#(party with the skeletal pirates)

[a-bit-of-writing]

16/30 - Delicate

Fandom: Five Nights at Freddy’s Characters: Springtrap Words: 709 Summary: Springtrap’s not what he used to be - more rot than man, more wires than will - but he still remembers how to move quietly. How to wait. How to break things that don’t know they’re fragile yet.

30 days of fanfiction challenge

The corridor breathed with him.

Old air wheezed through cracked tiles, catching on trailing wires and the greening lace of mold. Every surface glittered faintly with decades-old moisture, as if the pizzeria itself were sweating out memories. Somewhere overhead, a failing fluorescent bulb sputtered like a dying heartbeat and Springtrap answered with one of his own.

A delicate one.

Because after all the screams and the silent years entombed in a back room, even rage had to be rationed. One wrong twitch and the spring-locks might bite again, grinding bone and rust into powder. One indulgent breath of fury and the frayed tubing along his spine would finally tear free. Like a marionette held together by resentment, he had learned a terrible patience: move slow, think slower, and never, ever let the rotting husk forget its purpose.

Afton remembered pieces.

A birthday banner sagging above a stage.

The chemical snap of purple gloves.

Laughter that tasted like frosting and later tasted like copper.

He tightened on those fragments until they splintered. Memory was brittle; obsession, elastic. Delicate balance.

Tonight new footsteps disturbed it.

Click. Click. Click.

Quick, eager, living steps - the kind that hadn’t haunted these hallways in years. A night guard with a cheap flashlight and cheaper optimism was patrolling wholly unaware that hope, in this place, was porcelain thin.

Springtrap straightened.

Inside the suit, sinew rasped against corroded mesh. Wet strands of hair - no, moss - clung to the inner skull. He felt the familiar slide of something loose in his chest cavity: a child’s party whistle fused to rib and wire, chirping faintly whenever he inhaled. It was comical, tragic, and made his hatred diamond-sharp.

He shuffled forward. One foot dragged, metal grinding tile; the other landed soft as a cat’s paw. A rhythm: scrape, whisper, scrape, whisper like a lullaby with razors hidden beneath each note.

Around the corner the guard’s flashlight swept past an open doorway and froze. The beam quivered, bounced once off the peeling pirate-cove mural, then settled on the thing blocking the hall.

Springtrap let the light crawl over him. Torn ear hanging, jaw stuck half-open like a crooked grin, eyes gleaming gold where the suit’s mesh had rotted to lace. He heard the guard gasp, a sharp, delicate intake that trembled on the edge of a scream.

“W-who’s there?”

The voice was young. Too young to have learned a truth Afton knew by heart:

Fear doesn’t shatter.

It splinters.

And each splinter spins a story sharp enough to draw blood.

He took one step. Scrape, whisper.

Another. Scrape, whisper.

The guard stumbled back, radio crackling useless static at his hip. “Stay back! I-I’ll call for-”

Call for what? Police? Morning? God?

Delicate things, all of them easily broken.

Springtrap lunged.

For a breathless second the corridor lights flickered bright, pinning them in mercury glare: the gargled screech of rusted servos, the guard twisting, the suit’s fingers flowering open like skeletal petals- 

-then darkness swallowed the flash, leaving only the sound of a body hitting tile and the slow, grotesque creak of metal hinges settling.

Silence settled, but not peace. Never peace.

Springtrap crouched over the fallen guard, studying the fragile rise and fall of a chest still sucking air. How thin the boundary between beating heart and broken machinery. He could almost feel the pulse through his own ruined glove, faint as a moth trapped in paper.

Delicate.

With care uncanny for so monstrous a creature, he reached down and plucked the security badge from the guard’s collar. Bent, inspected it, let the nameprint smear beneath a damp, moss-stained thumb. Then he pinned it back. Precise, thoughtful, like a craftsman admiring frail work before shattering it.

Because balance required sacrifice.

He leaned close until the guard could smell rotted fabric and dried blood, until a single murmur escaped the fetid speaker inside Springtrap’s jaw.

“Shh.”

A lullaby with razors.

When the music box in the prize corner chimed the half-hour, Springtrap straightened. Wires strained, bones protested, but hatred pulled marionette strings tighter. He turned and retreated into the dark, leaving hope bleeding quietly across cracked linoleum, another porcelain dream crushed underfoot.

Behind him, the suit’s shredded ribbons brushed the floor like wilted blossoms.

And Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza breathed out in relief, already hungry for the next delicate thing to wander inside.

[littlechaoticwitch]

The Ghosts of London

Inspired by the season 2 fanfictions done by @edwinspaynes and @nuria-schnee, I have decided to redo my own version of Season 2 for Dead Boy Detectives!

More information to come out soon! (hopefully lol)

Again, before we start, please read this analysis done by @bluebugjay when it comes to the Cryland (Charles/Crystal) ship because it is such a wonderful insight to what their relationship could have become, if Netflix wasn't full of cowards. While I really do like these two as a couple and would have rooted for them if things had been different (the same goes for the Montwin ship, aka Edwin/Monty), I truly think they work better as friends than romantic partners, especially with the whole "he's-a-ghost-and-she's-alive" thing going on.

~0~

Summary: Upon their return to London, the Dead Boy Detective Agency has been busier than ever, all due in part to their resident psychic and their newfound workload from the Lost & Found Department. But it has been almost two months since Port Townsend, and none of them wish to discuss the issues- or feelings- lingering since then. Without Death chasing them, it is only a matter of time before they need to put their own unfinished business to rest.

~0~

EPISODES

-The Case of the Midnight Train: As their first serious case since their overseas trip, Dead Boy Detective Agency investigate the mysterious disappearances of ghosts at an abandoned train station. But when Crystal learns of what happened in Hell, and someone from her past offers to help, the trio are forced to confront what they thought to have left behind in America.

-The Case of the Deranged Dollmaker: Still struggling from their recent tragedy, the trio try to put themselves back together to deal with a nasty stalker case. Unfortunately, their past continues to haunt them, as the latest target is not only a witch but someone from Charles' past….

-The Case of the Butterfly Grotto: When the agency is hired to investigate a mysterious cave off the coast of Ireland, they believe it to be a fool's errand. Soon, the evidence begins to point towards the fae folk and ancient rituals, and the trio are forced to complete a seemingly impossible trial.

-The Case of the Iron Dragon: Tensions are running high at the agency, and with Charles feeling like he has let everyone down, his insecurities begin to eat away at his very soul. So, when the trio are hired to recover some family heirlooms from a dangerous creature, he will do anything to prove the voices in his head wrong. Meanwhile, Crystal continues her research into the strange polar bear charm.

-The Case of the Mangled Mermaids: The agency is sent to Rye, East Sussex in order to investigate the growing number of people drowning but are soon caught up in finding a skeletal pirate ship and taking part in a gruesome play about mermaids. But the dark waters are the least of one detective's worries, as his own feelings are threatening to drown him.

-The Case of the Birmingham Beast: The agency heads to Charles' hometown to investigate a series of murders, where the culprit turns out to be more of a victim than those who lost their lives. Curiosity gets the better of Charles, who goes to visit his parents but gets more than his bargains for.

-The Case of the Red Moon Gala: A mysterious letter arrives at twilight. An invitation to an exclusive party, where the living and supernatural can mingle for one evening. But when the guests start to show up dead, the agency has to race against the clock to save everyone. Though with Crystal's parents on the guest list, and a certain guest toying with Charles' heart, this might be easier said than done.

-The Case of Niko Sasaki: After learning about the connection between Niko and the Finality, the detectives are horrified by what the Night Nurse has known all along. To set things right, Crystal enters the Nietherlands and faces with her demons one last time, all to bring their beloved friend home.

[monstersdownthepath]

Herald of Besmara: Kelpie's Wrath

CR 15

Chaotic Neutral Colossal Outsider

Adventure Path: Skulls and Shackles: The Wormwood Mutiny, pg. 86-87

When one thinks of Besmara they likely think of "piracy," but her other two areas of concern are 'strife' and 'sea monsters.' One may thus believe that Besmara's Herald may be a powerful pirate captain, or perhaps an intelligent sea beast which either inhabits or commands a vessel. The most visionary may believe that Besmara's Herald could be nothing less than a whole crew of people running an enchanted ship! So when a mysterious fog rolls in and the lights of a ship that wasn't there alight from nowhere, the party may be tempted to look towards the helm, or the prow, or perhaps even the crow's nest to try and spot who's commanding the intimidating galleon... only for the skull at the front to tell you to quit eyein' its aft like some kind of pervert.

Indeed, Besmara has an elegant solution to the problem of what her Herald would look like. It's not a crew on a ship, or a sea monster, or a singular captain, it's a ship made of a sea monster which captains itself and utilizes a crew of zombie sailors when needed. Despite it's skeletal appearance and ghoulish powers, the Kelpie's Wrath is as alive as any demon or dragon, though it can passably imitate the feared ghost ships which haunt the seas at night, able to conjure ghostly lights (Dancing Lights), fearful sights (Major Image), and zombie fights (summoning a crew of up to 20 draugr) seemingly at a whim and wielding terrifying, spectral weapons and even whole ghostly creatures as though they were limbs. Many crews who've found themselves in its sights mistakenly believe its illusions and conjured zombies to be the real threats, unaware that the ship itself is their true enemy... and even if they did, it's unlikely to help.

Have you ever fought an enemy that was its own stage hazard? You don't want to, especially if that enemy can Plane Shift or Teleport with you in tow... or just immediately dive underwater. Though you have to fail a DC 18 Will save to be shanghai'd into another plane, having a ship suddenly teleport out from under you or dive a hundred feet underwater and drag you behind it is a real danger regardless of the situation, and it puts you at a huge disadvantage if you can't immediately clamber back aboard YOUR ship, fly, or walk on water. And if the phantom ship resurfaces right next to you...

Actually, what am I talking about? "If?" No, when. It's a pirate in service to the Queen of Pirates, and pirates are quite famous for never fighting fair. If you find yourselves prey to the Kelpie's Wrath, it's going to use every trick it has in the most underhanded ways it can. Let's take a look at what that entails...

We'll start with the obvious: It's an entire ship. Nearly a hundred feet long and hovering around 25 to 30 feet wide, the Wrath is a battlefield unto itself, but you absolutely do not want to stand on it to fight, because that's just asking for a terrible death. Engaging it from afar means you 'only' have to deal with its 40ft space and 30ft reach, denoting which part of itself it's focusing on defending, which is still a radius that covers most traditional battle maps entirely. Because you're only ever going to be encountering the Wrath on the high seas (regardless of what world or plane those seas are on), staying out of its reach is practically impossible unless you're using Pathfinder's rules for ship combat to engage it with a vessel of your own (WARNING: Do Not Do This), and you will inevitably be forced into melee with it... and then, unfortunately, forced onto it, which as previously mentioned is almost certain doom.

Everything within the Wrath's threat radius is subject to its trio of incorporeal touch attacks, which manifest as immense clawed hands, ghostly weapons, spectral sailors, and skeletal sea beasts of ages past, each one raking over the ship's target for 3d6 untyped damage plus 3d6 Electricity AND 3d6 Fire damage. The primary danger presented by these phantoms is that the party may not immediately know what's going on or recognize just how the attack works; the Wrath can conjure a crew of draugr to fight atop it AND it can use Major Image at any point within its reach, letting it clutter up the battlefield with obstacles which present no true danger to the party but which it can use as vectors for its incorporeal attacks, potentially making a party member out uselessly against illusions, insubstantial phantoms, and inconsequential minions.

Muddying the waters further, Wrath can use Seeming 3/day to swath its draugr sailors in magical disguises to make them appear more important than they truly are. Able to communicate telepathically, the ship can give complex orders to its entire crew at once to run baffling distractions or attack in tandem with it to make them seem like true threats, a tactic especially useful if the party doesn't yet recognize the ship is alive (or foolishly believes that only the skeletal figurehead is alive). Kelpie's Wrath thrives on sowing confusion when it attacks, and a DM would do well to remember that, describing its attacks and abilities in terms which feel ambiguous, like they could be coming from anywhere, like that one fancy draugr at the ship's helm that's dressed up like the captain or the strange balls of light dancing along its sails.

Even if the party feels like something is wrong, they'll have to go with their gut on this one; magic is unreliable when fighting the vile ship. Not because of any aura or unique ability it has, but because its space/reach means it can make extremely good use of its Disruptive and Spellbreaker feats, the former making it more difficult to cast spells defensively while in its threat radius (which is everywhere), the latter provoking Attacks of Opportunity if you fail the check to cast defensively.

Its touch attacks aren't just bad because of the damage, either. Being hit with two or more of them in a round lets it Keelhaul the unfortunate victim, repositioning them as a free action. Now, a reposition is a Combat Maneuver, which means it has to roll a CMB check versus the target's CMD. The average CMD of a 10th level Human Fighter is hovering anywhere between 25 and 35 depending on if they dumped Dex (WARNING: Do Not Do This) or got ahold of Str boosting items, and let's see what the Kelpie's Wrath has for its CMB...

+41?!

ah, right, Colossal size. This thing can juggle most players. Hope your party cohesion didn't rely on people being in specific positions!

In case you're not sure how the maneuver works: if you're repositioned, the attacker can shunt you into another space so long as that space is A) Within their reach, and B) within 5ft of your previous space... but for every 5 points the attacker's CMB check beats your CMD, that's another 5ft of movement. Now, remember how gigantic the Wrath's threat radius is? That's a LOT of potential spaces you can be shuttled into, and every 5ft you're moved from its Keelhaul you take an additional 1d6 damage because it's literally using your face to scrape barnacles and algae off itself. Keelhaul is an especially potent ability if used on the high seas, because the ability specifically states that it can use its repositions to drag victims underwater, forcing them into the ever-dreaded underwater combat scenario. Even if you've got Water Walk or Fly on, it can still shove you right into the drink if it beats your CMD by enough, forcing you to waste precious time getting back into the fight... if only to push you back down again, because pirates don't fight fair.

Also, Keelhaul specifically states "a creature hit with two or more of its attacks in 1 round," meaning AoOs and other off-turn attacks count. If you take one hit during its turn and then get schmacked because you triggered Spellbreaker or its Combat Reflexes, you're going into the soup.

If it doesn't want a victim in the sea, it also has the option to shove creatures directly into the center of its space, at which point victims are automatically dragged into its cargo hold and battered by treasure and captured supplies. This is treated as the swallow whole ability, victims taking 1d10+7 damage until they can get out, but it's not especially obvious what's going on, meaning players might waste their time trying to find an exit door out of the cargo hold or try to clamber back out the unyielding door when the 'proper' solution is to make a new door.

If the party manages to find out that swinging at the phantom limbs and illusions is useless, attacking the ship below their feet isn't exactly easy. The Kelpie's Wrath is magically reinforced, having an AC of 30 (hint: target its measly 6 touch AC) and DR 10/Lawful. It's got 30 Resistance to Acid, Cold, and Electricity, as well as 10 Fire Resistance and, of course, if you find yourselves managing to get past its defenses to outpace its Fast Healing 10, it can still suddenly poof away to rebuild, and if you think you can just use Dimensional Anchor or similar, it can still pop its once-per-minute Rush to crank its swim speed from 60ft to 150ft for one round, diving to the sea floor in a single round to give itself breathing room... and potentially taking breathing room from whatever schmucks are trapped in its hold.

And you know what? I've typed down... 12 entire paragraphs without even touching the Wrath's ranged options. This was on purpose! Because the Wrath is meant to get right up next to the ship it's attacking, and has every tool it needs to do so, including the ability to turn itself and its crew invisible 3/day or shroud its entire space with magical fog. Compared to all the shenanigans it can pull to get into melee and then make everyone wish it didn't, its ranged attacks need a little more preparation and math on the part of the DM, something they may not want to do on top of everything else it's already got. This is because its only ranged attack is using Telekinesis to hurl a storm of whatever garbage it's amassed at targets within 180ft of itself.

The Wrath can catapult up to 375 pounds of objects or creatures in a single action, not only allowing it to throw actual ammunition (which deals a flat 1d6 damage per 25 lbs; max 15d6 for a full weight object), but whatever it may have on hand or in its hold that it doesn't especially value. Since it can use Telekinesis at will and the spell itself has a tremendous range, there's no reason for it to ever run out of ammo, as it can simply dredge stones and wreckage from the sea floor and ferry it into its stores for later... but of course, there's nothing stopping it from using its enemies own cargo against it, or even lifting its enemies directly and throwing them around with nothing more than a thought. Most Medium-sized Humanoids weigh between 150 and 200 pounds, letting the Wrath snatch up two people at a time to toss around like ragdolls, including straight into the air if it wants.

There's something to be said about it hurling things far more dangerous than bricks and cannonballs, though, like casks of oil and a lantern, or barrels of Green Slime, or its own zombie crewmates. The Long range of Telekinesis also means it can get up to some pretty dangerous shenanigans if an enemy ship gets just a little too close, as it can pilfer cargo from a range, loose sails, send weapons hurling into the seas, or even spin cannons around just as they're about to fire if it readies an action to do so. Much like its phantom weapons, its telekinetic power helps make its illusions and zombie sailors all the more realistically threatening, adding to the confounding puppet show it puts on to throw people off.

The Kelpie's Wrath is one of the most dangerous Heralds a party to encounter, because they're going to encounter it on the seas (one of the most dangerous environments to fight in), AND they're not likely to even know it's nearby until it's dragging their crew to a watery grave. Even if they do, a DM can play up the possibility of it being a ghost ship for a while before any of them wise up to what they're really fighting, by which point someone might already be neatly folded and packed away in Davey Jones' Locker. It's not only dangerous for what it can do, but why it does what it does; most Heralds are only encountered if a god is offended, or has sent them on an important mission, but the Kelpie's Wrath freely wanders all creation in its off hours, attacking vessels with wild and greedy abandon. It's one of the few Heralds that an unlucky party may just randomly encounter, and thus have no possible way to prepare for.

You can read more about it here.

[thewisaaaaad]

Ok I know I swore to keep to one au, but like. i have a personal interest in this one, so I may actually write it later.

The au name: Narinders Locker. Its a pirate au.

The story starts like this:

Narinder and his family, with the powers of the crowns, are lords of the seas. Together, they defeat many gods, sending them to the depths that Narinder rules.

The depths are where all dead sailors go, and there is mostly sea. So everyone is a sailor, at one point or another.

Soon, there are no gods left to fight. All others have either died, or gone into hiding.

All except his own family. And Narinder loves a good fight. He knows there will be consequences, but hes not aiming to kill. He was bored! There was no one left to sink! He wasn't really gonna let the depths claim him. They'll forgive him eventually, right?

Except they never do. They chain him to mighty anchors and sink him, leaving him to rot in his own realm.

He... doesn't really hold it against them. He did get a BIT to rowdy and give them some injuries that might not heal for a very long time, so he'll probably get out when that happens.

Then he notices that ships keep being sunk into his realm. Far more than the average amount that would be caused by storms.

A pair of kittens, tied to anchors, are sent directly to Narinders prison. He can only grant them immortality with his blood, binding them to the bottom of the sea. He hopes that Shamura sinks the bastards that did this to innocent youth, as their eldest always had an affinity for justice, for all that they represented war.

One of the crew of an unfortunate vessel reaches Narinder before he drowns: a young bilge rat by the name of Ratau. The lord of the deep grants the poor sod the ability to breath water like himself with his crown, just so he can ask them what was happening upon the waves.

What he hears disturbs him. His siblings have completely abandoned the code they had sworn to when they became a family, the code that drove them to wage war on the gods who toyed with mortals lives. He no longer considers them family.

He sends the rat to build a new crew, one that will take down the people he once called his siblings, now no better than the ones they had replaced.

The rat cannot do it. They do not have the nerves for it, are too cowardly. Narinder cannot blame them.

He was just some random sailor who had the misfortune of reaching the depths alive. Ratau retires to an island, not far from where Narinder rests, and returns the red crown to the sea.

Then the purge begins.

Lambs across the sea are cut down like so much cattle. They are slaughtered before they reach the water, for fear of their waterlogged pelts dragging them down too fast, and granting The One Below an escape.

Refugee ships are sunk by the dozens. Narinder can only look on in horror and confusion as hundreds of ship carcasses sink to rest in the depths, fresh innocent corpses littering his prison.

Then only one ship remains. A party is held on board, those faithful to the Old Crew celebrate as they drink blood from headless carcasses.

A young lamb hides in the chain locker, holding their breath, hoping to not be noticed as their family and friends corpses are tossed into the ocean.

The party done, they rig the old tub with black powder, seeking to send it to Narinder as a last middle finger to fate.

The lamb, surviving the explosion, has the chain wrap around their leg as they hold their breath, hoping against hope for rescue.

Against all odds, they find it. In the skeletal hands of The One Who Waits Below.

[yo-kaigirl1560]

Halloween Concert Part 1

(Warning: These events are considered non-canon to the Ozmadeus Dorm AU)

§§§§§

It was a pretty calm day in October, and the residents of Ozmadeus Dorm were making their way back to their dorm.

Ricardo: You know guys, I'm a little worried. I mean, Halloween is three weeks away and everyone is going to start putting up their decorations.

Kayla: Don't worry. I cut a deal with Diasomnia's dorm leader. Since our dorm grounds are massive, they can take half for their Halloween booth while we use the other half. I made sure that our half has the dorm so we can get back quicker.

Adamo: So what's gonna be our theme?

Albert: Adamo's right. Heartslaybul is doing skeletal grave keepers. Savanaclaw's got pirates. Octavinelle has mummies. Scarabia is werewolves. Pomefiore is vampires. Ignihyde has the Pumpkin Knight. And Diasomnia is doing dragons from the Far East.

Kayla: Well, admittedly I had been thinking about our theme unintentionally since we moved into the dorm.

Kyle: (quirks eyebrow) Really?

Kayla: Yeah. Back in my old world, there was this old TV show called "Koryu Sentai Zyuranger" in Japan. About a year after it premiered, the show was reworked to appeal to American audiences as "Mighty Morphin Power Rangers". As Power Rangers played, the Super Sentai franchise got updated with a new show called "Gosei Sentai Dairanger". While elements of Dairanger were remade into season 2 of "Mighty Morphin Power Rangers", Super Sentai got "Ninja Sentai Kakuranger". Kakuranger had several of its elements translated into "Mighty Morphin" season 3. Each ranger was associated with a different animal: White Falcon, Black Frog, Pink Crane, Blue Wolf, Yellow Bear, and Red Ape. With Jim as the Green Snake, we have a good start for the theme.

At that moment, they arrived at the dorm. Diasomnia was already there working on their section for the annual celebration.

Lilia: (notices them) Ah, dorm leader Bandoriyu and friends. How is everything going for you?

Chopper: Hey Lilia. We're doing ok. Just need to start on our attraction unless Kayla got to it first.

Kayla: Guilty. But I only got the bare bones set up since this is supposed to be a dorm project.

Lilia: (chuckles) Well I suppose I'll leave you lot to it. By the by, when is Ozmadeus's next tea party? Malleus has been looking forward to it.

Kayla: Saturday at noon. Tell him that we'll be having ice cream, sorbet, and gelato for dessert.

Lilia: I'll tell him. Oh, and before I forget, I wanted to warn you that Crowley wants you to perform a concert and is already selling tickets.

Kayla: (ticked off with twitching eyebrow) Thanks for telling me.

Kayla storms off, no doubt heading to the challenge chamber to cool off.

~~~

(Day of the concert)

Ace was admittedly a little worried. When Crowley announced last week that Night Raven College was hosting a concert the weekend before Halloween, he saw that Kayla looked WAY too calm. Sebek told him and the rest of their friend group that Lilia had warned her a couple of weeks prior. Because of how big the audience was, they had to have the concert at the school's Magical Shift arena, which can magically expand to accommodate for the numbers.

Just as he was about to pull out his phone to call her, a spotlight shone down on the stage. A large poof of smoke appeared. When it faded, Grim stood there, quite literally. He stood on his hind paws and was as tall and broad-shouldered as Coach Vargas. He was dressed in all black with a red scarf around his neck.

Grim: Ladies and gentlemen! Welcome to Night Raven College's Pre-Halloween Concert! I, Grim, shall be your ninja host for today! And now, let us see what the first song is!

Grim makes some anime ninja hand seals before shouting "SUMMONING JUTSU: RANDOM THEME!!!"

A scroll appears before unfurling to show the all too familiar heart-shaped symbol.

Grim: Our first song theme is Heartslaybul! (reaches into pouch on hip to remove a small orb) NINJA VANISH!!!

Grim throws the orb to the ground creating a massive cloud of smoke. When the smoke clears, the curtains are open and showing life-sized flowers with human-like faces. Ace saw that Kayla stood in the middle of the stage. But it was her outfit that upset him. Why in Tartarus would she wear an outfit so revealing?!

(Author's Note: Look up an image of Mai Shiranui from the Fatal Fury series. Her most well-known outfit but it's light blue and has black biker shorts and a black tube top for more skin coverage.)

[Kayla: Little bread-and-butterflies kiss the tulips

And the sun is like a toy balloon

There are get up in the morning glories

In the golden afternoon

There are dancing daffodils on the hillside

Strings of violets are all in tune

Tiger lilies love the dandelions

In the golden afternoon

(The golden afternoon)

There are dog and caterpillars and the copper centipede

Where the lazy daisies love the very peaceful life they lead...

You can learn a lot of things from the flowers

For especially in the month of June

There's a wealth of happiness and romance

All in the golden afternoon

All in the golden afternoon

The golden afternoon...

You can learn a lot of things from the flowers

For especially in the month of June

There's a wealth of happiness and romance

All-

(Voice breaks but recovers)

The golden afternoon!]

(curtain closes)

The audience, particularly those from the Queendom of Roses, burst into applause. Ace had to admit that the song choice was appropriate for his dorm. He saw that Deuce was dabbing his eyes to stop the tears threatening to fall. Trey-senpai looked surprised but other than that was quite calm. Cater-senpai was too stunned to try and snap any photos for his Magicam account. Good thing too considering Kayla's past. Looking to Riddle, Ace saw that the red-haired dorm leader was cherry red. And no, it wasn't embarrassment nor was it anger. No, Riddle was lovestruck. Ace wasn't too happy about it, but there wasn't much he could do. After all, Riddle was older and much more magically powerful than he was.

~~~~~

Jack was getting excited. He didn't show it often but he was. That last song got his tail wagging so fast that any faster would lift him out of his seat. He wondered which dorm was next. Grim's appearance answered that question.

Grim: That was great, wasn't it?

Audience: (cheers)

Grim: Our next song's theme is...

He pulls a scroll out of his scarf and unrolls it. He turned the scroll around to show the new symbol.

Grim: Savanaclaw!

Grim disappears and the curtains open to show the setting. It looked like the dark canyon in the dorm area. His eyes quickly scan the stage to find Kayla, only for a spotlight to shine on her. She was wearing a similar outfit but the color was a sandy brown. She had a scar painted over her left eye and a lion mask tied to her forehead. He also saw Albert, Chopper, and Rai in gray versions of what Grim was wearing without the scarf and wearing hyena masks on their foreheads.

[Kayla: (spoken) I never thought hyenas essential

They're crude and unspeakably plain

But maybe they've a glimmer of potential

If allied to my vision and brain

(sings) I know that your powers of retention

Are as wet as a warthog's backside

But thick as you are, pay attention!

(smacks a bone out of Albert's hands, making him stand at attention with a vacant look on his face)

My words are a matter of pride

It's clear from your vacant expressions

The lights are not all on upstairs

But we're talking kings and successions

Even you can't be caught unawares!

So, prepare for the chance of a lifetime

Be prepared for sensational news

A shining, new era

Is tiptoeing nearer

Rai: And where do we feature?

Kayla: Just listen to teacher

I know it sounds sordid

But you'll be rewarded

When at last, I am given my dues

And injustice deliciously squared

All four: Be prepared!

[Speech]

Chopper: Yeah, be prepared! We'll be prepared! For what?

Kayla: For the death of the king!

Chopper: Why? Is he sick?

Kayla: No, fool, we're gonna kill him. And Simba, too.

Rai: Great idea! Who needs a king?

Rai and Chopper: No king! No king! La-la-la-la-la-la!

Kayla: (roars) Idiots! There will be a king!

Chopper: Hey, but you said, uh...

Kayla: I will be king! Stick with me, and you'll never go hungry again!

Rai: Yay! All right! Long live the king!

All of Ozmadeus Dorm minus Kayla and Grim: Long live the king! Long live the king!

King, king, king, king, king, king!

It's great that we'll soon be connected

With a king who'll be all-time adored

Kayla: Of course, quid pro quo, you're expected

To take certain duties on board

The future is littered with prizes

And though I'm the main addressee

The point that I must emphasize is:

(roars) You won't get a sniff without me!!!

Kayla: So prepare for the coup of the century

Be prepared for the murkiest scam (Oooh... la, la, la!)

Meticulous planning (We'll have food!)

Tenacity spanning (Lots of food!)

Decades of denial (We repeat!)

Is simply why I'll (Endless meat!)

Be king undisputed

Respected, saluted

And seen for the wonder I am

Yes, my teeth and ambitions are bared

All: Be prepared!

Rai/Chopper/Albert: Yes, our teeth and ambitions are bared

Be prepared!

(Kayla lets loose an evil sounding laugh as the curtains close)]

Once more, the audience, mostly those from the Afterglow Savanna, cheered. Jack was impressed. He saw that Ruggie-senpai was too. Leona was staring with a lovestruck look on his face.

~~~

Floyd wasn't bored for once. Shrimpy- no, Kayla, he had to remember how much she hated his nicknames for everyone- was giving everyone a great show. Then again, he did help her organize her setlist. He knew that she had two more songs before the first 15 minute intermission. And it looks like Grim is about to announce the next song. 'Azul is either going to like me or hate me for this one,' he thinks.

Grim: Alright, alright, alright! Our next song is...

He gets interrupted by a bucket of water spilling onto his head. A soaked octopus plush lands right between his ears.

Grim: (spits out water and speaks in a dull voice) Octavinelle.

Grim merely walks backstage shouting if anyone had a towel. The curtains open to show a cave with bubbles floating upward, giving the illusion of being underwater. Kayla was leaning on a rock with a small smirk on her face. Her outfit was now dark purple with a long lighter purple skirt covering her legs. The skirt was designed to look like octopus legs. Across from her was Dorie, a transfer from Royal Sword. Floyd didn't like thinking about what led to Dorie's transfer. Much like everyone in Ozmadeus, Dorie was wearing a ninja outfit, only his was purple on top with green on the bottom.

[Kayla: (spoken) So, you came to make a deal with me. Whatever for?

Dorie: (shyly) Um, you see, there's this guy...

Kayla: Ah. Young love. But this guy, is he a mer?

Dorie: H-h-human.

Kayla: Ah, now I see. You've fallen head over tailfin for a human but daddy-dearest doesn't like that. I can certainly help. The only way to get what you want, is to become a human yourself.

Dorie: (gasps) Can you do that?

Kayla: My dear, sweet child. That's what I do. It's what I live for. To help unfortunate merfolk. Like yourself. Poor souls with no one else to turn to.

(sings) I admit that in the past I've been a nasty

They weren't kidding when they called me, well, a witch

But you'll find that nowadays

I've mended all my ways

Repented, seen the light, and made a switch (True? Yes.)

And I fortunately know a little magic

It's a talent that I always have possessed

And dear lady, please don't laugh,

I use it on behalf

of the miserable, lonely, and depressed (pathetic)

Poor unfortunate souls

In pain, in need

This one longing to be thinner

That one wants to get the girl

And do I help them? Yes, indeed

Those poor unfortunate souls

So sad, so true

They come flocking to my cauldron

Crying "Spells, Ursula, please!"

And I help them? Yes, I do

Now it's happened once or twice

Someone couldn't pay the price

And I'm afraid I had to rake 'em 'cross the coals

Yes I've had the odd complaint

But on the whole, I've been a saint

to those poor unfortunate souls

(Kayla: (spoken) Have we got a deal?

Dorie: If I become human, I'll never be with my father or sisters again.

Kayla: But you'll have your man. (chuckles) Life's full of tough choices, hmm? (chuckles more) Oh, but there is one more thing. We haven't discussed the subject of payment.

Dorie: But I don't have...

Kayla: (interrupts) I'm not asking much. Just a token, merely a trifle. What I want from you is... Your voice.

Dorie: But without my voice, how can I...

Kayla: (interrupts again) You'll have your looks. Your pretty face. And don't forget the importance of body language! Ha!)

The men up there don't like a lot of blabber

They think a girl who gossips is a bore!

Yes, on land it's much preferred

For ladies not to say a word

And after all, dear, what is idle prattle for?

Come on, they're not all that impressed with conversation

True gentlemen avoid it when they can!

But they dote and swoon and fawn

on a lady who's withdrawn

It's she who holds her tongue who gets a man!

Come on, you poor unfortunate soul

Go ahead! Make your choice!

I'm a very busy woman and I haven't got all day

It won't cost much, just your voice!

You poor unfortunate soul

It's sad but true

If you want to cross the bridge, my sweet, you've got the pay the toll

Take a gulp and take a breath, and go ahead and sign the scroll

Flotsam, Jetsam, now I've got her, boys

The boss is on a roll!

This poor unfortunate soul!

Beluga sevruga, come winds of the Caspian Sea

Larynxes, glacydis, admax laryngitis, la voce to me!

Now. Sing. (Dorie vocalizes) KEEP SINGING!

(song ends)]

All from the Coral Sea cheers after that performance. Floyd allowed a smirk to appear on his face. His and Jade's father noticed and asked if he had known about this ahead of time.

Jade: Floyd was pulled away about three weeks ago. I'm guessing Kayla learned about the concert earlier than the rest of us and asked Floyd to help.

Floyd: Yep. In exchange, she let me use her dorm's challenge chamber after I made a deal with her.

Azul: (overhearing) What?

Floyd: (looking to Azul) Her unique magic {Mirror Mirror} allows her to use other people's unique magic so long as she knows about it. She copied your {It's a Deal} to make me work with her in exchange for the challenge chamber. I had to give my own unique magic as collateral. Not only that, but she told me why she kept you from so many contracts during midterms. Apparently, too many magic types have negative effects with others. Like having a water mage gain lightning magic. Eventually the lightning magic would shock and possibly kill the water mage.

Azul: (gulps fearfully) In that case, I'm glad she interfered.

~~~~

Kalim tried to resist bouncing. After Lilia told her about the concert, Kayla went to him and asked for his help with setting things up. Thanks to all those tutoring sessions in budgeting, he was able to help get everything she needed for today. Briefly looking at Jamil, Kalim allowed a smirk to come. 'Jamil's probably gonna kill me for this, but it'll be worth it'.

Instead of Grim announcing the next song, the curtains opened to show Dorie using his unique magic {Reflection Inside} to transform himself into Jamil. Granted there were enough features to look like he was cosplaying.

Dorie pulls out a lamp and lightly rubs it. With a poof of smoke, Kayla appears in an oasis blue version of her previous outfits with a red sash around her waist.

[Illusion Chorus: Make way for Prince Ali!

Say hey! It's Prince Ali!

Kayla: Hey! Clear the way in the old Bazaar

Hey you! Let us through! It's a bright new star!

Oh come! Be the first on your block to meet his eye!

Make way! Here he comes!

Ring bells! Bang the drums!

Are you gonna love this guy?!

Prince Ali! Fabulous he!

Ali Ababwa

Genuflect, show some respect

Down on one knee!

Now, try your best to stay calm

Brush up your Sunday salaam

Then come and meet his spectacular coterie

Prince Ali! Mighty is he!

Ali Ababwa

Strong as ten regular men,

definitely!

He faced the galloping hordes

A hundred bad guys with swords

Who sent those goons to their lords?

Why, Prince Ali!

Illusion Men: He's got seventy-five golden camels (Rai: Don't they look lovely, June?)

Illusion Women: Purple peacocks, he's got fifty-three (Kyle: Fabulous, Harry. I love the feathers.)

Kayla: When it comes to exotic-type mammals

Has he got a zoo?

I'm telling you,

Illusion Chorus: It's a world-class menagerie

Kayla: Prince Ali! Handsome is he,

Ali Ababwa

That physique! How can I speak?

Weak at the knee!

Well, get on out in that square

Adjust your veil and prepare

To gawk and grovel and stare at Prince Ali!

(There's no question this Ali's alluring

Never ordinary, never boring

Everything about that man

Just plain impresses

He's a winner, he's a whiz, a wonder

He's about to pull my heart asunder

And I absolutely love the way he dresses!)

Illusion Chorus: He's got ninety-five white Persian monkeys

Illusion Guards: He's got the monkeys,

let's see the monkeys

Illusion Chorus: And to view them he charges no fee

Illusion Women: He's generous, so generous

Illusion Chorus: He's got slaves, he's got servants and flunkies

Proud to work for him

Bow to his whim,

love serving him

They're just lousy with loyalty to Ali!

Prince Ali!

All: Prince Ali! Amorous he!

Ali Ababwa

Kayla: Heard your princess was a sight lovely to see

And that, good people, is why,

he got dolled up and dropped by

Illusion Chorus: With sixty elephants, llamas galore

With his bears and lions

A brass band and more

With his forty fakirs,

his cooks and bakers

His birds that warble on key

Make way

For Prince Ali!]

Jamil allowed his jaw to hang open. He knew Dorie had asked permission to copy his appearance, but this was NOT expected.

Mrs Viper: If I were you, Jamil, I'd snatch up that woman before anyone else, especially young master Kalim, does.

Najima: Actually Mom, Kalim asked me out for a date when he gets home for winter break. So big brother doesn't have to worry about that.

~~~

(Beginning intermission)

§§§§

And done.

List of songs on the post:

"All in the Golden Afternoon" from Alice in Wonderland

"Be Prepared" from The Lion King

"Poor Unfortunate Souls" from The Little Mermaid

& "Prince Ali" from Aladdin

[isa-the-trans-dragon]

nvm i lied, posting the dnd stories now

so like, quick recap, last we left off, we got the cast of: T the Amnesiac Human Fighter (Now wields scythe with added poison), Gumgum the Craftsman Goomba (Who now has a crossbow that is pretty much just a gun), Link the Cat Alchemist (Is still as op as they always were), Wessly the Human Druid who speaks like Shaggy, Yew the Deer Sorcerer, and Aster, Yew's conjured Elk familiar.

Among the next few sessions, Gumgum raised Gumgumgum and Gumgum Jr. (Or ggg and jr. for short), and Ggg became a Gunslinger while Jr became a Warlock. Meanwhile, me, the dm, being like "yOU GAVE YOUR KID A GUN AND LET THE OTHER FORM A CULT???". Honestly, Gumgum best parent-

The party began making a town cus they were wanted for the alchemist's antics causing actual crimes in the main town, so, pretty great.

Townbuilding was alright, let them roll to get random npcs, basically had a whole 2 sessions total of animal crossing in dnd (wanted by the players). Basically, references to old characters and dumb concepts, like Nyello the dragon scholar. Anyways, basically: The new npcs start in tents, and they can spend time and money upgrading them for better stuff or abilities. Gumgum built a tavern he plans to run (so, not only does he endanger his kids, but he builds a place to sell alcohol. Dad of the year-)

Oh, side bit of lore, goombas grow up fast in this world, so, the goomba kids went from babi to kid in a few days.

Anyways, party fought pirates, recruited this pirate captain npc after killing his crew that totally won't mutiny, befriended a fire elemental that totally won't hunt them down when their supply of wood is gone, fought necromancers and a skeletal giant, met a golem ghost and her archer wife, and fought a terrifying killer boss. Oh, and befriended this guy named Josh. He's chill.

Party is now level 7 btw, this happened over like 6 sessions-

[a-mess-of-a-crow]

DUE TO POPULAR DEMAND=

(Literally one person) @fluffychubbydragon

RANDOM RM INTERACTIONS!!!

It's mostly Frisk and Sans tho

===================================

Frisk=„Did i ever tell you that all of your ideas suck?!??!“

Sans= „Yeah, but maybe next time i‘ll actually listen.“

===================================

Frisk= „Come on, admit it! You enjoy living!“

S= „Living and Urology are the same thing. Just because i do it, doesn‘t mean I enjoy it.“

F= „Please, come to the party... You can talk to other sanses, exchange experiences!“

S= „Great, I‘ll talk to them, they‘ll tell me their life story and I‘ll have to look interested, then they will remind me of all the things I haven‘t had in my childhood, I‘ll get depressed, next up we both end up drinking way too much and crying about how much life sucks. Nah thanks. I‘ll rather skip to the drunk part without the emotional burden. Much easier.“

F= „B-But you can‘t even get drunk?“

S= „Exactly. Not even able to drink my problems away. A shame.“

===================================

Vera="What are you saying? I'm totally immune to flirts, Cupcake. You're cute if you think you can make me blush. "

Cupcake="I may be a baker but i sure as hell would love to eat your cake~ ( oཀo)"

===================================

Vera="Holy macaroni-"

Celery=*holding a spoon* " You called?"

*Frisk, Cupcake, Zinc and Vera tease and make fun of sans*

Sans= *Looks at Shade* “See what I have to deal with every day?!“

Frisk=“Oh please, you pull pranks on me and the others too! Like installing pirate english onto EVERYONE! “

Sans=“Hehe yeah“

Frisk= "And just the other day you put gun powder in the coffee machine and the thing ended up blowing up in my face!“

Sans=“ What? That wasn‘t meant as a prank.“

Frisk=“It wasn‘t?? Wait, why the fuck would you unjokingly put fucking Gun powder in the coffee machine??!!“

Sans=“Thought it make it more liquidy.“

Frisk=“IT BLEW UP. IN MY FACE. I CLEANED THE ENTIRE BULLSHIT UP FOR TWO HOUR, NOT TO SPEAK OF THE DAMAGE TO THE WALL AND CEILING!!!“

Sans=“And it didn‘t even liquify the Gunpowder.“

===================================

Nox (one of Sans's Blaster)=*gets dragged to sans, head and foot stuck in a giant metal cane*

Bun="I swear i was gone for just a minute."

Nox=*Gnaws at the metal cane*

Sans=“HOW IN THE HELL DID YOU MANAGE TO DO THIS???!“

Nox=*sad argue noise*

Sans=“SERIOUSLY? YOU GET FOOD LIKE ... 4 TIMES A DAY YOU OVERGROWN CANINE... DRAGON IDIOT!“

Nox=*quieter sad argue noises*

Sans=“I swear, no more treats for you, I‘m so fed up with your bullshit.“

*Sans frees Nox*

*Nox sits up straight*

*Nox licks his tail*

*He looks at sans*

*IMMEDIATE Playful pose and wagging his tail*

Sans=“NO! NO PLAYING!“

Nox=* whines*

Sans=“...“

Sans=*baby voice*“OOhhhhh i can‘t stay mad at chuuu. Who‘s my little boofus??? You are, YEAH YOU ARE!!! “

*aggressively pets the giant skeletal dragon canine... Blaster*

Frisk=“Congratulations, you held your authority for astonishing 2 seconds, new record might i add.“

Sans="LOOK AT THAT FACE! " *squishes Nox's face* "HOW CAN YOU SAY NO???"

Frisk="Touché."

[bruinescence]

❛ i had it under control. you didn’t need to do that. ❜

'That' which he need not do was launch off of the cliff ledge after the group's straggler more concerned with the half buried chest in the sand than staying en route found himself among a less welcoming party. Granted, the chest was also backed up into a dead end of a narrow passage below, so anyone with half a mind would know that if there was not at least one trap set, then one could count on an ambush, and he had dryly noted as much from his lofty position while waiting to see if the treasure went boom in the other's face.

Instead, the latter arrived in the form of a skeletal group of undead in tattered pirate clothes burrowing out of the loose ground like moles. And of course the others had already moved farther ahead- because of course they did. Any trouble the elf got into was his own problem, and normally Halsin would agree. The urge to intervene merely came from wanting to sail over the other's head, turning just so mid-air to flash him a 'told you so' wink before landing heavily enough on both haunches and hands to displace a wave of sand outwards. The glow of golden magic lit his palm lines before their meeting with the ground, and from them erupted a good ten meter radius of overgrown flora. The sudden wild growth disrupted the skeletons' balance, and the still growing vines swallowed bleached bones and returned them to the earth while Halsin straightened up to dust himself off.

"If that's what you call 'under control', I'd hate to see 'overwhelmed'." He mused, plucking the nearest bloom of red from his plant creation magic only to turn and wag it moments later at the the elf. "You're most welcome."

[thenten]

"So this is place is full of pirates, now that's cool..." The creature stated strangely, clearly not so much to the conversing party as it was to himself, staring off and stroking his chin. A childish, clueless comment that would made the apparent flesh golem seem like he'd been created yesterday, but even that didn't make sense.

There were skeletal pirates, 'pirate legends', ships and seas abound... and Blukic and Driba told him his ideas were stupid! Jokes on them, for underestimating the potential of an infinite omniverse.

He seems to think over the logistics of this news, but green eyes eventually refocus on the situation that's right in front of him.

"Well, I'd just love to do that, but unfortunately for you skeletal pirates, I'm not about to walk blindly into the ocean looking for someone friendlier without directions." The Transylian counters, grinning his jagged grin. "Up to you whether they're friendly or not! Could be as simple as left, right, up, or down!"

     There is a bellowing laughter that slips out from the large skeleton, embers accompanying the sound as they flutter from the mouth. An amusing thought that something would think the skellies have any sort of brain inside their useless skulls.       “ As if these mindless bags of bones would even have a word to say! ” A clear stance, not even the guards around them reacting to the cruel words, “ The only use they have is to be fodder to tire out pathetic pirates and fools. ” To make sure only those worth the time would face one of the far more sentient skeletal foes.

     Something about the reasoning does not resonate properly with the Warden. A lay of the land? Within such a dangerous territory? Either the actions of somebody looking for trouble or one who knows not of the danger. No matter which way it goes. . .       “ If you expect friendly directions out of a group of pirates, somebody might have forgotten to put the brain in before stitching you back up, ” If puns will be made, then they will see how aggressive banter works in its place.      A snort, accompanied by a shift of their own stance -- flexing of crystalized claws to simmer the fire brimming beneath the surface, “ If you as well desire to check out the sights, go seek out weaklings like the Pirate Legends. Those scum will happily give tours. ”

[thevalleyisjolly]

Just gotta finish this assignment before midnight...then I can have a breather tomorrow...I can play D&D

[dailyadventureprompts]

Adventure: The Wreck Of the Jelziid Pirates

Though the pirate wars are long over, the scars of the conflict linger on, with the skeletal wrecks of vessels still lost in the kingdom’s waterways and the scattered dozens of villages reduced to ash during the raids. Worse yet are the pirates themselves, hundreds of foreign sailors left stranded after their fleet was shattered and the crown took back the great river, forced to linger on in the wilderness as scavengers and bandits, forever outcast from the people they victimized.

Hooks:

An important figure is kidnapped in the night while travelling, their carriage ambushed, their guard slaughtered and the bodies left behind by the attackers clearly indicate the pirates were behind it. That is until the party investigates, and realizes that a number of the bodies left behind are days older than the incident, and those that aren't don’t might wear the right armour but don’t bear any of the tattoos or cultural markings associated with the Jelziid . Clearly someone is trying to shift the blame here, but finding out who it was who staged the attack may require the party to seek out the pirate stronghold in the high wilderness and ask around for witnesses. 

A local merchant is found strung up in the market, his body disfigured in a way that was common for those found guilty by military tribunal to be capitulating with the pirates during the war. The only problems ( other than the brutal death of a well loved member of the community) is that this is well over a decade from the end of martial law, and the local magistrate has been given a tip that it was the party that was responsible. Perhaps they can argue their innocence, or stay on the lam long enough to investigate the charges themselves. 

Every year the crown helps fund a grand festival to celebrate the queen’s birthday, a tradition that originally started to celebrate the arrival of a long awaited heir, but revived in modern years as the then crown-princess proved herself a hero during the pirate wars, leading the defence of numerous settlements and playing a key part in the battle that broke the invading fleet once and for all. This year however a shipment of  gold was stolen from the provincial governor by a group of pirates who’ve taken off into the deep wilderness, putting the celebration in jeopardy. Should the party manage to find and return this small fortune (after perhaps skimming a little off the top) they can expect a major finder’s fee, the thanks of the governor, and guest of honour invitations to the festival in a few weeks.

Background: For generations the raiders of the Jelziid fleet plundered their way across the world’s oceans in a force that only an empire could hope to challenge, raiding entire coastlines in a single night and then moving on to offload their loot and captives at ports willing to trek with such ruthless acquisition. This all changed with the infamous captain Talalan who fought his way to leadership after the, were chased out of their previous hunting grounds by a newly emergent coalition. Seeing that his bloodthisty brethren had perhaps grown too large, too infamous, to carry on as they had, he rallied the fleet with the idea that they’d become fierce enough to claim a territory for their own, settling on the kingdom of the great river as the place they could turn their mastery of water into a dominion of those who worked the land.

Further adventures:

The pirates who stole the gold are hiding out in the wreck of one of their great warships, a mouldering fortress of sloped decks and rotten wood half submerged in the silt of a nearby river. They were expecting to be picked up by some criminal contacts who helped set the heist up, but they’ve been delayed on the river. As the party infiltrates the dungeon and tries not to get ambushed, consider having a clock run down for when reinforcements arrive, potentially losing the party their prize and chance at making inroads with the court.

Either clearing their names through logical argument or escaping the law to prove their own innocence gives the party a chance to investigate the merchant’s death, which in turn reveals he was buying up food to trade with an enclave of pirates who’d set up a makeshift logging camp. Still technically a crime, but the gang of vigilantes who carried out the punishment were infact a group of thugs hired by one of the merchant’s business rivals, who was resentful of him undercutting him thanks to the pirates' help.One of these envious merchants served in the pirate wars with the magistrate’s most trusted official, and used his war buddy’s old emnitiy to convince the official to turn a blind eye to the powergrab and find a convenient excuse (a  troublemaking group of adventurers) 

In their interactions with the pirates, the party keep hearing tell of someone called “The Eelmonger”, an innocuous name spoken with reverence , and an apparent successor to captain Talalan‘s broken legacy.  Whoever the monger turns out to be, the eels are infact monstrous river serpents, some of which have been meted out to the pirates to use as guardbeasts and weapons, with the promise that more are on the way.

[inkyinsects]

Mermaid AU - Endless Oceans

I’ve been thinking about this for a while now and have started to put together a story but here’s some ideas.

I’d think it’d be set with the surface being the equivalent of the waking and the sea as each realm of the endless. The endless would be some sort of old sea monsters of legend and earned their names through their legacy or appearance.

Destiny: Largest + oldest/ mostly stays at the bottom of the ocean and doesn’t like to interfere with others (rarely takes action).

Death: Second oldest and most well known/ earned her name through legends of her skill and her skeletal appearance (grim reaper).

Dream: Not as well known but there’s still sea-shanty’s about him/ can put people to sleep through sand or touch. Hates the surface and only goes there to hunt or gets dragged there by Death. (Tail resembles his cloak)

Destruction: Most vicious and often feared for his brute strength/ has many scars and is more independent (not often seen)

Desire: Referred to as a siren and lures people into the water with their songs. Loves to play pranks on siblings (mostly Dream) and is never seen too far away from Despair. (Bright red tail)

Despair: Often picks off stragglers and is more shy than Desire. Not as well known because she doesn’t go to the surface enough to garner attention/ prefers to be hidden. (Kelp tail/Seahorse tail?)

Delirium:Fastest and most energetic (youngest). Causes people to hallucinate land, food, safety, etc…/ confuses boats to steer and crash into rocks. (Tiger fish or blue wring octopus tail)

Each Endless would have a varying degree of eldritch horror about them (They can chose to resemble people more or to appear more monstrous) and I think that each would have some sort of legend or sea shanty that old sailors would sing about in taverns and inns.

In this au Hob would be some sort of pirate or sailor (his ship’s called the Immortal) who got caught up with these eldrich beings all because Death wanted to convince Dream humans aren’t as bad as he thinks.

It would start with Hob sailing across the sea until his ship is attacked by the endless and is tossed overboard. They’re all picking off survivors until Death suggests a bet to Dream, to use Hob as an test to see if humanity is redeemable or as bad as Dream thinks. He accepts obviously because he hates being proven wrong, so that’s how Hob ends up being the sole survivor of the attack and maybe carried into shore by Dream. They keep meeting on the shore or boats (the Immortal survived the attack) and Dream is constantly proven wrong about Hob as a person. Hob keeps returning to sea to look for the creatures of legend that for some reason spared his life but won’t tell him anything.

Dream hates the land and refuses to go above the surface (Death says he has to get out more). Over time Dream opens up to Hob about his distrust but admiration for humans and their music/ stories. But nothing good ever lasts when Roderick Burgess lives. He sets sail in order to capture one of the legendary endless because they killed his son out at sea. He draws them in and aims for Death but Dream pushes her out of the way of the net (made of chains) that was meant for her. Roderick takes Dream - instead because at least he got one right?

Burgess puts Dream in a glass cage (fish tank/ with magic ruins because ancient sea beasts are not found in a pet shop) and holds many extravagant parties. He mostly invited survivors of the endless and presents Dream as some sort of trophy for ‘defeating the legendary beasts of old’ and that’s how Hob finds himself at a party too fancy for his liking staring at his friend in an over sized fish bowl.

So he does the only rational thing and breaks his friend out. Which leads to Hob carrying a very weakened Dream in his arms like an oversized tuna while running towards the sea being chased by Burgesses men and local sailors.

I have to stop there because I want the ending to be a surprise but let’s say Death chose the right human to help her brother.

[internetgiraffekid1673]

OOOOOOOH, have I got headcanon lore for you all!

So! My personal belief is that "default" combat in the Spiral is Pirate101 style combat. Roughly accurate to real life: quick and dirty brawls with guns and swords. This is supported by the fact that the wizard city guard exists, but doesn't seem to consist of any wizards.

Now, why would they do that when problems can just be solved with duel circle magic way safer and easier?

I think that the AMOUNT of magic in a specific scenario causes them. When two powerful magic users suddenly start slamming magic at each other, I imagine it's something like two fronts of wind meeting to cause a tornado. The duel circle is just a natural consequence of all that. Sometimes duel circles can form in a very magically powerful place, even if one of the parties isn't a magic user. So like, if a wizard were to start going at it with a buccaneer in the heart of Ravenwood, a duel circle would still probably form.

I also headcanon that when a non magic user gets pulled into a magical duel circle, their attacks mostly look like nat attacks. So like, when you're fighting a skeletal pirate on Unicorn Way, they're not using firecats and imps on you, they're just yeeting *themselves* into the summoning circle and hacking at you with the sword. This is how I believe any pirate class that isn't a witch doctor would fight if they somehow got pulled into a magic duel circle.

HOWEVER. Because the YW is, as a general rule, MASSIVELY overpowered, is carrying a crap ton of magical gear on them at all times, is traveling through incredibly magical locations, and is the Scion of Bartleby: they are generally enough ambient magic to cause a duel circle to form. By the time the YW travels anywhere or is fighting anyone that wouldn't have enough ambient magic to cause a duel circle, they themselves are enough of a source to make one happen.

Duel circles can also be summoned purposefully in places without a lot of magic to work with or supressed even in a very high stakes magic duel, but both situations require a powerful wizard manipulating the ambient magic of an area and actively forcing it to do what they want. This does mean I think some of the more climactic fights in Wiz against god-level threats probably happened Pirate Style, which would have been confusing as hell for the YW.

This headcanon is mostly for me to help gel things like Dueling Diego's existence and the way this is the ONLY style of battling you are EVER taught in Wizard (because of course, that's how video games work) with the fact that Pirate style combat does exist and the fact that everybody does want you dead a LOT of the time.

Thinking about how wizard battles work outside of game mechanics and I really think duel circles just kind of wouldn't be used outside of like teaching exercises and stuff.

Like maybe Malistaire could have fought the wizard in one because like that is a fucking child and he's still a teacher even if he has lost his mind

But like once you get to the umbra legion? Those fuckers are not being polite and playing silly little wizard games with you. THEY WNT TO KILL YOU

[sabo-has-my-heart]

Memories of Happier Times

So for those of you following me at the time, if you remember, I promised an angst fic if Brook won that round's best man titties vote! Well I just finished it, and it's for *drum roll*..... BROOK! 🤣 I bet you were all hoping for one of my more popular characters, weren't you? To be fair, the vote was for Brook and this was just so perfect! Besides, my 3 most popular characters already have plenty of angst and Brook has gotten no love in my inbox! Don't worry though, I still have plenty of other fics for you guys to enjoy coming out asap! mostly Law and Ace.

Warnings: ANGST! no romantic pairing

Word Count: 970 

     Leaning against the ship’s railing, empty sockets staring out at the endless ocean, Brook couldn’t help the aching in his heart. It came and went erratically, seemingly with no rhyme or reason. Sometimes he understood why he felt this pain, other times, he was left wondering why things hurt so much that day. Tonight, he knew why the pain was back. Onigashima had been… difficult. They’d run into so many enemies capable of so many things. One in particular had brought him back, back to his old crew, back to his captain, back to memories of another place and time. He didn’t talk about it a whole lot, but he missed them so badly. He loved being with the straw hats, he loved being a part of Luffy’s crew, especially with how accepting and kind the boy was. But he still missed his old crew. He missed the music that was always playing no matter who was playing it, he missed his golden haired captain, and he missed the liveliness. Luffy and the crew were lively, there was no doubt about that, the boy was energetic and happy and his happiness was infectious. But it was different from how his old crew had been, different from the parties where they all played, sang, and danced, the music carrying who knows how far on the ocean breeze. It had all been so easy back then, so carefree. They’d known the risks of setting out on the Grand Line, they knew what would happen if they became pirates, but they hadn’t expected what had happened. They hadn’t expected their captain to get sick like that, they hadn’t expected the poison, they hadn’t expected that the Rumbar Pirates would be wiped out in its entirety. They’d always thought they’d have more time, another day to play, more time to enjoy life. Except they didn’t and they were gone and on nights like tonight, he missed them more than anything. Nights where the weight of their deaths weighed on him, nights that left him feeling so, so hollow. 

     Looking up at the sky, he let a few tears fall, he rarely cried like this, rarely shed such serious, heartbroken tears, but at the moment, with the memories of his crew fresh in his mind, with their laughter in his ears and their warmth weighing heavy on his heart, he let the tears fall. The women at Onigashima had been a blessing and a curse. They’d used Brook’s crew against him, they'd turned happy memories into a nightmare and brought back painful moments that stabbed at Brook’s heart. But seeing them again, feeling like that again, being able to sit at the piano and play with them again, well, there was a reason why he’d dreamt about it so much in the past. Some nights, on nights when things didn’t hurt so much, he would play his violin and allow himself to get caught up in the memories of his crew, skilled fingers dancing across the strings, eyes closed, and imagining the Rumbar Pirates once more by his side. While he missed them, while it hurt that they were gone, memories like these were a moment of bliss. The memories were less painful now that he wasn’t all alone in the fog, now that the straw hats had driven away the loneliness, and so he’d play and think of his old crew on those nights. A shaky, skeletal hand picked up his violin, letting the bow glide across the strings as he began to play a song for them. His mind wandered as he played imagining the crew around him once more, laughing and singing, drinks passed around while others played with him. His captain singing loudest of all as they played, a moment where everyone was happy. 

     His crew wasn’t here with him, they were gone, they’d been gone for years, but in the moment, with the sounds of another song in his ears and the vibrations of the violin against his bones, his mind conjured the images of his crew for him, letting him enjoy their memory once more. Tears still rolled down the white bone of his cheeks, sniffles still interrupted the song every few notes, but the memories of happier times were far better than the twisted images the women at onigashima had conjured. A moment of bliss in a night filled with pain and sorrow. He missed them more than words could say. Finishing his song, he allowed the ghosts of his previous crew to wash away, the illusion of his old ship and old crew washed away like writing in the sand. It was almost time for his watch to end as the first hints of light began to show on the horizon. Sanji would be awake soon, starting in on breakfast that Luffy would devour in seconds. Still, he stood there, his eyes closing once again as he left the warm morning light caress his cold bones, driving away the chill from the night along with the pain of loss that had taken hold of him for the moment. The faint scent of bacon brought him back to the present, back to the happiness and chaos of the straw hats as his heart became warmer like his bones. The sound of the Thousand Sunny and its crew waking up drove off the loneliness and pain that had gathered as he headed inside. On another night when he found himself thinking of him once more, he’d give the ghosts of his old crew an encore, he’d play another song and hold the illusions close to his heart, but it would be a happier moment than the one brought on this time, it would be one of joy that warmed his heart once more and drove away the cold and chill that surrounded him.

[hannahhook7744]

Meet Fiona Freeland Foundling;

Fc: Daveigh Chase.

Fic Title: The Marvelous Misadventures of Hannah Hook.

Nicknames: Fi, Fey Girl, Fairy Girl, Dark Fae, Dark Fairy, 'Ona, Fifi, the Goth Fairy, skunk girl, and Bat wings.

Sexuality: Unknown at the moment.

Pronouns: She/her.

Birthday: Halloween.

Height: 3"2.

Hair Color: Coal Black.

Eye Color: Dirt brown.

Place Of Birth: Moors but no one else knows that. Other than Maleficent.

Hobbies: Dancing, drawing, collecting stuffed animals, sewing, coloring, having tea parties, listening to music, trick or treating, playing dress up, knitting, meteorology, creative writing/poetry, arts and crafts, catching fire flies, acting, learning, and gardening.

Likes: Candy, barbies, dark colors, ripped clothes, baggy clothes, bats, skunks, plants, music boxes, tattoos, creepy toys, cute plant pots, flowers, Halloween decorations, berries, woods, magic, movies, musicals, spray paint, games, punk stuff, gothic literature, gothic stuff, and cute baby animals.

Dislikes: Bullies, her dyslexia, her color blindness, her amnesia, loud places, being lost, being compared to people, being alone, and having her picture taken.

Favorite Musicians: Vampire Weekend, Slipknot, Lizz Robinett, Fall Out Boy, The Offspring, Blink-182, Green Day, Iron Maiden, and Black Sabbath.

Physical Quirks/Scars: Tattered looking black, translucent wings. Pale skin. Circles under the eyes. Almost skeletal in appearance (naturally). Dimples.

Family: Unknown.

Honorary Family: Hades, Persphone, and their kids.

Friends: The Stormbringer crew, of course.

Pets: Bagul (skunk).

Love Interest: Noah Aoratos (future boyfriend).

Optimistic or Pessimistic: Optimistic.

Introvert or Extrovert: Extrovert.

Occupation: Junior Pirate and future boutique--tatto Parlor-- flower shop owner.

Extracurriculars: Piracy, Ballet, art club, gardening, and drama.

Favorite Animal: Skunk.

Favorite Color: Black, white, pink, and grey.

Favorite Book: A Light in the Attic.

Favorite Food: Blackberries.

Favorite Drink: Black coffee with whipped cream.

Favorite Movie/TV Show: The Addams family and Scooby Doo.

Favorite Class: Artist and Thieves is tied with Tall Tales and The Tellers who tell them.

Background: It's not every day that a child falls from the sky, but on the rare occasion that one does, everyone remembers it-- which is exactly what had happened in the case of one girl known as Fiona Freeland Foundling.

It had been a normal day on the isle of the lost, with Hannah Hook scavenging for toys and books out of boredom. Eventually finding herself in an Alleyway, where she narrowly missed getting smushed by a falling projectile that was almost the size of her leg. A falling projectile that turned out to be, a little girl -- almost skeletal in appearance-- with high cheekbones, black hair, almost black eyes, and tattered, translucent black wings. A girl who could barely talk.

Instead of running away or screaming, like most people would have, the seven year old pirate captain took the startled and confused little girl home and tried to figure out where she came from so they could return her. Something they never did figure out.

When they couldn't, Hannah named Fiona and gave her a spot on her crew. Promising that one day they'd find out where she came from as they patched her up.

Unbeknownst to them, Maleficent knows. Because how wouldn't she recognize one of her own? But she has no reason to tell anyone that the little girl is from Moors because she'd get nothing from it.

~~~~Playlist~~~~

"Hide and Seek" by Lizz Robinett.

"It's the Hard-Knock Life" by Charles Strouse / Martin Charnin.

"Dead Hearts" by Stars.

"Left Behind" by DAGames.

"Hidden in the Sand" by Tally Hall.

"Carousel" by Melanie Martinez.

"Crybaby" by Melanie Martinez.

Inspired by @thecaptainsgingersnap and @theinnerworkingsofoc yet again. Made to cheer @cleverqueenchild up.

[eve-is-obsessed]

everything I know about critical role campaign 2 (I have not watched it)

hi! I'm a new Critter who as of now has not watched any of campaign 2 aside from random clips in compilations and shit, but thanks to The Internet and also my friends, I know some things now. so before I start watching c2, here is all the stuff I know about it!!

I realized I knew a lot less about c1 than I thought (post here), but I definitely have more c2 knowledge so let's go

here there be spoilers!!! for the whole campaign!!! are they all CORRECT spoilers? probably not. but I do not know! be careful!

player characters

Jester Lavorre is my beloved and she’s played by Laura Bailey. she’s a blue tiefling cleric who worships a god called the Traveler, who I think is just a dude in a cloak who started a cult. I thought she was like 12 but apparently she’s actually an adult, weird. she does sendings that are very funny, and I mimic her horribly every single day bc her voice fills me w joy. she’s from Nicodranus (do I know what or where that is? nope!) she's rich but had a shitty family, and her mom is apparently the best lay ever? not sure what that's about. also I think her spiritual weapon is some sort of baked good bc she really likes them?

Beauregard Lionett, Marisha's character, is the definition of hot monk shit. she is gay and sexy and buff and represses emotions like no one's business. despite my deep love for her, I actually know very little about her backstory or literally anything she does. I do know the important thing though, which is Lesbian.

Yasha Nydoorin is Ashley's character and she's a fallen aasimar barbarian. I pronounce her last name like the Pokemon Nidoran because I have no clue how it's supposed to be. she wears badass makeup but it also might be tattoos or just her skin patterning? also she has skeletal wings sometimes but then through the Power of Love they heal. and she's very buff. she is in loooove with Beau and very shy and awkward. OH she has a dead wife who someone killed because homophobia or something, and she really likes flowers and doesn't know where her wife is buried so she can't bring her flowers :'(

Mollymauk Last Name Here is a funky purple tiefling, Taliesin's first character. he has cool ass clothing and he is so gay. magic??? he is flamboyant and maybe a fuckboi and then he dies in like episode 20. rip. he's friends with Yasha and I think was in a circus.

Caduceus Clay is Taliesin's second character. he's a pink firbolg and he likes tea and I want him to hug me. he worships... somebody... because he's a cleric and heals people. I think he's aroace confirmed? "help, it's again" is the only scene I've seen with him in it.

Caleb Widogast (?) is Liam's human wizard and his last name sounds like a Pokemon. my roommate is obsessed with this man, which makes sense because he is an angsty gay guy. German, apparently doesn’t eat? I am worried for him. he has a cat named Frumpkin and a boyfriend named Essek eventually. he has fire magic and killed his whole family. rip. OH ALSO he grew up in the Empire and was part of a gay polycule???

Nott the Brave/ Veth is Sam's character, and she's a goblin. I do not know if she's 7 years old or a mother, but it's one of those two. also I think she was a different race originally but got turned into a goblin and also hates goblins and also is an alcoholic. sure.

Keg (is that really her name?) is a guest character. she’s a dwarf? and a lesbian and has the hots for Beau. mood.

Fjord ??? I straight up forgot about this man. he's a green guy played by Travis, maybe a half-orc? and he's a pirate. warlock. does he have a last name??

non player characters

Essek is Caleb’s boyyyyfriend and he’s a purple drow. I think he starts off bad and betrays the party but over time becomes good or something. he can float and is hot!

Zuala I don't think actually shows up but she's Yasha's dead wife. [sobs forever]

Marion Lavorre is Jester's mom and she's a red tiefling who I'm pretty sure is a prostitute?

The Gentleman is apparently Jester's DAD and every time they sent him a message, I thought they were speaking to multiple gentlemen but it turns out it's just one.

Astrid I-don't-know-her-last-name is connected to Caleb somehow. I think she's also a wizard and has tattoos but I know nothing else

plot points

Jester almost gets her hands cut off, but then she persuades the hand-cutter to eat a blueberry cupcake and then casts Modify Memory and avoids getting her hands cut off

Keg and Beau have sex

Jester helps Yasha write a poem for Beau and I have the whole thing memorized

at one point, Fjord, Jester and Yasha got kidnapped but it was because their respective cast members were all gone. I think this is when Keg came in to help the rest of the party find them

clearly I have a very good grasp on the plot of this show /s

that's all folks! vox machina post here :)