#Purple Squid 15

[shady-tavern]

A Hero’s Return

Continuation of this little short story. No particular warnings, but let me know if I should tag something.

***

'Ready when you are.'

It felt as though the message was burning a hole into your pocket as you stared at your hero costume. Freshly laundered, repaired perfectly after your fight with that telekinetic villain and just as practical and flashy as before. It shouldn’t be scary.

Your hands weren’t trembling when you put it on, but it was a near thing. It helped to know that Silver was waiting on the other side, not a floating terror ready and willing to kill. If you failed, no civilians would get hurt or killed. You would not die knowing you had been utterly useless, or wake up miraculously to find hundreds of people dead because you hadn’t been strong enough.

You had grown stronger, you knew you had. Enough so, in fact, that the hero association had recently bumped you up to Class B. Which was a little frightening, you had never played in the upper leagues before and while you knew you were part of the bottom crowd of Class B, it was still very different to your comfortable, quiet little Class C.

You took a few deep breaths after buckling the last of your gear in place and you stared at the mirror, realizing that the costume didn’t fit like it used to. You had gained muscle and a bit of weight and…it didn’t look right anymore. The colors seemed too bright, the little fluttery accents you had once added to the design on a whim too useless.

You took another deep breath and turned away from the mirror. Now was not the time to get into an existential crisis over your costume. You could always order a new one from the association later. You grabbed your phone, staring at the most recent message for a long moment, your heart pounding nervously.

'Ready when you are.'

You could hear Silver’s voice in your mind as you read those words, could see his reassuring smile, the kindness in his mercury eyes that didn’t quite manage to hide patient anticipation. He was looking forward to this, you knew. He had been there every step of the way, as you had dragged yourself out of the hole your failure and terror had shoved you into.

You didn’t feel ready to be a hero again, but you had decided that it didn’t matter. You would never feel ready. You could run those obstacle courses and simulations Silver built a hundred thousand times and not feel ready.

'Ready' you typed back and hit send before you could stop yourself. 

The hero association already knew you would return to active duty today. The substitute hero had left the city last night, looking relieved. His stay here had been exceptionally boring, since Silver had refused to challenge him in any way. Aside from bugging him a bit for fun, but his pranks were always harmless.

You flexed your hands and for a moment you felt all the scar tissue pull tight, stitched up wounds and surgery scars and broken bones that had taken months to heal. You weren’t ready, but you were sick and tired of sitting around at home.

You were sick and tired of being scared, of worrying. Of thinking about the next Class A villain that could show up with murder on their mind. You wanted to be a hero, still, even now. You wanted to protect people and help them where you could. You straightened your shoulders and walked forward, projecting a confidence you did not feel.

It was showtime.

*.*.*.*

You watched civilians cackle in delight as they were pelted with marshmallow butts the size of half your palm. Silver was bouncing a bit on his toes at your side, grinning so wide it must’ve hurt his cheeks.

"Well?" he said with a grin. "Aren’t you going to try and stop me? Oh no, darling, dashing hero!" He pretended to fall into a faint, hand theatrically pressed against his forehead. 

He tipped over with thoughtless trust, knowing you’d be there to catch him. And you did, hands pressed against his signature leather jacket as he draped himself over your arms with exaggerated drama. He continued, "Whatever shall I do, my evil soul quivers!"

You couldn’t help but laugh, tension you hadn’t been aware of sliding off your shoulders like water off a duck’s back. When you caught your breath again, looking down, Silver had the softest smile on his face, his eyes crinkling at the corners. He looked far too sweet for someone proclaiming he had an evil soul.

He straightened from his pretend fainting after a moment and tugged his jacket properly back into place.

"Good first day back?" he asked quietly, barely audible over the huffing and puffing noise of his Ass Kicker 50, it’s wheel of used but thoroughly cleaned and disinfected boots merrily pelting butts into the growing crowd.

"Yeah," you answered just as quietly. "Glad to see me again?"

"Of course, darling." His soft smile got a mischievous edge as it grew into a smirk. "But you must be losing your edge, you haven’t even disabled my baby yet."

You couldn’t help but smirk back, tapping a piece of plating. "Dead switch is beneath this thing, isn’t it?"

He looked startled, then cursed and grumbled, actually looking like he had no idea if he was frustrated or delighted and instead settled on a weird mix of both. "I was hiding it so well! How the fuck did you know?"

You gave him a small shrug. "It’s the only place that works and from the way the thing’s set up and built, it had to be in this area to avoid messing with the machinery. And it’s the only plating that’s not bolted down. Pressure opens it, right?"

You pressed down experimentally on one side and the plate popped open easily enough, swinging aside to reveal the big red button. Because of course it was a big red button. That was so very Silver.

When you looked up, his mercury eyes were bright and intense and that elated-frustrated look was still on his face. "And you once asked me why I fight you," he said, his quiet voice carrying a particular tone that you couldn’t quite place. It made you feel faintly flustered, though.

You fiddled with the plate for a moment, before closing it again. "Yeah, well, I’m just glad I’m not boring."

Silver drew up to his full height, actually looking affronted. "Boring? How dare you?"

The smile tugging at your face felt far too earnest and touched by half, but it seemed to soothe his insulted affront.

"I’ll have a conversation with whoever put that thought into your head," he said, pointing a finger at you. "And if it was you yourself, we are going to have a long talk."

Hearing a round of loud, delighted noise from the side, both of you looked over to see a group of goth teens cackling as they pocked little holes between the cheeks of their marshmallows butts.

"Ah, I knew I had forgotten something," Silver muttered and you dissolved into helpless laughter, ending up leaning against his shoulder and gasping for air.

By the time you calmed down, you were out of breath, your belly aching in the best of ways and you reached up to wipe some moisture away. Silver looked very content and happy, standing there and watching the machine pelt away, people jumping to catch the butts wrapped in paper to keep things sanitary. So they could be picked up and still eaten if they fell to the floor.

He was always so thoughtful, you thought, still leaning against him and not moving away. You had no idea what he got out of being a villain - well, aside from tax fraud, a bunch of other illegal activities and some very, very strange substances you were not going to touch, ever - but you were happy to see him happy. He deserved it.

"They needed that too," Silver said in this moment, nodding at the crowd. "This city hasn’t quite been the same since that villain attacked. They’re relieved to have you back and seeing us fight harmlessly should put more demons to rest."

You hadn’t even thought about that, too caught up in your own trauma as you had been. You looked back at the people and you saw that he was right. There was a visceral relief on many faces, a giddiness that was born half out of the silliness of the situation and half out of a release of fear-filled tension.

They had been even more helpless than you had been. Civilians with no combat abilities and absolutely no chance to survive the Class A villain. All they had been able to do was run while they had to watch you bleed and break and still stand up again and again.

Oh. 

A quiet realization struck you down to your core. You had wondered why people had been polite but not overly warm with the substitute hero. He had sent you regular updates on villain activity and how his patrols had gone, even if it had taken you a while before you had gotten the guts to read it all instead of only the summary. 

He had mentioned that people didn’t seem all that curious about him and he had sulked about that a bit.

All this time you had thought that you had failed them, these people who grinned and waved when they saw you. Who didn’t hesitate to call you away from the street and ask for help or offer you sweets or lunch when you had been patrolling for hours. People who let you hold their babies or hugged you when you brought their lost pets back.

But they hadn’t seen a failure that day months ago. They had seen you, standing between them and certain death and refusing to give up, no matter what. All because you wanted to protect them with all you had.

"Hey, what’s wrong?" Silver’s worried voice cut into your thoughts and when you glanced at him, his brows were furrowed. "Why are you crying? Do you need me to switch off my baby and back up?"

"I’m fine," you croaked weakly, though you totally were tearing up. "I’m just glad to be back, don’t read too much into it."

Silver’s face softened with a quiet bit of relief and he hummed in understanding. "I’m glad, too, by the way," he said after a moment. "To have you back that is. I may have been a wee bit lonely."

You raised an eyebrow, glad that no tears had spilled over. "You saw me almost every day."

"But not like this," Silver said. "Don’t get me wrong, I love watching you destroy the machines of the obstacle course or absolutely ace the simulations, but I missed going up against you like this."

You rubbed the back of your neck, straightening from your slouch against him. "You always say things like that with a straight face." You both admired him for it and felt envious. Sometimes you wished you could just simply say what was on your mind as well.

Silver smiled, a little lopsided and crooked. "Life’s short, so who cares what others think," he said. "All I care about is living every day the best I can."

You knew what he meant by that. He had told you a bit more about his fight against Terra after modifying some more simulations for you. You had even seen a glimpse of the patchwork of scars that fight had left on him, many of them surgery scars. He had barely survived his debut as a villain. His ever first fight and it had been against Terra.

"You know, I wanted to make the butts bigger," he said before you could say anything, smoothly but obviously changing the topic. "But there was only so much I could fit into Ass Kicker 50 and that just wouldn’t do."

"Are you going to run out of butts soon?" you wondered.

Silver hummed thoughtfully. "I guess there is a minute of pelting left at most."

The two of you waited until the machine stuttered and began to slow, the wheel of boots no longer finding marshmallows to kick into the crowd. Silver gestured grandly for you to go ahead and you pressed the dead switch with a small smile.

"Well then." He clapped his hands together. "I guess I should say hello to my favorite warden. He is ever so happy to see me every time."

You couldn’t help but snort, then you hesitated. "You know, you could just…go."

Silver actually looked a little insulted. "Don’t ruin my date with prison, my dear." He beckoned you closer with a finger, presenting his hands. "I want to see if I can walk out the front door dressed like a futuristic clown."

You blinked, in the middle of pulling out your cuffs. "What would that look like?"

He smirked as you reached out towards him. "I guess you’ll have to find out." He leaned in as your hands closed the cuffs around his wrists, warm skin pressed to warm skin and cold metal between. "I’ll make sure to make the news for you."

"Alright," you said, bemused and curious in equal measure. You noticed how warm he was, this close to you, your hands covering his. His breath smelled faintly of peppermint. "Come on, there are two new officers on the roaster who are eager to prove you can’t slip past them."

His face lit up. "Oooh, fun." He chuckled, low and menacing and for once sounding like the villain he was. "I do love ruining their day. Shattered dreams taste ever so delicious."

You rolled your eyes fondly, waving the waiting police over. They hurriedly hid the marshmallow butts they were snacking on and bustled over, trying to look important and menacing. Even if Silver was a very polite and very wonderful villain, he was still wanted for a number of crimes and the state really wanted to prosecute him.

"Be gentle with Ass Kicker 50," you told the clean-up crew who came in to tow the machine away to a storage facility. "She’s done good service."

When you looked back over to Silver, you caught the warm, unbearably fond smile as he watched you on his way to the police car. He cast you a wink as he got in, mouthing, 'Clown'. You playfully wrinkled your nose at him and saw more than heard him laugh as the door was closed.

"Um." A soft, hesitant voice made you look over and you immediately recognized the girl who had approached you. The teenager who had nearly died at your side months ago. "I’m very happy you’re back and that you made a full recovery." She thrust out a small gift. "Thank you, for saving my life."

"And mine." One of her friends bustled over, holding a little wrapped gift as well. "If not for you, I wouldn’t have made it."

You felt speechless, accepting the gifts hesitantly and that seemed to open the floodgates. You were swiftly surrounded by people thanking you and expressing their concern and relief in equal measure. Your arms soon overflowed with gifts, flowers from the elderly, drawn pictures from children and baked cookies from grateful parents. It nearly made you cry.

You did cry a little when you got home, sniffling as you sat in a pile of gifts, reading letters and smiling at the graceless but enthusiastic scribbles of a five year old. Suzie was curled up in your lap, fast asleep as a small bundle of warmth.

You taped all the pictures to one wall and pinned the letters to an old, large pinboard you had gotten a few years ago. You put the food away and the flowers into a vase and scattered the rest of the gifts across your flat in a smattering of decorations.

It had mattered. Ever single moment you had felt helpless and terrified had mattered. You hadn’t been a footnote on some document, lamenting a too early death. Because of you, so many futures still existed, those bright, burning lives not snuffed out by a cruel hand.

You would continue growing stronger for them all, you vowed to yourself. Even if you needed Silver to end the fight and save you again, you would be there. Standing between evil and everyone else as many times as it took.

For the first time in months, you felt like a hero again, too.

You dozed off with the news channel on and jerked awake sometime in the early morning hours just in time to blearily watch a repeated clip of Silver, dressed as a sparkly, futuristic clown, moonwalk dancing out of prison. There it was, his famous, Class A skill of getting out of trouble in the most ridiculous ways.

You were chuckling softly to yourself, reaching out to fish your phone from your coffee table. You already had a message waiting for you.

'Watch me, darling.'

You were still half asleep when you answered, a golden feeling like honey on warm bread filling your chest, 'Always.'

You hesitated, then tapped out one more message, 'If you have any more inventions, I’m ready.'

He answered immediately. 'Oh, darling.' It read and you could hear the glee in his voice in your mind, could imagine the way he brightened. 'I was hoping you’d say that.'

You loved this ridiculous, wonderful man so much, you thought, still bleary and half asleep. Your heart felt so full with good things it felt as though it was spilling over to the point where you had to squeeze a pillow, hiding a wide grin against it.

[akirasarchives]

[00] Valuable Addition.

Summary: You wouldn’t say you’re in debt, but the dwindling money in your bank account is looking that way. Oh yeah, and a man in a suit won’t stop bothering you about playing a stupid child’s game.

— warnings: usual squid game behaviour, female reader

platonic squid game x reader, side romantic moments but it’s for the plot

[ 12TH, MONDAY, 08:47 ]

The subway station is busy. Businessmen, students and elderly passer-bys push past and shove into you as you stand clueless next to one of the big subway posters. Despite living in Seoul for so long, you barely know your way around and you’re at mercy to the beehive system. And it takes no prisoners.

You’ve been trying for the last 10 minutes to get the attention of anyone, but each person either ignores you or runs on to grab their train, but with each train passing your anxiety grows. It feels as if time has stopped around you as the vibrant chatter of people around you turns into mumbles and whispers as you attempt to understand the subway line. Even as you trace what you think is the blue line, it eventually turns into purple and now you’re on the other side of town!

With a heavy sigh, you turn to face the crowd once more. The crowd had thinned out in the last 10 minutes of your lone confusion and with a quick glance at your phone you see that it’s quickly approaching 9am.

It’s now or never.

“Excuse me, sir!” You tap the shoulder of the nearest well-dressed businessman. The man, seemingly in his 30s or early 40s turns and flashes you a charming smile. He dons a freshly pressed, steel grey suit made of soft, rich fabric. From a quick glance, you can tell the suit is made of expensive material as you spot tiny workings of the logo within the fabric itself. You feel as if you're staining the suit by touching it.

I just had to ask the good-looking one.

“May I help you?” He asks, using his free hand to smooth down his already wrinkle-free suit. His smile drops over time, yet he makes an effort to make it appear that it meets his eyes. Though, working in hospitality makes it easy to spot a false smile.

“I am sorry to bother you, but can you tell me which train takes me to Hannam-Dong?” You glance down at your phone. Foolishly, you forgot to check which train took you in the direction of the job interview you had scheduled today for a big company which would pretty much pay off the majority of your tuition fees in one wage. You practically burst into tears when the conductor told you that you purchased a ticket for the wrong line. The image of the money decreasing from your bank account due to a stupid purchase made you want to scream.

“Are there no ticket inspectors?” He hums, looking around. He looks around and almost comically turns in a circle before sighing. As if you couldn’t feel stupid enough for thinking you had to use a different line, the man in front of you had to make a theatrical out of it.

“I think it is this line.” He motions at the platform on the other side with the hand holding his expensive looking briefcase. You watch as it swings, seemingly empty.

“Thank you, sir!” You bow your head and smile, taking off before you finish the sentence. Soon enough you’re lost in the crowd again and hopefully not too late for the train.

[ 13TH, TUESDAY, 08:29 ]

Stupid nepotism. Yesterday, you arrived at the interview 10 minutes early despite the subway fiasco but you were informed that the role was filled that morning by an “experienced candidate who met the needs of the role”. Do you want to know who the candidate is? The CEOs nephew who just left high school and took a business class.

Now what? You’re at the same subway station waiting on the train to take you to your part-time cafe job 10 minutes away. Usually, you would walk it seeing as you don’t really like throwing away ₩1500 on a ticket that takes you 6 stops away but the torrential rain outside and your cheap umbrella were blocking you from walking 15 minutes.

The ticket crumbles in your hand as you fiddle with the flimsy paper. Maybe this was God’s sick way of telling you that you’re too ahead of yourself or that you’re destined to continue spending money that you don’t have. You trace over the price stamp, thinking over what you could’ve spent the money on.

Maybe a shitty cup of ramen?

“May I sit here?” A smooth voice breaks you from your trance. You glance up, straightening your posture. It’s the man from yesterday, gleaming down at you with the same formal smile. Again, it doesn’t reach his eyes yet you nod, shuffling to the right to allow him space on the bench.

“How was your interview?” He asks casually as he sets his briefcase beside him. He turns his back to you as he traces the cool metal edges of the case, popping it open with ease.

You gape, “How did you know I was going to an interview?”

“Well, you were dressed well and now you are in an apron. I assume you don’t go everywhere in a formal blazer.” He cracks open the briefcase as he casually explains. He’s weirdly observant, but his comment on the apron makes you glance down. Each wrinkle and subtle stain becomes more noticeable, but reminds you of each gruelling hour you put into the place. Each penny earned.

You can’t help but get lost in thought, barely processing as thick blue and red folded paper is passed into your eye-line.

“I am assuming you’re a café worker… That can’t pay much, no?” He motions at the cafe’s coffee bean logo on your black shirt. You nod, still dumbfounded by the paper squares.

His stare is so intense it leaves you a bit flustered so you naturally let out a nervous laugh, swapping your attention to the time on your phone. 10 minutes until your train...

“Um, no, I suppose not.” You reply, albeit awkwardly. He hums, satisfied with your late and short answer. Oddly, this is not one of the weirder conversations you’ve had at the subway station.

He shifts so that he’s facing you, “Let’s play a game, you know Ddakji, right?”

You glance between the paper and his face. He looks so sincere, but you can’t read his eyes. They’re deep, black almost and oddly… mischevious for a middle aged man. Honestly it’s quite disturbing.

“Each round you win, you’ll get ₩100,000. How about that?” The expression on your face coaxed him to continue. Perhaps you looked just as perplexed as you feel.

“Who are—“

“If I win, you pay with your body.”

… Is this man fucking crazy? You want to just leave the station but at the same time you’re so intrigued by what the fuck this man wants. Surely he has better things to do? Was he carrying the ddakji with him yesterday too?

The way he sits still as if he’s a mannequin is also quite disturbing. It’s as if he’s giving you time to process the question but you’re not debating the game, you’re debating just running out in the pouring rain.

“Well?”

“Railway line through Cheongpa-Dong is now boarding. Please board.”

You stand quickly, jolting the businessman with your speed.

“My train is here. Bye.”

[ 13TH, TUESDAY, 22:09 ]

The whole day the scenario played through your head. You were so caught up in thought that you burned yourself with the steamer and spent 10 minutes in the office running your hand until cool water. Even then, your mind wandered back.

It’s just so odd. You’ve never seen him before but now twice you’ve spoken to him. Has he always been there and it’s just more obvious now? Does he offer everyone this game? Is he following you? Does he know where you work?

You barely knew the time. Each drink passed by in seconds and each customer morphed into each other. Every time a man entered the shop in a suit, your heart pumped ferociously.

You can’t tell if you’re terrified of him or excited for the interaction. Maybe he’s just a fucking weirdo who walks around with ddakji in hopes of getting to slap people.

Plus, you could do with the money. Even if you win just one round, it could pay for your phone bill or electric meter.

The walk home isn’t exactly easy either. It’s dark and each corner turned, you’re expecting to see him waiting under a streetlight for you holding those red and blue squares.

“If I win, you pay with your body.”

Unbothered, he extends the squares towards you. It feels as if you’re sucked out of your body as you stare at him. Time slows and no one else is there. Did he just ask you to sleep with him? What in the world could that mean? Is this man a trafficker and he has his eyes set on you? The questions flurry through your brain in a span of mere seconds, yet you still feel the cool air pass over your skin as the train rails in beside you. Your hair falls into your eyesight as you gape at him.

“Well?” He motions towards the cards.

What in the fucking world.

[ 16TH, FRIDAY, 22:35 ]

The pile of unread emails grows in your inbox. Failure to attend lectures, the price increasing of your off campus housing, monthly payments that leave you with just under ₩145,000 to survive for a month. It’s unbearable. You’ve gotten used to the growl in your stomach and the lightheadedness that comes with the fatigue of hunger. Missing night outs with your friends, walking long distances until your feet ached and slaving away at work for nasty people while your eyes threatened to close. It’s all becoming a bit much, especially as your final year in University comes to a close.

The burn on your hand doesn’t help either. It’s right between the juncture of your thumb and index finger on your right hand and it aches when any sort of warmth meets it. You can’t afford to throw away money on soothing gels at the moment, so you bear with the pain. It’s already been a few days, so hopefully it disappears soon. You hope anyway.

Walking home in the dark used to scare you but as needs be, you’ve gotten used to it. Work looms over your head as your feet trudge through fallen leaves and debris kicked up by bikes and feet. The walk from work to home isn’t too bad, the area can be sketchy at times but you’ve learned to keep your head straight, don’t make eye contact and keep a hand on the box cutter you keep in your right side coat pocket.

Luckily, you’ve come across most of the same people. An older man always passes by, seemingly walking home from work and always flashes you a smile. A few students usually run by too and the occasional office worker. Most times however, it’s quiet.

Unlike tonight.

Faint sounds of slapping, cheering and grunting bounce off the walls of the buildings surrounding the dark streets. You can’t tell where it’s coming from, who it’s coming from or why but you prefer to keep it that way, but as you grow closer to a dimly lit side street, the noises become louder.

You sigh, hand grasping the box cutter. Your thumb presses onto the button, holding it steady in case you need to use it.

Keep your head straight, [y/n]. This doesn’t involve you.

You can’t help but flicker your eyes to your left as you walk past. A man lies cowering on the ground as he grasps his face with his hands. He’s whimpering, blabbing something to the taller, well-dressed man that hovers above him.

Is that the man from the subway station?

You quicken your pace. Your feet fall over each other as you attempt to walk away as naturally as possible, but you accidentally kick up some rocks as you scatter past. The suited man turns, casting his eyes on you. The pit in your stomach grows as you continue walking with urgency, daring not to look anyway but forward.

I am so fucked!

[ 22ND, THURSDAY, 12:09 ]

“Long-time, no see.” A shadow casts over your figure, effectively blocking your view of your phone screen. You glance up at the man that is effectively disturbing one of the only peaceful moments you’ve had lately.

He’s dressed in a black variant of the steel grey suit you saw the past couple times of meeting him, but he still carried the same stupid suitcase. You sigh, swiping your music app closed and locking your phone with a click as you use a hand to cover your eyes.

Always with the same fake smile.

“I don’t want to play your game, sir.” You try to reject as kindly as possible, but you’re kind of freaked out that he found you once more. He looks slightly disheveled, as if he’s been toying with his hair or the heat today had worn him down. Weirdly, he looks more human, though little emotion lingers behind his eyes.

“That’s unfortunate. I brought it with me.” He lifts his suitcase higher into view. You frown, glancing around at other patrons. You take the time to unplug your earphones from your ears as he seems to ground his feet into the pavement before you.

He’s hard to get rid of.

“You bring it everywhere with you.” You reply, a bit more harsh than you’d want to but he seems amused by it. Suddenly, the image of him hovering over the cowering man flashes in your head.

Don’t piss him off.

You grasp your iced coffee, ignoring how the condensation soaks your hand. The subtle clinking of the ice works to calm you down as your heart begins to race at the thought of being in the position of the cowering man.

“How did you—“

“Bread or lottery?”

You blink.

“What?”

He shakes his hands, “Bread or lottery?”

“I don’t want to choose.” He seems to hold back something as he sighs.

“No matter what you choose, nothing will happen.” He assures you.

He is determined.

“I won’t have to ‘pay with my body’?” You reiterate what he said at the station. He cocks a brow, but nods nonetheless. It’s odd, it’s the most emotion he’s ever shown and it’s because you threw his words back at him.

You don’t quite fancy the idea of taking food off of him, despite its packaging being intact, so you motion for the lottery ticket silently. He hands you it quickly, fetching a spare penny from his blazer pocket. His hand lingers on your own as he passes you the coin, causing you to stare at him. His lips curl at the corners and you feel as if you just fell into a trap.

“Go ahead.” He almost sings, shuffling to stand over you.

The weight of the coin in your hand is replaced by a ton of bricks. Since when do scratch cards look so intimidating?

The lapels of the salesman’s blazer graze against your back as he stares at the blue sheet with you. You’re effectively caged against the bench that you're sitting at as he extends over your left shoulder and rests against the table.

A shaky exhale passes your lips as you stare at the sheet. The coin shakes in your hold as you begin to scratch, revealing a seven.

“Just three sevens, easy, right?” He chimes in, leaning closer to your face. The smell of his clean, fresh and most likely expensive fragrance wafts past your nose, reminding you just how close he is.

Each scratch feels like it’s taking a lifetime to reveal, but you eventually reach a second seven. You dare to glance to your left, marvelling at how close he is. You can see each fine detail across this enigma of a man’s face. In the short few seconds, you notice his asymmetrical eyes, the whisper of facial hair around his mouth and the dark excitement lingering within his eyes.

Eventually, you scratch away the last box.

“Congratulations, Miss.” The salesman hums, as he stands back straight. The hand he used to rest against the table slips up your arm to press firmly against your shoulder.

You’re astonished. I won? Seriously?

“No way.” You whisper, staring at the sheet. ₩500,000! It’s not the largest amount offered in the lottery but it’s a damn good amount for you. You can pay off a bit more of your loans and maybe afford a half-decent meal tonight.

You barely take notice as the suited man lifts his briefcase once more, and turns to look back at the park. The homeless people he once targeted are still filing through the bread he stomped on and destroyed, bar the one he left over for you. He grasps it in his hands, mulling over his options.

“Excuse me!” He yells out, tossing the bread in the air and catching it. The small crowd of people scattered around the pile of bread and some passer-by’s stop.

You gape, staring at his back.

“You can thank this young lady here for the bread!” He tosses the bread into the pile of people with a sharp throw. You watch as the homeless crowd revenge against each other, shouting and yelling their demands for the food.

You stand from the table, slipping the winning sheet in your handbag and grasping your mostly melted coffee.

I should cash in and go home.

“Hey, did she win?” A gruff voice yells out. You freeze, staring at the businessman. Anyone with any sort of wit would say no, right?

“Of course.” He smiles, standing to the side so the crowd peeps a better view at you.

He’s just fed you to a pack of very hungry wolves.

You want to say something, but the sight of about 10 people suddenly rushing towards you causes the words to die in your throat. You clutch your bag strap and almost drop your coffee as you scramble over the bench you were sitting on.

However, a barrier is formed before you. The crowd stops, staring at the swinging briefcase that blocks their path to you.

“Hey! We deserve that money!”

“You deserve nothing.” The salesman spits back. The disheveled man looks astonished, glancing between you and your new bodyguard.

“You got your card and she got hers. Play fair, weren’t you taught that in school?”

The homeless man is visibly rattled, mumbling and spewing out insults.

“I am not the one who made that decision. You are the one who threw it away!” He shouts. Suddenly, he steps forward and swings his case out, causing the crowd to fall back. Some fall over themselves and create a domino for the ones at the front.

As he revels in the chaos he creates, he misses how you slip away into the crowd.

[ 25TH, SUNDAY, 10:57 ]

“Miss, I understand you are a student but I am also a landlord, I can only wait so long without payment.” Your landlady frowns as she stands outside your door. You scramble around, picking up the last remaining notes you earned from the lottery ticket.

“I am sorry, Mrs. Kwon! Please, take this ₩300,000 I have. I promise I will get you the rest on Friday! I get paid then!” You plead, passing the money into the woman’s hands. She’s quite frazzled, pulling back her hands as you grab them to slot the notes into. Usually, the money would come out of your bank account but you locked your card as you can’t afford for her to take the last of your money.

She splutters, backing up as the money falls to her feet. You scramble to pick up the notes.

“Miss, your rent is ₩900,000 a month. You missed out a part of last month too! Where did you get this money from?” She quizzes, watching as you recount your notes. She wasn’t wrong, you were short about ₩250,000 last month and you were damn lucky she let you off on it.

“I understand, please take this to cover some of the money I missed out on.” She takes the money, sighing as she flicks the notes between her fingers and passes you back ₩150,000. You try to refuse but she uses your previous tactic on yourself.

“Take this. Listen, my granddaughter is in a place like you so I understand, but you cannot keep living like this. What happened to your last job interview? You told me you would never be short on money again!”

Your gaze drops to the floor at this point. Again, you’re forced to remember how the opportunity was practically ripped from your hands before you had a chance to even try.

“He gave it to his nephew.” You reply.

Mrs. Kwon sighs, glancing at the other tenants' doors. None of the neighbours ever cause her as much trouble as you do, yet she finds it hard to evict you. Even now, you look like her granddaughter, defeated and at the mercy of the world.

“Just pay me what you can on Friday. I will give you until your graduation to sort this out, okay?” You nod, thanking her profusely.

Maybe I should play that game of ddakji…

[ 1ST, SATURDAY, 14:26 ]

“Are you crazy? Some man keeps asking you to play ddakji and you’re going to say yes?” Your coworker pales as he finishes mixing up some drinks. You nod, glancing back out at the glass doors. The café is quiet today despite the few regulars, so you find yourself able to fall into conversation with him quite easily.

“Ddakji?” Your other coworker, Junhee, pops her head out from the kitchen. You nod, expecting the same reaction from her but it never comes.

“I’m good at that. Try to hit it with the folded part down.” She smiles, popping back in.

“Hey! Why would you tell her to do that?” Yunho scolds, passing the drinks to the collection station. You can’t help but laugh as you round the corner to pass the cups to the customers. They are used to the usual bickering behind the counter so they pay no mind as the two talk back and forth. Most of your customers are students anyway, so they don’t care much as long as the drinks and food taste nice.

The fight continues into the night, even as Yunho is locking up and watching the shutters fall.

“Are you sure you don’t want a ride home?” He offers, but both you and Junhee decline. Yunho is nice, almost a bit too nice so you don’t want to feel like you’re taking advantage of him.

“Me and [y/n] will walk home together. Thank you, though.” Junhee answers. Truthfully, she doesn’t live far from you but she is closer to the café than you are. You know she’s struggling a bit with rent too and you’ve both discussed the possibility of moving in together, but she is having trouble with her boyfriend so you don’t want to pry and become the main reason she leaves him. She hasn’t told you much but it is financial and she fears she may be pregnant.

As you fall into pace together, Junhee begins to wring her hands nervously. You know she’s holding out on telling you something as it’s the same thing she did before she told you what Myunggi did.

“What’s wrong?” You ask, glancing at her shorter fame. Despite her hair hanging over her eyes, you can see the worry spread across her face,

“Listen, [y/n], I played ddakji with the same man.” Junhee stops in her path. You pause. He had played with her?

“The businessman?” You ask, to which she eagerly nods.

You step closer, looking around nervously. “Did you pay with your body?”

“Yes. He slapped me.”

“He what?”

Junhee throws her head back, “I won every time, but the last round I missed. He slaps you if you fail to flip the ddakji!”

As concerned as you should be, it feels as if a lightbulb blinks above your head.

“So what you’re saying is that I just have to be good at ddakji?”

“What I’m saying is to be careful! He gave me this card too…” She fumbles in her bag, pulling out a cream card with a circle, square and triangle printed onto it. She flips it, displaying an address.

“He said to go there in 3 days. He didn’t really explain it much but he said there were still some spots open.”

[ 3RD, MONDAY, 23:07 ]

“I can’t believe my eyes.” He muses, “I almost think you’ve been looking for me.”

“And what if I was?” Defiantly, you meet his dark gaze. As long as Junhee was telling the truth and he was only going to slap you, it would be easy. It’s not like he’s going to knock your tooth out.

Hopefully.

“Give me the blue one.” You hold your right hand out, requesting the brightly coloured square. He fumbles with his suitcase as he attempts to not look as excited as he is.

He sets the red square face down onto the pavement. Yes, pavement. You caught the fucker as he was stalking down the back alleys near your house as he was probably on his way to find another player.

“You know, you’re one of the first to ask me to play.” He hums, watching as you steady your two feet. Truthfully, you never played ddakji but the guise of the game was nothing too hard to grasp. Plus, you practised a little in your house.

“Try to hit with the folded part down.”

Junhee’s word echo throughout your head as you fling the card down with a bit of force. As told, the red square flips round.

“You’re good. Here you go.” The businessman passes you ₩100,000., the first of the night.

[ 3RD, MONDAY, 23:18 ]

“Alright, last round. You have almost emptied me out.” He motions to his discarded case. The last ₩100,000 sits pretty, almost beaconing you to take it straight from its place. But, you must play fair right? Even the businessman thinks so as you remember back at the park when he fed you to the crowd and saved you at the same time.

“I’m starting to think you’re a lucky charm for me.” You laugh, taking the blue square from his hand. Since he showed up, you’ve started to notice a stronger cash flow and hopefully the card he’s bound to give you continues the lucky streak.

But, instead of laughing or seeming amused, he flashes you a sinister smirk. You stare as he fixes himself. He had long abandoned his blazer, instead opting to roll his sleeves up and really give the game his all seeing as you had won 5 rounds. You have to admit, his disheveled state wasn’t the worst sight to look at.

“I think I’m quite the opposite.” He replies, hands smoothing down his waistcoat. You try to shake off his reply as he’s most likely trying to throw you off your game.

Maybe I shouldn’t be playing ddakji in a dark alleyway with him. Alone. At 11pm.

Tearing your gaze away, you return to the form that has won you five rounds. Steady feet, steady arms and steady breathing aided you in your last rounds and it’s almost as if it’s become second nature to you.

The square leaves your hands in a flash and you don’t bother to look as you stand proudly. A large thwack jumps off of the brick walls surrounding you both as you stare at him with nothing but pride on your face.

But…

Why is he coming at me?

Within a flash, the man’s left arm swings into your peripheral and you squawk as you jump back, throwing your arms out to push him away. Your eyes clench closed as your heartbeat thumps so loudly, it sounds as if there’s drums in your ears.

“You dodged me. That’s not fair.” You stare incredulously. The speed at which he swung at you would’ve landed you on your ass in a second flat. Junhee never told you that. With a dumbfounded expression, you look to the ground.

I missed.

“You tried to punch me. What the fuck?” You scatter, grasping your bag from the ground. You don’t need that damn card, what the fuck was Junhee on about? Is she crazy? Why is she going to that place tomorrow?

“I told you. If you lose, you pay with your body.” He explains casually, as if he didn’t just try to send you to the e.r. “Plus, I was going to slap you.”

“You would’ve knocked my fucking tooth out!”

“It was your choice to play, now stand still for me.”

You step back as he steps forward. Like Hell you’re letting him lay his hands on you.

“I don’t like people who don’t play fair. Please don’t make me hate you after we had so much fun.” He stresses, caging you against the brick wall. Your eyes flicker around, attempting to find a way to slip out. But, he’s read your mind, kicking a nearby bin over on its side.

“I never agreed to you hurting me.” You retaliate, flinching as he brings his right hand to your left cheek. Your eyes clench once again, but the delicate touch of his hand makes you gasp.

What is he doing? Is he seriously caressing my cheek?

The dim light from the nearby street lamps cast a soft light across his features, softening his appearance. If you weren’t so goddamn scared for your life and it was a man 20 years younger, maybe you wouldn’t mind this.

This is a textbook murder. What the fuck have I done?

He sighs, his fingerprints tracing a light pattern across your cheek. Each touch tingles, reminding you of where he’s touched. It’s similar to how your ex boyfriends would hold and touch you. It’s wrong, so wrong.

How can I think of Haejo right now!?

But, that’s until he gets rougher. Soon, he’s manhandling your face, using his thumb and fingers to hold your face in place by your chin. You spew complaints, twisting your body and using your hands to attempt to push him away.

“Didn’t anyone tell you to not talk to strange men on the street?” He sneers, disliking how you’re gradually dislodging yourself from his grasp. You ignore him, focusing on punching, shoving and kicking. You’re so distracted you don’t notice how his hand drops from your chin until it hits you.

He hits you.

You’re yelping, falling and scraping against the brick wall as tears cloud your vision. You’re crumbling, falling into yourself as you cry fat tears. Your ears are ringing and your face feels hot to the touch.

I’m reporting this fucker to the police.

“Fuck you!” You shout, looking up at his figure. Suddenly, you are the man you saw a few weeks ago. He stands unwavering, almost enjoying your crouched form. You can barely see between your tears and clumped lashes and you’re almost one hundred percent sure your mascara has streaked across your eyes, but you don’t care. You’re so fucking angry and scared, you’re shaking as you look at him.

“You agreed to play.” He’s right, but so obnoxious about it. He crouches to meet your form, staring at you as if you’re nothing but a scrawny child or animal. You might as well be.

Suddenly, he flicks a card between his index and middle finger, dropping it into your lap. It clatters and lands on the dirty ground, but you recognise the shapes Junhee told you about.

“Go to the address tomorrow. You’ll be the most valuable addition yet.”

With that, he leaves.

masterlist

[onceinablueberrymoon]

(cheers) to the future | salesman (recruiter) x reporter!reader

scenario: the final game has finished, and player 456 is the winner. after signing off, reporter!reader visits the recruiter for a well-deserved, celebratory dinner. setting: in seoul during season 1, directly after the squid game between gi-hun and sang-woo (my other beloved rip) warnings: (mostly?) light, fluffy smut; (they truly love each other!); fem!reader; no use of y/n; second person POV; salesman is referred to as recruiter; reader ranks about equal to recruiter in the games’ hierarchy; brief mention of alcohol; just in case, minors dni! word count: 1.1k notes: baby’s first nsfw, i hope it lives up to your expectations :’) please comment and let me know what you think of this, i appreciate any feedback ♡

you can read part 1 here! and happy lunar new year, everyone! 🌙 borders by @enchanthings-a and @strangergraphics-archive!

“No! Sang-woo, no…”

A cry rang throughout the arena.

“And with a bittersweet ending to this gripping fight between childhood friends, the 33rd edition of the Games has concluded. We will return shortly with the highlights of Player 456’s journey to victory. Our coverage will begin in three hours. Thank you for watching.”

Bowing to the camera, you remained frozen in place until the director gave the all-clear. You sighed. The final game didn’t turn out the way you – or anyone, really – expected. The once cheerful, happy-go-lucky man had won because of his friend’s sudden sacrifice. Surely, there would be lots of questions from viewers around the world. You pinched your nose – just thinking about it gave you a headache.

At least you were on break for a couple of hours. While the others at the studio would most certainly go out for drinks to celebrate the end of the Games, the recruiter had invited you for dinner at his apartment. It wasn’t very far, only a 15 minute walk. You gathered your belongings and slipped out before anyone noticed you left.

“Wow, you prepared a feast!”

Much to your surprise and delight, the recruiter had prepared a lovely meal of soft tofu stew, multigrain purple rice, and a variety of side dishes. He had even lit a few candles to add to the ambience. He pulled out a chair for you to sit on before going to sit across the table from you.

As the two of you began eating, he congratulated you on your wonderful performance over the last week.

“I heard you may be up for a promotion,” the recruiter noted in his usual casual tone. 

You scoffed, “I don’t know if it counts as a promotion, per se… They want me to report on the upcoming American version of the Games.” You shrugged. “I imagine it can’t be too different from the Korean Games.”

The recruiter smiled, but his eyes held a darkness to them.

“On the contrary. Rumour has it that gambling and addiction run more rampant there than in Korea… I expect those Games to be equally, if not even more, exciting. And with our dear reporter on the case…” He leaned forward, his eyes twinkling.

“Absolutely electrifying.”

You blushed, breaking eye contact with him. He laughed and continued eating his meal.

As always, the conversation flowed easily between the two of you. You commended him once again on his top-notch recruiting skills. 

“Did you catch the final game? I still can’t believe 456 won… I was truly rooting for 218. Someone like him could be the next Frontman, don’t you think?” You asked, picking at your favourite side dish with your chopsticks.

The recruiter nodded, but seemed as if he was lost in thought. 

“He wasn’t hard on the eyes either. Charming, sharp… Maybe he could have become a recruiter as well? We could have had some fun.” This caught the recruiter’s attention, his eyes gazing into yours. 

He cleared his throat, but your comment clearly affected him. “I’ve already started gathering information on prospective players. I think these new ones will be even more interesting.” 

“Oh?” you cocked your head to the side, “Do tell.”

He continued, “A cryptocurrency streamer on YouTube, Lee Myung-gi. Many of his followers are one click away from falling into serious debt. It’s only a matter of time before his advice leads them to desperate measures.” The recruiter’s eyes sparkled. “I can only imagine how he fares when his loyal fans turn on him.”

Intrigued, you smiled softly. He had clearly been working hard on this case.

Once you both finished eating, you helped him clean the table.

“I’m still surprised you went all out for dinner. I thought it’d be something simple, like ramyeon or take-out,” you paused, “Not that this wasn’t perfect. You made an amazing stew.” You moved to peck him on the cheek. 

The recruiter’s eyebrows raised slightly. “Ramyeon? Well, why didn’t you say so?”

You groaned. Of course he’d turn your comment into an innuendo. 

“I’m always open to ramyeon with you.” 

As the sun dipped below the horizon, the two of you moved to his sofa, and got a bit handsy with each other. It started with innocent touches and kissing. By the time you broke for air, your lips were swollen and your faces were flushed red. 

The recruiter loosened his tie, making you bite your lip in anticipation. You helped him shrug off his suit jacket before tossing it on the floor.

As you continued to kiss, you straddled him and pressed yourself against the growing bulge in his dress pants, making you both moan. He pulled you closer and you ran your fingers through his neatly styled hair. 

He easily popped open the buttons on your blouse with his teeth, a skill he’d perfected from your many trysts. He pushed aside your bra cup before taking your breast in his hand to gently fondle it, brushing his thumb over your nipple. You whimpered, and he flashed his classic smirk before drawing circles around your nipple. His other hand was on your waist, keeping you steady while you rocked your hips against his. 

As you attempted to unbutton his shirt, he trailed kisses down your neck and left a few hickeys, despite your protests. 

“Seriously? I go live in like,” you glanced at the clock on the wall, “One hour!” 

The recruiter took in your disheveled appearance and was very pleased with his handiwork. The world would see that their enchanting reporter had already been claimed — only he was privy to your full attention.

“Wait, one hour?” You did a double-take at the clock. 

You panted, stopping your rutting pace entirely. He groaned, grinding his hips up against yours in an attempt to lure you back in. 

“Sorry, I have to go. Makeup’s going to have a field day with these hickeys…” 

You lifted yourself off of him, much to both his and his body’s displeasure. However, he knew he couldn’t keep you from your job. The higher-ups would throw a fit otherwise. You could continue your session later tonight.

As you cleaned up and made yourself presentable for the public, the recruiter went to his kitchen and returned with two glasses of wine. He handed one to you and made a toast.

“To my lovely, charming reporter, who continues to fascinate me every day.”

You blushed, then replied with your own toast.

“To my handsome, mischievous recruiter, who never fails to impress me.”

He smiled, and kissed you on the lips.

“And to the games that brought us together.”

You both clinked your glasses, wishing for an even more thrilling spectacle to come.

[uncharismatic-fauna]

Peacock Mantis Shrimp (Odontodactylus scyllarus)

Habitat & Distribution

Generally resides in coral reefs and sandy flats, at depths up to 3 m (9.8 ft)

Found throughout the Indo-Pacific, from the eastern coast of Africa to the Phillipines

Physical Description

Weight: 12-90 g (0.4-3.2 oz)

Length: 10-38 cm (4-15 in)

Peacock mantis shrimp are extremely colourful; the main shell is mottled green and blue, and the legs are red

On either side of the head are large, green, fan-like structures called antennae scales, and the head itself is blue with purple eyes

Behaviour

Peacock mantis shrimp hunt their prey by ambush, and use their powerful claws to smash the shells of mollusks and crustaceans

They reside in underground burrows, which they defend fiercely

Peacock mantis shrimp can be prey for large fish, cuttlefish, squid and octopus

Key Advantages

The peacock mantis shrimp has an extremely fast punch, reaching speeds of 80 kph (50 mph); its limb accelerates at 100,000 m/s2 (330,000 ft/s2) which creates momentary bubbles of boiling water

The exterior of their clubs are made of hydroxyapatite, an extremely hard and dense material

They can swim at speeds of up to 1 m/s (3.2 ft/s)

Photo by Cédric Péneau

[starwrighter]

I am not a baby!!! (Yes you are)

(Ao3) (Masterpost) (Previous) (Next)

(Chapter 15 lets goooooooo!!)

Sneaking past the serpent was a piece of cake! Even with all those eyes, Dami’s still blind as a bat. He didn’t mean to toot his own horn, but he’s gotta say he’s the sneakiest swimmer on this planet! Not even squidding, he thought it would take longer, now, he’d have time to krill after finding this signal.

…He needed to step up his pun game.

This was an ocean planet for ancient's sake! There were so many opportunities, and he needed to take all of them. If Alterra came to rescue them, Danny needed to be surfing up wordplay until ears started bleeding! Do some real punitive damage. 

Sneaking out the kelp forests, Danny stuck close to the surface, praying any other leviathan wouldn’t think to look up. As the distance to the signal ticked lower and lower, Danny's hopes sank like an anchor. 

Sat on a rocky ledge, was Life Pod 17, blood red grass surrounding it. The hull had been torn into leaving a gaping hole where the right wall used to be. Sand lined the bottom of the pod, the only remaining light from an abandoned PDA.

“Ozzy’s log. It’s the day of the crash. I don’t know what the heck is happening. I’m scared and I’m not going outside. There are shadows in the water under the hatch but I can’t tell if they’re rocks, or aliens, and there’s weird looking caves nearby.” Ozzy sounded terrified, Danny didn’t blame him.

“The Aurora was carrying everything needed to build the phasegate: mobile vehicle bays, bioreactors, propulsion cannons… It had a cinema. There-there was a zero-G gym. My cafe. I don’t understand how we’re here now. I don’t know what no one’s coming for me,” It started mournful, longing even, before sinking into despair and disbelief.

Danny could guess what happened after this log was recorded, and it wasn’t pretty. Eaten by whatever was lurking underneath the pod, a brutal way to go if you asked him. Once again, a body had been scavenged until nothing was left but a couple specks of blood on the PDA screen. Only this time, he had a name to write down in his own log. Just a first name, but it’d be enough to tie a name to a face when rescue arrived. 

A chunk of a sea moth almost completely buried in the sand was strewn a few feet from the pod. Shards of glass stuck out of the seabed, Danny salvaging what he could, doing his best not to cut himself. Whatever snake thing killed Ozzy already had a taste for human blood, and Danny didn’t want to risk giving it a taste of halfa blood. 

The cave system’s entrance is visible from where he was. Danny could only guess that’s where the sea snakes came from. There wasn’t any sign of them now. Maybe Ozzy just got unlucky? The crash was loud, If he was a snake-like thing, he would’ve left home to see what the hell happened too. He wouldn’t have eaten anybody, but still, he would’ve wanted to know what the hell was going on.

A dim glow of pinkish purple was seen as he creeped closer to the caves. 

“The conditions in this cave support a microcosm of unique, possibly predatory lifeforms.” That didn’t sound good for him.

“Detecting an artificial structure somewhere in the region,” That, however, sounded very good.

What’s down there? Was it just part of the Aurora? A smaller chunk of ship sinking into a cave without blocking off the entrance was unlikely but plausible. The PDA didn’t usually alert him when wrecks were nearby, what’s so different about this one? 

Whatever’s down there could help him. If it was the same as all the other wrecks, his PDA wouldn’t have notified him. The problem was, he didn’t know how deep these caves were. Was it even possible for him to reach whatever was down there? 

Surfacing for air just above the cave entrance, Danny gripped the handles of his seaglide. Sucking in a sharp breath, He dove, delving down into the bioluminescent caves. Gigantic plants like crossbreeds between mushrooms and jellyfish were everywhere throughout the caves. A hole in the middle of each where gigantic, fanged snakes shot out of snapping their teeth in an attempt to catch prey. Outcrops of shale were strewn out throughout the cave, but Danny couldn’t tear his eyes away from the bright light shining just a few feet away. 

A floodlight…

On top of a rusted foundation was a floodlight, its brightness wavering, ready to give out after years of wear and tear. Crates were scattered throughout the area, his hair standing on its ends as he searched every side of the crate in front of him. Alterra’s logo was nowhere to be seen. Not even the smallest scrawl of product placement for the gigantic corporation. Instead, only the rust over scrawl of a label he could barely make out.

Torgal corp…

A name vaguely familiar to him. The disappearance of the CEO and his son had been all over the news for a long time. Danny had just turned three when the news of their mysterious disappearance broke out, but with his interest in space exploration, they were the first things you’d learn about. Hundreds of news articles and conspiracy theories on what happened to them flooded the internet from the moment it happened and continued to pop up every now and again to this very day.

A lone PDA lay glowing atop a supply crate, its blue light more entrancing than anything in his life would ever be. Danny pursed his lips, oxygen meter ticking down with his indecisiveness. Hesitantly, he snatches the tablet, a loud, blaring noise emitting from his own…

A signal had downloaded itself to his PDA 

{Purposed Desagi habitat (250m)}

What the hell!? Nothing about this solar system had ever popped up when he researched the Desagi! There was no reason anything related to Torgal Corp should be on this planet! Yet here it was, an environmental log made by Paul Torgal and a signal to their possible shelter.

Was this a Bermuda Triangle kind of situation? He didn’t like the idea of the Desagi crashing for the same reasons as they did. It painted an ugly picture in terms of rescue. Something fishy was going on, and Danny was going to find out what.

“Thirty seconds,” The robotic voice like a curse as he booked it out of the caves. Water seemed unending as his vision began to blur, his chest painfully tight as he desperately swam towards the surface.

Breaking the surface just as his view began to go dark, he gasped, taking in the longest gasp of air he’d ever taken. His mind was swirling an unending whirlpool of dread and confusion. 

Now, he had more to do than he’d ever before. No schoolwork would ever be as stressful as the responsibilities he’s got now. He had to attempt to stop a quantum detonation, find out what happened to both their ship and the Desagi, find any survivors of both ships, get off this planet, and reunite with family.

If all this landed on his shoulders and his shoulders alone they’d all be screwed.

Loud screeching calls echoed throughout the grassy plateaus, breaking him out of his downward spiral. The eerie noise sent shivers down his spine, it was a panicked sound, desperate. He could almost feel the emotion from here as cries grew louder, roars replying to said cries.

A cloud of sand uplifted into the sea, and a faint noise of thrashing and the wheeze of a pissed-off crashfish reached his ears. Danny couldn’t help but creep closer, hoping he could sneak back into his base before whatever was causing this ruckus tried to kill him.

Like he expected, Dami was making the loud roaring noises. What he didn’t expect was another gigantic leviathan to be seemingly screaming at him?

Were they going to fight? Should he start placing bets?

His base was dangerously close to where the new Leviathan was thrashing around like an electric eel on LSD. Its scales were like armor plating, teal gray with fins like javelins. It had a set of electric blue eyes on the front of its face. Like Dami, he had hands, four fingers with toxic blue on the pads of each finger. His claws were curved, more useful for grasping things and climbing than they were for fighting. 

An aura of electricity surrounded the leviathan, a peeper floating belly up upon making contact with it.

Yeah, Danny didn’t feel like getting electrocuted anytime soon. He couldn’t bite or attack the guy without getting into shock range. 

Maybe he could convince Dami to chase this guy off?

@ashoutinthedarkness @avelnfear @meira-3919 @thought-u-said-dragon-queen @hugsandchaos @blep-23 @zeldomnyo @bytheoldwillowtree @justwannabecat @shepherdsheart @starlightcat04 @stargazing-bookwyrm @pupstim @dragongoblet @noxcheshire

[ultrainfinitepit]

Shop Update July 2024

Hey there angel enthusiasts, it's time for the July update. Here's everything new on Shopify and Etsy:

Angel Curiosities pins

Patches: Angel of the Rainbow Infinite, Slain Lamb, and Eye Rectangle

Lanyards: Purple Tentacles, Blue Wings, Green Serpents, and Red Seraphim

Keychains: Heart Dagger and Angel of the Rainbow Infinite

Stickers: Starry Squid, Angel Columbo, Cowboy Zipporah, Israfel Seraph, Biblically Accurate Kumon, Heart Dagger, and Cowboy Angel

A new product: washi tape! Featuring the Red Seraphim artwork with gold foil.

To help clear out some older items, I'm running a sale on Etsy and Shopify. Almost everything is on sale on Etsy for 10% off; and a 15% discount will be applied at checkout on Shopify. 

The Pride Angels campaign is in-progress and going strong. Be sure to pledge before it ends. I'm planning to host preorders for pin designs from the past few months in the post-campaign survey/preorder store, so follow the campaign and keep an eye out for that if you're interested.

And don't forget to check out Pride Potions by Key and Crow Studios to get the pair of cross-collaboration freebie pins.

That's all for this update, have a joyous July ✨

[astrallum]

Huevember day 13-15

💜Squid Squad (The Purple Album)💜

[hi-people54]

Part 15 of asking octonauts related questions until season 5 comes out

This is unrelated unless you use character ai and talk to the octonauts but what does the ai mess up?

Mine: it’s messed up alot in the past making up random characters and messing up the characters appearance and personality here’s some examples:

It once said Shellington had wings

Called Peso a shark

Called Dashi a purple squid

Called Tweak a monkey

It said the Gups are alive once 😭

Made up various characters I mainly get a made up character called “Darwin” and some other ones it’s so annoying bc they don’t exist

Ik it’s an ai but come on 🤦‍♀️

[calamariumart]

HI HELLO! It’s time for me to open commissions because I, like many artists all over the world forever, Need Money. Image description under the cut!  

Start I.D.

[An art commissions post titled "Squids Commission Prices" at the top on a light orange background. It contains five tables, three on the top half of the post and two on the bottom. On the left of the first table for each half says "Prices". Each table has an image above it as an example of the type of artwork. The first table is labelled "Icon", and has an image of a symmetrical Jackalope with deer antlers and ram horns done in pixel art with solid colors. The table has two rows with one column each. The first row is titled "Base" with its column being "$20". The second row is "BG" with "+$5".

The second table is labelled "Sketch", with five rows and one column each. In order from first row and column to last, it says "Base $25", "Color +$10", "Shading +$10", "+Chars +$15", and "Full Body $35". Above this table is a colored sketch of three teenagers, two of which are fursonas, hugging and overlapping a partially colored sketch of a woman.

The third table is "Line art", with five rows and one column each. In order from first row and column to last, it says "Base $35", "Color +$10", "Shading +$10", "+Chars +$15", and "Full Body $50". Above this table is two separate drawings of animal heads, one maned wolf and antelope hybrid and the other of a cat, in clean line art. There is a box that reads "Separate base price" that is pointing to the rows labelled "Full Body". Next to these tables is a text box that reads "There isn't really a difference between line art with color/shading and a Simple Piece". The text box has a pink cyclops cat fursona drawn on top of it waving at the columns.

On the bottom half of the post, the first table is labelled "Simple Piece", with four rows and one column each. The second row is empty. In descending order, it reads as "Base $45", "+Chars +$25", and "Full Body $60". There are two images above it, one of the colored version of the hybrid, now purple, and the other a chest up of a brown bear with cat ear gamer headphones on, with clean line art and solid colors.

The second table is labelled "Detailed Piece", with four rows and one column each. The second row is empty. In descending order, it reads "Base $100", "+Chars +$30", and "Full Body $150". There are two images above the table. One is a detailed portrait of a human man, and the second is a detailed painting of three figures, all furries, one a gazelle child being held by half of a leopard woman, the other half of the leopard woman is a skeleton embracing a bleeding adult gazelle and leopard hybrid. Both images are drawn in a very detailed paint style.

Next to the two tables is a light blue text box that reads "I'll draw almost anything, just ask. Mech/Heavy Armor at your own risk. Simple backgrounds only. Animal Ear Edits are $5-8 btw. Put cat ears on your Anime Icon"

On the bottom of the image is a light blue text box titled "Contact Info". It reads "Art Tumblr: calamariumart.tumblr.com", "squidcalamarium.tumblr.com", and "Email: squidcalamarium@gmail.com". On the top of this textbox is the same pink cyclops cat, his full body drawn sitting on the box. He’s smiling with his eye closed, and gesturing to the prices with a paw.] End I.D.

[horror-thriller-brackets]

Got a tentative list of the next tournament, best horror and thriller music themes.

1. The Shining, Main Title/The Shining

2. The Silence of the Lambs, Main Title

3. psycho, The Murder

4. Jaws, Theme (From Jaws)

5. The Thing, The Thing

6. Halloween, Halloween Theme

7. The Exorcist, Tubular Bells

8. Get Out, Sikiliza Kwa Wahenga

9. Midsommar, Fire Temple

10. Suspiria, Suspiria

11. Nightmare on Elm Street, Main Title

12. Rosemary’s Baby, Lullaby from Rosemary’s Baby

13. 28 Days Later, Main Theme

14. Alien, Main Title

15. Friday the 13th, Overlay of Evil

16. Twin Peaks, Twin Peaks Theme

17. Crimson Peak, Edith’s Theme

18. The Ring, The Well

19. Candyman, It Was Always You, Helen

20. I Saw the Devil, Devil’s Bossa

21. Stoker, Duet

22. The Omen, Ave Satani

23. Don’t Look Now, John’s Theme

24. Godzilla, Main Title

25. Parasite, Opening

26. Oldboy, The Last Waltz

27. Black Swan, Night of Terror

28. Us, Pas de Deux

29. train to Busan, goodbye world

30. Godzilla Minus One, Divine

31. Perfect Blue, Virtua Mima

32. Gravity, Debris

33. Paprika, the Girl in Byakkoya

34. Prey, Naru’s Way

35. Chinatown, Love Theme

36. L.A Confidential, The Victor

37. Beyond Evil, Who is the Monster

38. Squid Game, Way Back When

39. Flower of Evil, Flower of Evil

40. Knives Out, Knives Out!

41. Strangers from Hell, Others

42. Searching, New User

43. Person of Interest, Listening with a Million Ears

44. The X Files, X Files Theme

45. Over the Garden Wall, Prelude

46. Coraline, End Credits

47. Death Note, Death Note Theme

48. Monster, Grain

49. Ergo proxy, New Pulse

50. Erased, The Town Where Only I Am Missing

51. The Promised Neverland, Isabella’s Lullaby

52. Devilman Crybaby, DVMN

53. Chainsaw Man, Sweet Dreams

54. Tokyo Ghoul, TG Symphonie

55. Akira, Kaneda’s Theme

56. Purple Hyacinth, Purple Hyacinth Theme

57. Mogeko Castle, Main Theme

58. Ib, main theme

59. Beetle juice, Title Theme

60. ID Invaded, Other Side

61. Psycho Pass, Psycho Pass

62. The Batman, Batman theme

63. The Fly, Plasma Pool

64. Hannibal, Bloodfest

65. Death Parade, Moonlit Night

66. Elfen Lied, Lilium

67. The Twilight Zone, Main theme

68. Saw Theme

69. Children of the Corn, Main theme

70. Umineko, Katayoku no tori

[blue-lock-rocky]

SPOILER: A Tentative Timeline for Blue Lock (2.2)

Many thanks to the wonderful @echarie, who has supplied the dates of the NEL matches, the E-4 meet-up before BM vs. Ubers, and ✨Barou Hair Day✨

2.2 Patch Note: Now includes recent events like the E-4 meet-up and ✨Barou Hair Day✨

This timeline is NOT spoiler-free.

Please proceed with caution.

GREEN: confirmed; RED: real world events; BLUE: deduced; PURPLE: unknown

July 2, 2018: 2018 FIFA World Cup Belgium v. Japan. The opening line makes a direct reference to the match (Ch 1).

Japan's loss led to Anri proposing the Blue Lock Project (Ch 1).

Nov 18, 2018: Saitama Prefectural Finals, in the evening Isagi receives an invitation to join a special training program (Ch 1).

Nov 20, 2018: Move-in Day, a Tuesday. Ego says it’s six months from the U-20 World Cup. The date is confirmed on Twitter. (Ch 2)

Nov 23, 2018: Team X VS. Team Z; Team V Vs. Team Y. Isagi says that it has been three days since the last chapter (Ch 3). Ego proceeds to tell Team Z that their next match is in two hours (Ch 5). After the first match, he tells Team V that they will go against Team Y in "just a few moments" (Episode Nagi Ch 5).

Team V VS. Team Z marked the end of The First Selection. Our Team Z boys undergo brutal training.

The Second Selection begins on the "tenth day" of training. Early morning, Ego makes his grande announcement. Isagi gets past the Blue Lock man, and teams up with Bachira and Nagi. They go against the Top 3 Team. (Ch 39)

Jan 28, 2019: Blue Lock v. U-20 (Ch 112-149)

Jan 29, 2019: The day after the U-20 match, start of their two-week break. (Ch 150)

Feb 12, 2019: Isagi meets Bastard Munchen. It's the first day back from break, Ego says they have 100 days til the U-20 World Cup. (Ch 153-157)

Feb 22, 2019: Bastard Munchen VS. FC Barcha; Paris X Gen VS. Ubers. Chapter 158 notes that the match takes place ten days after they met the team. (Ch 158-169)

March 4, 2019: Bastard Munchen VS. Manshine City; FC Barcha VS. Ubers. Ego says that the match would take place ten days after the previous. (Ch 170-203)

March 9, 2019: The Egoist-4 Reunion; Bachira and Chigiri came over to train with Kunigami and Isagi (Ch 213)

March 13, 2019: ✨Barou Hair Day✨; Aiku said that they put in the highlights on the day before the match. (Ch 210)

March 14, 2019: Bastard Munchen VS. Ubers (Ch 209-

May 23 - Jun 15, 2019: The 2019 U-20 World Cup

Note: Ch 3 of Episode Nagi makes a reference to Squid Game, but other scanlations (Chinese, French) don't mention Squid Game.

Appendix

The order of First Selection Matches:

Team X VS. Team Z

Team V VS. Team Y

Team W Vs. Team X

Team Y Vs. Team Z

Team V Vs. Team W

Team X Vs. Team Y

Team W Vs. Team Z

Team V Vs. Team X

Team W Vs. Team Y

Team V Vs. Team Z

We know matches 1 & 2 happened on the same day and matches 7 & 8 happened on the same day. We can safely assume that most of these matches probably came in pairs with the exception of matches 9 & 10. Apparently our boys got an entire day between these two matches (Ch 23-24) .

[norts-trolls]

Animal adopts!!

Do they make sense or really look like the animal? No. Are they cute? Yes. Made these little guys on my mini's base so I can hit the up coming bills and gets me a little treat!! As always these are Payp*l only and for an extra $15 I will draw an icon for them!! DM me if interested. And please remember to read my rules there have been a few changes!!!

Banyana Goldie(15): SOLD

Betta Fish Fuschia(10): SOLD

Rock'n Tiger Rust(15): SOLD

I prommy it's a shark Violet(10): SOLD

Lyre Bird Rust(10): SOLD

Gargoyle Geko Anon(15): ON HOLD

Mystic Fennec Purple(20): SOLD

Outlawed Squid Fuschia(20): SOLD

Please keep the design recognizable. But I don't mind changes.

You may NOT edit my work in any form or way.

Please credit me for the design!

You may NOT repost the original art anywhere except for toyhouse to which you will still need to credit me for the design.

IF THE ADOPT IS POC DO NOT CHANGE THAT DETAIL

Blood color and gender up to you!

I don't mind if you change their species

Please do not resell. Gifting is fine.

I can hold for 3 days max

Any future commissions of adopts brought from me will have discount.

PLEASE DO NOT USE THE ADOPTS FOR GROSS STUFF ( hate messages, racism, N/FTS etc etc use common sense)

ADOPTS WILL NOT BE USED FOR COMMERCIAL USE. (you can however buy commercial use license)

ABSOLUTELY NO USE OF AI WITH ANY OF MY WORKS

Message me the word Goat so I know you read the rules!

[braveminitailor]

New Shellphone Who Dis?

Characters For Prolouge - 4

~○~○~○~○~○

🐚Theadora "Thea" Anderson🐚

(No Face Claim)

○ 15 years old

○ Should be a sophomore but is home schooled

○ Sea monster of some kind

○ Raised by adopted normie dad & mom

○ Biological parents are unknown & MIA

○ Tranforms when in water to a squid-like form

○ Purple scales on body

○ Webbed ears, fingers, & toes

○ Sharp teeth with venomous saliva & sweat

○ Chubby & on the shorter side

○ Brown hair with purple streaks

○ Black eyes with no pupil

○ Y2K style fashion

○ Deuce's pen pal

🐚Deuce Gorgon🐚

(Case Walker)

○ 15 years old

○ Sophmore at Monster High

○ Roomate is Heath Burns

○ Gorgon

○ Mom is Medusa

○ Snakes in hair

○ Wears glasses to prevent from turning others to stone

○ Scales on neck and arms

○ On the casketball team

○ Thea's pen pal

🐚Jesse Anderson🐚

(No Face Claim)

○ 16

○ Junior in high school

○ Normie & Thea's adopted brother/best friend

○ Knows Monsters exist

○ Blond with brown eyes

○ Around 5'8"

○ Street racer

○ Pothead

○ Best friends with Zay

🐚Alexander "Zay" Heinz🐚

(No Face Claim)

○ 16

○ Sophmore in high school

○ Normie

○ Knows monsters exist

○ Red head with blue eyes

○ 6'2"

○ Plays baseball

○ Pothead

○ Best friends with Jesse

○ Has a crush on Thea

~○~○~○~○~○

Main 🐚 Prolouge 🐚 Next

[cutter-kirby]

welcome to spontaneous tuc side character appreciation

since it’s tuc’s anniversary extravaganza I’d thought I’d share the list I made on my latest reread. this time we’re talking about andromeda because she’s known for the first three books and then drops off the face of existence. so here’s everything she’s done ever!

(disclaimer I’m not infallible so apologies if I missed anything. I cut out a few times where the bats were mentioned as a unit. enjoy!)

GtO

Chapter 8 - Andromeda is part of the battle on the beach, though she's not mentioned by name. Shed holds onto her wing until Perdita saves her. She sprays blood from her wounded wing and loses control. She’s caught by Shed’s feet and slams into the wall. She shakily carries gregor.

Chapter 9 - Mareth helps carry her to the hospital despite being injured. From then on, Mareth has to ride a different bat on the quest while Andromeda recovers.

PoB

Chapter 10 - Mareth introduces her to Gregor and she seems to have forgiven him and is honored to meet him. She is a chosen member for the quest.

Chapter 11 - She and Pandora huddle together without Ares. She sleeps near Mareth.

Chapter 12 - She helps tear apart the squid with her claws. She ends up with a couple of sucker marks along with Twitchtip.

Chapter 14 - She pulls the front of the boat with Aurora.

Chapter 15 - She stands guard while Mareth steers. She likes the taste of bluebits.

Chapter 16 - She drags the boat through the water. She no longer shuns Ares and all three bats huddle together. Gregor suspects it might be because she knows Aurora would choose Ares over her. They all sleep fitfully.

Chapter 17 - She lifts the front of the boat and catches Mareth and Howard. At some point Mareth is bitten and they dive for Twitchtip to sever her tail from a serpent. 

Chapter 18 - She hangs over Howard while he treats Mareth, folds her wings around him to warm him, and repeats “I must take him home” twice. 

Chapter 19 - She ruffles her wings when Gregor is revealed as a rager. She doesn’t want to injure Gregor and tells Howard they both need to get Mareth to Regalia. She says she could make the journey with a raft light enough to carry. Mareth is layed on her back with a blanket and she and Howard take off.

Chapter 25 - She is bound and ragged. She already thinks she’s guilty. Gregor says she knew he’d fight her if she didn’t leave. She shakes her wings at his testimony.

Chapter 26 - She dines with the others. It’s revealed she and Howard weren’t allowed medical care. She was “astonishing” and made the trek in 12 hours. She huddles with Ares between Gregor and Howard.

Chapter 27 - She sees Gregor off.

CotW

Chapter 7 - She’s in quarantine with Howard, playing chess. She looks healthy. She hurries to the glass, says something to Howard, and is ordered back to bed. Mareth says he doesn’t need a leg when he has her, but looks upset when he remembers she has the plague.

Chapter 10 - It’s revealed she and Howard carried Ares from his cave to the hospital, so she is STACKED.

Chapter 26 - She’s asleep in bed and has the purple bumps, but is being given the plague cure.

then as far as i know she disappears from time and space or something (joke) because she's never mentioned again. i guess she's still recovering from the plague and is probably with mareth in books 4-5, but either gregor never mentions her or she's just not there. either way she's a fun addition to the team and i'm glad she decided to give ares a chance. her bond with mareth is cool and he is my favorite character so any friend of his is a friend of mine, so to speak. like most of the other bats, she doesn't say much, but I'd say she seems sensible and protective. hope you learned something in my andromeda exposé :)

[diovinnie]

For fun, I marked down each cookie run cookie and added up each category to give each cookie a basic Performance score, to determine the best cookie run cookies.

Here is that list:

*****

Twizzly Gummy (36)

****

Snapdragon (34)

Rebel (30)

***

Cream Ferret (29)

Cream Puff (29)

Mystic Flour (29)

Rockstar (29)

Pure Vanilla (29)

Shining Glitter (29)

Stormbringer (29)

Dark Cacao: Dragon (28)

Dark Choco (27)

Parfait (27)

Star Coral (27)

Captain Caviar (26)

Wildberry (26)

Black Raisin (25)

Financier (25)

Golden Cheese (25)

Peach Blossom (25)

Stardust (25)

**

Fettuccine (24)

Hollyberry (24)

Mango (24)

Peppermint (24)

Snow Sugar (24)

Black Lemonade (24)

Frost Queen (24)

Macaron (24)

Milky Way (24)

Moonlight (24)

Space Doughnut (24)

BTS (24)

Squid Ink (23)

Black Pearl (23)

Crimson Coral (23)

Linzer (23)

Mint Choco (23)

Oyster (23)

Sherbet (23)

Wind Archer (23)

Pinecone (22)

Schwarzwälder (22)

*

Pomegranate (22)

Vampire (22)

White Lily (22)

Cotton (21)

Blueberry Pie (21)

Burning Spice (21)

Carol (21)

Madeleine (21)

Pastry (21)

Pitaya Drafon (20)

Cream Unicorn (20)

Herb (20)

Mala Sauce (20)

Sorbet (20)

Prune Juice (20)

Sea Fairy (20)

Strawberry Crepe (20)

0 Stars-Above 10

Crunchy Chip (19)

Espresso (19)

Frilled Jellyfish (19)

Kougin-Amann (19)

Tea Knight (19)

Clotted Cream (19)

Tartar Tatin (19)

Rye (19)

Silverbell (19)

Capsaicin (19)

Dark Cacao (18)

Cloud Haetae (18)

Caramel Arrow (18)

Purple Yam (18)

Burnt Cheese (18)

Elder Faeire (17)

Cherry Blossom (17)

Werewolf (17)

Licorice (17)

Matcha (17)

Pumpkin Pie (16)

Prophet (16)

Royal Margarine (16)

Almond (16)

Cocoa (15)

Sparkling (15)

Caramel Choux (14)

Mercurial Knight (14)

Nutmeg Tiger (14)

Affogato (14)

Icicle Yeti (14)

Latte (14)

Eclair (14)

Poison Mushroom (14)

Butter Roll (14)

Street Urchin (14)

Lilac (13)

Candy Diver (12)

Olive (12)

Blackberry (11)

Kumiho (11)

Milk (11)

Moon Rabbit (11)

Mozzarella (11)

0 Stars-Below 10

Tiger Lily (9)

Sonic (8)

Tails (8)

Carrot (7)

Fig (5)

Custard (3)

Princess (3)

Devil (2)

Clover (2)

Adventurer (2)

Avocado (2)

Knight (2)

Ninja (2)

Pancake (2)

Wizard (2)

Strawberry (1)

Onion (1)

Muscle (1)

GingerBrave (1)

Gumball (1)

Alchemist (1)

Angel (1)

Beet (1)

[thereareeyesinsidethetrees]

last update on the june project before i just post everything-

we figured out a schedule! because there are 30 icons, we can only fit one flag per post, so each day of june will feature eight or nine different ones. everything is below the cut- and if you see a term and want to know what it means, feel free to ask me! i have almost all of them memorized

day 1 - transgender, transfem, transmasc, transneutral, bisexual, pansexual, mlm, lesbian

day 2 - omnisexual, genderfluid, aromantic, asexual, aroace, agender, agender aroace (striped), agender aroace (with triangle)

day 3 - a-spec, aceflux, aroflux, aegoromantic, aegosexual, sex-repulsed, romance-repulsed, bellusromantic

day 4 - cupiosexual, caedromantic, caedsexual, demisexual, demiromantic, multisexual, panromantic, abrosexual

day 5 - berrisexual, greysexual, greyromantic, greyrose, dreamsexual (yellow/blue), dreamsexual (blue/black/red), lith, desinoromantic

day 6 - nebulasexual, nebularomantic, autoromantic, autosexual, frayromantic, fraysexual, queer, gilbert baker flag

day 7 - qpr (striped), qpr (with heart), enbian, enbian qpr, polyam (classic pi), polyam (new heart), t4t, weirdo4weirdo

day 8 - polysexual, quoiromantic, recipromantic, neutrois, neopronoun, xenogender, voidpunk, enby

day 9 - intersex, internon (enby flag in background), internon (yellow/purple), lgbtqia+, bigender (white middle stripe), bigender (purple middle stripe), bigender (with yellow stripe), neoboy

day 10 - boyflux, girlflux, boygirl, trigender, polygender, pangender, multigender, m-spec

day 11 - multi agab, ageab, monsterfucker, monster4monster, gaybian, lesboy, androgyne, genderflux

day 12 - demigirl, demiboy, demigender, demifluid, gay bear, genderfae, genderfaun, genderspike

day 13 - disability, ptsd, bpd (with symbol), bpd (without symbol), schizophrenia, autism, adhd (black butterfly), adhd (white butterfly), adhd (no butterfly

day 14 - genderqueer, xenofluid, xenofluix, xenygender, xenogirl, xenoboy, xenby, xenixic

day 15 - awaterlector (confused circle), awaterlector (crying circle), axenlector, acatlector, afoxlector, foxgender, vivisectionlexic, xxxlexic

day 16 - bloodsquidgender (with squid), bloodsquidgender (without squid), squidplushic (with blue plush), squidplushic (with orange plush), zoxygender, oxigender, doxigender (purple/white/green), doxigender (purple/white/blue)

day 17 - yoroxygender, daegenderfluid, daegender, hellgender, xiaspec, fiaspec, miaspec, xerosian

day 18 - voydecute, voxyigender, voxieur, voispirean, weirdthing, voidthing, voidghost, gendervoid

day 19 - cloudstarvoidic, astrumgender, alienic, aliencatgender, losspacin, spacecoric, nocstuffic, somnucomfic

day 20 - abanadductix, abyssgender, abyssium, zephrifem, zephrimasc, zephrineu, scythething, limfortcreepic

day 21 - icarusalis, owlgender, velvetwormic, eelskeletic, whalefallgender, winterfrost, webcorestalgic, webcoric

day 22 - vamphorric, cutefearic, vampcoric, worldeldric, notdeeric, inkcute, valenic, wistrafluid

day 23 - sciencegender, lesbianthing, lesboycatgender, catgender, calicomoic, starcatgender, galacticcattic, spookycatgender, voidcatgender

day 24 - catbookroomic, catghostic, catinrainic, catrainphantic, catskeletin, emocatgender, fogcatgender, meltingkittygender, weirdcattic

day 25 - analoguecatgender, angrycatgender, nightcatgender, sleepycattic, starrycattic, wisterian, verbenian, tulian

day 26 - sunflian, rosian, phloxian, petunian, perian, peonian, orchidian, marian

day 27 - lilian, lavendian, jasminian, irisian, hydrangian, dandelian, cloverian, begonian,

day 28 - asterian, amaryllian, alliumian, whitewolfgender, blackwolfgender, allwolfgender, arcticgender, brownwolfgender

day 29 - diregender, dreamywolfgender, goldenwolfgender, greywolfgender, howlgender, plutowolfgender, redwolfgender, redwolfnatured

day 30 - timbergender, wolfgender, wolfhoard, watermelonwolfgender, wolfpupgender, werewolfgender (with howling wolf), werewolfgender (with moon and paws), werewolfgender (with just the paws), starwolfgender

all posts will be tagged properly :]