#surface mountain device

[technoadvance-blog]

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[bones4thecats]

Hi, hope I'm not late to requests.

Could I request Jack, Jade, Trey, and Malleus with a s/o who likes textile design?

What If Their S/O Liked Textile Design?

Type of Writing: Request Name: What If Their S/O Liked Textile Design? Characters: Jack Howl, Jade Leech, Trey Clover, and Malleus Draconia Requester: Anonymous

A/N: The reader in this piece is stationed in Pomefiore, since I think it fit well with the prompt.

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🐺 Textile design? This is something that Jack has never heard of before, but he is willing to learn about

🐺 When you had first invited Jack to your dorm in Pomefiore so that you could show him the ropes of how this 'textile design' worked, he smiled and showed up right on time

🐺 He was pulled inside the room by you as you asked him what was one pattern that he loved or that reminded him of his home, in which he just said the snowy mountains was one thing he liked and reminded him of home

🐺 You smiled and sat down at your desk, using your pen to pull up another chair for your boyfriend to sit down on so he could observe without his legs hurting

🐺 Jack watched as you pulled up a drawing of mountains with snow on top of them in a cartoon-ish style and he chuckled as you nervously rubbed your neck, telling him that you had drawn this one night when you couldn't sleep

🐺 You then began the process of printing the design onto a blanket that you had found woven -and cheap- at Sam's and you adjusted your device above the fabric and began to code in the printing's location

🐺 Watching with his ears stiffly up and his tail slightly swaying with every decoration added by the machine, Jack would be lying if he said that he wasn't amused or enamored with how the machine printed such a pretty design on the thick material

🐺 When you said it was done and you held it up for him to see it, your boyfriend smiled as his tail swayed faster with each step closer you took. And you knew why that was happening; he knew you were gonna give it to him

" I hope you like your new blanket, Jacky. " " Thank you very much, my soulmate. "

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🍄 Jade knows about a lot more things than other merpeople when it comes to the surface. But when you mentioned textile design, Jade had drawn a blank

🍄 He had turned around from the mushroom terrarium and asked you to repeat what you had said before, and since he normally listens very well, you kinda chuckled at his reaction

🍄 You had brought him back to your dorm when Azul had closed Mostro Lounge for the day, due to some personal issues surfacing and how he would be busy that day. And let's be honest, who trusts Jade and Floyd with the Lounge?

🍄 When you practically shoved him into a chair of yours, Jade smiled and chuckled at your actions that were filled with excitement

" My, my, Y/N~ You really seem excited to show me this 'textile design' of yours. "

🍄 You had held out three different pieces of paper for him to chose, in which he lifted up a print of mushrooms in the woods and you pushed it onto a a piece of white fabric

🍄 Holding a small fragment of magic stones, you dropped them into the 'printer' and activated it, smiling as you sat down and held your boyfriend's arm as he chuckled and watched unwavering at the device's work

🍄 Once it let out a small beep, you jumped up and grabbed the fabric, holding it for the eel-mer to see. And he smiled, enjoying the observing picture of the mushrooms

" Wait- look at the back! "

🍄 When you turned the blanket around, Jade's eyes slightly widened, there was a small drawing of a mushroom with expertly labeled spots

" Aw, my dear~ You really do love me~ "

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🧁 Unlike most of the men at Night Raven College, Trey does know some patterns when it comes to clothing. It comes with the benefits of working with his parents and having a little sister (his brothers don't care enough about clothes)

🧁 When you and him were spending a lot of time speaking about things such as your likes and dislikes, he had caught you speaking of clothing patterns

🧁 While he wasn't shocked, as many Pomefiore members love learning about these kinds of stuff, he was slightly shocked at the amount of knowledge about textile design you had kept in your brain

🧁 He had asked if you could show him a piece you had made, in which you smiled and reached into your bag to pull out a small fabric keychain that had a tiny clover on a tray

🧁 As a man who loves puns himself, he laughed at the joke. His name was Trey, hence the tray, and his surname was Clover, hence the four-leaved plant on the rectangle of metal

🧁 Trey held the fabric item in his hands and looked at it with love as he wrapped his arm around your shoulders, giving you a strong side-hug as you chuckled and flushed at his form of affection. He normally wasn't too fond of PDA himself

" I love this, Honey. Thank you for such a lovely gift. I'm sure this will stumble my sibling's minds when they see it. "

🧁 Laying your head on his shoulder as he placed the chain onto his bag, you smiled and replied with a 'no problem', making him rub his hand on your head, messing up your hair slightly

🧁 He was such a dork with you

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🐉 Malleus, as a royal, has studied many different things over his many years of life. Including types of fabric so that someone would not be able to trick him into wearing something damageable to himself

🐉 But, as we all should know, this poor guy does not understand technology in any kind of way. So he does not know what textile design is very well

🐉 So, when you had been taking a small walk with him one day and mentioned textile design, he had no idea what you were talking about. And, like Jack, Malleus is welcoming to the idea of learning how this stuff is made

🐉 Much to your enjoyment

🐉 You had mentioned your offer to show Yuu how people in Twisted Wonderland made the fabric design with magic, and that made Malleus smile and ask if he could observe as well

🐉 You just smiled and agreed for your boyfriend to watch alongside your shared friend, and when he arrived and watched alongside Yuu how you took a crystal and mixed it inside a tiny vial for it to work with the technology so the fabric could be made faster, he was meticulously astounded

🐉 Yuu was as well, but watching a powerful dragon fae's eyes just widen with sparkles at you working on something so simple for him to do was something that could make anyone chuckle

🐉 You had made two items, one being a small grim keychain and the other being a tiny version of a photograph of Malleus, Lilia, Silver, Sebek, and you during your last vacation from school

🐉 Yuu thanked you and left, dragging Grim behind him as the cat groaned and whined about going to meet with Ace and Deuce, as your boyfriend stared at the item and smiled gently, his eyes being filled with adoration and love

" Thank you so much for this, love. You have no idea how much this means to me. I knew I made no mistake choosing you as mine. "

[r0-boat]

Pokémon Hot Dragon women

Various pokémon women as hybrid dragons

Do you know what's awesome?

Dragons...

Do you know what's even more awesome?

Hot women!

Yeah I definitely missed some hot women Don't worry

Lorelei/Baxcalliber hybrid

For some reason this Baxcalliber hybrid has more feathers covering about half of her body especially around her chest. Humans think it's to keep her warm. Lorelei has sharp claws and even sharper sail on her back. She is known in the icy mountains for her called demeanor toward humans.

However any human able to break through her I see heart will be alarmed at how warm she could be. However that warmth is only for you. She has no intention in sharing it with others.

She sees you as a bumbling little human fool. Never change She thinks you're cute this way. If any harm shall to come to you They will succumb to her I see breath and sharp as steel claws

Claire/Dragonair hybrid

A Dragonair That has yet to evolve. She likes her half serpentine body. She does not want to look like her cousin Lance who is a hybrid Dragonite.

Unlike the docile Dragonair Claire is stubborn and standoffish, She will not accept help from humans even if she is one foot in the grave. You don't know how you got the eye of this dragon. Maybe it was because despite all efforts of her trying to push you away when you found her injured You still stayed with her until she healed.

She still visits often, Even though she has a dragon hybrid her mannerisms remind you more of a cat. She wants you to keep your distance from her but occasionally, her stricken with curiosity and infatuation will come towards you.

Nessa/Kingdra hybrid

Very wary of people so much so that she almost never comes up to the surface. But you were a rare case. You dropped a necklace into the water and you thought you'd never see it again until you thought you saw a hand coming up from the waves throwing it onto the Sandy Beach.

You yelled out thank you giving the mysterious thing whatever it was a shell. Nessa is wary of humans but you seemed nice. The next time you met your eyes met when you stared down in the ocean blue over a bunch of rocks.

You knew her immediately She must have been the same person who grabbed your necklace! It was the first time she'd ever interacted with a human in a long time and she has not regretted it.

Perrin/salamance hybrid

Looks terrifying but is actually a sweetheart. You were outside taking pictures of pokémon and plants when you come face to face with a terrifying Salamance hybrid. Her claws were sharp her teeth even sharper and her gaze fixated on your device. She looked terrifying yet beautiful at the same time You couldn't help But be mesmerized.

You were scared for a moment but that fear instantly fade, You picked a wildflower putting it behind her ear before takingher picture and gave it to her.

She followed you home and now she visits you constantly, wherever you go she seems to know exactly where you are trying to play with you or your camera.

Cynthia/garchomp hybrid

Terrifying but also a sweetheart. But don't mess with her. She only has so much patience. You've heard that it is very hard to earn a garchomp's respect even more so a hybrid. Dragons have good judges of character You've also heard maybe that's why this garchomp hybrid decided to stay in your camping site just sitting there watching you closely as you study old artifacts and old runes.

She was even a good travel companion when you explored the ruins of Alph, perhaps there was something she was trying to find as well?

Cynthia likes you, What she is seeing you are very knowledgeable and caring of pokémon. You are also interested in ancient treasures of the old. You are also kind and sweet despite who she was you were not afraid. Yeah she likes you.

Rika/Flygon hybrid

You lived near the flats of the Mesa in the paldea region You've heard that hybrids were rare more so dragon hybrids. However you're starting to think that was a lie. Everyday you Walk on the same trail and this hybrid you don't know what she's doing has been trying to show off to you.

You try to ignore her at first only for her to frown at you. Now she's trying to get your attention, stealing your things, playing with you, whipping up tiny Sandy gusts to blow stuff off of you.

That toothy smile and that wild look in her eyes you don't trust. You could almost see a glint of mischief. However, that was all you saw until she protected you from a while pokémon.

[twistedwonderlandimaginesblog]

Well since my request was rejected, could I alter it a bit ^^? Aged up Jamil, Duece Jade and Azul at theyre honeymoon 🥰? Where would they take their wife and maybe bit of theure reaction that theyre finally married ? ( im telling this as a joke but: TECHNICLY they alredy had 2 birthdays XD making them duece 18 and rest 19 )

Azul Ashengrotto: 

He will definitely be working part of the time. A little frustrating to have to constantly pull your husband away from his work but he at least brought you to a place he knew you were excited to be. He’s the type to plan out the event beforehand so he has a list of things that you can do, with him and alone, so that you're never left wanting. He does at least turn off his devices the last day you're there and gives you his total attention, admitting that since you were so patient with him he was at your complete mercy.

Deuce Spade: 

Deuce is just fine having you choose the honeymoon location, though when he thinks of honeymoons he does imagine tropical places where it’s warm and sandy. He’s content as long as there’s some nice views along the way and you two can go on long magical wheel rides together, maybe even off to some romantic destination for a picnic he could set up. As long as you’re together Deuce knows it’ll be a nice relaxing vacation but he does dote over you despite you also telling him to relax, promising that there’ll be plenty of time to be his perfect little househusband self once you were home.

Jade Leech: 

Jade is quite easy to please with your honeymoon, just take him somewhere solitary up in the mountains where the flora and fauna were wildly varied. It would be like having a daily adventure, exploring the trails together, danger potentially lurking around every corner. He does make a joke about you being able to take him out of the picture to inherit some Leech family money and he’s delighted to hear that people on the surface call it “swimmin’ with the fishes”. You do always manage to have fun with Jade as he has a natural penchant for sniffing out opportunities, but you do make a stand on eating the mushroom gruel that he kept trying to serve you for dinner.

Jamil Viper: 

Jamil is so, so grateful for the break. You had even let him pick the destination since it was such a rarity for him to get away, and it took him some time to settle on where he wanted to go. He selected an area with rare delicacies and a lot of good food; he had wanted to expand his palate for some time and he now had ample opportunity. You loved listening to him give his opinions over all the meals you were trying, and especially loved the way he collected spices like they were limited edition perfumes, carefully setting them in his bag to bring back home. You looked forward to the yummy meals he would make when you were home, but for now, you had to focus on the busy itinerary set by your voracious husband.

[thewildwaffle]

Tattoo

This was written in chunks of when I actually had any drive to write in the past few months, which wasn't often. I tried doing a bit of editing, but my brain demands to move on to the next short. I'm just happy my brain wants to write again, so who am I to argue?

***

The shop was not as dark inside as it looked. Sillik was glad for that. As a duib, his eyes were well-adapted to the bright sunlit mountains of his homeworld, and he managed just fine with the medium-light of the city that Human Ernesto had been showing him around.

It wasn't the human's hometown, that was on the other side of the continent, and the crew they were both part of only had a relatively small radius to go while on surface leave due to time constraints. Thankfully, it was a city that Ernesto had visited many times before, and so was very familiar with all the best places to eat, relax, and otherwise explore. Sillik, Ernesto, and the others in the group they’d been spending the day with only had a few more hours before they needed to be at the spaceport to report back for duty. With full bellies after having had a delightful meal at a small local cafe downtown, they were in no rush as they meandered down the wide sidewalks lined with flowers and lovely shrubbery.

“Woah,” Sillik stopped walking and nearly got run into by Human Carol who had been walking directly behind him, “what is that building?” He pointed to a small brick building a few doors down from where they currently were. Not very out of the ordinary in and of itself, but it was the decoration of the building that had pulled Sillik's attention. The brick texture of the building was completely covered in a base coat of black paint with complex and intricate white and gray patterns swirling across the structure like they’d been poured on and across the whole of it. The grayscale was interrupted by strategically placed pops of color in the form of stylized animals, flowers, and characters that Silllik did not recognize.

Painting the building, with its brick-and-mortar texture would have been hard enough, but whoever had done it had gone beyond. This? This was beautiful! This was art!

Without waiting for an answer to his original question, Sillik approached the building in an almost reverent state of awe. The closer he got, the more he could make out the fine details the artist must have painstakingly minded when painting. It appeared to cover all the building, or at least all parts he could see from the street. How long had it taken to do all this?

Sillik almost didn’t notice when the rest of the group caught up with him. Someone, probably one of the humans, let out a long arching whistle sound. “Oh my stars! Look at the name!” Ernesto laughed as he walked up to the front door. “Tatu Shop?” Carol followed his gaze to the white sign above the door. “What’s so special about it? They just misspelled tattoo, or what?” “No, it’s a pun.” Ernesto pointed to some of the colorful animals painted around the shop. They had long pointed faces and looked like they were built out of armor. “Tatu is Portuguese for armadillo.” “Punny!” Another human, Steph laughed. “So it’s a pet shop?” Sillik asked. It made sense, he supposed. The art of the building was so interesting and happy-looking, and it was widely known that pets often made humans happy. Ernesto laughed “What? No, they do tattoos here. As in body art? It’s a play on words.” He turned back to the sign above the door and hummed to himself. “I’ve actually always wanted a tattoo. Just a small one on my arm. I’ve had the design in my mind for years.” Steph made a show of checking their comm device. “If it’s not too big of a design, they might be able to do it before we have to be back. We still have four hours, but keep in mind we’ll still need to walk to the spaceport shuttle.”

Ernesto frowned. Normally the look of having a scrunched-up brow and the corners of their mouths turned down means that a human is unhappy - usually upset, worried, or angry. But Sillik had been around Ernesto enough to recognize that this particular frown was one he made when he was thinking very hard about something. If he continued doing it long enough, he might stick the tip of his tongue out of his mouth as well. “I’m gonna do it,” Ernesto finally blurted out. He gasped a bit like he was surprised at his own declaration. “Oh my stars, I’m… I’m gonna do it!” He started walking into the shop, the rest of the group following after shooting each other amused looks. Sillik followed, a bit confused, but happy to see what tattoo Ernesto was so excited about getting.

That was how Sillik ended up in the fairly well-lit tattoo shop. He got himself comfortable in a chair off to the side as Ernesto talked with the tall human behind the front counter. The others joined him, except Carol, who paused a bit behind Ernesto while wearing the same frowny-thinking expression on her face. “Carol,” Steph laughed lightly, “you thinking of getting one too?” “Hmmmm…” Carol tilted her head as Ernesto turned to look back at her, “Uh, maybe not right now, actually.” She shuffled over to the line of chairs as Ernesto followed the tall human behind the counter and to some cushioned chairs where Sillik assumed the body art was done. He watched intensely. Thankfully the shop was small enough that he could clearly see everything. The shopkeeper, who must have also been one of the shop’s artists handed Ernesto a clipboard of papers for him to sign. One of them must have been for him to sketch out the design he had in mind. From the way Ernesto explained it as he drew, it seemed like it was indeed very simple. If the artist had even an ounce of skill that the painter of the building had, Ernesto’s “tattoo” should look lovely.

Sillik spent the next few minutes just looking around at the art painted on the shop’s interior walls. It was the same style as the artwork outside but with different designs. There were a few more of those “tatu” creatures that popped up here and there. It was a fun design overall. He might just look into getting something done himself. Maybe not here, but back home. After all, who knows if the paints they use in a "tattoo" is safe for duib skin?

“So what made you second-guess yourself on getting one yourself?” Steph questioned. Sillik turned back to his companions. Carol steepled her hands to hold them under her chin and sighed. “I want one, but I’m not a hundred percent sure what I want. That, and I really, really don’t like needles, so that’s kind of the big issue.”

Needles? Wait. Not paint? What kind of body art is a tattoo that needs needles?! Sillik’s head shot toward Ernesto and the tattoo artist sat together in the chairs just as a buzzing noise started up. Sillik saw the artist holding a small gun-looking device up to Ernesto’s arm, and Ernesto wincing slightly as the point of the device made contact with his skin. Normally, Sillik considered himself very level-headed, which was a good quality to have when you worked closely with humans on a regular basis. Even still, he felt his jaw drop as shock spread itself across his face. Was there a needle on the point of that gun thing? Had Ernesto been injected with something? Thoughts flashed around his brain as he stared. “Carol, Steph,” Sillik kept his voice from squeaking, “what, exactly, is a tattoo? What’s going on?

“Oh,” Steph chirped cheerily as ever, thankfully unaware of just how distraught Sillik felt at the moment. “Tattoos are ink drawings that are injected into the skin. That makes them permanent.” Sillik stared at her, then over to Ernesto. “But… but doesn’t that hurt?” “Yeah,” Carol looked over to Ernesto like she was searching for something. “He might have given him some lidocaine cream, but I’m not really sure. Don’t a lot of tattoo artists not like using it?” She asked Steph. “Depends,” Steph looked over to Ernesto and the tattoo artist who was already doing good work on the design. “I doubt he bothered, the arm is one of the least painful places to get a tattoo.” “Isn't the most painful place the armpit or something?” “Why would someone get a tattoo in their armpit? What would you even put there?” “I don’t know, I can think of a couple really funny ideas.”

Sillik gaped at them but then turned back to watch the tattoo process again. Ernesto wasn’t crying out. He looked like he was in pain, but he had personally seen the human get injured in what seemed to be much “smaller” incidents and had had much bigger reactions. Like when he stubbed his toe three cycles ago. What is the deal? Humans and how they react to pain in different ways is so weird!

Steph must have noticed his attention had gone elsewhere again and thought it funny to add, “You know, this method of getting a tattoo is much less painful than it used to be, back in the day.” Of course it was, Sillik thought. Still, it was something that he felt needed more of an explanation, so he looked back at her and waited for her to continue. “There were two different ways, at least that I know of. One was with just a really sharp needle dipped in soot or seal oil or whatever and then the person giving the tattoo just poked you over and over and over to get it all under the skin.” Steph enunciated the “over and over” part by miming holding a needling and poking at Sillik like she was an old-timey tattoo artist. “Another way,” she continued, “and in my opinion, this one seems like the most uncomfortable way to do pretty much anything, was pretty much sewing the tattoo into your skin, with a needle pulling along a thread that had been dipped in dye. And again, the dye back then was either soot or seal oil or what have you.”

Thank the stars Sillik had been serving around humans for a couple of solar cycles now. If he had learned all this from the start, he would have thrown up. Though he felt like if he kept watching Ernesto getting his tattoo, there was a good chance of that happening still.

He spent the next hour or so staring at his feet as thought of why humans do the things they do until Steph and Carol decided to take pity on him and offered to take him to look around at the other shops on the street while they waited. Carol put a hand on his shoulder as they guided him out of the shop, “Don’t worry about it Sil, like I said, I don’t like needles either.” Sillik nodded as they stepped back into the sunshine on the street. He didn’t say anything about how he didn’t actually have an issue with needles. At least not for medical uses, for which he was used to seeing them. But injecting ink deep into your skin? Something about the idea just made him shiver. He wished Steph hadn’t told him about how tattoos used to be done. He’d never get that out of his brain.

Why can't humans just do normal, painted-on body art, like sane people?

[tamelee]

I just rewatched vote2 and OMGGGG idk if I'm mad at kishi for not getting them together (cuz I know they probably wouldn't be) or just mad that he ended it there and didn't explore narusasu's relationship after all that, but I have so many emotions 😭 I'm just mad that nh and ss got together 🙄 (I wouldn't call them canon, cuz sns love for each other is canon, nh and ss is forced)

Also I love Sasuke so much in this fight that I'm also mad we didn't get to see more of him like this (openly showing his emotions, laughing, crying, being happy for once, accepting Naruto)

But anyway, do you know which fic is best to read after watching the ending? I already know lots of canon fics but idk which one is the best to read. I wanna fil the hole in my heart 😩

Ah VotE2 feels ;-; … I understand, I understand…  (He did accept Naruto though, the very first to do so actually, d'you mean the feelings?)

I still really liked it in the Anime, it’s just that I wish there were a few things they’d done differently as shown in the Manga. Like Sasuke screaming for sure, he's in so much pain and it's so important to show that, especially considering VotE1 where Naruto was screaming. Now it's a reverse and for good reason.

And nah, there’s no way they’d actually get together in the sense that a romantic relationship becomes surface level text and it’s spelled out for the reader.

You know, I was thinking about this and ‘Naruto’ is a story where Kishimoto used every literary device in his creators’ arsenal in order to show the story. Even in dialogue and text, he still pays attention to how something is said and the timing of it. That’s why, in order to understand a message or to pick up on sub-text, context is so important. That's what makes something 'true'. Characters don’t always say what they mean… in fact, the best characters don’t imo. There’s so much heart in the story and you can see it in the slightest expressions, in body language and Kishimoto definitely has a way of showing what he considers important and what isn’t. 

Brt on the other hand… well, it’s just told. It’s called authorial assertion or fiat in literature. They don’t show us why or how something happened, there’s no justification, evidence for any declarations and don’t even question it, because ‘it is just so because we said so’ and they don’t even know either.  

Uh, not right away- homesick for a mountain's song by kintou comes to mind. I have others but I still have to sort them >< A few posts ago I shared what others’ have shared with me. I got a bunch of recs in the past few weeks that I’m going to read, but I’ll save my favorites to share later! 

[specialsituationsgroup]

Lego Discworld - Patrician's Palace

Patrician's palace exterior with Ankh-Morpork coat of arms. Giant beehive / pidgeon roost / clack's tower on roof. Statue of old Stoneface and hoho in front. City catacombs under the surface.

Palace interior with secret passage. Palace garden with lilac bush and BS Johnson's exploding fountain. Ginger tom and unprofitable butterfly.

Patrician's palace, closed, front.

Havelock Vetinari, Wuffles and Igor in the puke green room. Includes candle stub on nightstand and candle stick hidden in the chest of drawers.

Mr Pump in Vetinari's study. Incudes a crossword puzzle/thud board, music sheet and the manuscript of The Servant.

Leonard of Quirm, Sybil Ramkin, Erol and Rufus Drumknott in Leonard's atelier. Includes the model of the Kite, device for removing mountains, internal combustion kettle, scultping and painting equipment, and Vetinari's portrait.

Library / secret passage. Includes Oswald, modle of the disc and a death mask / head for young Vetinari.

The low king of Dwarves in the Oblong office. Includes Vetinari's and Drumknott's desks, "world's best boss" mug, and dog biscuit.

Commander Vimes, Angua von Uberwald and lord Rust in the Rat's chamber. Includes sprig of lilac, old Stoneface's axe, and Angua's collar / stygium ring.

Otto Chirk and palace guard in the waitng room / entrance / throne room / ball room. Inclues Vetinari's clock and the gilded throne of Ankh.

Palace Cook / Glenda Sugerbean / Grace Speaker / Interchangable Emma and food taster / Young Sam in the Kitchen. Includes bread, water and hardboiled egg. Roasting salmon, caviar and goblet of blood. Wine, cheese and a spoon.

Foul ole Ron and Rincewind in the treasury. Includes snake and scorpion. Paper money, Agatean gold coin and a head of cabage.

Tears of the mushtoom and Detritus in the saferoom / bathroom. Includes matress and shaving equipment. Bathtub, chamber pot with nightsoil, and shoft lavatory paper.

Moist in the janitor's closet / botomless pit. Includes trap door and chain for mimes. Stoker Blake's shovel and the Sweeper's broom.

Death / mime and death of rats / rat spy in the dungeon. Includes barred door, Dwarven locks, and a plaque inscribed learn the words.

Possible minifig permutations, with acessories:

Charlie, assasin Vetinari, Patrician Vetinari, Stoker Blake

Drumknott, Vetinari, Adora Dearheart, Albert Spangler.

Vimes under the Summoning Dark, young constable Vimes, Commander Vimes, Sargent Keel, Sir Samuel the duke of Anhk.

BLT Sybil, Dragonbreeder Sybil, dwarf opera Sybil.

Buggy Swires, Nobby Nobs, Fred Colon, Angua von Uberwald, Carrot Ironfounderson. Commander Vimes, Reg Shoe, Cuddy, Cherry.

Groat, Moist, Stanley

Ponder Stibbons, Mustrum Ridcully and Rincewind

Mrs Rosie Palm, lady Sybil Ramkin, madam Roberta Mersole

Otto Chirk, Margolata von Ubervald, dragon king of arms

Dragon king of arms, lord Rust, mr Pin and mr Tulip, Reacher Gilt, mr Slant, lord Downey

Low king of dwarves, Bashful Bashfullson, Cuddy, Cherry

Buggy Swires, Tears of the Musroom, Of the lathe the swarf

[days-until-burnout]

Magic Mountain Part 2: THE KABOOM (we need explosions!!!)

Requesting resolution of a certain cliffhanger and an exploding mountain. The people need to know: WILL IT GO KABOOM!!!!!!!!

All jokes aside, good luck :)

HAH. YOU THINK SENDING ANOTHER ASK IS GOING TO SOLVE THE CHIFFHANGER??? THINK AGAIN >:3c also, maybe i didnt write it too obvious, but the mountain did explode. or maybe you meant more explosions. oh well

>>> Part 1 <<< _____

📧 Day 32 -

Characters - Gem & Grian (ft Magic Mountain appearance) Words - 985 Time - 40 mins Content - Hermitcraft

“Grian,” Gem huffed, trembling a little as she held a section of wall with her forearm. Bits of dirt and little rocks rolled down onto them, giving them little time before the sheet would give in on top of them. Her other shoulder hurt, probably from hitting the ground hard, so it was of no use. Still, she looked between the wall and Grian who was still laying on the ground, taking a small step and nudged him with her feet. “Grian, hey, come on. We need to get out. I don’t know how long I can hold this for—”

Gem kicked him on the thigh, not strong but enough to shake him proper, which got him moving. A quiet groan, then even smaller movements. 

“Come on,” she hissed, growing exasperated. The wall began to break on some bits, panic sprouting out like the roots on the dirt. 

Eventually, Grian pushed himself up on his elbows, shaking and falling on the ground. He tried again, getting up as he looked around, disoriented. No doubt the ringing was present in his ears too, so loud making both their heads spin. Still, that was something to deal with later; now, they needed to get out and find the others. 

“Did it go off?” Grian asked breathlessly, pushing on a boulder to get on shaky feet. 

She chuckled, a small wave of pain washing over her, “You could say that.”

“Great,” he muttered. He took a second to breathe, then walked over to her, holding the wall up so Gem could unbury her other foot. After a bit, and very carefully, they stepped away from the wall. When they got at a good distance, then a step more, the wall crashed into a pile and cloud of dirt. More dirt glided down from the sides. Everything was a mess. 

They leaned on each other for support, climbing out of the ditch they fell into. Their feet shook with every step, and breathing was particularly hard without inhaling dust and dirt. Like moles, they found their way to the surface with the sun beating down on them, the breeze cooling the sweat on their skins. Ungracefully, they flopped on the warm grass, grass glades tickling their faces and bodies, offering a mild distraction from the pain on their limbs. 

“The– The others…” Gem breathed out, heaving and gasping, the panic really starting to settle in her. Grian rolled to his side, and with another groan, he pushed himself to his knees too. Her hands shook as she reached inside her pocket to grab her communicator, typing in the wrong letters over and over, quietly muttering to herself, “Please, please, please…”

The line crackled. More static than voices. They waited with battered breaths, exchanging knowing looks. 

“He– Hello?”

Gem perked up, relief offering her a shot of adrenaline as she clutched her communicator. “Scar?! Scar, can you hear me?!”

“Can. Where are you? Is Grian with you?”

“Yes, yes, oh my gosh, Scar, yes. He is. Are you alright? Is Skizz with you? We are above ground. Are you alright? Do you need help?”

“We– fine.” Gem clung onto the device with both hands, shaking. Grian knelt closer, fists on his knees, knuckles white. “We– We can’t see Impulse and Joel though. We are fine. The totems saved us. Can you see them from up there?”

Despite the pain, they dragged themselves from under the trees to the edge of the hole. They gasped in unison, almost distraught at the destruction. Gem knew there was guilt in Grian, but that was something to discuss later. They held onto each other, squeezing their hands, looking around frantically. 

It was all a mess. Disaster and destruction, all below them. More than a volcano, this was a nightmare.

“What have I done…” Grian voiced with tangible guilt. Gem squeezed his hand hard, almost bruising, forcing him to focus. And her eyes… They were so sad, but determined. He had to be strong. 

They looked around, at some point finding Scar and Skizz on a crevice, exchanging waves before turning back to their search. 

“Impulse!” Grian exclaimed, almost jumping down himself, stopped only by Gem’s firm grip. He pointed at a crater, bits of tnt poking out of the ground, and small movements. A flicker of a tail. A very slim tail that ended in a heart-like shape. “Over there!”

“We found them. They are—”

Grian yanked himself free from Gem’s grasp, rushing into the hole. She called out after him, her voice mixed with the slide on dirt, Scar and Skizz’s voices in the background. He ran, stumbling on his feet and jumping over holes. It was obvious, so obvious yet she did not want to acknowledge it yet. Guilt. So much guilt. 

Gem picked up her communicator from where it had fallen, taking a second to process the voices and the words. She breathed out as she turned back to the hole, past Grian’s figure, finding Impulse climbing out of the crater. She gave shaky instructions, hearing them move almost instantly, yet her own body was frozen in place. 

Like a member of the audience in a play, she watched Impulse throw something brown over his shoulder before collapsing to the ground. She heard Grian screaming, felt her world shatter. 

An odd sense of serenity washed over her as she noticed something climb down into the hole. Something white and…

Her eyes widened, quickly replaced with a frown as a new sense of fury hit her. Soon, she was climbing down the hole too. Her boots dug into the soft soil, kicking up dirt as she ran. 

The white thing was a fox. And she could not stand there doing nothing as it snuck over and nudged the brown thing onto its back. 

Joel must have turned into a tanuki during the explosion. 

She was not letting Etho get away with Joel. 

_____

lol i will be honest, this was supposed to be the 'underrated ship' bit but no. you have to wait again. because. well just because 😌

[amarylliasky]

Number 27!

Five Times Calyan Fell Alseep on His Family and One Time He…

4. Eruhaben

Calyan took a moment to breathe in the almost frigid night air. Who knew late winter could be so cold? He’d gotten too used to the small bit of insulation in the cave where the Super Rock Villa resides, and almost forgotten that there was still snow on the ground and below freezing temperatures on the surface.

That and the Henituse territory has always gotten pretty cold in the winter.

It’s been awhile since he’d stayed at his “first” house. Lately, he’s taken to staying in the Villa or the black castle. And while the castle is definitely above ground, Lord Sherrit has a particular way of regulating temperature so that the cold air of the Forest of Darkness stays mostly outside.

Well, maybe it’s his fault for coming out to the balcony so late at night. Watching as his breath creates little white puffs of stream in the night air, he can’t help but think of the beings currently occupying his bedroom.

The children are sprawled across his large bed, tangled in the plush comforter with a mountain of pillows to cuddle (along with each other); his brother, Cale, at some point during Calyan’s nap, had fallen asleep on the sofa, and Choi Han, as always, had stayed near the door, ready to fend off any potential intruders. Even Alberu, who had been occupied with the aftermath of the last battle of Puzzle City, now sleeps in Calyan’s own room, slouched over a pile of paperwork at a desk he’d gotten from who knows where. He’d also seen traces of magic device blueprints and some ashes on a table in Raon’s experiment corner, no doubt Eruhaben and Rosalyn are around here somewhere; most likely off in their own guest quarters.

His family is here with him. Both the Henituse’s and his new family members are all within arms reach, not going anywhere.

They are safe, but he is not satisfied.

He really is so selfish.

Why now, of all times, does he suddenly feel like something is very wrong? After the years he and everyone else spent to attain this victory, why now does nothing feel right?

He’s spent the last twenty years as Calyan Henituse, a young master of the prosperous Henituse Duchy, but right now, he feels nothing but disdain for his identity. He feels like he doesn’t belong here. He thought he’d long since accepted this new person he’d become, but recently, he can’t even look in the mirror without feeling an overwhelming sense of disgust. What a time to develop imposter syndrome.

What is wrong with him?

“Child? What are you doing out here at this hour?”

Eek! He almost gasped out loud.

He hadn’t heard the doors open, though he made sure to close them softly as he came outside in order to not let in any of the cold air. Of course, the ancient dragon could have teleported out here, but how did he know that Calyan was on the balcony in the first place? And why was Eruhaben still up?

“I didn’t expect you to still be up, Eruhaben-nim.” He spoke softly, still mindful of the sensitive hearing of those inside.

The dragon sighed, “Unlucky human, I asked you why you were up so late. Weren’t you the one who claimed that you would do nothing but roll around on your bed for the foreseeable future?”

Eruhaben walked over to the railing, placing one hand on the cooled marble that made up the entire balcony. Calyan couldn’t say anything to that. He had told them something of the sort, and he’d planned to do just that, but he didn’t foresee this anxious feeling and the intrusive thoughts that came with it. So he just said whatever sounded good enough to placate the ancient dragon.

“I just couldn’t fall asleep.” He looked out over the Henituse castle. It wasn’t exactly a lie, he just left out the fact of why he couldn’t fall back asleep. “It’s fine though. I’ve slept pretty much the entire day, I can last a few hours without.” Well, that and, thanks to The Vitality of the Heart, he didn’t exactly need that much sleep to feel energized.

Eruhaben observed him, not entirely satisfied with that answer, but he must have decided it wasn’t an issue since he didn’t pry. What a relief. Calyan wasn’t sure how to even begin explaining how he was feeling, let alone why. The mental strain of trying to come to terms with who he had been for seventeen years and then thirty-six, before finally figuring it out at twenty; and then having an identity crisis at almost twenty-one would be a bit too much to process, even for a great and mighty dragon.

So yeah, he decided to stick with ‘can’t sleep’ as his go to excuse.

The elder looked out at the rest of the castle as well, not saying anything. Although Calyan had come out here to avoid everyone, the ancient dragon’s presence brought a strange sort of calmness to him. Huh, maybe living for over a thousand years does that to someone? Then again, a dragon’s presence; what should be intimidating to him, usually doesn’t affect him thanks to the Dominating Aura, so maybe he’s not the best judge of what should or shouldn’t be comforting. But that’s something he’ll think about much later. For now, all he does is stand next to the dragon as they watch the knights patrol along the castle walls.

Minutes pass gradually, and his eyes start to become heavy. Amidst the voices of his ancient powers, who had been silent until now, urging him to rest, he listens to the wind blowing softly through the trees. It’s nice, to just exist in the moment. How long has it been since he just existed outside of the never ending battles and his records constantly tethering him to the past? He doesn’t care to recall.

He stays out there for a few minutes longer, savoring the last bits of peace he would have before his thoughts threatened to consume him when he eventually has to go back inside. Just a few more minutes.

Eventually, he doesn’t know when, but Eruhaben had guided them both to sit on a nearby bench at some point. That’s fine. He doesn’t know how long he could continue standing like that. And this way, he can lean on the ancient dragon for warmth. Surely, he won’t mind just this once? It is getting rather cold out here.

He lets his eyes close and imagines himself being able to sleep as much as he wants for the rest of his days alongside his family and friends. With more moments like these.

He wouldn’t even mind not sleeping if it meant that he would get to spend more time with them. That is what they all fought for, isn’t it?

He feels a shift under his head.

“Hah. Such an unlucky human.” He stirs as he hears an almost indistinguishable voice speak. “Let’s get you to bed. The children will throw a fit if you catch a cold from something like this. You’ve had enough air for tonight.” But it hasn’t been that long? Wait, how long were they sitting there? Had he fallen asleep? Groggily, he opens his eyes, gearing up to make the short yet long trek back to his bed.

But before he can, he suddenly finds himself in the young looking dragon’s arms. How he got there, he hasn’t a clue.

He stutters, not sure how to react at the sudden action. “E-Eruhaben-nim? I can walk -“

“Nonsense. You would have spent the rest of the night outside in the cold.” Sigh “Just go to sleep, child. You clearly need it.”

He can’t refute that. Despite the fact that he slept nearly the entire day, he feels as if he could fall asleep standing up at this point. So despite his pride screaming at him to be put down, his exhaustion wins and he allows his eyes to close, content to let the ancient dragon do all the work.

He hears one last sentence as he finally succumbs to sleep, warm and comfortable in his bed.

“My unlucky child, just rest. It is okay to lean on us.”

With a light brush of a hand upon his head, the ancient dragon leaves the room. Calyan sleeps and dreams of the present, where they are all happy and alive. At least for now, he casts aside the fear and restlessness plaguing him. It can wait. He has more than enough time to figure things out.

[kaibutsushidousha]

With the Heian chapter of FGO soon approaching NA, I thought it would be good to make a refresher post reminding people of the basic concepts behind the main Heian cast of characters. Kinda long post. Enjoy.

Minamoto no Raikou

This character presents herself as a prim and proper lady who never misbehaves and reprimands those around her for their misbehavior. This concept is taken to somewhat of an extreme, with her attempting to force herself into a very emotionally sterile lifestyle, to a point beyond what she can humanly handle, leading to some really messy slip-ups.

The reason for overwhelming self-regulation is that this character is a mixed-blood of human and oni. And one whose oni traits are remarkably ancient and powerful, at that, so can't afford the risk of allowing herself overtly emotional responses to anything, or the consequences will be severe. Her inability to function like a normal human is a consequence of her attempts to remain human.

Another key character trait of hers, usually at the forefront, is her pseudo-incestuous infatuation with our hero Sakata Kintoki. They aren't actually related in any way, she just overlays her conscious romantic feelings with a family framing because she's a freak like that. She's also a frequent target of jokes about her chest size.

Sakata Kintoki

The protagonist of his cluster of characters. He was born and spent his early childhood deep in the Japanese mountains until he was brought to the big city and adopted into the house of the character above, Minamoto no Raikou, because his birth lineage makes him a powerful asset for oni slaying. One of the powers granted by his genealogy is the Pure Eyes, which makes his irises blue and allows him to see things others don't.

Despite his mountain background, his story is set years after he's already grown accustomed to civilization, but his childhood years still left him a man without concrete goals. That said, this is not a bad thing, as he's ultimately content with his simple everyday life.

Being the protagonist of a monster vs human setting, he naturally embodies the heroic virtues of compassion and willingness to be a bridge between both sides. And of course, he gets his fair share of both human and monster love interests.

Shuten-douji

Sakata Kintoki's main love interest. She's the most powerful being on this sub-cast, but she's actually a weakened state of something much greater. Contrary to the restrained half-onis, this character is portrayed as fun-loving and unstoppably free, although she still has principles she strictly follows about the nature of her species.

Her first interaction with her love interest involves him trying to slay her. As someone who always saw herself as invincible, she got very interested in his real prospects of killing her and developed a deeper relationship over time and mutual demonstrations of violence. Despite this, she's actually very insecure about the long-term viability of human/inhuman relationships and ultimately chooses to keep her distance from her love.

Ibuki-Douji

The older and more powerful entity Shuten-douji used to be. She has a far more solemn and dignified presence at first, but at her core, she's noticeably still the same character as her more recent self.

In this specific story, she's more of a setting element and plot device than a proper character, but she gets to show her personality in other stories.

Ibaraki-douji

Mainly a comic relief character but with a sweet deal of tragedy hidden under the surface. She's a loser woman whose key draw is being a loser woman, but that doesn't make her any less capable of gruesome on-screen violence. Holds a huge one-sided grudge against Watanabe no Tsuna, to point this could be considered a core element of her character.

Her personal story is that of a human forced into an oppressive environment due to a suspicion that she had monster blood in her veins, until she reached a breaking point and chose to become the monster she was suspected of being. With that, she gained power and freedom but remained essentially a loser leagues below the level of her aforementioned Watanabe no Tsuna rival (although their shared history enables her to cause meaningful psychological damage).

Watanabe no Tsuna

A remarkably skilled member of the monster-hunting organization and somewhat of a senpai to Sakata Kintoki. Tsuna was born as a common peasant who was perfectly fine with staying that way until the character's first encounter with non-humans changed their life.

The narration surrounding Watanabe no Tsuna loves to describe the character's non-human hunt as thoroughly machine-like, reflecting the character's habit and ability to shut down emotion and perform full self-dehumanization for the sake of a mission. Though one exception to this comes with Ibaraki-douji, as Tsuna's greatest trauma and regret is the incident that orphaned Ibaraki.

Ashiya Douman

A character presented by the narrative as a dark mirror to Sakata Kintoki, but in a that still lets him stand out well as his own character with a completely different background and personality. Character foiling aside, he also has a literal spiritual connection to Kintoki.

We actually don't see much of the actual Douman-born Douman because he spends most of his on-screen time possessed by an ethereal being who can be considered another incarnation of himself after experiencing death many times.

The flesh-providing Douman is presented as a very implicitly tragic figure in his limited screentime, while the reincarnator Douman (called Limbo for differentiation purposes) is remarkably knowledgeable of the magical secrets relevant to the overarching plot and serves as a neat window for the things to come. Limbo was also somewhat of a simp for Ibuki-douji before the events of this story made him change his mind.

And one key aspect all versions of Douman share is their comedy relief aspects, which are centered around him being the unwanted member of his group or him getting easily excited and losing the ability to shut up.

Murasaki Shikibu

A lady-in-waiting to a noble lady. Has something of a sisterly relationship with her fellow lady-in-waiting Sei Shounagon. She's actually the more naturally excitable of the duo, but the dark circumstances of her work environment made her somber, outwardly dispassionate, submissive, and courteous to a fault.

Sei Shounagon

A lady-in-waiting to a noble lady. Has something of a sisterly relationship with her fellow lady-in-waiting Murasaki Shikibu. She's actually the more naturally introverted of the duo but since the person that she cared about the most started to lose her smile, Sei Shounagon became a constantly cheerful silly girl in a questionable attempt to make her feel safer and remind her of the good times.

She went through some really bad times in the past, but her compassionate understanding of the heart of the lady she served and the knowledge about onis she gained from personal experience prevented her from acting out of hatred towards the one who made her suffer.

My favorite character in the entire game, by the way.

[iexistapparantly]

'What the fuck is this supposed to be?' -Human!Reader X Madness Combat-

TW: Strong language, blood, violence (obviously)

Short stories, yay.

It's the dead of night, the dimly lit street stretches ahead, a solitary path occasionally punctuated by the distant hum of passing cars. You've just wrapped up another long, exhausting day at work. Your sister, in her infinite wisdom, decided this was the perfect time for a meetup at some bizarre restaurant you've never heard of. Gripping your phone like a lifeline, you mutter to yourself. "Why couldn't she pick a normal place? She always has such weird taste” 

You squint at your phone's screen, the glow reflecting in your irritated eyes. With your pockets feeling as empty as your bank account, you decided to save gas and hoof it. Just your luck, though – as you walk, the weather decides that no, you may not have a good day. A tiny, singular drop of water plips on your nose. Then another lands on your phone. It's not long before multiple tiny raindrops start pelting down. You groan, pulling the hood of your jacket over your head. "Great, just great. I'm soaked already. This can’t get any worse." 

But wait, there's hope! You're not entirely helpless; you had the foresight to bring an umbrella. Blessings upon blessings for not being a total dolt. However, your moment of self-congratulation is short-lived. As you're strolling along, raindrops gently bouncing off your trusty umbrella, things do indeed get worse. 

Your foot snags on a crack in the pavement and you unceremoniously plummet face-first onto the concrete, your phone catapulting off into the nearby bushes. With an exasperated sigh, you pick yourself up, your now damp and filthy clothes clinging to your skin like glue. Cold, wet, dirty glue. "...I should have kept my mouth shut" Grumbling and swiping at your now mud-stained clothes, you begin your quest to retrieve your precious phone. You gaze around for a sign of its whereabouts, your frustration palpable. "It’s dark as shit out here, I can’t see anything- wait." Your eyes zero in on its location, and your heart drops as you realize it landed in a ditch. 

Without a moment's thought, you lurch forward, desperation propelling you as your shoes kick up mud and leaves. You scramble toward the edge of the ditch, praying you can reach your phone before it meets a watery grave. But alas, you're just a hair too slow. It splashes into the water and floats away into a tunnel within the mountain. With a helpless gasp, you watch as your beloved slips from the ledge and disappears into a yawning tunnel leading deep into the mountain. 

Panic surges within you. You unleash a shout of frustration. "No, no, no!" Ignoring the darkness and your complete lack of a plan, you blindly plunge into the tunnel, your hands frantically sweeping the water's surface. Your heart races as you grope through the murky depths, searching desperately for your precious device. You keep scrambling along in the never-ending tunnel, feeling like you're stuck in some sort of bad dream. 

Your fingers scrape against the wet ground as you scuffle along on your hands and knees. It's dark, creepy, and your heart is still racing from the loss of your phone. You squint through the murky tunnel and spot a faint red glow. Your heart skips a beat. You squint your eyes further, your face scrunching as you step forward, hoping for a miracle. As you approach, the only thing you are able to see is the large hole your phone is floating towards. Without thinking, you lunge forward, thrusting your arm through the hole to snatch your phone before it slips away for good. 

But your fingers grasp at empty air, and you're left with nothing but failure. "Damnit!" Frustration fuels your determination, and you stick your head out of the small opening. The first thing that hits you is the sand, and not in a fun beach way. It flies right into your face, getting into your eyes, your nose, and your mouth. You grunt and stumble backward, falling back into the water with a splash. 

You're now completely drenched, adding insult to injury. “Great. Just fucking fantastic.” You try to get the sand out of your eyes, but it feels like your eyeballs have turned into scratchy sandpaper. You curse your luck once more, all while sitting in the water, soaked to the bone and feeling like the universe decided to just take a massive shit on your life. Tears mix with the sand on your face as frustration consumes you. You're drenched, irritated as hell, and your eyeballs feel like they've been through a desert sandstorm. But you can't give up, not when your precious phone is at stake. The files stored in that thing are irreplacable.

You take a deep breath, wiping your face with a soggy sleeve. "Alright, let's do this." After a quick check to ensure you can get back out of the hole, you stick your legs through and awkwardly plop down. The rocks dig into your skin as you slide through the narrow gap. Your hood gets caught on the jagged edges, exposing your midriff to the cold wind as you slide through. With an undignified yelp, you dangle in the air for a moment before dropping down onto your butt with a grunt. A small smile of relief graces your face as you retrieve your phone and attempt to power it on. That smile very quickly falls into a scowl when, with trembling fingers, you press the power button, praying for a miracle, but nope. It's as dead as hell. No matter how many times you jab at the power button, it refuses to cooperate. 

You let out an indignant sigh, looking around the semi-lit cave you've ended up in. Your body goes lax in defeat and you decide it's time to climb out of this strange, semi-lit cave. But just as you're about to make your move, something catches your eye. An exit, a little farther away, bathed in the same eerie red light that you just fell through. But this one, it's definitely the source of that crimson glow. 

You pause, your eyebrows furrowing as you take in the unsettling scene. The silence in that direction is deafening, save for the occasional flutter of sand in the stagnant air. But that's odd; there shouldn't be any wind down here to stir up the sand. Your gut twists with unease – something isn't right. You swallow hard, the lump in your throat refusing to budge as you contemplate your next move. Your curiosity led you into this mess and it's not about to let you walk away now. 

You're faced with a dilemma: A) Climb back up and save your precious sim card, or B) venture into the weird glowy exit. The answer is as clear as day, at least to your curious, slightly daft mind. You choose the latter. Crawling low to the ground, you cautiously poke your head out of the exit once more, squinting your eyes this time to block any sand. What you see makes your jaw drop "What the hell is this place supposed to be?!" 

Before you stretches an expanse that can only be described as a whole ass desert. Well, you think it's a desert, given the vast amount of strange black sand, sandstone formations, and tge complete absence of trees. You're no expert though, so this might just be some really, really fucked up cave system. It’s an ominous change to the lush foliage back in your town. What truly boggles your mind is the sky – it's this strange, otherworldly shade of red. 

You don't hesitate for long. You squeeze yourself out of the hole and stand up, fully taking in the surreal landscape before you. It seems almost endless, like you've stumbled into some sort of bizarre world. And you, being the curious (stupid) soul you are, feel compelled to explore it. 

As you wander through this odd terrain, you start to notice more peculiarities. There are what appear to be tattered pieces of metal scattered about, and you catch glimpses of small skeletal remains poking out from beneath the sand. A heavy sense of dread gnaws at your stomach the whole time, that sense of dread soon becomes unbearable, intensifying with each step away from the cave exit. 

After just a couple of minutes, you can't take it any longer, and you decide to turn back. But there's a problem – you can't find the cave. Dread sets in as you try to retrace your steps, only succeeding in getting yourself more lost. Everything looks the same, and there's not a single recognizable landmark in sight. You mutter to yourself, "Of course, this had to happen." You're in full-blown panic mode now, and that overwhelming sense of dread has you sprinting like your life depends on it. But let's be real – you're not exactly running far, just sort of scuttling in circles, hoping to stumble upon something familiar. Spoiler alert: that doesn't happen. 

It becomes painfully obvious that logic is not your strong suit as you continue your amazing plan of walking in random directions. You start to question your life choices and contemplate just what made you decide to enter an unknown, dangerous looking and unexplored area with no second thoughts. "Why am I like this?" you mutter between panicked breaths. Finally, you spot something up ahead. Is that... a wall? Yep, it definitely is. You approach it, taking note that it's not particularly imposing. 

It reaches up to your head in height, and you can't quite gauge its thickness. It's constructed from an odd mishmash of small metal scraps, toothpick-like poles, and a generous sprinkling of menacing barbed wire. The dread in your gut grows, but so does your curiosity. A sensible person might think twice before attempting to hop over such a fence. But are you a sensible person? Hell no. 

You decide to defy all reason and logic you've chastised yourself for not having a few moments ago. Instead of listening to that tiny voice in your head that's just trying to look out for your well-being, you opt for the best route possible. Circling around the wall, you scout out a sturdy rock, clamber onto it, and attempt to scale the makeshift barrier like a newborn baby learning how to stand. Spoiler alert again: it's not the most graceful climb. Your utter lack of upper body strength becomes painfully evident, and you end up resorting to rolling onto your stomach, then flopping down onto your back, landing on the ground with a resounding THUNK. 

Gritting your teeth and grunting in pain, you squint your eyes open, half-expecting to find yourself in some sort of absurd fever dream. But instead, you're met with the sight of a large... city? Well, it's not exactly "large." In fact, it's pretty damn small, but there's a whole lot of it, considering it's dwarfed by your presence.

You sit up, wincing as you rub your sore back with your palm, and take a closer look at your surroundings. Most of the buildings around you reach only up to your shoulders. "Well, this is one way to feel tall," you mutter with a bemused grin, not quite processing the absurdity of it all. Your eyes drop to the ground where you landed, and you're met with the sight of a tiny truck. A really tiny one. 

Your curiosity gets the best of you, and you crouch down to examine it more closely. That's when you notice something oozing out from the crushed vehicle. It's... yellow? And is that... blood? Your eyes widen, and you can't help but exclaim, "Wait, what the hell?" Your gaze locks onto a severed hand lying amidst the gruesome mess. It's not attached to anything, and it's got an odd light gray skin tone. 

You can't help but mumble words of confusion as you pick up the surprisingly heavy miniature truck and inspect it more closely. In an utterly bizarre turn of events, when you lift the truck, the hand that shouldn't be attached to anything follows it. "No way, this can't be real," you mutter, pinching the disembodied hand between your fingers and tugging at it. To your bewilderment, there's resistance. 

After a few moments of perplexed contemplation, you muster up the courage to pry open the crushed roof of the tiny truck and peer inside. Your heart races as you're met with the sight of a very squished, bloody, and rather unpleasant-looking pile of mush. Or at least you think it's blood – it sure as hell smells like it. You recoil, scrunching up your nose in disgust. 

Panic sets in once more, and you start to freak out. Did you accidentally squash some bizarre mutant rat creature? Where the hell even are you? And why in the world are these buildings so ridiculously small? Questions swirl through your mind as you stand there, completely bewildered and utterly freaked out. 

Before you can wrap your head around the bizarre mushy encounter, the soft thuds of approaching shoes catch your attention. You whip around and lock eyes with... well, whatever the hell it is that's staring right back at you. Your jaw drops, and so does the, uh, "rat," for lack of a better term. Your eyes widen like saucers as you take in this unprecedented sight. This creature is like nothing you've ever seen – not even in your wildest nightmares. It doesn't possess any eyes, but you can feel its gaze piercing through you. It's an eerie shade of gray, maybe about 16 inches tall, or possibly even smaller. The weirdest part? It has no limbs to speak of, just two floating hands and a pair of shoes awkwardly stuck to its lower body. Its clothing is oddly fancy – a snazzy suit that's completely out of place. Its "face," if you can call it that, is just a cross on the center of its head, topped with a pair of sunglasses. Sunglasses! It doesn't even have a nose! Oh, was it mentioned that it has floating hands? Because it totally has floating hands. 

Your mouth hangs open in shock as the creature points at you and screams in bloody horror. It makes a break for it, disappearing into the miniature cityscape. Honestly, you can't blame it. You would run like hell if you saw a giant, homeless looking stinky ass homosapien too. 

"Wait!" Without thinking, you scramble to follow, your curiosity now competing with your terror. But your curiosity takes a backseat when you round a corner and come face to face with a gaggle of more of these bizarre beings – all of them brandishing tiny guns.

"Oh, shit." 

You stumble backward just as a hail of tiny bullets whizzes past you. Surprisingly, it hurts – like getting pelted by a thousand miniature sandblasters that actually penetrate your skin and make you bleed. Your flight-or-fight instincts kick into overdrive, and you choose the latter. Again.

You spring forward, channeling your fear and a touch of anger into a dropkick that sends one of the creatures soaring through the air, colliding with the miniature buildings. But the rest of them? They don't run away. Instead, they seem even more determined to kick your ass. You quickly become outnumbered, losing count of how many times you feel one of them mounting you and stabbing at your skin with their blunt instruments. 

Realization dawns on you – you can't win this way. So, in a desperate bid for survival, you do the smartest thing you can think of and should have done originally: run like a bitch. But the situation takes a turn for the worse as more of those little shits start swarming in, all armed to the teeth and refusing to let you escape. The worst part? A much larger version of these creatures joins the fray, their guns looking closer in size to what humans use. You don't want to find out what it feels like to get shot by one of those. 

That's it. No more curiosity. You want out. Your clothes are shredded, drenched in blood, you're riddled with pain, hunger gnaws at your gut, your phone is still a dead weight, and you're scared shitless. You'd give anything to be anywhere else right now. So, you leap over the wall and sprint down the empty, dark desert, leaving the madness behind. Even when you've put a good distance between you and the chaos, you can still hear their war cries echoing in the distance. 

Just when you thought things couldn't get any worse, you come across a larger building, looming ominously in the distance. Instead of approaching it, your instincts scream at you to stay as far away as possible. Unfortunately, the residents inside don't seem to share your sentiments. A tiny red dot appears between your eyes, and you have mere moments to react before a bullet slams into your skull. It doesn't pierce the bone, but the force of the impact sends you tumbling to the ground, your vision blurring. You groan, blood now mixing with the mess of dirt and sweat on your face. 

You manage to prop yourself up, your hand clutching your now even more bloodied and injured head. Gazing up at the roof of the building, you spot another one of those little creatures perched on the edge, aiming a sniper rifle right at you. This one looks different from the others, with what appears to be a black mask, red goggles, and... is that a fucking mohawk? You can't be entirely sure from this distance. 

Another figure with circular goggles appears beside the sniper, smacking the rifle's barrel away from you. A spark of hope flickers in your heart, but it's quickly extinguished when the creature slides down the wall, using a knife to slow its descent, and starts sprinting toward you with a katana in hand. Mercy is clearly not on the menu. 

You scramble to your feet, but your many injuries slow you down. The adrenaline surging through your veins helps, but it's still a challenge to get up and run for it. The creature proves to be surprisingly swift, easily closing the distance. Its first target: your heels. It slices through the tendons of your foot, sending you tumbling to the ground once more. With only a spare second to react, you instinctively cover your neck, anticipating the worst. Your arms are nearly shredded as the creature's blade flashes down in a millisecond.

All you can see are two glowing red dots staring down at you and the fluttering of a coat. Before the creature can bring the blade down on your eye, you swing your injured arm out, but it's too late. The creature leaps and dodges your rather pathetic attempt, landing on your face and impaling your left eye with its katana. 

Pain surges through your body, and you let out a guttural cry. Pain engulfs you as you scream, the creature's weight pressing down, creating a scorching heat from its blade searing through your flesh. It's a level of agony you've never known, and it feels like your world is being consumed by fire. 

The blade twists to the side, mercilessly slashing through your skin like it's cutting through butter, running down your eyelid and part of your cheekbone. Tears pour uncontrollably from your only good eye, the sight of the blade lifting, poised to strike your other eye, reigniting your survival instincts. 

This time, when you throw your hand out, it connects with the creature, and you manage to hit it off your face, its back hitting the ground harshly. Another cry escapes your lips as you clutch your injured eye, trembling and shaking uncontrollably. Scrambling backward, you avoid the creature as it stalks slowly toward you, its gloved fingers twirling the now bloodied blade in its hands, clearly relishing in your fear, panic, and pain. 

Your back hits the building you had been trying to avoid, and you look up, catching sight of the other creature observing from above. Desperation courses through you, and in a swift, instinctual movement, you reach up and grab the head of the creature in your hand. It's a race against time, and your grip tightens as the creature attacking you hesitates. "I-I swear," you stammer through your sobs, your voice quivering with fear but laced with determination, "I'll crush his damn skull if you come any closer! Back off!" 

The creature slowly backs off, still harboring a desire to attack. Meanwhile, the one in your grip struggles fiercely, its strength surprising you as you grapple to keep it restrained. There comes a point when it manages to draw a knife and stab your fingers, but you refuse to relent. If you let go now, you'll lose your other eye and, quite possibly, your life. 

With your fingers aching and bleeding, you slowly step backward, tossing the creature's weapons aside. Once you're a safe distance away, you pivot on your heels and break into a limping sprint, faster than you've ever run before, adrenaline coursing through your veins like a raging river. 

You glance over your shoulder, confirming that the creature is still in pursuit, and the other one is struggling to free itself. Gunshots ring out, and most of them seem to find their target. Despite the searing pain you feel with each hit, you refuse to stop running; you only push yourself harder. 

You take as many twists and turns as possible, desperately trying to shake off the relentless pursuer. Finally, after what feels like an eternity, you succeed in losing the creature on your heels. As soon as you're out of immediate danger, you lean against one of the many rocks scattered across the desert, clutching the creature tightly to your chest for comfort. 

Overwhelmed by fear, pain, and helplessness, you can't hold back the sobs that wrack your body. You tremble uncontrollably as you wallow in self-pity, tears and blood streaming down your face. You clutch onto the tiny creature tightly, your nose pressed against its head, the hair on its scalp tickling your skin as you choke out pitiful hiccups and sobs. The creature in your hands is now silent, having given up its futile struggle a little while ago when it realized escape was highly improbable. After your intense sobbing fit subsides, you find yourself sitting in the desert, still clutching the creature you'd been struggling with moments ago, the searing pain in your eye still has not faded.

The adrenaline has left your body, leaving you drained and trembling, but you manage to regain your composure. Taking a few deep breaths, you turn your attention to the creature in your arms. "What the hell are you?" you manage to croak, your voice shaky. 

The creature stirs slightly in your grasp, and it's deep, resonant voice cuts through the eerie silence of the desert. "Call me 2Bdamned," it responds bluntly.

 “I said what are you?” 

2Bdamned shifts his body, trying to adjust into a more comfortable position, “a grunt.” You blink in surprise at its straightforwardness. 

"A grunt? Like from some weird fucked up animal?" 

"Something like that," 2Bdamned replies, his tone cold and calculating. "But I've never seen anything like you before. What are you, and how did you end up here?" You take a moment to collect your thoughts before you begin recounting what you are and your bizarre journey, starting with the inexplicable fall through the tunnel and ending with the chaotic encounter with the other creatures.

"I honestly have no idea where 'here' even is," you admit, your voice tinged with frustration. “This whole situation has just been so fucked up.. And now I've lost a damn eye because of it.” 2Bdamned remains silent for a moment, processing your story. 

"You’re in Nevada. You will never find anything but ‘fucked up situations’ here." he explains, sounding almost bored.

You nod, beginning to grasp the gravity of your situation. "Is there a way I can leave..?" 

2Bdamned's voice remains as cold and pragmatic as ever. "Escaping Nevada won't be easy, but it might be possible if I figure out what brought you here in the first place." As you continue your conversation with 2Bdamned, you realize that despite the chaos and uncertainty that surrounds you both, he may be your best chance at navigating this surreal realm and finding a way to break free from the grip of Nevada's relentless madness. 

As you sit there, trembling and lost in the madness of Nevada, 2Bdamned appears to grow tired of your sobbing and finally acknowledges your existence. His cold, calculating demeanor slowly gives way to a begrudging curiosity about what exactly you are. "Fine," he mutters with a resigned sigh, his reluctance palpable in his tone. "I'll help you, but don't expect any hospitality." You readily accept his offer, your eagerness to find a way out of this nightmarish Nevada outweighing any concerns about his demeanor. Together, you make your way back to the building, where the atmosphere is anything but friendly. 

Inside, 2Bdamned confronts Hank, the grunt who had originally attacked you, his voice carrying a stern message, "Don't do that anymore." Hank, visibly displeased, gives you a death glare that could curdle milk. Despite his clear displeasure, he begrudgingly listens to 2Bdamned's command. You can practically feel the waves of bloodlust radiating off him, sending a shiver down your spine. 

While you're sitting outside the building, anxiously waiting for some glimmer of hope in this bizarre desert, 2Bdamned finally emerges with news. He informs you that Deimos, another one of his mercenaries, is poring over the data and information he had provided, desperately searching for any anomalies within this bewildering desert to locate an exit, or something like that. 

But in the meantime, 2Bdamned decides he should patch you up to prevent you from bleeding out and to prevent infection. With surprising skill, he tends to your wounds, you still wince and grimace at the pain like a complete baby. But you're grateful nonetheless, considering the alternative would involve a lot more bleeding and a lot less being alive. 

When he's done, he offers you a miniature hotdog, which you can really only lick, it's like a damn crumb. It's a tiny snack for a big problem, but it'll have to do. As 2Bdamned starts to ask you questions, another grunt unexpectedly pokes his head out of the building. He’s wearing a cute little visor, the cap shifting as he flicks it up with his finger and eagerly informs 2Bdamned of his findings. But when he spots you, towering over both him and the entire damn base, he stares, slack jawed, "...what… the fuck…?" 2Bdamned simply gestures for him to leave, and the unfamiliar grunt’s cross scrunches with what you can only imagine to be irritation and a bit (a lot) of surprise.

Not one to pry into matters that don't concern him (for now at least), he decides to keep his questions to himself and retreats back into the building. 2Bdamned, a little bummed that his conversation got cut short, heads back inside to review the information Deimos brought him. Soon enough, he returns with a tracker and a map, indicating that it's time to embark on your journey.

The walk is excruciatingly slow, thanks to the vast difference in stride length between you and the grunts. After some time, you decide to take matters into your own hands – literally. You pick up 2Bdamned and ask him to point you in the right direction, much to his chagrin. Meanwhile, Hank, who had decided to tag along uninvited, scuffles up to you (without asking) and opts for a more unconventional mode of transportation, climbing onto your foot for the ride. (again, you did not offer. You still haven’t forgotten what he’s done to your eye and ankles.)

Eventually, all three of you reach the familiar cave entrance. You breathe a sigh of relief, grateful to have found your way back. At this point, you're exhausted beyond belief, and passing out seems like a very tempting option. You express your gratitude to the grunts for their assistance in finding your way back and for patching you up. 

You turn to 2Bdamned and give him the best smile you can, though it does end up looking like a grimace, "Thanks a lot, 2Bdamned. Your help means a lot." 2Bdamned grumbles in response, still not quite fond of wasting his time on such inconvenient and meaningless things, but he does offer a nod of acknowledgment. Hank, on the other hand, has been silently staring this whole time, his unblinking gaze locked onto you. It's a bit unsettling, to be honest. You decide to give him some recognition too, albeit in an awkward manner. 

You give Hank a small wave, "Uh, thanks, Hank. You...uh, did a great job not attacking me again." Hank remains silent, but he does cock his head to the side, which you take as a sign that he acknowledges your thanks in his own way. Or maybe he's just silently mocking you. It's hard to tell with this dude. 

The cave entrance looks similar to the way you remember it. The walls of the entrance is barely big enough for you to fit. The air is damp and filled with a strange, earthy scent that lingers in your nostrils. With the less than pleasant goodbye to your.. Companions? Acquaintances? Weird midget alien frenemies? You're not really sure.. 

You take a moment to survey your surroundings. Sending a final wave to 2Bdamned and an awkward nod in Hank's direction, you decide it's time to make your way back into the cave. You leave the two grunts to their own devices, whatever those may be, and begin your journey back through the dark, damp tunnel. 

Limping your way through the ditch, you can still feel the persistent drizzle of rain soaking through your clothes. It's as if the weather has decided to join in on the absurdity of Nevada. As you finally emerge from the tunnel and take that crucial step onto the surface, rain once again greets you. The shower immediately intensifies, turning from a drizzle to a downpour. You can't help but roll your eye at the timing. "Great," you mutter to yourself, drenched and shivering from both the rain and the bizarre events of your journey. "Just what I needed." Through the entire experience you just went through, you can say for certain.. You’re never walking into weird ass caves again.

Edited - 12/16/2023

[electronickingdomfox]

"Mindshadow" review

One of these days, Spock will do the logical thing and get an all-risk insurance for his brain...

Novel from 1986, by J. M. Dillard. Okay, this story is quite messy, as it tries to put together a pastiche of plot threads and themes that may or may not be that cohesive. It borrows heavily from TOS episodes, from The Enterprise Incident to Journey to Babel (even a bit from Wolf in the Fold). There are definitely a few plot holes and some silliness. The espionage/murder plot is sometimes too convoluted to follow. Also, some names look like typos: Transporter technician "Lyle"? (I'm pretty sure that was supposed to be Kyle), the penal colony of "Ebla Two"? (should have been Elba Two), "Chekhov"????... In terms of absurdity, it's similar to that other novel, "Black Fire" (and yes, there's even a pirate Spock in here too). But just as it happened with that book... I actually liked this one as well. It's a glorious mess, alright.

The most serious (and somber) thread is that of Spock receiving brain damage, and his struggles to recover his memories and Vulcan mental disciplines. The abuse he suffers from medical malpractice, his frustration with his impaired learning, his loving (and sometimes painful) relationship with his family, or Uhura's tender attempts to help him through music... Those elements have probably the greatest emotional impact in the novel, and are actually pretty good in themselves. This is also, at core, a "triumvirate" novel, with strong character drama between Kirk, Spock and McCoy, and a focus on their closeness.

On the other hand, there's another, more ridiculous drama: both Kirk and McCoy fall in love with the same Mary Sue, and hilarity tragedy ensues. For his part, Kirk seems pretty callous in his seduction of this woman, as he doesn't even like her all that much; at times, it almost looks as if he just wanted to piss McCoy off (isn't there really ANY other woman available for him!?). While McCoy, who truly loves the Mary Sue, ends up looking incredibly pitiful, desperate and, well, downright pathetic. However, out-of-character as it is, I ended up getting some guilty pleasure from all of it, as in "Let's see Kirk's next shitty move and what happens next..." Anyway, even though the woman likes the two of them, she ends up realizing they're both just too gay for Spock, to the surprise of nobody.

Spoilers under the cut:

The planet Aritani has suffered recent raids from cloaked vessels, so Kirk is negotiating with the natives to offer Federation help against the attacks, despite the natives’ reticence towards technology. They erect a shield around the planet to prevent the fighter ships entering the atmosphere, or trap below it those that may be cloaked right now. Then Spock goes alone to investigate the nearby mountains, since he found valuable minerals that could be the objective of the raiders. However, when Spock is late to report, Kirk goes after him… And finds out he has fallen off a cliff and has gravely injured his head. McCoy’s assessment is that Spock has suffered extensive damage to the left hemisphere, so his logic, language and memory will be impaired, and the doctor has many doubts about his eventual recovery; they’d need a neuropsychologist specialized on Vulcans.

Meanwhile, Kirk authorizes shore leave on the surface of Aritani, as several hours have passed without sighting any fighter (the reasoning being that, by now, they’d have run out of fuel to keep their cloaks up). Well, if you ask me, I don’t think it’s the most appropiate time and place for shore leave; and sure enough, a little while later a group of enemy vessels appears out of nowhere and starts attacking the crew on leave. Kirk and Scott can’t understand how that’s possible, and only see two options: either the fighters have an improved cloaking device that allows them to stay hidden for longer, or they somehow managed to penetrate the shields. Actually, there’s a third option, which they never even consider: they’ve been beaming people down to the planet for shore leave! That means they’ve been lowering the shields ALL THE TIME!! Duh… Kirk is having the worst day of his life, and on top of that, the Aritanians refuse further help from Starfleet, after their failure to protect them. Kirk’s orders, however, are to stay in the vicinity.

In sickbay, Uhura comes to visit an injured friend and starts singing for him. Then, upon hearing the music, Spock finally shows some reaction, and is capable of calling her name and asking for songs, as his right hemisphere (supposedly associated with emotions and art) is intact. During the following days, Spock will make some progress thanks to Uhura’s company. Apart from that, a new neuropsychologist is assigned to the Enterprise to study Spock’s case: Dr. Mary Sue Emma Saenz. Five minutes later, both McCoy and Kirk fall head over heels for her (to the point that McCoy is jealous even when Kirk says “Hello” to her). Emma also shows an unusual physical strength when she beats Kirk in their combat trainings. Nonetheless, it turns out that Emma… is actually Dr. Evil!Mary Sue!! She forces a mind-meld with Spock while alone with him, and extracts some important information about what he saw in Aritani, before erasing his memory of the meld. Her diagnostic is that Spock will probably recover in the areas of language and amnesia. But he has lost the Vulcan mind rules to shield himself away from others’ emotions, which he can now receive telepathically at all times. This could turn him into a violent individual, and Emma suggests restraints and an experimental medication: neodopazine.

In the bridge, Chekov manages to locate a decloaked enemy vessel, and they capture it with a tractor beam along one of the pirates. The raider turns out to be Romulan, but he denies the existence of any special device to penetrate shields, and Scotty doesn’t find anything of the like upon dismantling the fighter. Kirk was about to interrogate the prisoner, when they discover he’s been vaporized. Someone stunned the guard, then removed the brig force field and killed the prisoner, trying to make it look like a suicide. Security doesn’t have a clue about the killer (though the reader certainly can suspect who is it…). If this wasn’t enough, Spock is found in bed with his wrists sliced, as if he had also attempted suicide. Spock denies having done so, and says someone tried to murder him, but he doesn’t remember who. Emma is furious and gaslights Spock, saying he’s imagining murderers to cover up his suicide attempt. McCoy, however, takes Spock’s side and has a violent discussion with Emma, who ends up admitting she just wants to help Spock. Of course, the situation is very romantic, so they kiss. Later that night, Kirk is having trouble to sleep (no wonder) and goes to McCoy’s cabin for some pills (you see, he can’t go to sickbay, no; if he doesn’t sleep, then McCoy can’t either). Then Kirk finds out that McCoy is… sleeping with Emma!! Kirk doesn’t like that.

Since Spock believes his only option of recovering the mind rules is returning to Vulcan, he’s sent there in a shuttle with Scotty and Chapel. The shuttle has been sabotaged, and they crash land on Vulcan, though just with minor injuries. Spock is fine, so he leaves Scotty with Chapel at the hospital, and walks to his home town on foot. During the following weeks, he will stay at his parents’ home, trying to relearn the Vulcan disciplines with a Kolinahr master. His progress is really slow, though, and with mounting frustration, he realizes the neodopazine, far from helping, seems to be deteriorating his mind. Spock also meets T'Pala, a girl who's staying with his parents while she studies to enter the Vulcan Diplomatic Corps. T'Pala has many things in common with Spock: she's also half human, and has difficulty adapting to Vulcan life (even moreso than Spock, since she grew up in Earth). Sarek's disappointment with her is a mirror for Spock's own youth.

In the Enterprise, Scotty is put in the brig as the main suspect for the Romulan's murder (of course, he's later cleared of charges). For his part, Kirk hurts his shoulder while training with Emma. She takes him to her quarters to treat the injury, gives him an analgesic, and then they kiss. McCoy waits for Emma the whole evening, grows increasingly suspicious, and finally sees her leaving Kirk's cabin. After that, he mopes for a couple of days, until Kirk visits him with a bottle of moonshine ("here, I stole your girlfriend, but you can get drunk with this..."). Kirk, however, says he doesn't remember what he did with Emma. And Emma confirms that Kirk just passed out because of the analgesic; she's attracted to Kirk and kissed him, but nothing else happened. McCoy is happy with this (he doesn't ask for much, right?) and suddenly he's like "Hey, you slept with me a couple of times. Where's my wedding ring!? I'm a decent boy!". Emma says she'll leave soon, so no, no wedding...

After this, the Enterprise is tasked with bringing a bunch of ambassadors to Vulcan, to discuss the acceptance of Aritani into the Federation. This part is a bit dull and drags too much, in my opinion. During the journey, more suspicious incidents take place: one ambassador is killed, another is badly hurt, and an explosion leaves the Enterprise without warp drive. It seems someone doesn't want Aritani to join the Federation. Then, Kirk discovers that Emma has been making unauthorized transmissions, but she assures him she's been working for Starfleet Intelligence all this time. An Admiral confirms this point, so Kirk is satisfied.

Back in Vulcan, Spock has stopped taking the neodopazine, and experiments a clear improvement. Finally, he's able to recover the mind rules, and his memories from Aritani return to him in dreams. There was something really important he needed to tell Kirk, and now that the Enterprise is near Vulcan, Spock opens a transmission to the ship. But just before he can say anything, an assassin breaks into his house, injures Sarek, and tries to slice Spock's wrists again. He wants to make it look as Spock murdering Sarek, then killing himself. T'Pala intervenes at the last moment, vaporizing the assassin with a phaser. Then, she confesses that Romulans approached her to leak info about Spock, but she couldn't comply with their murderous plans. Having failed at entering the Diplomatic Corps, T'Pala doesn't have much more to live for, and she kills herself too.

Sarek and Spock recover in a hospital from the attack. And Kirk and McCoy band together against Emma to go visit him. Then Spock tells everything. What he saw at Aritani was some fighter vessels beaming up from below the earth, where the Romulans must have an underground base (that's why the atmospheric shield was useless). Knowing that they'd kill him, Spock decided to escape by jumping from the cliff, where he damaged his head. Much to McCoy's surprise, Spock also shows him a medical article written by Emma, explaining all the damaging effects of neodopazine in Vulcan brains. McCoy confronts Emma about the use of such dangerous drug on Spock, just when she was leaving for her next assignment. But she stuns him (and a bunch of other people) and escapes the ship, confirming their suspicions.

In the last part, the Enterprise returns to Aritani to destroy the Romulan base once and for all. Kirk gets again that surgery to look Romulan (as in The Enterprise Incident) and infiltrates the compound with Spock (who's dressed as a Romulan pirate, while McCoy wants to pierce his ear). However, they're captured by a Romulan officer, that Kirk recognizes as Emma. Her real name is Tanirius, and actually, she wasn't Evil!Mary Sue at all. She just carried out the Praetor's orders as a cover-up, all the while working for Starfleet and a group of Romulan rebels, to destroy the underground base. She gave Spock the neodopazine to avoid killing him, once she understood how important he was for McCoy and Kirk. This plot twist really took me by surprise, but that's in part because... well, it doesn't make much sense. You know, despite the novel trying to present Emma as eventually good, she's just not! Not only did she try to kill Spock SEVERAL times, but she was far more efficient at carrying out the Romulans' plans than what was strictly necessary!! (whatever, maybe she was just jealous of Spock). Emma helps them to deactivate the cloaking device of the base, and then stays behind to destroy it whole. Kirk and Spock beam up to the Enterprise in time, while an underground explosion shakes the planet. In the aftermath, Aritani accepts the Federation's help, now that they're free of Romulans. And Spock tries to console McCoy saying that some vessels fled the base in time, and Emma could be among the survivors. Kirk sees through his bullshit, though, and wonders if Spock is just lying because he also has affection for McCoy, much to Spock's indignation.

McSpirk Meter: 9/10*. The Kirk/Spock angle is more evident. When Spock is injured, Kirk just can't think about anything else. He goes constantly to sickbay to check his state, argues with McCoy, is irritable with everyone and everything... Kirk even tries to reach the catatonic Spock through a mind link, to no avail. And once he gets a replacement First Officer, Kirk is unreasonably hostile to him, just because he's not Spock. It's also said several times that Kirk is the person that knows Spock better in the entire world. Another remarkable scene happens when Spock is leaving for Vulcan. Spock can feel Jim's emotions and pain at his departure, and his repressed impulse to touch him, so Spock relents and takes his hand. As for McCoy, his care for Spock comes rather as medical concern, but Emma sees through him quite early. She says he's too emotionally involved with the patient to be of any help. And despite the fact they're in a relationship, it seems that all of McCoy and Emma's conversations revolve around Spock, which causes continous tensions between them. At one point, she states the facts clearly: "I have risked myself for your friend because you loved him". Effectively, the reason she gives for not killing Spock outright, is that McCoy and Kirk cared about him too much. The ending lines have Kirk reminding Spock of this fact, and wondering if Spock also returns McCoy's affections.

Apart from this, there's a certain tension between Kirk and McCoy. Before the whole problem with Emma begins, they're reminiscing their shore-leaves together, and McCoy is said to grin lasciviously at Jim. Also, when Emma tells Kirk that she and McCoy are having dinner together, McCoy starts blushing, and doesn't understand why such a simple statement embarrasses him so much. Later, Kirk comes to McCoy's cabin in the middle of the night, and finds him basically naked (wearing just a short tunic), which almost prompts a sarcastic whistle from him. He attempts to enter the cabin (you know, with naked Bones in there and all) and feels offended when the doctor doesn't let him come inside. At last, after they reconcile, McCoy comments that Kirk looks dashing in his Romulan pirate uniform. There's also something in Kirk's behavior about Emma, that almost seems like a disgruntled ex trying to ruin the doctor's new relationship. After all, Kirk doesn't even find Emma all that attractive at first.

[roachliquid]

When it comes to H.P. Lovecraft, one of the most common mistakes that I see people make is interpreting his writing through a Helleno-Christian lens. Specifically, there is a strong tendency to lean on the idea of the universe as hierarchical, with the nebulous but undoubtedly powerful gods at the top of the cosmic order, and man - that weak, writhing worm that he is - the arrogant fool, the sorcerer's apprentice, who steps out of line in his pursuit of knowledge and power, and is punished accordingly by the forces that possess it.

This is an understandable mistake. Hubris is absolutely a major theme in Lovecraft's writing, and he touches often on the idea of Knowledge That Man Was Not Meant To Know, and the folly of humans acting like they can simply mess with whatever they want and get away with it. On the surface, it doesn't sound all that different from your mom going "NEVER, EVER mess with a ouija board! You'll invite evil spirits to take control of you!"

But what Lovecraft was criticizing wasn't some defiance of a Grand Cosmic Order, or the imaginary sin of "playing G*d". He was addressing a very specific brand of arrogance, and one that he was very well-acquainted with: colonialist entitlement.

Don't get me wrong, Lovecraft was no anti-colonialist champion. He held the same racist beliefs about minorities as any of his similarly-reviled contemporaries, such as Rudyard Kipling or Winston Churchill. But while they and other people of their ilk saw colonialism as their born right and moral duty, Lovecraft took a more pragmatic view of the situation.

During his life, Lovecraft wrestled often with the concept of white entitlement. He believed for multiple decades that he himself was part of some superior subgroup, inherently more deserving of wealth and power. But he was also very well aware that entitlement didn't automatically reap rewards. There was no cosmic balance awarding greatness to the people who sought to claim it; the universe simply did not give two shits what wealthy white racists thought they should be doing. Colonization projects could fail as easily as they could succeed. Wealth was much easier to lose than it was to win. Despite what many of his contemporaries seemed to believe, the forces that managed the universe simply did not care.

This theme permeates his work so powerfully that it's difficult to single out specific examples. At the Mountains of Madness is an obvious choice - a story that tells the history of people who literally created all life on earth, only to fall to the banal inevitability of the Ice Age. Both The Moon-Bog and The Doom That Came To Sarnath depict people who decide they can simply purge the land they want to use of unwanted elements - in the latter case, an entire people - only to invite the vengeance of ancient forces.

It's important to note that H.P. Lovecraft was an atheist. His entire attitude toward religion seemed to be that it was an interesting intellectual curiosity, and a useful plot device that he relied on frequently - but he gave no truck to common Christian ideals like objective good and evil, or the notion that people should hold themselves back simply out of respect for their mortal limitations. The fact that consequences often come from gods in his stories is a product of willing engagement in fantastic ideas, not a genuine belief in humanity's cosmic inferiority. And in many cases, even those gods are just metaphors for the horrors he really believed in - the natural forces that unseated the insisted-on narrative of the white man's greatness.

And that, in his writing, was the real Horrible Truth. The Secret That Man Was Not Meant To Know, because facing it meant facing that the confidence with which his peers lived their lives was based in self-deception - which he felt sure would agonize them as painfully as it agonized him. Lovecraft was a man torn between a comforting illusion and a hard reality, and he wrote about it a lot.

[lancermylove]

Chapter 9 (N.SFW)

➣ Pairing: Demon brothers, Royals, Solomon with fem!Reader. ➣ Warning: N.SFW ➣ Word Count: 2,255 ➣ Chapters [SFW]: [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12] ➣ Chapters [N.SFW]: [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12]

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Despite the vicious onslaught of frigid winter air attacking your body, you stood defiant in the face of the harsh elements. Your nose, lips, and cheeks were numb, but you had to be sure that only Barbatos heard your secret plan. However, the sharp crack of the balcony's glass door forced you to seal your lips and turn your attention to Diavolo, who greeted you with a radiant smile.

"(Y/n), you are not dressed appropriately to be out here. What are the two of you whispering about?" The prince's voice held concern, yet despite his warm tone, he was unable to mask the pain and despair that lingered beneath the surface. 

"Nothing," you quickly replied. In a heartbeat, his face steeled. He simply nodded and returned inside, but you noticed his shoulders slumping through the glass doors, a sight that did not go unnoticed by the butler. Had Barbatos not known that you had planned to spend the afternoon with the prince, he would have been upset with you.

"Do not fret, my dear," Barbatos quietly said, returning his gaze to you. "I will see to it that your plan is a success."

"Thank you, Barb-"

Before you could finish thanking him, the door slid open once again. This time, it was Asmo and Levi who stepped out. The younger brother clapped his hands together and flashed an effervescent smile at the butler. "We are ready to help!"

Barbatos appeared puzzled by the remark, but Belphie quickly added, "We will be your sous chefs today."

"We can't have you make dinner for eleven people by yourself," Levi nervously mumbled and turned his attention towards you, inquiring whether he articulated that statement appropriately.

One glance from Barbatos was enough to understand your machinations. A softening flickered in his emerald orbs, but the second you blinked, the gentleness had vanished. You questioned yourself if what you had seen was reality or a product of your vivid imagination.

Abandoning those concerns, you excused yourself and entered the welcoming cabin, seeking a respite from the harsh weather, only to notice Solomon. He stood behind the kitchen island, clad in a vibrant pink apron adorned with delicate lavender lace frills. You questioned his unexpected fashion choice for a moment but assumed Asmo was responsible for the selection. Solomon chuckled as he continued to chop vegetables, unperturbed by your presence.

"Your guess is accurate - Asmo was indeed the one who selected this apron. As you requested, I asked Beel to spend time with Lucifer, and they are currently somewhere in the forest," he paused to take a breath before continuing, "Now, we have the entire afternoon to aid Barbatos in the preparation for the Christmas feast. Also, I will cast a spell on the refrigerator later so Beel cannot get access to these ingredients. I am the best, am I not?"

You playfully rolled your eyes and giggled, "Thank you, Solomon! Yes. You're the best."

You left him to his own device and made your way to the living room. Satan paced by the fireplace, clearly deep in his thoughts, mulling over decisions and actions. There was nothing else left for you to say to him as the decision to reconcile with Lucifer was in his court. Your gaze shifted toward the Christmas tree, where Belphie added the final touches to the indoor decoration. That accounted for everyone except Mammon. You had not seen him since morning and hoped he would not cause any trouble. However, deep down, you realized that was an unreasonable thought. 'Hope he doesn't cause too much chaos.'

You made the necessary preparations for the afternoon outing and went in search of Diavolo with a backpack slung over your shoulder. The prince sat on a bench in the wooden gazebo overlooking the snowcapped mountains in the front yard. Though you knew he was not in a favorable state, you approached him and asked, "Diavolo, are you okay?"

"I am alright, (y/n)," he stated, albeit with a subtle degree of hesitation.

"So, I am going somewhere today. Would you perhaps like to join me?" You questioned with a slight smile. The prince's expression immediately took on a brighter aura as he eagerly hopped to his feet and nodded excitedly with a frenetic vigor.

"(Y/n), what is this place?" Diavolo whispered while he looked around.

"When you went with Solomon and the others to the winter wonderland, you said you didn't get to ice skate due to time constraints," you replied softly. "So, my dear prince, your wish is my command. We will be ice skating today."

The abandoned ice skating ring lay far from the outskirts of the city, a place where the pristine snow fanned undisturbed by humans. The dilapidated nature of the rink, with its crumbling walls, vacant benches, and rust-laden handrails, painted a desolate picture. Yet the white of the frost, in contrast to the deep blue sky, provided a picturesque touch. An eerie feel emanated from this location, but it was a perfect place to spend alone time with Diavolo.

As the prince stared at you in wonder, you set your backpack on a nearby bench and extracted two pairs of ice skates from inside. Based on his expression, you deduced that he likely had not anticipated such a thoughtful surprise from you. Nonetheless, you proceeded, pushing forward with playful gusto and stating, "But I have to warn you. I have never gone ice skating, so we will most likely leave here with some bruises." Diavolo laughed heartily at your remarks, his eyes twinkling with amusement.

As soon as you stood up with the ice skates on your feet, your body went into a precarious state. You teetered to the front with your arms flailing at your side, then teetered to the back until you fell back onto the bench. The prince chuckled and offered his hand to help you to your feet again, but he also joined you in the teeter-tottering affair when he stood up. It took a while, but the two of you managed to focus on your center of gravity to find your balance, but this was only the beginning of your grueling journey.

The lack of coordination and unfamiliarity with the frozen surface had you and Diavolo stumbling and faltering. Your feet slid around erratically, causing you to fall into one another or to the ground. To remedy the situation, you and the prince resorted to holding each other's hands to maintain balance, but that only resulted in both of you landing on your behinds in sync. You knew your rear would surely be bruised tomorrow, but you were not deterred from trying even then.

Once again, you lost your balance and fell with a heavy thump onto your haunches with your limbs splayed outwards. Just next to you, the prince landed with a resounding thud that reverberated through the snow-clad ground. Despite the discomfort and inconvenience of the situation, you both laughed off your misfortune and found lighthearted amusement in the occurrence.

"Ice skating is far more difficult than I anticipated," the prince sighed and shook his head.

"Let's take a break," you suggested, to which he nodded. After a short while of resting, you recall another wish that he shared. "Diav, do you want to make a snowman?" The sparkles in his eyes made you giggle, and with that, you showed him the method as he mimicked your movements.

"(Y/n), but are we not missing the iconic carrot noses?" He asked, staring at the three-tiered balls of snow with stones representing the eyes. On cue, you retrieved two carrots from your backpack and handed one to him.

"I came prepared."

The prince's laughter rang out as he embedded the carrot into the snowman's face, retreating afterward to appreciate his creation. As you attempted to follow suit, the makeshift nose slipped from your hands and fell at the base of the snowman. Kneeling on the snow-encrusted ground, you grasped the carrot, but your thoughts wandered to a sweater you saw during your shopping trip with Levi - a snowman having a carrot as a penis. With a mischievous grin, you inserted the broad end of the carrot into the lowest tier of your snowman.

The prince was puzzled but watched you with curiosity. Shifting your gaze to Diavolo once more, you protruded your tongue and positioned it at the tip of the carrot. The realization of your implication quickly washed over the prince, and he blushed, swiftly averting his gaze. For a brief moment, you noticed his expression change to a more serious one, but you did not devote much thought to it.

"I am just teasing," you giggled and placed the carrot on your snowman's face.

The golden rays of the sun began to slowly subside, casting its final glimmer of the day as the evening beckoned its ominous arrival. The sky began to darken, providing more depth to its surroundings and allowing the stars to gradually illuminate above. As the two of you stood in front of your respective snowmen, the prince broke the silence lingering in the air.

"I am grateful for this opportunity to spend time with you. Thank you, (y/n)." Despite the smile on his lips, his voice lacked its usual vivacity and was laced with a distinct hint of sadness. The prince lowered his gaze to the ground as he continued, his words filled with a touch of vulnerability. "Earlier today, I was rather disturbed. You went on shopping trips with Levi and Asmo, spent time with Satan and Beel, and traveled with Solomon. I witnessed the snowball fight you had with Mammon as well. I...felt neglected. I preassumed you were upset with me and elected to avoid me."

"I was initially upset with you, Diavolo," you whispered, offering him a drawn smile. "You dragged me into your plan despite knowing what would happen if the brothers found out. But then, I saw how much fun they were having, and...well, I was glad I agreed to bring them here."

"I am relieved to hear that. Have you given any thought to how you shall approach this situation?" He asked, his eyes taking in the majestic sunset.

"Yeah, I plan to be upfront with Lucifer. Considering he is already suspicious, it's the best option," you sighed softly.

"If I might add. I shall assume full responsibility. As a show of my gratitude, I will see to it that you do not face the consequences of my decision."

"No way, Diav. I cannot allow you to take responsibility for my decision to go along with your plans," you protested. "We are both equally responsible."

With the final remains of the setting sun vanishing into the encroaching darkness of the evening, you placed your hand into the prince's grasp. In response, he firmly squeezed your hand as your gazes locked. Inch by inch, his face edged closer to yours, but Diavolo paused before your lips could meet. You discerned his reluctance to initiate the intimate event and took matters into your own hands, pressing your lips vehemently against his.

"Your lips are quite icy. Are you perhaps feeling cold?" He whispered, withdrawing slightly from you.

"A little," you whispered.

Noticing a slightly dilapidated wooden house by the edge of the ice skating ring, the prince motioned toward it. "Shall we go into that house for a bit?"

Gaining the indication that the prince was eager to prolong his time with you, you nodded and followed him. Much to your surprise, the door to what appeared to be a locker room was unlocked. The space provided little warmth and comfort, but it was still preferable to remaining outside in the harsh evening chill.

Unexpectedly, the prince's demeanor shifted to a serious tone as he stood in front, towering over you. "(Y/n), the prank you enacted earlier was far from hilarious."

You initially assumed Diavolo was merely jesting, but you did not foresee the direction his statement would take.

---

The future King of Devildom sat on a wooden bench in the center of the room while your arms clung to him. You were situated on his lap with your face buried in the nape of his neck. Your face was a deep shade of scarlet, and your breath was shallow. "Diav, I am s-sorry," you whispered shakily.

"My apologies, princess, but I shall not accept your apology." The prince's low, deep voice reverberated within your ears as his moist breath caressed your skin. As if to further weaken your resolve, Diavolo jerked his hip up, eliciting a moan from you. But your moan held no pleasure. It encompassed desperation. The desire to feel him move within you became excruciatingly palpable.

While you sat on his lap, fully dressed and facing him, you hid a secret under your trench coat. The prince's proud length was buried deep inside you, but he remained motionless. He was punishing you for teasing him earlier by refusing to move or give you the pleasure of a climax. Although he felt remorseful for making you desperate, he wanted to ensure that the stunt you pulled in a public space would never be reiterated.

'A while longer, my dear. Then, I shall end your punishment and grant what you desire. As many times as you request.' He thought but refused to disclose this to you. Until then, he wrapped his muscular arms around you and enveloped you in his warmth while the darkness of the locker room shrouded your moments of intimacy.

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➣ Obey Me Masterlist: [1][2][3] ➣ Main Masterlist

➣ Buy me a Ko-fi?

[azrielsshadows42]

A Court of Scales and Fire IV

Eris Vanserra x Female oc

A/n: about half way through, I realised that I was describing the town house, not the house of wind, I don't know if this is just me, but I struggle to keep track of what is in which house, so if I mention something being in the house of wind that is supposed to be in the townhouse/lake house or vice versa, I'm sorry, but, just go with it.

Warnings: swearing, nudity (but not sex and not in detail), mentions of injury, suggestive, snake venom? is that a trigger, idk

Word Count: 4.3k

Both = Mind speak

Bold = Ancient Language

Italics = Thoughts

Chapter 3 Character Moodboards

---Y/n's Pov---

We walked down the passageway, passing a few rooms, pictures hung on the wall. I appreciated the silence; it gave me space to think. My explanation of what that power surge could've been was believable, but to track these people down, I would need Everest. However, I'm not exactly sure how they will react to dragons not being entirely extinct, and I'm guessing if they're not a fan of that little tid bit, they'll like the fact that I've brought one to Prythian even less.

It didn't take long before we stopped in front of a doorway, even from the smallest glimpse I could see the room was massive, it was open to the outside, the bed could comfortably fit three people and if I had to guess, I'd say the sheets were made of silk. A giant pool of a bathtub carved into the ground, just like this entire place was carved from the mountain. The water was crystal clear, revealing a mural of the night sky on the tiled flooring, moonlight reflected on the surface, steam rising, yet the mirrors retained the rooms unobscured image.

I was so absorbed in the beauty of it all, I almost flinched when Mor spoke, not expecting the sound. "For the record, I believe you" I didn't really know what to say to that, thanking her would have just been awkward, so I chose to give her a small appreciative nod instead. Before I entered the room, she grabbed my arm firmly "Though I must warn you, if you are lying, if you turn out to be a threat to my family, to my court, then know you are fighting an uphill battle, and it won't end well for you" Well I don't love being threatened, I could respect it, I would and have done worse to protect my family, I'm not about to hold this against her.

"As someone who works in politics, I think you can understand that might not be able to be fully truthful at all times, but I can promise you that I mean no harm, once my mission is complete, I'll return home, that's all I want" She regarded me for a few moments, eyes traveling up and down my armoured form. "Then we'll get along just fine" A genuine smile spread across her face, and I mirrored it, she seemed like someone I would want on my side, and her display of loyalty earlier just added to the list of reasons I liked her.

She turned to leave, her dress flaring out at the bottom with her movement, her hips swaying as she strutted away, but she stopped and angled her body to face me once again. "Oh, one more thing" I inclined my head to show I was listening. "Training is at six, on the roof if you're interested"

"Noted, hey, uh, goodnight, Mor, and, thanks for, you know... giving me a chance and not just, assuming I'm trying to plan some, invasion, or some shit, I don't know" Mor laughed, head tilting back slightly "Sure, no problem, good night"

"Night" I was then left to my own devices, my first instinct was to make sure there were no traps, but the exhaustion of everything finally hit. My muscles ached, eyelids heavy, I could feel the dirt and sweat that lingered on my skin, so the first thing I did was peel off my armour and clothes, then slipped into the water. I immediately felt soothed once submerged, heat seeping into my very bones, I had not been able to relax like this in a long time. Unfortunately, even with all the bath salts and scented candles in the world, there was always this nagging feeling that, it wasn't home, though I'm not sure that meant anything when home, didn't feel like home. It never had.

I reached out with my mind, feeling for that connection to Everest. Hey, Ev, you out there? There was a moment of quiet before I heard small wing beats getting nearer, the next second, Everest soared into view, looping in the air and diving straight into the water. She rose to the surface and paddled toward me, water sloshing around her tail and claws. She had shrunk herself down to about the size of a large barn owl for stealth and looked very pleased with herself, especially when she spread out her wing and just drifted on the surface. Enjoying yourself?

She lifted her leafy head to glare at me, her green orbs narrowing as she hissed her response. Hush, you are not the one who has been flying for hours on end, because your partner left to go play courtier. I winced at the reminder of how I'd had to leave Everest when coming here. I still think this is a bad idea, Y/n, we should just track them down and go, there is no need to drag this out. I reached for the soap and began scrubbing away at my skin. We'll be fine Everest, even if they can't help. Tell you what, if by the end of tomorrow, they haven't helped us get any closer than we are now, we'll leave, but there's no harm in staying the night.

Everest thinks about this, her tail lashing, showing her displeasure in the fact that you have a point. Alright, fine She concedes We'll stay the night. she launches herself upwards, spinning vigorously to shake of all the water, droplets flying everywhere. This is a bath, not a shower I told her scornfully. Well, I've made it a two in one, much more effective. My eyes rolled at her comment, but I got out of the water and prepared for bed while she curled up on one of the pillows.

There was sleep ware in the closet, most of it black, which I suppose I should have expected, not that I had a problem with it, just an observation. Once I got into bed, I scanned the room again, after the initial awe, the effect dulls, at first it looked empty, spacious, but sitting inside of it now, it felt hollow, too much space for one person. It makes me think of my room back home, much smaller, one might even say cramped, but I would prefer cramped over hollow any day. I wonder how Ethari is doing, how preparing his peregryn girlfriend to meet me was going. Well, I wasn't sure if the new peregryn student was his girlfriend, it might be someone else It was definitely the peregryn female but I figured he'd be horrified if I not only knew he was dating someone, but who was the object of his affections as well, so I faked ignorance, for his sake. I closed my eyes and fell into a world of dreams.

---Elsewhere, Eris's Pov---

Everything hurt. My arms shook as I pushed myself up, the stale air clouding my lungs. My head was pounding, vision slightly blurred, I groaned as I forced myself to function, muscles screaming in protest. My neck was incredibly stiff, my back too, and my left leg wasn't fully awake yet, causing me to limp as I walked. I was still under the mountain, surrounded by darkness. I did not know how much time had passed since we cornered the witch. My hand reached up to the juncture between my neck and shoulder, gingerly caressing the sensitive skin. The bites of those snakes had healed, which meant they had no faebane in their venom, though what on earth was in it to make me feel this way, I had no clue.

I just about managed to clear my head enough to winnow back home, I didn't make the full trip in one go, and I'm thankful for it to, because as soon as I landed, both legs buckled under my weight, and I collapsed onto my hands and knees. This is ridicules, I'm a High Lord, no one should be able to do this to me, much less some witch. I gritted my teeth and concentrated on winnowing directly to my chambers.

I was thrown onto my bedroom floor, panting, energy, both physical and magical, depleted. My head still felt like it was filled with fuzz, and I could barely keep my eyes open. A healer, I need a healer. I dragged myself up, breath shaky, I tried my very best to collect myself. Breathe in... Breathe out... Breathe in... Breathe out. I opened my eyes, a new determination ignited within me, no one would see anything I didn't want them to, nobody would see that I am weak. No one.

I opened the doors, head held high, expression cold as I walked confidently to the healing bay, no stumble in my step to be found. No weakness. It is just my luck that Madoc spots me, and decides for whatever reason, that it's a good idea to strike up a conversation. "My Lord, you have returned" He hadn't done anything wrong, but his voice still grated on my nerves, I was not in the mood to talk to anybody, about anything. "Clearly" My answer was clipped, a subtle sign that I wished to be left alone. He did not take the hint.

"What happened, did you find the cause?" My jaw tensed; I was still sour about how that female managed to best me. I decided it was the brute's fault, if he hadn't been in the way, I would have succeeded. "It is Night's problem now" He considered this for a moment, and I thought he might do the smart thing and leave, apparently, I was wrong. "That does not answer my question"

"Do not test my patience Madoc! The female is Night's problem, leave it at that" I increased my pace to get away from further questioning. I went into the healing bay, got what I needed and went back to the room as quickly as possible without losing poise. I stood before the doors of the high lord's chambers, where I was supposed to move into when I ascended the throne, but hadn't been able to make myself do so. The arch loomed over me, just as it had for centuries, even if he was dead, in my head, it was still my father's room. The memories of him still haunted both my resting and waking hours, this place was drowning in his lingering presence, even now, I could not escape him.

I sighed, and turned back, heading for my old room, where I continued to reside, it was the one thing I'd let be seen, the one sign that all this affected me as well as my people, no one had said anything about it, out of fear or understanding, I did not know, but I was grateful all the same. The doors swung open on silent hinges, and my footsteps echoed around me, being the first-born son had its perks, I supposed, I did receive the largest room.

But it was almost, too large. My father's chamber-... my chambers were bigger than this, how someone could comfortably live in such a space was lost on me. Despite it being filled with my belongings, despite the fact that these four walls had been my sanctuary for decades, held secrets, and memories that has changed this court, it still didn't feel like home. I had always thought it was because of Beron, that I would never truly feel safe, and therefore never truly feel at home as long as he lived but... he's gone. Yet everything was still so dull, a house, but not a home, I'm starting to think it never will be.

I washed of the dirt and grime I'd collected from being underground, changing into nothing but a pair of boxers, anything more was too hot. My eyes closed, and I fell into a fitful sleep, as my dreams of an indiscernible winged female returned for the third night in a row.

---The Next Morning--- ---Cassian's Pov---

I was awoken by light streaming in through the curtains, Nesta was beside me, sleeping peacefully, face relaxed. Cauldrons she's so beautiful, I just want to wrap her up in my wings all morning with my cock buried in-

No, no no no no, not getting hard before training

I force myself out of bed, trying to be as quiet and unobstructive as possible, though neither of those have ever really been my strong suit, and with Nesta being such a light sleeper, waking her up was inevitable. She glared at me over her shoulder with those steely blue eyes that I loved. I smiled apologetically at her while shrugging, she just huffed, muttering 'Illyrian brute' and went back to sleep.

"You have to wake up for training soon too, Nes" She grumbled, pulled the covers over her messy hair, ignoring me. Two could play at this game. I couldn't help the shit eating grin that climbed onto my face, as I grabbed the covers gently, then in one swift movement, yanked the entire duvet right off the bed. Nesta yelped, wide awake now, and gave me the middle finger. I walked closer, crawling onto the bed and then took her wrist in my hand. I kissed her finger, saying "Love you too" then got off, so I could change into my leathers.

I walked into the dining room, pausing as I saw Mor already there, Azriel was sitting at the table as well, but that was normal. Mor being here, especially this early, was unheard of. "What are you doing here?"

"Good morning to you to, Cassian, yeah, I'm doing good, thanks so much for asking" The fake enthusiasm in her voice was thick, and I chuckled a bit at her dramatics. "I'm so sorry, how very rude of me" my sarcasm matching hers.

"Much better, now to answer your question, I'm here to check on Y/n, I invited her to join training" Despite the cool demeaner she held, I could see the slight anxiousness in her body language, it seems that Mor is just as interested in Y/n as I am.

"I haven't seen her this morning; she could still be sleeping" Mor was already shaking her head before I finished my sentence. "She's not, I checked her room" Maybe I was mistaken in reading Mor as anxious, maybe she was worried, worried because we didn't know Y/n very well, even though we both felt like we could trust her, she could still be lying.

"I'm sure everything's fine" it was at that moment that Nesta decided to enter the room, she strutted past me and sat down, breakfast appearing in front of her. I knew she wasn't trying to distract me but damn, her ass looked good in those leathers. I sat down beside her, eating the large breakfast the house provided. Once we had all finished, we started making our way to the training grounds, we were early, so I didn't expect anyone to be there, but as we got closer, I could hear movement.

We all stopped looking to one another, then simultaneously looked to Az for answers. Some shadows dispatched from his shoulders, slithering across the floor towards the noise. "Looks like our guest has beat us there" and he walks forward, past us without saying anything else.

We all followed after, seeing that Y/n had indeed beat us there, and from the looks of it, she'd been here for a while. She was breathing slightly more heavy than normal, not quiet panting, but you could tell that she'd been exerting herself, her hair, now neatly braided back, though not in the up do it had been in when he'd first met her, had a few fly-aways. Y/n's armour, though clearly dulled from years of use, still had a certain shine to it, while her twin blades gleamed in the sunlight, sharpened to perfection.

She was busy fighting an imaginary assailant, she was light on her feet, her blades cut through the air silently, and though she wasn't actually fighting anyone, he could tell that her strikes were aimed at places to injure and immobilise, but not kill. It was obvious that Y/n was highly skilled, though he had known that ever since she was able to hold off against him Under the mountain.

It was only after she had performed a particularly tricky move, an aerial round-house kick, which required her to rotate her body enough to put us in her peripheral vision, that she finally noticed we were spectating. She turned to face us fully and smiled. "Good morning, hope you don't mind I started without you, I woke up early and couldn't fall asleep again"

"No worries" Mor said casually "Just so you know, the others will be arriving soonish" Y/n looked at her puzzled "Others?"

It was Nesta who answered her, explaining how this was where other females, known as the Valkyries, trained. Y/n just nodded in understanding, "So, is there anything specific you guys do, or do you just do your own thing together?"

"Usually, Az and I lead the training, but well we're waiting for them, I'd like to see more of what you can do." I walked over to her, hoping it didn't seem like I was doing this to see if I could take her down if she did turn on us. I was just genuinely curious, and I really wanted to know if there was a practical aspect to how the blades were designed, or if it was just meant to be pretty, because with the way the metal overlapped, I was certain there had to be a moving part somewhere.

"Sure, why not? Lead the way" All of a sudden, Rhys appeared above the wards and glided down to the ring we had just entered, sand blowing up with the wind created from his wing beats. "I hope you don't mind if I watch?" He said it with his gaze on me, but I didn't miss how they quickly flickered to Y/n. He doesn't trust her. Which was understandable, given the circumstances, but it bothered me that he felt he had to come in person, as if we can't handle ourselves.

I didn't comment on it though, just turned to Y/n, silently asking her with my eyes if she was fine with it. She made a motion to signal she didn't mind, so we both unsheathed our weapons, got into fighting stances, and let the battle commence.

---After Sparring--- (I'm too lazy to actually write it, sorry)

Both of us were panting heavily, perspiration covered our faces and saturated our clothes as we sat down and drank some water. We were pretty evenly matched, she didn't have as much fighting skill as me, but she was faster, lighter on her feet, and with her smaller frame, it was easier to manoeuvre in tight spaces, which led to a long sparring session that we had to call a tie because people were arriving, and I needed to teach.

I got up to start with the lessons but couldn't help asking if Y/n was going to join. She looked to be considering it for a second or two but then responded with "I think I'm alright, I've already been training for about 3 hours, so I'm done for now, I'll just watch"

"3 hours already? You weren't kidding when you said you got up early" her lips tugged up into a smile, but it looked more like a grimace than anything else. "Yeah, I struggle to sleep in new places, which, considering what I do for a living, really sucks, but it is what it is, I guess" I gave her a half-smile, in reassurance, understanding, or both, I wasn't sure, any worked.

----

Sometime during one of the water breaks, she Y/n was introduced to Gwyn and Emerie, Nesta seemed to keep her distance, but she wasn't outright hostile, and when it comes to Nesta, that's all you can really ask for. Y/n rejoined the training rings a little further into the lesson, and she participated in the mind stilling, though I could tell she was not really getting it, but she'll have time to get the hang of it.

Rhysand had left a little after training started leaving Y/n to just sit and watch peacefully as she'd said she would. Mor to, had left, but she had gone during the sparring session they shared that morning for some emissary work, though not without a quick 'Kick his ass for me' left her lips.

He sat next to her on one of the benches while the Valkyries-in-training filtered out, talking animatedly amongst each other. She seemed to be in deep thought, staring aimlessly North, toward Mount Ramiel. "And what are you thinking so deeply about?" She flinched slightly, clearly not expecting my voice. "Nothing, I... nothing"

This piqued my curiosity more than anything. "No, tell me, what's going on inside your head right now" She sighed heavily, and swallowed. "You're Illyrian" she started.

"Yeah? What about it?" Her hands ran along the length of her thighs as she breathed in, steeling herself. I wasn't sure what she could possibly want to ask that would make her act like this. "It's just that, to become a tracker, obviously there is physical training you need to do, both before and during, but that's only half of it. We also have to know the geographic configurations of all the continents, as well as what type of fae live there, a bit about their customs, what they find valuable in case you ever need to blend in or barter for information."

I waited patiently to see where she was going with this, nodding along to what she was explaining. "Studying the Night Court was particularly difficult because not a lot of information is known by outsiders and our tomes aren't exactly up to date, but even with those factors, we'd still learned of Illyrians; warrior people with giant bat-like wings who live in snowy mountains."

"Yeah, that's about right" Y/n opened and closed her mouth a couple times, as if wondering if she should continue with this train of thought. "Well, that's just it, that is all we know of Illyrians for sure, and it's always bothered me. If it's not over-stepping, I'd like you to tell me more about Illyrians"

My face lit up, despite everything that had been done to me because of them, their aversion to change and their firm set ways about bloodlines, I still loved the Illyrian people. Az never understood it, and Rhys was impassive, but if Y/n wanted to learn about Illyrians, I was going to teach her in the best possible way I could.

"I can do you one better" The smile on my face was surely unusually big, and I could feel my wings flare out slightly. Y/n's face now held a hint of hesitation, but the curiosity was still there, and she motioned for me to continue.

"I can take you to Illyria" she blinked at me. For a moment she was quiet, I felt my heart sink. Maybe she's not that interested. Her lips tugged up on one side, her multi-coloured eyes shone brighter as she sat up a bit more to see if I was kidding. "Seriously? I thought they didn't let outsiders in."

"They typically don't, but it helps to be the general in these types of situations, I took Nesta there a few times too." A look of surprise crossed her face. "Though I must warn you, females... well, they aren't treated with the respect they deserve up there, so, don't be surprised if they're a little huffy around you" Y/n nodded in understanding. "Did all three of you attend Illyrian training? You, Rhysand and Azriel?"

I smiled, memories of back then presenting themselves, our time in the Illyrian steppes were by no means pleasant, but we had some good adventures. "It's where we met" her brow furrowed, "Even Rhysand, he's only half-illyrian, isn't he?"

"He is, but so is Azriel" Her eyes widened so much it was comical "Really? Could've fooled me." I roared with laughter, my shoulders shaking with the sound "I'll tell him you said that, he'll be highly displeased, he might even brood in your direction" Y/n chuckled "What does that mean?" I'm about to explain when Rhysand's claws scrape down my mental shields Eris is here My mood instantly sours and my jaw tenses.

"What's wrong?" She looks concerned, but also ready to fight, hands hovering over the hilts of her katanas. "Eris is in the House of Wind"

"Who?" I glance at her, trying to keep the irritation out of my voice, it's not her I have a problem with, after all. "Remember back under the mountain, there was another male with me, the one who attacked before we could even attempt communication?"

"You mean fire newt?" I think I short-circuited for a moment out of shock when she called him that. The absurdity of the name pausing my annoyance at his presence while I processed it. "I am so going to call him that"

"Focus. I thought you said he's not your friend"

"He's not" I immediately replied with, saying it so fast I almost interrupted her. "If you're not friends, then why is he here?" I sighed deeply; this shit was not exactly my forte "He is the High Lord of Autumn, we made a deal with him a little while ago, and now we have an alliance" That was explained terribly, but it will have to do.

"What does he want now?" My eyes shot toward where the 'discussion' would surely be taking place, as if I could see through the walls, right to where Eris was standing and glare at him to make sure he didn't try anything stupid.

"No idea"

Chapter 5

Tag List: @imma-too-many-fandoms , @rcarbo1

[dungeonmalcontent]

Tell your players you are running a sort of incursion campaign. Paladin oath of the watchers sort of thing. Play a class or character that has that sort of purpose. They just can't play a dwarf, halfling, or gnome (no small races).

The party meets at the foot of the mountain Hall of the dwarven king Faremgaull. Long abandoned, his kingdom remains largely unplundered and likely will remain so due to the rumors of the monsters that creep in its depths. It is these monsters which have brought your players here. The duchy at the foot of the mountain has a rotating guard post at the entrance to the dwarf kingdom. They know there are monsters within, and those monsters will creep out if no one stops them. Even in the depths of Faremgaull's hall and lower into the mines, these monsters wait till the surface is dark to make their move. The party is encouraged to enter at least the central promenade of the city to see what sorts of things to expect. The city is largely in tact. Great works of metal and stone still stand. Statues, tunnels, and arcane works remain with not a dwarf in sight. It's eerie.

At night, they return to the guard house where the duchy's wizard has left some equipment. A large arcane cube whirrs to life at the main desk of the outpost. A voice, warbled and scratchy, as though recorded in a hurry speaks through the magical device. "Hello hello!..."

The cube gives instructions. The guard squad of players must remain at the outpost and keep watch on the defunct city's main gate. The gate must be left open in order to let air out and prevent the buildup of toxic gases due to failures in outlying parts of the ventilation grid. It can be closed only for short periods of time or else they risk explosions that will rock the whole mountain. The autonomous clockwork guard of the city will potentially still patrol as well, but they shouldn't leave the confines of the inner city. A scrying orb linked to the city's arcane power grid has been left in the outpost so that watch members can monitor various parts of the city and see potential threats coming.

The players must prevent monsters from escaping each night until their shift ends. It is a lucrative post, but many rumors say few return. But it's only a five day shift.

What could go wrong over the course of Five Nights at Faremgaull's?

Hint: lots of things go wrong. Aberrations have crept up from the depths of the mines and have begun to integrate into the clockwork soldiers in the city and are slowly using them to explore the city at night while the clockwork is active and are gradually encroaching on the exit. Previous guards have kept the monsters limited to the central promenade of the hall, but things are about to get out of hand.