#the threads

[jenn2d2]

A Word With Friends | June 2

This is an absolute favorite word of mine!

Tagged by the amazing and lovely @hedwigoprah, as well as @notyourmamasdeerbat and @woundedsoul12!

I'm late enough that I'll just toss out a few tags to folks in case I've missed what they've done for this already - @serensama, @the-font-bandit, @caughtnyact, @strugglinggranola

Avarice

1. Excessive or inordinatedesire of gain; greed for wealth 2. Inordinate desire for some supposed good.

And I am back on my Illario kick, this time from the WIP "Five Easy Contracts" (prequel for my other stuff, set to start after I finish Crow Parties are Murder.) Also a bit of a WIP Whenever vibe 🤣

The Cat's Paw was well suited for Dock Town. It was just sleazy enough to be what it was, a place where a mix of hope, danger, avarice, and just a little luck funneled an immense amount of money into the Threads. Small and large luxuries and conveniences made it easy for patrons to spend their money and time like water and leave feeling just the right mix of exhilaration and disappointment to keep them coming back. A perfect spot to find an eccentric mage who made his living on selling lives and despair to the highest bidder.

"Mmmph, olives," a bare foot slid up the inside of his thigh as the woman across from him abruptly sat up. She tipped forward slightly with her dress askew, but didn't open her eyes. Her face was sleep soft, which he found a vast improvement over the arch and pinched expression she had worn for most of the evening.

"I think that is perhaps enough for you, little dove," Illario murmured. She didn't protest as Illario gently moved her leg back to her side of the booth, and eased her into a less compromising position laying down. Her dress was artfully readjusted so that the position was natural, attractive, and unlikely to provoke anyone into waking her for some time.

Illario stretched and stepped out of the booth, making a show of re-buttoning his shirt and arranging his hair. He tugged the curtain closed behind him, ensuring that it would be unlikely for the staff or anyone else to disturb her until closing time around sunrise.

"He'll want you more if you're someone else's," the bartender panted in Illario's ear, shifting their position to press him closer against their neck. "Oh, like yours, Ennka?" Illario laughed and nipped at their ear in return, letting one of his hands trace up to the point. He pressed closer, pinning them against the storeroom wall and slipping his leg between theirs. "No. Not what he wants—" the elf gasped and writhed as his other hand slipped up under their shirt, then gently pushed back for some space. Their big green eyes were luminous even in the dimly lit room. "He likes to take, from someone. Especially if he hates them. That's who he leaves with. His prizes."

After a short but entirely enjoyable fuck with Elek's best bartender, it had taken Illario the better part of the next day to find just the right mark. Cassida Lux, fashion darling of the High Town in Minrathous, and noted good-time party girl. Scion of a noteworthy house, indifferent at magic but still a mage, with no discernible talents apart from being tall and thin enough to look good in even the most questionable attire. She was exactly the type of dilettante that someone like Ericius Satenti would take immense personal pleasure in slighting.

It was almost a pity that Cassida was too blissed out to register the insult to her pride, but Illario didn't want to take the chance that she might actually disrupt his plans. His target's avarice was almost as well known as his lack of patience.

[jukkaricity]

A Word with Friends

Many thanks to @serensama for the tag! No pressure tags for: @cute-ellyna, @chaosherald and @blackwall-my-tiny-husband

Word prompt given: Mendacious

1. (adjective) Given to or characterized by deception or falsehood or divergence from absolute truth. Additional context: Mendacious and lying have very similar meanings, but the two are not interchangeable. Mendacious is more formal and literary, suggesting a deception harmless enough to be considered somewhat bland.

More Crime boss Neve, because I cannot keep her out of my mind. Not that I don't like it. The working title for this thing is 'Means and Ends'. I think I have just about enough snippets to convince myself to turn it into something more coherent.

❄️🗡️❄️🗡️❄️🗡️❄️🗡️❄️

“Do you really not have anything else I could work with?” Rana leaned back, the hard-wood chair digging into her back. Of all things that happened recently, she found missing her old office the most absurd somehow. The space Rana now called “hers”, was basically a glorified broom closet and yet she would still call herself lucky. At least she had a table and two chairs–a luxury many working Templars could only wish for.

Looking across the dimly lit space at her contact–her friend–she didn’t want to admit to feeling suspicious. Something has changed about her relationship with Neve in the weeks following the Battle of Minrathous, but she found herself failing in putting a finger on why.

Seemingly everything was as always. Neve worked her cases relentlessly, dealt with what she could on her own and gave word when needed. This seemed just like one of those cases. A newly formed smuggling-ring. Not into slavery yet, but things as they were it would only be a matter of time. And yet Rana couldn’t shake off a sensation that something was missing from the whole story. 

The entire situation was not helped at all by the fact that Neve appeared to lead her by her nose while feigning innocence. Things were clearly not as they seemed but between the chaos of the rebuilding, and the Knight-Commanders changing like colors of the magical signs in the bazaar, she had no time or energy to investigate. Which she was sure would turn around and bite her in the ass sooner than later. Rana sighed heavily, leaning her elbows on the desk. 

 “A bunch of mendacious stories and a known liar to corroborate them.” Rana continued, rubbing her temples, a little giveaway she had as Neve noticed, that usually showed itself when the templar was trying to pull the case threads together. “Knight-Captain might not buy it this time, Neve.” 

“Well, luckily for me, he doesn’t have to buy anything.” Neve smirked, wondering how much goodwill she still had with Rana, before everything would start crushing down between them “Have I ever given you a bad tip?”

***

Sitting across the table from Rana, Neve had noticed new silver strands gracing the Templar's hair, wondering how many of them she was personally responsible for. She had never intended for the relationship between them to take such a turn. She had always been able to be honest with Rana. Well, a white lie or an omission here and there, but not outright lying. Still, things have changed and such frivolities had to be put aside. Neve was quite sure that things now tying Rana’s hands were the exact same she was leveraging to her own advantage.

“But you did keep details from me before.”

“Only to keep you safe,” Neve thought as her eyebrows creased with both worry and fondness. Instead she rose from her spot and straightened her robe “That’s all I have Rana. I wish I could give you more.”

She hesitated for a moment. What she told Rana was all true. She did stumble upon the newly formed smuggling ring by accident. That it was while she was investigating who was trying to undermine the Threads and not while looking for the missing child was a matter of details. Details Rana didn’t need to know about. 

She could have had the Threads move on the start-ups and squash the competition before they even formed up, but having Rana and the Templars occupied in a different side of the Docktown would give the Syndicate a time to breathe. Maybe even get Neve a night or two of better sleep. Wins all around.

Or at least Neve wanted them to be. 

[haedia]

WIP (late) Friday!

Working on some Elek-related art and fic stuff lately and today I got inspired to work on the back tattoo design I have in mind for him.

He's been in the Threads for awhile. He's loyal and has at least some level of leadership since he's important enough to know Makal and presumably do things for him at times. So, I kind of headcanon that the Threads, and other Minrathous crime organizations, would have elaborate tattoos — especially for those higher up.

And why wouldn't those tattoos be visually inspired by thread and embroidery?

So, this is a first draft of sorts for the part of his tattoo that runs down his spine. I also envision a set of paired shoulder blade tattoos and another set that run down the backs of his biceps, but those will be worked on later.

I'm not 100% settled on the colors just yet (that's the part that is the most TBD here) but I like them. I just haven't dialed it in just yet.

But yeah. Figured I'd share the work in progress thus far.

[vaalthus]

A Brief Respite (spoilers)

Ya know never occurred to me they'd all be at the Inn. The refugees we saved of course.

*confused sobbing*

You know I'm still curious as to the exact mechanics as to how Wargoth Sr did this. Feels like the answer lies with in affecting the Empress since all Atealan are supposed to come from her but I'm just not sure.

That being said,

I'm curious if we might one day aid in the Atealans reclaiming this power. Seems unlikely given that they would no longer have a reason to be on Lore, save out of sentiment, but it would be nice to explore if the damage Wargoth did was truly permanent.

Hard decisions made by the atealan people or the Empress?

I'm just loving the exposition that gives so much but hides just enough for new players that won't have a lot of the context older players already have.

Assuming its still canon, this would be a perfect spot in the time line of the Atealan's history for the trithril curse to have begun. Surely some among their numbers would have desperately wanted to try to have their people be able to live under sunlight without affliction once more and travel beyond Somorah

Avatars, the side-by-side exposition/foreshadowing art is just too damn good.

And then there's the characterization...

I love how devastating it feels to know that a world has been basically been lost forever, somebody's home and loved ones. It's the shoe that drops for Alz'Ein that makes it clear they can never go back to where they came from and worse the enemy responsible for all that loss is still coming after them.

Stronger than who Alz'Ein? Veyla? The Fallen? Surely not Wargoth.

Ah I can smell the frustration of the Rising Fire War from here.

[bunamine]

i remembered moar about the threadz

that tie u & me & everything

together

can't u feel them?

it's almost overwhelming

they vibrate, pulse, ooze

energy

i don't know how

to talk about it

but i want to

[edsrosetattoo]

This is the best idea in the history of film.

[its-funnytwittertweets]

[opera-ghost]

[tweetingukpolitics]

[victusinveritas]

Nice people make the best Nazis. Be mean, be tough, have a fascist tooth/skull collection.

[soracities]

"Absolutely no one comes to save us but us."

Ismatu Gwendolyn, "you've been traumatized into hating reading (and it makes you easier to oppress)", from Threadings, on Substack [ID'd]

[ashortstoryaboutlove]

And the best reply:

[Source 1] [Source 2]

Edited to add:

[Source]

[wiisagi-maiingan]

Hey, if you do crafts (especially things like crochet, knitting, embroidery, etc), make sure to look up how to identify when a listing is AI generated. You do NOT want to waste money on an incredible looking kit or pattern that is physically impossible to make, especially if you're on sites like etsy hoping to support an actual artist.

[teathattast]

[bibbysstuff]

Mc in Lingeries, Li addition