#HPS grow lights

[benchmarkbioponics]

Why Use Pot Saucers For Plants?

The main reason for using Pot Saucers For Plants is to protect wooden surfaces or tile floors from water damage. Plants aren't lightweight and they can cause damage when they drip on wooden tables, shelves, patios, porches or sandboxes. A planter saucer catches the water and allows it to drain out into the garden or living space, preventing wood damage and extending the life of tiles. They can also prevent the dirt that accompanies the water from getting on furniture or floors.

Whether your plants are in pots with holes in the bottom or you have a decorative cachepot (a decorative outer container that hides a smaller plain container with drainage holes that houses your plant), a saucer helps to prevent soil from being soaked up by the sand or pebbles on the bottom of the container. When the soil is completely soaked, it becomes difficult for the roots to absorb additional water and this can lead to root rot. The extra moisture that pools in a saucer can be a breeding ground for pests such as snails and ants that are attracted to moist soil.

If you have a planter without drainage, then it's necessary to remove any excess water that collects in the saucer within 30 minutes to an hour of your watering session. To do so, you can use a turkey baster or simply pick up the planter and drain it into the sink. Leaving the excess water in a pot can lead to soil that's too wet, which can suffocate plants.

[cannakingafrica]

Started from humble beginnings.

First tent - 1.5m x 1.5m , 5ft x 5ft.

[fantasticvencislava]

С изкуствено осветление за растения може да подпомогнете покълване на семена, оформяне на здрав разсад и развитие на силни растения.

Има различни лампи за отглеждане на растения и изборът ви ще зависи от целта – дали ви трябва лампа за растеж на растения, или и за други фази от развитието им.

Популярни фитолампи са:

● лед лампи за растения – със синия и червения си спектър стимулират растежа и цъфтежа;

● cfl лампи за растения – отличен избор за отглеждане на разсад и за всички етапи на развитие;

● натриеви лампи за растения – hps лампа от комбиниран тип с оранжево-червен и син спектър стимулира едновременно цъфтежа и растежа.

[hanasnx]

“ SHE JUST WENT TO HEAVEN AND BACK ” — clark kent.

MINORS DNI 18+ ᶻ 𝗓 𐰁 .ᐟ WARNINGS: fem reader ノ established relationship ノ sexual content: riding dick ノ playing dumb for a boy ノ some light humping ノ reader has kinda long hair ノ size difference.

you’re so desperate for clueless CLARK KENT’s attention that you play dumb and get him to mansplain his video game to you while you sit in his lap. he’s been busy lately and to get him to take the hint you wear one of your shortest skirts, invite yourself into the best seat in the house, and ask, “what’s this?” gesturing to his lit tv screen.

he explains it all, some boring lore he’s really into and the controls and the tricky part he’s stuck on right now.. and you resist the urge to roll your eyes at him. his pretty girl is sitting in his lap and he’s not even paying it any mind. but clark is paying it mind. he’s rambling bcos he’s nervous, and if you’d turn your head you’d see the pink dusting his cheeks. he can feel your bare thighs through his denim, and your floral shampoo fills his nose… he trails off mid sentence when he focuses too hard on the growing interest in his pants.

“i wanna play.” you say when you’ve had enough of his aimless babble, and without thinking it through, clark places the controller snugly in your palms, while his larger hands overlay yours.

“alright, so this button…” his thumb atop yours presses down in a click, and you see the avatar swipe air with his sword because of it. “is your attack move… and this—“ you’re not paying any attention to what he’s teaching you. instead, your brain conjures up evil memories of everything you’ve been missing. your eyes wander to the corner of his bed he’s sitting on, and you wish he’d fold you over on it like before. wrestle you down and pin you so he could flip your little skirt up and get to work. you’re tuning out his words while he’s playing the game over your hands which dampen with sweat, suddenly hot and bothered at the thought of him fucking you in this position… if only he were brave enough to unbuckle his pants.

your lips press together, your heart rate quickens, and clark’s ears perk up. thump thump… thump thump… thump thump…

he inhales sharply, right as the sting of what it feels like to be filled by him shoots up your core like lightning. you jump in place a little at the cruel trick your mind is playing on you, and the friction of your ass bumping against his halfie makes it twitch as it chubs up. the avatar’s HP lowers little by little as its enemies overwhelm it, but neither of you move.

“why didn’t you say anything?” clark’s breathless words come out husky and sultry as he chuffs them out of his teeth, lifting you up and down by your hips like you’re nothing more than a weight at the gym. your hands lay atop his, twisting your face as that cock buries itself right where you needed it, bullying that spongy spot in you sore from neglect. “i’ve been thinking about you, too…” he fills the silence, paired with the wet sounds of an eager pussy swallowing him up. he yanks you back, and you land on his chest still clothed, your hair bunches up on his shoulder while his lips find your ear. your hips now married with his, he rolls yours, screwing his dick into you like he’s rediscovering all your nooks n crannies.

one arm rounds you to secure you against him in a warm embrace, seeking out your clit between your spread legs, toying with it like taffy and it makes you whine.

“you didn’t have to act like you cared about my game,” he’s taunting you, right in your ear, ending it with a gentle nip of his teeth to your shell. the point of his canine sends a shock through you, and your legs straighten involuntarily. he keeps you where he wants you with overpowering strength, you can’t raise yourself when he’s got you in a vice. his thumb and index feel cruel against your bud, as if chastising you for trying to trick him.

“well, it worked, didn’t it?” you exhale, leisurely squirming against him desperate for some movement. there’s pride in your voice.

“this skirt worked.” he corrects. the skirt now bunched up around your waist about the same time he’d pushed his denim out of the way so he could free his cock and give you a new seat. “could hear your heartbeat, you were so obvious… c’mere.” he grants your wish for more, pushing you forward so he could gather your arms behind you. bent, your feet barely toe the ground while he uses your wrists to leverage you, tugging you back while he bounces you up with the force of his hips.

[monstersdownthepath]

Homebrew Horror: Beetle Knights

(art is of the Dung Beetle Knight, from Kingdom Death: Monster, from which this creature draws inspiration)

Also known in some circles as the Liegeon, Fauxladins, and most commonly Chevaliars, Beetle Knights are enormous insects which have, aided by magic-rich diets, evolved over countless years to fall into an incredibly strange niche in which they serve as guardians and allies to more intelligent creatures in order to hunt greater prey. That their human shape allows them to avoid scrutiny from true monster hunters is, itself, a benefit.

On their own, Beetle Knights are relatively dim creatures guided almost entirely by supernaturally potent instincts. They spend the majority of their lives wandering the world, following the roads and paths set by the races of man and elf from settlement to settlement as they slay and devour monsters and bandits they encounter, giving off the illusion of a reclusive, wandering knight keeping the roads safe. Their humanoid but elaborate appearance causes unquestioning townsfolk to mistake them for mercenaries, kingdom guards, and especially adventurers, which is their true goal; to be directed at a threat which requires a heavier hand than most civilians are capable of mustering, for it is these greater beasts on which the Beetle Knights prefer to feed.

Though fully capable of hunting down their own food in the wild, Beetle Knights have grown to enjoy the safety and comfort offered by living alongside humans, especially when it becomes time to reproduce. During breeding season, Beetle Knights require an enormous amount of food both for them and their young and thus must hunt greater prey with more magical energy within. To do so, the parents couple only briefly before going their separate ways and proceeding to infiltrate (or get accidentally brought into) existing adventuring groups as mysterious and stoic hirelings, secreting powerful mind-bending pheromones which cause these parties to behave more recklessly and require little prompting to go hunting dangerous prey. These pheromones also have an unusual effect on the mind of any nearby humanoid, causing them to rationalize or fully ignore their 'new hires' more inhuman traits, going so far as to interpret their chittering vocalizations (which already sound distressingly close to human speech) as motivating--if terse--speeches to drive them ever forward towards their goal. Most 'hosts' to a Beetle Knight rarely realize just what they've been traveling with the last few weeks until they part ways, the effects of the pheromones fade, and the adventuring party realizes that their 'hireling' didn't actually take any coin or gems in payment.

The only payment they require is food. Beetle Knights feed readily on almost anything they slay, using any lulls in adventuring to gorge themselves at every opportunity. Their inordinately powerful jaws can crush iron, to say nothing of bone, and their wandering habits leave them little room to be picky. They will even consume the equipment of their fallen foes and the iron alloys found in destroyed Constructs, ferrous metals recycled by their magic digestive system to reinforce their carapaces and mix with the resinous secretions they use to form their weapons and nests. Unattended magic items are consumed ravenously, the magic extracted from these items and used to fuel the growth of their young; their habit of eating overlooked loot is what normally brings them into conflict with their 'host' parties, which rarely ends well for the human adventurers.

Beetle Knights grow to be anywhere from 6 to 8 feet tall, and weigh around 300 pounds. Individual Knights can live upwards to 10 years, but most die much sooner through combat.

Beetle Knight CR 8 Neutral Medium Magical Beast Init +1 Senses: Darkvision 80ft, Scent, low-light vision, Perception +12 Aura: Pheromones (60ft, DC 19) ------ Defenses ------

AC: 24; touch 15; flat-footed 24 (+1 Dex, +10 natural, +4 deflection) HP: 100 (10d10+40) Fort +11 Ref +8 Will +6 Defensive Abilities: Ferocity, Chitin Plate; DR: 5/Magic and piercing; Immune: disease, poison, charms and compulsions. ------ Offense ------ Speed: 30ft, climb 20ft, fly 20ft (poor) Melee: +1 Resin Longsword +16/+11 (1d8+6/19-20), bite +15 (1d8+5), slam +10 (1d6+2); OR bite +15 (1d8+5), two slams +15 (1d6+5 plus grab) Special Attacks: Crushing Jaws, Pounce, Rend (2 slams, 1d6+7) ----- Statistics ----- Str 20, Dex 13, Con 18, Int 3, Wis 16, Cha 6 Base Atk +10; CMB +15 (+19 when Repositioning or Disarming); CMD 26 (30 vs Reposition and Disarming) Feats: Dirty Fighting, Improved Disarm, Improved Reposition, Greater Disarm, Greater Reposition Skills: Climb +17, Disguise +4, Fly +12, Perception +13; Racial Modifiers: +10 to Disguise checks to appear as a humanoid knight Languages: Common plus one local language (cannot speak). SQ: Resin Equipment, Pheromones ------ Ecology ------ Environment: Any temperate land Organization: Single, pair, or adventuring party (1~2 plus 3~4 travelers between 1st and 10th level) Treasure: Standard (+1 Longsword, magic and mundane items kept as a snack, monster parts, other treasure)

------

Combat: Beetle Knights fight with a startling amount of tactical knowhow. If fighting alongside a party, they attempt to maneuver opponents to allow any allies present to flank and move enemies into the line of fire of allies with reposition maneuvers. They will also work to prevent enemies from drawing too close to more fragile allies, and disarm enemies with dangerous weapons. If alone, it will attempt to disarm enemies whose weapons pierce its DR first, then focus on one enemy at a time until each are dead or have fled.

Morale: When part of a party, Beetle Knights fight fiercely and without fear of death, instinctually assured that their allies will at least attempt to keep them alive (whether or not this is truly the case). If alone, Beetle Knights flee when brought below 30 HP. In either case, the Knights will play dead at 0 HP or below and drag themselves to a safe location to recover.

------ Special Abilities ------

Chitin Plate (Ex/Su): The extremely tough shell of a Beetle Knight is woven with iron and hardened by consumed magical power. It is part of its body and thus does not impede its movement and cannot be sundered or broken. If it is struck with a targeted Dispel Magic (dispel check DC 21) or enters an Antimagic Field or similar, it loses its deflection bonus to its AC and its Damage Reduction for 1d4+1 rounds (or until it leaves the Antimagic Field).

Crushing Mandibles (Ex): A Beetle Knight's complex jaws can rip apart almost anything. Its bite attack is always treated as a primary natural attack, and ignores the first 5 points of hardness and/or Damage Reduction of any object or creature it encounters.

Pheromones (Su): A Beetle Knight produces a subtle mist of magical pheromones that it fans in every direction with subtle movement of its wings. Creatures breathing in these pheromones must make a DC 19 Fortitude save; those who fail see the Knight as a human (or whatever humanoid creature is most common to this area), parse its vocalizations as intelligible speech relevant to the current situation, and rationalize or ignore any strange behavior or blatantly inhuman actions it takes. It does not need to make Disguise checks to hide its nature against creatures under the effects of its pheromones. These effects last for 24 hours, unless a creature (typically its adventuring party) has spent a continuous 24 hours around the beetle, at which point the pheromones do not leave their system until one week has passed. A creatures who succeed their saving throw against the pheromones must make a new save each minute they spend in the aura.

Resin Equipment (Ex/Su): A Beetle Knight can weave digested magic and metal into its own resinous secretions, creating weaponry. With 2 hours of work, the Knight can create a resinous version of any simple melee weapon. With 6 hours of work, it can instead create a longsword or greatsword. The Knights prefer one-handed weapons, allowing them to deliver secondary slam attacks, and they are considered proficient with any resin weapon they make.

Any weapon created by a Beetle Knight is treated as a steel version of that weapon with a +1 enchantment bonus. Unless magically compelled to do so, they will only ever make weapons for themselves, and will consume damaged or broken ones to remake them. Beetles tend to only have enough resin to make three weapons a week.

------

Champion Beetles are Knights who, by consuming large quantities of magical foods from prosperous host parties and having been resurrected via magic at least once, undergo a second metamorphosis which takes a two weeks to finish, emerging from a gilded cocoon as a golden warrior with greater abilities than their common kin. Champion Beetles gain between 4 and 6 additional racial Hit Dice and typically favor taking feats which allow them greater proficiency with more combat maneuvers, usually Dirty Trick, Trip, or Sunder. In addition, they gain the following abilities:

Resistance 10 to one element, Resistance 5 to two other elements, typically the most common forms of elemental damage they've encountered on their journeys.

Increased DR from 5 to 10/Magic and Piercing.

+2 to their natural AC and +2 to their deflection bonus.

Their Resin Weapons gain an additional +1 enhancement bonus.

Increase each of their mental ability scores by 2.

Fast Healing 1.

Champion Beetles can live upwards to 40 years. There is a 10% chance that the larvae of Champion Beetles hatch with the Advanced simple template and 1d3 of the above abilities selected at random.

[darklinaforever]

So… The first two episodes of Percy Jackson are awesome !!!

On the other hand, it kills me, because there are already criticisms coming in and people are complaining that we are revealing the identity of Percy's father too quickly, when that is not at all the goal of the story.

That Percy killed the minotore very easily, even though it is precisely supposed to be a testimony to his great power as a demigod, especially one of the big three.

How childish it is, even though the protagonists are actually 12 years old. Like HP in the end, the story grows at the same time as the protagonists, that's… normally the goal when you follow young characters who grow over the course of the story ?

Then also, that it reflects the usual mythological clichés with Hades as a lightning thief… Lol, these people are not ready.

I feel like they can't wait until they have the overall story to judge. As if you were watching Harry Potter and directly expecting the atmosphere of the 5th books and its sequels ? This is completely stupid.

Especially when it comes to the madness with the father, that was never the main plot. Have these people even seen the trailer ? I already see critics saying that it's the Harry Potter of the poor and Harry Potter among the scoots…

Which is cheeky because, sorry, but Percy Jackson is a much better literary saga than Harry Potter in my opinion…

The number of people I've seen say that it was flat and very clearly predictable… Well, given everything that happens in 5 volumes, hats off for having managed to guess what's happening throughout the whole saga ! No, but more seriously, I'm sure that what's in their minds is light years away from everything this saga does over its 5 volumes.

[txtmetonight]

For Him ✆

call summary ⋆ ★ Chan is quite puzzling. But you're determined to break his walls.

pairing *. * Bang Chan x Fem! Reader

genre⋆ ★ Fluff, Harry Potter AU

warnings *. Crude language (just one word lol)

call duration⋆ ★ 1.4k

a/n*. * I'm back in my hp phases lol and while I'm doing that, I'm pushing my chan wolf agenda yay

You suppose you’ve always known about Chan’s mysterious life. And then again, you suppose you always loved him since you were eleven, just as you placed your eyes on him onto the Hogwarts Express. But he is a tricky person to figure out and someone who doesn’t want to be broken down into pieces and given to another to be investigated upon.

Yet he still lets you do so in the very manner as you sit next to him with a full glory on your lips.

You used to wonder why you were the only one that he would let get close, but now as you stare at him with big eyes that hold much adoration, you’ve come to realize how grateful you are.

Chan is puzzling but god he’s a sweetheart when it comes down to it, always a gentleman and always with gentle love beating in his heart for anyone and everyone. Though he reckons that his organ is a little more honeyed for you though, not that he would ever admit it.

For he lives in the shadows of his past and present, and through a fear that he believes in will conjure into reality. And so, he hides a part of himself from you. You despise it very much from the bottom of your heart. You really do. You want to be his but he’s holding himself back and it leaves a bitter taste on your tongue.

The first time you chipped away a little deeper than he wanted to show, was when you were fed up with the white lies that slipped through his teeth.

When he excused his absences for something so abnormal you thought he was mental almost. Every once a month he left you alone with your thoughts over something so trivial or something extreme–just an explanation that made your head spin. So, you had the bright idea to follow him.

Everyone knows of the curfew set in place every night, yet he seemed to have a justification for doing so…why?

Your footsteps were quiet when against the floor and you held your breath, hiding amongst the dark and following the footsteps in the moonlight that shone brightly. It was a full moon.

You’ve known the castle like it was the back of your hand, 3 years since coming and the footsteps you’ve marked were etched in the back of your mind. And you very quickly realized where Chan was going–to the whomping willow. Your lips shivered to cry out to him, to ask him what he was doing but you clap your hands over your mouth when he starts to violently shake against the wind. He collapses. And the clouds reveal the luminous light in the sky.

Before your eyes, his hair shrinks back into his skull, and his body changes. You both see the same things, yet he feels it with pure disgust and embarrassment when his bones grow and rip underneath his skin.

But your perception is different because when he looks into the reflection of the deepest lake and sees a monster staring back at him, you see Chan. Not just a werewolf, but Chan, your lover. And you know that for sure when your nerves tingle with endearment as you stare at him in awe. He’s quite magnificent, you can note when he turns back to escape into the woods.

The second time you cracked it even more was 2 years later when O.W.L’s took over your brain, alongside Chan. Every single night, since that fateful day, you’ve found yourself stalking over the gardens to watch him on the full moon.

But you don’t dare to tell him that; you want him to feel like he has the right to tell you when he has gotten over his fear. Then so, you’ve trained yourself to go blind-eyed every moment except for that night. You suppose you could be selfish.

Chan is lonely. He carries a deep burden in his heart, and it aches to be released, not on its own but in the hands of another where they can sing a lullaby to soothe the pain. And you knew that it was going to be in front of you, but it left a sense of a hole in your heart when you saw him cry. You still sing to him, though.

“Hey Channie, what’s wrong?” You ask, wiping away the peals that streak down his cheeks. His face is flushed red, and he sniffles miserably. He doesn’t say anything, so you move in a little closer to place your hand over his heart, lips just ghosting over fingers at where it lies.

“I feel like, there’s something wrong with me.”

You look up to look at him, but he’s already staring at you with deep fondness in your eyes, you think that you’re going to tear up too. But you don’t. You question instead. “And why is that pretty boy?”

“Oh, I wish you would stop calling me that” He weakly chuckles. “But…I dunno why. I just–just know that there is something wrong with me. Like definite, for sure. And I hate it. It hurts, I suppose. I think it’s puncturing my brain.”

Chan sobs the last word before you grab his jaw and pull him, so your forehead gently tapped against his. Both pairs of eyes close and you realize how much your love runs deep for him. Again, where he feels nothing is where you’re encased in everything for him. For him.

The 3rd time is now, just after a year. You think. You hope his stone wall will shatter soon to let you in.

When the night is young, and the moon rises, you watch with curious intent as Chan drinks out of a gauntlet and shivers with grimace before the potion's professor with great urgency pushes him towards the hills that envelop around the school.

You follow him and it brings you great Deja vu that wraps around your stomach. Yet this time, rather than just breaking the mere school rules, you’re breaking the law by becoming an unregistered Animagus. Perhaps you’re a dunderhead, but you can’t find it in yourself to care. You want to keep him company.

When the willow ceases its chaos, you slip past the hole near the trunk. Howls and whimpers echo but you don’t pay any attention. The shrieking shack is known for its ghostly activities but not for the true trauma that happens within the wooden boards. How Chan is in great pain because he is in love with someone whom he can’t have. Just because of himself and who he truly is; a bloodthirsty creature.

Yet he’s truly Chan when you strut your way into the broken-down living room, It’s truly Chan when he doesn’t attack you, and he growls against the moonlight. And it truly Chan when nudges you with his nose for a sense of doting that he craves.

You give it to him and lie on the floor, where he joins you. Your ear is near his pulse, and you feel it thrum alive against you, beating harder and harder. The thick wall is about to crumble, you reckon.

When it comes time for dawn to rise, Chan is Chan again, so you painfully twist back into who you are. Where the hardwood floor lies, instead is your boy, who scoops you on top of him. His eyes are glistening with tears and his lips quiver. Your fingers begin to tangle themselves into curls, placing a soft kiss on his forehead. Neither of you have tried to get up yet.

“How long have you known?”

“Since 3rd year. You’re very handsome has anyone told you that?”

He turns pink but shakes his head no. You kiss him once more.

“Turning into an animagus…why would you do that for me. Go through all the trouble. You don’t have to.” He speaks. He starts to cry now.

As for his question, you decide that you don’t have anything else to offer but the truth. “I love you, Channie.”

He scoffs, “Am I not a monster? I could tear you…you apart if I got too out of control. I’m sick in the head and outside of it, do you not understand? You deserve better.”

You tug at his hair which results in a wince, but you move up closer to his lips, just where they hover above them. His breathing stills and he thinks that you’re a complete stunner in his eyes. You think the same if not more.

“And who is to say that except for myself. You’re not a monster, you’re just Chan who can’t eat spicy food. And I’m (Y/n) who’s been in love with you since the very fucking beginning.”

And then you kiss him hard, expressing unsaid emotions into that kiss, starting to tear up when he reciprocates, his fingers gripping your waist making you feel dizzy. When you two pull apart, Chan chuckles as he wipes away a stray tear.

“You’re so beautiful it hurts me. I love you too.”

You’ve completely broken in.

[deathmetalunicorn1]

could i get a jack the ripper x male reader who is harry Houdini?((y/n knows jack isn't the real ripper))y/n/Houdini is the opposite of jack being very hyper & excited about anything & loves showing his tricks to jack who would sometimes almost have a heart attack about his extreme escape act, especially his Milk Can Escape acts oh the dried he felt.....but like in Valhalla they met & soon became a lovey dovey couple living there life in peace,until Ragnarok came..y/n would watch jacks fight with worry but in the end had happy tears seeing jack win..but was displeased seeing humanity in the end still hating him even after risking his life so they have a better chance in surviving!harry/y/n would stay by jack's side as he gets patched up,& y/n quickly became bestfriends with hlökk,

((y/n seemed to also be friends with a curtain horror writer...*cough* hp Lovecraft *cough*))

while this was happening Brunhilde found out the gods was planing to have a surprise round to throw her off but thankfully she found out before they could surprise her, when Brunhilde found out that the god picked would be a god of tricks & illusions[not loki] she immediately knew who to go...y/n aka harry Houdini!

she had to ask y/n in private because she knew jack would NOT let y/n enter not even a second thought about it, y/n would agree wanting to help humanity...y/n/Harry's weapon would be handcuffs that can summon any trap or confinement like chains,rope(both can be stretch infinitely), cuff's,cages, straightjackets & even an iron maiden,as well as traping his opponent in a large body of water

so imagine Jack's supprise when he saw you walking out of those gates ready to fight...when you said, you whare just going to get the tea😔

y/n would fight to his limits even unlocking a new ability,the ability is that y/n could now see through any tricks or illusions & know his opponents next move & skill set...his left eye would turn purple & Glow a faint light when he uses it((although it drains his energy rapidly))

in the end y/n aka harry Houdini would win...taking a bow as if he just got done with a another Escape act, before going backstage,in which he would be a greeted with a very unhappy, upset & nervous jack who was worried to god about him....

-Tears filled your eyes, seeing how cruelly your lover was being treated, willing to put his own life on the line to protect humanity, only to be treated like a monster.

-None of these cowards who were Jack so poorly were willing to put their lives on the line for humanity- they weren’t willing to fight!

-You had rushed backstage to the infirmary and all but collapsed into your lover’s arms, sobbing into his shoulder, as you had been so worried that you were going to lose him. Jack just smiled, holding the back of your head with his now clean hand, holding you close, letting you cry.

-Hlokk wasn’t surprised to see you there when she arrived to see how he was doing, once she was cleaned up, as she knew how much Jack loved you and vice versa.

-Jack couldn’t help but smile, seeing you and Hlokk getting along so well as the two of you instantly connected, especially when she realized who you were and you couldn’t help but show off, putting on a show for both of them, showing off your greatest tricks.

-You were so beautiful when you were like this, when you were happy- it was the color that Jack loved the most on you and always wanted to see it on you.

-As the matches went on, gods and humans exchanging victories, the gods were growing worried that they were going to lose, and they began to plot.

-Brunnhilde could sense the brewing storm, and she knew that something was up, with Zeus being so quiet. It’s a good thing that she has an inside person in the gods, one that was willing to help her and gave her the message that the gods were desperate enough to try to pull a fast one, as they didn’t want to risk losing this tournament- they couldn’t risk it!

-They were planning to have one more match with a trickster god, one who was skilled in tricks and illusions, even more so than Loki, as they believed there was no human that would be able to win against him.

-Armed with this knowledge, Brunnhilde was prepared, coming to you in the disguise of checking on Jack and Hlokk, who had forgiven her sister because she knew what had to be done, and that this Jack was the real Jack the Ripper- he killed murderers and left innocents alone.

-As she left, she glanced at you over her shoulder, giving you a look that she wanted to talk to you privately and you gave Jack a smile and went after Brunnhilde.

-She told you what the gods were planning, and she wanted you to fight. You knew that Jack wouldn’t agree to it- he probably would tie you up, if that would do anything against you, to keep you from putting yourself at risk.

-You agreed to fight but you had to be cautious, not wanting to upset Jack, which she agreed to and told you when to meet up with her to fight.

-You returned to Jack with a smile on your face as Hlokk was curious as to what the two of you spoke about, you just grinned, “Brunnhilde cares in her own way- she just wanted to know how you both were doing but felt shy on asking you herself.”

-Hlokk thought it was cute while Jack could tell that you were lying to him, but said nothing, as he knew that he could trust you.

-When it came time for you to fight, everyone was stunned when the gods announced there would be one more fight, Hlokk was yelling, saying it wasn’t far while you had a hand over your mouth in shock.

-You stood with a deep inhale, “I think we are going to need more tea for this.” Jack didn’t turn to you, nodding and you went to get it, giving Jack a peck on his forehead, your usually thing for when you leave his side.

-Your opponent went out first, cackling loudly at the booing humans, who were furious at this underhanded deed, and many of the gods, including several of those who fought, were booing as well- finding it dishonorable, worrying Zeus a bit that he shouldn’t have done this.

-A cloud of smoke appeared in the arena, shrouding the final human fighter in a cloud of mystery as Heimdall was hyping you up- as he wanted the humans to win- seeing the heart that they had.

-Heimdall pointed at the figure that appeared in the smoke, “The one- the only- Y/N!!!”

-The crowds roared with cheers as you beamed, spinning a pair of handcuffs around your finger, your Volundr item as you beamed brightly, waving around like you were about to perform.

-Jack’s eyelid twitched lightly as he ground his teeth together, you were supposed to be getting tea!! You were going to get an earful after this!!

-Your opponent was cocky, thinking he was going to easily win against you, but you were not to be underestimated. He charged for you, and you easily side-stepped him, swinging the handcuffs and in an instant your opponent was wrapped in chains, including his ankles and wrists being bound and he fell to the ground with a shout of surprise.

-Everyone froze, seeing this and you couldn’t help but grin, turning to him, “Let’s see you escape this!” the crowds were roaring as the trickster managed to easily escape, surprising you with his skills as he tried to do the same, chaining you up and stringing you upside down.

-He turned to the crowd with a grin, “Are you all entertained by this?!” the crowds were wide eyed, staring at something behind him and he turned as you dropped the last shackle, “That was a good try! What else you got?!”

-The match was back and forth, not so much with fighting and beating each other bloody, but trying to trap each other in elaborate ways to keep each other locked up to be able to land the final blow.

-It was entertaining, watching the two of you fighting, seeing you both escaping, but your opponent was getting pissed- finding you irritating- nobody was as good as he was!!

-When he actually attacked you, bloodying you up a bit, and you swore you could hear Jack screaming out your name as you were slightly dazed.

-You rolled, dodging another blow as you quickly got to your feet as you held the handcuffs and you smirked, “It seems like I should get serious too.” He glared as you charged, but when you ducked at the last second, dodging his blow, appearing behind him, he shouted in surprise as you grabbed him with your weapon and you smirked, “It’s time for the greatest trick the world has ever seen!!”

-The handcuffs lit up with a bright light before your opponent was wrapped in chains, then encased in an iron maiden, wrapped in more chains then suspended over a pool of water filled with piranhas before being lowered down into the water.

-The crowd was stunned as your hands came to your hips, a grin on your face as you saw the iron maiden moving as he struggled to get free. If he managed to get free of the chains, he was still trapped in the iron maiden, which was slowly filling with water, the spikes stabbing into him, making blood seep into the water, sending the piranhas into a frenzy.

-After a few moments everything went still and your greatest trick faded away, your opponent crumbling away as he perished, leaving you the winner which made the arena explode into cheers.

-You smiled, bowing to the crowd as if it were a show as you headed backstage, feeling a bit lightheaded from your wounds.

-“Y/N!!” you looked up, seeing both Hlokk and Jack running towards you and you did feel a bit nervous, as Jack looked mad, but he surprised you by leaping into your arms, his arms around your neck as he sagged into you, “You’re okay!”

-You smiled, hugging him like how he hugged you after his match, holding him close as he sighed, pulling back as he cupped your cheek, creating a tender moment before his other hand came up, cupping your other cheek before he grabbed your cheeks between his thumb and index finger, pinching and pulling your cheeks, “You reckless! Idiotic!! FOOL! Do you know how worried I was?!”

-You whined as he punished you, begging him for mercy but you knew that you deserved this for deceiving him as he released your cheeks, taking your hand to lead you to the infirmary while still scolding you.

-He was so cute- but you knew that he cared.

[catboybiologist]

Y'all ready for a certified neurodivergent moment?

I had to sit through a thing I absolutely did not need any info from, and typed up a massive outline of the soulsborne pokemon game I just talked about. Massively cringe, yes, but hey it's not just living in my head anymore.

I've had this idea brewing in my head for a while now, pretty much ever since PLA came out (and I found it kinda disappointing tbh). Even though Hoenn has lots of love, it still feels like the most "grand" region in terms of the scale and themes of its lore, so I liked the idea of using it for a legends game that focused on the initial clash of Kyogre and Groudon. I had so many ideas brew in my head, and I guess now I sloppily typed them out.

Obviously this isn't actual game design. This is just me being cringey and detailing my dream pokemon game. At 26 years old. Anyways.

Pokemon Legends: Jirachi

In the times when Hoenn was young, the earth and seas shook. Titans roam the land- powerful individual pokemon that shape their environment to their liking. Humans and pokemon work together to keep them under control, but the earth and sea themselves shake, and Titans only grow more numerous. One day, a human wishes on a shooting star to become a hero and save their land, and something from up there answered.

In this game, Jirachi would be a kind of invisible "questmaster", giving an in-game reason for path markers, quest markers, and points of interest marked in stardust and sparkles. Once the main plot is completed, Jirachi would be able to join your party.

Core combat

The gameplay would be souls-like or Monster Hunter like, but with direct parallels to mainline pokemon mechanics. The six stats would be the same, and the four moves your pokemon can learn would be equivalent to the attack interface of a soulslike game- four trigger buttons. You would take direct control of one "primary" pokemon at a time, and use it as a souls-like character.

HP, Def, and SpDef would be largely the same, with the added benefit that less damage taken means more resistance to trips and staggers.

Atk and SpAtk are also pretty clear cut, scales your damage output per move.

Speed would be analogous to stamina or endurance. Dodging would work as in soulsborne games, and consume stamina. Most pokemon walking, running, attack speed, and dodging speed would be largely equivalent, but high speed pokemon would be able to sustain rapidfire attacking, frequent dodging, and continuous sprinting for longer.

Accuracy would be reworked into lock-on or charge up time- eg, a low accuracy move requires you to stay in one place for a longer amount of time before releasing, to charge up or lock on (imagine how swag ass this would look with focus blast).

PP would correspond to cooldown time. Each move would be infinite use, but have a cool-down after its used. So a move with high accuracy, but low PP, could be used instantly, but not spammed. High PP, weaker moves would then see an increased niche as a "default" light attack that can be spammed.

Attacks could also be ranged, up close, AoE, and have other features that would need to be tweaked and balanced in implementation. They wouldn't one to one map onto their in game counterparts, but this would at least provide a vague guide for how these moves work that builds on players assumed existing knowledge of pokemon games.

Special attributes, like never-miss moves and priority moves, would have features that play into this- eg, priority moves could be spammed with no cooldown, and never-miss moves would be immune to inhibiting effects.

Stat changes could be temporary effects applied to yourself when using the move, like a buffing spell in soulsborne games.

Nonvolatile status effects (paralysis, burn, sleep, etc) would work similar to monster hunter- invisibly accumulating triggers that occur as a side effect to to moves, or in the case of moves that directly trigger status like Spore or Thunder Wave, they would not do direct damage, but instead add massive amounts to the accumulated status trigger.

Field effects (weather, terrain, and special effects like wind, gravity, etc) could be set by regular pokemon moves in small areas, but would also be frequently encountered in the overworld.

Examples: the vibes of potential starter pokemon.

This is all just for the purpose of giving examples of how I envision some of this stuff working. Assume each pokemon would have regional variants that scaled their stats appropriately. This is just to show how different playstyles from the mainline games would translate to this format.

Lucario: example mixed offensive pokemon

Moves like aura sphere could be used with no lock on time, and little to no cooldown, forming the basis of a normal, light, ranged attack.

Moves like Close Combat would have no lock on, but give a temporary debuff and have a long cooldown time before they could be initiated again, making for a quick to use but infrequent heavy attack.

Swords dance and/or nasty plot could be used to provide a temporary buff for a period of time.

Focus blast would take a long time to charge and lock on, making you a sitting duck.

Reuniclus: example tanky pokemon

Light Screen and Barrier could lay down static areas on the ground. When an ally pokemon is located within them, they provide their corresponding defensive buffs. Cooldown for reusing them starts when these floor areas disappear.

Recover could be used to heal, but would have a long cooldown.

Liepard: example technical pokemon

Yawn would inflict direct sleep "buildup", but over time as opposed to instantly.

Fake out would instantly proc a stagger from the enemy, but could only be used in a certain time range upon being sent out.

Moves like taunt and torment function as usual.

The trainer and overworld traversal

Even though the player has direct control over pokemon, the MC is still a trainer, and pokemon are still capture in balls.

The trainer would be on the sidelines, with idle animations ordering the pokemon to do stuff.

Only one "controllable" pokemon could be outside of a pokeball at a time, or all of them could be stowed in pokeballs to directly control the trainer. The trainer can interact with NPCs, gather items, etc.

The trainer would also order "helper" pokemon. One or two "helpers" could be added independent of the party that would follow the trainer around constantly. Each pokemon has a list of field "helper" abilities they're capable of doing, independent of what moves they know. By targeting something that a helper pokemon can interact with in the world, the trainer would order that pokemon to zip out and interact with it. Think Republic commando. This takes the role of HMs and other field moves. For areas that require things like Surf of dive, the helper pokemon would exert a field of influence that essentially allowed the primary pokemon to act normally- eg, a surf helper would cause an area of surging upwards surface chop that lets the primary pokemon walk on water, or a dive helper would create small air bubbles centered around wherever the primary pokemon breathes from.

The trainer can also provide small support in the form of items, but this would be limited to encourage sensible use of stat boosting moves.

Pokemon would still be captured in pokeballs, but after they are fainted by the primary pokemon. Fainted pokemon could either be captured in a pokeball, or "relieved" of unique held items and resources before releasing them.

Pokemon would not gain experience by defeating opponents. Instead, each one would have material requirements to both level up and "customize" them. Like upgrading a weapon in Monster Hunter, every pokemon would have unique material requirements to level up, change nature, upgrade IVs, allocate EVs, or learn and relearn certain moves. This incentivizes a postgame loop, but could be curved to make the main game give you adequate materials to avoid excessive grinding.

The gameplay and story structure

The gameplay loop is basically monster hunter.

There would be a large number of normal-sized pokemon out in the world, that could be easily defeated and either captured and looted. But, frequently, a "Titan" would appear- a large, boss variant of a particular pokemon. Some pokemon can only be captured from their defeated titan forms, even if they appear in their regular forms.

These titan forms would appear semi-randomly, and requests to "quiet" them by defeating them would take the form of quests posted in the hub regions. These quests would then essentially be a monster hunter hunt- going out and fighting a particular titan.

Titan forms could be unique, or vaguely modeled after existing megas.

The world is divided into 8 main regions, and at least one "bonus" region. There would be 4 ocean regions, and 4 land regions. Each region would be seperate, but open to explore within that region (damn you can really see how much I've played MH:W)

Each region would have a drop table of pokemon that could potentially appear as titans.

Each region would also have one, single titan pokemon that gives the region its character. These 9 titans would be new, unique regional variants.

Each region, and by extension, each boss titan, would be directly associated with a different regional effect. So essentially, the boss titan and the field effect of a region would be reflective of its character.

The plot, like monster hunter, would be a gameplay loop of increasingly powerful titans within a region, building to the boss titans of each region. Once the 8 primary titans are defeated, it triggers the endgame main plotline.

The world

As mentioned previously, the bulk of the gameplay loop and storyline would be defeating increasingly more powerful "titan" pokemon, until you encounter a particular individual pokemon that is actively shaping that region and has ultimately caused the other titans along the way to be empowered.

Each region would have a dominant type, several field effects that come and go within certain parts of the area, and a unique boss titan. Each boss titan is about equivalent difficulty, and the player is encouraged to spread their efforts around to proceed through the "tiers" of titans evenly across the world before making it to the boss.

Hubs: Slateport, Lilycove.

Self explanatory, these would be the hub towns. Like in PLA, no other cities would be founded yet. Mt. Pyre would be integrated as part of Lilycove, and important characters and exposition could happen there. It would be an active cathedral. Kyogre and Groudon wouldn't be "known", but vague, amorphous titans of earth, sea, and sky would be referenced.

Land Regions

Meteor Cliffs and the Tranquil Plain

A gentle, grassy plain south of Mt. Chimney gives way to its southern slope. The slope, pockmarked with craters, has not been extensively explored, but is thought to hold deep caverns.

Regional effect: Pyschic Terrain

Regional Titan boss: Metagross (Steel/Pyschic)

Main game route equivalents: Meteor Falls, Rustboro City, Petalburg Woods, Petalburg City, Oldale Town, Littleroot town, 101, 102, 103, 104, 116, 115

Towering Forest

A deep, lush forest, sometimes so dense that you can't see the sky, fed by the crystal clear river cutting through it. The tangle of the canopy shudders under the weight of unseen pokemon above.

Regional effect: Grassy Terrain

Regional Titan boss: Tropius (Grass/Steel)

Main game route equivalents: Fortree city, Safari Zone, 119, 120, 121, 123

Jagged Stones

Deep, rugged canyons hide a basin-like desert, where a raging sandstorm elicits mirage-like visions.

Regional effect: sandstorm

Regional Titan boss: Tyranitar (Rock/Dragon)

Main game route equivalents: Verdanturf town, 117, 111, 112, all desert subregions

Volcanic Slopes

The peaks, caverns, and North slope of Mt. Chimney know no peace from the continuous onslaught of lava.

Regional effect: harsh sunlight

Regional Titan boss: Camerupt (Fire/Ground)

Main game route equivalents: Mt. Chimney, Jagged Pass, Fiery Path, Lavaridge, Fallarbor, 113, 114

Oceanic regions

Thunder Bay

An unrelenting, static haze hovers over the inlets of of Thunder Bay, impeding exploration of its deep subterranean caverns.

Regional effect: electric terrain

Regional Titan boss: Manectric (Electric/Dark)

Main game route equivalents: Mauville, New Mauville (replaced by a cave entrance), Cycling Road, 118, 110, 134, 133

Shifting Floes

A chill falls over the NorthEast seas of Hoenn, a climatic anomaly. Scattered islands and shifting ice platforms are continually coated with a snowstorm.

Regional effect: snowstorm

Regional Titan boss: Froslass (ice/ghost)

Main game region equivalents: Mossdeep, Shoal cave, 124, 125, parts of 126 and 127

Misted islands

A mysterious area of the ocean in which islands seem to shift locations as they phase in and out of sight.

Primary Area effect: Misty Terrain

Regional Titan Boss: Altaria (Dragon/fairy)

Main game route equivalents: Dewford Town, Granite Cave, Southern Island, Mirage Island (location changed), 105, 106, 107, 108, 109

Deep Blue

The open expanse of the ocean, and the islands within it, hold secrets beyond comprehension in their depths and constant storms. It is said that there is as much below as there is above.

Primary Area effect: rain/underwater (same effects as rain)

Regional Titan Boss: Wailord (water)

Main game route equivalents: Sootopolis city, Cave of Origin, Sky Pillar, Ever Grande City, Pacifidlog, Seafloor cavern, 128, 129, 130, 131, 132, parts of 126 and 127

Special Area: the Delta Stream

Ripping across Hoenn's skies is an air current known as the Delta Stream, which powerful pokemon use as a causeway between regions and across the world.

Only accessible in the postgame, and with a "helper" pokemon that can fly. This entire region is above the clouds, and the only points that poke up are the peak of Mt. Chimney, Sky Pillar, and an updraft over Mt. Pyre.

Primary area effect: tailwind

Regional Titan Boss: Salamence (Flying/Dragon)

The Endgame Plot: after the titans are quieted

Once every boss has been defeated, the endgame storyline starts. Despite every titan being quieted, the land still quakes, and the seas still swell. The elders of Mt. Pyre urge you to investigate these at their source: the inner lava chamber of Mt. Chimney (subregion of Volcanic Slopes), and the depths of the seafloor (subregion of Deep Blue).

As you can probably guess, this is the introduction to Kyogre and Groudon.

The first fight with each of them uses your own pokemon, and gives you a "false" win- after you "faint" them in a suspiciously easy battle, they each revive into their primal forms, and head to the mountain island that would become Sootopolis. Hear, they battle on a kaiju-like scale. The MC watches the destruction from Mt. Pyre.

For the second time in the game's story, the MC makes a wish: this is beyond me. I wish a savior would come. Jirachi directly unveils itself for the first time to answer the call, touches the MC, and speeds off into the distance. A cutscene follows Jirachi to Sky Pillar (only a raw, uncarved spike of rock at this point), where Rayquaza is seen coiled around the top. Jirachi leads Rayquaza into the upper atmosphere, where it undergoes a primal/mega evolution. It pivots, shooting down towards earth, building speed.

The player takes control of M-Rayquaza as it slams down to earth, staggering Kyogre and Groudon away from each other, and engages in a special fight where they have to defeat both of them.

After this, Kyogre, Groudon, and Rayquaza may each be found at Seafloor cavern, Mt. Chimney, and sky pillar respectively, and may be defeated and captured. But its highly implied that they only go along with this willingly, and will freely resume their duties as the lords of the land once the MC passes on.

After the plot is completed, steps and murals start being carved into Sky Pillar, allowing access to the Delta Stream.

The post game would allow for infinitely generating Titans, rematches with previously captured Boss Titans as "enrichment" for them, and general gameplay loop grinding for items to train pokemon.

Yay, okay, no ones gonna read this far but uh. Yeah. That's the general idea I had. Hope it made at least some sense LOL

[blood-orange-juice]

Ok, Childe as a wuxia/xianxia trope. It's honestly a bit embarrassing how well this fits.

(blame @a-yarn-of-purple-prose for this post and if anyone here is a wuxia fan feel free to correct me, I'm new to the genre)

Wuxia is a Chinese martial arts fantasy genre you are all familiar with. An adjacent genre is called xianxia, "immortal heroes", it ramps all the fantasy elements up to eleven and skews tropes a bit (we'll get back to that).

A common trope is some kind of unorthodox school/sect or technique, allowing to achieve greater power without the usual decades of training. It could be straight-out evil or just revolving around chaos.

Such a martial school is usually called an evil/demonic sect (sect is more like a clan in that setting, not the modern concept of sect) and their techniques tend to drive practitioners to insanity. Either because they are inherently corrupting or because getting too much power without growing as a person is really not the best thing for your mental health. They are also often cast from hp points.

And then there's the archetype of a demonic sect heir. The best pupil or simply someone who has inherited a lost art. Proud, always greedy for more strength, often noble in some weird way.

*points to our calamity of a boy*

Common elements of such stories include:

Falling into some weird realm or meeting a weird person who teaches the hero a Forbidden Technique

Learning a technique too quickly through some sort of magic/alchemy/memory manipulation

Some people are so singular in their pursuit they become insane (走火入魔)

Ambition bad, loyalty and family good

Conflicting loyalties, generally a conflict between a chosen path and personal weaknesses/attachments (could be both ego and familal love, and this is more of a xianxia trope)

Fits like a horoscope so far but wait.

There's a very interesting case of Korean murim genre (their version of wuxia) where sects are less varied (I recommend this post for a basic introduction) and we get three paths:

Justice/Righteous/Orthodox/Light — theoretically they keep the Evil Faction at bay, and protect innocent people, but usually are corrupt to the core

Evil/Unorthodox/Dark — these try gaining as much power as possible and attempt ruling the whole world

Demonic Cult — usually dont take part in evil and justice battles, follow their own code of conduct based on their religion, value strength above all else.

(I'm sure there's a similar distinction in wuxia too, I just can't find it in the deluge of lore)

"Demonic" is closer to "pagan" or "heathen" than Christian idea of demonic here, their beliefs are often based on Zoroastrianism and worshipping a sacred flame. Do you remember all the Persian themes used for Khaenri'ah? And Surtalogi being the flame on Surtr's sword in Norse mythology. I also had the impression that Genshin gnostic references are based on the Zoroastrian-flavoured branch of Gnosticism.

In murim the trope of demonic sect heir is called "heavenly demon" (I believe, a more correct translation would be "supreme heathen"), they are utterly badass, live for the glory of battle, seem more like forces of nature and follow a very strict honour code often conflicting with normal human ethics.

(do I need to spell it out)

TvTropes also says this about Korean stories:

(do I need to spell it out pt.2)

I'm not sure why a Chinese studio would focus on the Korean version of this trope but I'm sure something like this exists in China as well or maybe there's a popular manhwa that inspired authors.

Xianxia extends the fantastic element further, focusing on Taoist concepts and practices and adding all kinds of magical realms (celestial, demonic, etc) and magical beings and making immortality achievable. I still need to read more about it but if I understand that right, demonic heir trope turns into a demon prince in this case. An actual visitor from the demon realm or a practitioner who achieved immortality through dubious means.

These are fae-coded in a way very similar to Childe and have a certain nonchalance towards things most humans would consider traumatic. They are simply not bothered by them, having a different set of morals or faring from a realm that is much worse.

Our boy isn't that (he's still very much human) but he's aesthetically coded like one, same as Scaramouche is yokai-coded, despite not being a yokai.

So. When people say Childe's arc is a reference to Journey to the West, it's not entirely untrue, JttW is the classic of xianxia genre and Childe does belong to the same genre. He, however, is not Sun Wukong but a different, darker trope.

This also explains why he has that "shonen anime protag but not quite" vibe. Shonen was heavily influenced by wuxia but this trope never quite made it to anime or maybe never became popular enough. It's not a deconstruction, it's a different story. Or perhaps a deconstruction of that different story.

[thecreaturecodex]

Shobolon

Panels from Bone, © Jeff Smith

[Sponsored by @glarnboudin. Bone is a comic series that I remember reading and loving in undergraduate. And the "Stupid Stupid Rat Creatures" were my favorite characters. They pivot from menacing to comical and back on a dime, and have a very distinctive look. Their culture (or lack of it) has some very interesting world building implications, and they're one of the better riffs on the "evil minion species" in fantasy literature that doesn't go for wholesale deconstruction. However, they don't have much in the way of distinctive abilities in the comic. So I had to do some work to ensure that they were mechanically interesting.

A word about the name. In Bone, they are only known as "rat creatures", which says some alarming things if rats are sapient and seven feet tall. The name I went with was suggested by @abominationimperatrix. It's an Eastern European rat-ogre, but information on it in English is super sparse, to the point where different sources disagree whether it's Romanian or Romani.]

Shobolon CR 2 NE Monstrous Humanoid This shaggy, bulky humanoid has wide red eyes and a wide mouth full of sharp teeth. Its ears rise to a sharp point, and it walks on its knuckles.

Shobolons are voracious monsters that tend to live in large numbers. They are larger, stronger and slightly dimmer relatives of ratfolk, although the two species rarely interact on friendly terms. Their endonym is rarely spoken—most people just refer to shobolons as “rat-creatures”. Shobolons are omnivorous, but greatly prefer meat, and they don’t particularly care if their meat comes from sapient sources. They tend to fight from ambush, using their skill at climbing, swimming and squeezing into tight spaces to attack from unusual angles. They are fond of using the Intimidate skill to demoralize their foes, screeching hideously before moving to set up flanking positions or retreat from a losing battle.

Most shobolons engage in dramatic body modification. Their long scaly tails are docked shortly after birth (shobolon legends tell of these tails being used as handles by a wrestling demigod who humiliated them in the past), and their ears are cropped upon reaching adulthood in order to grant them a more threatening appearance. Shobolons do not have names of their own unless granted by a member of another species, or by their rulers as a reward for meritorious service. Despite their foolishness and lack of material culture, shobolons tend to be erudite, and like using long words in order to sound smarter (“hello, small mammal” is a common greeting/threat). Shobolons tend towards religion, and different hordes often venerate different gods or powerful fiends. Shobolons universally fear and hate dragons.

Shobolon Rulers Shobolons are very long lived, and display indeterminate growth. One that lives for hundreds of years and feeds well may grow to immense size and power. This growth is somewhat disproportionate, as their arms do not grow to scale with the rest of their bodies. A shobolon ruler often uses titles like King or Queen, regardless of how many shobolons they rule over. Such creatures are Large in size with 12 racial HD. A shobolon ruler has improved grab and swallow whole with its bite attack, gains frightful presence as a special attack and has undersized weapons as an SQ. A shobolon ruler is at least a CR 8 creature—many of them have levels in fighter or cleric beyond their racial HD.

Shobolon CR 2 XP 600 NE Medium monstrous humanoid (ratfolk) Init +5; Senses darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision, Perception +4 Defense AC 14, touch 11, flat-footed 13 (+1 Dex, +3 natural) hp 19 (3d10+3) Fort +2, Ref +4, Will +2 Defensive Abilities tight fit Offense Speed 30 ft. Melee 2 claws +4 (1d4+1), bite +4 (1d6+1) Special Attacks startle Statistics Str 13, Dex 12, Con 13, Int 10, Wis 9, Cha 10 Base Atk +3; CMB +4; CMD 15 Feats Improved Initiative,Skill Focus (Intimidate) Skills Climb +10, Escape Artist +7, Intimidate +8, Perception +4, Stealth +6, Swim +10; Racial Modifiers +4 Climb, +4 Escape Artist, +4 Swim Languages Common Ecology Environment temperate forests and hills Organization solitary, pair, troop (3-8), army (9-24 plus 1 2nd-4th level fighter per 20 individuals) or horde (25-200 plus 1 2nd-4th level fighter per 20 individuals and 1 ruler) Treasure standard Special Abilities Startle (Ex) A shobolon can make an Intimidate check to demoralize an opponent as a move action. An opponent intimidated by a shobolon cannot make attacks of opportunity as long as it suffers from a fear effect. Tight Fit (Ex) A shobolon suffers only half the usual penalty to Armor Class and attack rolls when squeezing. Two shobolons can fit in the same space and fight without penalty.

[tedwardremus]

Works in Progress

Snuffles & Son - Sirius raises Harry and opens a shop that specializes in repairing cursed artifacts and places protection wards on family heirlooms. One day, an Unspeakable from the Department of Mysteries walks in with a cursed artifact from his cousin's confiscated Gringotts vault, requesting Sirius's assistance.

Be Not Afraid Of Greatness - A collection of Frank Longbottom stories

Without A Trace - Babies don't just disappear without a trace

HP Instagram AU - Instagram feeds from various Harry Potter characters. Feel free to request a character or couple.

completed fics and one-shots under the cut

Marauder's Era/Jily

It's here. Now’s the time. I tell myself I’ll be fine -

It was a normal feeling to be nervous, a rite of passage for any mother or father. After all, eleven years old wasn’t that mature—children at that age were still so small, so dependent on their parents for guidance, comfort, and care.

Hope Lupin hugs her son goodbye before he boards the Hogwarts Express.

Unresolved Questions Of Wizard Cosmology - Ten-year-old Sirius and his father take a trip to the British Magical Observatory.

Interesting House Guests - (Or The time Sirius invited the lads to spend the week at Grimmauld Place)

Those Whom The Gods Love Die Young - Once upon a time, four boys entered an ancient magical forest in Scotland. They loved life, the forest, and each other very much. Together, they become beasts of the woods and grow to understand the forest more than anyone else who had entered the magical realm before them.

Tree Cutting - Every Gryffindor in the tower heard Walburga's howler calling Sirius a filthy traitor. Lily knows what it feels like when someone you love calls you nasty names.

Tipping The Scales - James helps Lily get back something that is hers from the Slytherin dorms.

Career Advice with James F. Potter - Lily Evans is stressed about her career advice meeting but luckily James Potter is willing to share his expert advice on the matter.

A Decent Bloke - In the Hogwarts library, James Potter eats an apple while Lily Evans works on a History of Magic essay.

Perspective - Lily asks James about the Sacred Twenty-Eight. Lily also learns how soft James Potter's hands are.

Light Is The Most Glorious - James takes Lily on a journey around Hogwarts the night before the Christmas holidays.

Does Permanent Mean Forever? - It is James Potter's seventeenth birthday, and to commemorate the occasion, he proposes to the gang that they go out and get tattooed.

Your Friend, James - It is the summer before their 7th year, and Lily and James spend the entire holiday writing letters to each other as their relationship slowly changes from friends to something more.

Rumor Has It  - Severus doesn't believe the rumors that Lily finally agreed to go out with James Potter.

A Happy Thought - The 7th-year Defense Against the Dark Arts Class learns the Patronus Charm. James is shocked to learn what Lily's Patronus is.

Awful Euphemisms - Lily and James exchange laughs while discovering a new level of intimacy.

A Promise - James sees no problem that they are only seventeen and have yet to meet each other's parents.

Hold On To The Memories, They Will Hold On To You - Lily Evans is ready to spend New Year's Eve alone in her bedroom until James Potter flies in and offers her a midnight ride.

An Academic Study of Dungeon Dwellers - It was common knowledge that when the weather turned warm, students were impossible to teach and used their precious free time to soak up the sun and enjoy the outdoors. Unless of course, you were the Girlfriendus Potterus, also known by her common name, Lily Evans, who—despite the migration of most students to the sun-drenched grounds—had yet to leave the castle's confines.

A Miraculous Christmas Moment - A married Lily and James Potter wander around a London Christmas Market. James misses celebrating Christmas in Godric's Hollow.

Comfort and Joy - Baby Harry helps James decorate the Christmas Tree.

Querencia - The time Lily, James, and Harry spent as a family in their little house in the West Country was far too brief, but it was overfilled with love, laughter, and, above all, life.

30 Times James Potter Thought He Was Going To Die and 1 Time He Did  - 31 microfics for Jilytober

Jily Challenge Fics

Three Lemons and a Dragon - Once upon a time there lived a Prince named James who had to save his father's Kingdom by getting married. One day an older woman gifts him three lemons that will lead him to his true love.

Erasmus Lovegoods’s Guide to Brewing Love Potions -At the start of every school year, the Ministry of Magic distributed leaflets to all students taking potions classes regarding the regulations and legality of highly controlled potions.

I'll Meet You After Dark - An Alternate Universe where the Statute of Secrecy hasn't been enacted yet. Tensions between the magical and non-magical communities are high.

My dog said I can't go out with you - Lily had been waiting patiently for James to ask her out for the first Hogsmeade weekend of the term. Sirius insists she turn James down so Sirius can hang out with her instead. (it's all part of Sirius' greater matchmaking plan)

Tranquil Solitude (Until You Came Along) - All Lily wanted to do was take a nice, quiet swim on a hot day. And then James Potter showed up. And Lily had already removed her clothes for the private swim.

Midnight Train To London - An escaped yeti causes a magical snow storm that leaves the Hogwarts Express stranded without any power. Head students Lily and James take charge and bring a little holiday cheer to the students trapped on the train.

Summer Fling Don't Mean A Thing - Lily and James meet at a potions camp over the summer and have a fling. James promises to write to her when the summer is over, but he never does. Then Hogwarts hosts an academic competition inviting all the top students from around the country to attend, including students from Cockersand Coven Academy, the school that Lily happens to attend.

This Town Is Fake But You're The Real Thing - Teen radio star Lily Evans works for a show on the wizarding wireless network called, The Marauders. The teen soap drama stars James Potter as an arrogant school jock and centers on the secret adventures of his friends in the forbidden forest as illegal animagus and a werewolf. The show's antagonist, played by Severus Snape, left after a scandal, and now Lily has a romantic storyline with James in the final season of the show. Basically, her life is a disaster.

Field Study - Lily and James get left behind on a deserted island after A Care of Magical Creatures field trip.

These things that are pleasin' you can hurt you somehow  - Lily is stuck in potions for a classroom disturbance she didn't cause.

In walks James Potter who she had been avoiding all week.

Other Jily/Maruader Era Fics

Rage Against The Dying Of The Light - In a universe where James and Lily Potter survive Voldemort's attack on Halloween night. Most of wizarding society is enjoying newfound peace after a decade of war, except the young heroes who fought the war learn you can never really go back to the way things were before

Cuckoo (or the unwanted interloper baby in the nest)  - Sirius rescues Regulus from the cave and drops him off at the Potters house so he can clean up his brother's mess. Regulus has an awful time.... until he doesn't.

Katabasis - Snape gets hurt when he goes into the Shrieking Shack on the full moon. It is time for Remus to face the consequences.

Citius, Altius, Fortius – Communiter - Sirius is an Olympic athlete competing in the wizard pentathlon, James is a quidditch player, and Lily is a sports reporter. The three of them meet at the Olympic Village. And well, you know what happens at the Olympic Village...

Finding Your Magical Roots  - The Black Family welcomes the reality show Finding Your Magical Roots into their home to film a special episode.

101 Padfoots - An accident in potions class results in 101 Padfoots running around Hogwarts while Lily and James work together to round them all up

First War Era

She Faced Danger, But Never Feared It  - Dorcas Meadowes is a healer at St. Mungo's who specializes in emergency healing. A grandmother in her 60s who believes in caring for all members of the magical community. She is recruited by Albus Dumbledore to join the Order after she publishes and article in the Daily Prophet arguing that the rise of dark magic is a public health crisis.

When Death Would Not Come - Moody and the others will be here soon. Just endure for one more minute. Thirty more seconds. Five more seconds. As long as Neville was okay, she could endure anything.

Lighting Era

Goodbyes and Surprise Greetings - Ginny's brothers have abandoned her at the Burrow while they go to school or leave the country. But then she gets a surprise visitor.

The Past is a Bucket of Ash - Over burnt photographs, Harry had a late-night chat with Sirius about his family history.

The Parting Glass - The last full moon, Moony and Padfoot spend together.

Retrouvaille (or the happiness of meeting someone you love after a long time) - The times Sirius and Harry reunited and the times they were forced to say goodbye.

Attinge - Harry shaves his head after the battle. Only Ginny understands why.

Secret Garden - Neville plants Hannah a secret garden on the roof of the Leaky Cauldron. She wants to show him how grateful she is for the gift.

Burnt Cookies - Hannah keeps burning cookies as she gets ready for the Leaky Cauldron's Halloween party.

Luckily, Neville is there to comfort her.

Lightening Era - AU

1994 Quidditch World Cup  - Harry wants only one thing for his fourteenth birthday: tickets to see the final match of the Quidditch World Cup. Well, two things if you count his sudden desire to kiss Ginny Weasley.

Padfoot in Privet Drive - Sirius Black follows Harry to Privet Drive after the Triwizard Tournament.

A Time To Mourn - Sirius Black, recently declared innocent by the Ministry of Magic, visits his godson on Halloween.

Next Gen

Feels Like Home To Me - Snippets inside the Potter family home

We're Going On A Hippogriff Hunt -Two young boys go on a hippogriff hunt in the woods behind their house. Teddy hopes James doesn't figure out he knows nothing about hippogriffs.

Werewolf Registration Act of 1947 - A history of magic essay helps Teddy understand his deceased father a littler bit better.

Tethered - Teddy and Vic discover the isolated and deserted Hogwarts boathouse to be the perfect place to be alone together.

Am I To Suffer This Constant Stream of Interruption? - Teddy Lupin and Victoire Weasley go on their first official date. James Sirius Potter is now a third-year at Hogwarts and is able to visit the village.

A Wonderful Idea - Vic planned a very grown-up date for her and Teddy. Too bad Teddy can't ice skate.

It's All About The Timing - James Sirius Potter has wanted to ask Ellie Longbottom out since he was twelve years old. Unfortunately, he can never get the timing right.

Know Your Roots - Albus Potter is unsure if helping Uncle Neville repot moonwort plants is part of detention or a lame attempt at godfather and godson bonding. It might be both.

Acting Professional - Teddy wants to see Victoire's new office while at a work event.

Ginny's Very Serious Investigation - When Luna casually mentions in the postscript of her latest letter that she got married, Ginny is not having it. Who the hell is Rolf Scamander, and why is Luna marrying him without any prior warning?

[lou-struck]

Figures in the Dark

Leviathan x reader

Flufftober Day 9: Figures in the Dark

W.C. 1.6k

~ you have no idea how Levi can sleep with all those figurines in his room. But you don't have the nerve to tell him that.

Normally, if you were to stay up late playing a horror game in the early hours of the morning, you would find yourself too anxious to sleep, but strangely, when you play in the cozy comfort of Levi's room, you find yourself growing drowsier by the minute. 

You yawn and lean against Levi's unbelievably comfortable shoulder for support. "Oh, are you getting tired, MC?" he asks, pausing midway through the game's intense chase scene like it's nothing.

"Just a bit," you yawn again, pulling your eyes from the bright screen. "I'm afraid I don't have your talent when it comes to staying up all night playing games."

"T-talent?" he stammers, turning fire engine red at the smallest bit of praise." Only you can find the beauty in a pitiful otaku like me MC, I don't even know how you come up with things like that."

His flustered rambling makes you chuckle as you use his shoulder for support and get to your feet. "I think you'll have to go on without me."

His fingers fidget, and you can tell he is conflicted. "Wait," he says suddenly, his body language resembling a kicked puppy, and you can tell he does not want to let you go so easily. "You wouldn't wanna sleep in here, would you?"

"Sure, I'd love to," you say sweetly, watching as the third-born's face lights up like he had just won the lottery. 

"Just give me a second," he says quickly, dashing across the room over to his bathtub bed, smoothes out the plush navy blue covers, and fluffs the many pillows. "There, I had to max out my bed's comfort stat so we can recover all of our HP."

With a giggle, you follow him across the room and flop onto the freshly prepped bed, "I see what you mean; it's very comfy." 

He tentatively sits on the edge of his bed and shyly fiddles with his hands. As if it's the first time you guys have ever had a sleepover." A-are you really okay with this? You don't just feel bad for me, do you?"

"Of course not," you say, reassuring the demon with a sweet kiss to his trembling lips, "you know how much I care about you, Levi."

"W-well, if you're sure, then that's good," he says with a relieved smile. He lays down next to you and claps his hands to turn off his limited edition Ruichan lamp. The room darkens save for the cold blue light illuminating Henry's bubbling fish tank. When you meet the demon's gaze, you see that his eyes are silently begging for your approval.

"Well, that was impressive," you say in a low whisper, meeting his amber gaze. 

"Would you maybe be okay if we were to cuddle a bit?" He asks shyly. "You know, like normies?"

illuminating from Henry's fish tank 

"I would love to," you say as the demon wraps his arms around your form, pulling you close. It doesn't take long for the soft sounds of his steady breathing to fill the room as your sleepy lids take in your surroundings. 

You never realized how many figures he has on display in his room. Sure, you know he loves to collect them, but it seems that everywhere you look, there is a different pair of plastic eyes fixated on you. 

You know they aren't real, but the stares are kinda creeping you out. Maybe it was the game, or maybe your time in the devildom ignoring other horrors is catching up to you, but you find it impossible to relax. 

You scoot closer to Levi's sleeping form, but it does little to ease your mind. Even when you flip around to hide your face in the demon's chest, you still feel the intensity of those inanimate stares on the back of your head. 

You sigh and cover your face with a pillow. 

It's going to be a long night.

~

"Wow, Mc, Hon., don't take this the wrong way, but are you feeling alright?" Asmodeus says, pulling you from your fuzzy daydreams. "You look a bit tired."

"Ugh, is it that obvious?" you ask, wiping your eyes. "I did not sleep well last night."

"So I take it your little sleepover with Levi didn't go well," the avatar of Lust winks. He may not be able to use his charm on you, but the demon's friendly nature has a way of coaxing little details from your lips.

"No, Levi wasn't the problem at all," you respond nervously, lowering your voice so no one can hear your conversation, "I just couldn't sleep in there last night. Not with all the eyes on us, watching us sleep."

"Ohhh, you mean the little figurines," Asmo says knowingly. "Yeah, I like attention as much as the next demon, but that can be a little much. I don't know how he does it."

"I don't either, and they are really not bad in the daytime," you say, thinking back to the shelves and shelves of limited edition merchandise that brings him joy in his room. You have no right to say anything to him; he doesn't tell you how to decorate your room. 

"And you know that if you say anything to him, it would just crush him," Asmo adds kindly. "We wouldn't want him to take it the wrong way."

Sometimes, you just have to deal with certain things, especially when love is on the table. You care about Levi far more than you care about his figurines. "I'll just deal with it." 

"That's all we can do, Hon," Asmo says, slinging an arm around your shoulders. "Now, let's go to a cafe and get you something to drink that will get you through the day."

"Good plan," you yawn, allowing him to whisk you away from the stone hallways of RAD, not noticing the purple head of hair disappearing behind a stone pillar.

~

One week later, you find yourself once again in Levi's in the wee hours of the morning. Having gotten lost in a game, you feel the telltale signs of fatigue encroaching on you, and you know that soon, you will have to call it quits. 

The eyes of the figurines are on you again, but they look far less intimidating in the light. You feel a yawn coming on, and you try to fight it. You once heard somewhere that staring directly at a bright light can help get rid of it. 

Or was it the other way around.

Well, based on the extremely loud yawn that slips past your lips, you guess it's the other one. 

"Are you tired again?" Levi asks hesitantly, already pausing the game. "I can walk you down to your room."

Your heart sinks, and you realize that he knows. Embarrassment and shame heats your cheeks, and you give him a soft smile. "Actually, I was wondering if I could stay in here tonight."

"Do you really want to?" 

You take his hand, "I do,"

"Even with all the figurines looking at you?" he gulps nervously and scans the room; for the first time in hundreds of years, he wishes he could make them disappear just for a moment. "I-it not like I was eavesdropping or anything like that; I just happened on you guys talking about it and~"

"I'm sorry," you say. "I should've told you earlier; I just didn't want to make you feel ashamed about being who you are because you are wonderful."

"I know why you didn't," he frowns, his eyes turning glassy with unfallen tears. "But do you really mean that?"

"Of course I do. So would it be okay if I stay with you tonight?" you ask softly, giving him a slight smile. "You know, cuddle like normies?"

He nods eagerly. "I didn't want to push you, but I did order something on Amazon in case you ever wanted to stay the night with a creepy shut-in like me.

"What did you do?" you ask surprisedly. 

Turning off his monitor, he boldly takes your hand and leads you proudly to his bed, where a black remote rests atop the blankets. Pressing the center button, a dark curtain descends from the ceiling and encircles the area around his bed. Completely obstructing the view of the figurine collection.

"Do you think that will work?" he asks shyly, admiring his handiwork.

"Levi, when did you do this," you ask, your heart feeling full at such a thoughtful gesture.

Last week." he admits, "I know I was jumping the gun, b-but I wanted you to know that I care about you, and I want you to be just as comfortable with me in my room as you are with Belpie and Asmodeus."

"This is amazing; thank you for going out of your way to do something like this for me."

"I would do anything for you MC, even if I'm not as bold as the others IRL," he says seriously. "Just name it, and I'll do it."

You laugh but know that he is deadly serious. 

Sometimes, you underestimate the power you have at your disposal.

"Well then, I guess I have one thing in mind?" you say, flopping down on the bed with a sigh. "Can we test it out tonight?"

He nods instantly and joins you on the bed. Needless to say, you slept like a baby all night long.

Tagging: @pixelcafe-network @ambiguouslady42

[metorea]

HP boys as Hozier Songs

All characters aged up + smut & fluff separated

Harry: Like Real People Do

♡ Harry has always felt alienated from others. That is, until he met you.

♡ You have always made him feel like a real person. Like he existed beyond his reputation as the boy who lived. To you, he was no one but Harry.

♡ “We should just kiss like real people do” Harry finds a home in you that he's never had anywhere else. When things seem impossible you are a light at the end of the tunnel, a persistent reminder that sooner or later, it will all be okay.

♡ You were so beautiful that it made him want to cry. Sometimes he'd catch himself gazing at you and forgetting to breathe, entirely enraptured.

♡ This morning was one of those mornings. He'd seen horrible things the night before, being an auror and all- but you, at the counter, fumbling with eggs he assumed you'd intended to cook for breakfast… the cruelty of some wizards was lost to him in the flow of your movements.

♡ Gentle, gentle touches.

♡ He worships you and he wants you to feel it in every brush of his fingers. The bend of your elbow, the back of your knee, it was all so perfect. So magical.

♡ His hands on your hips from behind felt like worship, your gentle moans a prayer.

♡ “So good, so perfect”, He'd murmur, nose buried in the crook of your neck while other parts of him were buried elsewhere- eggs long forgotten.

Ron: Movement

♡ “When you move I'm moved” Ron watches you and is inspired by your every move. For you, he wants to be so much more than he is. You make him want to be better, smarter, stronger- all while making him feel loved just as he is.

♡ He admires you. He always has. You look to him with these big, gentle eyes and he knows at once that nothing could ever make him happier than a home with you.

♡ He dreams of a quiet life but he gets lost in your motion as well. In your excitement, your passions- it's infectious. He builds his life around you and he doesn't mind one bit; he never could.

♡ He shows everything he feels for you that he can't articulate in every move he makes inside you.

♡ Your hands pinned above your head and his face flushed, he's determined to be the best he can be for you.

♡ It's wild, it's passionate, just like the two of you. The fire of his hair matches the fire of his heart as he trails bite marks and kisses down every bit of you that he can reach.

♡ The room grows warm with the fervent way he moves, not that you'd ever dream of complaining. You love it, every bit of it- your legs wrapping around his hips to drive him impossibly further

Cedric: Would that I

♡ Cedric loves every bit of you, in all your duality and ever shifting parts. If anything, it makes him love you more. And you do the same.

♡ He's a consistent man. He likes things to stay the same. His schedule, his plans- but you wreck them every time. You blow in like a breeze from the sea and he watches as you tear up all he thought he knew, smiling all the while.

♡ And God, he loves it.

♡ He would never dream of taming you, of trying to control you. The wildness is what he yearns for, it keeps him alive.

♡ He'd never try to tame you. Except when you're beneath him. That, is a different story entirely.

♡ He knows how powerful you are. How smart, how driven, how dedicated- he tells you every day. This only makes it that much more enjoyable to see you fall apart the way you do for him.

♡ “Go ahead honey, let go for me.” He'd whisper, moving you up and down against his hips with strong hands.

♡ He loves relieving you. He sees you carry the weight of the world on your shoulders every day, nothing brings him more pride than affording you this release.

♡ Getting his dick wet is just a happy bonus.

Fred: Nobody

♡ “I wouldn't fall for someone I thought couldn't misbehave”

♡Fred is mischievous, reckless, impulsive. He's a hazard, a concern, a risk. And he's content being all these things. Hell, he takes pride in the labels stuck to him by his parents, professors, and other authorities.

♡ He is certain that he will never meet anyone who can match his energy the way George does, until he meets you.

♡ You, a firecracker. You, who speaks without thinking. You, who casts jinxes like you were born to do it, faster than even he can.

♡ The first time he sees you inflate someone's ears he is in love. Absolutely head over heels heart eyes.

♡ He knew he had to have you right then. And have you he did.

♡ As recklessly as the two of you did everything else, you did this. But this was not haphazard, like the assignments you both so often failed to turn in. This was precise and messy, gentle and harsh, satisfying and yet always leaving a need for more.

♡ His lips crashed into yours and fireworks erupted in your belly. He shoved you against the wall and you hooked your fingers through his belt loops, grinning wide into the kiss.

♡ “You're gonna be the end of me, baby” He'd whisper against your lips. “Not today,” You'd reply, leaning in to kiss him again. He is more than happy to oblige you.

George: Damage gets Done

♡ Life is full of surprises, and George has always preferred to go with the flow. You have been his favorite surprise by far.

♡ He fell in love with you slowly. He fell in love with your smile first, and from the first time he saw it, it has been his personal mission to see it as many times as he possibly could.

♡ You fell into his life all at once, without any sort of warning. And as shocked as he was that he was so taken with someone, he knew at once that this was not something to be wasted. No, with you, he could not go with the flow. He could not just let things happen. By some stroke of luck you came into his life, he could not let you go.

♡ You fell into his life,

♡ And now you fall into his lap.

♡ He buries his head in your chest while you move up and down atop him, nails digging into his freckled shoulders as your head falls back.

♡ He looks away from his ceaseless kissing and sucking to look at you, taking in the art that was you falling apart for him. He'd grin at you, wrapping his arm around your waist to lean you back so he was on top once more.

♡ He'd bury himself inside of you with each thrust, nipping at all the skin he could reach before tracing a gentle hand over it, completely lost in you.

♡ Your hands tangle in his ever messy hair and he feels more purpose than he ever has before, right here, with you pressed against him.

Tom: NFWMB

♡ “Give your heart and soul to charity, because the rest of you, the best of you, honey- belongs to me.”

♡ It shouldn't come as a shock that Tom is a possessive man. You aren't just his partner, you are his. Period.

♡ “Nothing fucks with my baby” As cruel as he can be to you, he would never tolerate such behavior from anyone else.

♡ Someone glares at you, and they have been cursed. Someone dares to insult you, and it's the last words they ever say. And God help anyone who ever hurts you, really hurts you. For them, death would be merciful. You are his, and nothing hurts what belongs to him except for him.

♡ He fucks you with that same spirit of ownership. This is not necessarily a good thing- unless you're into that.

♡ He cares little for your pleasure. It doesn't matter in the grand scheme of things- you're his. You couldn't leave if you wanted to, not that you'd ever want to. Right?

♡ He fucks you to clear his head, to clear his body. You're a dumping ground, but you're his dumping ground. You're pathetic, but you're his. Perhaps that's enough. For him, that is enough. For you, it has to be.

Blaise: It Will Come Back

♡ From the first shred of kindness you showed Blaise he was weak for you. Rarely were people sweet to him the way you were without an ulterior motive. A taste of love was all he needed, and he was hooked.

♡ From then on, to pry him away from you was difficult. Though he kept his physical distance the majority of the time, his thoughts never left you.

♡ He had a reputation to keep up, but you knew what it all meant. The gifts, the letters, the looks- he was all yours. Once or twice you forgot to reply to him, and there he was the next day, outside your dormitory. Like a moth to a flame, he was, and is, drawn to you.

♡ He makes love to you like a ritual. You are a God and he is your humble servant, this is the only place in his life where he is anything but in charge. For you he is weak, he is malleable.

♡ His eyes hold a depth you drown in as he stares at you from just above, forehead pressed to yours.

♡ His thrusts are slow and steady, always sure and confident in what he's doing.

♡ His hands make quick work of you, again and again and again. He's amazingly controlled as he moves. He is locked in on you and every reaction you're giving him, completely unbothered by his own growing arousal.

♡ “It can't be unlearned, I've known the warmth of your doorway. Through the cold, I'll find my way back to you.”

Draco: To Be Alone

♡ “When you kill the lights and kiss my eyes, I feel like a person for a moment of my life.”

♡ Draco is a bad man. He knows this, his friends know this, everyone knows this.

♡ Except you. You don't seem to understand that the arms that hold you are soaked in unfathomable amounts of blood, that the eyes that stare into yours have seen unimaginable things.

♡ For this, among other things, Draco loves you.

♡ With you and you alone, he feels innocent. He feels pure for the first time since he was a child, bathed in your light and temporarily absolved of the guilt he carries.

♡ The voice that reminds him what he's done will always be there, but so will yours, always there to quiet it. He has found a sanctuary between your lips, a gift he never could have dreamt of, but something he no longer knows how to live without.

♡ Your bedroom is a sanctuary of sorts, for the same above reasons

♡ You put your mouth on him and the tension leaves him all at once. His knees nearly buckle, he has to seek support from the desk you have him backed up against.

♡ He has to stop his hips from bucking forward of their own accord, not wanting to startle you

♡ His hand moves down, stroking your cheek and tangling in your hair while you move up and down his length, staring up at him

♡ How could you ever expect him to last when you look at him like that?

[read-chill-wine]

The Banned Book Masterlist

In light of what is happening in the US, I wanted to both give myself an outlet to remind myself, and discuss, how government censorship isn't something new the world of fandom and Literature are facing. Here is a growing list of banned books I have read and will be reviewing/discussing with all of you. I'm going to say it in many of these reviews, but most of these books are banned due to words being weapons for the educated. For some, they are just books. To others, these are the seeds that can plant revolution. You decide which you want them to be.

Warning: Many of these books will challenge readers with graphic discussions of war, racial divide, sexism, anti-white views, anti-christian views, and some generally uncomfortable topics.

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

Fahrenheit 451

The Handmaid's Tale

The Giver

The Outsiders

The Bluest Eye

Beloved

ACOTAR Series

TOG Series

The Catcher and the Rye

The Grapes of Wrath

Esperanza Rising

Dear America : My Heart is on the Ground

Animal Farm

The Color Purple

The Lord of the Rings

All Boys Aren't Blue

The Hate You Give

Unwind Series

The Perks of Being a Wallflower

The Crank Series

Twilight Series

The Stoning of Soraya M

The Kite Runner

Brave New World

Maus

The Boy in the Stripped Pajamas

To Kill a Mockingbird

The Diary of Anne Frank

Four Hundred Souls

The Hunger Games Series

Slaughterhouse 5

The HP Series (I know. I know. We are going to vaguely discuss it and its place in censorship, though.)

Lolita

A Farewell to Arms

The Lovely Bones

Nineteen Minutes

[monstersdownthepath]

Homebrew Horror: Qlippoth, Gor'glurin

(Art by @chasm-connected!)

Also called "Gore Orbs" or "Gorgans" by those with a hideous sense of humor, Gor'glurin are a breed of qlippoth which were created as a weapon of traumatic transformation by Yamasoth, the Polymorph Plague, in an attempt to scour mortal worlds of sinful life, though they work just as well against their hated demonic foes. The first of their numbers were created with cooperation from Oaur-Ooung, and they have been purposely spread by mad cultists of both entities ever since, sometimes in the form of a "blessing," sometimes as a curse, for both ally and enemy alike.

Gor'glurin begin their lives as tiny, microscopic flakes no larger than a mote of dust, easily slipping into others through their eyes, nose, or mouth, or even an open wound. They act as a disease within the body, causing tremors, fever, and nausea, appearing as a stomach bug as they slowly construct a larger body nestled within the victim. After just a few days, the qlippoth's growing body is visible as a lump rising from the stomach, and at this point only surgical or magical intervention can save the host's life. Wait too long and it will be too late, as tendrils of infected tissue will begin to weave around the victims' other organs to contaminate them like some eldritch, living tumor, turning them into parts of the qlippoth's body rather than the host's. Weaving itself a body from the stolen viscera, the Gor'glurin emerges from the host in a sickening display, but remains firmly attached, pulling the hapless victim behind them or even into the air as abyssal gas fills them like a gory balloon to finish the transformation. In just a short few minutes, the hosts' bodies are reduced to a limb of the qlippoth instead of the other way around while their minds are imprisoned within, unable to do anything but watch as the parasite lashes out at friends, family, and neighbors.

Once emerged, Gor'glurin exist to spread their infection to as many creatures as they possibly can while they use their host as both a vehicle and sustenance, slowly transmuting unneeded flesh and bone into more infectious cells. Worse still is that the qlippoth also steadily drains the victims' soul to prevent their sin from passing into the Abyss, rendering the soul down into a corrupted form of positive energy that allows the invader to sustain not only its life, but the lives of its qlippoth kin. Their spearing limbs and sprays of blood and bile carry their transformative infection, but once they've fully consumed the victims' soul, the qlippoth finds as high a perch as they can and detonates in a dramatic and disgusting display, casting their tiny, infectious brood into the winds to spread them for miles around.

GOR'GLURIN CR 7 Chaotic Evil Medium Outsider (Chaotic, Evil, Qlippoth) Init: +10; Senses: Darkvision 60ft; Perception +15

------ Defense ------

AC 20, touch 17, flat-footed 13 (+6 Dex, +1 Dodge, +3 Natural Armor) HP 82 (9d10+36) fast healing 5 Fort +10 Ref +9 Will +9 DR 5/Lawful; Immune Cold, disease, mind-affecting effects, poison; Resist Acid 10, Electricity 10, Fire 10 Weaknesses Curative Vulnerability

------ Offense ------

Speed 30ft, fly 20ft (clumsy), climb 20ft Melee 4 stings +15 (1d6+1 plus disease) Ranged Bile spray +15 touch (1d8 Acid plus disease) Special Attacks Horrific Appearance (DC 17), Infectious Detonation Spell-like Abilities (CL 10; Concentration +12)

3/day--Cure Light Wounds 1/day--Cure Moderate Wounds

------ Statistics ------

Str 12 Dex 22 Con 18 Int 11 Wis 17 Cha 14 Base Atk: +9; CMB +10; CMD 26 Feats Combat Reflexes, Dodge, Improved Initiative, Power Attack, Weapon Finesse Skills Climb +20, Escape Artist +18, Fly +10, Knowledge (Nature) +12, Perception +15, Stealth +18 Languages Abyssal, primary language spoken by the host; Telepathy 80ft SQ Flailing Host

------ Ecology ------

Environment any (Abyss) Organization Solitary, pair, outbreak (3~10), or pandemic (20~60) Treasure Incidental (host's belongings)

------

Combat: Gor'glurin seek to spread their infection to as many creatures as possible, and will stealthily spray or stab victims when able. Once in combat proper, they divide their stings between as many targets within their reach as they can. They have no special ability to tell when a creature has been successfully infected, and thus tend to continue to attack until their victims fall unconscious before seeking new prey. When among other breeds of qlippoth, they will briefly pause their assaults to heal their injured kin with stolen life energy.

Morale: Gor'glurin always fight to the death in the hopes their Infectious Detonation spreads their spores to their killers. The sole exception is if they are in combat with Undead or Constructs, which they will flee as swiftly as possible from to seek viable hosts.

------ Special Abilities ------

Bile Spray (Ex): The Gor'glurin's bile spray is a ranged touch attack with a range of 40ft.

Curative Vulnerability (Ex): Gor'glurin are harmed by any spell or effect which attempts to cure diseases. If it fails its saving throw against the spell or effect, it takes 1d8 damage per caster level of the creature using the spell/effect. A Heal spell cast upon it slays it instantly without offering a saving throw. It never regains hit points from any such effects. If this damage reduces its HP to 0 or less, it dies instantly without triggering Infectious Detonation (see below) as its body shrinks back to nothingness, and the host regains control of their body, though the damage and drain done do them is not instantly undone.

Disease (Ex): Sting, bile spray, Infectious Detonation--Injury, inhaled; save Fortitude DC 19, onset 1d6 days, frequency 1/day, effect 1d4 Str and 1d4 Con damage, cure 2 consecutive saves. A creature that would be reduced to 0 or less Con by this disease instead stabilizes at 1 Con, stops taking damage from the disease, and transforms into a Gor'glurin Qlippoth over the course of 1d4 minutes. This disease has no effect on other qlippoth.

Flailing Host (Ex): The host of the Gor'glurins infection (see disease, above) remains attached to the qlippoth, but cannot take any actions, even purely mental ones. The qlippoth cannot use any of the host's abilities and uses its stats instead of the host's in all cases; the host is nothing more than a puppet. It uses the host's limbs to move, perform combat maneuvers, or manipulate objects. Despite this, the host is still alive, and the qlippoth feeds from them to sustain itself. The host suffers 1d6 points of Charisma drain each day as the qlippoth consumes its soul, and when the host reaches 0 Charisma, the qlippoth seeks a high place to use its Infectious Detonation ability (see below). If the Gor'glurin is slain, the host is slain as well unless the qlippoth was slain by its Curative Vulnerability.

Horrific Appearance (Su): A creature that succumbs to the Gor'glurin's Horrific Appearance feels as though their organs are shifting around within their body, becoming nauseated for 1 round, and sickening them for 1d4 rounds after.

Infectious Detonation (Ex): When the Gor'glurin is reduced to 0 HP, it explodes gruesomely. All creatures within 10ft of it must make a DC 19 Reflex save or take 2d8 bludgeoning and 1d8 Acid damage from the spraying viscera, and all creatures within 30ft must save against its disease as its spores spray in every direction. A Gor'glurin which has fully consumed its host's soul (see Flailing Host, above) can use this ability at any time it wishes by destroying itself as a full-round action, causing the same damaging explosion but spraying its spores in a 100ft cloud instead. In addition, the qlippoth will typically seek a high position to use this ability from, spreading its spores to the wind and potentially infecting creatures miles away (at the DMs discretion).