#Roche probably won't know anything about that right now

[scorching-passion]

@cloudyfenrir asked: As a means to try and keep himself in the present with these strange mental disappearances he keeps having, Cloud has taken up whittling. Not particularly paying attention to a certain red bike pulling up beside him, Cloud continues carving until he's finished what appears to be a fox, his cuts are rough but the shape is definitely there. Unsure of how else to offer it up to the SOLDIER Cloud sets the fox on his bike, at least it can stand up on it's own. Random Asks - ALWAYS ACCEPTING

Joining this group of misfits and outlaws had certainly not been on Roche's agenda, though it could be said that stranger things happen at sea... or overseas considering current locations and climates. The dry heat of Cosmo Canyon wasn't agreeing with his complexion in any case.

Still, were it not for a certain yellow haired doppelganger and his ailments Roche would no doubt still be writhing beneath the heavy weight of ShinRa's proverbial thumb. Amusing really, how freedom did indeed come with an exuberant price above ones head. Very little doubts that the company was out to hunt him down as a deserter, him and this little band of tearaways.

The former Third wouldn't change his circumstances for all the tea in Wutai, it had to be said. There was something rather joyful about tearing pathways for brightly coloured chocobo in the sands of the Vale. Cloud Strife was eating his dust, in a literal sense it would seem, while his brother would supposedly find more solace from the corruption of his airways seated upon Sleipnir's pillion.

Today, however had been deemed a day of rest from their unlikely leader, whom Roche found in the place in which he'd left him at their current encampment high in the crags; seated upon a single jut of rock and scratching feverishly at the lump of wood he'd had since that morning. The boy was anxious, that much was obvious even to the untrained eye, perhaps for the other parts of his person who resided within the shelter of the tents, his already injured throat ripped raw by the grit known to blow about the plains.

He killed Sleipnir's engine before opening his mouth to speak, and was yet interrupted by the offering Cloud placed upon the broad case of the chassis. Rough around the edges and yet so detailed all the same, Roche would be stunned into an aspired silence as he plucked the little fox from the bike's body, turning it over in his hands.

There was something so very endearing about the wooden sculpture; one of a kind, handmade in a time of hardship and worry, a treasure whittled to such a delicate finish by the fingers of a man who once cleaved an entire motorcycle in two with little more than a single swing of his sword.

"A man of many talents, hm~? A smile and not a single caustic tone to be heard before he's carefully setting that wooden fox back onto the Sleipnir's chassis.

"I have offerings of my own! The foragers quest was bountiful this glorious morn!" Boasting out of the way he would unhook the over stuffed pouch from his belt and toss to land at Cloud's feet, smile widening, maddeningly so as he leaned dramatically close to the blond sat before him still.

"It's time to cook, my friend~!"

[thesirencult]

Have any favourite book recommendations? ✨💘

5 Books Everyone Should Read

This is a collection of 5 books I believe anyone can read and gain something from them. These are all from different genres and I probably need to post a bigger "masterlist" of sorts when I have the time ! @siren-honey thank you for this question ! These books are some I read (or re-read) this past few weeks, so they are not my "all star" rooster but nonetheless they are great books!

The Bank by Marc Roche

This is an older book but its teachings still ring true. My dad bought this book many many years ago and it talks about Goldman Sachs and how the big banks and investment companies "rule the world ". Now I know that doesn't sound very exciting to read baout but it is great for anyone who wants to level up and open their eyes on what is really going on in the world. If you can not find the book and want to learn a bit about it, just send me a private message or an ask and I will post a summary <3

2. Why Men Love Bitches

Everyone and I mean, EVERYONE should read this book. Don't scrunch your nose because of the name! It helps you come in contact with your auntentic self and the wild feminine side of yours. Let your head down tiger ! It's time to show what you're made of.

3. Plato's Republic

A dialogue written by Plato. It doesn't only discuss the matter of "justice" but it also contains the "Allegory Of The Cave". Now, I'm studying history and philosophy so these texts are "easy" (lies!) for me to read and analyze (more lies! lol), but if you don't want to read thw whole dialogue just search it up online and read about the main points. You will still learn something !

4. 48 Laws Of Power

I'm a history buff. I love the way Robert Greene, in all of his books, combines history with psychology. Sadly, his teachings are right. This book will help you distinguish people and learn how to spot the good characters in your life. Anything by Robert Greene is great to read! You won't want to put it down !

5. The Richest Man In Babylon

This book is one of my favourites because it is a no bull$hit guide to wealth. It tecahes the fundamentals and shows that they never changed. As an example, many "wealth coaches" tell you to never buy a house and always rent, but right now we see that it is much cheaper to buy than rent. These cycles repeat themselves all the time and the author suggests you always have a home, big enough to live at comfortably or that you can rent and use as an investment property. The book is also a container of wise teachings on life in general.

BONUS:

6. The Body Keeps The Score

Health is wealth. PERIOD. I love this book cause it shows the link between our brain, mindset and physical body. If you read just one book of all the ones I mentioned let it be this. As a society we have glorified wealth and wordly accomplishments and we have forgotten our temple, our vessel of life, our body!

[fictionplumis]

Hi! I hope you feel better soon, health issues suck🍎🍏🍫

Could you do a smlk rant on Koseff & Estrik?

Thank you, I hope so too!

So Koseff was originally my answer to how can I play Vernon Roche in DnD, so he's a military commander (2 levels of Barbarian, and the rest as a Battle Master Fighter) whose regime fell and he just couldn't handle that, so he did the only thing he could and joined an underground resistance group dedicated to usurp the usurper and put the rightful heir back on the throne. If I ever used him in a campaign, he would be there because it pertains to some mission he's on for the group.

But this whole thing has be dragged out for so long, he's not a young man anymore, and it doesn't seem likely that resistance is going to make much progress. He's tired, he's lost a lot of people, he would like to call it quits, but then what would he do? And he's the most experienced and competent person left in the resistance, they would likely die without him, so he's grumpy and tired but he just keeps going, trying to command any group he's with like it's a military operation and stubbornly bossing people around if only because then it's on him if they die, and no one else has to bear that guilt. What's more death on his head?

Now Estrik...

Estrik is my useless boy. He's a College of Eloquence bard, not that he knows that, and if you asked him he would probably lie and tell you whatever he thought you would find most impressive.

I basically designed this bard to do one thing, and one thing only: Lie.

If I used him in compaign, he would be in the group because his con artist ass saw someone in the group and for the first time in his life, fell in love. HARD. And he so he goes over and pretends to be a great adventurer who love to help out, all because he wants to get to know this person. He has never cared about anyone in his life, but this person... This person is the love of his life, and he has never wanted anything more in his life than to be around this person.

Of course, his story will fall apart the second they get into trouble, but my man Estrik is USELESS. He has a dagger he barely knows how to use and is a coward, and the only reason he doesn't bolt and save his own ass is that he's in LOVE.

He won't actually be that useless, though, because he can use magic. He just doesn't realize it. His magic is invisible, and reacts to his emotions, and I would have to talk to a DM about this because I know there's an mechanic where you cast spells that no one notices, but bards don't have it, so it's more like EVERYONE ELSE knows he's doing magic even if its not visible, he's just the idiot that laughs it off.

That will a thing with him. No matter how much evidence is presented, he will not believe he did magic. I've gone through the bard spell list and make a list of all the spells someone could theoretically cast in a way that's plausible to be not on purpose. Like Cutting Words or Vicious Mockery, where he just yells insults and it does stuff. Or when someone gets hurt and he panics and tells them to stop getting hurt, not realizing that just healed them.

As far as him being in love, I'll leave it up to the other player who agrees with this whether or not the feelings are ever eventually returned, but Estrik really just wants to be around for no other reason than to be around them, in whatever capacity they'll let him, and even makes an effort to not lie to them. Though he is intrinsically selfish and really only cares about the rest of the group from the perspective of "it would hurt the person I love if you got hurt, so now you're not allowed to get hurt."