#tiras mountains

[logi1974]

Namibia 2023/24 - Tag 16

Herrschaften und Oukies!!!

Wir verließen Lüderitz und die Pension "Zur Waterkant" heute wieder. Es stürmte immer noch, allerdings nicht mehr ganz so stark, wie bei unserer Anreise.

Micha verarztete unseren Hilux dahingehend, indem er die Scheinwerfer mit Klarsichtfolie abklebte, damit sie nicht abgeschmirgelt und blind werden. Marion Schelkle erzählte uns gestern, dass sie pro Jahr 3 Windschutzscheiben benötigt. Respekt!

So machten wir uns nach dem Frühstück auf und fuhren erst einmal die 125 Kilometer auf der prima Teerstraße zurück bis nach Aus. Es gibt keinen anderen Weg, da sich links und rechts das Diamantensperrgebiet erstreckt.

Das Diamantensperrgebiet liegt mitten in der Namibwüste, aber es hätte auch genauso gut im Vorhof der Hölle liegen können.

Die Namib ist eine der lebensfeindlichsten Wüsten der Erde, meist gibt es nur Sand und Felsen und dazu einen unbändigen Wind, der beinahe täglich in Küstennähe über das Land stürmt.

Wir halten kurz an der ehemaligen Bahnstation "Grasplatz" der Aus-Lüderitz Linie, ganz in der Nähe der heutigen B 4. Die heißt jetzt nicht etwa so, weil es zwischen all dem Sand und der Steine, plötzlich GRAS gibt.

Der Ort hieß ursprünglich Grasabladeplatz, da hier das Futterheu für die Ochsen gelagert wurde, die die langen Ochsenwagen, von Lüderitz ausgehend, durch die wasserlose Ödnis zogen.

Der nächste Haltepunkt ist die alte Bahnstation von Garub, was in der Sprache der Nama „Leopard“ bedeutet.

Garub liegt heute an der viel befahrenen Touristenroute zwischen Aus und Lüderitz im Süden des Landes. Das war natürlich nicht immer so.

Garub begann in der Geschichte erst eine Rolle zu spielen, als 1906 die Eisenbahnlinie von Lüderitz ins Landesinnere gebaut wurde. Bei Garub wurde 1908 unterirdisches Wasser entdeckt – ein kostbares Gut in den extremen Verhältnissen der Wüste.

Viele Jahre später wurde die Umgebung von Garub als Heimat der namibischen wilden Pferde bekannt.

Nach weiteren 110 Kilometern erreichen wir wieder den Ort Aus. Hier besichtigen wir heute den Soldatenfriedhof, der etwas nördlich des Ortes liegt.

Hier liegen Gräber von Soldaten verschiedener Nationen neben und hinter einander, etwas weiter vorne findet man Gräbern aus der heutigen Zeit.

Nach der Kapitulation der Deutschen, am 9. Juli 1915, etablierte die südafrikanische Armee ein Internierungslager für mehr als 1500 deutsche Soldaten östlich von Aus.

Das Lager wurde 1918 von der spanischen Grippe heimgesucht.

Sowohl Gefangene als auch Bewacher erkrankten gleichermaßen – viele starben.

An zahlreichen Grabsteinen lässt sich ablesen, dass die Spanische Grippe etliche Opfer forderte.

Gegen Mittag Uhr fuhren wir ganz kurz über die B 4, um dann auf die Piste C 13, in Richtung Norden einzubiegen.

Wie wir noch von den letzten Malen in Erinnerung hatten, war die Strecke auch heute in sehr schlechtem Zustand.

Schon weit vorher konnten wir die Tiras-Berge und, linker Hand, die unglaublich rot leuchtenden Dünen erkennen.

Das Gebiet der Tirasberge umfasst ca. 125.000 Hektar und befindet sich innerhalb des Dreiecks zwischen dem Fish River Canyon, dem Sossusvlei und der Lüderitzbucht.

Die meisten Besucher sehen die Landschaft von der D 707 aus, die vielen als schönste Strecke in Namibia gilt. Dafür fehlt uns leider bei dieser Reise die Zeit.

Am späten Mittag kehrten wir im berühmten Hotel von Helmeringhausen ein. Nicht etwa das Helmeringhausen im Sauerland, sondern das in Namibia.

Die Namensgleichheit mit dem Ort im Sauerland kam natürlich nicht zufällig zustande. Hubert Hester, Vorfahre des bekannten Autoverleihers aus Windhoek, wurde nämlich im sauerländischen Helmeringhausen geboren. Er war Mitglied der kaiserlichen Schutztruppen und ließ sich an eben diesem Ort, im damaligen Deutsch-Südwest, nieder.

Das kleine Nest ist in seiner einsamen Verlorenheit eine echte Versorgungsoase. Hotel, kleiner Landhandel und eine Tankstelle - also, Tankstelle im wahrsten Sinne des Wortes: eine Stelle zum tanken!

Im gleichnamigen Hotel mit großem Garten gibt es angeblich den besten Apfelkuchen Namibias - ich würde sogar sagen: südlich der Alpen!

Bis vor einigen Jahren galt diese Ortschaft noch als ein Zentrum der Karakulzucht, jedoch ging auch hier der Niedergang nicht spurlos vorbei.

Vor einigen Jahren gründete die örtliche Farmergemeinschaft ein landwirtschaftliches Mini-Museum, direkt neben dem Helmeringhausen Hotel und dem Campingplatz. Hier wurden interessante Nutzgeräte aus längst vergangener Zeit zusammengetragen und ausgestellt.

Heutzutage ist Helmeringhausen vor allem durch sein Hotel, das von dem Ehepaar Björn und Katja Basler geführt wird, bekannt. Das Hotel ist eine grüne Oase in der sonst so staubigen Umgebung.

Die recht übersichtliche Speisekarte bietet neben dem ausgezeichneten Apfelkuchen, noch selbst gebackenes Farmbrot, Leberkäse und Bratwurst.

Alles ganz frisch, selbst gemacht und sehr lecker.

Nach weiteren 90 Minuten, über die C 27, erreichen wir das Eingangstor zum Gelände der recht neuen At Kronenhof Lodge.

Vom Tor sind es dann noch einmal 10 Kilometer über sandige Farmpisten bis zum Hauptgebäude der Lodge.

Wir beziehen unser klimatisiertes Familienzimmer mit 2 Schlafzimmern, einem riesen Badezimmer, Carport und einer schönen Aussicht über das Gelände.

Lekker Slaap!

Angie, Micha, Mama und der Hasenbär

[tiramisusbakery]

The Auction pt. 1

Summary: Hidden Inventory Gojo and Geto play sorcerer save-a-ho {lol} a little too close to the sun and end up as love rivals to a girl from the Red Light. Leaving their little world of sorcery in the mountains, they sneak out to Tokyo, a city budding with a new thing called...quirks?

(no MHA characters btw just a slight universe clash)

So...the quirk thing is weird, but they're not asking questions, as long as they get in the club. Taking a dip into underworld affairs to test their luck, they are forced into a world of glitz, glam, and organized crime, sacrificing much more than money (but still a lot of fuckin money) to save the object of their affection from dire circumstances and win her love. MINORS DNI

#BLACKOC #jjk #Gojosatoru #Gojo #GetoSuguru #Geto #NSFW #MHAOC

Warnings: NSFW, Teens in adult situations (what else is new in jjk tbh), violence, cursing, underage alcohol consumption

OPTIONAL READ: Lore Recap for the world surrounding this fic; What started as a fun rebellious game of sneaking out from Jujutsu High to party (Gojo) and trying to do damage control as a result, only to get mixed up in the same world himself (Geto) turns into a sex addiction, a secret love affair, and a complicated set of Red Light District politics for our boys. On a night out meeting his favorite call girl, Tira, Gojo finds himself intrigued instead by her mentee, Angie, a mysterious escort with enormous wings (and something called a quirk?) Geto, looking for Gojo, found Angie first and shared a short...yet intimate...exchange with her before she sends him on his way back to JJH. Afterward, she shares a passionate night with her sensei and Geto's best friend, Gojo. Her first night as a fully fledged escort is a success! Yet, little does she know, she has become the object of the affection of the two strongest sorcerers alive.

Enjoy~

"I think i'm in love" Angie whispered aloud, more to herself than Tira, her sensei, who sat across from her at the bright makeup table.

Tira flinched, missing her nail, and sticky bright- red polish from the set she'd been working on dribbled down her index finger, dolloping onto the glossy vanity instead.

"Oh, hun."

"Why do you sound like I just told you my nana died?" Angie blinked at her from the chaise sofa that she had strewn herself across since returning from the meet and greet. 

Tira heaved a sigh, throwing her head back and letting her hair tumble down her shoulders to dust the floorboards. She met the girl's wide-eyed stare through heavy lids.

"She might as well have, babes. Please don't take this the wrong way, but you need to prioritize."

Angie avoided her gaze, and Tira felt an uncomfortable twinge in her chest for all of a second. She had a feeling she knew who it was, but what if…?

"Okay, i'll bite. Who are you in love with?"

The younger woman puffed her cheeks, prodding her pointer fingers together in quiet apprehension. "Suguru"

Tira straightened, attending to her drying manicure as if the twinge had never occured. She tried to remain neutral as she thanked her lucky stars.

"Mhmmm, Suguru." She hummed. "You mean the hot best friend of heartthrob Gojo Satoru, whom you fucked last week?"

Angie waited a beat before nodding. Tira didn't even wait to meet her eyes in the mirror before continuing.

"Suguru, whom you've fucked a total of one and a half times, only seen at night under neon lamps, and don't even know what he does for a living?"

"What was that slime monster?"

"Exactly."

"But they're just heroes! Really…weird heroes."

Tira tsked, and it was the first time Angie felt her age with the woman since they'd met. "What did I say about letting men play hero with you?"

"But he's not playing-"

"He's as serious as a 16 year old boy can be. Which, believe you me, is playing. Playing hero, noirette."

Tira felt as though she could hear Angie's heart break, and decided to change her approach.

"Little bird, when is he coming back?"

"Dunno." She muttered. Tira turned to find the girl's face in her hands, her newly defined curls curtaining her no doubt reddened complexion.

"Wanna see?"

Angie didn't react.

Whipping out her phone, Tira tapped a few keys. In just one ring came the bedroom voice of her favorite romp.

"Ye-llow~"

"Blue" she purred.

The phone went silent. Then a word, on a voice that wavered ever so slightly with boyish glee.

"Tira?" Satoru asked in disbelief.

"Its me. I need a favor."

"A-anything! Uh, well almost anything. Yes?"

"I need to know the next time you and your friend plan to come to the district together, a few days in advance. Is that alright?"

"Uh, sure. Why?"

"No questions. Just be sure to have some serious bread next time I see you. Tell your pal to empty his sock drawer. We're gonna play a little game."

Tira clapped the phone shut, and tossed it onto the counter.

Angie watched the device skitter until it stopped.

"Good. Now all we need is to choreograph"

"Choreograph? Wha-"

"Your mimic dance, of course. The one you'll do on Geto and Gojo when they bid on you."

"When they do WHAT?"

Tira was up from her chair in a moment, bouncing toward her charge with the glee of a girl half her age. 

"When they bid, my love! They're going to bid to claim you. Only one of them can, now, since they're best friends. The other will be forbidden from booking with you forever!” 

She paused.

“Or at least until you’re fully on the market and can choose your own clients, which won’t be for years. We'll see who is in love with who then~"

Angie's jaw dropped, her heart kicking in her chest at the sudden adrenaline that Tira had injected into her bloodstream.

"No. No! What if Geto can't out-bid Gojo?"

"He can and will."

"But Gojo has money. Like, old money. What if he screws him over?"

"He wouldn't do that if his friend was really in love with you"

"But what if he's not?"

"Aha! There it is."

Angie closed her wings around herself and hid in the bundle of feathers as if huddling against a strong wind. Her breathing softened to a light coo as she attempted to steady her anxious pulse.

Tira's heart skipped a beat at the sight of the scared girl. Hesitating, the woman dropped to her knees before her, and took her hands from beneath the plumage of her wings, massaging them in her own.

"Angie, baby?" She cocked her head to the side, her grin softening to one of sympathy. "You're scared, huh?"

"Yes." Her voice was muffled and small.

"Baby, this is an exercise in maturity. See this as a win win win. You get to find out if he shares your feelings without ever revealing your own, you get showered in cash, and you don't even have to show skin. Plus, nothing clears my head like a good auction."

Wait a minute, auction? Wasn't there a big one coming up? Screw the mimic dance, she might be able to make Angie a star. 

But was she ready?

"But if he loses he can't ever book with me again" the girl sniffled.

"If he loses, he'll just have to find a way to love you for free, Raven."

The girl parted her wings and a sliver of light danced in her wet, owlette-like eyes.

"You're so smart"

Tira rested her head in the girl's lap.

"I know."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

For the next three weeks, Tira strictly forbade Angie from contacting her boo-thang, and put her under rigorous training for her one shining moment as a prize between the two boys.

According to Tira, this was her first test in distinguishing work from play, where she would need to be okay being an ultimatum, a genuine variable to someone's life and limb. It was the pride and joy of geishas to move their audience beyond recognition with their art, and she needed to be worthy of that.

And beyond anything else, it was her duty to make him suffer, Tira had said- especially since he'd had the audacity to make her fall in love with him.

"These boys are brothers in arms. Why should you be what comes between them?" Tira snapped, tapping a closed fan sharply to her student's protruding hip.

This time, Angie was balancing a short stack of books on her head, atop them a teacup filled with hot tea. The steam wafted from the cup as she watched it in the full length mirror before her, reminding her of the imminent danger of dropping it.

"W-well"

"Don't hesitate. Why would one of them choose you over the other?"

"Because I am not a want."

"What are you?"

"A need"

"Yes." Tira clapped her fan and Angela posed in the second formation that had been taught to her, where she popped her chest and tucked her stomach, her fingers pinched delicately above her head and the heels of her feet raised up from the ground. She met her own eyes in the mirror, not spilling a drop of tea.

"Why should they spend their life savings, their allowance, the very last penny of their piggy bank on you?"

"Because it was never theirs, it was mine from the day they met me."

"Good!" She clapped her fan once more, and Angie adjusted in time with her command.

Tira clapped her fan, posing, adjusting, and instructing Angie until she was exhausted, and even beyond. She made the girl go days in heels until the blisters became part of her feet, and spoke to her with the kind of instruction an old madame might have given a disobedient upstart. 

And then came the choreography. Angie had been bent, bounced, and broken until she could execute every move to perfection. She was up practicing at dawn, and didn't stop until her shift every night.

Angie didn't know if she regretted telling the girl about her feelings, but if this didn't end soon, she thought she would take them back.

Angela laid flat on her back on her Sensei's plush mattress, much softer than her own last-minute sleeping arrangements, and absentmindedly addressed the burn marks in the ceiling above her as they wound the periphery of the room, looking desperately for a distraction from the stinging in her feet. She wasn't sure if Tira would be back from her last call of the night soon, and was worried to be found slacking, but the worry didn't overpower the exhaustion. 

"Ooooh what am I gonna do~" she moaned.

Her breasts were swollen in her loose grasp, having been heavy and burdened ever since she'd begun to tighten up about weaning Miku. She didn't know why she couldn't just keep letting her baby nurse- it felt better for both of them, anyway.

Well, that was a lie. She knew why, it was so she could finally move up the ranks from a rookie geisha to a full performer by her next birthday. It would make her and Miku more money, and she'd finally be able to rent her own place in the Playground. Her baby couldn't be attached to her the way she was now, or she'd be stuck until her daughter could talk.

Prodding delicately at her puffy nipples, she closed her eyes and pictured first holding Miku to them to relieve the pain, and then Geto. 

Geto could…help instead…she thought blearily, her eyes fluttering a few times before she finally drifted.

She didn't know that she'd fallen asleep until a light tap on her nose pulled her out of her stupor. Peering up into the lamp-lit halo above her, she saw her instructor's pursed, plum colored lips and arresting brown eyes, appraising her as if she were a curator and her charge a work of art.

"You're ready."

Angie's mouth snapped open and she sat up in the lush bed, holding the sheets to her chin. "How can you tell?"

Tira shrugged. It was the most juvenile movement Angie had seen her make in weeks. "I just can. Look at how you sat up, no haste. How you woke from your sleep, so graceful. Stand for me."

Angie did as she was told without a second thought, as if her body moved on its own. She swept up from the bed lightly, her posture tall, and floated to the space before Tira as if she materialized there.

Her feet hurt but her discipline had taught her to stand tall anyway. Tira circled her once, stood back, and hummed in approval.

"Yeah" Tira smiled, her eyes crinkling in the corners with a surprising melancholy. Angie wondered how much sleep she'd gotten herself over the span of her student's training. If she'd been suffering too, she hadn't let on even once. "You can feel it, too, right?" She murmured, "You're more womanly."

"I don't believe that I have changed that quickly-"

"Listen to you! I don't believe~" she held a petite hand to her lips and laughed breathily. "You sound like you have tea with the Emperor at 2pm. What do you say, shall we check in on the boys?"

"No. We shouldn't."

Tira nodded. She'd passed the test.

"Mmm there's a hot spring nearby. Let's celebrate with a late night dip, hm?" 

Angie felt a twinge in her stomach, then again, lower. Tira's eyes sparkled like pools of honey in the golden light of her candelabra as she waited for her response.

Angie let her eyes search her instructor's, tapping her cheek to draw out the moment before finally agreeing. 

"Yes, let's."

[NSFW YURI INCOMING]

The hot water felt like heaven on her weary limbs as she stretched her wings in the deep pool. She sank up to her shoulders in the delicious water, which had been mixed with a fragrant lavender oil at Tira's request. Her hair was free of her usual puffs, the coils tickling her shoulder blades as they soaked up the water.

She felt the urge to swim, but was scared to do anything that might make her seem juvenile enough to be put back in training. Instead, she dunked a cupped hand into the pool and ran it on her face and neck.

"Ahhhh~" she sighed, the last cool air of her lungs escaping into the humid room.

She was alone though, waiting anxiously for Tira to tie up her boundless hair in the changing room so that it wouldn't gain ten pounds in water weight the second she stepped into the pool. It made sense, but Angie watched the door for her anyway, trying her best to suppress the hammer in her chest when the woman finally revealed her naked form.

Her complexion like honey butter all the way down, with not a blemish to be seen, Angie watched Tira slink opposite her into the hottub, her supple curves slicing the water in two. Her large breasts buoyed themselves on the surface, and she stretched her arms above her head in languid yawn that was somehow both sensual and completely self indulgent.

Angie averted her gaze, realizing she'd been staring.

"So you do like women," Tira hummed.

Angie started.

"Yes."

"I love that you give me straight answers now," she smiled, and dimples pricked her cheeks. Did she always have dimples?

"Thank you, sensei"

"You're welcome, darling." The older woman leaned across the water, and her wet cleavage tilted toward her charge. "But I'm still just Tira. We're past all that, remember?"

Angie nodded and Tira slunk to her side, slinging an arm over her shoulder. 

"Although, I would like to call you imouto- chan, if that's okay?"

"It's okay," Angie was painfully aware of Tira's naked thigh pressing against her own under the water.

She refused to meet Tira's questioning gaze. A slow smile spread across the woman's lipstick- stained lips, a mischievous expression taking hold on her face.

"Or would you prefer something else?" 

Her arm dropped. A squeeze on Angie's upper thigh sent her heart racing. Her lungs tightened, and she couldn't breathe. None of it showed on her face.

Angie cut her eyes at the woman experimentally.

"Well, Onii- chan~" she paused, thinking. She took pleasure in Tira's widening eyes.

"Could you call me your pretty bird again?" She whispered after a beat, moving Tira's hand to her narrow waist. She couldn't believe her boldness, and couldn't believe how quickly she'd adapted either.

Tira faced her head on. 

Tira's heart shaped face was framed by long, silky tresses that stuck to her cheeks from the humidity, her large top bun crowning her head in its giant coil. Her long lashes were beaded with water, and her brown eyes glimmered like quartz. The whole image affirmed in Angie's head that her stage name "Empress" was no accident.

"Oh really, you want me to call you Pretty bird?" she sang. She leaned in, and when Angie didn't pull away, she placed a quick, wet kiss on Angie's lips. "Mmm" she licked her lips as if she'd tasted like candy. "Such a pretty bird, my imouto-chan is." She kissed her again. "My pretty, pretty…"

Another kiss, and this time Angie didn't let her pull away.

The women's bodies pressed together in the water, fitting together like the pieces of a puzzle. They drew together like magnets, their soft flesh spreading the oil along each other's skin in ferver as their tongues fought for control in each other's mouths. They haphazardly found their rhythm, Angie's core softening like molten lava at the feeling of Tira's slick treading her thigh.

"God yes~" Tira sighed against her ear as she massaged the girl's breasts on the pool's surface, taking special care around her sore nipples. "You've gotten so bold, noirette." She rubbed the mounds against her own.

Angie whimpered into the hollow of her neck as she licked and bit and kissed her as deep as she dared. She pressed the woman down onto her thigh and rocked, feeling her desire finally begin to flow.

"Onii-chan~" she whined at the feeling of Tira's fingers stroking the base of her wings. She arched her back in pleasure . "T-that feels so- ah!"

"Calling me that right now is dangerous, princess" the woman growled into her open mouth before assaulting it with her own, more hungry, more thirsty than before.

"Ah!" Angie gasped for air in the few gaps the kiss left her to breathe.

Tira ducked below the surface, slurping the girl's peaks into her mouth in one greedy gulp, never slowing her rhythm as she rode her thigh. Instead, she let her legs slide between her own, and let Angie borrow her friction. 

Angie cradled the woman's face in her hands as she suckled her, the pleasure sensors in her nipples sighing in sweet relief. She reached around to grab her ass, gripping the pillowy mounds against her as if for dear life. Tira watched her pupil's desperation build through lowered lashes.

"Brlrbrlm?"

"Hm?" Angie wondered if it was the water muffling Tira or her own thoughts.

Breaking the surface once more, she threw her arms around Angie's neck and pulled her close, letting the water help glide Tira back and forth against the girl's cunt.

"I said, do I feel like you imagined, sweetie?"

Tira peered into Angie's swimming gaze as the girl nodded dreamily. She giggled.

"Tira~" 

"Hm?"

"I'm g-gonna-"

"Awe, already?" She slowed, rolling her hips with the water. "I'm flattered."

She felt the girl shudder from the pleasure. A string of light curses escaped her delicate lips as she pressed Angie against the tub for more pressure, watching closely as her face contorted in desire. She felt the girl trying her best to hold out as she stroked her, and couldn't help but find it adorable.

Angie watched her back in awe with heavy lids as her teacher floated in her vision. Tracing Tira's figure with painstaking adoration, she reached up, tiredly, and thumbed the woman's nipples, lapping them with her tongue as she maintained what she knew would look like doe-eyed wonder. 

Tira's breath hitched, and Angie knew it worked when the woman bit her lip and leaned in to kiss her, deep. She pulled back, looking as though she wanted to devour her.

"God, Angie, is this why those boys are so crazy about you?" She punctuated the question with peck to her nose. "No wonder all these grown men want you. To take good care of you like this."

Pouting, Angie leaned up to graze her jaw with her lips. 

"You're better than any man," she sighed, planting kisses down her neck. She felt, more than heard, Tira moan.

"Awe, sweet baby~"

Smiling, Tira twirled two fingers on the surface of the murky water before using them to gently nudge her thighs aside and access her trimmed pussy.

Teasing her lips apart, Tira inserted them inside, laughing throatily as Angie sucked them in with ease.

"Ngah!" Angie sank down on the digits, rutting against them as they beckoned her forward. She couldn't understand her own thoughts outside of the coil of her teacher's fingers. Dribble poured from her mouth as Tira switched positions, spreading her mount to entrap both of Angie's thighs. 

"This makes you tighter, noirette" she hummed, as if it were a simple lesson in mathematics.

"And this-"

She bounced as she fingered her, the water pressure popping against Angie's clit as it splashed her opening. She cried out at the dual sensations.

"-is how you take advantage of your environment." She nuzzled her cheek, and began sucking on her earlobe.

"H-how are you fucking me with the water?" She gasped, throwing her head back until she saw the steamy ceiling floating above their lustful bubble.

"There's lots of things I can fuck you with, imouto-Chan" she giggled.

The giggle was choked off when Angie dipped forward and forced entry into her mouth, swallowing her lips with a ferver Tira hadn't known she'd had. For a moment they were both under the water, unable to breathe and barely caring. When they broke the surface again, Tira forced Angie to face the wall as she pressed into her ample ass, rebounding off of its ripples until pleasure throbbed in her core.

"Fu-uck!" Angie wailed, gripping the wall. Tira gasped in time with the laps of the water.

"Ah, ah, fuck, little bird…damn you feel like dough…"

With one hand holding her waist in place against her, Tira worked her hand around to Angie's slit, working her fingers in and out of her tightening hole. Angie leaned into her, her hand finding Tira's between the folds of her thighs. She forced her teacher deeper, coaxing a ripple of pleasure through her core.

"Unh~ Tira! " She whined, her cheek pressed flat against the side of the hottub. 

"Yeah?" Tira bit into her neck as she ground herself into her prodigy's plump ass.

Angie surrendered to the feeling of Tira using her body for her own pleasure, doubling over when she felt her teacher take hold of her hips.

"Fuck me, sensei" she whined, "Please?"

"You want me to fuck you baby? You want me to show you how to fuck a woman?" 

"Y-yes," she pleaded.

Angie craned her neck so that she could taste her lips one more time, and found Tira's mouth waiting eagerly for just that. Her teacher slowed, riding her ass in languid strokes as their tongues coiled into each other's mouths. Angie couldn't hold on another moment. She squeezed her thighs together, trapping their fingers, and squirting against her sensei's insistent touch. She gasped into her open mouth, and Tira held her there until she finished.

"Finger me," she purred, licking Angie's essence from her manicure. Angie quickly obliged.

Backing Angie to the wall, Tira rode her pupil's fingers on her own, bobbing in the water as she played with her own stiff peaks. 

As she bobbed, the water lapped across the tub, creating ripples that made the low-lights dance. Angie could see nothing but Tira's slender back, but felt her pleasure in every cell of her form.

Angie felt her own pussy contract again as Tira finally made herself come on her flexing fingers, casting a glance over her shoulder at her student's awed expression.

Tira slowed, holding the digits to her stiff clit as she pursued an even higher peak, forcing Angie to watch her get her nut. Angie couldn't look away.

She wailed as she came again, and again, her eyes rolling as she pinned Angie to the wall. 

"Gah!"

The woman heaved as she slid into the space between Angie's arms, finally resting in the crook of her neck as pleasure broke against their balmy skin. They let themselves stay there for a while, limbs tangled, before one of them finally spoke.

"Fuck." Angie murmured.

Tira pecked her cheek once, then twice. Lingering by her ear, she licked the crown playfully as if she was only getting started. That is, until she pulled away, and floated to the edge of the pool, giggling.

"Wow." Was all Angie could muster.

Tira smiled.

"Mmm. Indeed." 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The night finally arrived. 

Gojo and Geto stood across from one another on the train as it sped them toward their instructed destination, the Tokyo City Concert Hall. The car was full of salarymen, no doubt on their way home for the night, completely oblivious to the threat that either boy posed to them, or the protection they provided- but what else was new.

The pair found themselves huddled in the farthest alcoves of the rounded train they could get, away from the bustling crowd that would likely ignore them anyway, hoping the sway of the carriage muffled their words.

"I feel like something is up tonight." Geto muttered, half to himself.

"You, me, and the whole dorm. I mean,"  Gojo motioned to the suits the pair had donned in preparation for the night, "who wears these to a booty call?"

Gojo had dressed sharply in a three piece black and alabaster suit, pressed, tailored, and detailed for the night at Tira’s request. He wore a black button down and blazer jacket that matched his hair, the lapels held in place on either breast with blue sapphire pins that had been awarded to him by the Gojo clan at his 16th birthday ritual, marking his maturity and blood connection to the clan. The material of the suit emphasized the bulk he usually obscured in his dark, boxy school uniforms, his broad shoulders and trim waist making the suit look more as if it were wearing him than vice versa. 

Besides the suit, he’d hidden his eyes behind a pair of dark shades a grade nicer than his usual pair, their construction made from carved wood rather than metal, stenciled on the sides with his initials. His cufflinks caught the mechanical light of the train and winked every time he moved, their ore immutable genuine silver. The same was true of the small blue gem he wore in one ear, which Geto had never seen him wear before that night. The only thing about the boy that was recognizable was the tuft of tussled cloud-white hair that sat atop his head.

“When did you get your ear pierced?”

Gojo muttered. 

“Huh?”

“...Mei said it would look good on me.”

Geto scoffed. “Well earrings are my thing so don’t you dare-”

“Dare what? Outdress you?”

The dark haired boy smirked. No way was Gojo outdressing him in that monkey suit.

Geto had cleaned up just as well, his own scarlet and charcoal suit ironed down to the creases the way his mother had shown him, crisped from the top collar to the cuffs of his sleeves. His red satin button down matched the pocket square (which he almost hadn’t found in time) in the lapel of his dark suit, and his black tie had been pinned into place beneath a gold clip with the emblem of a dragon- a gift from his grandfather, as if he’d known about his powers in advance. 

That night, he’d exchanged his usual metal ear gauges for a pair of onyx disks that he’d bought specially for the occasion, and they glinted from his ears with a subtle glossy depth that made him look mysterious. 

Rather than precious jewelry, he’d opted for a more down to earth vibe with black volcanic beads encircling either wrist, stacked around his favorite vintage watch. His black nails had been freshly cleaned, painted, and trimmed.

Finally, not knowing how he should do his hair, he’d opted for his usual clipped bun and bangs, sweeping them away from his face as neatly as he could muster.

“I’ll admit, you look clean, but you look like you’re going to prom.” Gojo shrugged, playfully.

“And you look like you're putting Nana Gojo to rest.”

This stop is Shinjuku City- I repeat, Shinjuku City. Please watch your step. 

The boys ducked under the low- hanging sign to the station’s entrance as they stepped onto the street. They looked left and right, trying their best to not look like fish out of water. 

“I don’t suppose you know how to get there?”

“You went on map quest, right?”

The boys blinked at each other, and face palmed.

This was gonna be a long night.

After a long trek through the darkening streets of Tokyo, as well as several sets of bad directions, Gojo and Geto finally found the grand old building that was to host the variety show that they'd anticipated since Tira's call. 

With the block out front as packed with tough customers as any club, the opera house stood to be used that evening as a cooperative territory for underworld-goers and their business. The boys watched the building light up just as the last light of the day fell, its red carpet unfurled in preparation for the guests that would be stepping through the door any minute.

The large windows of the modern relic stood tall and wide, propositioning onlookers to look into them as if they were the building's eyes. Beyond them was the shimmer of multiple chandeliers, golden wallpaper, and a ceiling painted to put the sistine chapel to shame.

Geto whistled in appreciation. This was where they were meeting them? His thoughts of the weeks before replayed in his mind, where he'd asked Angie on a date after they'd…. 

Well, if this was the first date, what would the second look like? Did this even count as a date?

"Satoru?"

"Yeah?"

"What exactly did your connection intend with us when she asked us to attend this event and- quote- 'bring all the cash in our sock drawer'? "

"Your guess is as good as mine."

"And why don't I get to meet her?"

"She said that she wasn't available to me tonight, but that she wanted to proposition me on something. I don't know. She plays games like this a lot, but this is the most elaborate one yet."

"And why was I involved?" Geto cocked his head, half concerned, half amused.

"Hm. Well she said something about a game that would take both of us? And she obviously knows who you are by name, although…not sure how…" he trailed off, realizing just how little he knew about what Tira had planned for them that night.

"Uhhhuh…and what's stopping me from getting back on the train, Satoru?"

"Because I know she'll be here tonight." Gojo smirked. 

Geto's face fell, and he rubbed the back of his neck. "What do you mean?"

"Oh, don't give me that,'' Gojo nudged him, "she hasn't responded for weeks again, but all of a sudden she did, right? And now you decide to step out with me, because you invited her, right? I'm not as stupid as my last final made me seem, Suguru."

"Well," the dark haired boy grimaced, rubbing his neck even more harshly as if trying to set it ablaze, "you're actually right, minus a few details…" 

"Suguru?"

Geto had stopped his 5am run to respond.

"Raven!"

"Hello! Sorry, can't talk long, or ill get caught. I know this is odd, but will you come to see me dance?"

"Yes! Of course, why would that be weird?"

"Because your friend with the glasses will be there too. The one you were looking for when you…found me"

"...oh. uh, sorry. Why?"

"Because it turns out that I… service him too…and my mentor is putting my services up for auction. Please be sure to win me. See you soon."

The conversation had raised more questions than answers, but after speaking to them both, Suguru knew that whatever the game was, he needed to win.

Geto's jaw muscles worked as he watched Gojo talk absentmindedly about how tight his blazer was on his shoulders. He watched the white haired boy closely, as if seeing him again for the first time.

Traitor.

Woah. Where had that come from?

Gojo turned and was caught off guard by the look in Geto's dark eyes. 

"Woah, man, you okay?"

Suguru averted his gaze. "Yeah, just nervous about seeing her, like you said."

"Well she better get here soon, we're about to head in."

The boys had finally made it to the front of the line, and knew from the moment they'd made eye contact with the doorman that they weren't getting in without a fight.

"Card carriers only" he sneered at the boys down his long, slender nose. 

"That's funny, I believe I carry a card,"

Smiling warmly, Gojo slid his fingers into the folds of his wallet, and withdrew two things- his fake ID, and a black coated metal credit card that weighed far too much for its size. Geto had never seen him use it for anything more than a status symbol, but had a sneaking suspicion that its credit limit was as infinite as its owner's technique.

The Maitre D's eyes sparkled at the sight of the card, and after flicking his eyes between the small rectangle of privilege and the boy wielding it with bright blue eyes, he shifted his gaze to Suguru.

"And you, sir?"

Geto blushed.

Before Gojo could claim him as his companion, the sound of dozens of pairs of clicking heels echoed down the sidewalk, and the boys- along with the other sidewalk dwellers, party-goers, and opera house connoisseurs- turned to see where the sound was coming from.

The first impression of the performers was that of walking art. They moved as one in shimmering outfits, their various props bobbing on their swaying hips and in their slender hands. They looked neither left, nor right, but straight ahead as they bypassed the line of patrons that gawked at their enormous presence.

"Ah, here are the ladies of the auction now."

"Auction?" Gojo questioned, the boys' eyes never leaving the parade of forest nymphs, water lillied- fairies, and exotic looking interpretive dancers.

And among them, they spotted her at once.

Raven wore a black diamond mask, her high cheekbones and lips dusted in a purple-black shade that made her look fierce and siren-like in her expression. Her wings, sprayed in a glittery sheen that made them look like a night sky full of stars, were on full display behind her, catching the attention of every onlooker that had dared to watch her. However, it wasn't just her anthropomorphic traits that had arrested attention.

The girl wore a shortened kimono that had been modified to her shapely body, the hem likely only extending an inch beyond her finger tips.

The thin veil of fabric was imprinted with white cranes and flowers throughout its tight coverage of her rounded hips and bust, rippling with extra fabric in places only to mimic waves on pitch-black water.

Further accentuating her figure was a large black- satin ribbon, encircling her torso and exploding in a bow off of her perky ass, with several strings of tinsel and black coins that protruded from it creating music in time with her walk.

And her walk; she strutted in time with the other dancers on her long, shapely legs, her more-sheer-than-sheer stockings making it look as though her thick thighs had been stuck with precious gems, embedded into her smooth mocha skin as if by magic. 

Her black heels clicked as she marched forward, her hands hidden in the long sleeves of the kimono- the only thing about it that was modest. 

In all her glory, Raven looked like a cross between a porcelain doll and a fallen angel, one that had been brought to life to seek revenge on her maker.

As if feeling their eyes on her, Angie's gaze flitted to the boys at the front of the line, just as she was about to enter the venue. They'd been frozen to the spot by her entrance.

Feeling a swell of pride, she continued to strut and avoid drinking in their looks- there would be time for that later.

That is, until she saw that the bouncer had stopped them at the door.

The girls turned at once to face the crowd, immediately catching the interest of everyone in line.

The parade of women clapped rhythmically three times, before raising their hands, and bowing deeply.

"Meshiagare!"

They repeated themselves in several languages for their foreign guests.

"Bon appetit! Please enjoy!"

And with that, they filed into the venue as fluidly as swans.

"Sir, these are my personal guests." Angie broke from the line of girls and approached the man as the rest of the performers entered, applause at their backs from the line of patrons that had watched their entrance.

Taking the maitre d's elbow in her taloned forefinger and thumb, she stood until the man brought his ear to her lips.

"Empress' request."

"Ah," the man nodded, infinitely more agreeable with her than he'd been with the two boys.

"Follow me." He said, " I have special instructions for you two."

Geto and Gojo shared a look of ultimate confusion, but- to Gojo's disappointment and Geto's painful chagrin- Raven had left in a plume of black ribbon and glitter without sparing them a second glance.

When the boys entered the venue on the trail of yet another host, they couldn't focus their eyes on anything ahead of them; all their attention was reserved for the ceiling, walls, and extremely lively crowd.

The crowd was made up of men and women from several countries and nearly all walks of life- human, half human, or otherwise. The cursed energy they felt wafting from the party goers was almost enough to make them defensive, but was still jovial enough to make them feel at home.

Men in blazers stood in huddles, exchanged business cards, and even played miniature croquette in one corner of the room; their female counterparts floated about on their arms, nodding in time with conversation and punctuating sentences with light laughter.

Before they'd gotten their barings, the host turned to them abruptly at the center of the room.

"Which of you is Suguru?"

The dark haired boy raised two fingers in acknowledgement.

"Raven would like to see you in the hall. And you must be Satoru," the host half asked, half asserted.

Gojo raised his snowy brows expectantly.

"You will be helped shortly. Enjoy the refreshments."

Before Geto could exit, Gojo placed a hand on his chest to stop him.

"Raven?" He asked without facing his friend head on. "That's the name of the girl you're in love with?"

Geto worked to keep his expression neutral. "You know her?"

Gojo didn't respond.

"Be right back" Geto just short of spat.

Gojo watched him go from behind the sheen of his dark shades. He was unsure of just how much Geto knew, but was suddenly very sure that he wouldn't fail this intuition test, when it came to finding out.

A waitress stepped into his line of vision.

"Champagne?"

He hesitated before picking up a long-stemmed flute. He didn't usually need the courage, but he would tonight.

~~~~~

"Mmph!" 

Geto exclaimed when he felt the girl's lips on his the second he stepped into the shadowy alcove off of the main hall.

Separating from his mouth with a small *pop* the girl dug around in her dress until she'd uncovered what she was looking for.

"Here, hurry, take this." Angie shoved a small note card into his hand, glossy and folded over so that he couldn't see what was in it until he opened it.

"I have to explain-"

"Yes. Please."

"Will you let me?"

Geto blinked, his dark eyes trained on nothing but her. His silent answer was loud and clear.

"Okay. Open the card."

He flipped it open. It was blank, save for one thing.

Taped inside the card was a small, black coin the size of a checkers piece. It was waxy and grooved, and opaque as far as he could tell.

"That is the Bidder's coin. Well, no one is supposed to know which of my coins are bidder's coins," she motioned to the remaining coins that encircled her waist and bow, "because not all of them are. There are only three."

Geto's brow crinkled.

"Wai-"

"Not done. No time. As I was saying, this is a bidder's coin." She tapped the card.  "It means that when the time comes, at the end of the night, only those with coins like yours will be allowed to bid for me. It's supposed to be a game of chance, but I need you to win, so I delivered one straight to you."

"Why?"

"Because if you don't-" Angie's eyes were large, round, and wet- "you won't be allowed to see me again."

~~~

In the next room, Gojo had successfully downed two and a half flutes of champagne, and a shot of cognac that had been offered to him by a French sailor. Apparently the French had the best cognac.

"Vous aimez?" The sailor asked, winking.

Gojo shook his head and shrugged.

"I speak Japanese, sorry" he responded, half wondering if the man had really spoken another language, or if he'd already succumbed to the alcohol.

The sailor made an 'aha' nod of the head, and motioned as if taking a swig. He then put his thumbs up and raised his brows in a questioning sort of way.

"Ohh you asked if I like it. Yeah, thanks. I-its strong."

The sailor laughed, clapping a hand on his back. Gojo hoped he'd been understood, but when he was handed another shot, his shoulders sagged. He didn't know if he could handle any more. He was already breaking the rules of his clan- the very rules that had made him an unfortunate lightweight in the first place- and needed to figure out how to say 'no' in French.

The tinkling of a glass quieted the room, and all attention was drawn to a balcony that Gojo hadn't previously noticed was there. A suited man with a long lapel on his jacket, and a slicked ponytail with shaved sides, was clinking his glass with a fork.

"Ah, esteemed guests!"

Gojo scanned the room. All of the guests looked well dressed, but some of them were hardly esteemed by his standards. Some of them looked like bodybuilders that had been painted into suits. And was that the dragon gang in the corner-?

"It is a pleasure to see you all on this hallowed night. As we finish welcoming members from outside, I thought it would be an excellent time to make a toast!"

He raised his glass, and the crowd followed suit.

"To the owners of this opera hall, we thank you from the bottom of our hearts for allowing us to host our show- one of talent, valor, and prestige. 

To our girls, thank you for bringing us such a delectable assortment of entertainment to enjoy each year. You are truly the highlight of our dreary yearly toil. 

And to our donors, it is because of your generosity that we feast our eyes, stomachs, and souls on all that our little society offers.

Cheers!"

Gojo's jaw dropped. He would need to take some pointers from this man for his next public speaking class. 

He took a sip from the glass of cognac that had warmed in his clammy hand. At least, he thought he would take a sip, but the glass he drew back was empty. 

Ugh. I need to slow down.

"Now, for the rules of the night!" The man continued, his smile broadening as if the bubbles of his champagne had buoyed his spirit even higher than before.

~~~~~

"So here are the rules" Angie's tearful gaze had Suguru pinned to the wall.

Suguru swallowed fearfully. 

"Go on."

Angie gingerly grabbed at the coins looping her waist.

"These black coins will be distributed to the players on the floor. They are made of plastic and a special kind of wax."

~~~~~

"As the night progresses," the slick haired man boomed, " the wax will melt from the coin, and only plastic will remain. In order for it to melt, you must keep it warm in the palm of your hand."

~~~~~

"When the wax is gone, the other coins will be blank, but yours- and two others- will have a four leaf clover in the center when you hold it to the light."

Suguru held the opaque coin up, picturing the clover as if it had already been revealed.

~~~~~~ 

"And when it is revealed, at the appropriate time, you will ring a bell that will be stored beneath your seat. There will be three ringing bells tonight."

The man poured over the crowd with a sweeping gaze, languishing in the suspense.

"Then" he said finally, "and only then, will the bidding begin."

~~~~~

"And they will bid for me to serve them exclusively until the next game."

Geto felt like he was going to black out.

"Raven, what makes you think I can outbid anyone in there?"

"Because it's rigged. I'm not sure how besides this," she tapped the coin again, "but my sensei says that this is necessary for us to continue to see each other. I'm s-s-sorry-" Angie bit her lip.

"I promise it will be okay," she continued, "it's just that…well…I didn't know if you would do this for me."

Geto's stomach did a flip at the sight of the gorgeous girl on the verge of years.

"H-hey," he reached out a hand to sweep away one of her tears before it could streak her painstakingly applied makeup.

"Its gonna be okay. If this is what it takes, I'll do it. You did say that this was complicated for you, right? Let's make it uncomplicated."

He grabbed her hands in his and kissed them. 

"I'm gonna win. And when I do, you're gonna tell me your name, hm?"

The dark fae smiled.

"Deal."

~~~~~~~~

Gojo's attention was drawn to the door as it swung open to reveal Raven, but not his best friend. Raising a brow, he scanned the crowd to see if he could pick up his cursed energy, but it was nowhere to be found.

His eyes returned to Raven as she mingled with the crowd, the patrons bombarding her for a closer look, and eventually, a coin from her dress. She giggled as she swam her way through the thickening attention.

"Let her breathe!" The man called playfully from the balcony. "She still has to dance!"

Should I ask her where he went?

Still searching, he didn't realize he'd lost sight of the girl until she was tapping his shoulder.

"Gojo! You made it!"

He turned and looked down into her face, smiling.

"Angie!"

"Shhh! They can't know my real name here. Call me Raven."

Oh yeah, Raven.

"Want a coin?" She grinned, offering him a plastic disk from her dress.

"Uh, no, I don't think I'll be playing." He shook his head, making his vision blur for a moment. "I did want to ask you something though-"

“Are you Satoru?”

The pair turned to see yet another plain-vested host, this one with an odd birthmark in the middle of his forehead. 

“Uhh- why, yes, I am.”

“I have instructions to show you to your box ahead of the show.”

“Oh wow, box seats Gojo?” Raven’s eyes danced in delight. “You and your friend are gonna have some of the best seats in the house!”

Gojo’s brow furrowed, “Oh, wow. I didn’t even know I had those.”

The waiter shook his head. “Empress’ request.”

Damn, Tira, Gojo smirked, Little prince indeed.

“Oh, sure. Let me just get my friend-”

“Your friend has his own box.” The man quipped, matter-of-factly.

“Uh, oh, okay. Well, can I go find him anyway?”

“This will only take a moment, sir, then you can do as you wish.”

Raven nudged him. “I think Geto is in the alley just outside the back door, if you want to find him after. I have to go, but I really hope you guys enjoy!”

And with that, just like at the door, Raven disappeared with her ribbons streaming behind her.

Gojo grimaced. 

“Well, okay. Lead the way, my man.”

After several rounds of winding steps, Gojo was shown to a velvety box that already sat several other high-brow looking guests. Their chatter was light and stopped only when he entered. It was dark, so he couldn’t tell how many there were, but they all gawked at him as if he were the first entree of the night.

“Uh, hello.” He bowed.

He could tell by the chuckles that several of them weren’t japanese. A woman snapped open her fan and hid her face.

“Oookay.”

“Your seat, sir.” 

Gojo followed the tall, slender man to the banister that overlooked the venue, where a line of chairs waited. At the head of the line was a velvet chair, and on it sat an envelope with his name on it.

“Enjoy the show.” The host swept away.

Gojo scanned the chair before retrieving the card and turning it over. Attached to it was a small black coin, and a few words written in a gorgeous script that could only have been Tira’s.

“Fate finds those who do not choose their destiny, little prince.” he read aloud.

“Do with this what you will.”

[TO BE CONTINUED]

[wutaijiemei]

english tl from amis/japanese ❤️

o nani cowaay kita? where have we come from? nani tira i kahadakan no cidal from the place where the sun rises tatalacowa kita? micelemayto ko cidal where are we going? the sun has already set malingad to kita! we are setting off! pasiwali kita heading all the way east

a~a taiyō ni se o mukete katana o futte with the sun behind me, i will carve my path forward michi o terashite kureta hachibōsei as the eight-pointed star¹ guides my way yoru no tobari ga orita kuroku nure night falls and slowly dyes the sky black “sonata wa doko ni mukau?” “where are you going?” oshiete please tell me

awaay ma’araw ako ko soda i ca’ang no kilang. we may know nothing of snow-covered branches awaay ma’araw iso ko taneng niyam. but you know nothing of our wisdom latek cowa kafana’ kako to kararoman no miso. perhaps i am simply unable to understand your struggles kaorira i, caay ka patadoen ako kiso a malalo’od. but i will not fight your battles

tatalacowa kita? micelemayto ko cidal. where are we going? the sun has already set minokay to kita! we’re going home!

a~a higashi ni mukatte yama o koete to the east, past the mountains mimimoto de sasayaite ita hachibōsei the eight-pointed star whispers in my ear and guides my way boya no kiri ni daka reta aoku nure the fog of night surrounds us and slowly dyes the world blue “sonata wa nanto yoba reru?” “what is your name?” oshiete please tell me

a~a kyokujitsu ga iranai ya jū o sutete abandon the rising sun, lay down your guns hirahara ni shizunde ita hachibōsei as the eight-pointed star sinks beneath the plains akatsuki ga akete kita akaku nure day breaks and slowly dyes the sky red darenimo nozoki koma renai yukusue and we reach the end of our journey, safe from prying eyes

¹reference to an important amis/pangcah cultural symbol, visible in the cover art in the center of the soldier's hat. i could not find the actual word for it in amis and, interestingly, it only appears in the japanese sections of the song. will edit the post if i find it T-T

this song is the story lead singer (and lyricist on this song) Natsuko once heard from her father about her grandfather's experience as an amis volunteer soldier during the final days of WWII. full translation of the portion of the interview that talks about this particular song in very great depth here. brief excerpt for basic contexts:

In 1945, the US military began bombing Taiwan, and Japan was on the verge of facing the reality of their imminent loss. A group of young Amis men were at the Takasago volunteer military camp in Taichung, witnessing the chaos firsthand and fearing deployment under such circumstances. They resolved not to fight any more on another nation’s behalf, and a number of them decided to desert and return to Taitung on foot. Natsuko’s grandfather was among them.

[goawaypopup]

Roddacember Day 12: Deception

I don't think we've seen a single one of the various humans, beasts, and artificial life forms that serve the Shadow Lord, that are legitimately loyal to him.

Think of the position jockeying between the Grade 3 Ol and Conversion Project-ed Tira in the Shadowlands. The Grey Guards phoning in their jobs wherever possible. The human generals from Adin's time in Tales of Deltora, scheming to look good and preserve their own skins.

The Ak-Baba are probably just too far up in the sky for us to hear them talking smack about their boss.

A common trait of evil in Deltora, the kind that the Belt and the Dreaming Spring can detect, seems to be that they naturally cannot be trusted to act in the interests of anybody except themselves. It's not an ironclad rule; Paff was, as I interpret, simply thoroughly broken. Others, though, like Rolf and the fugitives of the Barrier Mountains that the Shadow Lord built his power upon, were simply unprincipled and/or motivated by malignant resentment that overrode any concern for fellow people.

And of course his creations probably can't be much different from this. The Grey Guards are a curious case that seem as if they might extend care to their own pod, but never anywhere besides that, in a way that seems downright ingrained in their nature. And the Ols...

I've seen plenty of AUs where Ols are redeemed, mostly thanks to Dain and his sensitive boy wiles. And I won't deny the appeal in having nuance hidden deep in the souls of beings that never got the chance at a different life. But they surely do have the same grip on ambition and self-preservation, and the way they're constructed, well, they can't survive without the Shadow Lord fueling their hearts, and they probably know that. So, we'll likely never know about them for sure.

So, this is simply the natural state of being an evil mastermind. There is no bond between you and your minions, and if it weren't for the power imbalance you have in your favor, you'd instantly find yourself betrayed and in the gutter. Genuine camaraderie is a rare weapon that only the good guys are able to wield.

[hedgiwithapen]

Isi and Garric are going to meet Isi's mother, the people speaking Queen of Kildrenree

Putting a fancy hat on Jok was rapidly becoming a more desirable option. Geric's fingers were ink stained as much as Isi's were, from jotting down notes and then going over them together, often with Talone, Finn, Enna, or old Odaccar to give their thoughts. Then the whole mess had to be copied again. They might have left the work to scribes, but Isi hadn't wanted to let on to palace gossip how nervous the upcoming  Royal visit was making them. 

Her mother would arrive in a day's time, taking the new Forest Road that cut through the mountains, making a many-months long journey into a scant handful of weeks. Messengers had come riding ahead on horses both familiar and foreign to her, bearing letters in her mother's hand.  Of course, with the alliance so recently forged, and with all the drama that had surrounded it, and then the war with Tira, it was necessary for her mother to visit the new King and Queen of Bayern. There was nothing sinister in a mother wishing to see her daughter's home, in a queen wanting to be certain that an alliance so tentative was on solid footing. Most of the Palace, and Geric's council, hadn't batted an eye at  the arrangement of the visit. 

Isi and Geric were still ill at ease. 

"We have the maps," she said, finding her voice in time to stop her husband's pacing. "We can give up a mile or two at the border without displacing anyone, and let her talk us into another five before it'll get hard for the people at Riversfoot." That her mother would use her power to convince them to sacrifice land was a given, Isi remembered how unhappy the Queen had been about the narrow patch of mountain and wood Bayern had left Kildenree.  "As long as we stick to the scripts, we should be alright..."

"It's not the land I'm worried about, Geric said, quietly. 

"Why not? It is your land, after all, and my mother should have no claim on it, after--"

"I know," he said, sinking onto the edge of their bed. "I know I should be worried about that, but--"

"Then what?" Isi asked, putting her hand on his knee. 

"You so rarely speak of your childhood. You know a double dozen of my stories, but everything I know of your mother...I don't want her putting... putting poison in my ear about you." His dark eyes, bright as a bird's, held on her face. "I don't want her to speak badly of you. I don't want to believe it even for a moment. But I don't know if I can keep my mind."

"You can," Isi said, quiet. "I know you, Geric."

"You knew me as a fool who believed ..." he stopped. Neither of them ever spoke the traitor's name.

"You didn't know not to," Isi insisted. "My mother has practice, true, but she won't have malice, either. We'll be fine."

"And we're sure it's not too late to run away to the Forest?" 

"Unfortunately. Now, we need to finish this, in case she starts talking about succession crises." Isi hefted another sheet of parchment with talking points written on it.

Geric heaved to his feet with a dramatic groan. "Your mother is the fool, and I am the luckier for it," he said, bending so his chin rested on her shoulder. "You make the finest queen anywhere on the continent has ever had."

Isi laughed.

[rhainesmg]

Blizzard's Folklore is Woefully Lacking

And I took that personally.

Folklore and mythology are as key to worldbuilding as art, music, language, and economy. Who does the farmer give thanks to for a bountiful harvest – and how does his village celebrate that bounty? What do people blame or attempt to placate when a child falls ill? All of these things – or a notable lack thereof in strongly secular cultures – are key to making a culture feel more full and developed.

To that end, let’s look at druids in WoW. Kaldorei druids have mountains of lore. They and the Wild Gods that they venerate are important to and deeply ingrained in Kaldorei culture. But then we come to Worgen druids and get… a three-paragraph entry about Harvest Witches restoring the crops of Gilneas during a famine, then eventually learning true druidism from the Kaldorei when Gilneas fell to the combination of the Worgen Curse and the Forsaken invasion.

Lordaeron has... no druids? At all? No Harvest Witches, no Thornspeakers, no... Greenfriends, nothing. Gilneas was never a part of Lordaeron, Kul Tiras was never a part of Lordaeron, but they were NEIGHBORS. The cultural OVERLAP! Arathor? Alterac? You're telling me the HILLFOLK and the MOUNTAIN PEOPLE don't have gods and spirits, or Skalds, Druids, and Seers somewhere in their histry?

I call bullshit.

ALSO, so many of the Amani and Gurubashi Loa have SINGLE PARAGRAPHS of lore surrounding them. HOW? ARE YOU THIS SLOPPY? BLIZZARD? Even the most AMATEUR worldbuilders know that you don't just give a give a god a name and a shape and SLAP IT ON THE BOARD! What are their tenets? How do they interact with their followers? Do they HAVE many followers?

So anyway, I've made it my problem, and I'm working on some fanon lore for the Eastern Kingdoms. It's a massive undertaking, I am QUITE DAUNTED, and I've slowed down just a little bit already, but I am determined to succeed.

[merelliahallewell]

A Step Back - Autumnhearth

Perched between the Shrouded Foothills and the Autumnvale, the Drustvari realm of Autumnhearth is full of sorrow and emptiness.

A hundred fifty years ago, the people there prospered and lived in peace. They proudly supported House Waycrest and guarded against the encroachment of elemental and trogg nuisances from the mountains and depths. Autumnhearth was a jewel of Drustvar until a series of misfortunes befell the ruling family and their realm, culminating in their mysterious deaths and the vanishing of an entire township.

The passage of time has obscured the details of these cataclysms, but the memory of the terror wrought upon Autumnhearth has never left the hearts of its inhabitants. What few brave souls still dwell within the region are as hardy as Drustvari come, scratching out a living on lands they are too stubborn to abandon to the monsters that still haunt the woods and vales.

Great potential lies in the once-prosperous mines and fields here despite the dark shroud that lies over them. Many caretakers have been appointed to oversee the territory by the Waycrests over the years in the hopes that Autumnhearth could be returned to its former glory. While some made valiant efforts, others refused to even dwell there for fear of the curses that surely lie upon it.

The Fourth War and horrific sorcery of the Heartsbane Coven left much of Drustvar ravaged, yet the heroes forged during the war offer a beacon of hope.

As reward for her service to the Order of Embers and Kul Tiras, Inquisitor Merellia Hallewell was granted stewardship over Autumnhearth. This reward, however, came with a mission: to cleanse the long-cursed land, and establish safety and security for the denizens long bereft of it.

[nostalgiachan]

What's this? Two art posts in one day? Bah gawd. Yes, it's 100 OC Challenge Time!

But yes, since I already cleaned up these images for that group image I posted, it's time for the individual images, the OG designs from 2010, and character descriptions below the cut.

#57: Illus Artemida Idea: Arrogant elven archer Story: Dragon Tavern

Of course, my second Mountain Kingdoms squad wasn't going to go without a Moon Elf representative, so I rolled up the other Moon Elf class - because Moon Elves and Dwarves have two specific classes each - the Ranger.

Illus, like most of the Seekers, got most of his development with his first redesign in 2017. In particular, I built his design around two inspirations: Kenpachi Zaraki from Bleach and the uniforms of the Mongolian State Honor Guard. Illus had always been a bit flamboyantly designed, and I decided to make that a character gimmick. Basically, Illus is an incredibly talented Ranger and he knows it. Though he's fairly mild of temperament and doesn't tend to verbally boast, he so thoroughly believes in his skills that he wears brightly colored clothes, puts shiny crystal beads in his hair, wears loud and heavy silver bangles, and has sleigh bells dangling from his torso and tied to his ankles; in his words, "You will see me coming. You will hear me coming. You will not stop me."

Also his arm being that long isn't an anatomy fuck-up, Moon Elves are just lanky.

#58: Darja Handrukkari Idea: Dwarven berserker...or should I say, beerserker huehuahueahu Story: Dragon Tavern

When I was making the Seekers, I figured it was high time I stopped being a coward and made a dwarf. Like the Moon Elves, there are two classes specifically for dwarves: Dwarven Earth Sage and Dwarven Berzerker.

Since this squad was missing a melee fighter, Berzerker was the only choice. Unlike the Moon Elves, the Dwarves are still rather a WIP when it comes to lore overhauling. I'd considered having them be created literally from the earth, but uh...I didn't realize that was already a Tolkien thing. Darja herself, unfortunately, is equally a WIP; like most Berzerkers, she's a violently heavy drinker, which makes her a more fearless and unpredictable fighter, and she's rather stubborn and short-tempered.

#59: Faid Innamorata Idea: Puppeteer and Pierrot stan (derogatory) Story: Dragon Tavern

Faid (pronounced "fade") is one of the three characters out of the Seekers who happened to win the development lottery and get a little more thought put into her backstory. In the beginning, she was essentially Tira from Soulcalibur, except replace the ring blade with two life-sized puppets. In Dragon Tavern, Dark Puppeteers are a class that puppets various salvaged body parts, and they're noted to go a bit batty thanks to all the concentration required to puppet larger hordes of parts, but I thought "Fuck that, I want her to have full marionettes because killer dolls are cool." Her particular madness was essentially cribbed from Tira's Jolly and Gloomy modes; when she did small-scale puppet shows, she'd be jolly, and when controlling her full puppets in battle, she'd be gloomy.

And then years later, I tossed that. I kept the puppets and the madness, but the new backstory is as follows:

When Faid was at the dawn of puberty, she was a massive fan of one Pierrot Douleur; she'd go to as many of his performances as she could, bought multiple copies of his wax cylinders (because she'd inevitably wear one out, so she needed backups), and even took up puppeteering in the hopes that she could one day go on tour with him. And then three years later, he fell off the face of the earth. As far as anyone knew, he'd gone out beyond the borders of the Deadlands to "find inspiration". It would be another six years before Faid would actually find out what happened to him - or, more specifically, that the Gate Council would put out a reward for his capture.

In that time, Faid had become skilled enough in puppetry that she could control two life-sized puppets, a masculine doll named Silvio and a feminine doll named Vittoria.

However, she'd pushed herself far too hard far too quickly in trying to get that skilled, and between the stress of training and the general havoc of adolescent hormones over the years, she was already approaching the deep end. By the time she heads out into the world and joins up with two compatriots, the Death Knight Lusine and the Bone Lord Sirno, she's begun to see her puppets as living beings - when she's not in her right mind, she believes she's in love with Silvio and that Vittoria is conspiring to steal him from her. Over the course of the story, it grows so bad that she violently abuses Vittoria, and plans to make Silvio into a "real boy" - by building him a body out of corpse parts. When she confirms that Pierrot's still alive, her plan changes slightly - she'll either convince him to come away with her, or Silvio's real boy body will be Pierrot's.

#60: Lusine Awaria Idea: The Most Dyingest Death Knight Ever Story: Dragon Tavern

I promise that's not Geralt. When I first drew Lusine in 2016 (after procrastinating on designing him for six or so years because I sucked at drawing heavy armor and horses), I accidentally made him look a bit like Geralt face-wise. With this redesign, I decided to lean into it more and directly reference a popular Geralt cosplayer because I thought it would be funny to have a guy who looks like your typical post-Geralt grizzled fantasy man, but who 100% sucks at his job.

See, if there was anything Lusine came to be known for as I played him, it was dying. I want to say he died in battle more than any other character I have, which is baffling considering he's a heavily-armored death wizard on a mighty steed. So, I made that the defining feature of his character.

Death Knights are essentially undead paladins; through a particularly complicated and resource-intensive ritual, a candidate for knighthood is trapped in a state of undeath. They're not completely immortal, as eventually the magic keeping them from passing through the Death Gate completely will wane, but until that time, they can only be temporarily killed . They're supposed to present a middle ground between the magic-oriented Necromancers and the melee-oriented Bone Lords, what with their combination of sword and sorcery.

But then there's Lusine. While Death Knight candidates are typically chosen from among the most elite soldiers of the Deadlands, and Lusine was presumably one of them, something must have changed once he underwent the ritual. Perhaps the process severely dulled his combat prowess and magical capabilities, perhaps he was suddenly possessed by a spirit with ill intent, or perhaps he was never actually a capable soldier at all.

Whatever the cause, the truth of the matter is that Lusine has died more than any Death Knight in history. Creatures big and small, magic wielders of all kinds, sentient being and automaton alike, all have at one time or another laid waste to this man. And yet, for all of his constant failure, he always manages to fail upwards. He'll get disemboweled six ways from Sunday and lose a limb or four, but somehow, he always wins the day. Surely, if the Gate Council could see the embarrassing displays Lusine put on in combat, they'd undo the ritual and put the man right through the Death Gate immediately.

Well, lucky him, he works alone so there's only the results to speak for him. Yet, despite his ability to fail upwards, Lusine feels that eventually, someone's going to actually catch wind of what a fuck-up he is and it'll all be over. So, when word is sent out about the Seekers, he jumps at the chance to get the hell out of the Deadlands for a while; perhaps by going out into the wider world, he can finally get his shit together and become an actually competent Death Knight.

[minglana]

Léxico aragonés usado en el dialecto aragonés/Aragonese lexic used in aragonese dialect

Over a year ago I made a post with Aragonese words that Spanish speakers in Aragon use in their daily life, and here I am once again, with more words! This post will follow the same structure of the last one.

Since I made that post, I have found out a few things, like the fact that "baturro" was originally a derogatory term against Aragonese people, meaning "dumb", "stupid" and "rural" (derogatory), so this post will refrain from using the term anymore. "Aragonese" in this post refers to the dialect of Spanish that is spoken in Aragon, with heavy influences from the Aragonese language.

aragonés - español - english

ascape - rápidamente - quickly

aventar - echar, tirar - to throw away

badil - recogedor - dustpan

batir - romper - to break

cantera - ladera, loma - mountain/hill slope

(a) caramullo/caramuello - sobresalirse de un recipiente - excess portion that sticks out of a container

carrañar - regañar - to scold

chupón - carámbano - icile

clamor - barranco - ravine

cinglo - risco, tira de piedra fuerte por debajo tierra - cliff, underground hard stone strip

cortapichas - tijereta - earwig

cucar - agusanarse, estropearse por gusanos - to have worms

cutio cutio - despacio - slowly

dar pampurrias - dar asco - to disgust

dar ferrete - ser pesado, dar la lata - to bother someone

de bislai - de lado - sideways

embolicar - enredar - to confuse, tangle up

escaparrar - hacer marchar del sitio - to go away (derogatorily)

esfilorchado- deshilado - unravelled

estozolar - caerse y/o romperse algo - to fall and/or break something

falsa - desván - attic

fiero - feo - ugly

fierro - hierro - iron

focín - (dicho de una persona) sucio, maleducado - (said of someone) dirty, rude

fumarro - cigarro - cigarrette

furo/a - enfadado/a - mad, angry

galacho - lago formado por el meandro de un río - lake formed by a river meander

garra - pierna - leg

garrampa - calambre - cramp, electric shock

hacer duelo - dar lástima - to feel sorry for someone/something

hacer(se) mal - hacer(se) daño - to hurt (yourself/someone)

japo - escupitajo - spit

malmeter - echar a perder, malgastar - to waste something

mazada* - sentencia breve - short impactful saying

nafra - herida/llaga - wound/ulcer

nuble/nublo - nublado - cloudy

orache - tiempo - weather

pa cutio - para siempre - forever

paco - opaco, sombra - shade

parar cuenta - prestar atención, tener cuidado - to pay attention, to be careful

pasa - enfermedad, epidemia - illness, epidemic

pedregada - granizada - hailstorm

pitera - voz fuerte y potente - loud booming voice

plegar - acabar (de hacer algo) - to finish (an action)

pretar - acabar con - to finish something off

(es)purna - chispa - spark

ripa - mucho de algo - a lot of something

royo - rubio, pelirrojo - blonde, redhead

saso - meseta - plateau

tajadera - compuerta para parar el agua - door to stop water

zaborro - piedra grande - big rock

zaborrero/a - chapucero - sloppy person

zancocho - lío, enredo - mess

zolle - pocilga - pigpen

*esta es la mejor definición que he podido encontrar: "Es la salida ocurrente, la réplica sin respuesta que da un golpetazo como si pegara con una maza, con el “agüelo” que es el martillo que se emplea en la fragua y que en Almudevar llaman gráficamente “o degüello” que sugiere el golpe sin apelación posible.

En todo Aragón abundan las mazadas y habría que estar siempre con el boli en la mano o tener una grabadora en la cabeza para irlas recogiendo conforme salen espontáneas de nuestras gentes."

[torais-life]

6th portion-Parshah Noach(english)

6th Portion: Bereshit (Genesis 9:18 - 10:32)

18And the sons of Noah who came out of the ark were Shem, Ham, and Japheth; and Ham he was the father of Canaan.

19These three were the sons of Noah, and from these, the entire earth spread out.

20And Noah began to be a master of the soil, and he planted a vineyard.

21And he drank of the wine and became drunk, and he uncovered himself within his tent.

22And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw his father's nakedness, and he told his two brothers outside.

23And Shem and Japheth took the garment, and they placed [it] on both of their shoulders, and they walked backwards, and they covered their father's nakedness, and their faces were turned backwards, so that they did not see their father's nakedness.

24And Noah awoke from his wine, and he knew what his small son had done to him.

25And he said, "Cursed be Canaan; he shall be a slave among slaves to his brethren."

26And he said, "Blessed be the Lord, the God of Shem, and may Canaan be a slave to them.

27May God expand Japheth, and may He dwell in the tents of Shem, and may Canaan be a slave to them."

28And Noah lived after the Flood, three hundred and fifty years.

29And all the days of Noah were nine hundred and fifty years, and he died.

Chapter 10

1And these are the generations of the sons of Noah: Shem, Ham, and Japheth, and sons were born to them after the Flood.

2The sons of Japheth were Gomer and Magog and Madai and Javan and Tubal, and Meshech and Tiras.

3And the sons of Gomer were Ashkenaz and Riphath and Togarmah.

4And the sons of Javan were Elishah and Tarshish, Kittim, and Dodanim.

5From these, the islands of the nations separated in their lands, each one to his language, according to their families, in their nations.

6And the sons of Ham were Cush and Mizraim and Put and Canaan.

7And the sons of Cush were Seba and Havilah and Sabta and Raamah and Sabtecha, and the sons of Raamah were Sheba and Dedan.

8And Cush begot Nimrod; he began to be a mighty man in the land.

9He was a mighty hunter before the Lord; therefore it is said, "Like Nimrod, a mighty hunter before the Lord."

10And the beginning of his kingdom was Babylon and Erech and Accad and Calneh, in the land of Shinar.

11From that land emerged Asshur, and he built Nineveh and Rehoboth ir and Calah.

12And Resen, between Nineveh and between Calah; that is the great city.

13And Mizraim begot the Ludim and the Anamim and the Lehabim and the Naphtuhim,

14And the Pathrusim and the Casluhim, from whom the Philistines emerged, and the Caphtorim.

15And Canaan begot Zidon his firstborn and Heth.

16And the Jebusites and the Amorites and the Girgashites.

17And the Hivvites and the Arkites and the Sinites.

18And the Arvadites and the Zemarites and the Hamathites, and afterwards the families of the Canaanites were scattered.

19And the border of the Canaanites was from Sidon as you come to Gerar, until Gaza, as you come to Sodom and Gomorrah, and Admah and Zeboiim, until Lesha.

20These are the sons of Ham according to their families, and their tongues, in their lands, in their nations.

21And to Shem were also born [children; he was] the father of all the people of the other side [of the river], the brother of Japheth the elder.

22The sons of Shem were Elam and Asshur and Arpachshad and Lud and Aram.

23And the sons of Aram were Uz and Hul and Gether and Mash.

24And Arpachshad begot Shelah, and Shelah begot Eber.

25And to Eber were born two sons: one was named Peleg, because in his days the earth was divided, and the name of his brother was Joktan.

26And Joktan begot Almodad and Sheleph and Hazarmaveth and Jerah.

27And Hadoram and Uzal and Diklah.

28And Obal and Abimael and Sheba.

29And Ophir and Havilah and Jobab; all these were the sons of Joktan.

30And their settlement was from Mesha, as you come to Sephar, the mountain of the east.

31These are the sons of Shem according to their families, according to their tongues, in their lands, according to their nations.

32These are the families of the sons of Noah according to their generations, in their nations, and from these, the nations were separated on the earth after the Flood.

[anemcia]

@kiealer​ asked: 👄 + tira, for honeydew and flint

send a ‘👄 + character name’ and my muse will talk about that character - [ACCEPTING]

“What wonderful thing can’t I say about Tira? I met her ‘round the first few months I was runnin’ the farm on my own, strugglin’ with finances among other... Aggressive issues. She was the only soul I could tolerate before she became someone I need to lean on for all my woes. I knew I’ve missed my mother after she passed, but... Tira really filled in the achin’ gap I had been missing for so long. She provided me that motherly comfort I craved, someone who I could call ‘mom’ again. G-Granted, I don’t go out of my way to call her that-- but it’s slipped a few times... I don’t think it bothers her.”

“SHE’S GOT ONE HELL OF A RACK--” Is what he would have said if no one was watching.

“...Erm. Well, Tira is a lovely woman with a big ol’ heart. That dame got a smile that’ll light up a whole room once ya really get to know ‘er. I find myself chattin’ away for so long that I forget where the time has gone, she has to go and I’m left thinkin’ I shoulda invited her to Central City’s fanciest bar. Even if that sorry excuse of a ‘man’ lives with her, there ain’t a ring on that finger. I’d... Like to see where things could lead if I didn’t freeze up half the time. Not many people can look past my not-so-handsome features like Melony did... But Tira reminds me of that familiar sense of... Trust. It’s hard to explain, but I’d move mountains if she ever asked me to.”

[thefunbible]

Genesis 10

01 Now this is the history of the spawn of the male-spawns of Noah and of Shem, Ham, and Japheth, which was not a total load of fiction. Male-spawns were born to them after the flood.

02 The male-spawns of Japheth were: Gomer, a goofy mother fucker, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshech, and Tiras.

03 The male-spawns of Gomer were: Ashkenaz, Riphath, and Togarmah.

04 The male-spawns of Javan were: Elishah, Tarshish, Kittim, and Dodanim.

05 Of these were the islands of the nations divided in their lands, everyone after his language, after their families, in their nations.

06 The male-spawns of Ham were: Cush, Mizraim, Put, and Canaan.

07 The male-spawns of Cush were: Seba, Havilah, Sabtah, Raamah, and Sabteca. The male-spawns of Raamah were: Sheba and Dedan.

08 Cush became the spermer of Nimrod. He began to be a murder-seeker in the pale blue dot.

09 He was a mighty hunter before The Earl. Therefore it is said, “like Nimrod, the dolt, a mighty hunter before The Earl”.

10 The beginning of his wheelhouse was Babel, Erech, Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar.

11 Out of that land he went into Assyria, and built Nineveh, Rehoboth Ir, Calah,

12 and Resen between Nineveh and the great city Calah.

13 Mizraim became the spermer of Ludim, Anamim, Lehabim, Naphtuhim,

14 Pathrusim, Casluhim (which the Philistines descended from), and Caphtorim.

15 Canaan became the spermer of Sidon (his initial spawn), Heth,

16 the Jebusites, the Amorites, the Girgashites,

17 the Hivites, the Arkites, the Sinites,

18 the Arvadites, the Zemarites, and the Hamathites. Afterward the families of the Canaanites were spread abroad.

19 The border of the Canaanites was from Sidon—as you go toward Gerar—to Gaza—as you go toward Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboiim—to Lasha.

20 These are the male-spawns of Ham, after their families, according to their languages, in their lands and their nations.

21 Children were also born to Shem (the old 'un male-sibling of Japheth), the spermer of all the varmints of Eber.

22 The male-spawns of Shem were: Elam, Asshur, Arpachshad, Lud, and Aram.

23 The male-spawns of Aram were: Uz, Hul, Gether, and Mash.

24 Arpachshad became the spermer of Shelah. Shelah became the spermer of Eber.

25 To Eber were born two male-spawns. The name of the one was Peleg, which means “Holy fucking shit!”, for in his days the pale blue dot was divided, and that’s not fictional. His male-sibling’s name was Joktan.

26 Joktan became the spermer of Almodad, Sheleph, Hazarmaveth, Jerah,

27 Hadoram, Uzal, Diklah,

28 Obal, Abimael, Sheba,

29 Ophir, Havilah, and Jobab. All these were the male-spawns of Joktan.

30 Their dwelling extended from Mesha, as you go toward Sephar, the mountain of the east.

31 These are the male-spawns of Shem, by their families, according to their languages, lands, and nations.

32 These are the families of the male-spawns of Noah, by their spawn, according to their nations. The nations divided from these in the pale blue dot after the flood because there was only the one nonfictional continent.

[anmibi]

La cabra tira al monte/The goat goes to the mountain

Paseo por la estepa de Cuarte con/Walk through the Cuarte steppe with: https://www.facebook.com/fernandezminayamanuel?locale=es_ES @pabloibasi Joaquín Costa

[rodyisteria]

The Fallahan Continent

Enclosed by the seven seas and bordering the Darklands to the east is the Fallahan Continent, named after the old Mysorean words Fall'Ahan meaning something like the living mountain peak. As winding its coastlines touch the sea water, so diverse are the landscapes and even more diverse the life that the continent is home to. From the enormous Valkenwoods in its heart, to the always snowy North. From the barren dry plains of Bulma Durr, to the treacherous marshes of Nimrakosh. Here long ago the first Humans embarked on a long journey to explore, grow and inhabit the content. They met friend and foe and gained a stable place among the other races. Races willing to cooperate with Man, races that oppose Man, and races that retreated as Man multiplied and gained in numbers.

Do not think that all areas of the continent have been discovered. Every day dozens of expeditions set out to further explore the continent, to get to know new races or peoples and to map hidden places. It was not known until recently how big Fall'Ahan would be and what wonders and plagues it harbors. I have spent much of my life getting to know the Fallahan Continent, unraveling its secrets and all I know now is that I don't know anything yet. No one would have thought possible that the amount of land is apparently unlimited, not to mention the size of the seas. The crossing by medium-speed boat from the coast of Gydia to Aelenar, the largest of the three Wistinden in the West, takes at least three weeks with a tailwind.

Although the Wistinden are not officially counted as part of the Fallahan Continent, the importance of the islands for the development of Western kingdoms in particular should not be underestimated. When Bem Bartodox accidentally discovered the islands 351 years before the foundation of Gydorrhea, he thought he had found paradise. In addition to beautiful nature, he also found new herbs and fruits. But most special were the people who lived there. The level of kindness and hospitality was much higher than on the mainland. Unfortunately, the kings of that time thought otherwise and after Bem's stories they sent fleets to the Wistinden to capture the inhabitants to serve as slaves in their kingdom. This marked the beginning of the Battle of Tira, named after Tira Dja Mes, the sea that became the sailor's grave for many and whose waters were said to be red with the blood of the slain. The Battle of Tira proved fatal to the kingdom of Delawra, after which it was swallowed up by the nearby kingdom of Heria Krammas. The Wistinden are of course also known as the birthplace of Saint Cecilia, who was brought to the Fallahan Content as a young slave and eventually ended the slavery of her people.

In the meantime you will no longer find the wasteland it was then on the content. Man has conquered and tamed many territories. Settlements were built, which grew into villages. Successful villages became cities, which gathered under one banner. The most powerful villagers became governors and governors became kings. Strategic marriages enlarged the kingdom, wars reduced it. 125 years before the foundation of Gydorrhea, Human influence reached such a height that the Elves retreated to the woods and forests. The 25 kingdoms of Man, as the Fallahan Continent was also called by non-human races, who felt forgotten and feared that Man would overpower and enslave them too. The divisions between the Kings of Men led to gruesome wars and vicious intrigues. Many died and national borders changed continuously. Friends became enemies and alliances broke like dry bread.

Cities fell and cities rose. There are always those who are smart enough to see opportunity even in war and death, like Goldhaven; a city of trade between the Northern Mountains and the rest of the continent. By supplying cannons from the Dwarves, they could literally make gold. Extra tolls were levied at the royal tombs of Mirandah to benefit from the influx of kings' sons buried there due to the wars. In Monolith, the smiths worked day and night to meet the massive demand for weapons, and Ceaderr built walls around itself that were so thick and sturdy they still stand today.

It was only 25 years after the foundation of Gydorrhea that peace came to the Fallahan Continent. Partly because of the invasion of the Darklands in the East, partly because of the settlement of Gydorrhea. When the Four had decided to give rest to the hunted and oppressed people of the kingdoms and announced the plan for a safe haven, the greatest migration of all time began. Gyria was a kingless land by then. The king had been defeated in battle and his queen had died giving birth to a son. This was the land chosen for a settlement. There, among the mountains on a far jutting cliff above the rough waters of the Hetwa Lyrium Ocean, a place was being built where Men would be safe from violence. Where everyone was welcome, provided they were committed to the construction and survival of the settlement.

Now, 800 years later, the settlement of Gydorrhea has grown into the largest city on the Fallahan Continent and is the capital of the eponymous empire of Gydorrhea. Due to the resulting shortage of Humans, many kingdoms could no longer replenish their armies. In other kingdoms, money ran out to pay for wars. One by one the kingdoms, voluntarily or not, joined the good thought of Gydorrhea. What was once known as the 25 kingdoms of Man with their differences and fighting spirit, is now known as Gydorrhea, where equality is paramount and differences are used to work towards one goal; peace.

Geography and cartography of the continent Philip Montier

[logi1974]

Fest Inn Fels: In the midst of the Tiras Mountains, and on the edge of the Namib Desert is picturesquely surrounded by red shining granite rocks. The name "Koiimasis" means "meeting point" and comes from the San people (bushmen) who lived here in former times. The landscape varies from desert to quiver tree forest and may be explored by car, on foot or on horseback.  

 At the edge of the Namib Desert and within the triangle of Fish River Canyon, Sossusvlei and Lüderitz the 125 000 ha "Tiras Mountains" Nature Conservancy is located. Here, a group of local farmers combined, to create a hideaway for nature lovers in one of the most beautiful areas of Namibia. Nearly every day ends with an impressive sunset, followed by an unforgettably clear, nocturnal starlit sky. 

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Fest Inn Fels: Inmitten des Tiras-Gebirges und am Rande der Namib-Wüste, malerisch umgeben von rot leuchtenden Granitfelsen. Der Name „Koiimasis“ bedeutet „Treffpunkt“ und stammt von den San (Buschmännern), die hier früher lebten. Die Landschaft variiert von Wüste bis Köcherbaumwald und kann mit dem Auto, zu Fuß oder zu Pferd erkundet werden.

Am Rande der Namib-Wüste und im Dreieck von Fish River Canyon, Sossusvlei und Lüderitz liegt das 125.000 ha große Naturschutzgebiet "Tirasberge". Hier hat sich eine Gruppe lokaler Farmer zusammengeschlossen, um in einer der schönsten Gegenden Namibias ein Refugium für Naturliebhaber zu schaffen. Fast jeder Tag endet mit einem beeindruckenden Sonnenuntergang, gefolgt von einem unvergesslich klaren, nächtlichen Sternenhimmel.

[travelbinge]

The Tiras Fringe by Dom Wills

Tiras Mountains, Namibia