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vacayisland · 11 months ago

Note

LAST BUT NOT LEAST

Floyd x Motherly! Reader

Species and gender your choice- I’m just seeing reader is sweet, calm, mature. Calls everyone baby- always helpful. Maybe Floyd and reader are already dating? And reader calls Floyd the most embarrassing nicknames(sugarplum), number one fan-maybe some mortica vibes? Idk! You have fun with this one

@!; oh, Oh... Floyd / Motherly! Reader

"Summary"! Floyd loves you for many reasons, too many to count on his fingers or toes; too many to remember in one sitting when he's asked that simply question 'what do you love above them?'; too many to make a list of that won't expand pages and pages. Yet, he knows what he loves the most about you; you complete him in the best ways possible. "Tags"! say it with me... fluff, fluff, FLUFF!!, not proof read either :(

@!; Floyd knew you before he got captured by Veneer and Velvet. He knew you from his travels around the world in an attempt to find himself after the group broke up. He actually found you in Lonesome Flats, despite not being a country troll (or maybe you were), leaning against the window inside a western building. You had been talking to Delta with such a bright smile, Floyd couldn't help but slow down his walk to stare at it; noticing to dimples on your cheeks, the way your eyes lit up as you spoke, and the passion in your voice. It was intoxicating. It drew him in. So hesitantly, he kept his distance but kept near your little building. He didn't mean to ease drop, yet he overheard your conversation: "So, anyone catch ya' eye yet, sweetheart?" Delta's country twang was more noticeable every time she decided to tease you about this subject. You knew she only wanted to see a reaction out of you. Though you couldn't help but smile at her, wafting off the scent of a plum pie you had just finished. "No, not yet, Ma'am." Your voice was soft, a subtle hum to it that Floyd had caught. It made him choke up a bit, though he tried not to focus on that feeling. "Aw, come on, pickin's ain't that slim." Delta chuckled as she crossed her arms, grinning back at you. "And I know many fine Trolls who wouldn't waste takin' you out for dinner... and maybe some wilder ones who would take ya to a rodeo show."

And she winked, causing you to shake your head as you maintained your smile and composure. Despite being teased, Floyd could only describe you as calm and relaxed. Your shoulders weren't stiffened and you didn't crinkle your nose at anything Delta said; it was like her words didn't effect you, yet you were listening intently and responding to her accordingly. "Oh, yes Ma'am. I know that." As you softly laughed at Delta's attempted, you tested the pie's temperature and deemed it cool enough to cut. You took your knife and began to slice the pie into 12 even pieces. "Then let me set ya' up with someone!- Thank you, darlin'." You handed Delta a slice of pie as she spoke, knowing plum was her favorite. Quickly, you searched for a fork and then handed that to her too. She continued, "A pretty gal such as yourself shouldn't have to be kept waitin', though you do deserve your perfect someone." Oh, so you were a baker? Floyd noted that to himself, noticing that the pie that Delta was munching on as you spoke seemed to have some personal touches. Such as some honey baked into the plums, the crust being a little more golden than pies in the Pop Troll village, as well as some sugar that had crystalized at the top. It looked delicious... and it made his stomach growl. Floyd didn't think his stomach actually growled, he didn't catch it. Thus he was both startled and confused when you turned your attention over to him, your soft eyes matching the soft nature you carried yourself. "Are ya' hungry?" Floyd covered his stomach with his arm, a bit self conscious as you called him out. But he didn't feel called out; in an odd way he felt seen. Delta soon turned her attention over to Floyd while taking a bite of the pie. She held up the plate with a grin, "Come on, don't be shy, bumpkin'! Our Miss (Y/N) is the best baker in town and you won't find talent like this; She's like a needle in a hay stack, she is." "Oh, um.. okay." Floyd walked over to the window, noticing how your grin grew slightly larger and your eyes seemed to catch this sparkle in them. You grabbed him a plate, a slice of pie, and a fork almost instantly and placed it on your window ceil for him. "Here ya' go!" Service with a smile. Yet Floyd patted his pockets, and even dug around in them, for something to give you in exchange for the generous slice of pie. He fell short, "Oh- um, I don't have anything-" "Oh don't worry about payment, sugarplum!" Your words caught Floyd off guard, his round eyes shot up to meet yours. "Baking is just a hobby, I don't ask for anything in return; well, other than friends with full bellies and big grins. Seeing people enjoying my baking is enough payment for me." Floyd had kind of believed in love at first sight; but he didn't realize it actually could happen.

@!; Sometime after Floyd first meeting you and before he got captured, Floyd had confessed his feelings to you. Confessed that he had loved you since he saw you that first day when you gave him a plum pie. Confessed that he adored everything about you; he adored your laugh and your smile; he adored the way you worried about him, but not in an overpowering way, the way you always were there for him, the way that he could come back to you at the end of the day and you will be waiting with open arms. He adored the way you mothered him a little. Not in the way a mother would actually mother their children, yet in the way you were so caring and compassionate, while being sensible and calm made his heart beat out of his chest. You were perfect in every way, shape, and form. He loved you so much it hurt him more to imagine what you were going through when he had gotten captured by Velvet and Veneer. It was complete anguish to think about you sitting on the couch by the door in the little home you two made, waiting for him to only go on days without anything to report. It choked him up to think he could be the reason you were hurting at this moment. But he just hoped you could wait a little longer, hold out a little more, (you always had managed to, though it burns him to think to ask this of you) for him; and he will take everything just to be able to return back home to you again at the end of the day. One day. one day. Until that day, please.. please hold out. Please don't cry like he is.

@!; The day that Floyd was rescued by his brothers, and Poppy and Viva, after the initial shock wore off his first and only thought was you. It filled his head and he couldn't ignored the thoughts that piled up because everything in his body was screaming for you. For your touch and comfort and he couldn't help but blurt out, "We need to go to Lonesome Flats. Now!" Which got a lot of weird looks from his brothers; mainly Clay, Spruce, and JD looking around wondering what and where 'Lonesome Flats' was while Branch was just plain confused, maybe even a little hurt. Floyd didn't mean to hurt Branch, or any of his brothers by this request, but he needed to make sure you knew he was okay. "The country troll region?" Poppy questioned as she walked over to Branch's side. She tilted her head to the side, "Why do you need to go there?" "Yeah! Why do you need to go there? We just got you back, Floyd." Branch seemed stand-offish by this request, crossing his arms and scrunching his nose a little. Floyd understood where Branch was coming from, he did almost just die in front of all his brothers, but surely they would understand? "Please, just trust me. I.. I need to get back there." Floyd pleaded with his brothers, "I'll explain everything there or on the way. We just- we need to go now! The sooner the better.." And despite everyone's confusion, and unsureness about this all, it was a family road trip to Lonesome Flats. Where, when they finally arrived, Floyd rushed out of the van towards your little bakery. He slowed a bit seeing the window shut and your door not propped open. His eyes widened when he read the sign attached: Closed. But it was your usual opening time, what.. where were you? "There ya' are!" Floyd wiped around hearing Delta's voice. He didn't catch her unfriendly tone at first, though registered it as soon as he caught her face. Still, that didn't stop him, "Delta! Where is (Y/N)?" "More important, where have you been? You've been gone longer than our grazin' cattle, and they returned a month ago!" Delta crossed her arms and let out a huff of annoyance. "You've got your poor-" Though Delta didn't make it far before Floyd saw an all too familiar person out of the corner of his eye. You always managed to steal his attention, and his brothers were even more confused upon seeing Floyd rush over to you; despite stumbling a little bit on his starting sprint due to the lack of energy he has. "Floyd!" Branch called after his brother, just wanting him to be careful. Yet he froze upon feeling Poppy's hand on his shoulder, hearing a small 'aww' escape her lips as she watched Floyd literally jump into your arms. You had noticed him as he ran towards you, and despite carrying a bucket of fresh milk, you dropped it quickly to catch him. Which, was a good idea, since you didn't expect him to cause you to stumble a little. Even so, you laughed as Floyd hid his face in your shoulder feeling your arms tightly hug him. Your hugs were always warm, best described as momma bear hugs. Floyd had missed them and you. He had missed your warmth and your laugh.

"Oh Sugarplum, what happened?" And he missed your gentle nature and calm tone, despite everything he probably put you through after he left. You were gentle as you placed your hands on his shoulders and backed him up a little, so you were looking at each other eye to eye. Floyd couldn't even get a word out before you noticed everything different about him, "Oh my dear.. you look tired! Skinner, and your hair-! Oh my lord, what in the Trollstice happened to your hair, Sugarplum?!" Floyd now had his back facing you, as you had spun him around. Oh, Floyd could just melt at this moment, feeling your hands run through his hair as you took in all the whites that now mingled with the hot pink. He knew you were more used to his darker roots, and not like these whites were natural but he thought they suited him a little more now. Though, just as Floyd was about to answer you, he caught sight of his brothers and the plus ones. And at that moment, wide wide, he knew he had a lot of explaining to do to his brothers...

@!; It wasn't like Floyd was embarrassed of you, far from it, yet when you had him up and about dancing to Brozone.. it caused his cheeks to flush; from both embarrassment and lovingly. It had been a few months after he introduced you to the family, and he was glad his brothers had taken to you like he did and accepted you into the family. Branch was a little on the nose, but he came around.

Now, after a Brozone featured show, the both of you were dancing like crazy people to an old Brozone soundtrack in Poppy's pod. Poppy was trying to get Branch to dance with her while Clay was trying not to give into Viva's silliness.

Bruce was sitting on some chairs with JD, chatting and making fun of the younger brothers; as it was their bug brother duty to.

"Are you tired yet, sugarplum?" JD snickered as he called over to Floyd and you, his hand cupped to the side of his mouth to allow his voice to carry over the record player. Floyd grumbled a little at his brother's antics and tried to chuckle it off, maybe even shoot something back.

Yet he didn't even have to!- "What's wrong with me calling him Sugarplum, John?" Oh. Poppy paused in her pursuit and glanced over to JD with pressed lips and wide eyes, a silent question of what did he just do?

Clay and Branch both seemed to stop as well, Viva being soon to follow. Since meeting, you had never called anyone by their name. It had always been some cute nickname, such as baby or love or princess. Something motherly that made people's hearts warm upon hearing the nickname roll off your tongue with such affection and ease.

Even Floyd has barely ever heard you call anyone by their first name, that was unless they were in trouble. He decided to turn down the record player a little, just so you didn't have to talk over the music.

"Nothing!-" JD put up his hands at once, "It's just-"

"Just what? You wanna tease my darlin' for my decision in calling him sugarplum? Aren't you supposed to be the eldest brother?" You kept Floyd's hands in yours as you cocked an eyebrow up at JD, your eyes narrowing in his direction. Bruce had turned away, silently drinking his milkshake.

"No of course not-" JD started again, though didn't get far before you flashed a bright smile at him.

"Phew! For a second you have me worried there, dumplin'. Thought you were really striking that low!" And JD stared at you and your sudden switch of mood, wondering if he was seeing things or if he wasn't going insane. Either or, you gave Floyd a kiss on the forehead and turned your attention back to him.

"You still have the energy to dance with me, Sugarplum?"

And Floyd swore he fell deeper in love with you, if that was even possible at this point. "With you? Always."

.ᐟ this work is published and owned by @vacayisland. please do not plagiarize, copy, or steal this work; like, reblogs, and saves are appreciated :D

#floyd trolls #brozone x reader #floyd trolls x reader #floyd x reader #brozone #dreamworks trolls #trolls #trolls 3 #trolls band together #trolls dreamworks #trolls fandom #trolls brozone #clay trolls #branch trolls #john dory trolls #viva trolls #spruce trolls

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knights-unwelcommentary · 10 months ago

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Is it canon or fanon that the Condese/Meenah made cakes? If so-and assuming sugar/corn starch is equivilent to crack/alcohol- would this mean she had different ingredients for the cakes... Or is she a hard-core, party gal?

The Condesce canonically is a master baker, not sure about Meenah but imo she must've been bored off her rocker all alone in the moon, at least bored enough to take up a solo hobby

pipefan413: The baroness would raise her very strictly, mentoring her in the art of baking. The girl took to the lessons with fierce determination. Her only act of defiance left was to one day surpass the baroness in skill, and beat her at her own game. It was all she could do, for the baroness made sure she knew there could be no escape.

She's also been hinted at also being troll Betty Crocker and invented Tab in Alternia.

You're not really up on Alternian history, but apparently at some point the empress got fed up with the Subjugglators' stranglehold on the soda market, and released a drink that was said to be more loaded with sugar than even the wicked elixir itself. The Highbloods considered such marketing reports to be blasphemous lies, however. And they were right. The beverage actually contained zero calories, which she secretly mandated so as to preserve her slim figure. But all the lowblood suckers guzzled cans down by the billions none the wiser, while the crafty Condesce raked in the cash. If someone actually told you this story, you'd spend the next ten minutes fangirling on the floor.

I guess her cakes might be zero calories too? In that case, the HIC is a party pooper and nothing on those cakes would be real food haha

(my standing theory is that sugar isn't alcohol for trolls but high fructose syrup which is processed in the liver does have an alcoholic effect on them, like maybe their gut flora ferments it too fast)

#{talk homestuck to me}

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lowwasteorbustanut · 8 months ago

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Hey all!

I’ve been gone a while, but I return with food 😋

I have a Ninja Creami, that I’ve used to make ice cream a few times. But I didn’t like that all the “official” ice cream recipes call for cream cheese…which is a weird ingredient I think.

Also ever had frozen milk? That gross texture, was how my ice cream turned out.

Barf.

So I trolled around online, and found a recipe for coffee ice cream that looked promising. Except for the fact that I HATE coffee lol

Instead, I brewed some strong black tea that I love.

It’s butterscotch. ‘Nuff said.

And it turned out AMAZING!!

But it needed a little something more…something like caramel!

I had some I’d bought from the store, pre low waste journey, but it soon ran out.

And by now my hunger for butterscotch black tea ice cream was insatiable.

So what was a gal to do?

Simple! I’ll just make my own caramel.

For the first time…

It’ll be fine right?

…

And it WAS!

Delicious!!

So proud of me, making low waste ice cream and caramel sauce 💖

*tea is loose leaf, and is composted after brewing. The milk/cream I used for ice cream is purchased in recyclable containers. Only the lids themselves are garbage. Sugar, salt, and vanilla extract are purchased from my local bulk foods store-in reusable bulk bags, and one small glass container I reuse for the vanilla.

#low waste #solarpunk #zero waste #food brag #butterscotch black tea ice cream #homemade caramel #I was worried the caramel would be difficult #but it wasn’t #ninja creami

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croaken-the-oaken · 1 year ago

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Sploosh-o-matic — Minimum Range Morton

Neo Sploosh-o-matic — I’ll Be Over Here Harold

Splattershot Jr. — Chuck Bomb Billy

Custom Splattershot Jr. — Dance for Me Dylan

Splash-o-matic — Do It All Dan

Neo Splash-o-matic — Please Step Away Sandy

Splattershot — Basics Barry

Tentatek Splattershot — Aggression Andy

Hero Shot Replica — Hipster Harry

.52 Gal — Staying Power Segal

N-Zap ‘85 — Gamer Juice Jerry

N-Zap ‘89 — Chump Up Chazz

Splattershot Pro — Extension Edmund

Forge Splattershot Pro — Lockout Larry

.96 Gal — Power Suck Pete

.96 Gal Deco — Intimidating Ingo

Jet Squelcher — Respectfully Far Ferdinand

Custom Jet Squelcher — Area Denial Alfred

Splattershot Nova — I See You Stanley

Annaki Splattershot Nova — Out of Reach Otto

Luna Blaster — Big Boom Bolson

Luna Blaster Neo — Poppin’ Boppin’ Pablo

Blaster — Sneaky Shot Shane

Range Blaster — Sudden Death Dalton

Clash Blaster — Danger Zone Zed

Clash Blaster Neo — Personal Space Piper

Rapid Blaster — Hold the Line Herbie

Rapid Blaster Deco — Weird Angle Wilson

Rapid Blaster Pro — Distant Poke Perry

Rapid Blaster Pro Deco — Global Range Gus

S-BLAST ‘92 — Certain Coverage Calvin

L-3 Nozzlenose — Run ‘n Gun Randy

L-3 Nozzlenose D — Dash ‘n Splash Sadie

H-3 Nozzlenose — Field Support Franky

H-3 Nozzlenose D — Defense Mode Dimitri

Squeezer — Arthritis Angelo

Carbon Roller — Close Range Cory

Carbon Roller Deco — Quick Kill Kendall

Splat Roller — Bonk Head Bekowsky

Krak-On Splat Roller — Shuffle Around Sidney

Dynamo Roller — Massive Maximilian

Flingza Roller — Passive Aggressive Paulie

Big Swig Roller — This is My Yard Yorick

Big Swig Roller Express — I Claim This Cortes

Inkbrush — Speedy Sal

Inkbrush Nouveau — Can’t Catch Me Cooper

Octobrush — Slap Silly Solomon

Painbrush — High Exertion Edison

Classic Squiffer — Don’t Miss Dorris

Splat Charger — Sniper Stu

Z+F Splat Charger — Snipe Stopper Stuart

Splatterscope — Scoped Sniper Stu

Z+F Splatterscope — Scoped Snipe Stopper Stuart

E-liter 4K — Long Snipe Louis

E-liter 4K Scope — Scoped Slightly Longer Snipe Louis

Bamboozler 14 Mk I — Tap Tap Ted

Goo Tuber — Missiles McGee

Snipewriter 5H — Five Tries Freddy

Slosher — Over the Shoulder Oakley

Slosher Deco — Plop Plip Peter

Tri-Slosher — Wide Wendell

Tri-Slosher Nouveau — Sugar Rush Rudy

Sloshing Machine — Safe Angle Abigail

Bloblobber — Hitbox Huey

Explosher — Clear Out Clarence

Mini Splatling — Pesky Pendleton

Zink Mini Splatling — Bridge Troll Bailey

Heavy Splatling — Barrage Benson

Heavy Splatling Deco — Thought Ya Had Me Theo

Hydra Splatling — Extreme Overkill Olson

Ballpoint Splatling — All Range Albus

Nautilus 47 — Decently Devious Devon

Dapple Dualies — Hello I’m Back Harlowe

Dapple Dualies Nouveau — I May Die Decker

Splat Dualies — Missed Me Maxwell

Glooga Dualies — Wall Turret Terry

Dualie Squelchers — Right Behind You Benjamin

Custom Dualie Squelchers — Reinforcement Ralphie

Dark Tetra Dualies — Distraction Dance Doyle

Light Tetra Dualies — Look at Me Lenny

Splat Brella — Survivor Simon

Tenta Brella — Mobile Bunker Bastian

Tenta Sorella Brella — Army March Muldoon

Undercover Brella — Slippery Saul

Tri-Stringer — Chip Away Chet

REEF-LUX 450 — Sky Assault Stevie

Splatana Stamper — Jumbo Cut Jayce

Splatana Wiper — Slice and Die Samuel

Splatana Wiper Deco — Heavenly Hello Hamish

#splatoon #splatoon 3 #giving splatoon weapons nicknames based on playstyle or something

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cloudbattrolls · 1 year ago

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Eat Your Young

Gallen | Suunaq Industrial Complex | Present Night

A sprawling industrial complex covered the plain, its buildings and roads nearly equaling the size of a small town.

It had stood there longer than some of the actual settlements in the surrounding area, growing piece by piece over several millennia. Power plants and offices jostled for space, interspersed with streets that had been paved and patched more times than anyone could count. Everything was kept in a state of high repair; the finest quality droids maintained the infrastructure, though there were no imperial drones to be seen.

Ever since its earliest nights, the complex had been filled white butterflies that did not seem to feed from or pollinate any flowers; not that there were many to be found in such a place. Any attempts to catch and study them ended in the insects dissolving to nothing, so trolls let them be.

Most didn’t have the time or energy to wonder about what little wildlife surrounded them to begin with.

For marked over each of the complex’s entrances, on the identification cards of all the trolls who worked in that place, was the jade symbol of QPIN - each and every troll there in the corporation-gang’s debt.

Debts paid - in part - by blood.

Debts paid to one of the Queenpin’s right-hand executives, Inshii Suunaq.

—

Three tall figures gathered under the glare of a street lamp, all coming from different directions.

A woman, hourglass-shaped with a band covering her eyes and a cowgirl hat on her head, dressed in a crop top and shorts. A man, broad and powerfully built, wearing only knee-length shorts and no shirt. A person dressed in a beautiful violet sherwani, the tallest of all, wide with soft roundness instead of the man’s dense bulk.

The woman spoke first as they faced each other on the sidewalk, the night air quiet around them.

“Damn, I hate this place.” Rhyssa complained, hands on her hips. “I can’t even see it proper and I still hate it. Would it kill ya to decorate a bit, Shii? The vibes are just awful.”

“I don’t have time for excessive frivolity.” Responded the false violet in a deadpan as they led the other two away. “Trolls can put up ornamentation if they like; I don’t forbid them. Excessive levels of depression are unproductive.”

Rhyssa groaned as she followed, her boots’ spurs jingling softly. “Sugar, you’ve been contributin’ to depression in trolls for a long time without tryin’. I love you, but ya are kind of a robot when it comes to fixin’ a place up.”

Gallen hung back a few steps as the three of them made their way down the sidewalk, letting the other two banter. He was grateful he couldn’t speak, and that he likely wouldn’t be asked to sign very much, or type; if his siblings picked up on his dread, everything was over.

Everything might still be over if he couldn’t carry out the plan Klirro and Tuuya had concocted for him. All his isopods wriggled anxiously in his skin, though he tried not to let it show.

Rhyssa hung back, head tilted, the wasps fluttering around her to serve as her eyes buzzing in concern.

“What’s eatin’ ya, Gal?”

Oops.

I don’t know how things are going to be from now on, he signed honestly.

I hope this makes mother better, but what if it makes her worse? What will we do? How can we care for her? For once, I wish we were more like trolls. Trolls know how to tend to their lusii and quadrants.

All we were ever meant to do was serve her.

We were never taught anything else. Unlike Lleios, we weren’t given the ability to learn much beyond what we were made to do.

I think she did that on purpose, he signed, suddenly angry as he had the thought, eyes narrowing, gestures sharper. I think she wanted to keep us dependent.

She let me learn about religion, she let me watch trolls come to my altar all those sweeps, but she knew I could never truly understand them.

Only Lleios could.

Gallen looked at Rhyssa, whose hand touched her mouth in shock at his words, and he saw that Inshii had stopped walking, looking back at the pair of them as their fins flicked.

The isopod swarm folded his broad arms, blue eyes hard. He wasn’t backing down.

Even if it weren’t for the mission, even if Klirro had never found him, even if he had wound up killing Tuuya after all - these doubts had brewed for centuries, and he was done ignoring his problems.

“Gal! What’s all this hullabaloo?” Rhyssa protested, her own hands flapping in distress as she buzzed with worry. “Where’d this come from all of a sudden, huh? You’ve never - never said a blessed thing - ”

“Now is not the time for such topics.” Cut in Inshii, hard enough that their sister’s hands dropped and her buzzing quieted. She folded her arms, sullenly silent, and Gallen stared the butterfly swarm down, their violet eyes hard.

“Gallen…we will discuss this later.” His oldest sibling’s tone held a practiced neutrality, one he knew was barely holding back anger. Their fins twitched almost imperceptibly, but he caught it.

“Mother needs us now, and she needs us united.”

As if they’d been properly united for sweeps. As if they’d really acted together since Lleios had died.

Killed by a troll, of all things. A troll they had loved. A troll who betrayed them…yet they had wanted him to, so they could die.

Gallen’s fists clenched at the way his youngest sibling had chosen to leave the rest of them behind. If they hadn’t done that, none of this would have happened.

The cold pavement cut his bare feet repeatedly, as it usually did. What did he care? He regenerated his skin nigh instantly, barely noticing as the three swarms drew closer to Inshii’s laboratory.

The thick glass doors slid open with a slight hiss as the false violet led the way in after flashing their ID to a scanner, barely making any sound despite their size. Gallen squinted as they walked into the harsh lighting and gray-white walls and floors, the smell of disinfectant prominent.

There were a few trolls to be seen, but most of Inshii’s staff here were highly specialized robots. The ones that were present shied away from the trio automatically. There wasn’t any fear on their faces or in their movements; they did it instinctively, knowing better than to be close.

“Can we at least eat before this?” Commented Rhyssa, slightly impatient. “I’m assumin’ those ain’t snacks, and I’m peckish.”

“Obviously those aren’t snacks.” Said Inshii in a slightly weary tone of voice. “Food doesn’t work in the laboratory. If you knew anything about science you’d understand just how intensive and time consuming this process has been to replicate. I’ve needed my finest staff on this and had to hire a few extras, which is not kind to my payroll.”

“Ooh, lemme play ya a song on m’banjo, saddest one in the history of the empire, Shishi.” Said Rhyssa, singsong and mocking, actually taking out her instrument as if she was about to start strumming.

Inshii rolled their eyes and ignored her, so Rhyssa pouted and put it away.

Gallen stopped and looked around, not in any hurry to get to what came next. He put his hands in his shorts’ pockets, feeling for the hundredth time that the vial of cloudy liquid was still there.

“Come on.” Called Inshii impatiently. “You’d think we were dragging you to an atheist convention.”

He opened his mouth to huff silently, not wanting to let himself feel amused, and kept walking.

He couldn’t. He had to…he had to…

Gallen twisted inside, hundreds of small legs wriggling and grasping at each other.

He followed his oldest sibling, just like he always had for millennia.

Obedient Gallen. Peaceable Gallen.

Even before mother had taken his tongue, he’d always been like that.

Inshii led him and Rhyssa down a narrow hallway, their precise steps echoing in the near-silence. The faint buzz of electric illumination was the only sound.

Then the lights flickered for a second.

Gallen blinked, looking at his sibling inquiringly. Inshii sighed, their brightly colored fins flicking.

“That’s how much power this has taken. We have backup generators, more than enough…but that’s happened plenty of times over the past few perigees. All Lifeweaver had to do was make a troll body that could meld with a swarm. I’ve had to achieve far more than that.”

“What d’ya mean?” Rhyssa asked, sounding genuinely curious as she ran a finger through her shoulder-length hair.

Inshii’s eyebrows raised in mild surprise, but they stopped, facing their sister with their arms crossed.

“When Mother fell and fused with a mother grub, she became undead. Etuuya was alive when they were merged with Lleios’s remains, integrated over multiple operations so they wouldn’t die of shock or blood loss.

I don’t have that luxury; she’s weak and unstable enough that if I fail now, I might not be able to try again and keep her mind intact.

She can’t be killed…but suffering eternally in that carcass of a body, her mind slipping more and more until she forgets us all? She might wish she was dead.” The butterfly swarm said bluntly.

Rhyssa had taken her hat off to hold it, as a gesture of respect. Gallen bowed his head to go along with her, and so he could compose himself.

Klirro was right. Tuuya was right. Everything Inshii said confirmed it.

If he could do this, even with the hell that would come of it, everything would get better.

His hands shook as Rhyssa put her hat back on.

Inshii’s face softened slightly, an unusual sight.

“Don’t worry, Gallen.” They said in a marginally warmer tone, as caring as they had been capable of since the ten had died all those sweeps ago.

“I’ve accounted for everything; I will not fail. She’ll finally be well again.”

No, they hadn’t accounted for everything. They had no idea what their little brother had in his pocket. A substance modeled from the same scientific notes Inshii had used for this project.

Another one of Rhomox Vannyn’s discoveries.

Inshii kept walking a little longer, then stopped in front of a plain gray, unmarked door, flashing their ID card at a scanner once more.

Gallen would have whistled if he could, so instead it was tuneless air blown through his lips as he walked inside, and Rhyssa herself made a softly impressed ‘aaah.’

Inshii looked a bit smug, despite their sibling’s frequent insistence that they didn’t indulge in such trollish things.

The space was vast, a tangle of pipes, vats, and scientific equipment whose names the isopod swarm couldn’t even begin to guess at. Dials all over the room glowed from within, and somewhere a machine beeped softly in long intervals.

Long hair flowing as they moved more quickly, the false seadweller walked over to the largest vat of all, one taller than their nearly eight foot height, horns aside.

Gallen knew, with a sudden surge of fear, that that was it.

Rhyssa turned completely toward it as well, the wasps she used to see beating their wings frantically as they hovered over her shoulders.

Inshii looked at the various readout screens on the vat and what they saw must’ve pleased his oldest sibling because they nodded and took out a beautiful old glass container shaped like a chrysalis. The glass shone jade and white where it was not clear.

Gallen shuddered as he saw several of his mother’s green flukes wriggling within. Just like the one that had taken over Tuuya.

Wait.

He signed a question.

Isn’t that -

“Vassiq’s work, one of the last she ever made.” Said Inshii quietly, holding the container with reverence. “One of the few we have left.”

Gallen couldn’t cry as trolls did. He had no heart.

Still he trembled, isopods pressing against his skin.

Vassiq. The fly. Dead because she’d tried to kill Ozryel with the other ten, her eggshell destroyed and her corpse burned. Dead because she’d just wanted to be free.

She’d been the best artisan of them all.

How could Inshii stand there and use their sister’s work to hold her killer?

Rhyssa was unusually still, even her wings beating slowly from the parts she used as eyes.

“Will you offer us a prayer, Gallen?” Inshii asked, solemn.

He looked at them in shock, his face rippling in surprise. Inshii had never thought much of religion.

He wished he had incense to light, an altar to kneel by by. He wished he could believe there was anything holy about what they were about to do.

Still he closed his eyes and put a hand to his chest.

He prayed Inshii was wrong, that his mother could be laid to rest after all.

He prayed whatever afterlife she went to was a kind one. A peaceful one.

He prayed his hands would not falter as he did to her what Rhomox Vannyn had done to Lleios. Wipe away the mind, leave the body behind.

Gallen hoped so hard for all of this that he hurt, and then his hand dropped from his chest. He nodded at Inshii, glad he couldn’t speak.

Rhyssa sniffed. With no tears to shed, she tugged at the band covering her wasp-filled sockets instead.

“I hope this works.” She mumbled. “It’ll be like old times. When we were all together, and everythin’ was perfect.”

Everything had never been perfect. Their siblings would still be dead. Ozryel had driven them to desperation when they were alive, had refused to listen when they’d tried to reason with her.

Gallen regretted not helping them. Not taking a side. If he had…

If he had, it probably wouldn’t have made a difference.

Nothing he’d done for his family ever had.

Inshii pressed a button, and the lid of the vat slid back with a faint sliding noise, impressively quiet for how large it was.

He could smell it now. The organic stench of nutrient-rich solution used to grow facsimile bodies.

Inshii stepped onto a ladder bolted to the side of the vat and he held up a hand. They raised their eyebrows, fins flicking.

He signed, Can I go up after you?

“Don’t be silly, Gallen.” Inshii said, tongue clicking. “There’s no space. I’ll bring her down so we can witness her awakening. It will likely take a minute or so.”

Good. That was all he needed.

He nodded to show he understood.

Inshii went up the ladder, their sherwani rippling from their movement. He - and Rhyssa - watched them intently.

What would their sibling bring down? What body had they made for Ozryel?

Though he writhed with nervousness, resignation settling heavy into his chitin, Gallen couldn’t help but be curious. He’d known her current shape for so long, it was difficult to imagine her in another.

He and his sister watched as Inshii took a fluke out of the glass container…and used their other hand - now in a rubber glove - to gently pick up a troll-shaped body. Viscous drops of amber fluid slowly dribbled off of it.

The view was partially blocked by their sibling, but Gallen could see the body’s eyes were closed, that it had long white hair and pale horns that resembled his mother’s.

They moved their arm. He could only assume they were putting the fluke in.

No noise. Nothing.

Inshii carried the body down in both arms, container put back in their sylladex, its - her - eyes still closed. She didn’t move.

Vial in his hand, Gallen lunged.

Rhyssa cried out and Inshii barked an order to stop. Neither moved quickly enough to stop him as he forced the contents down Ozryel’s throat.

Then his sister tackled him to the hard floor, snarling and buzzing as she swore and stung him over and over, ripping through his skin to the isopods beneath.

Gallen did not fight back even as dozens of his isopods thrashed and died. He lay there, letting her wound him, staring up at the pale ceiling and the dark pipes running along it.

He wondered if he was about to wake up in his eggshell, a sparse few isopods once more.

“Stop.” Inshii’s clipped voice said through his haze of pain. “Let mother handle him. The serum is working.”

Rhyssa gasped in relief and Gallen’s hopes sank in dread as he saw his mother’s pale gray fingertips moving, noticed the syringe in Inshii’s hand as they gave him a narrow-eyed violet stare.

“I don’t know why you’ve done this, but I can guess. You’ve betrayed us, gone over to Tuuya and their allies. I’d ask you why…but I don’t think I care.”

Feebly, Gallen tried to use his arms to sign an answer, but Rhyssa stung them and they collapsed into dying isopods.

His mother’s eyes flickered and opened, glowing a solid, brilliant green. Shorter than all of them, slim and almost petite, she vaulted out of her oldest child’s arms to land on the floor with a thud, her feet bare. Her only clothing was a pale teal dress, and she still dripped fluid on the floor as she stepped over to him. The pincers at the edges of her lips snapped in fury as her eyes shone with rage and delight.

“My only son.” She said, with a dry and raspy voice, different yet unmistakably familiar, unused to speaking aloud. “My last son. Why do you turn on me? The only mother you’ve ever had?”

Her tone was gently chiding, almost fond, but Gallen knew that meant nothing.

He spoke in the silent language of swarms, isopods forming shapes and symbols that all of his family read without comment.

“So misguided.” His mother said, still soft. “It isn’t your fault. You were tricked. You forget your siblings’ cruelty. They were unkind to you too.”

Gallen shook his head. She was lying. He had to remember she was lying.

Ozryel clicked her tongue.

“You’ve been very bad. You need a time-out.”

She knelt down next to him and put a hand to his chest. Right where he had when he’d prayed earlier.

Green flukes came out of her wrist, squirming over his remaining isopods to secrete liquid that dissolved him, segment by segment, leg by leg. He soundlessly screamed in agony, bereft of the tongue she had taken so long ago. The voice she’d silenced for the crime of not taking a side.

“Leave one.” Said Inshii, voice hard. “He can stay here. Otherwise who knows where he’ll go when he comes back in the cavern.”

Rhyssa snarled. “Yeah, what Shii said. We can’t let him outta our sight.”

“You don’t give me orders, children.” Murmured Ozryel in a tone of saccharine warning. “I’ll concede the butterfly is right this time. Just mind your tone, or I might think you intend to join your brother.”

Rhyssa opened her mouth, and as Gallen’s troll eyes melted away, he could see the hurt on his sister’s face before she closed it again.

In less than a minute, there was only one of him. A single white isopod, shivering as his mother picked him up in one hand. Helpless to resist her firm grip, she squeezed him so hard he nearly cracked, his legs struggling against her cold hand.

She leaned in to whisper so he could hear.

“Next time I won’t be so generous.”

His vision in this state was too poor to grasp what happened around him, but the next thing he knew, Gallen was locked in a dark, airless box with needles puncturing him all over his body.

He couldn’t move. Couldn’t see, or hear, or feel anything but pain and constriction.

The isopod prayed.

He prayed for the people he had failed so terribly.

He wished with everything he had that his mother would finally die.

—

Ozryel patted the box she had locked her son in, with a soft, needle-fanged smile, then set it aside.

Pausing, concentrating, she clenched her fists and there came a great cracking of bone, a sliding and warping of flesh as wings sprung from her back. Insectoid, yet shaped as if they were feathered, they shone with iridescent hints of rainbow color.

“Fly with me, children. We make for Hanhai.”

Rhyssa scratched her head.

“The desert? What d’ya want there? Thought we were goin’ after Tuuya and their lot.”

Inshii’s eyes also narrowed, then their expression cleared.

“Ah. Their daughter’s cavern.”

Ozryel gave her oldest child a feral smile.

“Kotenkha’s as well. One of her spawn fought me in the second worm’s body, allowing them to escape…it is long past time I gave that bloodline their due.”

The mother of swarms stepped outside the building, squinting as her eyes adjusted to the starlight she had not seen in over four thousand sweeps.

Ever since a wretched jade woman with a komondor lusus had shot her out of the sky.

#cloud writes #children of ozryel #gallen #rhyssa #inshii #ozryel #I think that went well #also round of applause for Thrixe. that's the serum Ullane made from him #ain't science great

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hubportal · 8 years ago

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SeekingArrangement.com Disaster: Women accused of trying to Sexually blackmail DuPont heir

From www.chon.com- The women called him “master.” He called them his “slaves.”

But the women Connecticut financial titan Stephen Dent met online seem to have the power.

They used that power to extract more than $200,000, which Dent gave them voluntarily in exchange for both online companionship and sex.

Then, they allegedly tried to get more.

At least three of the women or their associates are accused of trying to blackmail Dent, 54, a Harvard-educated multimillionaire, DuPont heir and successful entrepreneur who lives on a private street. Two of those cases have resulted in FBI-Greenwich, Conn., Police Department investigations, and extortion charges.

All of the extortion attempts allegedly came as a result of relationships Dent formed by trolling the Web site SeekingArrangement.com. Police records indicate Dent visited the site habitually for at least two years, looking for women to chat with and, in some instances, to meet for sex. He paid women from the site as much as $15,000 for sex, according to police reports released recently in response to a public-records request from Greenwich Time.

SeekingArrangement.com caters to older, wealthy men, or “sugar daddies,” willing to pay young women, or “sugar babies,” for their companionship. The site, based in Nevada, brands itself “a match making website for wealthy benefactors, and attractive guys and gals” and was recently profiled in New York Times magazine.

The owner of the Web site, Brandon Wey, denied the site was connected with extortion or prostitution and said no one else has encountered problems as Dent did.

“He is obviously doing something wrong because no one else is having this problem,” said Wey.

‘Russian Mafia’ initially blamed

On August 2, 2007, Dent’s activities first became a law-enforcement matter when Greenwich Police Detective Robert A. Brown Jr. got a phone call from a private investigator in Arizona. The investigator told Brown his client, Dent, was being blackmailed – possibly by the Russian Mafia.

Dent later told his story to Brown and the FBI.

According to the initial report Brown wrote on the case, Dent “stated that he had solicited the services of women through SeekingArrangement, for both email correspondence and sexual liaisons,” often at a local hotel.

According to the report, Dent told police he paid “approximately $15,000” for one sexual encounter. He also told police that in the first eight months of 2007, he “spent approximately $200,000 on women that he has either had sex with or just met online.” The report said he gave some of the money to women he didn’t have sex with because “they were down on their luck,” giving it “out of the goodness of his heart.”

With Dent’s cooperation, the FBI and Greenwich police made a plan to trap the accused extortionist, who falsely claimed to be a member of the Russian Mafia and demanded $40,000. Dent set up a meeting and police arrested Roy Sipel, a Queens man who said the millionaire had paid Sipel’s girlfriend to perform sex acts described by Sipel’s attorney as “vile and vulgar.”

In a plea agreement, Sipel was sentenced to 16 months in prison in March 2008. Sipel’s lawyer at the time, Robert Bello, told the judge that Sipel had become angry after learning that his girlfriend engaged in sex acts with Dent. “He heard what she went through, and he was going to be her avenging angel,” Bello told the judge.

Dent returned to Web site

Then, on Jan. 28, 2009, the FBI called Greenwich police to inform them of another apparent plot to extort Dent.

After talking to another private detective hired by Dent, police found that just months after Sipel’s sentencing, Dent was back on SeekingArrangement.com again, this time with a new account, but still corresponding with the same women. “He closed his previous account and began to use a different e-mail address but the same screen name to correspond with his women friends,” police documents state.

Dent’s Internet chats once again turned ugly when Dawn Jessop, 28, of Ohio, allegedly began blackmailing Dent in November 2008, threatening to release their correspondence and expose Dent to the community for his alleged role in “patronizing prostitutes,” according to police documents.

Dent then wired two $25,000 payments to Jessop and her mother, and $50,000 more to her husband, Christopher Jessop, officials say. It was not until the FBI began to survey Dent’s arrangements to drop $50,000 in the Jessops’ account in January 2009 that Greenwich police were called to intervene, according to the warrant.

The Jessops currently face charges of first-degree larceny by extortion and first-degree conspiracy to commit larceny. Dawn Jessop was released on bail last week, but her husband is being held on $300,000 bail.

According to police documents, Dent was also blackmailed for $9,000 by a third woman, but no charges have been filed in that case.

Attached to a police report was a copy of an e-mail that the report called “a form letter” that Dent sent to a prospective companion. The Time requested and received it, albeit in redacted form. Despite much of the detail being blacked out, it does shed light on some details of Dent’s arrangements:

“I can only meet during the weekdays around midday. … in general I am not available at night or during the weekends. Furthermore, we would need to meet only when my wife is away. Since I don’t really travel, for the most part the meetings would have to be out here in the Greenwich-Stamford area.

“…Regarding your financial assistance, my initial thoughts are cash compensation in the range of $2,000 to $3,000 per meeting, assuming that we meet about twice a month, plus expenses. If there is anything of an impersonal nature (such as electronics items) that you would like me to purchase for you online and have shipped to your home, I’d be happy to do this. If you are interested in relocating, I will pay for your moving expenses and switch you over to a monthly allowance which would cover your expenses. If you have other financial needs, I’d be happy to discuss them. I am flexible on this whole subject, and am even willing to wire money directly to your checking account if needed.”

No charges against Dent

Despite that written evidence of Dent’s offer to pay for sex, Greenwich police elected not to charge him with a crime.

“The decision was made in 2007 not to pursue the comments that he made about prior activity,” said Detective Lt. Mark Marino, head of the department’s Criminal Investigations Division. “At the time we were pursuing that case, we were treating him as a victim and pursuing a more serious offense with regards to the extortion.”

When asked if police gave Dent preferential treatment because of his status in the community, Marino replied, “Absolutely not.”

Marino said finding enough probable cause to charge Dent with a crime based on his statements would have been difficult.

“Situations like that would be extremely difficult to prosecute based just on those statements, without any other type of corroborating evidence and without being able to identify the other individuals involved,” said Marino, who declined to comment on the discussions that took place between investigators and Dent over his admissions. “Cases are coming in every day.

We have to make decisions on where to best allocate our resources,” said Marino.

He added that the decision not to investigate Dent also partly rested on the fact that police did not want to deter other victims of extortion from coming forward.

Throughout both criminal cases, Dent has remained an unnamed victim in court.

‘A difficult period in his life’

Dent’s attorney, Steven Frederick of Stamford, did not comment on the statements in the police report, but said he wished to point out that his client was “going through a difficult period in his life,” when these events occurred. “He made some terrible mistakes and he fully regrets those mistakes,” said Frederick, who added that Dent “is being treated for the issues relating to his past conduct.”

Mark Sherman, the Stamford attorney representing Christopher Jessop, declined to comment on how Dent’s other activities and the other extortion cases might be useful to his client’s defense.

“Obviously, information about any of these individuals in this case, including my client, is helpful to the defense,” he said.

“Whether it can be used at trial is a completely separate issue.” Greenwich Attorney Mickey Sherman, who is representing Dawn Jessop, declined comment.

Web site owner denies wrongdoing

Wey, who goes by the name Brandon Wade for business purposes, stressed that in spite of this case, SeekingArrangement.com is not an outlet to solicit prostitution.

“We are very strict on this policy. We tell both the men and females that it is a dating site, it is not an escort site,” said Wey.

“This is just so strange to have to have a person who has been on the site for so long, faced so many cases of extortion and still continues to use it.”

The FBI declined comment on the case, although an FBI agent in New Haven who formerly worked in an anti-cybercrime unit said the scenario of a person being extorted multiple times through an online dating site is rare.

“Based upon my experience. I haven’t seen it very often here in Connecticut,” said Special Agent Jane Domboski.

Married in 1986

According to town records, Dent resides on a private street in a gated house assessed at $4.5 million and owns his own investment firm, although he recently closed the doors of his office in Old Greenwich.

Dent, who told police in 2007 that his net worth is approximately $100 million, is also the founding funder of the Greenwich Science Center, a nonprofit educational organization based in Stamford, which is now defunct.

According to Dent’s 1986 wedding announcement published in the New York Times, he is the great-grandson of the late Alfred Irenee du Pont, the former head of the E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co., a major American chemical company founded in 1802.

Frederick said the Greenwich Science Center, opened in 2007, ceased operations several months ago due to the economic climate and Dent’s Old Greenwich company, Dentinvestments LLC, closed its Old Greenwich office due to downsizing.

Dent’s identity was revealed in the Jessops’ arrest warrant, which is on file at the state Superior Court in Stamford. While Dent’s name was redacted in police reports, both cases are tied together by the warrant, which outlines the history of the two investigations.

“On January 28, 2009 (the FBI) notified this agency about a possible extortion from a Greenwich resident. The victim is Stephen Dent. This affiant had a similar case in 2007 where Dent was the victim of extortion,” police wrote in the Jessops’ warrant.

Frederick said Dent chose to cooperate fully with authorities during both investigations and is looking forward to putting everything behind him.

“He chose to cooperate with the police in order to ensure that the perpetrators of the extortion were brought to justice despite the personal risks associated with that cooperation,” Frederick said.

Frederick said Dent is moving forward with support from his family and hopes his story will be a warning for others.

“He is fortunate to be able to rely on the tremendous support he has received from his wife and family and from his close friends,” Frederick said. “He further hopes the publicity this matter has received will be useful in teaching the public the dangers of Internet crime.”

Dent declined several requests for an interview.

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halequeenjas · 4 years ago

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Glitz & Glam || Camille, Cutler, Dave, Erin, Evelyn, Jasmine, Leah, Nate, Nell, & Oz

TIMING: Tonight PARTIES: @carrionxcamille @clarkesconvenience @seizethecarpe @corpse--diem @thronesofshadows @halequeenjas @nate-santos @nelllraiser @curatedfaetes SUMMARY: Just some mostly harmless fun celebrating Jasmine’s birthday.

Birthdays had always been something Jasmine enjoyed, especially her own. As a self-proclaimed lover of being the center of attention, she couldn’t help but love Nell’s idea of being carried into her own party on a palanquin. The notorious Jack the stripper was one of the men carrying her into the jazz bar that was holding her New Orleans themed birthday party. Just by the looks of it, she could tell Nell, Leah, and Bea had really outdone themselves. There was a jazz band currently playing Run the World aka one of her favorite Beyonce songs. The mask decorating station was ago along with some beads. A whole table full of beignets was calling her, but it was the tiramisu cake that Nate made at the center of it all that really caught her attention. Jasmine soaked in some of the cheers as she was carried into the center of the room.

Nate had made sure to get to the venue early enough to set up the delicate tiramisu cake in all it’s glory. Originally, he’d wanted to do much more gold leafing, but other than on the decorative macarons, it just ended up covering the beautiful layers and that wouldn’t do. He stood back and admired his creation until Jasmine herself entered in true Jasmine fashion: carried in an ornate palanquin carried by muscled men to the sounds of Beyonce. He grinned, expecting nothing less of Jasmine Hale. He applauded along with a few others and hoped beyond hope that this would be just another ordinary party with ordinary people.

Nell was one of the many cheers to accolade Jasmine as the woman was carried in by assorted and muscular men, and she gave Jack a friendly wave as he too made his course across the floor. It was hard to forget the time he’d been dressed as a sailor at Bea’s party, and then the time he was Bea’s plus one to Nell’s party. It seemed that their little gaggle of girls had decided to adopt Jack to some extent, and he was quickly becoming a permanent fixture at parties. “Yes, Jasmine!” she yelled along with the rest of the crowd, accidentally jostling the Mardi Gras mask she was wearing while cupping her hands around her mouth. Though...now that she thought of it...now was the perfect time to grab a handful of beignets while all eyes were focused on Jasmine, and she quickly made her way towards the pastry table. “Scuse me,” she offered to whoever got in her path as she worked her way toward the sweetness.

The last party Dave had been at, he hadn't been, strictly speaking, invited. He had, strictly speaking, almost drowned because he'd been trapped in a magically frozen lake. So. This could only be better. Although it felt mighty weird being invited to a party when the only time he'd really gotten to know Jasmine was by being attacked by Bloody Mary. Wasn't the neatest way of getting to know people. There were some faces he recognised, but as he waited for Jas to come in... Dave felt more than a little out of place in all this glamour. Doubly so when Jasmine (who he really only knew as an exorcist) came in on a goddamn palanquin. It was at this point that Dave concluded he would need a whole lot more beer.

Attending functions that were important to one’s friends was the right thing to do, and Evelyn also knew that she truly enjoyed Jasmine’s company, and the two of them hadn’t had too much time to spend together recently. What better way to remedy that than by attending her birthday party? Miriam had given her full approval of her outfit (which wasn’t truly something she needed, but she enjoyed having the approval of others, so it certainly didn’t hurt). Evelyn couldn’t help but grin at Jasmine’s entrance. A bit over-the-top, certainly, but charming and perfectly executed. Though she shouldn’t have expected anything less. She’d grabbed one of the beignets and was absent-mindedly picking at it, giving a small wave to Jasmine as she was carried in.

Once in the center of the room. Jasmine gracefully exited the palanquin as Jack offered her a hand. She smiled widely at the room filled with her various friends and acquaintances. As the song and cheers quieted, she called out, “Thank you so much to everyone for being here. I hope you have as much fun as I do. Please, help yourself to the open bar and assorted snacks available.” She made her way over to the bar to get herself a glass of champagne. It was, after all, a celebration. She dawned her lovely Mardi Gras green dress with gold accents with a lovely mask that included the use of crystals and gold flakes around the edges to give her an extra glamorous flair. She greeted her friends who were already at the bar and was ready for good old fashioned cheers.

From the moment she walked in, Erin had been pretty damn sure that she’d never been to a party quite as festive or extravagant as the one she’d stepped into. But the more she thought about it, the more it made sense for someone like Jasmine, and hollered and cheered as loud as she could along with the group when she was literally carried into her party. Good for her, she thought, as she beelined for the mouth-watering treats that lined one of the tables. After making sure she had a glass of champagne, of course. “Excuse you,” she joked, gently nudging Nell away and snatched one of the desserts she was reaching for first.

So, Camille wasn’t going to say no to an excuse to let her hair down, especially now that she lived alone, even if she didn’t know all these people it was nice just to be out for a fun evening. The decor alone would’ve been enough to indicate that Jasmine intended to throw one hell of a party, and her over the top entrance confirmed it. She laughed and cheered along with others as she was carried in, and then realized that if she was going to be any sort of entertaining at this party a drink was probably a good idea. Thank god for an open bar. With a glass of wine in her hand Camille felt much better, and it wasn’t long before Jasmine appeared at the bar too. “Hey you!” She grinned, already feeling a bit excitable as she clinked their glasses together, “happy birthday! That was an interesting way to kick things off.”

Not one for giving speeches and drawing attention to herself, especially in the state she was currently in, Leah was happy to let Nell and the others pour accolades and love on Jasmine as she was carried into the party, grinning genuinely for the first time in a few days at the ridiculousness of it all. She looked down at her outfit, wondering if she’d managed to stop it from clashing with her new sling and cast and feeling unusually self conscious. She waved as Evelyn approached her, grabbing a beignet for herself and taking a bite. “I don’t know about you, but I’m ready for a drink”, she said to Evelyn. “Can you drink…? With your… you know, allergies?”

Nell had already told Jasmine ‘Happy Birthday’ on multiple occasions, including when she’d shown up to help get the decorations in order— so she wasn’t all the intent on pushing through the mob to get to Jasmine at the moment. No doubt she’d make her way over there later, though. No. This was the time for powdered sugared pastries and...apparently Erin. Nell grinned up at the woman with little to no apologies, already stuffing one of the beignets into her mouth and swallowing before answering. But Erin was quick to snatch up the next one she’d had her eye on, “Hey! No, excuse you! That one’s mine- go get your own.” Nell wasn’t so proud so as not to swipe at the pastry Erin had stolen, doing her best to keep the mortician from actually eating it.

She gave another wave to Leah, grateful to recognize someone in this party besides Jasmine. Evelyn grinned. “Luckily, one can trust Jasmine to have excellent taste in alcohol, so I say absolutely.” She nodded at her friend’s next question. “I can. Well, most drinks. Can… you?” She remembered Leah mentioning issues with water, but wasn’t sure how that extended itself to other liquids. “Just perhaps not a margarita for me, but most other things work well.” She nodded. “Shall we?”

Nate shuffled himself a bit out of the way of the table to make room for anyone who wanted to grab a beignet or praline, mumbled out an ‘excuse me’ here and there. Nowadays he was far from the party animal he used to be, a man who once took up so much space at a gathering and dragged people out to the dance floor in droves. Now, he was hanging out by the food and trying to make himself as small as humanly possible, his fingers wrapped tightly around the glass of champagne he’d gotten when he came in.

Jasmine was more than happy to see Camille at the bar and was even happier that the woman had lived with Cece. New gal pals were always a win in her book and she was smiling ear to ear as she greeted her friend. “I’m so glad you made it,” she exclaimed, “And that dress looks amazing on you.” She laughed a bit at the comment on her entrance. What was a birthday without a grand entrance? Grand people deserved grand entrances. It was like the law… or something. “Thank you. I’ve always been of the go big or go home mentality. I’ll give credit where it’s due and note it was Nell’s idea. If you don’t know her, I’m sure you’ll meet her today. If anything she says sounds too crazy, she’s probably trolling you.”

Oz was not immune to a good party. More often than not, they invited chaos. Less often, they were decent opportunities to get information on targets, slip away into unguarded chambers for reconnaissance. He’d spent most of his week arguing with minor artists in the northeast, weighing their work against each other for a spot in the opening exhibition. It made him prickly and, worse, gave him little time to explore the town. Finally, he had time. Wandering through the cold streets, he drifted naturally towards the raucous music coming from Speakeasy, just in time to see a woman being carried in on a palanquin. Huh. Oz slipped in, searching for someone who’d actually been invited. There was a nervous-looking man standing by the food. Perfect. He plucked his own glass of champagne from another guest on the way over, and raised it to the man. “A toast to new friends.” Oz figured, if nothing else, he could have a bit of fun messing with this guy.

Leah nodded as well, happy to have a chance to explain a bit more to Evelyn. “I can, mostly everything. Just water is a no-go.” She thought about what Evenlyn said, nodding. No Margaritas, no salt. Evelyn had mentioned briefly that her skin reacted to salt, but this all but confirmed that the reactions were due to her supernatural status. That narrowed it down significantly. “We shall”, she grinned, popping the last bit of beignet into her mouth before they made their way over. She was determined to enjoy this night, injuries be damned. With the wall as her guide, she made her way over to the bar with Evelyn. “I do really need to treat you to lunch”, she said over her shoulder to the other woman. “It’s the least I can do after that… sizeable donation I received on Christmas. It’s too bad this is open bar, Evelyn, otherwise I’d insist on buying for you all night.”

Nate nearly jumped out of his skin when someone addressed him directly. He’d been perfectly fine standing like a wallflower, careful not to look at anyone too closely lest he see that they had horns or hooves or something equally as monstrous. He smiled at the man and raised his glass a bit, nodding in response to his cheers. “To new friends,” he managed before taking a long sip. Out of the corner of his eye, the newcomer seemed to ebb and flow out of his vision, but when he looked straight on, he was totally normal. Nate took a deep breath. Must be the champagne. “So uh...how do you know Jas?” Cutler was determined to show Jasmine that he had more than one formal outfit in his closet. He had two, to be precise - but she didn’t have to know that. He felt strangled and hot and was beginning to regret the skinny black tie, which hung short over a leafy tropical button up. His eyes were drawn away from the engrossing task of tugging and smoothing his tie by the eruption of cheers around him, followed by the entrance of Jasmine on the palanquin. The bottle of D'Autrefois Pinot Noir suddenly felt heavy at his side as it dawned on him that he was, once again, far out of his depth. She looked extravagant and expensive, as did the cake, the decorations, and everyone here. Probably-no,definitely-too busy to chat. His free hand was already gesturing abstractly in the air at the end of the bar as he thought, I’m not getting through this without a drink. A couple rubbing elbows away, he recognized Erin tussling over a beignet and made a mental note to find her if he needed a reason not to talk to the person he came here to see. Near him, someone mumbled a quiet excuse me and he straightened against the bar to make room for the passerby. “You’re good, man.” He nodded, giving a small smile of acknowledgement. Someone behind him was toasting, and he raised his glass in a pavlovian, robotic response. “New friends.” He echoed, swallowing his drink with professional flourish.

“That is good to know.” Evelyn nodded. “Yes, I just find that avoiding things like that is better.” Even if she still wasn’t entirely sure how she would react to salted items, it was easier to explain things that was versus explaining that she just couldn’t walk over salt lines. But that was something to discuss when it was just the two of them, and when they weren’t celebrating a dear friend’s birthday. “We will make a plan of it,” she offered Leah a gentle smile. “Besides, that donation was more than earned and was far less than you deserve. If it makes you feel better, you can order for me, how does that sound? Red wine is always a plus in my book.”

“You snooze you lose, kid--hey!” Erin laughed as Nell pawed at the macaron on it’s way to her mouth. She put her arm up, blocking off the shorter woman with just enough time to pop the treat into her mouth. “Get away, there’s like a hundred more!” She said, pointing to the table with a full mouth. She washed it down with the last sip of the champagne in her glass and grabbed a few more treats. There were more than a few familiar faces but she could see the woman of the hour from here. Grabbing a few treats in a napkin for the short walk, she headed towards the bar. “Happy Birthday, lady!” She greeted. “I’m pretty sure that was the most fabulous entrance I’ve ever seen in my life. Which, you know. Makes absolute sense considering…” she didn’t need to finish her sentence, just gestured towards Jasmine with a big grin.

“I can’t remember the last time I went to a party, which meant I had to come.” Camille smiled and sipped her wine, brushing a hand down the front of her dress. It was vaguely on theme- apparently purple was a mardi gras colour- which was good enough considering the small wardrobe she had to work with. “Thanks. Though I don’t look as good as you, obviously.” Her eyes strayed over to the food table, and the woman mentioned. “Oh, I think we’ve met.” Camille looked in thought for a moment, as if trying to remember her. Like she could forget. “Yeah… At a coffee shop. Just briefly, we nearly mixed up our orders.” She laughed, “she seemed nice. I’m sure she won’t say anything crazy- is that a habit of hers?”

Someone else had echoed Oz’s toast behind him, and Oz shifted his body just so, inviting the person into the conversation without explicitly acknowledging them. The wider a circle could get, the more it’d look like Oz belonged here. Oz grinned, all teeth. “I don’t, actually.” The man seemed to be avoiding his gaze. Oz was hot, but he’d never pushed a man (or otherwise, for that matter) from averting his eyes from his good looks. Did he know this man, somehow? Faces swam in his memory, but none matched with the person in front of him. He filed that information away, searching for a quick half-truth. “I’ve been looking for someone who does know her, but I’ve only found you.” Oz winked, taking a quick swig of his champagne. He shrugged, amicably. “It’s not a party if you’re not meeting new people, I say.” He tossed a quick grin to the man who’d joined in on the faux-toast. “Speaking of…” He held out his hand to the newcomer, another shark-wide grin. “Osric.” A wink over his shoulder to the shy man. “But you can both call me Oz, if you like.”

“You said it, not me,” Jasmine said with a small laugh to indicate she was in fact joking. It was one thing to call herself beautiful and another entirely to claim she was the most gorgeous person in the room… no matter how true it was. When Camille said she had already met Nell, Jasmine would have bet actual money that it was because Nell had trolled her on the internet. As it turned out, that wasn’t the case. “Oh, good! I’m glad to hear that. And let’s just say she has a penchant for messing with people. It can be highly amusing depending on who you are.” When Erin walked up to join them for a drink, she gave a welcoming wave and smile. “Erin, hey! Have you met my friend Camille?” She gestured to the lovely woman in purple standing beside her. “Thanks, it was Nell’s idea, but I think I pulled it off fabulously. Well, me and the attractive muscled men.”

Nell didn’t leave her crusade of taking back the pastry unfinished until Erin had finally and wholly eaten it, determined to make Erin regret taking the macaron that Nell had been eyeing at least a little bit. But as the other woman drifted towards Jasmine, Nell followed suit- but not before stacking an impressively sized tower of pastries into her tiny gremlin hands. “Happy Birthday!” Nell yelled at Jasmine for what was probably the third or fourth time that day. She’d only just caught the tail end of Jasmine’s conversation while walking up, and cocked her head to the side while catching her name. “Of course you pulled it off fabulously. The muscled men were just accessories, and we know it. You were the crown jewel.” With that she ate another of the many pastries in her hands whole.

Leaning against the bar for support, Leah’s eyes widened at Evelyn. “Please”, she chided, “That was more than enough. I don’t think we’ve ever had this much surplus in our budget before… it’s... incredible.” She thought on it, nodding. Evelyn’s idea would have to do, at least for now. The bartenders, for their part, worked quickly, and she handed Evelyn a glass of Pinot Noir, grining. “In honor of the birthday girl, …her favorite”, she said sipping on her own glass. “How do you know Jas?”, she wondered, watching Jasmine in her element. It was a relief that this party was going over so well. Jasmine, above almost everyone, deserved such an extravagant celebration.

She eyed Leah, a bit of a concerned look crossing her face. But whatever had happened to her, Evelyn wasn’t going to force her to say anything. She didn’t think that Leah was quite as private as she was, but she also didn’t want to pry too much. “Well, you and the library deserve it. So it was my pleasure. She took the glass from Leah, ��and an excellent favorite it is, if I do say so myself.” She took a small sip before answering - first glancing over to where Jasmine was standing, before focusing back on Leah. “When I first moved here - well, it will be five years come April - she sold me my house. We got along quite well and I suppose just sort of naturally clicked. How about yourself?” She asked, tapping her fingers against the wine glass. Cutler hummed reciprocally, only half listening to the toaster in front of him. Behind his flowery words, he had a magnetic quality about him. He was attractive, sure, but this wasn’t something so tangible. Whatever was causing the third in their circle to avert his gaze was the same thing that held Cutler’s attention even as champagne bottles popped behind the bar and little pieces of gold confetti itched at his beard. “Oz.” He repeated, pumping their hand shake with a relaxed grip. “Cutler.” He took another sip of his drink and looked between the two men before deciding to weigh in on their conversation. “So, Oz. You don’t know Jasmine? Are you party crashing?” The last drops of his whisky crashed against the side of his glass as he set it on the bar and gestured for one more. “Don’t worry, I’m not gonna rat you out. Friend.” He winked, imitating Oz’s earlier action.

Erin turned to the other woman with a bright smile. “I haven’t! Nice to meet you. I’m Erin,” she said before putting down her empty glass and plucking up a fresh flute. She felt only a little out of her element at the moment, surrounded by the glitz and glamour of the theme of the party, but it wasn’t a bad feeling at all. Jasmine’s excitement was downright infectious. “Oh, beautiful accessories. Good call,” she agreed. Glancing between Nell and Jasmine, she subtly pointed to one of those muscled men who’d carried her in. “Wait, isn’t that the same guy from your party, Nell?”

Nate stepped to the side again, widening his circle out of muscle memory. Luckily the new guy seemed totally normal too. He breathed a sigh of relief and continued to try and ignore the watery edges of the man who didn’t seem to know Jas at all. Not that he could blame the guy if he was crashing, this was probably going to be the event of the season. Not to mention Nate hadn’t always been invited to every party he’d been to. He smiled a bit more easily, though the guy - Oz - had something about his smile that made him feel like prey. “Nate,” he introduced himself to the two men before taking another long sip. “Definitely not a Hale party without new friends, that’s for sure.”

Camille returned the smile and sipped her drink, “It’s nice to meet you too, Erin.” She nudged Jasmine gently in the side, “we shouldn’t inflate her ego too much.” She teased, “I dread to think what mode of transportation she’ll manage to find next year when her birthday rolls around again.” Camille gave Nell what she hoped was a warm enough smile, despite the nerves that disturbed her at seeing the other woman again. This was a party, surely she wouldn’t say anything out of turn. Though Erin’s question served to distract her from that fear, “How have I never seen this guy before? He is like… The intimidating kind of hot.” She spoke in a hushed tone, so to not be overheard by said man.

“You’re too sweet”, Leah said with a shy grin, sipping more wine. It was going down easier than she expected, and that was saying something. She was determined to find a way to pay the woman back- along with Mercy and Arthur, too, one way or another. Her eyebrows raised in realization at Evelyn’s anecdote, and she nodded. “She meets so many people that way, it’s incredible. She sold me my house as well, but well… we met years before that. We’ve been best friends since we were kids”, she explained, smiling nostalgically. “Despite White Crest’s antics we’ve managed to stick together with another friend of ours for forever. It’d feel strange not to be in her life now, honestly.”

Another wide grin was on her face as Nell approached. Jasmine was grateful for how she pulled this whole shindig off. “Thank you, Nellie. And thank you for planning this perfect party. I don’t know how any of my future birthdays could ever top this.” She gestured around at the decor and crowd. They’d cross that bridge when they got to it. She laughed as Erin and Nell spoke and agreed, “My favorite kind of accessory. Think one of them knows how to cook and is down for being a trophy husband?” Jasmine looked over at who Erin was gesturing to. “Oh, Jack? He was at both Bea’s and Nell’s birthday parties. He’s pretty much a birthday staple at this point. A very, very hot birthday staple.” At the mention of her next mode of transportation, Jasmine giggled and took another sip of champagne. “I’m sure we’ll think of something to top this entrance for next year.” She gave Nell a playful nudge as she spoke. Maybe a magic carpet or like a Britney Spears “Baby One More Time” tour style of flying over the crowd. There was an amused grin on her face as Camille spoke of Jack. “Oh, he’s definitely super hot, but don’t let it be intimidating. He’s a nice guy. Plus, you’re also really hot. And a delight!”

“Oh yeah, that’s Jack!” Nell said brightly, giving another wave in the stripper’s direction. She was pretty sure Bea had brought him over for dinner sometimes at this point. “I think he’s Bea’s friend now.” Or maybe she was wrong. It was hard to keep track of things when she was under constant demon cult barrage. Nell’s gaze lingered a little too long on Camille, still having far too many questions when it came to the woman’s necromancy origins. Unfortunately, now wasn’t the place to ask them. “Oh, Jack’s not intimidating, really. He’s actually very sweet.” Sending Jasmine another grin, she rearranged her pile of pastries to make sure none of them fell. “I’m just glad I could help. You know I love makin’ parties. And I’m sure we’ll think of something for next year.”

Oz feigned a grimace at Cutler’s words, the back of his mind sparking with intent. It was always useful to start lacing webs of promises early, especially ones that had been lined up so neatly for him. “Ah, thanks friends.” Little too thick? Eh. “Promise you two will cover for me if things ever go south?” He shrugged amicably. “I’m new in town, and I’d like to avoid making enemies. For now.” Oz huffed out an awkward, fake laugh.

“Hardly - or, perhaps, selectively,” Evelyn sighed for a moment, though she kept a small smile on her face. Perhaps she was, if so many people kept insisting upon it. “I do suppose that a job like hers lends itself to that. She does manage it expertly, from what I can tell.” She was grateful to have met someone like Jasmine back then - in part because she didn’t judge Evelyn for being relatively young and able to pay for the house in full right to start, but also for the genuine feeling that their conversations had held, even from the beginning. Even though, as far as she knew, Jasmine was human. “She did? Well, she certainly has a way about the town, so that makes sense.” Her expression softened, and for a moment she glanced down at the floor. What was it like to have a friend since childhood? “That’s great! I’ve heard that can happen, if you have a friend for long enough. Becomes weird to imagine your life without them. I’m glad you two have one another,” she replied genuinely. Grabbing her phone for one moment, she took a photograph of her wine glass, sending a text to Miriam quickly before focusing back on her friend. “A friend could not make it, and so I told her I’d keep her updated on what is going on.” She provided as an explanation. “Does Jasmine try to throw parties like this for you, too? Or did she ever, in all your years of knowing one another?”

Nate nodded, absently picking up a few beignets to occupy his hands and mouth. It had been so long since he’d been to a party or around a bunch of guys that he’d nearly forgotten how to hold a conversation. His heart was hammering but he tried not to show it, instead focusing on what he could control. “Oh yeah, of course.” He glanced around the room full of laughter and drinking and dancing, wondering how anything could go south. “I’ll help you out in any way I can, enemies here are...well they’re not great to have.”

Cutler wasn’t sure if it was the drink or the infectious nature of the other man’s grin, but he felt compelled to agree. “Sure, I’ll cover for you. I don’t think you have much to worry about, though. Seems like an open-invite deal. Don’t see them cracking down on party crashers. Talk about a mood ruiner.” His eyes went from the beignets back up to the third man’s mouth, now stuffed. “Enemies?” Something at the back of his mind began to pulse nervously. All this talk of enemies and trouble, perhaps. “You guys make a lot of enemies? You’d level with me if you were planning something, right?”

Leah smiled softly at Evelyn’s explanation, reminding her of their previous conversation about emojis. “Some people like taking pictures of their food and drinks just for fun. As some sort of documentation, I suppose.” She shook her head at Evelyn’s question, taking another gulp of wine. “I think Jasmine and Bea- that’s our other friend-, I think they know I’d just about die if they subjected me to something like this. Too much attention, I think...I wouldn’t enjoy it at all. I prefer a quiet dinner with close friends, usually. Did you ever have big extravagant birthday parties?” She imagined she must have, coming from the childhood she did. Though she did remember her mentioning that she didn’t have any siblings, or many friends growing up since she never went to school. Leah hoped her question wasn’t insensitive.

Dave breathed in deeply as he took in the scenery, feeling distinctly out of place in his only mildly frayed shirt and cargo shorts, but that was what Jasmine had signed up for. As he inhaled, he caught the scent of a brackish pond, like someone had just been fishing and had fallen in or something. It was deeply familiar. He turned his attention over to a trio of men, where the smell was coming from, walking over. "Evenin' folks. Mind if I join? Don't know too many folks at this party." And most of them were young.

“A hot air balloon?” Camille chimed in with her idea, giggling as she took another sip from her glass. She turned her gaze back to Nell, “this is a really impressive party, by the way. Like, wow.” A compliment couldn’t hurt in making sure her secrets were kept for now, right? Plus it was true. Cam had organized a few parties for co-workers before but this was beyond anything she’d ever done. “Oh.” She waved a hand dismissively, “a delight I may be, but I can’t compete with abs like that. Not that- it’s still too soon for me to be thinking about guys and what have you, probably.” She thought of Carrington for a moment and tried not to blush, hiding her face with another gulp from her wine glass. “How do you two know Jasmine, then?” She asked, trying to steer the topic another way.

Nate’s eyes went wide. “Planning something? Here? Ohhh absolutely not,” he laughed, eyeing Jasmine. The idea of ruining her lavish party with some sort of prank or scheme was far beyond Nate, even in his prankster years. “Talk about making an enemy.” He tossed another beignet into his mouth. “No, more like...you peeve someone off and they leave strang packages on your doorstep for a month. Or blast music at all hours of the night. Or suddenly your car goes missing. Nothing super doom and gloom.” At least that’s what Nate had experienced, not that he ever made many enemies. He turned to the new addition and smiled, the expression freezing on his face when the man spoke. Needle sharp teeth extended from his gums where normal human teeth should have been. His words were friendly enough, but altogether ruined by the fact that he looked like Jaws had a baby with a person. “Y-yeah! The more the merrier!”

Oz masked a smile at the newcomer’s appearance, happy to be able to avoid any probing questions from Cutler’s direction. A tingle of power echoed the men’s words in the back of his head. “Absolutely! We were just having a conversation about how I didn’t know anybody at this party. My invite…” He let the sentence trail off. Whatever they’d construct was fine, especially given the promises. Nate, however, looked less than pleased at their new arrival. “The more the merrier,” he echoed. What was going on here…?

“I am trying to attempt to be some variation of with the times, I suppose.” Not that Evelyn figured Leah would mind too much - or at all - if she were not, but some part of her still found herself feeling a bit too out of touch at times. “I sort of had gathered as much. Quiet dinner, or a time spent with films or books, seems far more up your alley.” The name Bea sounded vaguely familiar to her, but she’d have to focus on that more later. “Oh, I have been part of many extravagant parties, birthdays absolutely included in that. My father threw me a party with about two thousand people… somehow… for my fourteenth birthday. I think he just wanted to show me off. I do not know where he found that many people and I spent most of my time to the side. I had other large parties, but that was the biggest. Since coming here, I have found that I sometimes prefer things more lowkey, I’d rather spend time with a few people I care about than many people I,” find boring, too human, and do not care for, “do not know. So I suppose things can change. I have nothing against attention, but I think finally having friends,” she shrugged, “gives a new perspective. I am glad Jasmine gets all this attention though, she deserves it.”

“Maybe getting carried out could just be your thing each year, you know? Just add a new spin to it. But always, always include the muscle men. I think that part goes without saying but I needed to emphasize it.” Erin glanced over at Nell’s pile of treats and snagged another one from her. Her grin brightened when she noticed Cutler across the way, and after wishing Jasmine another happy birthday, she excused herself and made her way over to the circle of guys loitering by the desserts. “Hey! I didn’t know you knew Jasmine,” she said upon approaching. “Looking snazzy, though. It’s good to see you!” Cutler glanced toward the newcomer, not expecting to have to cover for his new acquaintance quite so soon. He made another noncommittal grunt of agreement and nodded a chin toward him. “Not true, Oz. You know me.” He smiled, the half-truth only a little sour on his tongue. The predatory look on his accomplice’s face didn’t alleviate any of the discomfort that was beginning to turn his stomach. “Of course we don’t mind-” He was cut off by the appearance of Erin at his side, a welcome distraction. “Hey! You clean up nice yourself.” He lifted the wine bottle in his hand woefully and leaned in a little closer to be heard. “Only a little. I was going to give her this, but I..” He turned his head to see her, doting upon her loyal attendees. “...I think she’s busy.”

“I think you’re doing great, Evelyn. Blending right in!”. Leah smiled at Evelyn’s correct assumptions about her, finishing up her last few sips of wine. “You’ve already read me like a book, it seems”, she mused. She listened carefully as her friend told her another extravagant story about her childhood, this one just as interesting as the last she’d heard. “That sounds… incredible,... but perhaps a bit uncomfortable?” It seemed by the way she was describing it that Evelyn felt more like a trophy piece to her father than his daughter. “I’m glad, at least, that you’ve been able to establish more of your own rhythm in life. That’s perhaps the hardest part of coming into adulthood and separating from the people who raised you.” She thought for a moment, waiting a beat before speaking again. “But hey- m

“Hot air balloon sounds fun, but Erin may be right. Having the muscled men is really part of the appeal,” Jasmine joked. Well, maybe it wasn’t so much a joke as it was said jokingly. Almost instantly she was shaking her head, “You can compete with his abs. Don’t undersell yourself, you’re a catch.” She would take none of her friends not believing they shouldn’t shoot their shot. “And hey, if he’s not into it, he’s not into it. That’s a different story entirely though. Ask guys out on dates whenever it feels right for you.” While she was single herself, Jasmine liked to think she had a wealth of wisdom to provide on the subject of dating. Rule number one was always no mimes. Don’t trust anyone on Tinder in this town was a close second. That was how you became someone’s dinner. Decidedly not the type of snack anyone wanted to be. “Anyway, I think it’s time for a toast.” She took that moment to welcome herself onto the stage where the band was playing and clink her glass. “Everyone, I purpose a toast. To another year of thriving and happiness with some of the greatest people in town.” She raised her glass to the crowd before finishing off the flute of champagne. It was now time for dancing and she had the feeling one of the muscled men who carried her in would make for a perfect dancing partner.

#wickedswriting #birthday love #glitz & glam #camille #cutler #dave #erin #evelyn #jasmine #leah #nate #nell #oz

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queenabstract · 4 years ago

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Trolls x reader: Trolls reaction to their s/o telling them their gonna be parents. Please. Oh, and do you do Delta Dawn or Trollzart? Some don’t like to and I just wanted to be sure if you do.

Of course I can do Delta Dawn and Trollzart. I just haven't done them yet...until now.

DELTA DAWN

Guys and gals alike are able to have eggs, you knew that. You sometimes had given the thought about you or Delta having an egg together, but you two never had that discussion. You used protection, that was for sure......but maybe not enough.

"Oh my gosh." You said as you stared at the positive pregnancy test, tears forming in your eyes. You had been feeling out of it for the past month. Throwing up and getting weird cravings for certain kinds of food that you hadn't eaten in years(how the hell did you even remember the names of the dishes). You walked into the livingroom and sat down with the positive test still in your hands.

"Hey, (y/n). Is aunt Delta back yet?" Clampers ran up to you and asked. Since you weren't feeling well, you decided to stay home and insisted that Delta let Clampers hang out with you so you two could bond.

"Not yet, sugar. She'll be here soon, though." You said with a shaky breath and laid a hand on your stomach. How the hell were you gonna tell her?

"What's that thing?" Clampers pointed at the test. "I saw my mom looking at those things a bunch of times, but they only had one line on it. She and dad get really sad when they look at them."

"Oh...well...uh....I don't think I should be the one telling you about it then. You can ask your parents later tonight about it." You answered and patted her on top of the head. "Now why don't you go to your room for a bit and I'll let you know when your aunt gets back." You said.

"Okay." Clampers shrugged and went to her room.

"I'm back!" Delta announced as she walked in as soon as Clampers closed the door to her room. She looked around, confused. "Where's Clampers?" She asked you.

"I sent her to her room for a few minutes so I could talk with you." You said nervously.

"Talk? About what? Something wrong, love?" Delta sat down next to you.

"I've been feelin kinda off for the past month, so I uh," you showed Delta the test with two lines on it. "I took a test to see if that could be the reason, and as you can see I-"

"Is this for real? Or are you trying to prank me?" Delta took the test from you and looked at you in disbelief.

"Prank ya? You saw me puking! That was because of the morning sickness you goofbaURMF-" Delta cut you off again by smashing her lips against yours.

"I still almost can't believe it. I...you...we're...we're gonna be parents. I'm gonna be a mama." Delta hugged your stomach and gave you a bunch of kisses.

"Imma be a cousin?" Clampers asked.

"Now how long have you been standing over there?"

TROLLZART

You and Trollzart had been talking about it. You both had adopted a few children, but you were ready to have one of your own. You had already adopted two girls. One that played the triangle, and one that played the pennywhistle. You had played multiple different instruments in your lifetime, and you couldn't wait to teach your own bundle of joy how to play all the different kinds. And Trollzart was ecstatic to teach his future child how to conduct. Only problem was...the reason you two adopted in the first place was because you were having troubles conceiving. And once you did have an egg...the little one never hatched. It had been several years since you tried, and you were willing to give it another go. When you felt movement in your hair, you started crying out for your husband.

"What is it, my love? Are you alright?" Trollzart rushed to you.

"I'm better than alright, we did it." You said. You moved your hair out of the way to show the beautiful sparkling golden egg with curly purple hair at the top.

"Oh, beautiful." Trollzart gasped, holding your hands in his.

"We're keeping it in my hair this time. Its obvious that a nest isn't going to cut it." You said and covered the egg with your hair.

"Agreed." Trollzart couldn't stop the huge smile spreading across his face. "But we did it." He placed a kiss on your cheek. "I'm going to tell the kids the great news!" Trollzart said excitedly and went to find your other two angels.

Barb

She brought it up jokingly a few times. Especially when she was trying to sound seductive in bed. Neither of tou expected for you to each have an egg. Barb was an emotional train wreck the entire way through. She especially couldn't stop sobbing when you held your babies for the first time. You never saw her so overwhelmed with happiness.

Hickory.

He had gone on a trip with his brother back to their old home that they lost in an avalanche a long time ago. He didn't realize he left you with a little gift before he left. The trip was a long one to the place and back. It took him two months. By that time, your baby bump was starting to show and you were almost ready to lay the egg.

"Hey, gumdrop! I'm back. I hope ya didn't miss me too much." Hickory announced as he entered the house.

"I missed you more than you'll know, but next time, don't leave a surprise for me before you leave. It should be something we both get to enjoy." You yelled from the kitchen.

"A surprise? Whaddaya mean? Where are ya?" Hickory asked.

"In the kitchen! There's a bun in the oven!" You said. You put on your oven mitts and took out the large cinnamon bun and set it on the stove to cool.

"A bun...in the oven?" Hickory asked as he walked into the kitchen. "Are you saying what I think you're saying?" Hickory asked. You had you back towards him, now you turned to the side so he could see the baby bump. A huge smile spread across his face and he began tearing up.

"YEE-HAW!!!" Hickory cheered and spun you around in the air. "MY BEAUTIFUL SUNFLOWER YOU DID IT!!! WE'RE GONNA BE PARENTS!!!"

"Damn right we are! But next time, you're having the egg. Morning sickness sucks." You said.

"Next time!?! Of course! Anything for you, gumdrop." Hickory said and gave you several loving kisses.

God it took me a long time to type all that. I'll post a part 2 soon.

#trolls #trolls world tour #trolls world tour x reader #barb #queen barb #King Trollzart #Mayor Delta Dawn #Delta Dawn #Hickory #Clampers being unchaotic #pregnant reader #mentions of miscarriage

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ninjaturtlemaniac · 3 months ago

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does each sugar gal correlate to a specific spice girl, or are they moreso just a loose amalgamation of the real ladies' personalities?

The Sugar Gals

They all have a little bit of the different Spices in them in some way.

If anything they are a combination of all the quirks and experiences that a female celebrity in the 90s may have lived out.

Even a little bit of other 90s popstars and trends made there way into their designs. E.g. Sable and Summers younger outfits are supposed to be a bit like Britney Spears.

For their older selves I wanted each of them to have lead different lives.

A serious performer

An art conniesour

A kids entertainer

A mother with a small business

And a bitch Sage

Some of these may be reminiscent of some of the Spice Girls but aren't directed related. 😁

Now that I think about it I wonder what kinda terrible headlines and magazine covers featured the Sugar Gals???

An egg at 16! Summer's secret Trolling!

Lip sync scandal! Scout's shame.

Feminism and weight gain. Sonnet's story.

Exposed! Sable's Hard Candy addiction!

Betrayal- Sage without makeup. "It's all a lie."

None of which are true btw but those gossip magazines yo!

#trolls #dreamworks trolls #trolls movie #trolls band together #character design #trolls brozone #Trolls the Sugar Gals #The Sugar Gals #trolls art #trolls dreamworks #trolls fanart #artists on tumblr #trolls fanfiction #trolls fandom #trolls fanfic

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canid-slashclaw · 4 years ago

Text

The Lighthouse Keeper

Chapter 1

A warm sensation throbbed against Kaleb’s face. He looked down and noticed a winged farie dragon was worming its way into his left nostril.

There you go little guy. Find your dark, warm home.

The sky above was bathed in swaths of crystalline sheep and shimmering buttered toast. Curiously, he wondered why the three-headed dingle troll had not come to join the tea party.

Off in the distance he heard a faint voice. At first he could not make out what it said, but as he concentrated harder, he swore it sounded something like holstill.

He looked at the faerie dragon once more. Then he looked up and closed his eyes.

Now when I count to three, you’ll be safe and sound in your new home.

One..

Two…

Three…

Okay little fella…

“Whaaaaaa!!”

“My gods! What the HELL?!”

Kaleb’s eyes were open for real this time. He felt a warm furry hand clasped hold of his lower jaw as he looked at his nose practically cross-eyed and saw an orange pawed finger shoved firmly in his left nostril.

“Hold still, you doofus! Otherwise I might jab something that I don’t intend to,” Amalthia’s voice said with a firm but soothing purr.

His mind pondered the most obvious question after being awakened from his strange, but otherwise peaceful slumber.

“Why do you have your claw up my schnoz?” He said with a nasally grunt.

She looked at him and smiled with her pearly canines displayed prominently across her golden feline face. “You’ve got a booger that’s been hanging out from under your nose every time you breath out. It’s disgusting! And since you, my love, are too lazy to do anything about it, I thought I would take an angling excursion by removing it for you.”

“Now hold still.”

She wiggled her claw some more hoping to snag the gooey little rascal.

“Waaait… almost…”

“Got it!”

Amalthia withdrew her finger, held it aloft and marveled at the long rubbery wad of mucus that dangled at the tip of her ivory claw. She opened her maw, then with a lap of her raspy tongue, licked her talon clean.

“Mmmm. Salty! Not too unlike certain other oozy parts of your body.” She gave a playful squeeze to his manhood as she gazed into his chestnut eyes.

He gazed back into her amber orbs. “I love you, Ama. Even though you are quite…”

It was all he could say, just seconds before the couple locked in a passionate kiss.

“Disgusting?” She chimed. “Would you have me any other way?”

“No.”

“Good! But you know that you are adorably disgusting as well.” She licked him on the face then rested her head on his bare chest.

“Me? No way! At least I don’t perform fishing expeditions up your schnozolla.” Kaleb said as he massaged each of her four ears.

“Oh, but you do perform them elsewhere. Don’t you? Hmmm?” His charr wife pointed to her posterior.

Kaleb’s face briefly turned red as a beet before returning to its normal ruddy complexion.

“You are so adorable when you blush, little mouse. It makes me really horny just seeing you this way.”

“Is that an invitation for seconds?”

“I thought it was thirds? My oh my Mister Grimwald. You have been pumping my cup to overflow on a rather consistent and quite pleasurable basis over these past two weeks.”

“Hey! I’ve got the juice to fill it, yanno!”

Just then, there was a knock on the door followed by the shuffling sound of something being slid under it.

“Seriously, Kal. My love canal topped off and I’m leaking like a runny bucket because of you. These sheets are a sticky mess and I haven’t even bathed yet.”

Kaleb looked puzzled. “Should I be ashamed of my mess or proud?”

With catlike grace, Amalthia leaped from the bed, yanked off the covers then promptly tossed them in Kaleb’s face. “I think you should do the laundry this time, love!”

“Geez! And here I thought charr gals were supposed to be different. I suppose women are the same no matter what species they are,” he said with a huff.

She flashed him a toothy grin. “We are a species unto ourselves, us females. Cower before our might!” “So does that mean we can get a little more nooky, nooky in after I do the laundry?”

“No sugar and spice until sheets are as white as… well, you know what I mean. Now to the washroom with you, manslave!”

Hmm. I wonder what junk mail was slid under the door this time, Amalthia thought to herself as she wandered over to the front door garbed only in her luxurious golden tiger striped pelt.

Kaleb stepped through the doorway leading to the basement of their new flat. He and Amalthia moved from Ulfgar’s tavern a couple of months ago hoping to find a place that was a bit more roomy. After taking care of his chores, he headed back upstairs to find his wife thumbing through the mail.

His wife mumbled off a few incoherent words as she began tossing the parcels on the small coffee table.

“Lesse – bills, bills. A potential new contract… on someone’s head of course,” she said with a wicked grimace. “More bills. A royal invitation from Queen Jenna annnnd… can you guess?”

“You had me at the contract.” He quipped.

She smirked. “An invitation to appear on the Bernie Lomax show.”

“Now what was that about the bills?”

Amalthia was the one who looked puzzled this time. “Um. Didn’t you even catch what I just said?”

“No, Miss Steelblade. Of course I’m referring to the royal invitation, furball! Now why don’t you be a good kitty and open it for me.”

“So saucy this morning, aren’t we Mister Grimwald?” She shrugged her shoulders, smiled then with a quick swipe of her claw, opened the parcel. The letter was written on high quality parchment and bore the raised seal of the Krytan Queen. She read aloud.

“Dear Amalthia and Kaleb Grimwald-Steelblade,

By order of her royal majesty Queen Jenna of Kryta, you are both hereby invited to meet directly the highness herself in Divinity’s Reach in celebration of your groundbreaking union. The meeting will be held at the royal palace at noon a fortnight from the day you receive this letter.

Best regards,

Signed, Jenna – Queen of Kryta”

She folded the letter then looked at Kaleb. “Eh. It’s probably just junk mail. Shall it pitch it?”

Kaleb rushed over to examine the invitation more closely. “Woah there. While I might not be the most educated man in Tyria, I do know a legit seal when I see one. That definitely looks like the real thing.”

“Great! That means word of our marriage has reached some pretty important peeps in Tyria. Annnd it means loads of some of the finest vintage that we can get ourselves completely shit-faced drunk off of too. How about that?” She said with a grin.

She looked at him and noticed a markedly unexpected countenance on his face. “Kaleb? What’s the matter?”

Kaleb turned away and bowed his head. “Nothing’s the matter.”

“Look. Since being with you, I’ve come to recognize how humans express their emotions through facial gestures. Yours tells me that something's not all peachy keen. Now what is it??”

“Nothing! Okay?! Sorry Ama, It’s something I’d rather not talk about if you don’t mind.”

Her four ears drooped in sadness as she went over to him. “We’re a team, Kal. When we bonded six months ago, you promised that we would face our problems together. Now buck up and tell me!”

He closed his eyes as his thoughts drifted to the past. Divinity’s Reach – it’s been a lifetime ago. But now it only feels like it all happened only yesterday. Dammit!

With a heavy sigh, he opened his eyes then turned to her. “You are right, Ama. Something is wrong. Well. More to the point… something went wrong many years ago. That place was Divinity’s Reach.”

“Oh my. I hear a story coming. I’m all ears,” Amalthia laughed then sat down as her ears flicked in contentment.

Kaleb pulled up a chair, rested his elbows on the table then clasped his hands together. “Where do I begin?”

“One step at a time, Kal. You can do this.” She assured him.

Yes I can! he mused.

Kaleb began to tell his tale. (Story cross-posted to AO3.)

#tyrias-library #gw2 fanfic #the outliers #lighthoue keeper #kaleb and amalthia #human and charr #cw adult situations #guildwars 2

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tendriltherapy · 6 years ago

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Massive faygo bloat!!!! Drink until you're fit to burst!

“Well, that does sound rather appealing. Sure, I can see no reason why not.” you say, checking your messages from down in the Carnival. You still haven’t left its orbit... it keeps drawing you back. You head to the nearest vendor-stall to purchase... honestly a simply irresponsible amount of soda. It’s both for now, and just to stock up for later. A gal’s gotta have her wicked elixir, after all.

With your stockpile stowed in your sylladex, you ascend back to your home for the time being - it’s where your camera and the like are, and you can get cozy there. You set things up, laying out something like two dozen bottles of various flavors in a messy rainbow across the desk, just visible to the webcam. Then you put on a snug-fitting and colorful shirt - one purchased from the Carnival of course, you never owned this bright of clothes before - and fire up the stream.

As your audience trickles in, you waggle your fingers and honk a little horn in greeting for each one, idly wiggling yourself in your chair in preparation. Once you’ve got a satisfactory following, you crack open the first bottle with a sharp hiss of escaping carbonation. The bottle of Redpop rises to meet your thirsty lips, and you begin to drink. Its sharply sugary - almost cloying - strawberry-cream soda flavor runs over your tongue in waves, bringing with it a little quiver of delight. You’re really hooked on this stuff and the feeling of clownhood it brings. Your amber-colored eyes watch yourself in the feed as you drink, delighting in what they see. A dyed-in-the-wool purpleblooded troll, complete with high horns and slightly-tousled short black hair and a ghastly clownish face-painting adorning your features, chugging eagerly away at the most wicked of elixirs. It all feels so right.

You down the first bottle with panache, a low burp escaping your lips as you toss it aside. You reach for a bottle of grape next, giving it a slight shake before popping the top. As expected, you’re treated to a little shower of Faygo foam, soaking your shirt to your form and earning a volley of laughter and muffled honks from you as you continue to drink. You work your way through that one, then another and another easily, pausing to burp or honk your horns for good measure but otherwise unhindered.

It’s only as you start to reach the halfway mark that you’re really starting to slow down - a dozen bottles of the elixir slosh heavily in your belly, their fizz and their flavors all intermingling. You’re riding a bit of a buzz from all the sugar affecting your troll physiology, no less. You look down to see a crescent of grey belly-flesh visible beneath your shirt; your belly’s starting to fill up. But still you must press the motherfuck on, right? You pop the top of a blue moon mist and get to swigging.

...

A little later - you’ve saved the best for last. A special brew, appallingly unearthly green and bearing an image of a likewise green pie - “SOPOR RUSH EXPLOSION” the flavor proclaims itself to be, made from real sopor slime! You pop the cap with a hiss, rubbing your now rather swollen, incredibly-bloated belly. You’re nearly 4 gallons of soda in at this point, after all. For anyone else but a clown the sugary sodas would have knocked you out or made you sick a dozen bottles ago. But you can’t seem to get enough. You raise the lime-green cola to your lips and slowly sip from it, a little shudder of glee escaping from you as you savor that rich, sharp szechuan peppercorn-like taste mingling with the Faygo’s natural sweetness. It’s quickly followed by a heady buzz settling into your frame. You emit a low, cheery honk as you gulp mouthfuls of this one, your eyes and thoughts hazier and hazier with each swig. When the empty finally slips from your fingers to the collection on the floor beneath you, you’re blissed out in a heady high, stroking and jiggling an enormous grey belly, stretched so taut that it’s a little purple in hue. You belch once more, this time in the midst of a long, low “HOOOOOOOONK”, followed by a dopey giggle. You settle back to play with your gut, chatting idly with your audience in the clowniest of demeanors.

#nsfw/#belly kink/#sopor use/#Anonymous

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365daysofsasuhina · 6 years ago

Text

[ 365 Days of SasuHina || Day Two: Candy Apple Red ] [ Uchiha Sasuke, Hyūga Hinata, Uzumaki Naruto, Haruno Sakura ] [ SasuHina, NaruSaku ] [ Verse: A Light Amongst Shadows ] [ AO3 Link ]

“How did I let you talk me into this again…?”

Hinata just giggles into a yukata sleeve. “To be fair, you didn’t really put up much of a fight. I just asked! And then you scoffed...and said you guessed you could go with me.” Pale eyes close as she beams up at him. “You know, despite your answer...you really don’t seem t-that unhappy about being here, Sasuke-kun.”

“Tch…” Glancing aside with closed eyes of his own, the younger Uchiha brother manages to quell the urge to smile. “I suppose you make it tolerable.”

Looking both superbly pleased and coyly knowing, Hinata just continues down the aisle of festival stalls. Both hands cling loosely to a small bag she’s keeping her spending money in, looking over the attractions mildly. Sasuke, on the other hand, keeps his hands in his sleeves with crossed arms, his own expression more haughty than curious.

At least they haven’t run into -

“Oi, teme!”

...damn it.

Hinata turns to look first, perking up as she spots the other duo. “Naruto-kun! Sakura-chan!”

The blond and rosette approach with matching smiles. “Konbanwa, Hinata-chan!” Sakura chirps in reply. Jades give Sasuke a teasing glance, daring to poke his arm with a slender finger. “Looks like you got the troll out of his cave, eh?”

He just gives his ex-teammate a halfhearted glare.

“It’s good for you to get out sometimes, teme!” Naruto agrees, hands on his hips.

“I get out plenty. It’s called work.”

“And work isn’t the only thing you should get out of the house for,” Sakura rebukes, her own arms folding with a curt nod. “You need to socialize! Have a little fun!”

“I do plenty of that at home, with my family.”

“I mean besides them!”

Naruto can’t help a chuckle. “That niece’n’nephew a’yours are sure cute! They’re, what...two now? Three?”

“Nearly three.” There’s a slight puff of pride to Sasuke’s chest and his tone of voice. “They’re growing fast.”

An elbow digs lightly into his ribs, Naruto’s blond brows wiggling. “Think they need a couple’a cousins?”

“I’m not even married,” Sasuke deadpans.

“Well, neither was -”

“Those were entirely different circumstances,” is the cut in reply, clearly hackled at the topic. “I’d rather do things a bit more...stably. If I do so at all.”

Pale eyes glance to him from their corners, fingers fidgeting a bit.

“Yeah, yeah...I was just kiddin’, teme! No need to get all defensive!”

“Why don’t you two go try a game? Isn’t that why you’re here?”

“Heh, I’ll duel ya! Whoever wins our gal a prize first, wins!”

“Tch, you wouldn’t stand a chance.”

“Try me!”

Sakura heaves a heavy sigh. “Does everything have to be a competition with you two…?”

“What else are rivals for?” Naruto crows, tugging Sasuke along despite his clearly-disgruntled expression. “C’mon, we’ll do the dart throwing one!”

“Says the dobe who was always dead last in shuriken practice.”

Watching them go, Hinata smiles warmly, expression not unnoticed by Sakura.

“So,” she muses, giving the Hyūga a look to rival her boyfriend’s to Sasuke. “What is going on with you two, eh?”

Pale cheeks dust pink. “W...what do you mean?”

“You know what I mean! How serious are things with him?”

The pink goes darker. “T-that’s -!”

Sakura laughs. “Kidding, kidding! I won’t butt in!” Her wide grin slowly sobers. “...I’m just glad to see him look happy for once. At least,” she laughs, “before we showed up.”

“Oh, he wasn’t -”

A wave of a hand stills her to silence. “It’s no secret things are still a little...touchy between us all,” the medic admits. “And...well, none of us can be blamed. A lot’s changed since we were genin. And though there’s been improvement...it can’t be expected to heal that fast. But at least he’s doing better. A lot of that is thanks to you.”

“Oh, I don’t know about that…” Hinata replies, looking sheepish. “I just...you know…”

“Don’t sell yourself short! He’s tempered a lot since getting to know you better. You’re good for him.” A pause. “...better than I’d have ever been.”

Feeling a little awkward, Hinata’s head ducks slightly. “I...I guess we were all just...c-chasing after the wrong person, weren’t we?”

Hearing Naruto groan loudly in defeat, Sakura can’t help a snort. “...I guess we were.”

It’s then the boys return, Naruto empty-handed and Sasuke handing Hinata a small plush cat of lilac fabric. “It looked like your color.”

“Thank you! It’s so cute…”

Sakura folds her arms, looking critically to her boyfriend. “So, your loss is mine too, eh?”

“S-sorry, Sakura-chan…”

Jades roll in their sockets, gently punching his shoulder. “You can buy me dinner instead.”

“Speaking of, should we all get s-something to eat?” Hinata suggests, plush hugged to her chest.

“Sure!” Apparently already over his melancholy, Naruto points. “Something smelled really good down that way before we found you guys!”

“We technically already ate,” Sasuke admits.

“Well, we can get some dessert instead!”

Lips purse ever so slightly. “...I don’t like sweets…”

Outvoted, Sasuke follows as the rest make their way toward the food stalls. While Sakura and Naruto peruse more meal-like options, Hinata oggles some sugary confections with starry eyes. Eventually she settles on a candied apple. “At least it has some fruit...right?”

Sasuke just snorts. “Whatever makes you feel better.”

“Hey, I haven’t baked anything all week!” she sniffs in reply. “I deserve it.”

“I couldn’t agree more.”

They wander a bit as she nibbles, the other couple ahead and discussing what attraction to try next. Blinking owlishly, Sasuke gives his date a checking glance. Though not yet finished, her lips are dyed a bright red from her treat.

The corner of his own flicker. “...you’ve got a little something there.”

“Eh?”

Ducking around in front of her, Sasuke murmurs, “...here,” before giving her a chaste kiss.

Stiffening with a small sound of surprise, Hinata has no time to react before he pulls away. “W-what -?”

He just smirks at her, tongue roving over his own mouth and clearing up syrup. “You’ve got sugar all over your lips.”

“...b-but you said you don’t like sweets!”

“Some are...tolerable,” he replies evasively. There’s another lean, brushing her brow to his and feeling the heat of her blush. “...I like you, after all. Doesn’t get much sweeter than that.”

Completely at a loss, Hinata flounders like a fish out of water as he straightens, back to looking nonchalant.

It’s then the other pair look back, hesitating at her expression. “...Hinata-chan?” Naruto asks. “You feelin’ okay?”

“F...fine,” is her mumbled reply, head ducking as Sakura just smiles coyly.

“Don’t worry about it, Naruto,” she advises, urging him back around. “Let’s go get ready for the fireworks, okay?”

Still flustered, Hinata looks to her apple before taking another bite.

Maybe she’ll get another kiss...

Woo, day two! And just before midnight, ahaha! Had a long day afk so no time to write until now, whoops! This prompt stumped me for a bit before I finally got this lil idea! I thought it was pretty cute~ And a little NaruSaku was thrown in to help balance it out. I always write that ship as a companion to SasuHina. I think they make a better quad that way! I'm a sucker for writing festival settings - there's a lot of possibilities for little cute moments...like this one! Sasuke claims he isn't a fan, but...he'll indulge Hinata to make her happy. And he can still enjoy himself in other ways, huehue~ Anyway, that's it for today! Hope y'all enjoyed, and I'll see you tomorrow! Thanks, as always, for reading!

#uchiha sasuke #hyūga hinata #uzumaki naruto #haruno sakura #sasuhina #narusaku #a light amongst shadows [ canon verse ]#365daysofsasuhina

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latestnewspress007 · 16 years ago

Text

Prominent Conn. man tangled in sex extortion case

The women called him "master." He called them his "slaves."

But the women Greenwich, Conn., financial titan Stephen Dent met online clearly were the ones with the power.

They used that power to extract more than $200,000, which Dent gave them voluntarily in exchange for both online companionship and sex.

Then, they tried to get more.

At least three of the women or their associates have tried to blackmail Dent, 54, a Harvard-educated multimillionaire, DuPont heir and successful entrepreneur who lives on a private street in Riverside, Conn. Two of those cases have resulted in FBI-Greenwich Police Department investigations, and extortion charges.

All of the extortion attempts came as a result of relationships Dent formed by trolling the Web site SeekingArrangement.com. Police records indicate Dent visited the site habitually for at least two years, looking for women to chat with and, in some instances, to meet for sex. He paid women he met on the site as much as $15,000 for sex, according to police reports released recently in response to a public-records request from Greenwich Time, the Greenwich newspaper.

SeekingArrangement.com caters to older, wealthy men, or "sugar daddies," willing to pay young women, or "sugar babies," for their companionship. The site, based in Nevada, brands itself "a match making Web site for wealthy benefactors, and attractive guys and gals" and was recently profiled in The New York Times Magazine.

The owner of the Web site, Brandon Wey, denied the site was connected with extortion or prostitution and said no one else has encountered problems as Dent did.

"He is obviously doing something wrong because no one else is having this problem," said Wey.

On Aug. 2, 2007, Dent's activities first became a law-enforcement matter when Greenwich Police Detective Robert A. Brown Jr. got a phone call from a private investigator in Arizona. The investigator told Brown his client, Dent, was being blackmailed -- possibly by the Russian Mafia.

Dent later told his story to Brown and the FBI.

According to the initial report Brown wrote on the case, Dent "stated that he had solicited the services of women through SeekingArrangement, for both e-mail correspondence and sexual liaisons," often at a Greenwich hotel.

According to the report, Dent told police he paid "approximately $15,000" for one sexual encounter. He also told police that in the first eight months of 2007, he "spent approximately $200,000 on women that he has either had sex with or just met online." The report said that he gave some of the money to women he didn't have sex with because "they were down on their luck," giving it "out of the goodness of his heart."

With Dent's cooperation, the FBI and Greenwich police made a plan to trap the extortionist, who falsely claimed to be a member of the Russian Mafia and demanded $40,000. Dent set up a meeting and police arrested Roy Sipel, a Queens, N.Y., man who claimed the millionaire had paid Sipel's girlfriend to perform sex acts described by Sipel's attorney as "vile and vulgar."

In a plea agreement, Sipel was sentenced to 16 months in prison in March 2008. Sipel's lawyer at the time, Robert Bello, of Stamford, told the judge that Sipel had become angry after learning that his girlfriend engaged in sex acts with Dent. "He heard what she went through, and he was going to be her avenging angel," Bello told the judge.

A new extortion case On Jan. 28, 2009, the FBI called Greenwich police to inform them of another apparent plot to extort Dent.

After talking to a different private detective hired by Dent, police found that just months after Sipel's sentencing, Dent was back on SeekingArrangement.com again, this time with a new account, but still corresponding with the same women. "He closed his previous account and began to use a different e-mail address but the same screen name to correspond with his women friends," police documents state.

Dent's Internet chats once again turned ugly when Dawn Jessop, 28, of Ohio, allegedly began blackmailing Dent in November 2008, threatening to release their correspondence and expose Dent to the community for his alleged role in "patronizing prostitutes," according to police documents. Dent then wired two $25,000 payments to Jessop and her mother, and another $50,000 to her husband, Christopher Jessop. It was not until the FBI began to survey Dent's arrangements to drop $50,000 in the Jessops' account in January 2009 that Greenwich police were called to intervene, according to the warrant.

The Jessops currently face charges of first-degree larceny by extortion and first-degree conspiracy to commit larceny. Dawn Jessop was released on bond last week but her husband is being held on $300,000 bond at the Bridgeport Correctional Center.

According to police documents, Dent was also blackmailed for $9,000 by a third woman, but no charges have been filed in that case.

In the 2007 police report, police reference a copy of an e-mail they describe as "a standard form letter" which Dent would send to prospective companions. That letter was initially withheld, but received by Greenwich Time upon a second request, albeit in redacted form. Despite much of the detail being blacked out, it does shed light on some details of Dent's arrangements:

"I can only meet during the weekdays around midday. In general I am not available at night or during the weekends. Furthermore, we would need to meet only when my wife is away. Since I don't really travel, for the most part the meetings would have to be out here in the Greenwich-Stamford area.

"Regarding your financial assistance, my initial thoughts are cash compensation in the range of $2,000 to $3,000 per meeting, assuming that we meet about twice a month, plus expenses. If there is anything of an impersonal nature (such as electronics items) that you would like me to purchase for you online and have shipped to your home, I'd be happy to do this. If you are interested in relocating, I will pay for your moving expenses and switch you over to a monthly allowance which would cover your expenses. If you have other financial needs, I'd be happy to discuss them. I am flexible on this whole subject, and am even willing to wire money directly to your checking account if needed."

No charges against Dent Despite that written evidence of Dent's offer to pay money for sex, Greenwich police elected not to charge him with a crime.

"The decision was made in 2007 not to pursue the comments that he made about prior activity," said Detective Lt. Mark Marino, head of the department's Criminal Investigations Division. "At the time we were pursuing that case, we were treating him as a victim and pursuing a more serious offense with regards to the extortion."

When asked if police gave Dent preferential treatment because of his status in the community, Marino replied, "Absolutely not."

He added that the decision not to investigate Dent also partly rested on the fact that police did not want to deter other victims of extortion from coming forward.

'A difficult period in his life' Dent's attorney, Steven Frederick of Stamford, Conn., did not comment on the statements in the police report, but said he wished to point out that his client was "going through a difficult period in his life" when these events occurred. "He made some terrible mistakes and he fully regrets those mistakes," said Frederick, who added that Dent "is being treated for the issues relating to his past conduct."

Mark Sherman, the Stamford attorney representing Christopher Jessop, declined to comment on how Dent's other activities and the other extortion cases might be useful to his client's defense.

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