulers of Hueco Mundo. I'd congratulate ya but I don't think you find that new role appealing."

"That's unimportant. I took the task because it clear that the others wouldn't be able to properly carry it out."

Grimmjow grinned. "Uh-huh, and what about your mate? She probably did it so that Anna wouldn't chop her human friends to pieces."

Those words bothered him. "The woman isn't my mate."

"She turned into a hollow to save ya, and even ripped Kurosaki to pieces. That screams protective mate to me.

Yer' right though, it's not my business what you two do. Just pray she doesn't change her mind. The girl is too far gone to go back."

***

Orihime let them rage and yell before saying a single thing. After their anger faded she spoke.

"I need you both to stay calm. Ishida-kun your father is alive and will be given proper housing and employment in Naruki City as will most of your friends and as will you. Just let Anna escort you there and do not tell the others of my real fate. For all they know, Kurosaki and I were victims of the fake accident."

"...I don't believe this! You expect us to keep quiet?! Tatsuki was a wreck over losing you, she won't accept it, she'll know it's a lie!"

"Then make her believe it! You're a smart guy Uryu, she will listen to you, the memories are better than..."

"Than knowing what you turned into and what you did to Kurosaki?" Chad asked.

Orihime hit the wall in frustration, it almost fell apart. "He threatened to kill Ulquiorra!" she yelled. "I wasn't going to kill him, I was going to leave him slightly messed up and let him go home when the war ended, but he threatened Ulquiorra. I couldn't let him kill him again. I just... couldn't."

Her friends demeanor changed to a more sympathetic one. "You love him, don't you?"

She couldn't answer. That possibility didn't cross her mind until now. Her silence was all the answer they needed.

"Kurosaki is doing alright. His soul went to the Soul Society and is reunited with his family, Anna made sure of it. She also brought Masaki to them, the Kurosaki's be living in the Shiba house."

"It's true. She came to tell us that before bringing you here."

"I see." In a way she felt freed. While there was no guilt for what she did, knowing Ichigo was well off somehow helped her close that cycle.

"I know you won't forgive me, I won't ask for that, but I will ask you, to have a good life. Take care of the others, follow your dreams and live long and happy. I will do the same, even if we are in separate world's. Just do that in the memory of the Inoue you once loved."

"I promise."

"I promise too"

Both Chad and Uryu gave her a tight hug. This would be the last time they saw eachother.

"Goodbye."

***

He didn't say anything. Not on their way back to the room, and not when he locked himself in the washroom.

Orihime knew something was amiss. Ulquiorra looked tense, angry even. She decided to speak with him.

'What am I doing? This isn't right. I'm acting just like Kurosaki did.'

Ulquiorra had ran himself a hot bath in an effort to calm down. As much as he dreaded to admit it he was enraged by Grimmjow's words. When Orihime returned from her talk with the humans, she had tears running down her face and a faint sad smile.

'She's regretting it. She regrets giving up her life for me. That was a sacrifice that should've never taken place.'

Still, it was wrong of him to act so cold towards her. Instead he should offer her solace. 'I'm all she had left.'

Before he could get out of the marble pool and go back into his room, he saw her standing in the doorway. "Can I join you?" she asked shyly.

Ulquiorra swallowed hard. Orihime had nothing but a towel on, and her pretty face was adorned with a faint pink blush.

"Yes, you may join me." He finally answered with a raspy voice.

He turned away as she uncovered herself, only facing her once she was covered up to her chest by water. Even so, her curves didn't leave anything to the imagination.

"Ulquiorra. We need to talk."

"What do you wish to talk about?"

"What happened down at the dungeons."

He braced himself, and spoke as calmly as possible. "You wish to return to you original form. It's understandable as your sacrifice shouldn't have happened so I shall do what's in my power to help you-"

Orihime placed her fingers on his lips, silencing him. It was then when he felt tears forming in his eyes

Orihime chuckled. "No, you're mistaken. I don't want to go back and I don't regret what I did.

Ulquiorra, I didn't hesitate to sacrifice my humanity for you. I knew what the consequences would be and didn't care. You matter more to me than anything or anyone else, and I don't ever want you to doubt that. I want to be with you forever, Ulquiorra Schiffer."

He felt the tears spilling. Never in his life did he think he could find anyone that would truly love him, yet here she was. From the moment they met he felt drawn. It was as if an otherworldly force took possession of him, and urged him to keep her at his side. Yet when Kurosaki almost killed her, he didn't hesitate to sacrifice himself for her. Now she had done the same for him, and they could be together for all eternity.

"Forgive me for my embarrassing behavior. I shouldn't have doubted you.

I shall confess that I didn't care for much before meeting you, my life was nothing but a dark endless void, until you filled it with light. Your optimistic nature, your melodic voice, your bravery, it is all very enticing. I thought our story would end when Kurosaki turned me into ash, yet it didn't.

You wouldn't let us have a bitter end, regardless of the cost. And I vow to prove your sacrifice to be worth it, every single day."

Orihime smiled wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him close. "It's a promise, my dear Ulquiorra."

She crashed their lips together into a lustful kiss. Ulquiorra had never considered himself to be a lustful man, until that moment. He wanted nothing more than to ravish Orihime until they were both exhausted.

"Let's go back to our room, darling. There's a lot I want to do with you."

[witness-protection-official]

Warning! Lots more cussing this time, mention of doing drugs, and god tier acting from both parties

Also very long this time I spent a sold three hours writing this

Witness Protection - An Eyeless Jack x Female Reader Fanfiction

Chapter 3

You felt as though you were going insane. The man hadn't said a single word to you since the weird field area. Only lord knew if the ancient vehicle you sat in had a working radio. Asking was out of the question, you still had tape over your mouth. Couldn't check, you had tape gloves that went all the way up your arms, rendering them useless. With half lidded eyes, you stare at your disheveled figure in the side mirror. Dear god, you looked like shit. The blood on the side of your face had caked into a gross brown and was beginning to flake off, leaving you looking like you were a burn victim. You wince internally. You had mangled hair, with strands sticking every which way. Bags under the eyes displayed your lack of sleep and slowly depleting sanity. With a nearly inaudible groan, you tap your head against the glass. 'Can't he just kill me and get this over with? I don't know how much sitting in dead silence I'm going to be able to handle.' You slouch heavily, slowly sinking to the floor of the truck.

"You'll hurt your back sitting like that," his monotone voice stated off handedly. You huff and remain there. He sighs and grabs the back of your shirt, tugging you up to sit properly. You groan. Apparently sitting weirdly isn't even an option. He remains facing foward, not even glancing in your direction. Unable to spit insults at him, you level a heated glare at instead. He either doesn't notice or doesn't care. Maybe a good mix of both. It wasn't easy to tell how long you sat there, giving a dirty look to a man that probably couldn't even see you past the hood he had been wearing this entire time, but you assumed it had been about ten minutes or so. The truck suddenly stopped. You break out of your hate filled trance and look around. Why did he park in an actual parking lot? Was he going to let you go? The thought filled your heart with hope. He popped open the center console and pulled out a large bottle of what sounded like pills. Christ, was he about do just pop a few pills to deal with your bullshit? He pulled his mask off, placing it in the back seat. The cap popped off and he dumped a few out, throwing them into his mouth and closing the bottle. He pulled the hood down, giving you a clear view of the side of his head. You voice your distress at his appearance in muffled screams. He sighs heavily, leaning his head back against his seat, not seeming bothered. The screaming grew louder as his features shifted.

He opened his eyes and glanced at you, letting you get a clear view of his eyes. The screaming ceased in shock. How had you not seen them under his mask? With how bright the blue of his iris was, one would think they would glow in the dark. He pulled the visor down to examine his face in the small mirror embedded inside. He licked his teeth, turned his face from side to side. It finally clicked why he sounded familiar. He was the weird guy that had been staring at you when you changed out shifts with a coworker. You sigh internally. No point in thinking about it now, you guessed. He had murdered someone and kidnapped you, you had bigger things to worry about. His buckle clicked and you snapped out of your thoughts.

"I'll be back," he said simply, clicking something on the side of the door and closing it. Did- did that fucker just turn the child lock on?! Where the fuck were you gonna go in blood soaked clothes and taped up arms?! You send a hateful glare at his retreating form. He went into a store. A very large store. The fuck was he doing?

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

He bit the inside of his cheek as he entered the store. Did she really have to scream like that? Probably, not everyday you see a man with grey skin. And it's also not everyday you see him suddenly become a shape shifter after popping some pills. Either way, it really wasn't a boost of confidence for his already weak self esteem. Whatever. He had a reputation to uphold, and that meant keeping his cool, constantly. He'd already almost lost it on her while she was being annoying the night before. No point in risking it now. Jack sighed and rubbed his eyes. He began his journey towards the clothes section of the store before he paused. He forgot to ask what her sizes were. He facepalmed. And she had been wearing heels too. He grumbled, figuring it'd be easier to deal with that later. Right now he had to focus on getting her clothes that weren't stained with blood. He debated on heading to the woman's section, guess her size. No, bad idea. Someone is bound to try to talk to him. He was a tall man, he had no reason to be in the woman's section, and people were bound to wonder. Both his pride and crippling social anxiety told him to not risk it. Avoid talking with people was a priority. With a deep breath, he swiveled on his heel, headed towards the mens. He'd just grab some smaller sized jeans or something. There was a time where baggy jeans were popular right? He furrowed his brows as he thought, as he did a lot. His mind continued to wander until he reached the clothes. He eyed the jeans and opted to grab a pair of skinny jeans, in a random size that looked like they would fit her. He wasn't exactly staring at her legs, so he hoped that brief mental image he had in his mind was enough. He turned to the shirts. Any of them would work, they just couldn't be too big. He really wasn't in the mood to listen to her bitch and whine about him being a 'pervert' because it dipped too low and showed her bra.

He grabbed a basic black tee, looking to be maybe a size smaller than he got his own shirts. That'll do. He got a second pair of pants and a second shirt, just for good measure. He bit his tongue. He knew a little bit about the hygenic needs of a woman, but he hadn't smelled any blood or hormonal spike on her, so he figured she'd be fine for now. As he made his way to a different part of the store, he passed a shelf of hoodies. He backed up. Should he get her a hoodie? That would be awfully nice of him. She had done nothing to deserve any form of kindness from Jack. Letting her live was the extent of his mercy for her. 'But if she isn't cold that's less things she'll have to bitch about…' he mulled it over in his head before deciding. He'd get another hoodie for himself and let her wear it passively. 'What a fucking genius you are, Jack, absolute genius' he congratulated himself, grabbing a dark colored hoodie that was in his size. He nodded, satisfied and went to get a few more items.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

You had been pretty confident he up and died in that store, he took so long. But alas, he had to return. You watched his form make it's way to your side of the truck and reflexively shifted away. He swung it open, placing the bags he held ontot he ground while he stood onto the step to reach your seatbelt clip. He tore off the tape, unclipping the restraint. The tape on your mouth went next.

"Spit an insult at me and I'll cut off your tongue," he quipped. You closed your mouth. "Good girl," he himself seemed to cringe at what he just said, judging by the sigh he released. You scrutinized his face as he worked on the tape on your arms with intense concentration. He had tiny freckles all over his face. They were so small it was impossible to see them from a distance, but they were everywhere. His nose, his cheeks, even the top of his neck and between his eyes. You would've found him attractive if you didnt know it wasn't what he actually looked like. Tanned skin and soft looking auburn hair helped him sell the whole 'fucking gorgeous' thing.

"What's with the whole 'pretty boy' get up?" you murmur. He pauses and looks up at you, confused. "why did you choose this look to be normal?" He searched her face for any underlying intentions. When he found none, he shrugged.

"Didn't get a choice," He finally managed to get the tape off of your hands and arms.

"You got damn lucky with it then, you coulda been ugly," you shrugged. He took a deep breath and didn't respond, instead reaching into the bag and pulling out a package of what appeared to be baby wipes. "I'm not a baby,"

"I noticed," he opened the package and pulled out a wipe. He gripped your jaw and turned your head to the side.

"I can do this myself,"

"Don't trust you," as usual, his response was simple. He wiped the dried blood off of your face rather harshly.

"Hey, hey! Be gentler! I'm not dead yet!" He growled lowly and held your face tighter in his hand, wiping the rest of the blood off of any currently visible skin. He took another wipe and used it to wipe off any tape or dirt residue off of you. "What gives with the mini bath?"

"You'll see," He pushed your head down, bending you so that your chest was pressed tightly against your thighs. He threw what you assumed to be the wipes into the back before letting you sit up again. He picked up the bag from off of the pavement and handed it to you. "Change," he closed the truck door. He must've gotten you clothes so you wouldnt be covered in blood constantly. You pull out a pair of jeans and a shirt, followed by an extremely oversized hoodie. You quirk a brow but peek out the window. The man was scrolling on his phone, back pressed against the car door. You deemed it safe to change and stripped down, pulling the new, clean clothes on. You rummaged through the bag some more and came across a hair brush, dry shampoo, and deodorant. Questionable items, but you put them to use. You felt like a human again. A soft knock on the window startled you. There he was. You blink dumbly at him. He points down. You look down. You had locked the door. With a sigh, you unlocked the door and he opened it.

"You didn't stare at me while I was changing, did you?" you narrow your eyes in suspicion.

"I've got no reason to," he took the hoodie out of the bag and threw it at you. "Wear it if you want," he threw the bag in the backseat. You huff and pull the sweater over your head. He closed the door and moved to the drivers side. He strapped in and started the truck.

"Why'd you make me freshen up and stuff?"

"You need food. I don't know what you want," He made the short drive to a gas station that was only about five minutes up the road. He unstrapped and went to your side, opening the door. "Out," You unstrapped and slipped out of the truck, a little wobbly from not standing for so long. The heels didn't help.

"You're coming in with me?"

"I'm the one with money,"

"There's another reason, isn't there,"

"That one is obvious. Now listen. You go in there, grab anything you need, and if anyone asks, I'm your boyfriend," he briefed.

"Why do I have to say you're my boyfriend?"

"You won't have to if you don't act suspicious, now lets go, I've spoken to much,"

"You got a word limit or something?"

"Mentally," he ushered you inside.

"You gonna act all boyfriendy?"

"Boyfriendy?"

"Are you gonna act like my boyfriend?"

"Yes, and you'll have to deal,"

"Ew, but why,"

"There won't be any kissing," he rolled his eyes.

"What if you need to?"

"I won't" he guided you to the hot foods area. "Now get your food," He stayed close as you grabbed two slices of pizza and a hot dog, putting them in mini bags. "Its a long drive, go get yourself some snacks," you nod and sort of hand him your hot food, which he holds with no complaint. His eyes hold a glimmer of warning, telling you not to do anything stupid.

You're examining the chips on the different shelves when some girl about your age comes up to you.

"Did you hear?" She leans in close.

"Hear what?" you tilt your head.

"About the murder at that hotel. Apparently the murderer took a hostage with them, one of the staff," you pretend to be shocked and that the hostage was 100% not you.

"Really?" top tier lying this was. You just hoped it was believable. She nodded.

"By the way that guy has kind of been staring you down this entire time," she whispered. "Hey, creep! Why don't you go bother some other chick-!"

"Wait! It's ok," you subtly gulp and turn to your kidnapper, acting as natural as possible. "Babe, are you gonna keep standing there like a stalker?" He shook his head.

"S-sorry," he chuckled awkwardly, moving to stand next to you. He somehow managed to look bashful, blush and all. His posture was slouched to look more weak and not as standoffish. He probably took an acting class at some point.

"Oh, you're dating," she seemed relieved. You nod. "Can I have proof?"

"Why- why do you need proof that we're dating?"

"With the whole hostage thing I just wanna make sure he isn't the murderer, or you aren't, you never know,"

"It does make a bit of sense," your abductor agreed, somehow flying through this whole interaction look weak and pathetic, and making it look like he was completely off the list of possible suspects. She raised her eyebrows, waiting. He looks down at you and you look up at him, seeming to have the same idea. He lean down and you meet him halfway in a short kiss. The taste of iron and blood you expected never showed up. When you two pulled away from each other, the woman visibly relaxed.

"Alright, sorry for being weird. Have a nice day!" she waved. You waved along with the man. He grabs your hand.

"She made a scene, we gotta keep up the appearance," he whispered as he leaned down, followed by a kiss on the cheek to cover it up. You notice some people were definitely staring.

"Got it," you whisper back. Pulling your hand away from his you grab a bag of chips. "Do we wanna get chips or something else for the trip?"

"You'll be eating them more than me,"

"Yeah but I don't want you to think I'm greedy for eating them all,"

"I won't think you're greedy,"

"Yes you will," you put the chips back.

"You can get the chips, babe," You whine.

"But-!"

"You're fine," he took the chips off of the shelf and placed them in your hands. He mouthed something to you. 'Jack'. You assumed that was his name.

"You sure, Jackie? You're 100% sure?"

"Yes," You shrug and grab the collar of his hoodie and yank him down, planting a kiss on his cheek.

"Thank you," you coo. He hums and pecks your lips. The line is fairly short as you two go to pay. Jack pays and before you leave the guy manning the register bids you farewell.

"Be safe, you two lovebirds,"

"We will, have a nice day!" The moment you're both in the car you place the bag down and go to fetch the wet wipes to wipe your mouth off. They wer to far back and you sighed. "You're a really good actor," you comment. "Your affection felt real," he hums.

"Likewise," he seemed greatly uncomfortable, and it made you wonder what he meant by metal word limit. Either that or he just really did not like pretending to be dating his hostage. You shrug. Best to ask once you've eaten. You unwrap your hotdog and take a bite.

[welcome-to-jupiter]

I decided to keep a piercing log because I have a few and Im planning on getting alot more, so if people are getting a piercing they can read real time issues and perks

(I have a nose piercing but Im going to hold off writing that one because it's really old and im not sure how well i'll remember it and I am planning on getting another so ill write that one in real time)

Lobe: most basic piercing, got my seconds done within the last year so I felt confident I could remember. Total pain at worst: 1/10

day one: Got it done at claires, was a little scared because I prefer needles over guns and my last gun encounter was with my firsts which i got as a wee baby but all together you really dont feel it go in. site was a little sore but v easily tolerable, sleeping was a little no bueno because it was done on both sides so if you are a side or stomach sleeper it hurt, but easy solution I found was get an airplane neck pillow, then you can sleep with your ear in the hole

Day 2+: felt sore for 3-4 days, had to clean for 2 months but I stopped after about 1 because Im lazy and forgetful, took about 2-3 weeks for everything to look and feel normal, no swelling, redness, or pain

Industrial: Got this one about 8 months ago, along with the daith it's considered to be the most painful ear piercing you can get also considered to be the most prone to rejection. Total pain at worst: 7/10

Day one: definitely felt the needle going in, but still tolerable, right afterwards it felt really really hot, and it was super achey, I definitely complained a lot. It would be a good idea to not get an industrial on the same side you sleep on, but I did, I had to change the side I slept on for a while

Day two+: it was really hot for 2-3 days and still sore for 2-3 weeks, it was fine for about the first month but then I started to develop keloids on every exit point both insides and outsides, I treated them with tea tree oil, both the back ones and the outside front one went away in a few weeks with the tea tree oil. the inside one on the front was a different story though, I learned shortly after the others were gone that that one was in fact infected, and i learned that because while i was cleaning it i pushed on it harder than usual with the qtip and it popped, resulting in some gross liquids coming out, but it proceeded to shrink up after that so i suppose all it needed was to be emptied and in the picture you can see its still working on repairing itself. It was definitely rough having long hair, that liked to get tangledin it so be wary of that. Had to clean it for at least 6 months, I stopped after about 3 or 4, it took about 4 months for everything to go back to normal

Sternum: got this two days ago, also what triggered me to start writing a piercing log. I got a surface bar. Total pain at worst: 6/10

Day 1: Needle pinched a little, not as easy as lobe but not as bad as industrial, this one was probably the most painful when it came to putting the jewelry in because with a surface bar they put the bar in first then put the jewelry tops on, and the bar kinda tries to sink into the skin so my piercer has to pull it up so its tugging on the freshly pierced skin. If you are a side or stomach sleeper then at least on the first night, sleeping will be damn near impossible, I think i got in maybe 2 hours, because you have to sleep on your back, ibuprofen does help after the first night but that first night will be awful. Another note, Ive never felt that I NEEDED to have perfect posture before now, when you slouch it tugs the piercing and it looks as though its like receding back into your skin which is not ideal. Four month update: unfortunately because i got mine so low on my sternum it had just too many complications, i had to remove it, but i will be getting it repierced higher up at a later date

Day 2+: In terms of post piercing soreness it definitely isnt as bad as the industrial, but this is the first piercing ive taken ibuprofen for, because the sternum has alot of movement with it so i was essentially rendered icapacitated for the first day as I fought with my pride on whether or not i needed the ibuprofen. By the third day I was having some issues with it, I am by no means a small/boney girl, I have a heafty layer of fat, so mine was having issues because it wasnt sitting right on the bone instead it was suspended in my skin, so it started to sink, I had to go in and get the top jewel swapped out for something bigger that could hold its own better. 3 weeks in Im finding it to be a bit sore, not your typical fresh piercing soreness, it only seems to happen when i sleep on itor on my side even though its three weeks old, hopefully it will get better as it heals more.

6 week update after sternum: It feels completely fine for the most part now ive stopped cleaning it every single day and more just when it looks like it needs it, one downside to the sternum is unlike other piercings when you accidentally knock it or tug it and the area is completely isolated, this is in the middle of your chest and it causes like an achey pulsing feeling to spread all over your chest

As a final note, this post is just to explain the process and feelings I went through with each of my piercings, I know I always hate it when I have a friend who has a piercing i like and want and I ask them about it and all they say is "it didnt hurt at all and you should definitely get it" no piercing doesnt hurt at all so I wanted to point out just what to look forward to if you are getting any of these piercings, its not to turn you away just to help you learn whats in store, I would still get all of these all over again,

[koter-irl]

Spring Cleaning

Hey there!

It's been a hot minute since I used this blog in any serious capacity, and I don't know how many of you that follow me are still active, but I hope you've all been doing well.

Over the last few hours, I've been extensively cleaning up all of my old posts and overhauling my blog theme (using a very nice template, may or may not do some custom HTML for it later, depending on how much I'm feeling like pulling my hair out)

I want to start using this blog again, I do some rendering in Blender now so I'll likely post those renders here. I'd also like to maybe write my thoughts out on the media I consume, should anyone want to hear the ramblings of a madman.

My interests haven't really changed all that much over the years I've been gone, so don't worry about that.

[itsbenedict]

Two-Faced Jewel: Session 6.5

A half-elf conwoman (and the moth tasked with keeping her out of trouble) travel the Jewel in search of, uh, whatever a fashionable accessory is pointing them at. [Campaign log]

Last time, Looseleaf and Saelhen fought their way to the top of the evil torture tower of the evil torture wizard- only to find out that the guy's been dead for at least a year, and that a dragon has apparently been squatting in his tower. Not content to wait another week to find out what this means, we had an off-schedule mini-session wherein the party finished exploring the unexplored nooks and crannies of Lumiere's Tower.

The first thing to deal with is the thing blocking their return down the stairs- there's a weird big metal coffin-looking dealie that waddled up to the stairs on the fourth floor, but couldn't chase them any further. Going back down, though... they could take a window, but they figure there's no way this thing could be a serious threat. It can barely move, after all- they can probably just push it right over!

Looseleaf pokes it with a stick, and its front splits open down the middle, revealing a giant maw of horrible spikes which snaps at her threateningly.

So it's an iron maiden! Adorable! Still doesn't have legs, or arms, so it's fine, right? They can just stand on the stairs and

whoops nope it's got animated canvas straps inside it that shoot out and ensnare orluthe like a chameleon tongue. okay. so maybe this monster is dangerous actually.

The ensuing fight makes heavy use of a mechanic in D&D called "called shots", where you can take disadvantage on an attack roll in exchange for inflicting some kind of injury on the opponent by hitting them in different specific body parts. They don't want to let Orluthe get shut inside and take a fuckload of stab damage, so they jam Looseleaf's quarterstaff in the doors, slice up its canvas straps, and by force of numbers manage to render nearly all its appendages impotent. The poor torture instrument has disadvantage on all its attack rolls after the called shots go through, and it can't land any more hits! The party eventually wears it down, and Looseleaf lands the finishing blow by scrambling its spirit.

All that's left in their way is the translucent red barrier blocking off the 3rd/4th floor stairs. Not finding anything on the fourth floor to shut it off, they just go via the window like before. Back down on the third floor, Looseleaf uses her spirit sight to notice that the barrier is connected magically to some runes inscribed on the central pillar- it looks like there's some sort of creepy puzzle involving stabbing creepy dolls with creepy doll-sized knives.

Not interested in risking whatever the consequences of solving the puzzle wrong are (given that they already have a way up and down), they move on.

While they're there, Saelhen decides to take another crack at the trapped chest she couldn't open earlier. Rather than risk the trap, she first spends some time expertly disarming the trap built into the lock, before working on the lock itself. A couple good rolls later, and they acquire the treasure! Which is... 60 gold pieces, and a piece of paper with a list of words.

Saelhen fails her Nature check, but Looseleaf recognizes the words on the paper as... the names of craters and other geographical features of the moon.

[WAR_FLASHBACKS.jpg]

No one's quite sure why a list of moon landmarks would be locked up in a highly-secure chest protected by a poison needle trap, but no one rolls high enough on Religion to puzzle it out.

Moving on down, they reach the second floor, which appears to be a laundry room of some sort. The sort where the irons and ironing boards and scrub brushes are alive, and appear to be washing the same clothes over and over and over to the point where most of them have been reduced to sparklingly clean rags. Seems like these animated household objects have been stuck on a loop for a good long time!

There's what appears to be an intact magical cloak hanging on a clothesline in there, but the party opts not to try and take it- doing so would likely provoke some protective laundry automatons.

Saelhen's plan to lure the scrub brush away from the washtub (for... reasons??) fails, since the brush doesn't seem to want to leave the tub- and it's visibly disappointed when Saelhen gives up.

So, they head down to the first floor, finally! As they head down, they're noticed by more animated knives... but it seems these ones have been tasked with cooking a delicious meal, which they happily serve up to the tower's guests! The wheelbarrow from before is there, too, supplying the kitchen with food. The only question is... who's been eating this stuff? Why is the table not covered in rotten, uneaten banquet, if the wizard's been dead? Who's been putting grocery money in the wheelbarrow?

Other things of note in the room...

Benedict I. (GM): The shelves around the center seem to be festooned with various trophies and awards. Looseleaf: trophies. what, like, participation trophies??? school trophies? piano recital trophies?? Benedict I. (GM): These would actually be somewhat recognizable to most of you- you've seen similar things in trophy cases at school. The plaques beneath them seem blacked out in various places- a lot of [REDACTED]. Looseleaf: warball champions of the 1034 school year? Benedict I. (GM): Often built into the plaques. Saelhen du Fishercrown: huh who redacts a plaque Benedict I. (GM): Like, there'll be a flat section of the plaque painted black like it was engraved that way

Looseleaf, with a 20, Investigates a bunch of pertinent information. For instance, a diploma:

Hal Lumiere, PhD in [______]. Blacksky University, Department of Restricted Arts

It appears Hal Lumiere was an alumnus of Blacksky's School of Restricted Arts- the same place Vayen is from. Lumiere was apparently something of a darling there, considering all the awards- but no one in the party has ever heard of him. Except maybe a certain someone who's not telling.

Looseleaf also finds some unopened mail! One is illegible, written in Abyssal, the language of demons.

(Lore note on demons: demons are just like other monsters- evil things that come up from below the mountains and cause trouble. They aren't generally aware of their origins beyond waking up in a deep cave, usually, and aren't motivated by much except causing conflict and hurting people.)

Another letter is written in Common, with just plain awful handwriting:

"hey Lumes why tf arent you home today u fuckin flake ass fairyboy. who am i supposed to get that dank good ouch from if youre off on magic adfentures. this months number shits are: 14.3 6755 304° and then the little bar thing was on the green side but wobbly. now gimmeeeeeee"

It's a bit of an enigma- but even more enigmatic is the third letter Looseleaf finds, written in a hand Looseleaf recognizes. Looseleaf knows who this letter was written by.

"Dr. Lumiere- find enclosed the new spirit hollowing diagrams and the corrected sigil of Aaaaaaagh. This should satisfy our agreement, so I'll leave you with a warning: the lesser gods are not to be trusted." "Yes, their revolution is our best shot at the Project- that much is obvious, barring a road to apotheosis. I understand we need to work with them. I doubt we'll have further contact, so I won't ask you not to reignite this argument- but insofar as it's at all relevant to you in the future, I favor your approach over Kron Green's." "But again, they are not to be trusted. The enemy of our enemy wishes mainly to supplant them, and despite their alliance, not all of them share the same aims. In particular, the one you've taken an interest in seems utterly hostile to the Project. " "If we are to impact the cosmic boardstate, we must play the game. Trust is the abdication of discovery. Choose your allies carefully." And then it is signed with a mark. The mark is of a book, facedown in the way that ruins the spine, sort of shaped to look like a skull. And the initials "Y.T." Looseleaf: youtube. the villain of our story, youtube. Saelhen du Fishercrown: trust is the abdication of discovery, what a goddamn motto Looseleaf: oh my god she's being so edgy well, that is characteristic of her.

She also finds what appears to be a trophy- but the trophy is shaped to look like a globe. Not of the Jewel, but of the moon. Obviously, they take it.

Some experimentation with the moon trophy seems to indicate that the locations marked on the paper from the chest draw out a sort of connect-the-dots pattern, which might be used elsewhere for some purpose. Whatever the pattern is meant to be used for, there's no indication of it here. All that can reasonably be inferred is that it has some connection to the School of Restricted Arts.

Meanwhile, the bookshelves have a few more things of interest. Amidst textbooks on neurology, magic, and speculative religion on a lower shelf, they find a hand-bound book that seems out-of-place.

Benedict I. (GM): Inside, it appears to be a diary. "i m choss n ths iss MY BOOK," it begins.

It appears to span several years of diary entries, from year 259 to 266- ending seven years before the current date, 273. The handwriting gets progressively less atrocious, and the entries are very sporadic- riddled with apologies to the diary for forgetting to write in it.

Benedict I. (GM): Choss, apparently, is a little girl who grew up in this tower. Initially she was very fond of her dad, the owner of the tower. Looseleaf: initially, huh. that's... a... great sign. Benedict I. (GM): Dad is a cool wizard who does fun magic all the time, which she helps with! She is very proud of how much pain she can withstand, and she's developed this sort of self-image as a connoisseur. Of pain. Saelhen du Fishercrown: hell Saelhen's face is getting progressively... stiffer, as she reads. Not angrier, per se, just... flatter. Benedict I. (GM): She helps out with the experiments except for not being allowed to take the hoods off the subjects in the lab. Looseleaf: Lumiere what the shit. Benedict I. (GM): And when there's no subjects, she fills in, and does a very good job, the best job. There's an entry describing how she designed a security system for her dad- she made some dolls and dad enchanted them so they open the door if you stab them right! She's very proud of it. You now know the order of stabs to disable the barrier. Anyway, the later entries seem to represent... entirely standard teen angst. Looseleaf: Hmm. Benedict I. (GM): Dad is being boring and not letting her do the experiments she wants to do and not letting her visit the towns and ugh dad. She gets fed up with him, and the last entry is about how she's leaving to go start her own life in Wheat. Looseleaf: REALLY NOW. Saelhen du Fishercrown: WELL. Looseleaf: ...god, maybe those rumors about wheat being full of insane murderous murder-os weren't, wrong. Saelhen du Fishercrown: if she is in fact a baby dragon Looseleaf: which is not at all guaranteed, by the way.

If you recall from a few sessions back:

To speak with a dragon is to be condemned to some sort of great misfortune, brought about by your own hand. You know the Simurgh from Worm? Listen to its song for too long, and you become sort of a sleeper agent of self-destructive carnage? It’s like a diet version of that. Whatever path your conversation with the dragon puts you on, it’s invariably bad for you, somehow. The metallic dragons, who’re ostensibly “good”, will still ruin your life in some way just by talking to you, even if your immolation does some good for the world on the way out. Nobody wants to talk to a dragon.

Also discovered in CHOSS BOOK is a brief account of a time she had to go to the basement, using the secret entrance underneath... something. Looseleaf almost immediately checks under the table they're sitting at, and finds... yep! A trapdoor leading to the basement!

Next time: the basement awaits!