#I drew the flippers be proud of me

[genderlesssnake]

Happy late birthday to Alex Rider! I drew him suffering

[undercoverwizardfanfiction]

Mud is Thicker then Blood: Test

Verse: ROTTMNT Fantasy Verse

Summary: Being a father is one thing, but also being a teacher is another matter entirely. Especially with a son as stubborn as Donnie

Characters: Leonard, Donnie, Mickey, and Danny

Pairings: Why are you like this?

Rated: G

Dedicated to: @star-boy-blue for all the amazing art you made us!

“Focus Donnie”

The fourteen year old in front of him rolled his eyes, but as a parent he’s used to that. Donnie brought up his bo staff again. “I am, Dad.” As he expected, Don responded with an attack. Whenever Don got frustrated, he’d always respond with physical retaliation. Len took a step back, avoiding the blow before forcing his way into Don’s space. The teen immediately got a flustered look on his face before doing a corkscrew dodge away. Len could see Don’s eyes shift to his left. The teen started charging to move past him when Len swept his hook staff out, catching him around the ankle. With a squawk, that Len struggled not to laugh at, Don hit the ground on his plastron.

Len couldn’t help but wince. ”You ok?” He stepped closer, kneeling down looking over his son's form with a critical eye. Other than some dirt on his clothes, there didn’t seem to be anything wrong. “How’s your leg?”

“It's fine.” Of course Don wanted to do things the hard way. He rolled away and back to his feet with his training staff in hand. A part of Leonard is proud, but he can’t help but sigh as he stood up. “Dee, you don’t have to do this. If you need more practice and training it's fine. No one will think less of you.”

The teen looked at him with what can only be described as exasperation. “No, you don’t get to decide when I’m done. After how many times you made me try ‘just one more time’. No, I’m not done till I say I’m done.” He spun his staff for a moment, probably to vent some anger before slamming the end into the ground and settling into a stance.

Len studied him for a moment. He knew that Donnie is determined not to fail today. He knew what’s at stake. “Then listen. When you bottle up your feelings you get clumsy. You lose your advantage. Just breath and you’ll succeed.” He slid back into a ready stance.

A moment later, Donnie was on him again. The two deflected each other’s attacks for a few moments before Don pivoted in his step. Bringing his staff up to swing at Len’s head. With more defense then necessary he brought his shoulder up to shove Don away before taking several steps back. Without breaking eye contact he reached up to test his ponytail to make sure it wasn’t undone. With that, Len couldn’t help but grin. A surge of energy went through him as his hand caught the incoming bo, his hand now traced with an almost translucent black flame that made Don give an offended noise. “No fair, you didn’t say we could use magic!”

“Come on, rule number one is sometimes you gotta make up your own rules.” Len freed his hand, allowing his kinetic magic to flow through his body. Don, who knew better at this point, bent his knees and jumped backwards. Len could see the gears rolling in his son’s head as Don decides his next move. Len shot forward to retaliate, causing Don to jump again with a furrowed brow when his levitation kicked in and allowed him to float further away and try to stay out of his reach.

Len was on him the minute he hit the ground with an almost inhuman speed. His son was able to deflect his blows but was forced to take several steps back till his shell was up against a tree. Len brought the hooked staff down from above as Don quickly blocked with his own. Len can see his brow is furrowed in frustration, struggling to come up with a solution to the problem. The part of him that is Donnie’s father, silently begged him to surrender. They can always try again later. The teacher in him begs his son not to give up.

Don suddenly released his bo staff and ducks away, the staff snapping to the ground causing Len to stumble. Before Len can move, Don twisted his body and gave him a kick in the ribs. The blow broke his concentration and he lost his kinetic magic as he held his ribs with one arm hand. “Nice hit,” he commented, even though he didn’t have a broken rib or even a bruise, it was enough to knock the air out of him. “It’s not enough to beat your old man though.”

Don grinned. “You said I didn’t have to beat you though.” In his free hand Don held up a familiar blue headband with a gold coin held between his fingers that made Len blink rapidly. He reached for his ponytail again, only to find that the headband he used to tie it back was replaced by a cheap, frayed string, that fell apart at his touch letting his hair fall in his face. He could only stare in surprise for a moment before grinning. “Yeah, I did say that.” He stood up. “When did you realize that’s where I hid the coin?”

“This morning I saw you putting product in your hair, which you wouldn’t have done unless you were worried something might fall out.” Donnie held up the coin. “This counts as a win right? I found the coin, stole the coin, all without you noticing.”

Len’s proud smile sank into a slightly sadder one, one he hoped donnie wouldn’t notice. “Yeah kiddo, you win.”

Barely a moment later, Mickey burst out of the bushes, flailing his flippers in the air “WOOHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO go cookieee!” He shrieked with glee before sliding over and wrapping the teen in a hug. “Your Uncle Mickey is so so proud of you baby Deeeeeeeeeeeee.”

Don gave a loud gasp as he struggled to free himself. “Yeah I know Uncle Mickey! Air, turtles need air! Gah!” He squirmed around but Mickey’s hugs are a power all in themselves and they both end up in a somewhat escape/wrestling match (escape for Donnie, wrestling for Mickey), Len grinned as Danny approached him. “Well, he won.”

“Only because you went easy on him.”

Len glanced at the wrestling nephew and uncle, thankfully too enraptured in their wrestling match to notice them. “Don’t tell him that. He’s my kid, I’m not going to go all out on my kid.”

“I know, you big softy.” Danny wrapped his arm around Len’s neck and pulled him into a side hug for a moment before Len gave him a playful elbow to the ribs and steped away, he brought down his hook staff hard enough to catch the two wrestlers attention (though Mickey had Donnie in a nonlethal head lock, Donnie had a grip on either side of Mickey’s cheeks and was now trying to stretch his face out), Len snapped his fingers with his free hand and pointed to the ground just in front of him. Mickey squirmed free and went to his side while Don stood up.

Hesitating long enough to take a deep breath and move closer, readjusting his hood as though it were a safety blanket. In almost a blink the confident teen who wanted to challenge the world around him was again wracked with insecurity. But, as Donnie stepped up, Len knew his neverending courage would never fail him. “Um,” Donnie started quietly, “I did what you asked. I haven’t snuck out, I’ve listened to everything you said, trained with you everyday, and I got the coin without you noticing.” Despite the anxiety in his eyes, there’s a glimmer of hope. “Do I pass?”

Len had always waited for this day with dread and excitement. He let out a breath through his nostrils before putting on a brave smile. “Yeah you pass. You can be a Mud Dog now.” Don’s eyes filled with excitement as he curled his hands under his wide smile, a strangled squeal started emitting from his throat that sounded sorta like that time Mickey drank that bottle of rainbow liquid that made him radioactive for three days before he stood back up again. Seeming to understand there was more Len wanted to say.

“You’ve earned it. I always knew this day would come, but-” he reached out and cupped the side of his son's face. An act most sons would have detested but Don gently tilted his head into the touch with a smile “-It seems like yesterday I found you, a tiny little child with not even a name. I’ve seen you grow, get better, get stronger, smarter. More stubborn.” He used his thumb to rub his cheek, “You grew up too fast for me kid.”

“Are you saying you’re old now?” Don said with a wicked grin, trying to alleviate the swelling of Len’s melancholy. But Len responded with an equally wicked grin.

“Not too old to put you in a corner you brat.” He reached up and pulled down Don’s hood, causing him to let out a loud laugh before adjusting it to his standards. Len gestured to Danny and Mickey, “Alright, these two softies said they wanted to give you something in case you passed today. So I’ll let them at it.”

The teen blinked and looked in between the two, “Wait, no you don’t have to-“ but Danny waved him off. “Come on kid, I promise it isn’t vegetables this time.” With a dark blush, Don ducked his face into his scarf, save for his dark pink eyes but didn't protest further.

Danny went first. “From me.” He dug into his pocket, and drew out a familiar silver old pocket watch that he held out. It was probably twice Danny’s age and the only thing on it that had been replaced in its time was the fine dark purple cord that would hold it to the user's form. Don took it with both hands, eyes widening. “Recognize it? It’s the same one you fixed for me when we first found you. Been running ever since. Took care of it so when this day came you’d have something from your favorite Uncle.” Danny ignored Mickey’s offended look in his direction. “And see?” Danny pointed to the outside of the pocket watch, “it even has our initials.” Referring to the giant D on it. “It’s the closest thing I can give you to a family relic.” Danny gave a shrug that he probably hoped to seem nonchalant but failed at the slight quiver to Danny’s breath. “Hopefully you’ll think of me every time you use it,” he said rubbing Don’s scalp over his head.

With that he stepped back and turned away for a moment, probably hoping no one would catch him quickly dabbing at his eyes with his sleeve. If anyone but Len noticed they gave no indication. Don looked at the pocket watch with a smile and glint in his eyes before putting it back in his pocket and looking over to Mickey as he squiggled forward. “Well from your ACTUAL favorite Uncle,” Mickey made sure to give Danny a pout (who had collected himself to turn back around) before turning back to Donnie, “I made this a while ago, and figured you’d make good use out of it.” He held out a dark purple bag. That, to an observer may have looked like a terrible gift but Don’s eyes widened showing how valuable it really was. “It’s an infinite bag, you can load it up with a ton of stuff and carry it with you like it was nothing!” He flailed his tentacles excitedly. “Just like what we have!”

Don took the bag with both hands with a look of awe before he smirked weakly, “There’s not a criminal in this right? I don’t want another Registration Day fiasco-”

“IT WAS AN ACCIDENT!!!” Mickey cried loud enough for nearby birds to take off, flailing his tentacles again dramatically. “An accident! I didn’t know Heinous Green was in it, I didn't!” He probably would have spent another hour defending himself had Danny not reached out and pulled Mickey back. “I know buddy, I know.” Danny said, pulling off his fedora and setting it on the eel’s head as a way to appease him. Which you wouldn't think would have worked except Mickey immediately deflated, his head sinking into his neck as he let out a sigh, feeling the brim of the silk fedora with a giggle.

Donnie let out a chuckle at his uncle's antics before tying the bag to his waist. He opened his mouth again, probably to thank everyone when Len held up his hand, “I got you something too. It’s not exactly new but I think you’ll enjoy it.” He swung his hook staff around. The moment Don’s eyes set on it he gave a loud gasp.

“I-No-Dad I can't, I can’t!” he protested immediately, taking a physical step back. But Len gave him a stern, but warm look that made him move back into place. Len let the staff rest in the palm of his hand as it returned to its handle form with a flash. “The Dragon Claw staff has been in our family for generations. Only a few of us have been able to use it to its full power. My mom, your grandma, was the first to use it fully in three hundred years. Then me, then you. The staff accepted you as part of the Yukimura family ever since it formed in your hands when you were five. When you wield this staff, it’ll be like me and your grandma are always protecting you.” He extended it out to him.

In that moment, he remembered watching his Mother train with this same staff. He remembered learning how to use it under a bridge, his only shelter from the snow and the only distraction from his hunger. And finally, he remembered a small, green hand, far too curious for his own good, reaching out and touching it, only for it to flash and form. Scaring the poor child for a good day in a half. It had only been when it formed again at Don’s touch (days later under the protective eye of him and Danny) that Len knew it had claimed Donnie.

Donnie looked up to him, only when he saw Len’s affirming smile and nod, did the fourteen year old take it. Cradling it in his hands like a sacred treasure. Len could see the tears form in Don’s eyes and was in a way grateful that his son understood how important a moment this was. He’s about to step up and console him when Donnie scrubbed his eyes on his sleeve

“Th-thanks you guys. Thank you dad. I know I wasn’t always the easiest kid in the world, but you never laid a hand on me or gave up on me. Even though we aren’t blood, I never felt like we weren't….” He took a breath, “Family.”

At that moment, the tables are quickly turned and suddenly it's Len with rapidly filling eyes that he can’t blink away. “Aw hell,” he said, wrapping his arms around his son. He could feel Donnie hug him back just as tightly, his smaller hands gripping the back of his jacket as though terrified Len would disappear from his grasp. “I’m so damn proud to be your dad,” he said, pressing his face into Don’s scalp after giving it a small peck.

Don’s muffled voice broke out from its place in Len’s chest. “Are you crying?”

“No!” Len quickly rubbed his face with his free arm to hide his lies before rewrapping it around Don. “Of course not!”

“Oh, definitely, he’s barely keeping it together,” Danny said with a grin that made Len promise to burn all his romance novels later.

“He’s going to cry big time,” Mickey added.

Len glared at them both, “You two are assholes you know that!?” He used this thumb to wipe his newest stream of tears away. Despite what he said, and despite the laughter, the two Uncles joined in the hug, holding them together as close as they could. The world saw them as thieves, as criminals. Wanted posters said three of them were unreformable monsters. But in that moment, and in so many more, he was a father. The luckiest Dad in the world.

They were a family.

They would always be a family.

[calmturquoise]

Lighten Up

My Squealing Santa fic for @artymiswritesfics! I love Sokka and Zuko and while I think this reads more gen, I think it could easily be pre-relationship. I hope you like it, and happy holidays! <3

ATLA, Sokka&Zuko. Words: 1,100

“This is ridiculous,” Zuko muttered, placing his palms flat on the floor behind him as he leaned back to look up at Sokka, who was examining the small slip of paper in his hand. “You can’t play charades with two people.”

“Sure you can!” Sokka insisted. “It’s fun, and you, Mr-New-Firelord, need to have more fun. Besides, Aang and Katara are busy, and when I asked Toph to play with us, she said no! Can you believe her?”

“Wow. Toph turned down the chance to play charades?” Zuko deadpanned. “If only we could think of another sight-based game to insult her with.”

“I- you- shut up,” Sokka retorted, flushing slightly. He crumpled up the paper in his hand and shoved it into his pocket, looking determined. “You’ll have ten seconds to guess this one.”

Zuko watched with amusement as Sokka scrunched up his nose and squinted, then held up his hands formed into claws, pawing at the air in front of him. “Badgermole?”

Sokka dropped the pose and beamed at him. “See, that wasn’t so bad! Now it’s your turn.” He flung himself down on the ground next to Zuko, pushing at his side until Zuko huffed and got to his feet, snatching a folded piece of paper from the pile on the floor. “Do me proud.”

Zuko rolled his eyes and unfolded the piece of paper. He frowned down at it for a moment before putting the paper aside, then placing his arms by his sides and beginning to flap them.

“Uh, giant fly! Ant fly! Bumble fly!” Sokka exclaimed. Seeing the scowl growing on Zuko’s face he guessed, “Dragonfly? Eagle hawk? Cat owl?” Zuko’s scowling intensified as he began to move his feet, shuffling around in an arc. “Dragon? Phoenix? Oh, I know, you’re a viper bat!”

“Dragons and phoenixes don’t move like that!” Zuko snapped, crossing his arms over his chest as he drew to a halt. “And that was at least ten seconds.”

“Well, what were you?” Sokka asked, flummoxed.

“An otter penguin!”

Sokka stared in dismay. “Have you ever seen an otter penguin?”

“… no.”

“Why didn’t you try- I don’t know- swimming!” Sokka exclaimed, waving his arms in the air in an effort to convey his frustration. “Waddling? Why did it look like you were flying? They’re flightless!”

“I was waving my flippers!”

“Otter penguins have four flippers!”

“WELL I ONLY HAVE TWO ARMS!”

Sokka blinked, staring at Zuko as his cheeks flushed in embarrassment. “You know what? We’ll call that round a trial,” Sokka said consolingly, gesturing for Zuko to sit as he grabbed another paper. “Let’s try again.”

“I guess it’d be too much to ask that we could stop playing?” Zuko muttered. Sokka graciously ignored him, studying the words on the paper before tossing it to the side.

“Alright, ten seconds to guess this one!” Sokka said. Zuko watched in bemusement as the other teen placed his hands together, forming a sort of cup shape and beginning to wiggle his fingers. Then he lunged forward, making Zuko jolt back in surprise as Sokka’s wriggling fingers closed around his elbow.

“What are you d-“ Zuko broke off with a squeak when Sokka’s fingers pinched at a particularly sensitive area. Jerking his elbow away he cleared his throat. “What are you doing?”

“What am I?” Sokka asked, a bright grin on his face as he shoved his handful of wiggling tentacle-like fingers in Zuko’s face. Zuko barely resisted swatting them away.

“An… elbow leech?”

“There, you got it!” Sokka congratulated him, clapping him on the back as he handed Zuko another paper. “At least you’re good at guessing. Okay, let’s see this next one. Just try your best!”

Zuko glowered at him, then turned his frown onto the paper in his hand. To Sokka’s barely-contained amusement, Zuko slowly lifted his hands and placed them behind his head, flipping his fingers down in the shape of floppy ears. Then he bent his knees, and did a single hop.

Unable to help himself, Sokka burst out laughing. Zuko’s scowl deepened as he watched his friend rolling around on the floor, howling with laughter. “Come on, that one was obvious!”

“You’re just- you’re so- so bad at this!” Sokka hiccupped, wiping at his eyes as he sat up. “Was that supposed to be a hopping llama?”

“Yes!”

“Okay, first of all, you should’ve hopped at least five or six times,” Sokka said as Zuko flung himself down on the floor beside the other teen, looking disgruntled. “Second of all, you need to lighten up, dude. How am I supposed to guess what you are when you’re scowling the whole time?”

“I don’t need to lighten up, and I’m not scowli-ah!” Zuko jumped as Sokka’s fingers skittered across his side. He shot Sokka a glare, which the other teen returned with an all-too-knowing grin.

“You’re not ticklish, are you? Mr tough, grumpy firebender?”

Zukko gaped at Sokka before beginning to splutter. “Of course I’m nahahahaha, stohohop that!”

“What, this?” Sokka asked, grasping the hem of Zuko’s shirt and sliding his hands underneath to tickle Zuko’s bare stomach. “Wow, you’re really ticklish, aren’t you?”

“Nohohohoho, I’m nohohohot!” Zuko protested, well aware of the futility of his denials. He squirmed, not quite ready to push Sokka away but unable to hold back the growing need to escape the torment Sokka was unleashing on his belly. “Thahahahat doesn’t t-tihihihickle at all!”

“You tell yourself that, buddy,” Sokka said, looking more and more amused as his wandering hands made their way futher up Zuko’s shirt. With a yelp, Zuko collapsed onto the floor and broke into hysterical laughter as Sokka’s fingers wiggled over his ribs.

“Fihihine, that tihihihickles!”

“I didn’t expect you to admit it so quickly,” Sokka mused. “I guess your ribs are really, really ticklish.” The speed of his fingers wriggling on top of Zuko’s skin slowed, allowing Zuko’s laughter to trail off into hiccupping giggles.

“Is that your worst spot, or do you have others?” Sokka asked. His hands slid to the sides of Zuko’s ribs, then inched up a bit more so he could poke at Zuko’s armpits. Zuko squeaked and jerked back, forcing Sokka to pull his hands free of Zuko’s shirt as Zuko curled up into a ball on the floor.

“That’s it, no more tickling,” Zuko said, his voice muffled from how he was covering his face, though Sokka still caught the blush that was spreading over Zuko’s cheeks.

“I guess I’ll save the rest for later, then.” Sokka said cheerfully, leaning back just in time to avoid the half-hearted punch that Zuko threw in his direction.

“Don’t you dare,” Zuko muttered. “I bet you’re ticklish too.”

“Maayybe,” Sokka sing-songed teasingly. “But I bet you can’t find out where.”

He jumped to his feet and darted towards the door as Zuko rolled into a standing position. “Yes I can!”

“Only if you catch me!” Sokka called over his shoulder as he sprinted down the hallway, the grin on his face widening as Zuko took off behind him. It was nice to see the guy having some fun for a change.

[marlynnofmany]

Once Again

“There you are,” the old woman murmured, gazing into the trunk at her bedside. She lifted out an armful of furs that were still supple despite the decades they had been locked away. Stroking them gently, she made her way down the creaky stairs for the last time.

Her grandchildren were waiting outside the house. She gave her eldest the keys to the door and a smile, then led the way without a word. They all knew better than to strike up unnecessary conversation.

It was a short walk to the sea. Once there, the old woman hugged her grandchildren tightly, still holding the furs. Each one of them would remember the distinct musky smell of it for the rest of their lives.

She drew back. “Look at you all,” she said. “Nearly grown, and a force to be reckoned with when you put your minds to it. You do me proud. Take care of each other, you hear?”

“Yes, Grandma.”

“We will, Grandma.”

“We love you.”

“And I will always love you.” She draped the furs about her shoulders, smiling fondly. “Ah, just like I remember. It never leaves you.” She cast one last look at her grandchildren. “Goodbye, my dears.”

They echoed the goodbye as she hobbled toward the shore, her movements getting smoother with every step.

She dove into the water as arms became flippers and legs became a tail, and the old selkie disappeared at last beneath the waves.

~~~

A short one for @flashfictionfridayofficial​’s fine prompt:

[thedreammweaver]

“Excuse me, um, I love you” (Gotham (TV) Ed x Returns Oswald, mild Ed x Max Shreck too cause 🤷🏽🤷🏽🤷🏽)

(A/N: stream R.E.M. by Ariana Grande, it’s all I listened to while writing this and it’s honestly a vibe.)

Warnings: Mild blood tw, talk about job/financial insecurity

Ed startled at the commotion, he’d only been half listening to the conversation going on to his right between Josh and the Penguin.

“Not a lot of reflective surfaces down in the sewer, huh?”

There was a long pause of over exaggerated laughter.

“Still, could be worse, my nose could be gushing blood.”

And then...

Ed hadn’t seen what happened but by the blood coming from Josh’s nose as Jen led him over to a desk and the same blood dripping from the penguin’s mouth it didn’t take him long to deduce. Ed bit back a smile despite himself, Josh had been an asshole to him many times, it was good to see him face some consequences finally. “Alright, everybody, back to work!” Max instructed as everyone the room awkwardly dispersed. “Let’s. Make. A mayor!” He finished before going over to the water cooler with the penguin. Ed couldn’t help but stare at the shorter man, he wished he could say it was just for his grotesque appearance but there was something else entirely that drew Ed in.

     Ed looked up from his work when he noticed the figure standing in front of his desk. It was Max. “Yes, sir?” Ed asked, nervously flipping his pencil in his fingers under his boss’ gaze. “Eddie, could you be a dear and take some tea or something up to Mr. Cobblepot? Make him feel welcome, you know. Thanks.” He didn’t wait for Ed to respond before he walked away. Ed chewed his lip and watched his boss for a moment before getting to his assigned task.

     Ed was nervous as he ascended the stairs with a tray of tea and snacks. He tried to stop his hands from shaking as it was making the teapot he was carrying rattle. As he entered the loft above the rented campaign building through the support beams Ed could see the penguin at his desk quill in hand writing away. Ed forced himself towards the desk “Mr. Shreck, asked me to bring you this.” He said trying desperately not to fumble his words, as he set the tray down on an empty spot. Before he could withdraw his hands penguin grabbed one of them, Ed froze completely. Penguin put down his quill and used the flipper that wasn’t gripping Ed’s hand to caress it. “You have such gorgeous hands.” He practically purred. Ed’s face went bright red “.....T-T-Thank you, sir.” Penguin released Ed’s hand from his grip and resumed his writing as if nothing happened. Ed tried to keep his cool as he awkwardly headed towards the stairs but he was interrupted by the penguin’s gruff voice

“What’s your name?”

Ed tensed up “Oh, I- I’m just an intern, sir-“

“I asked for your name not your employment status.”

Ed’s face went red again and he idly adjusted his glasses “It’s Edward..Nygma.”

“Edward with the pretty hands...got it.” Penguin chuckled. There was a pause between the two men “You can go now.” Penguin clarified. Ed nodded awkwardly and left the room.

       Ed tossed and turned in his bed. He couldn’t stop thinking about his earlier encounter with the penguin, he should’ve been grossed out but the man’s flippers were surprisingly warm, calloused but soft at the same time. He replayed the feeling of them around his hand over and over in his mind despite himself. Ed began dozing off to the thought of how warm the rest of the penguin must be, how soft and secure it must be in his arms and how badly he wanted to be cradled in the short man’s chest...Ed’s eyes snapped open and he sat up in bed. It’d been hard enough coming to terms with the crush he had on his boss but this?? Daydreaming about being held by a mysterious bird man? Afraid of what he might dream about if he did sleep, Ed pushed off his weighted blanket and got out of bed, determined to distract himself from any and all thoughts of the penguin.

     He regretted not sleeping the moment Max told him he’d be at the campaign building doing overtime that night though he didn’t say what for. For now Ed was stuck listening to Max and Bruce Wayne drone on about power surpluses and other things. Though he was tired Ed was elated to be filling in for Selina Kyle as Max’s executive assistant, something in him always hoped something would happen to her so he could take over and be around Max all the time. He coveted Miss Kyle’s position but luckily she hadn’t been to work for a few days. Ed leaned against the wall trying not to doze as he half listened to the conversation going on in front of him.

“Yeah, well, I’m gonna fight you on this, Max. See, I’ve already spoken to the mayor and we see eye-to-eye so-“

“Mayors come and go. Blue bloods tire easy. You think you could go fifteen rounds with Mohammed Shreck?”

“Well, I guess we’re gonna find out. Of course, I don’t have a crime boss like Cobblepot in my corner so it might-“

Ed perked up at the mention of Oswald, So did Max.

“Crime boss?!?” He stood up and began circling the large meeting table over to Bruce “Shows what you know, Mister.”

Bruce stood up as well as Max continued his rant. “Oswald is Gotham’s new golden boy. If his parents hadn’t 86’d him you two might have been bunkies at prep school.”

Bruce rolled his eyes. “Oswald controls the red triangle gang. I can’t prove it but we both know-“

“Wayne, I will not stand for mudslinging in this office.” The door opened behind him revealing Selina, he was too caught up in his rant to notice. “If my usual assistant was here she would have already escorted you out to-“

“Anywhere he wants,” Selina interrupted strutting in. Ed glared at her before exiting, sensing he was no longer needed.

     Ed was still fuming when he caught up with Selina in the hallway later “Where have you been??”

“None of your business.” She mumbled, walking away from him, Ed followed.

“Actually it is, as an employee of Mr. Shreck I find it concerning when a fellow employee drops off the face of the earth and suddenly swoops back in like she owns the place-“

Selina stopped. “Look, Ed, no need to exact your jealous rage on me I’m...quitting soon, then you’ll have Maxie all to yourself.”

“I don’t appreciate what you’re implying, Miss Kyle.”

Selina scoffed “You imply it enough yourself.” Ed took a moment to actually look at her, she was much more disheveled than how he usually saw her. “What happened, why are you all..different?” Selina sighed “Now that’s really none of your business, riddle boy.”

     Ed gripped the banister of the spiral staircase that lead up to the loft where the penguin resided. Max had told him that Penguin wanted to see him for something, that was the only information he’d been given. Now he stood there, too nervous to ascend, nervous because he wanted to see Oswald, desperately. Ed steeled himself and forced himself up the stairs.

Penguin was writing again though he was in much better clothes than the dirty union suit Ed had seen him in previously and a second chair had been moved by the side of his desk. Ed stepped only a few feet away from the stairs “Mr. Shreck said y-you wanted to see me, sir?”

“Yes..and call me Oswald, I insist. All I want from you is your company, it gets terribly quiet up here.” Ed was a bit taken aback, most people told him to shut up but here was Oswald wanting him to speak. Oswald gestured the empty chair “Come over here, would ya, I don’t bite.”

A nervous huff of laughter escaped Ed “Josh’s nose would disagree.” Oswald sighed “Ah, yes. Poor choice of words. I promise not to bite you then.” There was a soft tone to Oswald’s voice that made Ed want to leap into his arms and stay there. Ed awkwardly shuffled over to the chair and sat down. There were a few moments where the only sound was of Oswald’s quill against the paper as Ed struggled for something to say. “Did...uh-did you know that male emperor penguins keep their eggs warm by balancing them on their feet?” Ed kicked himself after the fact fell out of his mouth, Oswald was raised by penguins of course he knew that. “Yes, I did.” There was a note in Oswald’s voice that indicated he was impressed which made Ed struggle not to beam. “Some of them can swim at over ten miles per hour, and dive down over eight-hundred feet with that beautiful plumage that camouflages them from above and below the...water.” Oswald stopped himself, a slight blush spreading across his face “Forgive me, they’re truly amazing creatures..” There was a hint of vulnerability in his voice which made Ed jump to reassure the man. “It’s okay! Usually I’m the one rambling.” He chuckled, oddly feeling at ease with Oswald. “There was another thing about penguins I heard-“ Ed was cut off by a shiver that ran up his spine, he wrapped his arms around himself. “Jeez, it’s...cold in here.”

“Hold on.” Oswald put down his quill and got up, at first Ed assumed he was going to go turn the AC down but instead he waddled over to wrap Ed in a hug. Ed froze once again as Oswald once again invaded his personal space. Oswald felt even better than Ed had pictured, sublimely soft and warm. This must be what being in the womb felt like, Ed thought, so secure and cozy. It had only been a few seconds but Ed felt like screaming when Oswald pulled away and returned to his seat, he’d wanted the hug to last forever.

 “That better?”

 Ed adjusted his glasses and hoped he wasn’t blushing as much as he thought he was “Y-Yes, thank you.”

“So you were saying?” Oswald asked as he resumed writing. Ed was distracted by the bat signal going up outside the window before he could compose himself enough to answer. He accidentally let a disgruntled huff at the light let slip. “What is it?” Oswald asked not looking up. “Oh- just...Batman being called for something I guess..while Gordon sits on his ass doing nothing.” Ed mumbled.

“You sound upset.” Curiosity was apparent in Oswald’s voice. Ed shrunk into himself a bit “..I...I’m not supposed to talk about it. It’s not very ‘proud Gotham citizen’ of me.”

“Oh, please, do tell. You’ve piqued my interest.” Ed couldn’t help but oblige as it sounded like Oswald would actually listen. He got up and went over to the window. “I work at the GCPD when I’m not doing stuff for Max, or at least I think I work there.”

“Oh?”

“They let Batman handle most of the cases now, all the aspects of them...even the forensics.. They barely call me in anymore. Thankfully Mr. Shreck started paying me when I got laid off but...uh, all I see when I look at that symbol in the sky is another month of back rent..” Ed finished grimly. “If something happened to Miss Kyle then of course Max would probably make me executive assistant,” Ed sighed a bit too wistfully “and I could quit the GCPD but that’s not happening I suppose, not for a while anyways.”

“Even on the off chance I don’t become mayor, I’d hire you, you wouldn’t have to worry about any of that shit anymore.”

Ed spun back around to the desk “Really??...Why?”

“I can tell you’re smart, you’re nice to talk to, you’d be a delight to just have around.” Ed blushed at being called a delight, he went back to his chair to sit. “Thank you, sir, that would be-......wait, I have to ask..are you a..crime boss?” Oswald scoffed “Now where did you hear that from?”

“Bruce Wayne.”

Oswald rolled his eyes “Of course...what if I was?” It didn’t take Ed long to answer, he felt strangely like he could be candid with the shorter man. “If you were...I might be more inclined to accept a job offering, I’m starting to think the criminals in this city have the right idea...”

“Good to know..” Oswald said smugly. Max had been Ed’s end goal for so long but now he was already thinking of him as just a stepping stone to the real prize. Ed held back a devilish grin as he shivered, this time on purpose. Oswald looked up “Cold again? What am I going to do with you?” he chuckled. ‘Anything you want, Mr. Cobblepot,’ Ed thought ‘Anything you want.’

[survivormontenegro]

Episode 8: “#StayLowAndGoGoGo” - Tom

I MADE IT WOOOOOOOO MILESTONE NUMBER 2

WE MERGED. THANK THE LORD, THE STARS AND EVERYTHING ABOVEEEE.

okay and thoughts. so evan went byebye, which was what needed to happen, super sweet, but him leaking stuff was really a mess. Merge is so exciting, I already love Caeleb, Jones & Mo, three legends already yay!

IM ALSO BACK WITH BENJ MY KING! I HAVE MISSED HIM SO MUCH.

MERGE I AM SCREAMING!!!

I am sorry Evan, we did 100% throw this challenge but hey ajdjdjf even tho we threw this challenge it was a freaking 5-4 points LOL thank god I didn’t do more than just put Marcus Lehman.

Let’s go merge, thank god I didn’t turned into pre merge flop!!

MERGE!!!!!!

IM REUNITED WITH ALI!!!!!!!! KING!!!!!!!!! im so excited omg so we had a HUGE catch up told each other all the tea of each others tribes

He suspected I was the flipper but doesn't care LOL so yay!!! Ugh I have missed him its so great to have him back as someone I can fully trust and rant to about everything! I also had Jones queen to help get me thru the tribe, just wish she replied more lol! ily guacamole . mitch also great, so glad he survived the budva decimation that I caused oops

I don't think anyone suspects me n ali are close, and everyone thinks Julia/ian/Jason are a trio and either ian or Jason have the idol LMAO this is so funny. I was even on call w the tribe and we were discussing it im thinking lolllll ik ali has it and no one else rlly does wowow

we think alex has durmitor idol bc . apparently it was not found pre swap, caeleb claims he made the end but it was gone, jones and mo don't seem active enough to guess

reunited w ian king aswell hes great, gonna meet some new ones like jules aka almia queen and tom the Australian he was cool on the call so its good ik everyone so far on this tribe except 2 ppl really, while 8 people on the tribe have not meet 4 others so I hope im connected well?

I honestly don't know what will happen from here . like is it og vs og tribe? swapped tribes? something new? IDK! All ik is my top 3 allies are ali jones mitch and I want to try get us far !! but idk how to do that so...… stay tuned

Still can’t get over that I made merge AHHHH

But wait...

THIS IS A CONSPIRACY THEORY BUT THE FREAKING COLOR OF THE MEEGE TRIBE IS SIMILAR TO MEEGE IN SWITZERLAND???! AND THE TWO STARTING TRIBES WERE LITERALLY ALMOST THE SAME COLOR. THIS WILL NOT END LIKE SWITZERLAND, IF IT DOES I AM GONNA CRY.

Anyway I got in touch with Mitch and Benj. I talked with Mitch first then I learned it was Benj who flipped during the Noah vote. I mean I honestly thought it was Mitch ahsjdjd but I guess the talk I had with Benj about rocks/ties back then was an omen. Anyway Mitch tells me he forgives Benj so I guess that’s something? Julia confirms to me that Mitch is saying the same thing to her so ok. I then chatted with Benj and he did tell me he was the one who flipped because he was not close enough with Noah to go to rocks for him which is understandable but I’m still weary on Benj.

Tom then tells me Mo and Caeleb are grilling him for JJ and Evan’s demise. Right now Tom feels that Mo/Caeleb/Alex/Jones are a thing and that they’re just using Benj. That’s kinda a good info to use to get benj on our side??

Anyways I don’t know if this is alarming or what but on the tribe call Tom told Mitch and Benj he knew about the Budva idol being found because Julia told JJ and then told everybody. I think Mitch and Benj were shocked that Tom knows? Idk I maybe paranoid but let’s see

Right now me, Julia, Jason and Ali are trying to hide the fact from Benj and Mitch that we made sort of a pact with Tom and Jules to vote together come merge. I trust Tom to know that I think he will vote with us but idk about Jules. Tho Julia and Jason seem to trust her so I hope she sticks with us!!

Last minute additions -

I got a vote cover from the choosing thing!! Drew didn’t really tell me what it did but if I had to guess what it was I’d say it’d be like,, a dark week thing where votes won’t be revealed? Who knows tbfh

SO I KNOW I'M TERRIBLE WITH WRITING CONFESSIONALS, but this is my first Survivor game, I'm not used to using Skype and it's weird having to type it to a whole other window just to get a confessional but WHATEVER ILL TRY TO DO AT LEAST ONE A DAY. Even if it's just like about random shit! Even it's just an astrology lesson! Anyways JJ, I mean, Alex is coming at me saying he thinks it's 6v6 now and i'm like......who's gonna tell him. BECAUSE EVEN IF IT'S ME NOT DOWN FOR OG DURMITOR ( i love them but game wise idk if i can hang with them ) I DAMN WELL KNOW other people might not be down for that. I'm just tired of the assumptions though I know Alex means well I'm just TIRED ugh he's a pisces moon too so he'll sense it from me so I better act NOT ANNOYED but I can't help it UGH. Did I miss the people from OG Durmitor? YES! Did I miss the gameplay and none of them calling out JJ on his shit and being surprised that JJ got out for being a crackhead? NO. NOT AT ALL.

okay so merge and I have lots of thoughts, i am gonna do it person by person so i cover it all ahh.

Alex C: Okay he lowkey terrifies me ahh. Like he is quite gamey, and both Mitch & Jules have said he is kinda leadery and potentially a bit pushy? I see him as an early merge boot (ideally), because I think he'll get a lot of attention on himself? He is fun though, and I like talking to him - we will see, maybe if idk Jones/Mo/Caeleb goes he will be a more workable ally from an underdog spot?

Ali: trash, disgusting, send him home, I never want to see that mess...

Benj: a KING, I have missed Benj so MUCH. He is such a, SUCH A KING, i love him, I'm so happy we are back together. I think he could be a great duo for me, since us two being close can be kept quite lowkey ha! We will figure it out, but he is going NOWHERE on my watch

Caeleb: Okay he is like... one of the only other newbies left in the game, and is potentially quite lowkey, so I'd like him to stick around for a while I think ahh! He seems super sweet, and could be someone to go to the end with if my faves go bye bye.

Ian: I've said it since round two, and I will continue to say it. Ian is the biggest threat in the game, I've been knew and I'm not dropping it. I will not allow him to go far, like he is super nice, but also... we are not allowing a threat like Ian to walk to the end.

Jason: Similar to Ian, I'm really feeling duo vibes with him and Ian, maybe even a trio with Julia I'm not sure? He scares me less than Ian, and I'd probs want Ian out first versus Ian? He still is also a king tho, even though I always get vibes that he doesn't like me eeeek

Jones: A legend! I can tell already, I fully get legendary vibes from her. But like... it makes me upsetti spaghetti that I really don't think I can let her get too far, like she... is someone I could see as a season winner, so she might need to go sooner rather than later, although getting her out might be easier said than done tbh

Jules: Okay an icon. Jules we LOVE in this house. I literally stan Jules with my 100% full heart, they know ALL and on my watch? they go NOWHERE. my clout is being used to keep an eye on Jules, even tho they are a much better player than me, and they will be able to watch their own back and go super far

Julia: Witch queen. I want her to go really far too tbh, like I love her and am so happy we have actually been able to work together this season. She told me about her self-vote thing she got from the merge feast, which is a big trust display. I think if I can get her woke about Ian/Jason, she could be a big ally and super important about my game long term. I think if we can get Alex C out particularly (since apparently they have history), then maybe she will be more willing to FINALLY make a move on them.

Mitch: I'm always sketched out by him KASDFA. Like I think he would work with me for sure, but I also like... don't know sometimes, like... he knows I was gonna vote him out premerge, can that go away? I think he could be a good ally moving forwards though , we will have to see.

Mo: MY SON. I MISS HIM. I'M SO HAPPY HE DOESN'T HATE, I THOUGHT HE DID. Its super exciting and like I said before, he is doing super good this season and I'm super proud of him. I wanna go far with him, but I think not being on a tribe with him till merge could be an obstacle to that ahh :(

Tom: Tom is a mega-cracked king. Like he is SO entertaining, and on a personal level I really vibe with him. I will not do him dirty, and I wanna go to the end of this game with him. We will see what happens, would love to be a juror voting for him at the end.

So overall final thoughts. I have a dream F4 alliance of 'The Flippers and the Flop' aka me, Tom, Jules & Benj, since those three flipped on their original tribe and I'm a flop. So I want that as F4, Julia at F5 (but maybe further, I love her too), and then for the rest:

6th: Mo 7th: Caeleb 8th: Mitch 9th: Jones 10th: Jason 11th: Ian 12th: Alex C.

We will see and figure it out and be flexible. Its gonna be a mess, but we will see. I just wanna make confirmed jury, then I just wanna play a bomb game, like finalist-schminalist, i just wanna end the season and my game not being an actual joke KASDFLAS.

hi i just wanted an idol

Okay so i dont know like when the last time i did one of these was but lets just start at last tribal council; I am lowkey so glad that evan is gone and we didnt try anything too fancy he really would've made merge that bit messier. But uhm also why the heck did he have to vote me grrr i wanted to try to not get any votes for a really long time but oh well cant have everything good happen in life.

M E R G E!!!!!!!! Yesssss finally merge has happened the playing field is even and i am ready to rumble. Bit nervous to see where abouts i stand in the tribe because i didnt feel very included in the original durmitor tribe and there are two people i havent met in benj and mitch.

Okay so like wtf is going on right now, sure say hello and all that shit but why is Mo, Alex and Caeleb like proper interviewing me, who do you think you are ELLEN? No youre not please stop investigating on what happened between jj and evan vote offs like i do not owe y'all anything..... i was probably going next if we didnt have that first swap! I am more than happy to tell them like what happened just it will be altered in favour of myself and they wont get the full indepth explanation.

Sorry I don’t have a vid confessional today laid ease

But um ya I think I’m getting TARGETTEEEEEEEEED or at least someone within the durmitor dominators group is. WHich is SKETCHY!! Idk it just feels really obvious since that core group of 4 literally,,, tag teamed all 4 of us first ,,, hello??? Mam?? I get we just met like 2 days ago but you could be a lil more discreet ab everything 😤

But ik we can’t just assume based on that,, If we’re just going by that logic then their hitlist is Alex, Caeleb, myself, then Mo. but idt it could be that,,, concrete?? They could just be playing us like Noah/Michael/Mitch TRIED to do before,, but we got them so ya 🥰 anyways,,

If we can somehow get a plan out of them or at least a name then we’ll be ok,,, that way we’ll at least know what’s going on for SOME PART. Mitch and julia seem kiiiind if close? So hopefully she’ll tell him some shit and come back to me ab it - if I have to play the idol then,,,, I guess,,, I will,,, but I don’t want to. Like let me save it for when IM in trouble at least sksksk who knows,, maybe I AM in trouble and I’m just a crackhead 🤷🏻‍♀️

But ya that’s my rant I’ll be back soon laid ease mwah

Okau so like woo! i won the first immunity of the season how bloody exciting! I honestly was confident going into the challenge however i didnt know whether or not i was going to win. I love the fact that i got shot 0 times so i literally could've gone asleep and potentially still won lol. But at this point my mission of staying low and go go go'ing has to be intact i cannot seem like a big threat in this game it doesnt get me far. So im telling everyone that im surprised and that it was really just based on luck and based on nothing so my target does not grow! So glad to have immunity in this game honestly first merge boot probably wasnt going to be BUT i know this round can get fucking messy so anything could've changed #StayLowAndGoGoGo

okay this is a grr grr angry confessional. WHY IS EVERYONE BEING DUMB AND JUST BEING ATTACHED TO TRIBE LINES. Like I messaged Jones, Mo and Alex about it yesterday, and Jones my meme queen gave like a good response, but Mo particularly I was like... wut?

Like Mo is my org son from all the way back in Azores, so I always have his back... but like... when someone messages you about being uncomfortable with tribe lines and not wanting to stick to them, giving the HEAVIEST HINT POSSIBLE that I'm not attached to like Ian and Jason, your response should not be 'I'm just accepting my fate'... Like that is such a red flag to me, no player should just... be resigned to stuff? Like Mo PLEATHE.

In other other news, we love Jules still. Tom is being weird recently, I think he doesn't trust me anymore, so I think my dream at the moment is a F3 of Jules and Benj, Tom 4th and Julia 5th? Mitch terrifies me (and he knows I shot him, which caused even more distrust), Alex is super nice but is like... evidently not trusting of me, Mo is my son but I wanna SHAKE HIM, Jones is my fave I love her already, really like Caeleb too he is so nice.

I'm just frustrated, I feel like.. people aren't willing to do enough and its making me frustrated I just wanna scream. Like at this point, I expect to go midjury, like 9th, and I'm thinking who I'd vote. I would vote Jules, because they are always on the ball and their read is unmatched, I'd vote Ian because he has playing smart since round one, I'd vote Benj because he is one of the few that has his head screwed up about not blindly sticking to tribe lines.

Of the rest? I'd like to vote for Tom/Jones, but would probs need to see more gamey game from both. I could respect Mitch's story to get to the end, but don't necessarily see myself voting him. I could vote Julia or Jason. The one who is currently least likely to get my vote is probably Mo, I am just... frustrated with him. Like he could do SO GOOD, I just wanna give his head a proper wobble, like.... LISTEN TO ME. I am telling you I would flip just READ KSALDFA.

I ranked who I'd vote for in FTC if I was a juror so far and its currently:

Jules > Ian > Benj > Mitch > Julia > Tom > Jason > Jones > Alex C. > Caeleb > Mo

And the order in which I trust people is:

Jules/Benj > Julia > Tom > Ian > Jason > Caeleb > Jones > Mo > Alex C. > Mitch

I have thoughts. I know its been a hot sec since I have sent one in but I have been just busyyy. So this one might be long and it'll have all my thoughts post-merge.

My first thought: Being reconnected with old tribemate (Jules and Tom). I love Jules. She's so kind and wonderful, might be hard to reach occasionally but when she messages its always full and heartfelt. I think that can go a long way in this game as she's fun to talk to and makes you feel like she's with you. So that also mean shes very dangerous of course. Tom is less so fun. He's kinda sarcastic kinda hard to read kinda edgy. He always acts like he's a little too busy for things. But he is fun and he has fed me a lot of information about Budva post swap, so thank him for that. BUT I'm like lowkey really annoyed with him. Losing that last challenge on purpose was dumb as hell. I know Evan is deceitful and hard to work with, but like hell keep that in your head and get him off as an easy vote right after merge. Because If they hadn't lost and instead we had gone to tribal (Durmitor), then we hopefully would've lost Mitch, secured the dynamic as 7 OG Durmitor vs. the 5 OG Budva, and it would have been much harder for Tom and Jules to chose the Budva members over the numbers. Obviously this works best for me and OG Durmitor but that just means that I don't know what Tom and Jules are thinking and overall that means I can't really trust them.

Second thought: That challenge was actually really fun. It put this merge into perspective and CLEARLY showed where people are at right now. The fact that OG Budva was so organized in their slaughter and got out Alex like hella fast and then me before we got out any of them was so showing. They are tight and they will remain to be tight. The fact that they were able to be so coordinated seems scary as well. AS it might mean that Tom or Jules or even Mitch or Benj is actually working with them to make sure we didn't win that immunity. Plus Tom won it and that is scary to me because I already was wary about trusting him in the first place. Putting thought one and two together makes me wary overall, because that means that together Tom and Jules and Mitch and Benj might be choosing to work with old Budva (I mean Tom and Jules don't have any inhibitions about voting out old tribemembers so) and old Durmitor might just be screwed.

Third thought: Annoyed that I was shot and destroyed second. I thought I was making a good impression with everyone. Maybe its not a good indication but also sad face.

Fourth thought: New tribe members! I love them all to an extent. Ali seems to be fun to talk to and likes chatting back and forth. But also he did say he was surprised I was out so early and since I know that Alex didn't shoot Julia then he was definitely shooting me. So I don't think I trust that all too much and he might be too sneaky. Jason seems nice. Not much to say our conversation has been pleasant but only so. The same with Ian tbh. They seem cool but thats it. Julia is fun and her background makes her seem like a total bad ass and a really cool lady, but she's been soooo hella dismissive of me. I don't like the way she's playing the game. I think she's putting on an act and playing a character to throw people off. I heard she was like sad or crying(?) that someone shot her and Tom confronted me about it. And sure I shot her but like hell thats the game. I'm 90 percent sure she was shooting me. I'm annoyed, and people seem to love her which just makes me think she's being dismissive to me because she thinks I won't be around too much longer and she doesn't have to put in the effort. And that's dumb, like if I do go I really hope this is the start of the Jury because I will have something spicy to say to her in the event she makes it to Final Tribal. Or maybe things will change and I will learn to really like her and stuff.

Fifth Thought: Game plan for tomorrow. My strategy going forward is simply to be not targeted tomorrow. That is truly the crux of it, because at this point I think I might get votes. I know that apparently I have a habit of getting votes in a new tribe (David and then Noah) so honestly I can see it happening, especially if they are worried about Alex having an idol and they got him out of the challenge first just to vote me. But if I can survive then I think I can go a little farther. The power struggle right now is 3 groups of 4 battling. There's the total Budva members, the total Durmitor members, and then the middle ground (Jules, Tom, Benj, and Mitch). I asked Tom who was more important the original tribes or the new ones and he said he wants it to be old but most likely will be new which basically means that he will vote with Budva. So in the event I survive with numbers I'll ride that until I need Alex (and his idol that I'm prettttty sure that he has but I can't be sure) out and will try to rally that we need him to be gone. If I survive but I'm not on the side of the numbers I wanna create a good bond with Ali and Jules as were all newbies and work that until we can start eating Budva from the inside. I'll see though DKSDSKDSK. I don't think it would be wise to concrete that before this first vote because their reasons for voting off JJ and Evan was apparently that they were making alliances with everyone. I don't want them to see me that way.

Sixth Thought: Okay another Idol Bridge BIG OOF. Those are hard as hell, and I am so confident that both tribe idols are gone which means there might be 3 idols out there pretty soon which is scary as hell. Durmitor Dominators are hoping to work together to get it and maybe we can actually use that together rather than having it hidden like this time. (Which I really think that Alex has it but whatev). If I'm idoled out imma be so sad but like also okay thats an okay way to go.

Have fun with this. Feel free to chop it up into mini confessionals or use it in its entirety. Up to you! Love ya hosts ur beautiful

okay a gamey and a dumb update.

julia proper wants to flip on ian and jason which iconic... its truly time. I wasn't necessarily going to vote them out first, but if that's what is gonna happen, that is what's gonna happen.

in a memey update, JJ just got cast in another game and it reminded me of a JJ-ism I never confessed about. JJ was on call and showing me... a pet in a glass box, but i didn't know what the pet was or what it was supposed to be, because I couldn't see it. but he was like wow isn't it cute, so i fully called a stick which was the only thing i could see, cute. a STICK.

anyway so like.... back to game. i think the merge boot will be ian or jason which dun dun dun! its probs overdue and will happen, or it'll be me! we will see anyway

why am i drinking white wine with julia on call at 3am, we are truly the wine mum duo drinking our way till the end

I think I'm in the middle of everything atm, which is a weird place for me to be. I'm not in the center, I'm not looking from the outside in, I'm not really a part of anything major or in any alliances and it's an odd feeling. I know I need to do something to secure myself in something but everything in this game just feels up in the air, it's odd. I don't know if it's just how Survivor is, but it's a very strange feeling not having a proper grasp on what's going on with EVERYONE. I have ideas but not a lot of real confirmation for much besides Jason/Ian, Mo/Jones, etc. Anyways. IDK WHAT ELSE TO SAY OKAY I'm boring AF this game

Ok so for starters the immunity challenge ended after 2 hours of its posting adhgfjgs Tom won so big woo for him.

The Budva baes agreed to target Alex/Mo/Caeleb/Jones in this challenge and we got Mitch, Tom and Jules to work with us. Well kinda because the four (Me, Ali, Julia and Jason) of us were the ones who did most of the shooting to eliminate the Durmitor four and we just like went back and forth eliminating one another. I was the first to die in my group so big yikes!! I don't know if that's an omen idk but I do know that I was killed by grandma jones. So I killed grandma too oops!

Anyway, fast forward to today. I got an idol clue from the Hamburger but idk if this will help me get the idol hfjhsgf. So I shared it to Budva Baes and with Tom. Who knows we might get it idk.

In other news, on call Jules flipped because of an earthquake jgfjshgf

A tribe call happened that had almost everyone except Jones and Benj join which lasted about like 3-4 hours?? Anyway, me, julia, jules, jason, ali, mitch and alex played cards against humanity so that was fun!

After Alex and Jules left the call, the five of us who remained then proceeded to plan for the vote. As of now I think we're gonna throw our votes towards Caeleb because apparently he doesn't talk to them that much? I do talk with Caeleb but nothing game related so I guess I'm on board with that. We're not gonna target Alex rn because Julia mentioned that Alex might wanna work with budva people? or that maybe just a ploy, either way Julia and Mitch thinks Alex has the durmitor idol so that's something to be weary.

If I had my way I want to target Jones because during the call, Mitch and Julia expressed how they want her to stay and how they insta love her and to me that's kinda dangerous. But rn I don't think the numbers are their for me to go after Jones. Another hot topic on the call we had was Benj. I'm really becoming more weary of Benj because umm idk even tho we talk I feel like he's hiding something.

So far, the plan is for Julia to approach Jules about voting Caeleb. Jules is important for this vote because she's like in the middle rn and we need numbers. Also ghasgdd julia got a freaking auto-vote on herself for this incoming tribal council so we are screwed if they vote for Julia. Tom is also important but me and Jason have an alliance with him that Ali and Julia are not aware of so he's good hopefully.

Anyways as of now, the plan is Caeleb (which kinda sucks because I kinda like him) but who knows whats gonna happen. Just hope things go in my favor for this vote.

Apparently I’m a secondary target for the vote, but I’m like oddly at peace? Maybe it’s because I’m super tired but being anxious is never fun so I’m relieved that I’m so calm.

This tribal is so freakin messy. Literally everybody be crackheads and I am a freakin crackhead. I knew Mitch was gonna do me in again, I am sad that JJ blew up chances with Tom working with us, and I can't trust Jules because she's right in the middle. I think Benj is still with us. But gosh they'll vote me tonight and I wannnnna survive. If only I could like strongarm whoever has this freakin idol into playing it for me.

Anyways, I love Grandma's boys. They're all sweet and nice and wonderful and I want us to get this to work out. I hope Alex can work his magic, but also I hate that this has turned me into someone who is just riding the coattails at this point. Maybe I need to do some FREAKIN crackheadidness but hell we'll freakin see.

ALSO

Jones has the IDOL OOOOOOOOOO. I think she might play it for me if things are looking bad. Literally my grandma is the most amazing I love her. Things be crazy and cracked here in Podgorica but the spice is nice.

okay this confessional is a call out post, to basically the entire cast except for jules and benj. like its negative and mean, so I'm gonna scream, and then write some actually strategy and smart stuff KLDSAFAS.

Julia. I LOVE YOU WITH MY WHOLE HEART, but. You have got us into such a pickle and are playing the middle too aggressively, dragging me kicking and screaming with you. Why would you make a Budva chat yesterday, to flip on it TODAY, that is such, SUCH a quick turn around

Alex. You are so sweet, and I really enjoyed the call yesterday, but you are already terrifying as an ally and are giving off JJ game vibes. This 'alliance' I'm in, of Jules/Julia/Me/Alex/Mo/Jones... terrifies me, WHY IS NOBODY TALKING. And then I love how Alex was like 'lets vote out someone from each side across two rounds' and then like... suggests Jason, a) one name b) one vote. And then it's like... he goes okay maybe Mitch the following round? Another OG Budva? I have to laugh, I have to LAUGH, this alliance is so fake askdlfaf. I love everyone in this alliance as people, but as allies I'm not feeling it.

Jones. You are a legend, and naming my plants was so fun, but you go so crickets its really scary, like it just looks SO sus. I wish you were more open gamey, I really wanna work with you grrrr.

Mo. Mo is my son, and I love him, but oh. my. god. is he frustrating to play with JLSAKDFAF. I have never played with someone who is so passive and who literally... does not say anything. Like on calls, he is so fun because he is the sweetest and a great guy, but his only comments and contributions have been 'I think I am going' and 'I have accepted my fate'. mo, MO, you can't be doing this and pulling these shenanigans, you are so likable just... give it a go and play the game HNNNGH.

okay that was mean and negative but I fully needed to scream. To clarify my situation, last night Julia made a chat of all the Budvas - Benj after the call, and we settled on voting Caeleb? But Julia wants to flip, and formed this group with Alex of them two, me, Jones, Jules & Mo. Like Julia, I get playing the middle, but this is playing. the. middle. I didn't want to be in such a middle position I hate this so much SKADLFASF.

It's really frustrating. I want Ian/Jason/Alex out because they all terrify me on a game level. But Julia has put us in the middle in a way that we are gonna have NO NUMBERS TO MAKE A MOVE UGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH. Like I just wish she ASKED me before she made a group with Alex that I got dragged into.

I feel like me and Jules have to just... get in with Mitch. Its the only way. And Caeleb too I guess? Like I think the alliance I'm going to need is like... Me/Tom/Jules/Caeleb/Benj/Mitch... like that's a 6, and with Julia might be the numbers we need going forward.

I'm like... not gonna win this season I know it already. Jason is gonna be furious with me, as is Ian. And then I'm gonna have to flip BACK in two rounds. This is literally the exact game I've played before that hasn't worked.

Having said that, the main thing I did wrong before was that I didn't own my moves. So I need to own it, when I vote out Jason I need to talk to Ian and pull me in, so we can just... remove Alex. I just want everyone gone already askdlfa, its so so so tiring.

Here is what I want to happen now:

Ian > Alex > Jason > Mo > Jones > Mitch > Caeleb > Julia > Tom > F3: Me/Jules/Benj

but like... its just... im in such a bad mood about all this, its really... just enough.

Also for the funsies, if I was a juror, at FTC from most to least, this is who I'd vote for so far:

Jules > Benj > Mitch > Ian > Julia > Jason > Tom > Caeleb > Alex > Jones > Mo

So this tribal is shaping up in our favor... hopefully. I think Jason's for sure going now at least. It should be a 9-3 vote if everyone's telling the truth... which would make it so easy to split the votes because I'm pretty sure Jason or Ian have the idol. The most we can hope for is make them think Caeleb is going home for sure.

Pray for me. I don't wanna be a merge boot. I feel like I have a lot more game to play.

im about to save jason and fix all my problems.

i'm gonna push the vote onto ian, saying jason is very nervous and seems like he will play an idol, pushing the vote onto ian. Then I will tell Jason before/after (to be decided) the vote that I saved him, thereby securing his trust so that we can make a move on Alex next round.

I have NEVER played so aggressively, and tried to take control so much in the vote, but Julia put me in a crap situation. But I'm not gonna like... sit here and have it happen, I am here to play a good game, I said so in my application.

I think this is the way of ensuring minimal blood on my hands, and I've wanted Ian out since round two KLASDFA.

I wake up and I then learn that HOW IN THE WORLD ALEX KNOWS THAT CAELEB IS A TARGET THIS ROUND???

Mitch told him? Like what the hell is happening???! I talked with Alex and he says he’s ok with Caeleb which is really weird??

Tom then goes online and tells me Alex has been going around telling people different names and he told Caeleb my name >.>

AND NOW JULES AND BENJ ARE MIA AND ITS REALLY SKETCHY

I am gonna get voted!! I can feel it ahsjdiff so much for my never voted out status :(((

50 minutes till tribal and the plan is to vote out Jason but make Jason think it’s Ian or Caeleb? Unless I’m getting blindsided which in that case, well done. I’m really tired and I just want some Mac and cheese and a nap.

why is the one time alex and jones pip up to squash my beautiful plan. like go back to being crickets at all signs of game talk thank you very much.

alternatively... tom and jules could come in clutch, flipping caeleb to vote out alex that works too.

i'm annoyed with jones/mo/alex they can go. like i've wanted jason and ian out as a duo for ninety-five years, but maybe i wanna keep them around.

Jones is fuckinf PISSED

THESE BUDVA ARE CRACKED AND WANNA CHANGE THE VOOOOTE SKSKKSJSJSKSJ WE HAVE LITERALLY 40 MINUTES

If Jason idols himself, I’m idoling Caeleb and I’m gonna gonna kill someone

If Jason idols Ian and we get Jason out I’m laughing my ass off

If Jason idols himself and I idol Caeleb and I’m SOMEHOW IDOLED OUT then fuck that shit I’ll literally kill someone

I just wanna tell these Budva in space jam then it’ll be ok

I DO NOT WANT TO BE VOTING JASON AT ALL THE FUCK I WANT TO GET ALEX THE FUCK OUT OF HERE BUT NO CAELEB APPARENTLY WANTS TO VOTE JASON I HATE THIS THEY REALLY ARE TRYING TO GET MY HOMIE JASON OUT!!! WAS I CONSPIRING AGAINST HIM AND IAN ALL WEEK? MAYBE SO! BUT I DON'T WANT HIM OUT YET!!! I DON'T!! WE ARE TRYING TO BLINDSIDE ALEX BUT THIS AIN'T WORKING UGHGHGHGHG *STOMPS ON THE GROUND* UGHGHGHGH I HATE THIS GOODBYE

me flipping my vote to make it a 5-4-3-1 sending Ian out... I'm either the second coming of Natalie Anderson or 11th place.

The moment Mitch, Julia and Ali stopped responding to me and Jason I felt it. That we were being bamboozled and it looks like we did.

Tom and Jason were true to me and the end and I love them for that. Screw snake Julia because she really fucking played me like a fiddle lol and fuck Ali, mitch and benj hahahahahahahahaahahahahahHaha Because it really hurts! Alex is a scheming lying bitch and at least Mo half lied to me oof

At least my vacation is saved. I love the hosts, Drew, Seamus, Johnny and Asya for having me. I stan Nicole G forever. Bora Bora will always be my home. Goodbye tumblr survivor!

[championkatya]

@triwizardtournamentoc: task one

Ничто не горит, как холод

The Three Broomsticks is surprisingly crowded given that there’s school in the morning, but Katya doesn’t know what she was expecting the night after the first task. She orders a firewhiskey at the bar and manages to find an empty table in the back corner that’s partially obscured from the rest of the room by a large column. Shutting her eyes, she lays her head down on the table, taking her first moments alone since the task to breathe.

She isn’t sure where her teammates are. Natalia and Valya were both hurt by the Occamy, and Katya knows she should make sure they’re alright, but she can’t stomach the thought of talking to anyone right now. All she wants is a good, strong drink. Which, granted, she isn’t likely to find in Hogsmeade, but she downs the liquid without complaint or ceremony and waits for whatever buzz it might bring.

By the time her glass is empty, there’s a new presence at the table. Katya barely has a moment to glance over the woman before she is assaulted by a shrill voice and blindingly white teeth.

“I’m Priya Sharp,” the woman announces, dark curls bouncing for emphasis. She reaches out a manicured hand to Katya, who shakes it begrudgingly, making a note of her own ragged fingernails with as much shame as she can muster–that is to say, none at all.

Katya opens her mouth to introduce herself, but Priya cuts her off with a, “You’re Ekaterina Razumova.” Katya winces at the woman’s butchered pronunciation, but doesn’t bother to make the correction. The less she has to interact with anyone, the better. Still, Priya seems persistent.

“I work for the Daily Prophet,” Priya explains. “I’ve been doing the interviews of the Triwizard Champions for ages. Do you mind if I interview you?” Before Katya can give a dissenting answer, Priya draws a quill from her bag, and Katya sighs. She knows exactly what it is, and it means that no matter what she says or does, Priya will have an interview to publish.

Priya snaps her fingers and the quill begins its task, scribbling down paragraphs of praise for its owner. Katya follows the words as best she can from across the table, feeling resigned dread pool in her stomach. She fiddles with her empty glass and braces herself for a painful night.

“So, Katya,” Priya says conspiratorially, leaning in as if the two women are friends sharing gossip and secrets at a sleepover, “tell me about yourself. Why did you decide to put your name in the Goblet of Fire?”

“I fancied a bit of warmth,” Katya says dryly. On the parchment, the quill continues to scrawl: the Ice Queen bites. Katya laughs shortly. “I see my reputation proceeds me,” she says, nodding at the words.

Priya smiles, though Katya wouldn’t quite describe it that way. The woman’s lips curl up and shrink away from her teeth, creating a sinister smirk that reminds Katya of a crocodile. “Don’t worry about the quill, dear,” she says in a tone that is supposed to be reassuring. “All jokes aside, what spurred you to put your life at risk for this competition? Was it a bet amongst friends? Are you seeking glory? Looking to impress a certain someone? Make your family proud?”

Katya bristles at the mention of family, but she slaps a polite smile on her face and spits out a bullshit version of the truth. “I see the Triwizard Tournament as a way to jumpstart my future,” she says carefully. “Participating in an event so renowned will help put my name out there.”

“And what makes you so sure you deserve to have such recognition?” Priya shoots back. Katya glances down again to see the quill continuing its slander and internally chuckles at the irony in her statement–she certainly won’t be jumpstarting her future talking to Priya Sharp.

“I’m talented,” Katya says. She knows full well that any perceived arrogance will provide enough fuel for a page and a half at least, but she isn’t worried about impressing the readers of some British wizarding magazine. She is worried about impressing the judges of the tournament and her fellow champions, and to avoid failure that she needs to get this Priya woman out of her hair so she can figure out how to be more useful to her team in the second task.

Unfortunately, her answer is a wrong one. Priya pounces on it like a predator–claws and teeth out. “Really?” she asks with a grin. “Perhaps you could give me an example of your talent. Say, from the first task?”

Katya freezes. She thinks about her performance yesterday, running through the task frame by frame, looking for something to spin into proof of her self-proclaimed ‘talent’. There’s hardly anything she can use; her teammates handled almost every situation while she flailed around like an idiot having a prolonged stroke.

“I invented a spell,” Katya says finally, hoping her confident act will stop Priya from asking, “Did it work?”

Deep breaths, Katya tells herself. “No.”

Priya lets out a little “ha” and looks down at what her quill is writing with pride. There’s a fracture in the ice, dear readers. It seems this Koldovstoretz champion can’t put her money where her mouth is. Katya shuts her eyes briefly and reopens them with a new purpose. She stares down the reporter, determined not to let this interview get the best of her.

“I don’t think my small failures should be your main focus, Ms. Sharp,” Katya chirps, smiling her most innocent smile despite the bitter taste the word ‘failure’ leaves in her mouth. Before Priya gets the chance to question her, Katya continues. “We should be looking at the overall triumph of the Koldovstoretz team. Together, our weaknesses don’t matter. We are a well-rounded group and we completed the task with time to spare.” She doesn’t mention that the spare time was 49 seconds, and that without the help of a mermaid they wouldn’t even have made it to the surface in time.

“Well then,” Priya says, seemingly surprised that Katya has the ability to acknowledge the skills of others, “why don’t you enlighten me? For those of us who didn’t get to watch the first task, please tell us what happened.”

Katya nods, refusing to be shaken by anything that comes out of Priya’s mouth. She isn’t sure what she’s allowed to share about the task, but she pushes on nonetheless. Anything to bury her mistakes. “I’m sure your dear readers know what the task entailed,” she remarks. “We were required to take a swim in the lake for an hour and to figure out our own way not to drown.” Priya and her quill follow along, bobbing in affirmation. Katya smiles. “One of my teammates, Valya, is very skilled with potions,” she brags lightly, feeling her chest swell merely by mentioning their name. “They created a gillyweed draught that allowed the effects of the plant to last as long as was necessary.”

She remembers the taste all too well, the burning sensation it left underneath her tongue and down her throat. But mostly she remembers herself giving a shaky toast of “Cheers” before the team plunged into the water. Not her most witty remark, but given the state she had been in before the task, Katya thinks it was a miracle she’d managed to get anything out at all.

Priya sneers her crocodile sneer and snaps her fingers in the direction of a waiter. “A round of drinks,” she orders, staring Katya down. “I think we’ll be here a while.” She waits until the drinks arrive to resume her questioning, but Katya smiles when her empty glass is replaced with one full of vodka.

“If you want to get me drunk, you’re going to have to try harder than that,” Katya quips. She feels like she’s somehow outsmarted the reporter. That is, until Priya’s smirk grows wider, as if it’s trying to stretch its way off of the woman’s face.

“Drink up, Katya,” is all she says. Katya pushes the glass away. Priya shakes her head but soldiers on, seemingly undeterred by anything Katya does. “Once you entered the water, what did you see? What did you do? Don’t skimp on description! I want every last detail.”

Every last detail, Katya muses, her mind already back at the lake. Everything was slimier, she thinks. Valya’s Gillyweed did its job. She remembers having only a moment to get used to her new flippers and gills before she and her teammates began their journey.

“Which direction should we go?”

“I’d say down is a safe bet.”

That was the only thing she’d said that day that actually sounded like her. Everything else had been slightly off, like someone other than Katya was in control of her words. Her anxiety should be counted as another being. It practically turned her into a completely different person.

Katya reaches for the glass of vodka in spite of herself, recognizing her use of alcohol as a way to ignore her mental problems and promptly choosing to ignore that fact as well. She takes a sip, appreciating the instant effect it has on her. “It was difficult to see in the lake,” she tells Priya truthfully. “Natalia compared it to a forest–an obstructed view. Of course, it’s rather more murky than a forest down there.”

The narrative she’s weaving for Priya is fast approaching the first of her many shortsighted actions, and dread bubbles up in her stomach like a potion in a cauldron. Still, she continues, picking her words carefully. Technically what she’s saying is true. It’s just not the whole truth.

“Once we were sure there was nothing to see, a bright light appeared,” Katya says. “Of course, my teammates knew not to approach it without caution.”

Katya herself, however, was another story. She swam forward eagerly without a second thought, even managing to ignore the presence of her wand in her easily-accessible pocket. As Valya, Natalia, and Valeriya discussed the possibility of a Grindylow, Katya drew closer and closer to the light, only pulling back when Natalia, luckily, grew fed up with her stupidity.

“The light turned out to be a mermaid,” Katya continues, brushing past her own mistake. Fortunately, Katya is a decent liar–though only a liar by omission–and Priya seems much more interested in the mermaid than any missing parts of Katya’s story.

Priya leans forward, clasping her hands together. There’s a menacing twinkle in her eye that only adds to Katya’s sense of unease. “What was this mermaid like?” Priya questions, glancing at her quill to make sure it’s capturing whatever description Katya comes up with.

Katya takes another sip of her drink, tapping on the glass. She isn’t too eager to say something that will bring her sexuality into question; Koldovstoretz may be a safe haven, but the rest of the wizarding world has some catching up to do, and Katya won’t let anything stand in the way of her success. Still, something compels her to speak her mind. A thought flits by–it could be the alcohol Priya’s given her–but it passes before Katya can really grab hold of it, so she shoves her doubts to the back of her head.

“She was the most gorgeous creature I’ve ever seen,” Katya says. There, she thinks, that’s not so incriminating. But her mouth keeps going. “Truly stunning,” she continues. “Breath-taking, captivating… I almost wish I could take her to the Yule Ball.” She laughs like it’s a joke, but her heart beats just a little faster as she remembers how beautiful the mermaid was.

“What’s the catch?”

“Hmm?” Katya mumbles, distracted.

“The catch,” Priya says pointedly. “The thing that makes this all interesting. An attractive mermaid is all well and good, but where’s the story?”

Katya breathes out. “Oh. Right. Well, it wasn’t actually a mermaid.”

“What was it?” Priya’s eyebrow jumps up sharply. Her quill hovers above the page in anticipation, waiting for Katya to share the exciting truth. Instead, all Priya gets is a shrug.

“It was a fish.”

“Oh.”

“Or a jellyfish.”

Priya laughs breathily. “That school of yours must not be very good if you can’t tell the difference.” Already, words are being written about Koldovstoretz’s faults.

Katya gives an obliging smile, her lips stretched thin in poorly veiled disgust. “Koldovstoretz is a fine institution that has taught me a great many things. I simply stated my confusion because the creature was a shapeshifter of some sort. Either way, it isn’t of much importance, it swam away and that was that.”

Priya looks disappointed. Even her quill droops a little in solidarity, but Katya couldn’t feel more pleased. Every second she bores Priya Sharp, she brings herself closer to escaping this horrid interview. In celebration of this small victory, she brings her glass up to her lips again.

It’s this action that triggers a realization: Priya has slipped Veritaserum into Katya’s drink. It explains the strange way she’s been telling the truth. Katya pretends to have a sip and carefully puts the glass back on the table, sliding it as far away as possible without being noticed. In an attempt to distract Priya from her sudden discovery, Katya plasters a wide smile on her face. “Of course, that’s not where the task ended. That would be dreadfully boring, wouldn’t it?”

This seems to reenergize Priya, who grins back, the tip of her tongue showing through her teeth. “Of course.” She laces her fingers together and shifts her weight towards Katya. “Why don’t you tell us what happened next?”

What happened next was the real mermaid, a hideous creature who slunk from out of the depths screeching about being returned to her former glory. Her teammates stuck to the plan, letting Natalia take the lead. Except that the mermaid couldn’t have cared less about the locket Natalia had charmed specifically as a gift, which had led to an impromptu ballet class instructed by Natalia.

Katya smiles at the memory of Valya attempting an elegant twirl in the water. She doubts even the talented Natalia could have looked graceful doing that move with flippers instead of feet. Though Katya’s own performance was pitiful at best, and Valeriya’s was only marginally better, Natalia’s quick thinking had been undeniably beneficial for the team. Despite the rather large amount of time spent praising a mermaid whose skills could hardly rival Valya’s, Katya is grateful they didn’t have to resort to violence.

She relays the gist of the memory to Priya, praising Natalia more than she ever would to her teammate’s face because she knows her team needs to appear supportive and together. She glosses over the difficulties of herself and Valya, choosing instead to ‘offhandedly’ mention Valeriya’s impressive beginner’s talent. She keeps the memory of the mermaid’s prior attempt at tap-dancing to herself. Priya’s readers don’t deserve that laugh.

“Once we got past the mermaid, all we had to do was face the Occamy,” Katya continues. She desperately wants to speed this process along, and hopefully if she does her job well, Priya won’t ask questions about her part in the last stage of the task. She mentions her use of ‘Spongify’ to transform the jagged rocks guarding the Occamy’s cave into a safe passage, flushing with pride despite herself. As she and Priya trade meaningless comments, Katya’s mind races for a way to put a positive spin on her performance throughout the rest of the story. She comes up blank.

As the Koldovstoretz team neared the nest of the Occamy, Valeriya began to cast various defense spells, creating a shield that, in theory, would work well as long as everyone stayed close. Valya, however, didn’t appear to get the message, as they wandered ahead of the group. With Valeriya and Katya’s attention on getting Valya to return, no one noticed the new mermaid approaching Natalia.

“Hey, do you need some help?”

Natalia and the mermaid, Alessia, began to converse. As Valya, Katya, and Valeriya watched from a short distance, Natalia offered Alessia the locket that had failed to appease the first mermaid. Katya could feel the unease pass between herself and her two teammates, but Natalia seemed to be trusting this new mermaid. Despite a warning from Katya to stick to the plan, Alessia led the way into the cavern, promising that her half-siren abilities would allow her to lull the Occamy to sleep.

It seemed too good to be true, and everyone could sense it. Valeriya, in a whisper, reminded the team about the sirens of ancient mythology. “Will she lull us to sleep as well?” A quick ‘muffliato’ took care of those concerns, but unfortunately, getting a nice nap was the opposite of what Alessia had in mind.

A loud shriek pierced the air before anyone could even begin to implement their plan. As the Occamy awoke in distress, Alessia caused the rocks at the entrance of the cave to tumble down, blocking their only hope at an exit. At the same time, Valya and Katya blurted out an eloquent “Shit!” that, while providing an emotional release of sorts, did absolutely nothing to help the situation at hand.

Valeriya somehow managed to remain calm, going through her spells with determination. Though the girl’s cheerfulness was usually somewhat grating to Katya, she had to admire her defensive talents. Once Valeriya cast a disillusionment charm on her, Katya regained some composure and attempted to follow the one part of the plan that still had the potential to work.

She crept closer to the nest, barely registering the Occamy’s attacks–first slicing Natalia’s cheek, then growling at Katya herself. As Valya went on the offensive and Valeriya continued her work, Natalia and Katya tried to reach the eggs. Natalia was undeniably closer, but Katya gripped her wand and hoped what she’d prepared would do its job.

“Transparo,” Katya hissed, pointing her wand at the first egg within her sight. The x-ray spell she’d created didn’t work, causing a brief flutter of disappointment until she realized she was distracted by Alessia’s incessant screeching. “Someone shut up the mermaid!”

Valya, thankfully, heard her and managed to stun Alessia for the moment. Katya breathed for a second, appreciating the absence of the painful ringing in her ears the mermaid had caused. Unfortunately, she didn’t breathe easily for long.

As Valeriya began to cast the disillusionment charm on Valya, the Occamy caught them in the shoulder, forcing them to reel back. A reflex deep within Katya was triggered and she shouted their name, hoping to stop them as they began to pelt the Occamy with stones from the floor of the cave.

Panic once again reared its ugly head as thoughts of Valya getting seriously injured swirled around in Katya’s brain. She forced herself to take a breath and turned her attention back to the eggs. Valya could take care of themself. Every one of the Koldovstoretz champions was in the cave for a reason.

“Transparo,” she tried again. And again, “transparo!” It wasn’t working, and Katya was getting more frustrated by the second. She moved to try the spell again but was knocked off balance by the Occamy swinging at her. Her wand slipped from her grasp, carried away from her by the water. As she reached for it, she heard Valya cry out her name. Natalia, close enough to the nest to brush it with her fingertips, stopped in her tracks.

For a brief moment, the world felt as if it was standing still. Then, almost simultaneously, Valeriya yelled “impedimenta” and Valya cast “serpensortia”, shooting a snake at the Occamy, which it promptly ate with a burp. Natalia mentioned poison, posing it as a question to Katya, but Katya was still recovering from her fall and she focused instead on grabbing her wand.

“I’m fine,” she muttered. “Transparo!” Still, nothing happened.

Valya, still trying to distract the Occamy, instructed the group to shoot snakes to the opposite side of the room, and collectively they shouted “Serpensortia!” The Occamy trampled over to the snakes, but Katya didn’t bother to see the effects of the spell. Instead, she continued to try her own.

She was close to tears, but she pushed through it, hoping her frustration and anger would be channeled into making the spell stronger. One more time, she thought. “Transparo, damnit!” she cried, a last hurrah.

Natalia reached the nest, expecting Katya to succeed, but Katya had failed. “Just grab the eggs!” Valya yelled, their breathing heavy. Natalia followed the instructions as Valeriya shouted to the rest of the team to cast a stunning spell simultaneously.

The combined power of four stunning spells knocked out the Occamy, and Katya took the opportunity to grab Natalia and get to Valeriya and Valya at the mouth of the cave. Valya cast a spell in an attempt to move the rocks, but nothing happened.

“Singing…” Natalia muttered. “What if we sang?”

As if on cue, Alessia began to shriek again, and the entire cave began to rumble, pebbles falling. “She sang!” Natalia cried. “The cave likes her!”

“Now she decides to be helpful?” Katya mumbled.

Valya leapt into action. “The Koldovstoretz anthem?” they suggested. They began to sing, and Katya immediately joined them, her voice pitifully shaky. In a moment, all four champions were singing their school’s song.

The cave rumbled more, and they all took it as a sign to sing louder, more passionately. Feeling vaguely more confident, Katya’s voice ceased to shake. Valya moved to tear away the rocks, and as they did so, everything blocking the exit came crashing down.

With four minutes left, Katya wasted no time admiring their work. “Go, go, go!” she yelled to her teammates. “Natalia first!” She had to prioritize the eggs. If Natalia went first and took the eggs up to the surface, even if the other three champions didn’t make it in time, they would still have the keys.

As the Gillyweed began to wear off, everyone’s tensions rose. They only had three minutes to reach the surface, and without anything helping them, no one would make it at all. Frustrated and a bit panicked, Katya yelled, “ascendio!”

To almost no one’s surprise, nothing happened.

“Shit, shit, shit,” Valya cursed.

Natalia turned to Valeriya, asking if there was something defensive that could help. But before the other girl had the chance to answer, Katya noticed a familiar figure emerging from a clump of rocks.

“Natalia,” she cried, “the mermaid!”

Without any prompting, the mermaid grabbed each one of them and lifted them onto her tail. As she dragged them all as quickly as possible to the surface, Natalia promised to return for more dance lessons in exchange for her help. Valya mumbled under their breath, “please,” over and over. Katya, however, stayed still. She was starting to feel numb.

They broke the surface and Katya gasped for air, the fading gills flapping in protest. Next to her, Valya flailed gracelessly on the dock as Valeriya began to laugh hysterically. The two launched into a conversation about how unbelievable the past hour had been, but Natalia and Katya both stayed quiet.

Black spots danced before Katya’s eyes, but she knew she wasn’t hurt. Rage bubbled up within her, threatening to spew out of her mouth in a rather unpleasant manner. Then, everything cleared for a moment. The mermaid, lying on the dock like the rest of them, suddenly transformed into a vision of beauty.

Natalia, looking like she was in shock, managed to say a few words to the mermaid. Valya and Valeriya did the same, but Katya was too stunned to say anything. As the mermaid revealed her name–Aella–and dove back into the water, all Katya could do was wave.

Eventually, someone came to tend to Valya and Natalia’s wounds. Valeriya followed, but Katya remained lying on the dock with her thoughts. She bitterly remembered the hours she’d stayed up in the Ravenclaw tower, practicing and perfecting her x-ray spell, annoying the students by revealing the contents of their bags or dressers or pockets.

It should have worked, she thought. She was supposed to be impressive. She was Ekaterina Aleksandrovna Razumova, 19 year old spell inventor and champion for Koldovstoretz. Her spells worked. That was non-negotiable.

She forced her brain to pause, picturing her swirling thoughts as a large clump of black dust. After breathing in, she pushed all of the air out of her lungs, imagining the black dust dissipating into the wind. She focused on her body, the way the wooden dock felt beneath her fingers, the slight twinge in her ankle probably caused by her tumble, the stray hair that chose that moment to slide down her face and rejoin its companions.

She was alive. She would try harder next time.

“Katya?” Priya asks shrilly. “What were you saying about the Occamy?”

Katya presses her fists into her leg, bringing herself back into the present. She shuts her eyes briefly and smiles. “We worked together and got the eggs,” she tells Priya. “It was as simple as that.”

Priya pauses, glaring down at the parchment in front of her. Even she knows that Katya’s story didn’t have enough details to spin into a scoop. Taking only a moment to bounce back, she flips over the parchment and snaps her fingers at the quill again.

“Tell me about your family,” she smiles.

Katya laughs with a dry humor. “I don’t have one,” she says briefly.

Ever the reporter, Priya’s eyes flash with a new purpose. “What happened to them?” she asks, but Katya just shakes her head.

She slides her glass closer, picks it up, and finishes off the liquid within. Priya looks eager, knowing the effect the Veritaserum will have, but Katya knows she’s in for some disappointment. “We’re done here,” Katya tells her. “Thanks for the drink.”

“But–” Priya stutters, looking for the first time thrown off guard.

“We’re done,” Katya grins, raising her glass in a sort of toast. “You know I’m telling the truth.”

Priya scowls and snatches up her quill and parchment, shoving them into her purse with a huff. “You really are what they say,” she hisses at Katya. “Your heart is as cold as they come.”

“Funny,” Katya says. “I could have sworn I didn’t have one at all.”

Katya watches Priya storm off with a sense of pride. She feels like she’s begun to redeem herself for her failures in the first task simply by fending off Priya Sharp. In a much better mood than she was at the start of the evening, Katya leisurely makes her way to the bar.

“A round of drinks for everyone,” she whispers, sliding the bartender all of the money she has with her. Before anyone can notice what she’s done, she slips out of the Three Broomsticks and out into the cool air. A subtle smile warming up her face, Katya turns and makes her way back to Hogwarts.

The next day, she ‘borrows’ a copy of the Daily Prophet from an unsuspecting Ravenclaw, just to glance at the headlines. There are several ridiculous titles, but nothing about Koldovstoretz’s Ice Queen. Katya tosses the paper into the common room fire and chuckles to herself.

She grabs a chocolate croissant from the Great Hall and takes to the corridors, waving to her teammates on her way out. Just like her first night as a champion, she wanders the halls for a while, but she finds herself drawn to the same place: the astronomy tower.

Katya sits on the floor of the tower, leaning against the edge. She eats her croissant in silence, then pulls out her wand. “Transparo,” she says softly, pointing at a school bag left behind by some poor, forgetful student. The spell works, revealing a mess of ink and parchment.

She smiles. She’ll be alright.

[resourcesfortheavergaeroleplayer]

✩ Minions (2015)   - Sentence Starters

“Look. It’s a banana.“

“Poor man.“

“So trusting, so fragile, so, so delicious.“

“You, one eye, you’re sitting next to me.”

“Glad we/I came along before some weirdos picked you up.”

“We all make mistakes, sugar plum.”

“He wasn’t this good at being evil overnight.“

“Can I get personal for a second?”

“Wow, so many bad guys in the car.“

“I knew you were villains.“

“Well, this is it. I want to tell you and I really I mean this.....”

“Any evil talents?“

“I’m sorry, but I’m not looking for any more servants.”

“As you can see, I don’t need any help.”

“Doesn’t it feel so good to be bad?“

“When I started out, people said a woman could never rob a bank as well as a man.”

“I love you, (character name)!“

“We were born with flippers! No? Just me? Okay.”

“I don’t want you to take this the wrong way, but I hate you.”

“It’s not you- oh wait, hold on, it is you. It’s 100% you.”

“My knight(s) in shining denim.”

“Everyone, meet my new henchmen!”

“I really like your bear.“

“(Character name), my baby.”

“I want to dig up that William Shakespeare, so he can see what true writing is.”

“Just a few thing I stole to help fill the void.“

“It is time to get down to business.“

“I love England. Their music, the fashion. I’m seriously thinking about overthrowing it someday.”

“I feel like a proud mama with 3 dashing evil sons.”

“You think it’s funny to mock the elderly, do ya?”

“Gentlemen do not steal ladies’ crowns!”

“You backstabbing little traitor(s)!”

“I feel used, not going to lie.”

“There are laws.“

“I think, yes, I think we’re gonna have to break up.”

“This is really unprofessional.”

“I drew that when I was 5 years old.”

“So, what do you think of the dress?”

“Oh, you’re just adorable.“

“Why did the Queen go to the dentist? To get her teeth crowned.”

“Hold my bear.”

“I never want to see another one of your goofy buttered faces ever again!”

“I offer this tiny crown for your teddy bear, Tim.”

[ios-newzealand]

Rites of Passage (Add Pic Later FRICK Tumblr)

Our final four went through each of the sixteen fallen castaways in a special Rites of Passage! Let’s see what everyone had to say!

You can view BC’s Rites of Passage here!

Amanda, UGH ROBBED GODDESS <3 QUEEN OF FIRST BOOTS! SO THREATENING THE FAVES VOTED HER OUT FIRST... HER MIND, SO POWERFUL!!! For real tho, I was deeply saddened when you left early. You're one of the nicest people I've met in the ORG community! You definitely have a lot of game to you and I hope the next game, Shade franchise or not, we can work together! Til then, queen...!

Billy, I don't really know you that well so idrk what to say djdkdjf but what I will say is that you seem really cool and I admire how you battled your way back on your OG season!

Lauren, like Billy, idrk you but you seemed chill and likable. Hopefully we can work together in another game!

Bridgette, ANOTHER ROBBED QUEEN <3 You were so nice to me and we clicked instantly. I'm sorry that you had to leave so suddenly (screw Six for idoling you out btw :p) for real tho, you're an awesome person and you shouldn't let your placement dictate how you are as a person/player. You're a good player as well and I definitely think the Tumblr community as a whole underrates you a lot.

Six, while we were never truly aligned, I was right when I said I did like you a lot. I loved your spunk and outlook on life! You playing that rap song as the votes were read at our first tc was iconic <3 Unfortunately, you were too much of a wildcard after your whole "blowup" and I think that you were never able to recuperate. Also, had you made the swap, you would've 100% flipped on the fans at any given moment and that was risky. I'm sorry you had to go though!!! I'm definitely looking forward to talk to you after all of this :)

Grace, you were quite the delight honestly! From the moment we first spoke, I knew that I would like you a lot. I didn't even know about your dominance in ORGs which is quite impressive if I must say so myself. Unfortunately, once I heard you were targeting me, I had to vote you out but regardless, I think you played a great social game and could've taken it all had you made it farther!

Joseph, you are a SNAKE bro. I <3 you but you're such a snake lmao. I trusted you a lot and I really wanted to work with you, but for whatever reason, you obvi liked Liam more than me and wanted me gone (which ok I understand; it's a game). However, when you were making up lies to my face and trying to snake me out, I knew you couldn't be trusted and had to take the shot I could when it was between you and Dana. No hard feelings, I'm sure you're a nice guy! I hope to talk to you after this is all over so we can clear some things up! <3

Victor, ROBBED KING!!! The nuKaumatua tribe did you DIRTY! I really wanted to work with you. I would have considered you my #1 and Kevin my #2 so it just sucked when I got on a swap tribe with none of my super close allies. I think you had a lot of potential, and if it wasn't a double tribal, I think you could've won the next few challenges til the merge and made a run for the end. Better luck next time and I hope we stay in touch!

Zakriah, I felt so bad blindsiding you because you definitely were a cool dude. Unfortunately, you never really talked to me and I knew you were closer w/Dana than me so when your name came up for the vote, I was fine voting for you over Ally/Dana. Despite that, it was nice meeting you and hopefully we can work together in another game!

Liam, I unfortunately don't have much to say about you. This is not to be rude, but we have had NO connection, game or personal or indifferent. Every time I tried to reach out to you, you basically ignored me and when you tried to talk to me, it was just for a vote. I knew you were using me for my vote and that you/Joseph both were targeting me; I even confronted you about this and you straight up lied to my face when I know that wasn't the truth. So, for my game, between you and Michael, it made more sense for you to go over Michael because Michael actually spoke to me whereas you did not unfortunately. Regardless, you seemed really chill and if we talked more, I'm sure we would've gotten along better.

Dana, I straight up LOVED talking to you this season. You were definitely one of my closest allies, so seeing you go was heart-breaking. I wanted to protect you and go to the end with you, but unfortunately you were taken out before I got the chance. Idk why you were targeted so much; it seemed like pettiness to me :P. Hope you had fun and we can play again soon! <3

Tate, you were a really chill dude tbh. I liked our convos, although most were short. I established a connection with you early on in the game at Waitomo Caves, but you did not seem receptive at first. Eventually, I believe you came around to me, which allowed us to have a good working relationship which was nice. I appreciated a lot of what you told me, including the whole dynamics of everyone on our swap tribe knowing each other beforehand lol. I'm glad we met and I'm sorry you had to go, but your inactivity made you an easy target. :( Nevertheless, it was nice meeting you!

Kevin, MY MAN!!! After Victor left, you were 100% my ride or die. Even before, I shared everything with either you or him. I thoroughly enjoyed playing with you. Despite our rocky relationship in the game that shall not be named (Kevin knows which one that is ;) ) I'm glad we connected in this one. The thing that caused me to start distrusting you was when you brought up my name as a potential target going into F10 tc which was odd since we had been allies all game. I very much wanted to work with you and wanted to save you at F8, however, the numbers weren't there and unfortunately you were taken out as a social threat. Hopefully the next game we don't turn on each other AND we can make it to the end togeher! <3 So long!!!

Ally, one of my OG Epicmafia friends. I had never played an ORG with you b4, but now I know how you do so well in them. You were great socially, I loved getting to know you <3 You were sweet as can be but you also suffered a disease called "flipper-itis" and it affected our relationship a lot (at least on my end). I didn't know if I could trust you long term, so when the opportunity arose to take you out I had to take it. Despite that, you're an awesome girl, an awesome player, and I can't wait til our next game together!

Heather, you were definitely one of the people coming in I said I wanted to work with. We connected well in Big Brother Pokemon: Alola so I was hoping that we could do the same here. Except... neither of us really talked to each other that much lol. We were on the same "side" per say, but we were never allies I guess. I wanted to trust you and work with you, but I KNOW you would've chosen Colin/Michael over me. Additionally, you straight up told me that I was gone if Drew won live night immunity so that was the red flag in my book that made me stop and think about moving forward with you. Despite that, I know you're a sweet girl <3 and I hope the next survivor game we play, we can actually work together!

Michael, last but not least, the man, the myth, the legend LMAO. Idk what it was about you but something just pulled me into you so quickly (no homo bro lol) seriously tho, you had a calming presence that I think goes understated. You were a HUGE underdog in the sense that you had a lot of connections yet still found yourself targeted many rounds. You should be proud of the immensely great social game you played, as well as your strategic game as well. I definitely think had Colin not idoled you out you would've been the winner of the game over any of us 4 remaining, so I think it was best for all of us in a way to have you go home. You are such a sweet angel and I can't wait to talk to you and the rest after this is all over! <3

You can view Colin’s Rites of Passage here!

Amanda - Unfortunately we didn’t get to play together for very long. I’ve heard only good things about you so I’m kinda disappointed we couldn’t play together more. I hope ur doing well!!

Billy - Ugh we stan scorpios. I’m so BITTER we didn’t get to play longer. If we ever find each other in a game again can we, like, make a scorpio f2 pls and ty.

Lauren - Girl you REALLY tried it this game. I was shook. but to be fair I tried it as well so! You know I adore you and have always been ur ultimate stan. Stay in touch pls, ily!!

Bridgette - ahhhHHH I was so shook when I saw you were in this game. And then I was so sad when you were idoled out. It’s been so long since we’ve spoken and I really wanted to catch up with you!! You’re a living legend and I hope ur doing okay!!

Six - idk you but uhhh iconic idol play

Grace - WHEW. Meeting you and working with you was absolutely one of my favorite things about this game. You’re so gorgeous and fun to talk to and uhmmmm ily?? I hope all is well with u!!

Joseph - Idk you but i hope ur doing okay too!!

Victor -  Tbh I thought I was gonna try to work with you and we were gonna be some fun underdog opposite sides duo butttttt that obviously never happened. I’m sorry laskdjglks. I still think you’re really fun and yeah hope ur doing well!!

Zakriah - I love how we worked together more in this game than we did when we were a blood vs water pair in New Orleans. I’m really really happy we got to play together tbh?? I loved getting to know you more and I genuinely loved talking to you, even putting game completely aside. Hope ur okay!!

Liam - King, icon, legend. We literally aren’t close at all but I still feel like I know you and I think you’re great. I think you seem to have that effect on a lot of people and that says a lot about you!! You’re a genuinely good person and I hope we can talk to each other more in the future

Dana - Ugh I just wanna be your friend tbh. You’re so fun and an interesting personality tbh. I’m sorry I didn’t really put forth too much effort to talk with you, one of my main regrets on a personal level is not trying to get closer to you. I hope you’re doing well!!

Tate - King of negating two votes. Honestly,,,, you were kinda victim to my first personal backstab and I’m SORRY for that skjgdkgj. You were fun to talk to, and I don’t know why but I just found it hard to trust you, even though looking back I felt like you were actually genuinely loyal. I’m just a mess. I really hope you’re doing alright and I hope we can talk again more, I think you’re great!!

Kevin - Another fave moment of mine in this game was meeting you!! You’re such a genuine person and a fun personality and the circumstances around your vote off is honestly kinda tragic. Nonetheless, you were absolutely a power player in this game and you were frankly robbed. Pls keep in touch after the game, I adore you!! Hehe hope ur doing okay

Ally - So, like, I’m really sorry because I know this is definitely just as much my fault as yours but we didn’t really have any connection in this game at all?? And that’s kinda disappointing to me considering how long we played together. It’s another one of my regrets because I’ve heard so much about what a fun person and player u are, and I didn’t get to see that. I really hope ur doing well and I’m sorry again!!

Heather - Ugh okay so I wanna keep this relatively lighthearted so I don’t cry (thats ur job, ur the cancer) dskjsdgkj. You are one of the nicest and most easy to talk to people I’ve ever met in this community. I think you’re AMAZING and I’m so glad we can call each other friends. Murdering you in the live night was one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do in an org, it was last minute and very very heart wrenching, especially after what happened in Alaska. I really hope u don’t hold any resentment because I think so highly of you. I can’t wait to talk to you after this game and I hope all is well with you!!

Michael - This is another one that’s very hard to write for me. I loved our arc in this game, from when you voted to me round 3 to you becoming one of my closest allies. You’re so funny and I literally adore you SO much. King of being relatable and literally just never fucking sleeping. Pls pls stay in touch after this game because I really genuinely enjoyed talking with you. Hope you’re okay, I know it sucks going out at f5 :(

You can view Drew’s Rites of Passage here!

Amanda - Amanda my fallen queen and Hokkaido sister, I didn’t know how this was gonna play out after HOS20, but I was down to explore that with you. But then over half the tribe said they’d barely heard from you, and that’s just nnnn death

Billy - LOVE OF MY LIFE AND FUTURE FATHER OF MY CHILDREN!!!!!

Lauren - Hey luv! Your rehearsal and performance schedule kept us from making the best connection, but at least you were right about Colin making it deep!

Bridgette - Rip my cave buddy <3

Six - I don’t know you but you’re an icon, are you still afraid of Seven?

Grace - The actual best person I have ever met. I was so ready to throw my entire game away for you...

Joseph - We never met in-game but now I’m hosting you so KING OF CAYMAN ISLANDS!!!

Victor - When the Favorites lost their second immunity challenge and I was in my feelings about losing Billy, I made maybe my only confessional of the game to say “I just want to get to merge to get to individual challenges, but Victor can’t be there or he’ll stop me.” And based on your exit message, it’s maybe the best call I made all game.

Zakriah - I love you so much, I was really excited to play this with you, we got really close to making it back...

Liam - Ugh my Canadienne dad, lowkey wish I’d gone home instead of Keaton so we could share a placement in each other’s worlds. I still lowkey have no idea what happened on swap whatever your tribe was, but it did you in

Dana - Queen of barely being around and still slaying my faves, it honestly wasn’t even supposed to be you that night, but at least we can say we play orgs together in the same way that we host them: in borderline silence for days then throwing everything together in the last second like it was the plan all along!!!

Tate - I’d say you leaving wouldn’t have happened if I’d been voting but um...ily? I was psyched to play with the final third of the holy trinity, but our agendas didn’t line back up once merge hit

Kevin - Kevin why did you come for me, we were doing so well!!!!!!!! I love you, you’re one of my longest friendships in this community, and just so we’re both on the same page, I am NOT taking the blame for this one <3

Ally - Ugh Chilltowns, our one plot together this season went off without a hitch the week before!! I do wish you’d been more present with the game, this isn’t what I’d hoped for when we eventually found out way into a game together, but it was fun while it lasted. Also hmu for 703 Amazing Race if you haven’t played yet, we would slay

Heather - I still wanna know who played that fuckin disadvantage on me in the word search tbh...anyway working with you was a dream and everything I DESERVED after the last FvF we played together that shall not be named despite its incredible winner. I think you’re the only boot I made all season that was specifically because you would win if you were still here.

Michael - Tbh I knew we weren’t making the end together during the Kevin vote, with how hard I had to push to get you to not vote for me then. But if there’s one thing I admire about you, it’s your ability to put game aside and just have chill light conversations. Playing a game with you has been everything I’d hoped it would be.

And finally, you can view Medha’s Rites of Passage here!

Pre-merge: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eMP0NcPS4qI&feature=youtu.be

Merge: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YbPVaFkIZgs&feature=youtu.be

There you go! The FINAL Immunity Challenge will be posted shortly!

[myqualitycollectioncrown]

Brous Blades

Brand Summary

Parent Company: Brous Blades Inc.

Headquarters: Buellton, California, USA

Product Focus: EDC, Tactical, Exotic

Target Markets: Premium ($150-$250), High End ($250-$400), Ultra High End ($400+)

Production Facilities: USA

Owner Jason Brous started Brous Blades relatively recently in 2010 while he was in his early 20’s. Jason came from a CNC machining background as a result of his father (and grandfather before him) who owns a custom machining shop aimed primarily at the medical industry. Jason grew up working on the machine shop floor and soon began developing an interest in knives, realizing the endless possibilities with knife design. As Jason developed competency in CNC machining his passion for knives and knife making also began to take off.

Many of Brous Blades early designs reflected a style referred to as “Bio-mechanical” art, a unique style combining elements of machines, robotics and organic features (think a cross between the Terminator and Alien). Jason had discovered this style in his early days experimenting with tattoos. The results drew similarities with many fantasy-style knives combined with Bio-mechanical features that drew a great deal of attention in the community.

In fact, Jason while was proud of his very first knife design but it wasn’t well received by the knife community who’s love for fantasy knives was luke warm at best. Still, Jason continued to be heavily influenced by this Bio-mechanical style which he adored so much.

Thereafter, Brous Blades began directing focus towards clean yet functional designs while retaining the stylistic Bio-mechanic undertone attributed to Jason’s early influences. Functionality is always prominent which set Brous aside from many of the fantasy designers who’s blades are rarely usable.

“Knifemaking is such a big passion for me because I can do something different every single time I go to the drawing board.“

From the beginning, Brous Blades targeted top-tier materials and manufacturing techniques. These high quality knives are most often produced in limited edition batches and generally use D2 steel. Jason’s designs always begin with a simple pencil-to-paper drawing. Nothing fancy. One thing’s for sure, Brous Blades are never cheap, never boring.

Going forward, Brous Blades has a commitment to producing innovative, stand-out designs and retaining their small-shop culture.

Notable Models

Here’s a couple of examples of Brous Blades knives that are representative of the brand’s typical style.

Brous Brades Bionic Flipper

The original Bionic flipper was met with mixed success with many users reporting production flaws and just not the kind of quality you’d expect for a $150 knife trying to break into the market. Brous quickly followed up with the Bionic 2.0 and I’m hearing mostly positive things from consumers but many still have reservations. There’s no denying the unique aesthetics of this knife which fit right in with the Bio-mech theme at Brous. As with many of Brous Blades knives it carries a D2 steel blade and the Bionic features an aluminum handle which keeps the weight down under 3 ounces. Apparently the first EDC choice of Jason Brous himself.

Brous Brades Caliber Flipper

Like the Bionic, the Caliber is a Liner Lock knife with D2 steel blade but this time falls on the higher end of lineup at well over $300. The Carbon Fiber handle likely has something to do with this higher price point and it just seems on a higher level in terms of fit and finish. The Caliber hits the sweet spot of sizing with 3-inch blade and 4-inch handle and is built on standoffs giving an open-design concept that’s easier to maintain. Again, looks are distinctly unique and the action is amazingly swift and secure.

The post Brous Blades appeared first on Buy Best Knife.

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[thewritelycampix]

No Pokeballs Allowed

Chapter 7: Enter: Monty

Coran wasn’t sure if he was awake or not. He wasn’t sure if he was conscious. All he was sure about was that he was very cold. Everything was very cold.

“Th-this is the end…” he whispered to himself. “C-close your eyes, a-and count to ten…”

So so very cold.

Squirtle woke with a start, gasping in shock. She had been greeted with a freezing prick to the side of her coat. Her fur was absolutely soaked by the snow her body heat had melted and it sucked any sort of warmth out of her with the swiftness of a coursing river of icy water. She shivered and tried to smooth out her coat and coax the freezing water out. It was when she turned around that she noticed some things were definitely missing.

Her bag was missing. It was usually draped over her like a saddle bag, but it had completely disappeared. Her map was also gone. She spun around, trying to see if it had fallen somewhere in the snow. What had she done to pass out, anyways? Her memory was fuzzy-

Coran was missing too.

She whirled around again. “Coran!! Where are you?!” She began to run back and forth, looking for any trace of him. He didn’t have as thick a coat as she did, so he probably wouldn’t be able to handle the cold as well as she could.

Squirtle was beginning to grow despondent when she saw a figure through the light snowfall. It definitely wasn’t Coran, but perhaps they knew where he’d gone. “Excuse me! You there!”

The figure turned around, and Squirtle saw that it was a Tirtouga, glistening with tiny crystals of ice frozen on its body. It must have been using the hot springs here when Faren Heights froze over. The shivering mass stared at her with a strange expression. Nonetheless, Squirtle walked closer.

“There’s a Riolu around here. Have you seen him? He’s not used to the cold, and I really need to find him before-”

She leaped out of the way as a sudden purple stone ripped through the air towards her. It crashed into the ground, and she stared at it with a horrified expression. She looked back at the prehistoric turtle as it began to drag itself towards her with strangely empty eyes,  glowing a deep purple - the same shade that emanated from the rock. Squirtle’s mind switched to defense mode as the Tirtouga began to hobble towards her.

It’s a Water and Rock type, she thought. My attacks aren’t going to do anything against it. I just need to get out of here as soon as I can-

Her heart jumped. Coran.

A sudden lunge from the Tirtouga snapped her back to attention, the jaws of the turtle snapping just a couple of inches away from her face. She gave a yelp and tried to kick dirt up into its eyes. However, she didn’t take into account the frozen ground, and nothing came. Her mind racing, she quickly turned tail and began to flee.

That is, until she ran straight into someone, and tumbled backward.

“Goodness gracious,” a voice came from in front of her. “I apologize, my mind is quite preoccupied at the moment! Are you alright?”

Squirtle got to her feet and looked up, her hackles raised in preparation for a fight.

A Servine looked at her in surprise and took a few paces back. “I mean no harm! I’m simply investigating!”

No way.

“You...you’re that Servine that was talking in front of my house! The one talking to that Breloom about the Drasil roots! What are you doing here?!” she yelled. This was a townsperson! A citizen! Didn’t he realize how dangerous this place was?! “You have to get back to Nuzlocke as-”

His face suddenly brightened. “Ah, so you remember me! I’m flattered!” He grinned and bowed at the waist, completely oblivious of his interruption. “I remember you as well! The Eevee towards whom Marvin was so impolite. Though I don’t quite recall your name.”

As she was still in defense mode from the Tirtouga, Squirtle’s mind was reeling from the polite conversation this guy was trying to have with her. Didn’t he realize this was a war zone? Their lives were in danger! She turned around, seeing the Tirtouga still hobbling after her. “I don’t have time to talk right now, I have to get-”

“Oh, is that sir giving you trouble?” the Servine said, observing the turtle carefully. “...Ah, boy’s gone mad,” he sighed. “I can tell from the expression he carries. I’ve been doing some research here, and my findings have been absolutely fascinating!”

Squirtle jumped out of the way of another rock. She was becoming increasingly annoyed with this Servine. “Do you mind?! I’m trying to fend off attempts on my life here!”

“...Ah.” The Servine looked at the rock for a few moments. His gaze redirected to the Tirtouga, he flicked his wrist, and the turtle suddenly stopped moving. Four blue blades of grass had wrapped themselves around each of its flippers. “...There we are. Foe incapacitated.”

Squirtle stared at the Tirtouga, sluggishly struggling against its bindings. She was speechless. How could someone like him deal with that thing so easily? She supposed he had a definite type advantage, but he wasn’t trained in this! He was a bystander! A civilian!

She turned to him, fuming. “Who are you, and what are you doing here?”

With a flourish, the Servine once again bowed. “Monty Montgomery, at your service. Though...I’m not quite at your service at the moment.” He held her gaze expectantly. He obviously wanted her to ask why he wasn’t at her service at the moment.

“Why aren’t you at my service at the moment,” Squirtle droned.

“I am not at your service at the moment,” Monty said, closing his eyes in a somewhat proud expression, “because I am conducting my own freelance investigation. You recall, of course, the conversation I was holding with Marvin about the state of the Drasil roots, correct?”

“Yes,” Squirtle said with a slow nod. “That’s why I came down here. Because I heard about it and wanted to see it for myself.”

Monty nodded enthusiastically. “Well, after you stormed off in a huff after Marvin’s remarks, I began to think. I told myself, ‘Monty, you enjoy living in this world, do you not?’ ‘Yes, I do indeed,’ I replied. ‘So as a citizen of this world, it is my duty to do my part to protect it from the forces of evil!’ I said. And once again, I agreed. I often find that I agree with myself.” He chuckled at the joke.

Squirtle didn’t.

“So, I decided I would mull about my plan over breakfast. Most important meal of the day, you know, very good for fuelling the brain. And I mulled this over and over in my head, thinking about the consequences of passing this by. And I said to myself, ‘Monty, if you stand by, you are simply not going to be able to forgive yourself for your inactivity!’ So I decided right there and then that I would head up to Faren Heights and investigate the strange goings on there! I proclaimed myself an Exploring Rescue Team Pokémon Captain Extraordinaire and came straight here!”

Squirtle was beginning to get a headache. This guy was a bystander. The Tirtouga was a fluke, it was dangerous for him here. It was her responsibility as a professional to escort him out of here before he got hur-

Coran.

Arceus DAMN it!

“Look,” she said, bristling. “You’re not ready for this, okay? You need to get out of here before you’re hurt. I have someone that I need to find, and there’s something really scary going on here, and you are not prepared for this environment. So please, go back to Nuzlocke before you get killed!”

“Oh, well, I’m perfectly aware of the sketchiness here - so to speak. As a matter of fact, I witnessed a kidnapping just a moment ago.”

Squirtle’s blood ran cold. “...what?”

Monty nodded earnestly. “Yes, it’s true! I would have told you earlier, but the incident with the Tirtouga diverted my train of thought, and I felt it prudent to introduce myself and my purpose first.”

“Just tell me what happened!”

“Well, it was a short while after I first arrived here. I noticed a few figures in the foggy distance, and I drew closer, ready to ask some questions and get started with my investigation! But something felt off with the situation - when you’re an Exploring Rescue Team Pokémon Captain Extraordinaire, you develop a sense for these things - so I hung back. I could see an Eevee - I assume that was you - a Riolu, and a Chandelure.”

This simple explanation was making Squirtle unravel emotionally. She felt anger towards Monty for hanging back and not doing anything. She felt dread as she realized that since she was still here, Coran must have been the victim. But something new took hold of her heart at the last word he uttered.

Chandelure.

This had to be a nightmare. It had to be. Of all the Pokémon that could have taken Coran, why did it have to be a Ghost type!? Since she was simply Normal, she wouldn’t be able to touch it! It wouldn’t even be that bad, if it wasn’t a Fire type, too. So she would quite literally have to watch herself burn. Her ears folded against her head and she brought a paw up to touch the fragment of a stone around her neck. Her heart began to beat faster, as it usually did when she touched it.

“Wh...where did it take him?” she whispered, her voice shaking.

Monty raised a hand and pointed at the lava pit. “There. The Chandelure picked him up and dropped down over that cliff. I was going to tend to you since you seemed to be unconscious, but I thought I wouldn’t want to lose track of someone who was being actively taken. I carefully crawled closer and closer to the ledge, looking for some escape route it might have used. There’s a plateau down there that one could drop down to.”

“...Did you go after him?” Squirtle’s voice cracked.

Monty solemnly shook his head. “At that moment, a Magcargo appeared, and I had to make a hasty retreat. That is also why I was unable to assist you.”

There was so much wrong with this situation. If Squirtle wanted to get Coran back, she would have to go up against a Chandelure. She would have to drop down to a ledge at least ten feet down. Not only would that be a nasty fall, but she wouldn’t be able to climb back up again. And worst of all…

...Monty had the potential to solve both of these problems.

He may be at a type disadvantage against Fire types, but at least he would be able to do something against Chandelure. If nothing else, he would be able to serve as a distraction while Squirtle rescued Coran. As for the cliff, Squirtle recalled that the Serperior line had access to vines - rather strong ones. Monty would be able to use these to give them both a safe descent and a possible ascent afterward.

Like it or not, Squirtle would need to enlist Monty’s help.

“...The Riolu that was taken,” Squirtle said slowly, her voice somewhat choked, “was my partner. I need to get him back.”

Monty straightened his back and looked up at the sky in a solemn manner. “Then I swear to you, as an Exploring Rescue Team Pokémon Captain Extraordinaire, I will do my utmost to save him from the clutches of evil.”

Despite her despondence, Squirtle winced. Was he posing? Dramatically? Did he think this was some kind of game?!

No, Squirtle, don’t get mad at him. Yet. You can’t afford to.

Yet.

“I’d really appreciate it. But we need to start right now.” Squirtle turned around and began walking back to the pit.

Behind her, she heard Monty chime in with his ever so present running commentary. “Ah, yes, I couldn’t agree more! Getting the jump on an unfortunate situation before it can spiral out of control. Very wise.”

Squirtle ignored him for now. “Can you get me down there?” she asked, looking up at him as he approached.

He nodded in the affirmative. “It seems a bit far, but it shouldn’t be too hard for an Exploring Rescue Team Pokémon Captain Extraordinaire!”

Squirtle pursed her lips. “You can’t just call yourself something like that,” she mumbled.

“Sorry?”

She turned towards him, somewhat impatiently. “You can’t just call yourself an Exploring Rescue Team Pokémon Captain Extraordinaire.”

“But I am an Exploring Rescue Team Pokémon Captain Extraordinaire!”

“Monty, that’s not even a thing. And of the two of us, if anyone is an Exploring Rescue Team Pokémon Captain Extraordinaire, it’s me.”

“Well, if you’re _an Exploring Rescue Team Pokémon Captain Extraordinaire, then why can’t _I be an Exploring Res-”

“Because I’ve been doing this exploring thing way longer than you have now please we really need to save my friend before anything bad happens to him so can you please help me down there?”

Monty let out an indignified huff and produced two long vines. They slowly coiled around Squirtle’s waist, and she was gently lifted off the ground and brought over the gap.

Squirtle looked down. It was a ten-foot drop to the cave below. And a much larger drop to the blue lava below that. Her pulse quickened as her mind produced images of her crisp chilled corpse colliding with the strange substance below her. At first, she wasn’t quite sure why she was dead on impact in the image, though she soon remembered that she was currently at the mercy of an ‘Exploring Rescue Team Pokémon Captain Extraordinaire’. If the lava didn’t kill her, he might.

But to her surprise Squirtle quickly found herself on solid ground once again, on the outcropping of rock she had pointed out earlier. She looked up and saw that Monty was lowering himself, using his vines to rappel down the cliffside. He alighted on the ledge with a surprising yet unnecessary amount of grace. Turning to her, he looked down at Squirtle and gave her a smug smile.

“...Yeah, yeah, let’s just go,” Squirtle grumbled. “We’re on a time limit, remember?”

Monty nodded solemnly. “Ah, yes. Your friend. Let us rescue him post-haste!”

It was dark in the cave. Despite the ever-present sub-zero lava, the dull blue glow that reflected off of the arid cave walls did not prove to provide ample light. This specific climate was not one Squirtle was very used to - cold and dry. She’d experienced the other three combinations of extremes. Hot and wet, hot and dry, and cold and wet. But this was an entirely new experience to her. And she wasn’t quite sure she liked it. The air stung as she breathed it in as if there were small bristles packed into each air particle. The tactile feeling the atmosphere gave her went beyond the word ‘crisp’. Even in these subterranean tunnels, it felt like ice was trying to form in the very air she breathed. It was not a comfortable feeling.

Monty seemed to be even more affected by it. He was trying to put on a brave face, but it was obvious that the cold was getting to him quite badly. His eyes were half closed, and he was shivering violently. Not only did he lack a fur coat to beat the cold, but his typing made him even more susceptible to frigid environments. Squirtle thought a moment. There had to be something that she could do - after all, she did still need him to help stave off whatever that Chandelure had planned. That pesky Ghost typing meant that Squirtle wouldn’t be able to do anything to it by herself.

“You holding up alright?” Squirtle asked, turning her head to look at Monty.

He jumped and looked down at Squirtle in shock. His expression quickly calmed, however, and he gave a nod. “Absolutely. The thrill of adventure is all one requires to stay warm!”

“If by ‘thrill of adventure’ you mean ‘some form of insulation’, sure,” Squirtle said flatly. “Look, you’re cold-blooded anyways, and you don’t have fur or anything. I don’t want to have to deal with a frozen corpse.”

Monty paused. “Well...you didn’t have to put it in such a macabre fashion, but I suppose I could whip up some source of heat if it will appease your worries.”

He began to dig into his bag and pulled out a stick about two feet long. He then removed two off-black stones and a plethora of berries. Meticulously, he began to pluck off the leaves from the stems of the berries, placing the fruits back into his bag. He gathered the leaves on the ground, took the two stones, and smashed them together. The sparks settled on the stack of leaves, and they slowly but surely began to develop a flame. Finally, he took the end of the stick and held it to the quickly dwindling fire, and the torch ignited.

Monty sighed in relief as the pile of leaves quickly burned out. “Just in time,” he said, before smirking slightly. “Or shall I say, thyme…?”

“...You just said that,” Squirtle replied.

Monty looked at her for a few moments. “Oh, no, I meant thyme, the herb. You see, I used leaves to make fire, and-”

“Alright, alright, let’s keep going,” Squirtle said. She was still acting pretty gruff around him, but she had to admit that was somewhat impressive. Exploring Rescue Team Pokémon Captain Extraordinaire or no, he did come prepared. And that show of survival skills was kind of cool.

Monty, now that he was able to bask in the heat coming from the open flame in his hand, seemed to fare much better than he had earlier. He was still quite cold, that much was obvious, but at least it didn’t seem as if he was going to be losing any limbs to severe frostbite anymore.

“...Erm, Squirtle, was it?” Monty’s voice surprised her and made her jump.

“Yeah?”

“What is it that you do?”

He was making small talk. Now, of all times and places, this guy thought it was a good idea to make small talk. She heaved a sigh. “In a few words, I’m a professional explorer and problem solver. I own the business you and Marvin were arguing in front of this morning.”

She heard a small gasp come from the grass snake._ Here it comes…_

“Own the business? How old are you?”

“Sixteen,” Squirtle said automatically. “I’m sixteen years old.”

“Goodness! A business owner at sixteen!” Monty marveled. “What an accomplished young woman!”

“Well, it hasn’t been easy to get people to take you seriously when you’re as young as I am, but I think I’ve made a pretty good way for myself.”

The cave lapsed into silence, with only the echoing footsteps of the two Pokémon to accompany the tension that was gripping both of them the further in the caves they got.

“Um...what about you?” Squirtle asked stiffly.

“I come from a long line of cartographers,” Monty explained.

Squirtle looked back at him for a moment as they walked. “Cartographers? That has to do with maps and stuff, yeah?”

Monty nodded proudly. “If you have a map, there is quite a high probability that someone in my family has contributed to it.”

That earned a whistle. “That big, huh? Have you been doing any mapping out?”

“Unfortunately not,” Monty sighed. “As it turns out, most of the modern world has indeed been mapped out already. My own parents have mostly been working on remapping regions that had changed in some way over the centuries, but something as dull as that never held my interest.”

I’ll give him this, he enjoys talking, Squirtle thought._ It’s helping keep my mind off of what’s inevitably coming next._

“But what do you do for money? You don’t still live with your parents, do you?”

Monty laughed. “Oh, no, absolutely not. But...well, I had helped out on an archaeological expedition crew that lasted roughly six months. But the expedition’s over, so...I’m out of a job.” He let out a wry chuckle. “There’s the rub with adventure. It can only ever last so long.”

The ceiling began to vault higher and higher the further the two delved into the network of caves. Squirtle was beginning to get nervous. She’d taken on her fair share of outlaws in her time, and she knew that they tended to reside in places like these, open chambers where they could stash their loot and cackle villainously.

“...poor soul, poor soul…” a melodious yet raspy voice echoed through the caves, its voice taking on a moist quality from the dampness of the walls. “...poor poor soul…”

“Do you hear that…?” Squirtle whispered, freezing in her tracks.

Monty nodded solemnly. “That must be our target.”

“Then let’s get going,” Squirtle whispered, once again pressing on.

The dark hallway opened up, as Squirtle predicted, into a large open chamber. But unlike what she was used to, there was moisture in this room. Some of the ice must have been melted somehow.

No, Squirtle knew how.

There, floating about in the middle of the room, was a glowing purple sphere, spewing a ghostly fire from its body. It was shaped like a chandelier, that was to be sure...but it wasn’t a simple decoration. This...thing...it was what kidnapped Coran. It was whispering to itself in the middle of the room…

“Squirtle…” Monty whispered.

She looked up at him and saw that he was terrified. He slowly raised a trembling hand to point at something that was resting in the center of the room.

Squirtle followed his gaze, and she saw it. Her heart nearly crushed itself from the sudden wave of anxiety that crashed over her. Her vision began to swim, and she would have toppled over had Monty not caught her. A scream was caught in her throat as her eyes tried to comprehend what she was seeing.

There, in the middle of the room, was Coran, frozen solid.

Link to Chapter 8

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