#EDIT FROG IN A WELL. “TOAD IN A FROG” WHAT

[popponn]

sae going to spain at 13 and coming out like that makes so much sense actually

[bogleech]

Could I mayhaps know what's the name of that arachnid field guide you have 0//0 it looks really pretty and I have. A thirst for all arachnid related field guides and biology books, love those critters

The Golden Guide to Spiders and their Kin! There were lots of them, originally made in the 60's or 70's I believe, and they used to still be so common when I was a kid - still in print, and sold for just a couple dollars everywhere - I thought everybody had a few! But now they seem to be forgotten.

I had the spiders one, insects one and "seashores" one (mantis shrimps and nudibranchs!!) before I could even read, just looking at the pictures all day. As I learned to read they were how I learned concepts of taxonomy and ecology, why I knew what a "parasitoid" was in first grade and I'd talk constantly about insects that aren't really RARE, but culturally most people never heard about. These books made things like velvet ants, bolas spiders and hairy millipedes seem to me like knowledge as ordinary as dogs and cats.

That "pests of animals" page in particular is why I knew there were wingless parasitic flies, and I thought that was so cool, I was obsessed with "SHEEP KED" for my entire childhood. This bug that nobody ever heard of when I mentioned it, but was at one time deemed worthy of inclusion in an everyday field guide. And they include "duck louse" as an animal pest you're expected to encounter. Sheep and duck parasites?!.....Oh, right! When these books first published, it was still commonplace for almost everyone to have experience with farm animals. Most people at least had grandparents or aunts and uncles with a farm they might visit and help out on. Of course they would encounter sheep and duck parasites. I think they still publish these, actually, I'm sure I still saw them in Barnes and Noble only a few years ago, but it's remarkable what a different America they were made under. My old copy even recommended DDT to control bed bugs....they did eventually edit that out in newer editions.

Some of their attitudes may be outdated here and there, and they're only intended for North American wildlife, but I think the golden guides might still be perfect introductions to their topics for anyone, anywhere of any age really?? They're such well-balanced overviews so densely packed with just the most essential information about each organism.

....Did people really ever just call tree frogs "hylas?!" It's one of their genus names, but was it also used as a common name anywhere? That's a cute idea. Maybe it was, briefly, so at some point to someone there was a concept of Frog, Toad, and Hyla?

[push-tet]

that post about Pucks

When i was researching the image of Puck in folklore. i noticed that the historians of the image of the Puck blurred and everyone is free to interpret Puck image. i really liked it and i have a desire to somehow realize it in my and Verona and at the same time to work out the lore of the fairies why not?

Clumsy (play), Oberon's Servant (play), real name Robbin Goodfellow (folklore), mischievous (play) prefers to live in the forest (folklore), prankster (folklore), suspicions of misanthropy (folklore), the fairy (play), cooperation with Obeoron (play), cunning (folklore\play)

next should be the suktchs so you can see what they look like but I'm too lazy to draw, so I'll just make some moodbords

moodboards

Puck Or Púca (don't call them that for your safety) Midasammerers Genderfluid i think? Knowledge Taurus 4\6\5\10\0 Hobbies: Science - Nature - Music. Obsession with substitutes (especially toads and frogs)

50% play, 50% folklore

Unlike the weirdos below. Puck is their real name, not a nickname

Remnant of the Midsummer Era. Puck is supposed to carry the knowledge and history of the ancient fairy people, but she's forgotten all about it

Puck used to have a passion for collecting and buying wet specimens. But because of her nomadic lifestyle, preserving them was impossible

In her spare time from scamming mortals for money and intimidating travellers in the forest. She likes to listen to classical or metal. Metal? Puck finds it fascinating that mortals were able to turn chaotic into harmony

The real body was destroyed for some unknown reason. So he exists as an intangible entity. Until he finds a new body huh. Priority is people over +185 and on the brink of death

Puck likes to wear makeup. But she doesn't know about waterproof makeup, so her makeup comes off right after her first swim at the bottom of the swamp

For friends and family, Shen; for students, Prof. Liang; for coworkers and subordinates, Puck III Gossamer He\Him Knowledge Gemini 5\6\7\3\4 Hobbies: Science - Nature Botanist

10% Play, 10% Falklore, 60% Chinese Legend

Smoking is not bad for fairies. So Shen can smoke two packs of cigarettes in a day. Surprisingly, he doesn't even stink…

Was a fashion icon in his department «Beauty doesn't interfere with intelligence. So your job as a scientist shouldn't stop you from dressing well»

He has a wife and a daughter. But because of the heavy workload, he constantly forgets about them.

A close BUSINESS relationship with Oberon

When Shen was on probation at Gossamer Corp. He and his students created the Money Tree that nearly brought the country's economy to a crashing halt

Missing in obscurity in 1966

Puck (Robin) Summerdream He/them Knowledge Pisces - 7\2\2\6\2\8 Hobbies: Science

Fascinated by astronomy, astrology

40% Play, 10% Folklore.

Although Robbin has already discovered his wizarding abilities, he is still firmly convinced that he is a fairy, it's just that their transformation has been delayed (spoiler: he's not a fairy)

Robin is talented at potions. HA! Now try saying Chemistry is a useless subject

Robbin doesn't even correct people when they are called Peck. Which is why half of Verona has forgotten their real name is Robbin

He can't say - No. Because he's afraid of offending someone. Because of this, he may have a lot of work to do

He wants peace in Verona and often thinks of putting a love potion in the drinks of the Monty and the Capps to stop this idiotic feud. But he fears the consequences of the potion's effects

In fact, he is not such a good astrologer and often says predictions at random. But by an incredible coincidence, their predictions come true

i tried to combine the traits of ONE person and at the same time, make them different. idk i did it or not anyway, choose your fighter

edit 19.01.24:

if these mfs meets

[sweater-daddiesdumbdork]

Life Is Short So Make It Sweet

Chapter Thirteen: Proceed To The Exit

Summary- 5.9 Curtis Everett x Plus!Sized Reader. Winter Break is swiftly coming, making you busier than ever with getting your drama club ready for its first performance. There is also the aquarium date Curtis invited you to just before Thanksgiving, which is some much needed adult time for you both.

Warnings- Adult sexual activities, oral, some talk about critters like bats.

A/N- Hello hello! I've been waiting for this chapter because personally, I love aquariums and museums. The one I described in this chapter is very reminiscent of the one where I live. I have been going since I was a kid, still, try to make a once a year trip to visit. I was always that kid that pretended dinosaurs still existed, picked up snakes, lizards, and toads, makes sure to catch spiders to release them, and brought home frog eggs to hatch them. Anyways the huge fish like the sturgeon in our Echo Center always fascinated me, like living dinosaurs. The readers' love for this is my love for all this. As always thank you to everyone who reads and shares. Special thank you to @what-is-your-plan-today for the edits. Divider made by @firefly-graphics.

Chapter Twelve / Masterlist

The following days flew by, You and your class were getting ready for winter break and doing evening rehearsals with the drama club after school. Then there was prepping for sending out packages for your sister and her family in Florida as well as a package of gifts to your parents in New York, not to mention Christmas cards to your aunt, uncle, and cousins that you still kept somewhat in touch with. All while trying to keep up with life in general. The first couple weeks December was turning nothing short of hectic.

Curtis remained just as busy himself with the train yard, as well as helping Paulie at the bar during the busier time of year. It put some extra cash in his savings and you had insisted he does it since you were busy most evenings with after school projects. A few days a week he would stop off at the school on his way to Paulie’s, catch sight of you working with the kids on stage finalizing lines. When you would notice him standing in the back watching, you would slip away from them to go do a quick visit. 

Curtis never missed the enthusiastic grin that would cross your face when you would weave your way through the cafeteria that doubled as the school auditorium. “I didn't think I would get to see you today.” Your eyes would gleam in relief when he would hold up the to go package of food he picked up on his way over. “Or that you would be bringing me dinner.” You would go to your tiptoes to give a thank you kiss and Curtis would take advantage of you being in his space to draw you in closer. 

After all, these were few and far between on weekdays when you both were doing what life required of you, anxiously waiting for the weekend to roll around. “Figured you were probably too busy to make yourself something proper tonight.” Setting the bag down on one of the nearby tables, you would look a tad sheepish as he made an accurate assumption. You hadn't even given a thought to what you would have for dinner and most likely snack on whatever random thing you would find in your apartment before you went to bed exhausted. Your hand slid down his chest to tangle lightly in his chain, not wanting to separate the two of you quite yet. 

“Okay, you caught me, I would have remembered eventually.” You confessed and he gave a slight grumbling sigh that he knew he had been right. “But thank you, for looking out for me Curtis.” 

“Someone needs to. The kids look good up on stage, they must be excited for opening night?” 

You beamed, proud of how hard your students have been working and excited as well for the first big show at Mason Academy you have been a part of. “Tomorrow night, they are so excited and have worked really hard. I just hope the weather holds out so we don’t have to cancel.” 

“It will be fine.” Curtis assured you, a frequent weather checker due to working outdoors most of the time. “Save me a seat, I’m coming to watch with Tanya tomorrow. Timmy has been talking non stop about it she said.” 

“As director, I get prime seating options.” You promised. One of the students called your name, making you look back. “I should probably get back.” You sighed tiredly. 

“I also got to get to Paulie's for a shift,” Curtis stated, cupping your chin and drawing you into a goodbye kiss, bringing his lips to yours with a gentle brush. It made you tingle from the top of your head to the tips of your toes feeling his whiskers tickle you and the press of his plump bottom lip to yours. “Text me before bed?” 

“Promise, don’t cause no trouble at the bar.” 

“Tell people stop testing me then.” He winked as he gave a quick wave to Timmy who was on stage. “Talk later Honey.” 

You gave a little wave goodbye before grabbing your food, and when you looked in the bag you saw he sent enough for you to have for a couple days at least as he always did, and made your way back to the stage. “One last run through guys, then I think we are ready for tomorrow!” The cheer from the kids echoed through the cafeteria. 

The night of the play proved to be a success, Curtis showed up with Tanya, finding out that you had reserved some seats for the two of them. Their names were written in sharpie with smiley faces on a piece of paper.

Tanya was the proud mother, taking many pictures and excitedly whispering to Curtis about how hard Timmy had worked at home memorizing his lines. For Curtis’s part, he enjoyed the show. The kids certainly had done a good job and he saw all those costumes you had diligently worked on over at his house. He also caught glimpses of you behind the curtain, helping out. It wasn't till after the show you finally stepped out into the spotlight with the rest of the kids, and very much like every time he sees you, he is caught up in just how beautiful you looked. 

Curtis could tell you were enjoying yourself, thanking all the parents who had come to see the play, your energy was open, full of smiles and laughs. You were steadily shaking hands and giving praise to how hard the kids worked. Curtis waited for the stream of parents to start to thin out before he approached you with a small bouquet of carnations to gift to you. When you turned to him, there was no missing the excited relieved look you had at seeing him, your eyes were shining bright and a smile was permanently on your lips. You looked happy.

“What a great show Honey.” He held out the bright yellow and pink flowers. You dipped your head to them, your eyes closing as you inhaled there sweet scent. 

“They did all the work Curtis, I just helped. These are beautiful, thank you.” 

“Mmmh, I saw a lot of you in the play, even if no one else knows it.” He let his hand rest against your back to tuck you close. 

It was infectious, your energy and Curtis deemed himself lucky to get to bask in it. 

That Saturday night had you getting ready for the special date. Curtis had invited you before Thanksgiving to attend the adult night at the Aquarium, the function to raise money for the care of the animals living there and you were beyond excited to attend. It required a bit of dressing up, which now you felt much more confident in your choices. You chose a dress that was appropriate for evenings out- a little black dress that shaped around your curves. Your makeup done up a bit more then usual and your hair whisked in a style that pinned it back, allowing the slope of your neck to show off. 

Curtis as well was giving it his all, dress shoes were swapped out from his typical boots or sneakers, black dress slacks that accentuated his long legged stature up to a slim waist. A blue button up shirt was tucked into his pants. 

He was messing with his shirt in the hallway mirror, scowling at himself as he tried getting the collar to straighten out. His eyes lifted to see you coming down the stairway, and his eyes got wide before turning to face you.

“Honey, you look…” You felt your chest tickle with pride and wanting to downplay what he was saying. “You look incredible Honey.” 

You took his compliment to heart instead, not disputing it or trying to brush it off. You licked your lips nervously but gave a smile. “Thank you, do you want some help with that?” 

Tilting his chin up to give you plenty of room, he nodded. “Please? I’m no good at this stuff.” 

“Oh, I think your pretty damn fine with it Curtis.” You stepped in close to reach him. 

He kept the top of his shirt open, choosing not to go with a tie, but when you tucked his collar down, admiring him up close, you couldn’t help but find the entire look and effort very enticing. He had even been sure to trim himself, cutting back the shagginess of his beard and making his hair crisp with a fresh buzz. 

“Everything okay?” His blue eyes a tad nervous as he fiddled with the buttons and you covered his hand with yours to stop him from fretting. 

“I was just caught up in how damn good you looked Curtis.” You were rewarded with a slight pink tinge to the tops of his ears, well aware the back of his neck would be red as well. “Can you go warm the truck up? I will be out in a minute?” 

He patted his pants pockets while glancing around before you handed him his wallet and phone. “Right, lock up on your way out? I got the garage door open, come through there. I already pulled your car in.” 

Assuring him that you would, while he went to do that you went through the house one last time making sure everything was off, leaving the light on above the stove for when you two got back, you made your way outside. 

This time you two went to dinner before the aquarium at the French restaurant Curtis had taken you two at the start of your first date. This time you both enjoyed yourselves, delving into conversation while eating dinner. There simply wasn’t any awkwardness. Curtis opted for grilled Angus steak in a red wine sauce and you had a piece of snapper, also grilled in its own fresh sauce. 

By the time you both finished, there wasn't room for another bite for dessert, and having whatever was left boxed to go, you two proceeded to the museum. 

It was high school since Curtis last attended the freshwater aquarium, but his guess had been right that you would enjoy it. When he led you inside to show his online tickets to require the wristbands needed, you were already clutching at his hand excitedly. Ushered through one last set of doors and out of the cold for good, your jackets were checked and a glass of champagne was offered to both of you. Your arm hooked through his as you sipped from your flute, your eyes roving around to take in the different directions that you two could go.

“Where should we go visit first?” 

Curtis took a look around himself, getting reacquainted with the space. “Well, I think that way was displays of local habitats you will find on Lake Superior which includes otters…” 

“Otters?” You perked up and Curtis nodded to confirm. “I want to see the otters.” 

He chuckled and winked. “Anything you wish Honey.” Leading you in the general direction that the crowd was going, the area leading towards the otters was brightly lit, with glass turtle tanks built into the wall where the reptiles swam and lounged on great log displays.

Something under the water caught your eye and carefully you lowered to look at the lower part of the tank, Curtis bent from the waist to look into the display to see small minnows darting in schools from one particular turtle going for the chase. You admired the underwater set up, it did indeed look like a piece of the lake was set up in the tanks. 

“Think they catch any of those little bastards? They are quick in the water.” Curtis observed while he moved back to a stand, offering his arm for you to get back up as well. The surface of the display hid the chaos underneath, the row of turtles slowly slipping off one by one. 

“That many turtles, I’m sure they don’t stand much of a chance. Turtles are faster then anyone gives them credit for. You ever see one of those race across the road?” 

You two wander from the display, glancing in others showing woodland frogs peeping loudly but well hidden so you and Curtis had to search them out, garter snakes lazily stretching under the heated lamps and toads blinking at the two of them before giving a lazy hop in the small enclosure. You paused at some earthy colored newts creeping along damp moss.

“I used to love these guys. Only ours were fiery orange with dots on there backs. Oh… these too.” You shifted to the next tank, the salamander was much longer and black in color, yellow spots dotting its back. “My sister and I used to go out in the springtime at night and go looking for them. They would always cross through our yard.” 

Curtis peered into the tank. “I remember my grandfather caught one of these at the freight yard, runs right along the river so we see them there all the time in the spring while they are migrating. Came home with it and sent my grandmother just about through the front door.” Curtis laughed at the memory. “I can still hear her now ‘Wilford you get that thing out of my house.’ She wasn’t too keen on any of them indoors. Especially snakes.” 

“What did he do with it?” You asked, having lost focus on the small amphibian in the tank. You were much more keen on watching Curtis’s expressions recalling the memory. 

“He loaded me into the truck and we went back to where he found it. He insisted I let it go so I got to hold it for a bit before it scurried away.” His arm loosely fell around your waist, tucking you in close and smiling to himself. A genuine smile, you could see the way it crinkled the corner of his eyes and made his features relaxed.

“I think.. Yup. The otters are next.” He led you along, keeping you closer now since the crowd started filling out more. You made a mental note of the location for when you brought your class down on a field trip. Know where the otters were because they would be the popular exhibit.

The crowd broke to a large glass wall, the bottom half was much like the turtle tank, filled with water that mimicked the bottom a lake bed. More eye level was the otters above ground display, which featured logs and brush, a slide made to look like a hollowed tree, caverns for them to dart into. 

There was also a large amount of snow dumped in it, which the otter pair were rolling in and sliding into theirwater tank before rushing out to hop into the pile again. Their handlers stood among the pile, giving the presentation, drawing in the crowd. Curtis let his hand settle on your waist, listening to the display given which he knew would help draw in the funds the aquarium was looking for. 

You snapped a few pictures from your phone, listening to the info given while you sent the pictures to your sister with plenty of heart emojis. You inched closer, trying to weave your way through the crowd but you suddenly felt self-conscious, like you were in the way of people. You drew yourself into a corner, glancing over your shoulder to make sure you weren't blocking anyone. 

Curtis ended up following you, pulling you to stand in front of him and tucking your head under his chin as he wrapped his arms around you, seemingly knowing that you suddenly were feeling so in the way and to big in your space. He had no problem easing you two to a better spot in front of the tank. His head dropped to whisper in your ear. “Take a couple more pictures, I'm sure your sister would love these shots.” 

You eased up, and started to forget about being nervous or anxious as you felt his hands resting on your waist and the firm length of his body behind you. You did just as he said, take more pictures and enjoy the show of the otters playing in the snow. You would occasionally lift your phone to show him your sister's response before you moved away from the display. In the less crowded area, he came back up beside you, his arm lifting to drape over your shoulder, still relaxed as ever. Stepping from the bright light room that featured the otters, you two entered an area with large aquariums featuring some of the different styles of lake habitats and aquatic species. 

Curtis let you lead the way the rest of the time, catching a glimpse of who you must be in the classroom as you talked about different species of fish, pointing out the shape of fin patterns for different streams of water, what kind of food they would hunt and what animals would hunt them.

“I didn’t know I was dating a regular outdoors woman.” He arched a curious brow at you and you shrugged a bit, feeling suddenly shy about it. 

“If I wasn’t a teacher, I would have been a biologist. I always loved wildlife. Outdoors woman? Yeah, that is stretching it. I really hate mosquitos.” You shuddered in his hold, making him burst out laughing at your confession. 

“Really hate them Honey, like a lot?” He teased as he couldn't contain his laughter, his hand falling from your shoulder to slap against his chest. You scowled at him in play, elbowing his stomach in retaliation. 

“Okay Mr.Big Shot, you like everything out there?” 

He finished off his champagne in a swallow and you both set your emptied glasses on a bypassing host. “Thank you.” He said, both of you declining another glass. “Oh hell no, know what I hate… Bats.” 

“Bats? Bats are adorable.” While you two ducked into another section, coming up to a huge large tank casting the room in a soft blue glow. You both paused in front of it, watching huge fish, some as long as your body, swim lazily around. 

“They used to scare the shit out of me.” Curtis admitted. “They come swooping down out of nowhere and just barely miss you. I got stuck up in the attic once and there was a whole colony that had set up house. I just about broke down that door to get out.” 

You bit your lip at the mental image of big giant Curtis running from a couple of bats. His gaze looked down at you. “I’m sorry, I know its not okay to laugh.” Your voice bubbled while you tried to keep it somber and he nudged you, winking. 

“You can laugh, it is funny.” 

You let it out, a real genuine laugh, making him join right in while you two watched the lake giants in the tank. Once you two died down, your face lifted up to catch the tanks glow just right, your eyes sparkling in admiration at one in particular.

“That your favorite? The lake sturgeon?” He asked and you nodded, your head tilting as a small smile appeared. 

“Always, they are kind of like looking at the past, you know? Like a living dinosaur. They look intimidating and dangerous, but so rarely will hurt anyone. Plus they are just beautiful, something so large and yet elegant in how it moves.” You sighed almost wistfully at your statement and Curtis grasped your chin gently to look at him, away from the tank. 

“I see what you mean, but I think the only thing I can actually call beautiful in this room is you Honey.” He firmly reminded you, pressing a kiss to your mouth before you could rebut him. “And I refuse to accept anything else.” 

“You are stubborn Curtis, you can’t compare me to fish.” 

“I kinda just did and don’t take anything back.” He smirked and you shook your head at him while he took your hand. As more people came into the area, you two retreated, following the flow of the room till you two went into a river display. 

You continued to let Curtis lead you along, loosing concentration in what the displays were now. Your attention was focused more on the pull of Curtis’s shoulders under the light blue shirt, shifting just right so you could see the muscles in his back with his movements, the shirt tucked firmly in his black dress pants, that in your opinion made his ass look just as good as a pair of jeans could. Whenever the two of you would pause, he would squint just slightly to read the smaller print once in a while when he was really interested in something he would mouth the words along with what he was reading. 

It struck you just how nice this date out was for you, no one would have ever considered taking you to an aquarium. Most certainly not your ex, you had invited him once to something like this and he immediately shot it down. But, not only did Curtis bring you, he fully engaged in it as well, making sure to ask you questions and making his own observations. Even opening up to tell you things about his past. All of it just caught up to you how lucky you were to have met him. It also made you want to show him how much you appreciated him. 

You sidled up closer to him, running your hand along the expanse of his back while leaning up to his ear. “Curtis…” 

He paused from his reading to turn his attention to you. His gaze narrowed slightly at the way you were biting your lip. “You okay Y/N?” 

“Come on, I have another place I want us to check out real quick.” Your hand weaved with his and this time you took the lead, by passing groups of people who were listening to hosts discuss the importance of the display. But you didn’t pause, not till the groups of people started to thin out, leaving behind the more interesting features of an aquarium. As a teacher, you knew the ones people tended to ignore. 

Stepping through a curtain under a large sign that said ‘History of The Great Lake.’ Just as you suspected, it was almost empty. A few couples wandered from old grainy photograph to another, reading the history. You turned to Curtis and put a finger to your lips for quiet. You knew what you were looking for, and when you saw the corner enclosed mostly in darkness, a curtain covering a red exit sign. 

Pulling him around the curtain, you faced Curtis and cupped his face to bring him in closer, urgently kissing him, drawing him in till his hands grabbed at handfuls of your ass to arch you into him as the kiss turned greedy, both of you going breathless to draw away from each other for gasps of air. This is when you prayed to everything you could think of that there wouldn’t be an alarm on the door. And when you backed into it and it clicked open, the two of you stumbling through, it stayed silent. 

Perfect. 

Once through, you pushed him lightly against the wall, dropping your hands to his belt with a smirking look before you dropped to your knees in front of him, fingers easing his belt out of the loop.

“Oh, shit. Right here?” He looked down at you with a wide-eyed surprised expression as you popped it open, along with the button holding his pants closed. The tip of your tongue slid along your lips as you glanced up at him through your lashes. 

“As long as it is okay with you Curtis.” Your fingers found the hidden away zip, tugging it down with a swipe of the zipper's teeth. You started kissing along his hip through his pants, not yet tugging down, but your fingers curled in the band of pants and boxers. “If you want me to stop, I will stop right now.” 

Did he want you to stop? Hell no, his brain was screaming at him while you looked up at him just as sweet as always, the hint of lust in your eyes as you waited for his answer. Your lips kiss swollen red and your tongue just adding to the image of you kneeling right in front of him, inches away from his cock that was now very hard and straining the front of probably the only decent pair of pants he owned. If you didn’t do something now, the likelihood they would be cum stained before this night ended was a real possibility. 

Curtis’s hand dropped to cup the side of your face that you leaned into. “I don’t think I will ever want you to stop.” He said seriously and you broke into a grin, leaning forward once more to kiss against the skin showing, sliding your tongue against the vein leading down as you eased his pants down far enough to give you room. His cock strained the front of his boxer briefs and you kissed there too, still staring up at him as you worked those down too till he was free. Very stiff and erect, you took a second to admire just how well-endowed Curtis was before you wrapped your hands around him, stroking upwards. 

Curtis did his best to remember this image of you, your eyes were all wide eyed and glancing from his cock to his face continuously checking in with him, hovering so close to his now weeping cock head that when you ran your tongue over him, he didn’t know how he was gonna hold out. He let his hand find a place in your hair, not to lead you but just to hold onto you while you wrapped your lips around him. 

Those lips, soft and supple as they stretched around his cock, to see you start to ease him with lots of spit from your mouth and flutters of your tongue teasing his length, he wanted a video. More than anything, he wanted to have this for later when he was alone in bed, horny as fuck picturing you riding his cock. 

Somewhere you must have realized, cause you dragged yourself off him, kissing against his swollen tip once more as your hands now worked him. “Feeling good?” 

“Fuck, It’s uh-” He stammered for a moment, distracted at the way you nipped the inside of his thighs and pressed your face in close to use your mouth to tease his balls. It cut off his train of thought, his grasp in your hair tightening, now this time to lead you. “-Like that, again Y/N.” 

Your mouth wrapped around his sac, sucking and teasing with strokes of your tongue, your nose nuzzled in close to him while you still worked on jerking him off. You started squirming at Curtis’s feet, wrapping your mouth around him again and bopping your head as your hands worked him, humming and moaning the more you took him down. It was turning Curtis into a babbling mess above you. Every time something he liked in particular happened, like your tongue wrapping around him, his hold would twist into your hair and he would break out into praising.

“Pretty Girl, I gotta be in you.” He finally declared, making you pull off him with a panting gasp, nodding that you understood. 

He was rougher than usual with you, but you felt that rush in your core at how he hauled you to your feet and twisted you to lean against the stair banister, looking down at the floor below while large hands pushed the back of your dress up over your hips and his fingers stroked your now soaked panties.

“Fuck, you get this wet suckin’ my dick?” A hook of a finger into the fabric slid them aside to feel your pussy welcoming him. 

“Yes! Fuck me Curtis, I need it bad.” You wriggled back against him, his chest draped over your back and his whiskers scratching at the side of your neck. You felt him groan so deeply that it made you shiver excitedly, arching your head back so he could kiss and nip at your neck. 

“Spread your legs wider.” He plunged fingers into you, finger fucking you with urgency while he grasped your hip with his other hand, holding you in place. You twisted your hands against the banister to steady yourself while doing just as he said, whining out when he moved his hand from between your thighs. But the wide tip of his cock pushed into you and you cried out at the sudden stretch when he filled you. A hand wrapped around your mouth to quiet you. 

“You gotta keep quiet Honey.” He grunted. 

Curtis waited long enough to see the tiny nod from you before dropping his hand to your throat, not tight enough to cut off air, but enough to see his fingertips press against your softer sides, feel you swallow back your cries as he picked up his thrusting pace, fucking into you hard and quick. Your body jolted against the banister in time to his movements while giving little soft cries you did your best to muffle till your mouth dropped open and you became silent. Squeezing around him so perfectly that his cock throbbed against your velvet walls.

“Curtis” You whined out his name in that needy way that confirmed what he knew; you wanted to come. 

“Let me feel you soak my dick Pretty Girl.” he hissed in your ear, tilting himself once more to find your sweet spot and have you break for him. 

Curtis felt it, the way you stiffened suddenly and pushed back against him. He was quick to muffle your cry as you came, slowing down enough to ride you through it, but when he felt you sag against the banister, he ran his hand at your hip to your breast, cupping through your dress and pushing you back against his chest.

“One more Honey, and I will come with you.” A kiss at your jawline was his promise to you. 

This time his fingers found their way into your mouth, sucking on his digits that he had fingered you with. Feeling your tongue wrap through them and your moan made him groan into your shoulder, biting down slightly as he sped up again. Now the sound of you being fucked loud sounded through the emergency exit of the aquarium, your wet pussy squelching with every slap of his pelvis into your ass, and Curtis fought that heated spiral raging in his gut, resisting the urge to fuck his cum into you till you were ready for him. 

He saw your hand loosen its hold on the banister, dropping to between your messy thighs to rub yourself, whining against his hand muffling you. “Come on Pretty Girl, get yourself off.” He hoarsely grunted in your ear while untangling his hand from your mouth back to your throat. You felt so fucking good under his body, soft and giving that he could just keep holding himself in you while you came for him. 

“I gotta, please Curtis.” You pleaded with him. “Tell me your close?” 

“Just keep squeezing me like that Honey.” The heat in his gut spiraled, rushing for that release. “I’m with you, fuck.” 

You came again, moaning out his name once more in relief while he fucked his cum into you, burying his face into your neck to keep himself from giving the two of you away with a yell while you both found your moments of mindless bliss. 

You were thankful for the banister holding you up, because Curtis was heavy behind you, holding you around your waist but still leaning into you. He groaned against you, bracing a hand against the banister next to yours to practically peel himself off your back.

“You okay?” he ghosted his lips against your neck before moving fully to a stand and easing his softened cock from you. Immediately followed by his spend, making you squeeze your thighs together briefly while he fixed your panties back in place. Heavy hands settled to your hips while he flushed kisses against any skin showing on your shoulder while you took a deep breath to clear your head of the fuzziness following an orgasm. 

You felt so fucking good. 

“Never better.” You eased around while he situated himself. You could see the tips of his ears were bright red as well as his neck, you imagined that flush travelled down his chest. He glanced at you and still had that dazed look like his world was just rocked in a good way, making your heart skip a beat and pride filled you that you gave him that. 

“I just… fuck Honey.” He immediately reached for you, drawing you into his hold while cupping your face and kissing you with a bit of teeth scraping at your lip. “Thank you.” 

“You are welcome.” You giggled as you circled your arms around his neck, accepting his affection. The embrace was cut short, a yell at the bottom of the stairwell making you both jump in surprise. Curtis took a quick glance over the banister and motioned that you two had to go. Slipping back out, he slung an arm over your shoulder and steered you out from behind the black curtain and off to a display. Keeping you tucked into his side, you both gazed at the picture of a lighthouse on Lake Superiors shore when the exit door burst open, two aquarium employees stepping out and glancing around.

“Did anyone come out from here?” One asked Curtis, you turned away, sure not to let them see your face in case your makeup was smudged from giving head. 

“You know… a couple came out and headed back towards the animals.” Curtis was sure to point them away from you, sending them off before they figured out it was indeed you two. Once they were gone, Curtis took one look at your face and gave a small grin. “We need to clean you up.” 

“Bathrooms should be up here a bit.” You ducked your face from other patrons and the two of you ended up near the giftshop restrooms, Curtis waiting outside while you went to go fix your smudged makeup. 

When you came back out, you looked back up at him, a nervous little grin on your lips. “Better?” 

“Well, I was pretty fond of the ruined look.” Curtis shrugged with a smug look. “But better. Did you want to go back in the aquarium?” 

“No, I think we have gotten into plenty of fun tonight. I do want to stop in the gift shop though. See what they have, I might find something for the classroom.” You suggested and Curtis took your hand, ready to follow you. 

Browsing the giftshop proved to be fun. Since most of the other people were still browsing the aquarium, there weren’t many people there. You managed to find a couple books you wanted, one for your classroom about the wildlife and habitats of the lake, the other a personal book for yourself about legends and ghost stories surrounding the lake. Curtis as well found himself a book about the lake's history to add to his expansive collection. Then you two were going through posters when you happened across one of the constellations. Curtis picked up that one too, with a pile of glowing star stickers as a Christmas gift for Sophia. 

All in all, probably one of the best dates you have ever had.

[buttercupdemon]

it can be any au. hcs, something you made up literally on the spot, anything. what do you choose

Well a while ago I saw this picture of a Jambato toad and thought it really was Kai as an animal because if the colors looking like Kai's clothes. Ever since I can't help but this Kai would like domesticated poisonous frogs, because even though they were made deadly by their environment, in the end they're Judy little froggies that can be so sweet in the right environment... So if that's okay, Kai with a Jambato toad? (If not, then him marrying me /j)

Edit: I forgot to tag you and I don't know if Tumblr sends notifications for asks responses 😭 Sorry! @tsurilol

[xenia12]

Ok but one thing that bothered me is Marcy’s relationship with the newts

Anne earns the frogs respect and becomes a hero.

Sasha proves her use to the toads, and while most of them leave, grime, Percy, and Braddock stay

Marcy does everything she can for the newts, and they forget about her the moment she gets stabbed.

Like what gives? Why are the newts so uncaring towards their hero? Some fans say that she spent so much time having adventures that she didn’t get to know them, but we know that isn’t true with how much she tries to befriend others(and even if she didn’t, certainly someone would have cared out of gratitude). So instead, it comes off as the newts being self serving jerks, and Marcy shouldn’t have even tried to help them.

Oh no no they didn’t forget about her!! Well they probably did for a bit but, after they decided to turn on the king, they then considered breaking her out JUST so the physically and emotionally scarred 13 year old could help them outsmart him. Not only did the thought of a rescue attempt only cross their minds for selfish reasons, but Yunan immediately tried to shoot the idea down. She wanted to abandon Marcy and leave her terribly injured in the hands of a “mad king” just because she overheard ONE mistake she made when she felt like her whole world was falling apart and wasn’t thinking.

I can see Marcy maybe not having a whole lot of personal conversations with Olivia or Yunan, but she was someone they knew — a CHILD at that — and had good experiences with. Yet they would’ve left her for dead if Olivia didn’t know Marcy once beat Andrias at a board game, meaning there was a chance she could outsmart him for them.

I do like Olivia and Yunan, honestly, and am deciding to think that the neglect was more from the writers rather than them as genuine characters, but it just makes me so sad cuz they could’ve cared a LITTLE BIT without affecting character arcs ;-;

As much as I love angst, Marcy deserves better than this shit that lowkey just makes the two newts just seem like bad people and doesn’t even serve the plot :<

Edit: WHOOPS I got so caught up in my rage that I didn’t even realize you meant the newts in general, not just two of the ones she personally knew XD. BUT UH I can sorta excuse everyone else (except like the Triple B ig) cuz she was up in a flying castle that only a handful of people had access to lol.

[cyberkevvideo]

The Boggard As a Playable PF 1e Race

Just a bit of housekeeping before we get on with the entry. Looking at my last post entry, I haven't posted since the beginning of March. Since that time, my health has taken a significant nose dive and I've been seeing numerous doctors, hospital and clinic visits, and medical tests performed. I still have many more to do yet, and a couple can't even be performed here so I'll be needing to get a ride to a whole other city. Basically, if I wasn't bedridden, I was being looked at by doctors or specialists and being scanned by machines. It's been quite the ordeal. I posted some of the journey on my Twitter/X. Good news is we've finally ruled out cancer. Just wanted to put that out there in case anyone was wondering where I've been for the past four months.

Now, as some people may or may not be aware, this week (July 1st to July 7th) is Kraken Week. It's what will hopefully be an annual TTRPG event that was created and hosted by Point Hat and Ginny Di, and YouTubers come together and do videos on the kraken and other sea and water-based creatures. It's going to be their version of Shark Week, but not just about sharks. It's been encouraged for others to join in as well. Unfortunately, I'm not a YouTuber, so I'm going to be doing this via this Tumblr blog.

I don't know who's responsible for this logo yet, but when I do, I'll be sure to edit this post and give credit to that person. (I've reached out, but haven't gotten a response yet.)

EDIT: The artist is for the logo is Antonio Demico, aka Pointy Hat himself.

The boggard is more swamp than ocean, but I really wanted to talk about them after I learned that they're considered a playable race option on Archives of Nethys, but don't have any actual playable stats, I decided to do a breakdown of making it possible to play as one without needing to do it yourself or pull your GM's teeth to let a HD version be accepted. And the best part is that with this, you'll be able to use the Leaper alternate racial trait and the other Favored Class options. Unfortunately, there isn't something that I've been able to find that lets you use your Acrobatics jump bonus on the Pathfinder Race Guide. The closest was Jumper, which says you're always considered having taken a running start when you jump.

Image courtesy of the Pathfinder Kingmaker Wiki.

Using the boggard from the Pathfinder 1e Bestiary (and Archives of Nethys), we know that the boggard, or toadfolk, is a humanoid shaped race that looks like an anthropomorphic frog or toad, with webbed hands and feet, large bulbous eyes, and overly wide mouths. They almost never stand upright, and hunched average 5 feet in height and weight close to 200 lbs. They also live around 50 years, but because of the harsh livestyle of where boggards typically reside, it's extremely rare for them to see that age.

Regarding the age chart, it's a bit of a mix bag. I'm mostly going to use the 3.5 varag from MM4 as a guideline. Adulthood for boggards is typically 3 years after they fully developed all of they're limbs, and the typical training before sent out into the world is only two years. If they kill a sentient humanoid during their first excursion, they're considered a true adult. With that in mind, Starting Ages should be Intuitive +1d3; Self-Taught +1d4; and Trained +1d6 years. As for the Aging Effects at Middle-Aged, Old, and Venerable, I'm going with 14, 28, 42, and +2d8 for Maximum Life. This gives the average max life of 51, which fits pretty well.

For the breakdown of the race itself, it'll probably come off looking a bit expensive. I wanted the boggard to be a truly monstrous race, similar to that of the fetchling (17 RP), svirfneblin (24 RP), wyvaran (17 RP), wyrwood (20 RP), and kasatha (20 RP). It always bothered me that monstrous races like the lizardfolk and duergar were reduced to less than a base human. Let them be monstrous. It's not like this is D&D 3rd edition and we have access to Savage Species for PCs to gain monster HD and more monster features.

If this is too many RP for your group (I know it was for my old one), you can easily reduce it to 13 RP and have it more in line with the tiefling. Beyond that, you might have to look over things and negotiate with your GM on what you can reduce or move around.

Boggard -Racial Traits- Ability Score Modifiers (Greater Paragon): +4 Str, -2 Dex, –2 Int (2 RP) Type: Humanoid (boggard) (0 RP) Size: Medium (0 RP) Languages: Xenophobic (0 RP) Land Speed: Slow (20 ft.) (-1 RP) Swim Speed: 30 ft swim; +8 on Swim checks (2 RP) Defense: Natural Armor +1 (2 RP) Offense: Sticky Tongue (2 RP) Offense: Terrifying Croak (2 RP) Movement: Swamp Stride (1 RP) Senses: Darkvision (60 ft.), low-light vision (3 RP) Skill Bonus: Camouflage (swamps) (1 RP) Skill Bonus: Perception +2 bonus (2 RP) Other: Hold Breath (1 RP)

Total 17 RP

As brought up above, if you're not allowed the 17 RP, I'd remove the Perception +2 bonus and natural armor. That'll drop it to 13.

I haven't decided if I'll do another entry for Kraken Week and make something more sea/ocean based. It'll honestly depend on my health. That said, if someone comments regarding on what they'd like to see, I'll do my best to get it out there before the 7th.

As always, if you like what I do, whether it’s monster conversions, adventure path add-ons, or race builds, I have a Ko-Fi page (linked) for those who would like to support me monetarily, especially now that I'm racking up medical bills. There is no pressure or obligation to do so. A like and/or a share would also be appreciated just as much. It lets people know I exist out there.

I hope everyone is staying safe and healthy.

[standardquip]

Big "pond" Update

Previous update here.

Summary of last update: I had to disassemble my huge pond into 3 kiddie pools and 3 mixing bins to save the plants. That didn't stop wildlife from moving in.

---

My water lillies are in dire need of being split. So I bought a LARGE kiddie pool (that is also deeper), and a bunch of fabric pots, and I started trying to split my lillies last week.

The problem I noticed early was that I had waited so long to split my lillies that most of them were splitting into 3-4 plants (sometimes even 5 or 6) instead of 2.

Unsurprisingly, I ran out of fabric pots and I also had to run out and buy ANOTHER big kiddie pool to house all the extra lillies.

I'd only managed to empty 2 of the 3 mixing tubs so far. I still had the 3 small kiddie pools and that last mixing tub to deal with.

(the third kiddie pool is off-camera.)

Here's where I'm at with the 2 additional big kiddie pools: the top one is already completely full and the bottom one is about half full of lillies already.

I THINK I can fit the rest of the lillies (once they're split) into this large pool and then ONE of the smaller pools, but these large pools are only $18 at walmart so I may just buy a third one because....

Now I have fish [maybe].

Somehow.

I've only had a real, in-ground pond for like 4 years. But no, the fish show up this year. In a god damned kiddie pool.

It's been a while since I've seen frog tadpoles (the toad tadpoles took over years ago) but I don't know, guys. These look suspiciously very fish-like to me!!! What say you???

So I guess what I thought were frog eggs were actually fish eggs. How did they get there?? I have no freaking idea. And why now? IN A KIDDIE POOL. REALLY???? So if they manage to survive til Autumn, I guess I'll start an aquarium after all!

[edit: I'm now questioning myself. These could still be frog tadpoles!]

But wait, there's more!

I had a red slider turtle stop by last year in my big pond. Every year there's always a turtle that comes by, but they never stayed for long. Until last year. Last year, that turtle stayed ALL YEAR.

The turtle that passes through is very young. It's not that big. But today, a slider showed up that was adult-sized. I assume it's the same one from last year. It must be hella confused lol. I picked it up and moved it to one of the large kiddie pools. I didn't get a photo, sorry.

Who knows if it will stay, but hey, updates.

Additionally, I have these new things in most of the kiddie pools as well:

These little clusters of green/yellow things. They look a bit like mini corn on the cobs. I have never seen them before, but I'm pretty sure they're eggs of some kind. From what? I dunno. I'm not interested in looking it up currently. But if you recognize them, feel free to tell me in the comments/reblogs.

[edit: I caved and looked it up. They appear to be caterpillar poop! 😂 Probably dropped into the pools from the trees above them.]

I am surprised, amazed, and baffled by all of this happening this year. I don't know if this will force me to try to build the replacement pond earlier or not. I don't even know if my lillies will survive the winter in these flimsy plastic pools (though they probably will considering they've survived this long already).

(Will the POOLS survive the winter though? I guess that's another argument entirely) Anyway, The fabric pots are arriving next week, so we'll see if I can ever finish splitting these lillies and if all these eggs hatched by then.

[hewasanamericangirl]

your other secret santa is so right, your pfp goes so beautiful with your blog's vibe :)) also you're lucky to have two santas too

and I think my emoji is going to be 🌝

but especially I wanted to say MAN I LOVE ROY WOOD!!!!!! Please give me a few songs and your opinion/stories about them

because I only know ELO and the Move, so nothing about his solo work

~🌝

thank you <333

i enjoy make pfps and mild photo editing

ooo love that <3

yessss i think youre both really cool, even though weve only talked through anon like once

you both seem cool 💪💪

OKAY YES ROYYYYYYYYYYYY

okay okay so for solo works what first comes to mind his album Boulders

i love Boulders

Songs Of Praise is like a take on old folk songs and honestly he does so well with it, it’s very catchy

Wake Up is where there’s been a death but the other person can’t give them up, but every single time i listen to the song all i can imagine is it’s Toad and Frog and it makes me cry harder

Nancy Sing Me A Song is a part of a theme of songs by Roy i dub “Roy needs to find another girlfriend” there’s so many songs were Roy is pursuing a girl that’s just like, take a step back Roy hun, go find someone else

Dear Elaine is my HOMEGIRL MY LOVE MY LIFE THIS SONG OUGHHHHHHH theres a music video for it which i made gifs of the entire video, because that song, thats forlorn pride and prejudice -esque love right there, if it were the 18th century and my suitor came up playing that to me outside my window, id be riding off with him lets be real

All the way over the hill/ Irish loafer and his hen, both tales of a dad going “son no…no….she doesn’t like you youre a farmer cmon now”

Miss Clarke and the Computer, this is terrifying but if this song was written today it would be written in the genre of citypop, this man’s storytelling is always eerie, but i am here for it

When Gran’ma Plays The Banjo OKAY SO THERES A LOST TOTP EPISODE OF HIM PLAYING THIS AND I NEED IT BACK

THIS IS WHAT IT LOOKED LIKE, LOOK AT HIM

ALSO IN THAT SONG, HE VOICES EVERY SINGLE CHARACTER INCLUDING THE GRANDMA

The Rock Medley is like the irish loafer returns as a greaser and we fully support that, it gives eddy and the falcon vibes

which if you haven’t listened to eddy and the falcons album

you are missing outtttt

[gertlushgaming]

Super Mario RPG Review (Nintendo Switch OLED)

For this Super Mario RPG Review, Bowser’s up to his usual tricks – he’s kidnapped Princess Peach, so it’s Mario to the rescue! Yet, when Mario confronts him at Bowser’s Keep, an even bigger villain emerges – Exor the Giant Sword. He crashes down onto the keep, breaking the Star Road and causing a tremor so mighty, it sends everyone flying. Now, Mario must find Princess Peach, make new allies, and discover what big plans the Smithy Gang is concocting before it’s too late.

Super Mario RPG Review Pros:

- Beautiful graphics. - 6.4GB download. - Action RPG gameplay. - 3 save slots with a 4th autosave. - Tutorial pop-ups as you play. - Two difficulties - Easy and normal. - Earn exp and level up to choose one of three (health/strength/magic) stats to upgrade. - Big boss fights. - In-game cutscenes. - All of Mario's interactions with people are emotive. - Recruit new team members and all of them share FP and level up individually. - Earn and find coins to spend in shops. - Inventory system where you can equip new gear which affects the stats of that character. - The world map lets you fast-travel to any discovered area. - You can freely replay levels. - The Monster list acts like a bestiary and adds in encountered enemies. - The scrapbook acts like a mission list and recaps previous entries. - Music choice - modern and classic. - Default movement - walk or dash. - The how-to-play section acts like a text and images-based manual with controls overlay. - Items can be used in and out of combat and affect you like healing, reviving, giving FP, etc. - FP is a fancy word for magic and is used for special moves. - Gauge move is where you build it up over time and then activate it, Mario for example gets a random assist item from Toad like shields or health. - Combo chain attacks increase your attack strength but it goes after taking a hit. - Very accessible. - The game and the locations look really good. - Lightning-fast loading times. - You can freely move around and farm exp to level up. - You see the enemy on the map and they can engage you or you get the drop on them. - Turn-based combat. - Abilities and attacks have a mechanic where pressing a button at the right time causes bonus damage on top. - End of combat breakdown of any items earned, exp, and coins gained. - Chests can be found within the game world. - The whole game is presented in 3D on its own enclosure, think that Toad game where all level areas feel like a diorama. - Special enemies can appear in battle and are stronger but give more rewards. - Random items/rewards can appear in a battle like health or have another turn. - You can use abilities outside of battle. - Shops can be found to buy items and gear. - Puzzle elements. - Increase your FP with items. - Save points are littered around. - You see damage numbers. - Platforming sections appear in the game world. - Secret areas to find. - The attack mechanic works in defense as well. Time a button press when being attacked to take less damage. - Fun little min game-style sequences to earn bonus coins. - Frog coins are rarer coins but they can be spent at the Tadpole Pond for rarer items and gear. - Unwanted items and gear can be sold for coins. - Melody Lake lets you make your own tune. Super Mario RPG Review Cons: - No quick save and instead you have to find a save point. - The performance does dip in places and is more noticeable in docked mode. - Hides many features of the genre behind upgrades or abilities like being able to see the enemy health bars or getting a surprise attack etc. - Very text-heavy sections. - Your first party member is really weak and for a long time. -  Aiming your jumps can be tricky with the 3D. Related Post: Catan Console Edition Review (Nintendo Switch OLED) Super Mario RPG: Official website. Developer: Nintendo Publisher: Nintendo Store Links - Nintendo Read the full article

[13phantom13angel13]

Jokester

A/N: I got two requests for the same prompt and same people so this is for your both! Tbh, I’m not sure I did a good job with it. This was a hard prompt to write 😂 hence why it’s a little late. Anyways, I hope you guys enjoy!

Edit: Excuse me. It’s not for the same people! My dumb ass can’t read apparently 😭 I’ll write another one for the other prompt. My apologies!

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

Tim was getting annoyed. Jason was cracking jokes left and right. Dick found the jokes hilarious. Tim, not so much. In his opinion, they were lame and stupid. But, Dick also had a dumb sense of humor, so it made sense that he cackled at almost every single joke Jason cracked off. The most recent one had Dick on the floor holding his sides as he cracked up with tears in his eyes.

Jason grinned as he walked away, leaving Dick in a heap. Tim had left the room with rolling eyes when Jason told the last joke that took Dick down. He went into the library for some quiet away from his older brothers. Little did he know, Jason followed him in. Tim was sitting by the window reading a book, his legs tucked up against himself. Jason plopped down by his feet.

“You sure are in a sour mood today, Replacement.”

Tim sighed but kept reading his book.

“Go away, Jason. I came in here to read, not listen to your corny jokes.”

Jason let out a mock offended gasp.

“My jokes aren’t corny! How dare you!”

Tim’s eyes lifted from his book as he stared at Jason flatly. He raised a brow at him.

“I’m funny as hell and you know it!”

Tim scoffed at that.

“Sure. Keep telling yourself that,” Tim stated as his eyes drifted back down to his book.

Jason’s eye twitched at the absolute audacity. So he grabbed Tim’s book and tossed it aside.

“Hey!” Tim exclaimed as he watched his book his the floor. Jason grinned deviously.

“I bet you I can make you laugh. Easily.”

Tim glared at him.

“I bet you can’t.”

Jason’s grin grew as he grabbed Tim’s ankle and yanked it into his lap. Tim gasped and tried to pull his leg back.

“Jay, no! Don’t even think about it!”

“Too late for pleading!” Jason hooked Tim’s ankle in the crook of his elbow in a lock and wiggled his fingers against the sole of his foot. Tim yelped and fell backwards, trying to pull his foot away.

“T-This is cheheheheheating!” Tim struggled against Jason, trying his hardest to hold in his laughter. He clenched his teeth, his lips clamping shut as he held his breath. Jason chuckled.

“You can’t hold it in forever, Timmy. You’ll crack eventually.”

Tim shook his head, fighting desperately to keep the giggles at bay. He was losing the battle and quickly as Jason’s fingers crept up under his toes. He squirmed fiercely. That jerk knew his toes were a weak spot. Jason was fighting dirty.

Tim twisted sideways, trying to dislodge Jason; it wasn’t working. His cheeks were slowly turning pink.

“Hey, Tim. I got a joke for you,” Jason smirked at Tim’s begrudging groan as he continued to tickle his toes. Tim was on the verge of breaking and he could see it. “What kind of tea is hard to swallow?”

“I-I dohohon’t knohow!”

“Reality.”

Tim groaned as the giggles he had fought so hard to hold back finally came spilling out. Jason chuckled.

“I got another for you. Why did the frog take the bus to work today? Because his car got toad away!”

Tim giggled harder as Jason tickled the arch of his foot. He started to squirm more as he tickled up to the ball of his foot.

“Ooh! I got another one,” Jason smirked down at Tim as he slowly sank down in his seat. “Your mama so old, her chiropractor was a paleontologist,” As he said the last joke, he attacked Tim’s toes again. That was it. He was done.

Tim squealed loudly before bursting into hysterical laughter. He kicked at Jason with his free foot before that one was snatched up as well. Jason held his ankles tightly as he tickled the toes on both feet.

“Wow Tim. I’m either really funny, or you’re really ticklish,” Jason stated with a smirk.

Tim laughed hard, squirming with all his might as tears started to blur his vision. He squeezed his eyes tightly.

“YOHOHOHOHOU KNOHOHOHOHOW IM TIHIHIHIHIHICKLIHIHIHISH! NOW STAHAHAHAHAHAP!”

Jason laughed with him.

“Yeah. I know. Now admit I’m funny and I’ll stop!”

“NOHOHOHOHOHO!”

“Then suffer!”

Jason continued to assault Tim’s toes with a vengeance. Tim was losing his mind. If Jason didn’t stop soon, he was going to cry, pass out, or get the hiccups. Or maybe a combination of all three. Tim kicked, screamed, started throwing things at Jason, but nothing was making him stop. Tim was getting breathless and fast, so he knew he had to give in.

“OK!!! OHOHOHOHOK!!! YOHOHOHOHU’RE FUHUHUHUHNNY!! JAHAHAHAHY PLEHEHEHEHEHEHEASE!”

“Alright alright. I guess you’ve had enough,” Jason stated as he let go of his little brother. Tim fell on the floor gasping for some much needed oxygen. Jason stood up and ruffled his hair.

“Walk it off, Timmers. Laughing is good for you.”

Tim glared up at him and grabbed his ankles, tripping him as he tried to walk away. Jason yelped as he fell on the floor. Tim climbed on top of him, cracking his knuckles.

“If laughing is good for you, then I should help you with that too. Seeing as in you rarely laugh yourself!”

Jason’s eyes widened as he saw Tim’s hands zoom towards his hips.

“TIM NO!”

Tim paid his big brother back in full, plus interest.

[i-like-eyes]

3 and 9 for the ask game

3 - Aw man, well of my ideas that I have posted online technically Jack the donkey head person is one of my older ones. When I was little I came up with a real bad Star Fox joke that was like "well if the frog is named Slippy Toad than a donkey would be named Jack Ass hur hur". Later I thought of like, damn I'd be an ass if I was literally named Jack Ass too. I briefly thought up of this sort of disgruntled, petty character that feels like the world is out to get em with their bad luck and that's why they act the way they do. Fast forward to fighting game idea #93578, and the protag I had in mind fit this very basic outline I had for Jack. They were reworked from technically a Star Fox oc to a guy with an ass for a head.

Oldest ideas I can think of from like, middle school maybe even grade school was this chick that was just a Pinkie Pie gijinka and a fashion themed samurai.

Edit: There is a fuck ton of images I meant to add a break oops

9 - Depends. For sketching it's "practice#" for the csp file, and then each render is labelled alphabetically:

I used to do "practice#(#)" for numbering renders and this was obviously hard to read.

I do this for other sketch/warm up files as well (I draw so much Kirby it has it's own separate naming convention)

For finished artwork it's just whatever comes to mind lmao. I might number the vers or label them as wips.

Most of these were me joking to myself and honestly some of them I'm not sure what my mindset was have fun with these

[waybrights]

Hi!! Let’s pretend I don’t have hw to do and am totally not procrastinating it. Also no editing was done so sorry for any mistakes :)

Number 48 would like to think he is a smart bird. Granted, he couldn’t communicate with his riders or any of their kinds, but he could commune with nature. Something they had trouble doing. And it’s not like there was a total language barrier, sometimes they could feel each other’s emotions.

That’s how it felt with every rider.

Every scar he got, every wound, wasn’t just felt by him. Each one was felt by his rider too. As he gave sad chirps of pain, they tried coping and comforting him, in an emotional pain of their own.

Even so, being a part of the army did teach him not to let his feathers get ruffled so easily. Riders come and go, that’s just how it was. The luckiest ones got to retire, the lucky ones got injured and sometimes, he’s heard stories, the riders die.

He himself had many riders, but none really clicked with him. Sure they bonded but it wasn’t a real connection. They always moved on.

After so many, he didn’t want a permanent rider, he didn’t want to make some vows or promises to be together. It just ended in another sad chirp. 

Until she came along.

This gangly creature of stick like limbs, hair darker than coal, and practically vibrating with excitement, practically bounced to him.

It ran around him and petted his feathers. Even writing something down. It cooed at him and barred its teeth. All together it was a horrifying thing, and it never ever stopped coming.

Every day when the sun was setting this creature would come over and hang out. Sometimes making noise and sometimes just laying against him.

He didn’t mind, it learned long ago it never meant any harm. Just was….. curious.

And one day the creature appeared in armor, looking like an official soldier.

Ah.

He didn’t even need to see the saddle to know this was his new rider. He supposed it could’ve been worse.

The creature barred its teeth excitedly again and introduced itself, “Marcy.” A weird title he could never hope to pronounce. Number 48 figured a chirp would suffice.

And it did.

And over the next week he learned he had a name, he wasn’t number 48.

She called him Joe Sparrow.

And damn so what if it made him stand a little taller. None of the other riders made an attempt at naming him.

She might be the one.

And one night as Marcy chirped on and on about whatever she was looking at, Num- Joe Sparrow couldn’t help but swell with pride.

This rider was his baby bird. And he’d do anything to protect her.

It would be his first promise.

Over the next few months he swore new ones.

She needed a companion? He would be her friend.

She was lonely? He would rest by her.

She needed to travel? He’d take her anywhere.

She felt distressed and overwhelmed? He took her to the open skies.

She needed to read as they traveled? He will take her to their destination no problem.

She wanted him to stop flirting with a snail? Well, could she blame him? It was a very pretty snail. But he’ll stop. Only cause she asked so nicely though.

She jumps out a window unable to fly to save a small pink frog? He’ll catch them both.

And lecture her later as best he could.

He has made so many promises to this little gangly creature called Marcy, but this is the first….

This is the first he makes to himself about himself, as Joe Sparrow.

He will not mourn her.

A hand, so similar to his rider’s, is placed against his wing. It is a different gangly creature, the one with hair the color of the sun.

She looks sad, but determined. Joe stood a little taller as he looked at all the frogs, toads, newts and allies around.

This is the first promise he makes to her friends and comrades, and hopefully the last.

If she can not save herself.

He will go after her.

IBBY IM CRYING WHAT SHSHSBBS THIS IS SO GOOD!!!! JOE SPARROW MY BELOVED!!!!

also this line hit me like a tonne of bricks "this rider was his baby bird" THERE ARE TEARS!!!

[spacetime1969]

Okay, this is a day late so apologies for that but here it is. I hope you like it and for the record it wasn't edited :)

Maddie knew there was a problem the second that a giant bird came from the sky and only four riders were on it.

Especially, when one of them was a human.

And it wasn’t Anne or Marcy.

“What happened?”

“Where are the Plantars?”

Where is Anne?”

“Who are you?”

“Why are you here?”

The town folks’ questions went on and on until a newt in a very proper dress spoke up, “I am Lady Olivia. This,” she pointed at the newt beside her, “is General Yunan.” Said newt scoffed softly, it sounded hurt.

Maddie watched as Lady Olivia moved her attention to the human and toad, “I’m sure you remember Sasha and Grime.” The newt spared a glance to the bird, who looked incredibly sad, “This is Joe Sparrow.”

For a moment there was silence, everyone taking in the group’s ragged looks.

Then the frogs all started shouting questions.

Maddie herself stayed silent. It wasn’t hard to figure out something bad happened.

Her eyes followed Sasha leaving, Maddie would follow.

It wasn’t like she would be missing anything she couldn’t learn from the human.

Maddie followed Sasha.

The human stopped in front of a small cart.

It didn’t take a genius to know why, it was the one Marcy was staying in. At least, if the sign atop it was true.

Maddie slowly walked behind Sasha, clearing her throat so the human wouldn’t be startled.

Sasha still flinched.

“You know,” Maddie began, “she was my apprentice.”

Sasha’s eyes moved to the floor.

Maddie let out a small sigh, “So everyone is back in your world?”

She got no response.

The frog just stood patiently. It’s good Anne and Marcy got through they belong there, but what exactly caused the Plantars to go too? And why wasn’t Sasha with them? And why was the capital floating? And why did they look so defea—

“No.”

Maddie jolted back to reality, “No?”

Sasha shook her head.

Who didn’t go throu—

OOOH, Sasha probably thought Maddie meant her too.

Her mistake.

“Well, I meant other than yo—”

“Yes other than me,” Sasha cut her off, a bitter tone in her voice, “someone else didn’t go through.”

What’s that supposed to mean?

“Then where are the—”

“DEAD OKAY?” Sasha shouted.

Maddie took an involuntary step back.

“MARCY IS DEAD!!!! SHE WAS KILLED BY THE KING!!! EVERYONE ELSE GOT THROUGH, OKAY?”

The blonde human stormed off leaving Maddie standing in front of the cart alone.

This whole town treated her like some kind of freak.

And now, the only people that didn’t, were gone.

Anne was home.

The Plantars were trapped in another world.

And Marcy was…

Her apprentice was…

Maddie turned her attention to the castle in the sky.

Her eyes hardened at the sight.

She supposed, she could try a resurrection spell on her own.

And perhaps even try out being an anarchist.

Maddie:

This is amazing!

[thewatercolours]

King's Quest Ficlet: Salamanders and Diamonds

Finally delivering on my bribe to @gerbiloftriumph for drawing the fabulous illustration of Neese in rescuing attire. The prompt was Graham and his salamanders, and being forced to take part in a fairytale against his will. There was only one fairytale I could think of with salamanders in it... ;-) The thing grew to rather longer proportions than I'd planned, and maybe could stand some editing, but it's taken too long as it is.

---

“Seems to me if you were all starving down there, you could’ve just eaten the salamanders.”

“Not that type of story.”

“Oh come on, Grandpa! It was life or death, and you didn’t even think about it?”

“Some are poisonous. And not after the toads and diamonds incident, I didn’t.”

“Huh?”

“You never heard that fairy tale?”

“Um… the one with the girl who helps the old woman at the well, and gets cursed to have jewels and gold fall out of her mouth when she talks?”

“The master storytellers call that a reward.”

“If I couldn’t speak without drooling rocks all over the place, I’d call that a curse.”

“Fair point. But a lot better than what happened to the stepsister who wouldn't help, don’t you think?”

“I mean, if you have to have one or the other, you might as well drop frogs and lizards. It’d be gross for a few seconds, but after that you’ve got pets. And gross pets are the best kind.”

“On the other side of the coin, you’d be rich.”

“Yes. And I completely believe that you’d rather be rich than have a bunch of cute little friends, Grandpa.”

“I won’t ague with you there. They can be consoling company. But…”

“… But you called it the toads and diamonds “incident.” That sounds juicy.”

“Thank the shining stars, I’m not in a position to comment on whether it was, ahem, juicy. But on the understanding that I have a duty to forearm my granddaughter with knowledge in case she ever runs into to an old lady who needs help fetching water from a well, I’d better fill you in.”

---

A teal glow seeped between King Graham’s closed eyelashes and nudged him out of a shallow sleep. He didn’t need to look to fill in the blanks. Tiny, gummy toes slickered along his neck. Ear-popping trills screeched by his temple. He blinked his eyes open to roll them, only for a miniature, amphibious tongue to flick into the left one. “Gaggh!” he cried, springing half upright and batting at his face. The wall-mounted bed jiggled on its hinge at the suddenness. Perhaps twenty luminous salamanders bounced a few inches off the mattress, all shrieking together.

If they’d been slow before, now they swarmed him, as they did every waking cycle. Now that he was sitting up, they clambered up his shoulders and slid down the slick folds of his cloak like children coasting muddy hills. One nipped his ear toothlessly so it might scale his head and take up a post in the watchtower of his crown. Another burrowed into his cowl and hooked itself in the neck of his shirt. Graham smiled wearily, and pulled his cape around backwards, so that it blanketed him. He lowered himself again, cautious not to squish the salamanders. He squeezed his eyes closed again and gently bent one knee, then the other, into rising and falling mountains for the salamanders to toboggan. They liked that. They’d taken it upon themselves to rouse him after he’d started doing it a few days before, and Graham was pretty sure it was a settled contract at this point.

While his cellmates hummed, and slid, and made nooks and tents in his clothes, Graham’s body came awake to all the reminders of yesterday’s failures. The quicks of his nails ached, lodged too deep with dirt from digging out what he’d thought a lever near one of the abandoned cells. It had turned out to be a root. Wakening dizziness after yet another late night spent wandering the prison’s upper levels, revisiting the same cavern over and over, putting off sleep in fruitless hopes of finding some new elements to add to his hazy plan. Even the out-of-placeness of his big toe felt like a testimony of precious days slipping by while he blundered about. Back at the castle, the state of the king’s stockings was not a matter that came up, nor was it any indicator of the passage of time. But his toe had frayed a hole in the perpetually damp wool. What had he to show for nearly a week? A rank chunderblossom. Chopsticks without even a bowl of rice. The beginnings of a calloused toe as it rubbed against the rawness of his boot. While his friends died.

The last thought made him start. Ginger’s voice snorted in his imagination. “Buck up, twerp. You can stand. You’ve even got the stamina to run, now. Some of your pals are flat on their backs! And not because they’re having a pillow pity party, but because they literally can’t get up. Are you even a Cracker?”

The keeper would be coming with the drumstick soon. He had to get up so he wouldn’t miss his chance to collect it. Perhaps he should start dividing the meat into even portions so everyone could have a meagre meal every day – or would that be a mistake? Even his foolproof plans morphed into mistakes these days. If only he could find another shiny gold coin. It wouldn’t mean escape, but the relief would be nearly as great just now, if it meant he didn’t have to hear the death knell chime again. Just one more coin, just one.

The salamanders whined as he found his feet – if they’d been larger Graham felt certain they’d make to hold him down so they could keep their playground. They scrambled for riding places, one even successfully popping a belt pouch’s clasp to curl up inside. Graham sighed, but he’d long since given up on de-salamandering before venturing abroad as futile.

---

“Um… if this is supposed to convince me that diamonds are better than salamanders, it’s not working. Is this story seriously just about you lying in bed and getting ready for the day and getting climbed over?”

“I’m sorry, dear. When a memory comes back that vividly, it’s easy to tangle yourself up in it and forget that you eventually must come out. You know that old chestnut about the stars and the old people, eh?”

“No?”

“That when the stars first shone down on us all, what they loved most in us was the way we’d tell stories. And so they ordained that no twist or turn of a story should ever remain untold – whatever goes into our memories must at some point be repeated. And when you get old, you have such a lot of stories piled up that you can’t help it. You’ve got to tell them all before your time comes, whether you know that’s what you’re doing or not. Even the parts you hid away, or forgot, they start clamouring in your heart to be told, down to the last detail.”

“Oh. Um. What if…”

“Speak up, sweetheart. These old ears are stuffed with cotton these days.”

“What if someone didn’t finish telling their stories in time?”

“Gwendolyn, what kind of a face is that? Don’t you get anxious about it. That couldn’t happen. Didn’t I tell you it was ordained by the stars? And - Oh, oh I see. If your mind’s wandering where I think it might be, you can call it to heel right now. I’m not deluging you with stories is not because I’m near the end – I’m not - but because you are so near the beginning. Everyone else in the house has heard my best stories, and it’s a pleasure to have someone I can tell them to fresh. I’m nowhere near finished.”

“You sure?”

“Sure as Decree .05.”

“.05?”

“ ‘In event of true pressing need,(that is to say, if you’ve got a sieve for a memory when it comes to addendum numbering,)the king of Daventry may invoke this ordinance in place of an already legally established section of the code, so long as the intended ordinance can be stated accurately in full and verified within twelve hours.’ Used that one more than I cared to admit in the early days…. But we were talking about salamanders.”

“Can we skip to the part where you end up with one in your mouth?”

“Did I say that was where this story was going?”

“It’s kind of obvious.”

“Is it, now? Ha, such astuteness shouldn’t be allowed. Well, I guess a skip wouldn’t take much away from the story. Well, after I’d made my rounds, checking on everyone and scrounging up what food I could for them. I ended up on the prison’s top story. I was bound for the glowing garden. Muriel had mentioned something about edible flowers and weeds, and I planned to pick samples of every last one for her to examine, just in case. And I might have made it unhindered if one of my cellmates hadn’t lost his grip.”

---

Graham scrabbled over the ladder’s top rung and onto the brink. A cough from the napping goblin on the nearby ledge made him wheel. The goblin glanced up, but then snuggled its shoulders back into its stony bunk. Something shifted in Graham’s hair at the king’s sharp turn. A moment later, a weight was gone from his head, and the forgotten salamander in his crown went into terrified freefall a few inches away from the ladder. “THKREEEEP!”

Graham jolted forward, grabbed at empty air, and almost pitched over the edge himself. He gasped and caught his balance just in time.

The salamander thumped to the ground ten feet below. It shook its head from side to side like a dog shaking water from its fur, gave an unimpressed “PIP!” and scuttled into a crevice.

As Graham sighed with relief, he looked up to see the sleepy goblin jumping to its feet. it stood remarkably still but its twitching claws, leaning toward him and craning its neck, like a child rapt at an alley magician’s mysteries.

Graham wrung one hand round the other, suddenly nervous. Had this goblin out of all of them finally cottoned to the fact that it wasn’t in their best interest to let a captured king have the run of the prison just for the sake of rats and cobwebs? Would he be ordered back to the cell, locked in by day as well as night?

The goblin practically tiptoed up to him. For a moment it hesitated, then pulled him down to its level by the cowl, jabbing a bony finger at his lips.

Graham pried at the hand tangled in his cloak, and cried, “Wh-whoa! Unhand me!” but not forcefully enough to command any sway. A part of him was afraid to raise his voice lest a pack of reinforcements descend. As he struggled, two more disturbed salamanders evacuated cloak and dropped from his neck to the ground.

The goblin immediately released him, scooping one of the salamanders up before it could flee. It outright shook with joy, crowing and crooning while it turned the salamander about. Graham took advantage of the distraction to hurry through the enormous door into the theatre foyer, rounding the corner as quickly as possible on the “out of sight, out of mind” principle. If the goblin liked salamanders so much, why didn’t it just catch a few on the bottom level?

He reached the garden in no time at all. After a quick reshuffling of his pockets’ contents to make it more convenient to tuck away the enormous selection of plants he was about to collect, he cracked his knuckles, and set about the task. It would have been far easier with a knife or scissors, but at least he’d broken himself of chewing his nails a few years earlier.

He’d only gathered a handful, however, when his errand was cut short. A gurgle from behind made him turn his head, affording him three seconds to register a goblin atop a step ladder – the twenty minutes ago, he thought. A sturdy, pocketed apron hung about its waist, bulging with pincushions, scissors, and remnants of fabric. It tapped his head and unspooled a yellow weighted tape measure, the bottom of which thunked to the ground by his boot.

“What…?” Graham murmured.

Then the acrobatics began. Quicker than a Whisper, the tailor goblin caught hold of his cape and flipped over his cowl, pulling the measuring tape straight across Graham’s shoulders meantime. Then it firepoled down his arm, taking the length of it. It jostled all over him, up and down, prodding him to stand straighter, and pushing his chin about to get it out of the way as Graham’s eyes only just kept up with its progress. A long stream of gibberish followed, and Graham caught a glimpse through the flurry of another goblin scribbling furiously in a black book. It looked to him more like a toddler’s imitation of handwriting, or a very choppy outline for a seascape. With a final inky splatter, it gave a thumbs up.

Feet pattered from every direction.

If he hadn’t been looking down at the notetaker, Graham might have thrown up his arms before a flurry of colours plopped over him, obscuring his vision. He flailed, swimming in linen and gossamer and wool, and drooped under the weight despite his best efforts. The cloth smelt of cave must, and he sneezed mightily two or three times. Then he saw light again as at least a dozen goblins swarmed him. They rotated him this way and that, draping and tucking him into long swathes of mismatched fabrics, pins and threaded needles flying. They seemed to regard his own clothing as a handy base to which to attach things. Proceedings did half-halt momentarily when they found his stiff hide cuirass and bracers less cooperative in this regard, and a high-voiced goblin with nimble fingers set to unlacing the leather cords that held them in place, clicking its tongue disapprovingly the whole time. Any attempts on Graham’s part to prevent this only ended with more dusty material being thrown over his head, and nasty pinches and pokes till he cooperated.

After a rough twenty minutes the goblins set about the finishing touches of their costuming project. Graham found himself gussied up in the gaudiest, most piecemeal ballgown he’d ever seen. Six or seven trains spilled over the floor, one sparkling sleeve had no opening for his hand, and somewhere in the mix his cape had been wadded into a kind of bustle. The goblins stepped back to survey their work, some cheering, some awestruck. A stubby goblin climbed the stepladder. It carefully tied a bright yellow bow round Graham’s head, plumping it up lovingly over the king’s right eyebrow. It cooed and clasped its hands by its cheek.

A salamander that had ducked for cover down Graham’s collar during the clothing frenzy popped its head out again, and trilled. The goblins cheered manically, and four of them took him by the hand, leading him out of the garden gate and through a twisting corridor. Several pushed from behind, tripping over the trains periodically.

Graham didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. This was certainly a comedown from always figuring as the handsome prince in their little games.

They emerged in a room lit by the greatest outcropping of mushrooms Graham had ever seen. The mist of incandescent spores round it was truthfully one of the most beautiful sights he could remember, though he took care to hold his breath as they passed. In the centre of the cavern stood a hastily carpentered well, rather like the one in the woods near Daventry Town, if it were made of awkwardly crisscrossed boards held together by wonky nails and the roof were sagging on one side. Two costumed goblins were leaning dangerously against it. One had perched a grey yarn wig over the curlicue of its helmet. The other wore a baby pink party dress that looked more likely to have been stolen than scrapped together like his own. Unusually, this one had no helmet, and it clutched a bucket half full of water.

As soon as Graham and his excited escort entered the ring of light, the playacting goblins sprang up and seemed to assume character. Another fairytale, then. The pink goblin coyly offered the bucket to the wigged one, who took it and nattered happily. They turned expectantly toward Graham. The wigged one point at the well, then the bucket, and made praying hands.

Well, the sooner this was over, the better. Graham kicked his foot free of a jumble of taffeta and canvas, and leaned to pick up the bucket. Strangely, the goblins threw a tantrum. They growled and griped. One of them shambled the bucket out of his reach with its foot, and cuffed his ear. Did they want him to pick it up or not? He shrugged at the wigged goblin, but they had already moved on.

The pink goblin was reaching into its pocket, its orange eyes full of anticipation, and stuffing a handful of something into its mouth so that its cheeks bulged. It spat out a green stone with the abruptness of a cannon. The stone - jade? some kind of geode?- caught Graham off guard, and bounced off his stomach, which might have stung had it not been for the thick improvised bodice of his “gown.” The other goblins giggled as the pink one spun like a cyclone, expelling jewels and precious rocks of all colours. Graham even thought he saw a ring or two, and the pendant of necklace that looked suspiciously like the one Bramble kept in her sister’s memory.

Graham’s old friend the tailor, still with the measuring tape hanging about its neck, elbowed him the leg. Was he supposed to do something, or was the goblin trying to get him in on the joke? Graham shrugged again, realizing that he was finally at the point after all these days where he’d stopped wondering if it was all in a fact a fever dream. The tailor prodded him again, and when it got no response, it produced the salamander from goodness-knew-where, and held it up eagerly.

“Ah… thank you for… returning my salamander, I guess…” Graham said uncertainly.

Taking it. But this wouldn’t do either. The goblin stamped, pointed over and over at the expectorating goblin, who was still at it, and finally seemed to lose all patience. It seized the salamander back out of his hands, backed up for a running leap, and crammed a moist, wriggling, contaminated-vinegar-tasting salamander into Graham’s mouth.

---

“Eeeeughhh!”

“I seem to remember this was the part you wanted to skip to.”

“Of course! This is the most disgusting thing you’ve ever told me. Keep going.”

“There’s a trash basket over there if you need one.”

---

The worst thing, even than the slimy texture or the way it instantly made the roof of his mouth tingle like a rash, was that he could feel the salamander’s heart beating through its ribs. He’d felt his fair share of salamanders all over. But, but in his mouth! The creature was large enough that the goblin could only shove it halfway in. Graham’s seized it by the tail, threw it across the room (where is landed on a plushy mushroom) and plunged his head into the water bucket to wash his mouth out. He was shocked that he wasn’t ill then and there. Outside the bucket he could hear the ruckus of goblin applause, whistles, and presumable calls for an encore.

At last he came up, gasping, only having succeeded in spreading diluted salamander flavour to all the corners of his mouth it hadn’t reached before. Out of the corner of his eye he saw a crowd of crazed fans chasing down the frightened salamander in the fungus path. For a moment his indignation on the little thing’s behalf topped even his fear that he’d have to taste it again. Had it not escaped through a crack a moment later, he might had rushed to its defense – and probably tripped on his skirts and somersaulted into a laundry heap. As it was, he glanced over his shoulder, and saw the way back through the tunnel was clear.

Graham tore as much of his costume free as he could, pulling his bustle back into a cape in a couple of tugs, and turned on his heel. A golden shimmer caught his attention as he turned. There, amongst the slobbery mess of gems and jewelry, shone three coins on the floor. It practically knocked the breath out of him. No traps, no unreachable distance, no locks. He pounced and swept them into his cape, then ran as though the dragon of his past were at his heels.

Coins! Coins! Coins! Food for his friends. Tools to free them. Possibilities and hope. He couldn’t stop sticking his hand into his pocket as he ran, turning the little discs round and round.

When at last he stopped running, he was standing with his back to Mr. Fancycakes’ cell with no clear idea of quite how he had made his way down there. He was winded, and his ear still smarted from the goblin’s blow, but he had three coins to gloat over. Two faded ones with King Edward’s bearded profile etched into them. And one that glistened new as fresh paint, with his own boyish face on the one side, minted two weeks ago. The crown especially had been lovingly reproduced to the finest detail.

His hand stole, unwitting, to the real crown on his head. He nodded, to no one in particular. The dirt stilled prickled in his fingernails, his toe still rubbed miserably against his boot leather, and heaven knew what adventures his irritated mouth was about to embark on. But he had three shiny gold coins to show for today.

And he hadn’t even been up for an hour.

[sunny-deejee]

As requested. Warning, didn't edit :)

Anne would like to say she was ready for most things.

She’s taken on bugs, toads, bad friends, cannibals, and waaaaayyy more things that have tried to kill her.

Somehow she never imagined this would be the thing to do her in. Yet here she is, staring down at the card in her hand.

Take the whole deck or eat a slice of pineapple pizza.

They had just reshuffled the deck, it was practically the wHOLE PILE!!

“Why do you hate me?”

Anne’s question sparked laughter between Marcy, Sasha, Hop Pop, Polly and Sprig. The group were settling down the night before heading out to Newtopia tomorrow. Technically this card would be void, considering they were all trapped in Amphibia, but she knows they’ll hold her to it.

The tiny pink tadpole grinned wide, “Just thought it was a good card to play.”

Anne glared at her surrogate little sister. Then turned her gaze back to her cards, pursing her lips.

She had just two cards, TWO CARDS, AND they were BOTH plus fours.

If she ate the whole deck there would be no coming back, someone would surely take the win.

Anne glanced around the table.

Polly was still grinning with an evil glint in her eye, Sprig and Hop Pop looked amused, Sasha was smirking, and Marcy had the gleam only a plan could give.

Nope, it had to be done.

“I’ll take the pizza.”

Sasha and Marcy erupted laughter from her human friends, her frog family looked less amused.

“Aaaaw Anne,” Sprig began, “there isn’t even any pizza here!! And we won’t be around to see when you do eat it.”

The frog finished with a pout as Marcy grinned, “Don’t worry, we’ll hold her to it.”

Sasha nodded, “I’m looking forward to that.”

Anne glared.

“Whatever.” She mumbled, before putting down one of her cards, “Uno.” She grinned as the others groaned, serves them right. Marcy grumbled the loudest as she now had to eat four more.

They were being mean. She deserved the revenge, they all di—

Why was Sasha grinning?

The blonde placed down a reverse, “Go get her marbles.”

Oh no.

Marcy grinned, “Sorry Anne.”

***

Anne should’ve eaten the whole deck. If she was going to LOSE anyway she would’ve at least not had to eat a cursed pizza that shouldn’t have existed.

Sprig snickered, “Can’t believe Hop Pop won.”

The old frog nodded, “Yeah, I would've expected Marcy to win.”

“HEY!!” Polly pouted, “I could’ve won.”

Sasha rolled her eyes, “Sure beach ball.”

Anne playfully glared, “Be nice.” It was more of a request, Sasha had no venom behind her tone.

“Nah,” Marcy shrugged before wearing a cocky grin, “I was getting bored of winning every game.”

Anne can’t exactly say who shouted the loudest for a proper rematch, but she can’t remember a time where she was happier with everyone than these last few days.

She couldn’t wait til her parents were with them too.

***

Anne had sat at a table alone.

She was in a pizza parlor by herself, the Plantars and her parents were elsewhere.

She just needed a break from them for a moment that’s all.

Anne slowly pulled on the yellow hoodie, the air conditioning was pretty strong in the building and it was getting cold.

Marcy’s yellow hoodie was always good at getting her warm.

“Here’s your food need anything else?”

Anne shook her head, a small smile forced on, “Nope, I’m good. Thanks.”

The server just nodded and walked away.

Anne looked down at the slice.

One pineapple pizza as promised. Only, Sasha wasn’t around and neither was Marcy.

But a promise was a promise, even ones not explicitly said.

“Well, here it goes girls.”

It tasted just as disgusting as she remembered.

A tear ran down her cheek.

***

Anne still had yet to let go of Sasha’s and Marcy’s hands.

They were both here!!

They were okay!!

They were alive!!

Sure it's been two weeks since the battles and they saved the world, but she was never going to take them for granted again.

And yeah they still needed to work a couple more things out, but things were getting better.

“Hey Anne?”

Anne turned to Sasha, “Did you think I’d forget?”

“Forget what?”

Marcy grinned beside her, “You still need to eat that pizza slice!”

“What? No!” Anne pouted, “I already ate it!!”

Both her friends look confused.

“When you weren’t here.” Anne clarified, that’s just how it was.

“Nope.” Sasha grinned as Marcy laughed, “Doesn’t count we didn’t see.”

“WHAT?” Anne cried out as the pair began laughing.

In all honesty she would eat all the pineapple pizza there was just so they could come back every time.

Didn’t mean she wasn’t going to complain about it the whole time though.

poor anne, having to eat a pizza slice to not get a whole deck of cards in an uno game she didnt win