#<- Update he has one now lol

[midnight-the-pony]

hey so what if I just revert my main oc back to his original colours

[aphel1on]

neuvillette's lore is actually insane. we all took one look at him and went "haha dragon🫵" but i significantly underestimated how big of a role he would play. he's the incarnation of the original hydro sovereign. he took back his rule right under the heavenly principles' nose. he's the one handing out hydro visions now (not even because he has to, he doesn't, he just grew so fond of humanity that he chooses to). he gave away the hydro gnosis bc he straight up doesn't need it. he's planning to DETHRONE ALL OF THE ARCHONS (in a few hundred years, when the traveler's not around to see it, so it won't be awkward for them). he's kind and soft-spoken. he's full of vengeful rage. he's a father to hundreds. he found his purpose after feeling lost for 500 years. skirk pulled him aside for a super-secret convo and when he saw us again he immediately spilled the tea. as far as i can tell, he spawned into existence fully formed. no other character can fucking compare

[guinevereslancelot]

trying to arrange a lowkey date and he goes radio silent for no apparent reason 🤡

[akkivee]

posse’s curry track managed to sneak in character plot beats that probably needs to be addressed within canon lol so i was thinking the others are the same and so like

🔴: jiro and saburo needed to get ichiro to talk about his plans with them and even get him to consider different options in order to stay true to who they are

🔵: the usual rio hijinks lol but samatoki and juto worked behind the scenes to stop rio’s madness (he’s crazy m he’s crazy m��)

🟡: posse lol

⚪️: hmmmmm……….

🟠: rosho conducted sasara’s plans, kept rei and sasara on track and got their end goal, rosho doing all the heavy lifting for those two bums pray for rosho y’all lmao

🟣: kuukou be doing too much, pls stop him lol

[ssreeder]

AHHHHH i can’t believe Katara knows. And from Ara. And all of it at once, that’s gonna be a lot to process. Anyways I LOVED the chapter and CANNOT wait for the next one ( you always have to torture us with cliffhangers, don’t you? (Hah but i kind of love it a little bit))

I’m reaally excited for the next chapter the latest one made my week once again :)

What’s that meme? The one with the kid smirking back at the camera as the house burns in the background?

That’s Ara.

But in all honesty, I don’t think she truly understands what she just did, haha - not that she’d care much... haha, Ara is in her ‘IDGAF gurl mode’ so it’s probably better she’s leaving the compound. after one million words it’s finally time for her to put on her big girl pants on and actually take control of her life,,, away from the people she traumatized and who traumatize her. GOOD LUCK ARA!! WE WISH YOU THE BEST! (Well… some of us do haha… some still cry for her head on a stick)

I AM GLAD YOU ENJOYED THE UPDATE AND SUPER SORRY IN ADVANCE FOR THE NEXT EVEN WORSE CLIFF HANGER………..

[lucalicatteart]

Poll adventure (paventure? lol) Day 16: read the small story tidbit below the poll for more details, OR just vote based on initial impression

(✦ see past poll results + further information HERE (link) ✦)

Yesterday's poll decided that The Adventurer should offer to help the travelers with their broken wagon.....

~

After much internal deliberation (and some zoning out staring at butterflies), The Adventurer decides it would be best to offer his assistance. Technically, he IS still following his goal of not getting distracted, because theoretically it would make his journey much faster if he were able to catch a ride on a carriage. So really, this is all an ultimate big brain genius strategy for maximizing efficient travel.. Or, at least that sounds like a good enough justification to him.

Gathering up all of his social courage, he approaches one of the travelers fiddling with a broken wheel near the far end of the carriage and meekly asks if there's anything he could do to help.

The man was so focused on his task, he seems initially startled to look up and find someone near him. "OH..! Oh, uhh.. help? With the wagon?", he smiles pleasantly, gesturing towards a few wooden boards that are just out of his reach, "Sure, kid. If you could just hand me th-"

"Apologies, but we actually won't be needing your assistance, stranger." A taller man, surprisingly almost matching the stature of the Adventurer, suddenly slinks out from somewhere behind the carriage, sternly placing himself like a barrier in front of the man working on the wheel. Wheel Guy nervously averts his eyes, making himself smaller, silently resuming his work.

The Adventurer tries his best to maintain composure against the weight of the tall man's bitter gaze, but can't seem to muster much of a response "Aeughh,,, uh… b-but, h- Bu--HHHh,,?.."

"Look, disregard whatever my father told you, he's old, never has any clue what he's talking about. It'd be best for you to simply move along." ('Father'? They don't look alike at all, and seem to be nearly the same age..)

"W-well.. he.. he didn't really tell me anything, I me-hhH,,.. I mean, I literally just got here, s-so...."

"Good. Even more reason to be on your way."

Placing a gloved hand firmly on his shoulder, the tall man begins to motion the Adventurer away from the wagon, but a strange noise interrupts, echoing from inside. Perhaps some sort of animal sound? Or a person faintly yelling about something? Or… both?

"WH-wHggg… whAT was t-that???!!" The Adventurer immediately stops in place, pausing to listen as the tall man keeps trying to push him ahead.

"I didn't hear anything, stranger."

"No, t-there.. was dEFinitely, UHH, a-"

"Likely something in the forest."

"Wh--aah... d.. do you think it was an animal?"

The tall man continues a dramatic struggle to 'subtly' drag him further down the road, whilst the Adventurer mindlessly digs in his heels, too distracted to even notice he's being so strongly prompted to leave.

"Many animals do, indeed, exist within forests. This should not be suprising."

"...It's just.. ..eughh… s… so weird…"

"I assure you, it is not."

"I-it really sounded like.. like it came f-from insid-"

"Yes, from inside the forest. Now, please, if you would.."

The noise interrupts again. It's definitely someone, or something, in some sort of distress.. And definitely from inside of the cart.

"wHoAAGH, aa!!! T-tHat's NOT from the f-forest, that-"

The tall man fully just shoves him now, sending the Adventurer toppling across the dirt, clumsily rolling and landing just past the other side of the carriage. A mother and young child who seem to be part of the traveling group simply stare down at him with empty blank gazes, wholly unconcerned about helping him up.

As the Adventurer fumbles back to his feet (still confused as to why he was even pushed in the first place), the tall man looms by the carriage, diligently watching to ensure that he leaves.

"Travel safe, stranger."

Despite his initial obliviousness, the Adventurer begins to piece the situation together as he stares back at the man, now fully convinced something suspicious might be going on...

…What should he do next??

~

~

~

Additional Information

the adventurer's current main quest: follow his map to reach the abandoned castle ruins and see the rare animal specialist about the mysterious egg he has

[j-esbian]

i don’t even know if we caught walrusman adventurezone’s name but i absolutely adore this concept for a villain and henchperson duo. walruses eat shrimp and im imagining like. that’s literally what was happening and then they both got transformed

[anon-apple]

Hot Soup and Soft Bread 3

Table of Contents and Synopsis <- Chapter 2 Read this chapter on WordPress T/N: Double update because i can haha

Chapter 3: Chocomonts III

The first time Zhong Qiuyan saw Zhou Cunqu at the dining table, he sat across from Liu Xiaoying and him. Qiuyan held a bowl in his left hand and chopsticks in his right, but he didn’t move either; instead, he was occupied with looking up and down, left, and right, his head following every movement of Cunqu as he ate. Earlier, he had pushed open Cunqu’s door, poked his head in, and called out as usual: “Ge, Liu Xiaoying made you chicken broth today, come out and drink some.”

Cunqu was leaning against the back of the bed and reading a book next to the Anpanman nightlight. He looked at Qiuyan for a while and then shut his book. 

There were five, or six dishes placed on the small square dining table that night. A round little rice cooker also stood to the side. When Qiuyan was serving the rice, he commented that someone must be making pickled fish; the fragrant and numbing scent even wafted into their apartment. Xiaoying walked out of the kitchen with the dipping sauce for the white-cut chicken and told Qiuyan to move aside. Cunqu just finished washing his hands and sat down at the table. He involuntarily shivered at the warm aroma unique to the dining table at dinner time; he suddenly regretted a little coming outside. 

Xiaoying had already placed a bowl of chicken broth in front of him, and she happily said: “Qiuyan brought back the chicken from the countryside. It’s real free-range chicken, smells very aromatic.”

Cunqu didn’t look at either of them and lowered his head to blow on the broth before tasting a sip. Qiuyan almost stood up and applauded.

But during the entirety of dinner, Cunqu didn’t say a single word from start to finish. He also didn’t look at them. He just quietly and peacefully finished his bowl of rice. Xiaoying took the bowl he was using to drink the broth and said almost anxiously: “Grandma will pour you another bowl. Have another bowl of broth, alright?”

Cunqu stared at the ends of his hair. After a bit, he said: “Alright.”

Xiaoying hurriedly got up. When Qiuyan stood up to help, Cunqu suddenly raised his head to look at him. Qiuyan asked: “Ge, do you need something?”

Cunqu placed a sticky note on the dining table. He slowly pushed the note towards Qiuyan and glanced deliberately in Xiaoying’s direction. Qiuyan quickly understood and put away the note.

That day, Cunqu obediently drank a second bowl of chicken broth and returned to his bedroom. He slid down to the floor and sat against his pile of books, somewhat exhausted, and buried his head into the crook of his arm. The joy that his grandma showed at dinner made him feel sorry. In the past two years, his grandma had cried in front of him, and she had also hidden herself and cried in secret. But she had never asked him to leave the house or anything similar. Xiaoying would only smile at the same time she would cry and say:  “However long you want to stay, Grandma will raise you for however long.”

Cunqu had written on the note he passed to Qiuyan: Please come again after midnight; I’ll leave the door open for you.

After midnight, Qiuyan came back to the apartment. He pushed open Cunqu’s bedroom door and lightly closed it behind him. Then he said: “Reporting! Everything is normal outside.”

Cunqu leaned against the back of his bed and looked at him expressionlessly. Qiuyan sat on the bed with his legs crossed and once again started to wildly gesture with his self-made sign language as he asked: “Ge has something to say to me?”

Cunqu didn’t say anything. Qiuyan scratched his head and considered going back out to fetch the paper Xiaoying used for practicing calligraphy. They could use writing for communication instead. Then, Cunqu said: “I, know how to speak.”[1]

Qiuyan raised his eyebrows and looked at Cunqu. Cunqu felt a little uneasy being stared at and quickly lowered his head to look at the book beside him. He then slowly said: “I know how to speak. But, I haven’t spoken to anyone in a long time.”

He raised his head again and asked Qiuyan: “Can I ask you, to do me a favor?”

Qiuyan smiled and agreed without hesitation: “No problem.”

Cunqu was taken aback. Then he opened his mouth and suddenly broke into a smile in response. He had barely smiled in the past two years; it was a bit difficult just moving the muscles on his face.

Qiuyan’s head turned left and right and took in this room cluttered with books. Cunqu, sitting in the depths of this room, was almost like Rapunzel who was trapped in the tower for a very long time, and one day finally let down his hair to invite him upstairs. This “Rapunzel” said to him that he hoped he could help him try and go downstairs. Because he wanted to attend his grandma’s 80th birthday celebration in November.[2]

Cunqu rubbed his nails with his head lowered, saying: “Sorry to bother you, but I, by myself probably, won’t be able to do it.”

Qiuyan looked at Cunqu and suddenly grabbed his arm. He said: “How about we start by trying to head out at around midnight when no one’s around? Do you want to try right now?”

Cunqu furrowed his eyebrows and shrunk back his arm, refusing: “I'm quite tired today. You can leave first.” 

Qiuyan was driven out of Cunqu’s bedroom. Before he was kicked out, Cunqu had urged him: “Don’t tell, grandma. If I, end up not being able to do it. She will be disappointed.”

--

The following night, Zhong Qiuyan stood in front of the apartment door waiting for Zhou Cunqu. The latter had changed out of his pajamas and wore a white t-shirt with jeans. The clothes were loose on him. His hair was tied up and he held Xiaoying’s long umbrella. When he walked out of the apartment, Qiuyan lightly whistled at him from where he was leaning against the wall.

Cunqu was startled and immediately wanted to turn back around. Qiuyan grabbed his hand. 

He guided him slowly down the stairs. The fourth-floor residence often changed owners and recently a young couple, both with bad tempers, had moved in. Their door had a large sign saying “Amiability makes you rich” plastered on the outside. On the third floor lived teacher Zhuang, who used to be Xiaoying’s coworker. She suffered from dementia and had been sent to a care facility. Heading to the second floor, Qiuyan held Cunqu’s wrist as he said: “The old men twins who live on the second floor, Grandpa Huang Sr. and Grandpa Huang Jr. fought the other day. Get this, Grandpa Huang Jr. was beaten until he cried. For convenience’s sake, I’ve begun to call them the ‘Double yolk egg’ grandpas.”[3]

Cunqu watched the stairs with his head lowered. Cunqu kept telling him to be careful, there had been a lot of rain recently and the stairs were slippery.

When they reached the second floor, Cunqu stopped for a while. When he was little, he studied at the primary school Xiaoying was vice principal of, so he lived at his grandma’s place for quite a while. He’d sprint back after getting off school and as he climbed the stairs, he’d make deep and shallow notches along the wall with his keys for fun.

They finally reached the first floor, and it stopped raining outside. After two years, Cunqu finally stood upon the surface of the Earth. He clutched Qiuyan’s hand and stared at the uneven roads of this old residential community. Grass and wildflowers grew from cracks in the cement, and a new “Do not trample” sign had been installed next to the flowerbed. The only other residential community nearby had been torn down and was undergoing new construction. Cunqu looked at the crane that was sleeping soundly in the night and realized that no matter what, the world would keep spinning on and on and on. He was the only one thrown outward by the centrifugal force of its rotation.

He breathed in deeply.

The post-rain nighttime air, of spring’s tail and summer’s start, carried an ancient scent. That night, Cunqu only made it to the exit of his building. This entire week, he also only ever made it that far. Afterward, he and Qiuyan would stand there side-by-side lost in thought.

Around a week and a half later, the news incessantly reported the whole day about another typhoon passing through. The No.188 bus that Zhong Qiuyan drove stopped operations that afternoon. He initially wanted to tell Cunqu to not head downstairs that day because it was a bit dangerous outside with the strong winds and heavy rain. Then he belatedly realized he didn’t even have his contact information, and he couldn’t ask Xiaoying to relay his words since that would be breaking his promise of not letting her know.

So that night, Qiuyan braved the risks and drove to Qin Qin Homeland. He led Cunqu to lean against the window of the third-floor corridor and watched the rain pour down. Cunqu stretched out a hand to catch a bit of the rain; The temperature and feel of raindrops had become fresh sensations to him. 

Around 1 am, the winds picked up so heavily that Qiuyan was afraid to drive home. After accompanying Cunqu upstairs, he asked: “Can I spend the night here? I’ll slip away early morning after your grandma heads out for her morning exercises.”

Cunqu neither agreed nor disagreed, but allowed him to follow him inside.

Qiuyan took off his shirt and casually lay down on the bed. Cunqu stood by the side of the bed while holding his book and suddenly had the urge to bundle up what was on the bed, bring it outside, and throw it into the kitchen waste garbage bin. The sudden presence of another person in his bedroom made him ill at ease.

Cunqu sat down on the floor and continued reading his book. Qiuyan lay stomach-down on the bed and propped up his head to watch Cunqu. He suddenly really liked this bedroom. Every corner was filled with old and new books. Xiaoying had told him that every once in a while, Cunqu would hand her a list of books he wanted. She would put those books by the bedroom door, and the next day, they would be brought inside and sorted into the various piles. All of these books were Cunqu’s bricks; they built up the walls, and the walls built a fort. Cunqu sat reading in the middle of the book piles, losing track of the passage of time. Time itself lost significance and meaning, becoming just like the flow of water. When Qiuyan came back to his senses, he realized he didn’t know how long he spent staring at Zhou Cunqu. 

He couldn’t help but scoot forward and hug Cunqu from behind. The latter startled and tried to peel off his hands, saying: “Don’t, hug me.”

Qiuyan kept his arms around him and swayed this way and that. “I’ll hug if I want to hug.”

Cunqu stopped struggling out of exasperation. Qiuyan leaned in to sniff the ends of his hair, mumbling to himself: “Your hair smells nice. Your body smells nice. How come Liu Xiaoying uses the exact same products but doesn’t smell like this.”

Cunqu sighed and said: “It’s not good if you keep being touchy.”

Qiuyan said: “We’re both men, what’s the problem?”

Cunqu replied: “I am gay.”

Qiuyan went silent. Cunqu was afraid that he wouldn’t understand, so he turned around and explained seriously: “I am homosexual. I like men.”

Chapter 4: Chocomonts IV ->

Footnotes

[1] In these early chapters, Cunqu often speaks with irregular pauses in his sentences (due to him not speaking out loud for a very long time). This is represented by commas at (often strange) points in the sentence. [2] This isn’t just any birthday celebration. As people get older (usually over 50), every 10 birthdays become a very big deal, kind of like a “landmark” birthday, and there’s a major celebration involving all of the family members. [3]  It’s common to refer to men around one’s grandpa’s generation by ‘grandpa’, same idea as non-related uncles/aunts. Translated literally, Qiuyan used ‘First’ and ‘Second’ instead of Sr/Jr to differentiate between the two “Grandpa Huang”s, but I think Sr/Jr makes more sense in English. Also, the “double-yolk egg” nickname is because their Huang (黄) literally means yellow. And egg yolk in Chinese literally means “egg yellow”(蛋黄). And since there are two of them, they’re a double-yolk/yellow egg! (双黄蛋）

[tardis--dreams]

I actually realized i hate work. Won't be putting any effort into this anymore ♡

[monstermp3]

👺

[candyriku]

finally getting a chance to work on chapter 15 today :-)

[flowered-mp3]

[avatardoggo]

soooo i was right 🫠😐🫥 the Friend like likes me and it seems e v e r y o n e around me has known sINCE FEBRUARY

[mimi-cee-genshin]

i think i can actually write an essay about Kaveh... adhkuffjkk

[sysig]

Goal: Be normal

Obstacle: Watching literally any interpretation of Treasure Island, apparently

[arolesbianism]

I've just been playing the new cotl update for most of the day and I'm so so close to being done with the main new story bits I think but it's also past midnight but also I'm so excited idk if I'll be able to sleep but also god damn do I need to sleep