#aiming to post one page per week

[pactpunk]

MAINTENANCE: 2/?

First - Prev - Next - Last

[vampirefest]

Hello, dearest companions in the darkness! Have you missed us, because we've been longing and yearning for you these past long months!

Kinktober ♥︎ is right around the corner and for our second edition of the event, we've compiled some sexy vampire-themed prompts just for you. Check out the list of prompts, and the rules and guidelines below.

We can't wait to see you in October ♥︎

Prompts

WEEK 1: PASSION

♡ Day 1: Coffin

♡ Day 2: Mutual Masturbation

♡ Day 3: Clothed Sex

♡ Day 4: Telepathic / Phone

♡ Day 5: Threesome

♡ Day 6: Shower / Bath

WEEK 2: OBSESSION

♡ Day 7: Dirty Talk

♡ Day 8: Hate sex

♡ Day 9: Outdoors / Public 

♡ Day 10: Stalking

♡ Day 11: Biting / Marking

♡ Day 12: Touch Starved

♡ Day 13: Edging

WEEK 3: DEVOTION

♡ Day 14: Body Worship

♡ Day 15: Master / Slave

♡ Day 16: Bondage / Restraints

♡ Day 17: Soft And Sweet

♡ Day 18: Aftercare

♡ Day 19: Toys

♡ Day 20: Praise Kink

WEEK 4: FASCINATION

♡ Day 21: Oral Fixation

♡ Day 22: Feeding Kink

♡ Day 23: Mirror Sex

♡ Day 24: Voyeurism

♡ Day 25: Fingers

♡ Day 26: Nipple Play

♡ Day 27: Interspecies / Monsterfucking

WEEK 5: EXPRESSION

♡ Day 28: Lingerie / Striptease

♡ Day 29: Mask / Incognito 

♡ Day 30: Leather

♡ Day 31: Costume / Roleplay

Rules and guidelines

This event is 18+ only since it's focused on NSFW content. Not all fills need to be NSFW, but as the perverts that we are, we highly encourage you to get freaky with it. 

All adaptations and versions of the characters are welcome; books, comics, the 1994 film, or the AMC TV show. You can specify which in your post if you think it's relevant.

There are 31 prompts, one for each day, but feel free to use multiple prompts per creation or mix and match as you like.

All fan creations are welcome; fanfiction, fanart, fanvids, edits, podfics, whatever you feel inspired to create.

We are firm believers of “don't like don't read”, so be sure to curate your experience if there are any prompts you don't vibe with.

This is a low-pressure event—whether you fill one day or all of them, the aim is to have fun and be creative.

Cross-posting with other events is welcome, just be sure to satisfy the requirements for this event. 

You can share your work on any platform you like. If you make a post here on Tumblr or Twitter, tag us and we'll reblog it.

Reblogs are spread throughout the day, so don’t worry if yours isn’t up immediately. But if you think we missed it you can DM us.

In your post please include the following: 

Tag with #vfkinktober2024 and/or tag this blog @ vampirefest

Which Day/Prompt you have filled

Any relevant ratings to indicate if the fill is NSFW *Tumblr automatically suppresses any posts with explicit tags so we advise our creators not to tag NSFW if the post itself is not explicit but only links to the explicit version on another site (AO3, Twitter etc.)

Any relevant sensitive tags or trigger warnings—we want to take care of our little community, so please tag appropriately.

You can also add the characters or ship names.

Example of how reblogs will be tagged:

#vfkinktober2024 #day #[prompt being filled] #[type of content; fanart, fanfic etc.] #[trigger warnings that we get from your post] tw #[ship name or pairing]

AO3 Collection

The Vampire Fest AO3 collection will open on October 1st. You can find it here.

We’ll also keep the collection open after October 30th for any late submissions.

How to add your works to the AO3 collection:

Go to [Edit Work] on AO3 and type VFkinktober2024 in the [Post to Collections / Challenges] box that is located below [Summary] and [Notes] and it should pop up in the suggestions.

You can also go to the collection main page and hit the [post to collection] button.

[spiritualviolation]

HEADCANON FREE SPACE - GRIAN

from the response to this post

hi hello!! this post is a free space for people to come by and share their headcanons about a specific mcyt character, and this post is for grian!

grian is like. one of those chars that are just headcanon central, so i thought it be appropriate to start with him

not-exactly-rules but some guidelines + my own headcanons under the cut!

- GO ABSOLUTELY NUTS!! share as MANY as you like, i literally don’t mind if you’re going to make a ten page essay about your headcanons. just go wild, just as long as it sticks to the character of this post! bc if it i do multiple characters on one post it might get overwhelming and messy

- you can either do it in the tags or you can just reblog and add to this, i don’t mind as long as it’s convenient for you! you can add to other people’s rbs but i do think it would be better if you rb it straight off this post, but that depends on you!!

- if you want to reblog with your design as well so you can explain your hcs, go ahead! i would absolutely love to see how people design the characters individually!!

i will probably make a masterpost for this but for now we’ll start humble, but i’m aiming to release one post per week, but maybe would speed it up if my schedule allows me!

so yea, go wild!

i will probably start with the life series peeps first but i am thinking of maybe doing qsmp peeps as well after!

my grian headcanons cause i wrote a whole thing in my notes app:

- in my hc, the forms of watchers are dream-like and amorphous, basically visual mindfucks in appearance. grian who was fairly new to the watchers still kept his regular human form, but those who have been watchers for a very long time eventually would lose their individual human identity, and is assimilated into the collective that are the watchers. grian, if give or take maybe a century, the same thing would have eventually happened to him.

- his wings, gifted to him when he was ‘taken’, are generally amorphous and shifting, and you can never focus what shape they’re supposed to be (they can give you a headache the longer you try to look at their genuine form), but he can disguise them in any shape he wants (bird wings, dragon wings, etc.) so it doesn’t hurt to look at them.

- grian cut off his association with them just several months after he was taken, joining hermitcraft not long after, estranging themselves from them.

- he can still use his powers (which include astral projection, and etc.), but because of his cut ties they’re significantly weaker than the average watcher. for example, watchers can ‘watch’ over an entire server, but grian can only ‘watch’ one person at a time.

- his reasons for not wanting to be assimilated into the watchers is that he knows what it’s like to have been pushed and forced to take up a role against his will (ahem high school ahem), and it’s hurt him and he won’t want to let it hurt him again. aside from that, he finds that the watchers are extremely boring, considering all they do is observing passively from the sidelines and all that, which is the complete opposite of how grian likes to operate. he finds it extremely restrictive and prevents him from actively participating in things. not wanting to be confined to that, he cut ties with them.

- however he still uses his powers for troublemaking and mischief, and also to help others when they need it. he doesn’t consider himself affiliated with the watchers because he thinks it’s merely some godly title and also because he wouldn’t want anyone to think him differently, so he doesn’t really hide it.

- as he denied his watcher status very early into joining them, he still has the physicality (stamina, energy and such) of a regular human. only his wings are amorphous instead of his entire form since his wings were given to him when he joined them.

- made the life smp as a fun game for his friends, but in my hc, they did a test run before starting 3rd life. it was during that test run when the watchers seized control over the server.

- during 3rd life, he put admin restrictions on himself to remove his wings so he couldn’t fly and it was fair game for the rest.

[hana-bobo-finch]

Alright let’s try this again. Maybe this won’t get marked as mature this time around

OK SO I WILL BE MAKING A LONG FORM PIKMIN COMIC BASED AROUND PIKMIN 2!!! Yippee

It’ll be posted every Sunday starting next week. I’ll aim for around 1-3 pages per week depending on how much time I have during the week to work on it.

The title was going to be pikmin 2 retold, P2R for short but I discovered while looking up the acronym out of curiosity that it’s one letter away from being the name of a type of alarm system

so the title is now officially horn strobe because that’s way funnier and much more unique.

The comic probably won’t be very good in terms of both art and writing but it’s just a goofy little pikmin project I wanna make. I don’t know how long it’ll be, if it ends up being too much I’ll cut it short but I don’t think that’ll be the case

that is all :)

[hotd-bigbang]

Hello all,

The first edition of House of the Dragon Big Bang was brought to a close on Friday. Now that I’ve had the weekend to decompress, and everyone has (hopefully) had a chance to catch up with everyone else’s entries, I just wanted to take a moment to thank you all for all for the hard work you’ve put into this event. Each and every one of you should be proud of what you have contributed, and I can’t thank you all enough for taking a chance on this (and by extension, me!)

The good: I’m astonished by the talent that has graced the event this year. The writing has all been fantastic, and the effort that everyone has put in has shone through. I’ve also enjoyed the variety; I was anticipating drowning in Aemond content, but was pleasantly surprised at the diversity - Jacelaena and Jacegon were the standout ships of the event for me! The artists have all outdone themselves, and the array of differing mediums has been great; from stunning moodboards and expertly detailed digital art to lovingly crafted hand drawn pieces. Last but not least, are our event beta readers - keeping people motivated when they feel as though they're flagging, or just tidying up grammar and punctuation where needed - you've been absolute superstars. I really hope everyone is pleased with and proud of what they’ve collaborated to produce.

The bad: This is the first event of its kind for this particular fandom, so it has not been without its teething issues. Ensuring everyone sees all of the updates and instructions, and is kept informed of what’s happening has been a struggle. Not everyone is comfortable joining a Discord server, Tumblr only allows for 20 tags per posts and even then is spotty with notifications. For next time, on the sign up sheet, I will include a contact preference option and push out notifications via email newsletter, Tumblr and Discord, targeted specifically to who has selected which options, so everyone is kept up to date. I will also implement check ins to ensure everyone has what they need and is able to manage their workload effectively to meet the deadline.

The ugly: I received a rather unsavoury anonymous ask on the Big Bang Tumblr account, slating me as a person and how I was running the event. Considering the first fic had yet to even go live, I was a little shocked by this. When I posted about it in the Discord, they sent a follow up, but forgot to toggle anon, so I saw who it was. I won’t put you on blast, but I hope now that the event has drawn to a close your opinion is a little less sour. If not, perhaps you’ll have a better experience next time, or find another event that’s better suited. C’est la vie!

I am aiming for these to be bi-annual events. We will absolutely go again, and come back bigger and better. I plan to launch this again in May, so the sign up and pairing process will begin around the end of January, to ensure people have sufficient time to prepare. Keep your eyes peeled on the Big Bang Tumblr page for details.

In the meantime, we will be running another writing prompt event in December - much like September’s literary prompt event - so if you’re looking for more writing challenges then please get involved when this launches.

I’ll be creating a masterlist of everyone’s Big Bang entries, which will go live by the end of the week.

Until next time!

Ange (@ewanmitchellcrumbs) xoxo

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

B.Deutsch

* * * *

Preparing for a consequential week

June 24, 2024

ROBERT B. HUBBELL

It was a relatively quiet weekend on the political front as President Biden and his advisers huddled at Camp David to prepare for the presidential debate on Thursday. None of his senior advisers appeared on the Sunday talk shows, suggesting that they are helping in the preparation process or laying low to avoid creating unnecessary controversy before the debate. Biden is appropriately allocating his most limited resource—his time. He is, after all, also running a country as he runs for reelection.

Biden’s campaign is launching a pre-debate offensive in the battleground state of Georgia to coincide with the debate. See Atlanta Journal Constitution, Biden campaign launches pre-debate offensive across Georgia. Per the AJC

President Joe Biden’s campaign will hold more than 200 events across Georgia the week of his debate against former President Donald Trump, part of a mobilization effort aimed at rebuilding the coalition that powered his 2020 win. The Democrat’s campaign said Sunday the spate of events ranges from watch parties for Thursday’s CNN debate, grassroots mobilizing events, community barbecues, news conferences with national figures and visits from Padma Lakshmi and other celebrities.

Organizing 200 events suggests that the Biden ground game in Georgia is strong!

Jennifer Rubin of the Washington Post wrote over the weekend about the emerging role and strength of Vice President Harris. See Jennifer Rubin, WaPo, Opinion  A closer look at Harris shows how effective she’s become. (Accessible to all.) Per Rubin,

Harris told me her campus visits have been standing room only, with overflow rooms. “Students stood in line for hours,” she said, “not for a rock concert, but to have a conversations with the vice president.” Contrary to the impression that Gen Z voters are disengaged, she came away “inspired” and more certain that they will mark a “sea change” in politics. Guns, abortion rights and climate are not academic issues to this generation. “It is a lived experience. In the height of their reproductive years, the Supreme Court took away the right to make decisions about their own body. . . . They understand we need practical solutions.”

The campaign season is in full swing. From every objective indication, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris are running a professional, disciplined, and effective campaign.  Trump is not. Although I don’t traffic in polls, the trend from spring to summer has been one of growing strength for Biden nationally, in key swing states and key demographics—especially the youth vote. But the only poll that matters is the one that takes place on election day. So, let’s not take our eye off the ball: Historic turnout that will give Biden an incontestable victory.

But . . . if you watched any broadcast or cable news over the weekend, the coverage was all-Trump-all-the-time. Why? Remember, Joe Biden is preparing for the debate. Trump was on the campaign trail, repeating his stories about Shark-apocalypse and Hannibal Lecter. But he added new gibberish, talking about creating an Ultimate Fighting Championship league with “migrants” because “they are so tough,” complaining about dishwashers, which he called washing machines, bragging about his thick luxurious hair, and saying, “If I took this shirt off, you would see a beautiful, beautiful person.”

But the clearest sign of cognitive decline came in this clip, where he wondered aloud whether the correct pronunciation was “refuttal” (with an “oo” sound) or “refuttal” (with an “uh” sound). Of course, “refuttal” is not a word in the English language. Trump could not recall the word “rebuttal.” Just imagine the 72-point font on the front page of every newspaper in America if Joe Biden mused aloud about whether the correct pronunciation for a non-existent word was “refootal” or “refuhtal.”

Although the media ignored those mistakes over the weekend, they will not likely do so during the debate. This is why Trump's team is already spreading lies about the reasons for Joe Biden’s victory in the first debate. While that feels unfair, you would much rather be the guy they are making excuses about than the one they are making excuses for.

[Robert B. Hubbell Newsletter]

[ronastudies]

omnia vincit aequatio challenge ⚖️✨

We have all heard that hard work conquers all (omnia vincit labor)–however, a lot of us have also come to learn that (too) hard work burns out. After focussing on therapy and caring for myself, my body, my psyche and hence letting my productivity and labor dwindle for a long time, I am ready to get back into hard work while keeping the care and mental stability up–the goal is balance, equation, aequatio.

Are you ready to not only put your academic work but also yourself first and find your balance?

I came across this productivity challenge by @work-before-glory, got inspired and decided to start my own. If that sounds like something from which you might benefit as well, whether you are starting out on the overworked end looking for more breathers, on the recovering end looking to get back into the game or whether you have already accomplished balance and simply want to keep up this state–feel free to join using the following tag: omnia vincit aequatio challenge

Since I personally find myself at a point in my education and generally in a field that does not require 'studying' for exams and the like, this challenge was created in a way that also allows those with a full-time or part-time job outside of their academic work (such as myself) to participate, along with those whose academic work consisty mostly of reading and writing.

📷 ☕ 🖋️ 🕯️ ✉️ 🏹 📜 🎻  🏛 ♟️ 🧳  🎞️  ⏳

Here are the premises for each day:

One day per week can be taken off, ideally not a work/job day to allow proper rest.

Aim for 30 days, then adjust and expand as needed and possible.

1. academic work Do at least one hour of deep work (very focused academic work, that is) on work/job days, at least two hours on non-work/job days. Reading should not count into this time. 2. nourishment Eat a nourishing breakfast as well as at least one proper (warm) meal per day. 3. movement & fresh air Get some exercise or move your body every day: Do a workout, go for a walk, dance, stretch. (I personally aim to go to the gym two or three times per week, go to a dancing class and yoga class once per week each, and go outside for a walk every day.) 4. literacy Read at least twenty-five pages per day, ideally on top of any reading for academic work. Write at least half a page, ideally aside from such for academic purposes. 5. happiness knickknack Do at least one small thing that makes you really happy: buy or make yourself a nice drink, watch or read something, spend time with someone–whatever makes your heart do a little happy dance. 6. documentation Log your experiences and accomplishments in a post. Review your day before going to bed in a physical notebook on paper with a pen, no screens allowed here: Ask yourself what you did well and what you could have done better, if you feel happy and balances, and what you want for the next day.

📷 ☕ 🖋️ 🕯️ ✉️ 🏹 📜 🎻  🏛 ♟️ 🧳  🎞️  ⏳

[twistedtummies2]

The Scarlet Pirate - Chapter 3

This is the third of a six-part "Chapter Story" for my OC for Twisted Wonderland, James Killian - based on Captain Hook from Disney's Peter Pan. (Also featured are Smitty McCarthy, based on Smee, and Matthew Satyr, based on Peter himself...oh, and Nakoda - my Kaa OC - also has a role here.) The basic premise of this story has been in my mind for almost as long as James has, but for numerous reasons, it wasn't till just within the past few weeks I finally got a chance to develop and write it out.

The result is, I think, the single longest "Chapter Story" for any of my OCs for TW I've created so far. Take that information however you will. So long as this tale, that it went from a planned three-parter, to a planned five-parter, to now being a six-parter, standing at approximately 150 pages in total! Hopefully, all the work and length will be for the best. XD

As is typical for my Chapter Stories, I will be posting this one chapter at a time per day over the course of this week. For future reference, you can find the previous chapter here.

You can find the next chapter here.

WARNING: While this story, throughout all six parts, does not FOCUS on my kinks, there are instances of very mild stuffing/belching related content sprinkled throughout, as well as various instances of implied or near vore situations. If you're into these things, good on ya. If you aren't, just be warned they will show up here and there, although not with any degree of spectacle.

With that said...I hope you enjoy.

----------------------------------------------------------

Once you and your friends decided to join in the skirmish, the ambush at the Dwarf’s Cottage became a real battle. Azul raced to Sebek’s side, the octopus and the crocodile holding out their Magic Pens like wands. The Royal Sword students had their own magical equipment at the ready. Two of them - one dressed in a rabbit-skin hood, the other in a similar garment resembling a red fox - stepped forward, and thrust out their Pens, sending sparkling white shots of Cosmic energy at the Night Raven pair. Azul and Sebek swiped their pens through the air, summoning protective barriers to parried the shots, then each thrust out their own magic conduits. From Azul’s side, a pillar of water suddenly burst out of the ground, soaking the Fox and knocking the sputtering RSA member over. He floundered as he loosened his grip on his Magic Pen; it fell to the ground as he toppled, drenched to bone. He began scrambling in the mud to try and find it…only to yelp sharply and begin to “dance” as Azul began to send icy darts shooting his way, aiming at his feet with a sinister smile. Meanwhile, Sebek used Leaf Shot, over and over again, launching bundles of floral power towards his enemy. The Rabbit, however, guarded against each shot, and then raised their own Pen, summoning a bolt of light energy to try and strike Zigvolt down. The crocodile-fairy, however, was quick to dodge the strike, leaping to the side. He smirked as he twirled his pen tauntingly. “Is that how you want to play?” he grinned with a sort of eager growl. “Then let me show you THE TRUE POWER OF DIASOMNIA!” What looked like a stormcloud formed over Sebek’s head; the Rabbit stepped back worriedly as vibrant green sparks of electrical power seemed to surround the half-fae. Sebek’s eyes began to glow brighter, till they were pools of neon-green light, as he crouched into an almost predatory stance.“Strike through the stormy heavens, O Lightning!” Sebek intoned, in a strange incantation, then roared with victorious intensity: “LIVING BOLT!” ZOOM! Sebek darted forward, his whole body shrouded in electricity, and slammed into the Rabbit. The RSA student yelped and flew backwards from the mixture of speed and strength combined. Another pair of RSA students saw the attack on their compatriot - the ones dressed as a Bear and a Skunk, respectively - and hurried to their aid, Pens at the ready. They hardly had time to even think up a spell, however, before Sebek thrust out his hands and sent volleys of lightning shooting towards them. The pair yowled as they were shocked violently, then fell to the ground, knocked unconscious by the power of the spell. Sebek snarled and cracked his neck, his eyes returning to normal as he breathed heavily, letting his power die down. Azul had paused in his torment of the Fox, clearly quite startled. “Goodness me,” he murmured, and slowly smiled. “Most impressive, Sebek, I must confess! I can see why you’re so proud of your abilities!” Sebek smirked over his shoulder. “Ha!” he barked out, jabbing a thumb at himself. “Such ability pales in comparison to the Great Malleus, but no proper guardsman of his worth should have any less skill!”

“Indeed!” Azul agreed, a hint of greed in his eyes (which Sebek did not catch). “You know, perhaps there’s another way to use your power, provided the expenditure of energy isn’t too great. There ARE a lot of people worried about overusing electrical-” “ASHENGROTTO, BEWARE!” Sebek suddenly shouted in warning, pointing towards the Fox. Azul had barely enough time to whip around before the Fox pounced on him bodily, knocking the octopus-man’s Magic Pen out of his hand as he tackled him to the ground.Sebek worriedly shuffled as he watched the pair roll about on the forest floor, kicking up dust; the Fox had spotted the edge of the paper clue in Azul’s pocket, and was trying to snag hold of it, while Azul was trying to keep him from doing that. Sebek knew he should do something…but with the pair tousling around the way he were, he was afraid any offense or defense offered might affect Azul instead of his opponent.

While the crocodile and the octopus were dealing with those four, Smitty McCarthy was not idle. He’d tried to slip away from the direct line of combat…but he hadn’t gone far before a golden spark suddenly flashed in his face, nearly blinding him. The spark was a yellow pixie. She hovered in front of Smitty’s face and blew a raspberry at him, tauntingly twitching her wings. “K-Kes!” squeaked McCarthy, and suddenly frowned as he clapped his palms together to try and catch her. “C-Come here, you little…!” Kes thankfully darted out of the way. Smitty, not fully realizing this, opened his palm to see if he’d gotten her. Which gave Kes a chance to shoot forward and force the cap over Smitty’s eyes. The small man squealed and blindly staggered around, trying to grab hold of the pixie, who easily avoided his grabbing fingers. Finally, Smitty gained better balance, and tore the hat off his head and away from his eyes. “Hey!” he snapped. “That’s not very nice!” Smitty swung his red cap around and around his head as he tried to catch Kes inside of it. The sprite (being, appropriately, spritely) darted about his head with astonishing speed, swifter than any buzzing insect as she flitted about, jingling her pixie bells teasingly. She swooped down between Smitty’s legs, and as he tried to catch her, he twisted himself about and yelped as he caused himself to trip over his own feet and fall onto his bunce. Kes came swooping back again…but Smitty - now QUITE irritated - successfully swept his hat up and caught her inside it. “Gotcha!” he grinned…but his amusement was short lived as, suddenly, Kes jerked inside the hat and - WHAP! - ended up smacking Smitty in the face with his own headgear as she flew about inside the small cloth prison. Smitty yipped and yapped like a puppy, stumbling and staggering as his own headgear seemed to cartoonishly attack him, the pixie dragging him around with uncommon strength for a creature so small. “S-Stop moving!” yelped Smitty. “Come on, Kes, I’ve already…YIKES!” The pixie dragged Smitty clean off his feet and into the bushes nearby, where he tripped a second time, and went rolling down a small incline on the other side. As he lay at the bottom - clothes dusty, glasses askew, empty hat in his lap. Kes zipped into the air with a smug smile, crossing her arms boldly as she looked down at him. Smitty just pouted and fixed his glasses. “Kes,” he said, with darkness that would have sounded threatening if ANYONE who WASN’T Smitty McCarthy had used it, “This means war.” Kes giggled in reply, and zoomed away, with Smitty scrambling to his feet, slapping his hat back onto his head as he gave chase. Of course, yourself and Grim could not be left out of the picture. You weren’t sure what you could do on your own terms, in magical combat…but you hadn’t gotten this far by being totally helpless. You still had your wits, for a start. You hurried to stand beside Grim. The cat-like creature hissed, fur rustling and bristling, as the Twin Raccoons approached you both, wielding their Magic Pens. “Aim for the one on the right,” you suggested. “Nya! On it!” grinned Grim, and took a deep breath before sending a jet of cerulean flame in their direction.

The First Raccoon wasted no time, and jumped into the air, flipping over his twin as they swapped places. The Second then somersaulted towards you, decreasing the distance; as he landed on his feet, he aimed his pen, and shot a bolt of cosmic light your way. You ducked the attack, while Grim yelped and bounced out of the way of a similar strike from the First Twin. The pair of Royal Sword students giggled mischievously, and - seemingly just to show off, they both cartwheeled in opposite directions, passing each other in parallel patterns and then bouncing off the trees, flying through the air as they shot at the same time, each aiming for one of you. Once again, you both only barely managed to sidestep the magic shots. “Wh-where do I aim now?!” Grim exclaimed, rather puzzled by the movements. “Keep your aim on the right,” you said through your teeth, as you both backed up, the pair of Twins nimbly landing and beginning to creep towards you. “It doesn’t matter which one is which; what matters is beating them. Don’t fire till I tell you to.” Grim nodded to show he understood. Moments later, the Twins in the Raccoon hoods threw themselves back to back. They each aimed again and fired once more. Once again, you and your feline-esque friend managed to dodge the magical strikes…and the pair began to somersault, one spinning so that they somersaulted at the same time, with one’s legs in the air each time the other’s made contact with the ground. “Nya! Now they’re both together!” whined Grim. “That’s perfect!” you insisted, and pointed, perhaps more dramatically than you meant to. “FIRE NOW!” Grim grinned and once again breathed out a jet of blue flame. The one in the air at that moment yowled, as sparks of fire ignited the seat of their pants. Alarmed, their Twin stalled; knees buckled and they both tumbled to the ground, the one with their pants on fire rolling to try and put out the flame. “Hit the other one!” you shouted. “Right!” yapped Grim, and sent a second volley of fire towards the untouched Twin…who soon was left in the exact same position as his brother, the pair comically rolling about about in the dirt. You and Grim smirked at each other, and the little demon jumped up as you gave each other a high-five.

All the while, as this was going on, Matthew Satyr and James Killian continued to duel. Thrick-thrack-thrick-thrack! The cane and the metal baton clipped against one another in quick, precise motions from either side. Satyr grinned all the while, while James glared back, his own expression damnably serious. Finally, Satyr swiped at Killian…but instead of blocking or parrying, the man in red skipped back, before thrusting in a powerful lunge.

Nakoda Spivak watched all of this action, unsure of what to do. It seemed like everyone else was managing quite well without him. He looked up towards one of the nearby trees and smirked…perhaps there was still a way he could contribute. Hissing in his usual snickering way to himself (or perhaps snickering in his usual hissing way, take your pick), the naga ran over to the tree and began to climb. Matthew - who was still hovering a small way above the ground, having not touched down once at all - flew up higher into the air, and flipped over James’ head. He spun back to face Killian, just in time, as James whirled about and swung at him harshly with his chosen staff. Satyr ducked out of the way, and as he came up, swung his baton in an uppercutting motion. James blocked it readily, and the two weapons scraped against each other as each backed up and circled the other. “Sure you don’t wanna throw in the towel, James?” teased Matthew. “Not today, Satyr,” sneered his opponent. “I awoke this morning with a tune in my soul: ‘Yo-Ho, Yo-Ho, I’m going to win today!’” “Nicely sung! Shame it’s a lie,” giggled Matthew. James just narrowed his eyes. “Your tongue is as unimpressive as your abilities, half-fairy,” he responded. “My victory is inevitable. If I were you, I’d just give up.” “If you were me, James, I’d need a haircut.” “BAH!” exclaimed James, and whipped out his cane again. Satyr blocked the strike, and then another as James spun around and swiped in a wide arc with his “blade.” The crimson battler then swung the weapon in a low arc, as if to try and smack against Satyr’s knees. Matthew, however, lifted his legs, and hovered upside-down in mid-air, before parrying another strike. Seemingly surprised by this skillful defense, James stepped back, hesitating for just a moment… …And at the same time that hesitation took place - “AHA!” - a shrill cry came from the Fox, who leapt off of Azul, holding up the rolled-up piece of paper in one hand as Azul tried to scramble to his feet. “MATTHEW!” the Royal Sword Student called out. “I’VE GOT IT! I’VE GOT IT!”

All froze and looked towards the source of the sound. The fallen RSA students sat up, alerted and awakened. You and Grim halted your cheers, while Kes and Smitty - who had been running around in circles - paused in their merry little chase. All were focused on the boy in the Rabbit’s hood, holding the paper aloft. Only James and Sebek moved. Sebek lifted his Magic Pen, ready to attack the Rabbit. At the same time, with Matthew’s back to him, James finally saw a chance, and prepared to hammer the heavy end of his cane - the golden topper - onto Satyr’s skull, intending to conk him out. Matthew Satyr must have sensed something, though, because he rocketed out of the way. James spun around clumsily, thrown off-balance by his own momentum. Satyr then shot forward and reached for his ally. “Grab hold!” he called out, and the fellow in the Rabbit hood reached up and took hold of his captain’s arms. Matthew managed to pull Rabbit out of the way and into the air…at the exact same time Sebek sent a ball of fire flying forwards. FWOOSH! “WHA-A-AGH!” screamed James, as he wound up getting hit by the fireball instead. When the flames finally stopped pulsing, James stood there, clothes and face humorously blackened and scorched. He coughed out smoke, eyes crossed… “S-Smitty…” he wheezed out…and promptly collapsed flat on his back. “AH! JAMES!” Smitty yelped, and jogged over to see to his friend. At the same time, Matthew set Rabbit down, and made a gesture to his team. The RSA students all went scampering into the woods, disappearing from view. Satyr grinned and tauntingly waved the clue around in the air like a flag, well over all of your heads. “Looks like the game’s gonna go to me!” he teased. “Anybody wanna try and stop me?” “Ssspeaking.” WHAPP! Matthew Satyr cried out in surprise as, without warning, what looked like the end of a large, fat snake’s tail wrapped around one of his legs. He looked to see Nakoda Spivak - in his true form - finally make his presence known. He grinned smugly at Satyr, even as the Royal Sword captain tried to kick free. “H-Hey! HEY! LET ME GO!” Matthew yelled. “Sss-sss-sss-sss! I sssussspected you might try to essscape through the air!” taunted Nakoda, and then looked down. “Sssomebody, quick! Take a shot!”

Sebek responded to Nako’s call by reeling back, ready to send another spell towards Satyr. James, however, was sitting up at that moment - Smitty had cast a spell to mend his outfit and clean him up - and when he saw what Sebek was doing, an almost feral look came to his eyes. “LEAVE HIM, YOU CURSED CROCODILE!” he roared at the top of his lungs, and suddenly sprang to his feet and charged forward. “HE’S MINE!” Sebek let out a grunting snarl of confusion, as James crashed into him shoulder-first. The attack wasn’t enough to knock Sebek over, but it did throw off his aim. A shot of dark magical energy went flying from his Pen, not towards Satyr…but right into Nakoda’s face. “SSSYAGH!” screeched Nako, clutching said face as the energy exploded against him. “MY EYES!” Matthew took the initiative to whip out his baton once more. Using it and Nako’s distracted state to his advantage, he managed to not only work his ankle free of the snake’s grasp, but knocked the end of Nako’s thick tail off the tree entirely. Thrown off by all of this, Nakoda suddenly let out a scream as his whole body lost control, and he went falling, tail-first, from the tree. He was sent spinning around the a thick branch some of his sales rested upon, then smacked his face against another on the way down, before finally collapsing into a bundled heap of coils on the ground, his humanoid form laying senseless atop the pile. “Oooooogh,” groaned Nakoda, his eyes spinning not with hypnotic power, but with pure dizziness. Matthew laughed so hard he had to clutch his stomach, then winked down at James. “Thanks for the help, old pal!” he taunted, and saluted with the hand that held the paper. “See ya when we get the chest!” So saying, Satyr let out a shrill crowing sound - like a rooster’s call - and flew off, disappearing into the treetops. “Nako!” you cried out, and ran over to check on the naga. “Are you alright?” “Not even the ssslightessst amount,” moaned Nakoda, slowly unwinding himself and massaging his jaw where he’d struck one of the branches. “Ssso much for that plan…” The naga began to unwind himself…and suddenly blinked as he heard Grim giggling at your side. “And what is ssso funny, pray tell?” he sniffed. “You've got a knot in your tail!” Grim answered, and pointed it out. Sure enough, somehow or other, during the fall, the end of the naga’s thick, fat tail had gotten twisted into what looked like a figure-eight knot. Nako glared, baring his fangs. “‘Oh, ha ha ha, you’ve got a knot in your tail!’” he babbled, mocking Grim’s words and voice. He then sighed before returning to his usual tone as he worked to try and tug the knot open again. “Urgh…keep sssniggering at that, and I’ll make you PART of my tail, ya sssilly little…!” “BUFFOON!”

Sebek’s shout startled you and Grim, making you turn around. You saw James and Smitty backing away as Sebek advanced on them both angrily. “I HAD A CLEAR SHOT! THE SERPENT HAD HIM IN HIS GRIP!” roared Zigvolt. “WE JUST LOST OUR BEST CHANCE AT THE TREASURE THANKS TO YOU!” “L-Leave him alone!” Smitty squeaked, trying to block his way. Sebek snorted and shoved him aside, before grabbing hold of James by his lapels. James gulped nervously, eyes very side, as Sebek’s fanged teeth were now dangerously close to him. “Give me one good reason not to eat you alive right now!” snarled the crocodile. James opened his mouth and closed it a few times, taken aback and unsure of what to say. His face was red again, this time you knew not with anger. “S-Smitty!” he finally coughed out. “Do something intelligent!” Smitty responded by running in a circle, like a chicken with its head cut off…before rather humorously trying to pull on Sebek’s coat in a vain attempt to pry him off. “S-Stop! Hey!” Smitty exclaimed. “Let him go!” Both Sebek and James watched this sorry sight before looking at each other with matching, bland expressions. “You need to get better friends,” Sebek droned. “I don’t have friends!” James spat back, angrily. “You won’t have much of anything soon enough,” Sebek said darkly, licking his lips with a vicious sort of smile. Before Sebek could - if he even planned to - make good on his threat, Smitty stopped tugging at his coattails. This was due to approaching footsteps, which, in turn, heralded a hand falling onto Sebek’s shoulder. Zigvolt looked back and slightly downward, soon spotting the rather stern face of Azul Ashengrotto. “That’s quite enough,” the octopus said to the crocodile. “Let me handle this, Sebek. I’m the team captain.” Sebek narrowed his eyes…but obliged, releasing James and stepping back to give Azul the proverbial floor. Smitty stepped aside in turn, even removing his cap and bowing his head.

Azul smirked, seemingly pleased with these shows of obligatory supplication, then frowned anew, hands on his hips as he looked at James with one eyebrow arched. “Well?” was all he said. James looked at Azul for a few moments. His expression had become blank. Finally, he bowed in his usual over-the-top, particularly courtly and elegant fashion, so low that his nose practically seemed ready to touch his toes. “A thousand pardons, Captain,” he apologized, in an effusive sort of tone. “I allowed my emotions to get the better of me. It will not happen again.” Azul huffed through his nostrils, tilting his head down and adjusting his spectacles in a way he frequently did when he was displeased. “Is that all you have to say for yourself?” he demanded to know. “I am afraid so,” admitted James, rather morosely. There was an awkward pause. The two looked into each other’s eyes…then Azul’s expression softened. He sighed through his nose. “Under other circumstances,” he said, at last. “I’d have you sitting out the rest of this hunt. As it stands, you’re lucky, James.” “How?” Nakoda asked, as he returned to his human form, coils reverting to legs, scales and claws receding as he dusted off his magically-reformed trousers. “Those Royal Sssword morons have the clue!” “Of course they do,” snorted Azul. “Then why are we lucky?” you asked, as you and Grim approached curiously, your whole team gathering in a semi-circle around Azul and James. “Because they aren’t the only ones,” replied Azul, and smirked, tapping his temple with two fingers. “I hope none of you were so foolish as to think I wouldn’t have MEMORIZED what was on the paper.” “Nya-ha! Then we still have a chance!” Grim exclaimed. “A very good chance,” Azul nodded, then looked up towards the sky, peering through the treetops above. “But for now, I think we’d better call it a day. That battle has already exhausted us all, I’m sure, and I’m pretty certain the Royal Sword students are feeling the same. There won’t be much more hunting today. Our best option is to find a place to camp, and then work from there.” “Can’t we just camp out here?” suggested Nakoda, indicating the cottage. “If we could, we would, but I suspect that would come to bite us in our proverbial rears later,” snorted Azul. “The point of this is to outmatch the opponent and prove one’s survival techniques. I don’t want to be the one Coach Vargas punishes for utilizing the cottage as a presumed loophole.” Everyone shuddered in agreement.

“We’ll need to find a place to set up, then we’ll split our group up,” Azul went on. He then turned towards James. “As for you…be on your best behavior, James. I can only be so lenient after something like that.” James bowed his head. “Me ears shall remain eternally open to thy admonition, sirrah.” Azul narrowed his eyes. “Remember who you are talking to, James,” he warned, somewhat darkly. “Don’t sell me anything. Just say yes or no.” James seemed to twitch before finally uttering a drab sort of, “Yes.” Azul smirked and nodded, then beckoned for you all to follow him. Nakoda and Sebek stepped into line quickly behind him. Grim soon trotted after them on all fours. You were about to follow, but paused when you noticed James and Smitty lingering behind. James was looking down towards the ground, his expression grim and sour. Smitty stood beside him and gave him a nudge. When James looked his way, the smaller man gave him an encouraging smile and a thumbs-up. James smirked for a moment, but the smile didn’t quite meet his eyes. You approached. “Hey,” you said, catching Killian’s attention as you gave him an encouraging look as well. “Don’t be too hard on yourself. And…just remember, it’s only a game, alright?” James chuckled in a sort of humorless fashion. “A trite sort of sentiment,” he replied, then smiled back in a benevolent, grateful sort of way. “Thank you, all the same.” “No problem,” you nodded, and then gave Smitty a smile. “You take care of him, okay?” “I always do,” giggled Smitty. You smiled wider, and then turned to catch up with the others. You had no idea, as you turned away, the way both Smitty and James’ expressions turned cold as frostbite itself. “They’re upset with us now, James,” Smitty observed. “Indeed. Normally, I would be bothered by that,” James nodded. “This time, however, I suspect it will prove most fortuitous.” “Then the plan is still going the way it should?” “Oh, most assuredly, Smitty. If things tonight go the way I hope, then all these hiccups will be minor bumps in the road.” “I don’t think I like it, James…” “Nobody is asking you to like it, Smitty. Just do what you’re told. When we split up, you know what to do, don’t you?” “Aye, James. That I do.” “Good boy, Smitty. Then let’s get moving…we’re not getting any younger, you know…”

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Night had fallen over Sage’s Island. You stepped out of the tent you’d made for yourself and Grim, one of four made at your team’s site. All but one tent was meant to house two students at the same time, the odd one out being Nakoda’s. He preferred to sleep in his naga form, which meant, under the circumstances, there wouldn’t be much room for anybody else. “Unlessssss,” he had suggested flirtatiously, “Anybody wantsss to join me in my coils tonight.” No one had been either desperate or foolish enough to agree…but you’d come close to saying yes, you were almost ashamed to admit. Your group had selected one of the open areas of the forest typically used for Camp Vargas events. It was familiar to all of you, and close in proximity to both the cottage and the mines, which seemed to make it a wise choice. You looked around at the site briefly. Sebek, Nakoda, and Grim were seated around the campfire, all toasting marshmallows and munching on s’mores. Azul you could see seated on a tree stump nearby, holding a piece of paper: he’d taken some time to write down the clue from his memory earlier, and was trying to puzzle it out. You approached Ashengrotto and knelt down beside him. “Need some help?” you offered. Azul smiled at you, the firelight glittering off of his glasses. “Ah, good evening, Prefect,” he greeted warmly, then tilted the paper. “I still haven’t figured this mess out. Can you make heads or tails of it?” You peered closely at the coded message. At least, you presumed it was a code. Otherwise what you read aloud was total nonsense… “Up the Yours…Two Tens in Three Feet…Stay Left…Ten Fours Increasing. No, sorry. I don’t have any idea.” “Neither do I,” admitted Azul. “I have many skills, but secret codes aren’t typically among them.” “Well, look on the bright side,” you said, patting Azul’s shoulder. “At least the Royal Sword team probably doesn’t know, either.” “We can only hope,” Azul replied with a slight sigh. GRRRLLLB… Azul winced as his stomach suddenly let out a deep, whining gurgle. He flushed with embarrassment as you chuckled. “Trying to solve it on an empty stomach won’t help,” you teased. “I ate enough earlier,” Ashengrotto lied. “Your belly says otherwise,” you teased.

Just then, chortling laughter and the sound of music caught both of your attentions. James and Smitty had just sat down beside the campfire. Smitty was holding a mandolin, strumming on it as he and James led the others in a song… “Hey! We’ll heave ‘im up and away we’ll go! ‘Way me Susianah! Aye, we’ll heave ‘im up and away we’ll go! We’re all bound o’er the mountain…!” You smiled and stood up, offering a hand to Azul. “Come on,” you said, tossing your head towards the rest of the group. “Let’s get something in your stomach. Take a break.” “I’ve had more than enough calories and carbs for the day,” insisted Azul, looking a little more flushed. You rolled your eyes. An appetite three times bigger than any human being’s, and yet Azul was one of the few at NRC who even CONSIDERED curbing that hunger. Criminy, you said! “Come on!” you urged again, not taking no for an answer, and forced the cecaelia-in-disguise onto his feet. He stumbled slightly before walking with you as you led him towards the campfire. “No one’s out here to judge you.” “Except for our other classmates,” grumbled Azul, adjusting his spectacles, as they nearly fell off his face from your forceful ministrations. “Our classmates,” you reminded him, “Include Sebek, Nakoda, and Grim. You really think any of THEM are gonna make fun of you if you eat a little more than usual?” Azul gave a weak smile and chuckled. “Touche,” he returned with a nod, then frowned. “But if I need new pants when this Event is done, I’m blaming you.” “You know better than to threaten me with a good time,” you returned crisply. Azul gave a sly smile in return. “Ah! Prefect!” James greeted, waving a hand theatrically through the air as the two of you approached. “And Azul! Please, sit down by the fire!” “That’s exactly what we plan to do,” you said, and the two of you took a spot beside James. Earlier, while setting up, you’d all brought four large, hollow logs and arranged them like makeshift benches around the fire in a vaguely diamond-shaped pattern. The arrangement of seating, in clockwise order from your point, was the following: yourself, Azul, James, Smitty, Sebek, Grim, Nakoda. “Mmmmm…didn’t think the sssnacks ssserved around thisss camp would be good eye candy, too,” teased Nakoda, his expression typically sultry as he addressed you once you sidled beside him. You blushed and just nudged his side with a grumble. He answered with his usual snicker.

“Where have you two been?” you asked James and Smitty. “We saw you both leave camp a while ago.” “Oh, I was out practicing my fencing, in case of another attack,” said James, then looked at his partner. “Smitty? What about you?” “What? M-Me?” Smitty squeaked and laughed a bit nervously. “I-I was just, um…looking to make sure we weren’t anywhere near the other team’s campsite. I-I didn’t want things to get messy, y’know? I was r-really happy when I saw the s’mores!” “Indeed!” said James, munching on one himself. “A simple but forever attractive staple of campground feasting!” “Well, aside from indulging in sugary confections, what else are you all up to?” Azul ventured to inquire, addressing the entire camp. “We heard music.” “Oh!” Grim chirruped, between bites of his s’more, “Smitty was teachin’ us a few scene chantings!” Azul blinked. “...Scene chantings?” he repeated, greatly puzzled. “Sea shanties,” giggled Smitty in correction, fiddling with his spectacles before showing off his mandolin. “They’re old songs that sailors used to sing when out on the open ocean. Kind of helped them to have something to sing when they were either working or out for long, long periods with not much to do.” “Smitty and I grew up along the docks in our hometown,” James said. “His father is a fisherman, and my father was a merchant sailor. So we both learned a few, as a result.” “Hmph. I hate to admit it, but the one you were just sharing was quite catchy,” huffed Sebek, and stuffed a s’more into his mouth. He chewed it up and swallowed it, before thumping his chest and belching thickly. “UUURRRP! Oof…I had no idea so many humans were so musical.” You blushed. He hadn’t even excused himself… “Rude crocodile,” you heard James mumble, but when you looked towards him, you suddenly noticed that, for the fifty-millionth time in the time you’d known him, his face had turned almost as red as your own. “Oh, that one was nothing!” grinned Smitty, who seemingly noticed neither of your reactions to Sebek’s eructation. “Here, this one’s sort of spooky, but it’s got a nice beat, listen…” So saying, Smitty took a breath, then strummed a few opening strings on the mandolin, before beginning to play it in earnest. His voice turned playfully “rough” as he began to sing the song…

“Dark and quiet are the devils in the deep! So slow and silent, so you’re swallowed in your sleep! With a tail and a tooth, an’ I’m tellin’ ye the truth: you’ll be boilin’ in the belly of Behemooth!” As Smitty paused to see how the rest were liking, his eager smile fell as he noticed how Nako, Azul, and Grim were all grinning in your direction. “Uh…what’s going on?” he asked, innocently. “N-Nothing,” you peeped, trying to avoid looking any of the teasing, grinning fellows in the face. “Is there more?” Grim asked, innocently. You gave the cat-like critter a look of pure betrayal. “Oh, a bit more,” nodded Smitty, and played his mandolin before singing again: “Ship set sail with their sights abroad! Suddenly, the suction of a cephalopod has ye thinkin’ twice! Well, take my advice: a mutineer should also fear a firin’ squad!” “Goodness, that’s a dark one,” you laughed nervously, noticing that not a single person present had looked away from you once. In fact, at the mention of the word “cephalopod,” Azul was licking his lips. “Well, that IS a catchy one,” Ashengrotto practically purred. “Hmph. I don’t see what all of you are giving the Prefect so much attention for,” harrumphed Sebek. “Their fear is to be expected with such topics, there’s no need to mock them for it.” “It’s not fear they’re mocking me for,” you mumbled under your breath, but you were secretly somewhat glad Sebek was perhaps a bit too meatheaded to realize your flustered, blushing, heavy-breathing, heart-racing reactions were NOT due to deep terror. “If you think their reaction is worth noting,” Sebek went on with a smirk, and gestured towards James. “You should see how the Codfish is reacting.” Eyes now turned away from you towards James, who was blushing more than ever, and suddenly seemed very interested in the light of the fire in front of him. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said, in a shaky sort of way. “Awww, come now, James,” crooned Azul, and scooted closer. “There’s no need to be embarrassed. Why don’t you tell us YOUR thoughts on that shanty?” “My thoughts are that we should hear a different one,” was the bland reply. “Okay!” Smitty said cheerfully. “Let me see, I could try-” “No, no, one more time!” Azul insisted. “Yesss,” agreed Nakoda, a gleam in his golden eyes as he grinned till his face seemed to split. “In fact, why don’t we sssing it all together?”

James went from bright red to pale as a sheet. “Oh, please, no,” he almost seemed to whimper. “Ha! Thy cowardice only gives incentive to me, human!” boomed Sebek, with a vengeful smirk. “McCarthy, strike the tune again!” Smitty seemed a bit befuddled, but shrugged and obligingly began to play the same song again. This time, everybody began to sing…everybody except yourself and James, that was… …But as the singing went on, so did other things. Nakoda Spivak suddenly slung his arm around your shoulders, and tugged you closer to him. “Dark and quiet are the devils in the deep…” He turned your face towards his own, causing you to freeze up. He was so close, you could kiss him, if you wanted. “So slow and silent, so you’re swallowed in your sleep…” You nudged him back with a very faint “meep” sound, and he just laughed between lyrics, rising to his feet as he did so, swinging his hips to the beat of the music as he began to slink his way around you. “With a tail and a tooth, and I’m tellin’ you the truth…” He bumped you with his hip. “...You’ll be boilin’ in the belly of a Behemooth!” You let out a louder meep from that, nearly toppling off the log and headlong into the fire…then stiffened as Nakoda pulled you back with his arms, hugging you from behind, and thus preventing you from falling into the flames. You looked at his face nervously as he nestled himself into the crook of your neck with a serpentine sort of nuzzle, and an equally slippery, supercilious smile. Hoping to pry your attention away from the sensual serpent, you checked on James’ reactions. Azul was being no less coy with him. The octopus had picked up a pre-made s’more and was inspecting it as he sang… “Ship set sail with their sights abroad…” He popped the s’more into his mouth, and swallowed the entire thing whole in a single gulp. His fingers flashed across his neck, tracing the lump in his throat as it went down. “Suddenly the suction of a cephalopod…” Azul smirked in a sideline sort of way towards James. The crimson-coated cavalier had been watching everything with rapt attention, his eyes following the path of the s’more as it fell into Azul’s trim belly, behind his costume. “Has ye thinkin’ twice. Well, take my advice…” Azul patted his stomach and licked his lips, winking at James behind his glasses. “A mutineer should also fear a firin’ squad.”

You weren’t sure what part of this whole exchange you’d witnessed impressed you most: the look of James almost sputtering and steaming, clearly flustered beyond belief; seeing Azul being so uncharacteristically seductive with his own appetite; the fact that nearly everyone else seemed oblivious… …Or the fact you could somehow focus on that with Nakoda nuzzling your neck and holding you close and tight in his arms. “S-Smitty!” James finally squeaked out, in a voice that cracked more than a Nutcracker. “Please, PLEASE play a different tune!” “Oh! Okay, James,” Smitty said, spritely, and tuned up his mandolin. “How about…‘The Song of Captain Sham’? Oh, I guess he shouldn’t have oughter, but he threw her in the water! And then a flounder downed her; that’s why they never found her!” “No! No, d-different than that!” eeped James, who was looking into Azul’s unblinking eyes, his face increasingly rosy while Azul’s was increasingly sly. “Um…alright, then let’s try ‘Fish in the Sea,’ eh?” suggested Smitty. “Then up jumps the shark, with his fine rows of teeth! He says, ‘You eat the dough, boys, and I’ll eat the beef…!’” “I would like to say not that one either!” you piped up, whimpering a little as Nakoda licked his own fine teeth. Smitty looked disappointed…then grinned broadly. “Oh! I know! ‘Ode to the Falling!’ That’s one of James’ favorites: And as we suggested, you’re slowly digested…!” “NO!” both you and James yelped at the same time. Smitty squeaked and jolted back. “Uh…s-sorry,” he peeped in apology, looking a little hurt at the shout. You and James sighed, while Azul, Nakoda, and Grim all sniggered. Sebek just rolled his eyes. “You humans are scared of the strangest things,” he mumbled, eternally oblivious. You and James gave him equally dry looks. “I think I’m going to take a walk to clear my head,” said James at last, easing himself away from Azul as he stood up. “Do be back in time for dessert,” crooned the half-cephalopod, with a slightly sinister smile that quirked his beauty mark. James gave him a sort of blushing, bashful look, and then marched away. You watched him go, and felt a sudden urge to follow. “I’m, uh…I’m gonna join him,” you said to the others. You started to stand…only to sit down again as Nakoda kept a grip on you. “Ah…Nako, could you please let go?” you asked, quite nervously. Nakoda’s smile was truly ravenous. “What if I want you to ssstay?” he teased. “Serpent!” snapped Sebek. “The human may be weak and feeble, but they have the right to go and stretch their legs if they so wish!”

“Your respect for me is touching,” you drawled, sarcastically. “Oh, you’re welcome!” grinned Sebek, clearly not picking up on said sarcasm. Nakoda pouted. “Aww…but I don’t think those sss’mores were enough to sssatisssfy me,” he keened, and grinned anew. “Perhapsss you could help there, hmmm?” “Nako,” Azul spoke up, strictly. “None of us will be eating the Prefect tonight. We need them, for a start.” “Nya! I know I need my minion!” Grim meowed. “Who else is gonna buy me tuna cans?” “I continue to be astounded by how much my classmates care for me,” you droned. Nakoda pouted more…but finally sighed and relented, releasing you from his grip. “Ssspoilsssportsss,” he hissed, in a long, languid, languorous sort of way, emphasizing each ‘s’ most deliberately. You blushed and stood up quickly, straightening up your clothes before you began to walk away from the campsite. You paused just a moment to look back. “Will you four make sure Azul actually eats enough tonight?” you asked the others. “Can’t have our captain leading without proper nutrition.” The other three all agreed (much to Azul’s embarrassment), and with that little victory assured, you followed the same path James had taken.You could hear Smitty striking up another song behind you, but you didn’t stick around to pay much attention to the lyrics. James Killian did not go far from the campsite. He paused just a few yards out of proper earshot from the rest of the party, the light from the fire visible like a beacon through the darkened greenery. He removed his bandana as he sighed, leaning back against a tree. He fanned his flushed face, sweat beading on his brow, as he pressed his free hand to his chest. A quiver went through him from how fast his heart was beating… “Odds, Bobs, Hammer and Tongs,” he muttered to himself, and shivered as he seemed to hear some of the lyrics echoing in his mind…as, even with his eyes closed, he could recall the looks and the actions. “They’ll be the death of me…” “I’m pretty sure, someday, one way or another, someone in this school will be the death of me, too.” James opened one eye at your greeting. When he saw you approach, he stepped away from the tree. You could see his fingers trembling slightly as he put his bandana back on. “Prefect…did I worry you?” he asked. “I-I assure you, coming after me was…hardly necessary, I…I just…” “Needed to get away from gorgeous guys who could swallow you in just a few bites and turn you into part of their hips, if they REALLY wanted to?” you guessed. James looked at you. He seemed simply stunned, as if you had tapped upon some long-hidden, dark, diabolical secret. “You didn’t make it that hard to figure out,” you chuckled, and offered a bashful look of your own, similar to the one he’d shown to Azul. “I…feel the same way. A lot.” James’ expression shifted. He laughed nervously, hands fiddling with the frills of his shirt. “Heh heh…I…suppose I CAN be…quite obvious, c-can’t I?” he conceded. “It’s a weakness, but…I suppose it’s my only weakness…” You decided not to comment on that, instead cocking your head to the side.

“Is that why they call you ‘Codfish’?” you checked. James blushed more and nodded. “I…supposedly taste quite similar,” he admitted, mumbling with embarrassment. He coughed, clearing his throat. “I imagine that I hardly have to tell you this, but…I’d prefer to keep this matter to myself as much as possible. Not everyone at the school knows…yet…” “Well, most people know about MY, ah…interests,” you chuckled. “Trust me, it’s not gonna take long.” “Oh, joy,” James drawled sarcastically. His tone made you giggle. A moment later, and he was chuckling alongside you. Then it was his turn to tilt his head. “Is this the only reason you came after me?” he asked. “Not exactly, but it was a big part of it. I wanted to be sure my observations were correct,” you confessed. You paused, then added: “It’s…honestly comforting.” “Comforting? What is?” “To know I have a friend who shares these…fascinations,” you said. “For a long time I felt like a lone sheep among wolves. It’s…kind of neat to know I’m not alone now.” James’ expression shifted. His blush began to recede slightly. He looked you up and down. “Is that so?” he murmured, then spoke aloud: “In that event, could I trouble you for a favor, as a kindred spirit?” “That depends on what you have in mind,” you shrugged. James paused, then took a deep breath, and spoke frankly. “I know where the treasure is.” You gaped. “What?” “I saw the clue, and I figured it out,” said James. “The secret to the code is that you have to be looking at the opposite in every other line, and to use simple replacements in the lines between and after.” That sounded very confusing, and your face must have shown it, because James laughed. “Honestly, it’s much easier than it sounds.” “I think you’d better explain, anyway.”

“Well, first of all, ‘Up the Yours.’ That almost sounds like an insult…” “Take out ‘the’ and it IS an insult…” “Right. But it’s not, it’s a code: what is the opposite of up?” “Well…down, right?” “Right. And what is the opposite of yours?” “Mine,” you said, then your eyes widened as it clicked in your head. ‘“Down the Mine!’ They’ve hidden the money chest somewhere in the mines!” “That’s it! Good form, Prefect!” James congratulated. “The next line is one where I mentioned math and replacements: ‘Two Tens in Three Feet.’” “Two Tens equals twenty,” you said. “But what does it mean by Three Feet?” “How much is three feet?” “A yard,” you said, then realized it with a snap of your fingers: “We have to walk twenty yards! That’s so simple!” James nodded, clearly pleased you were getting it. “Now you’re catching on!” he winked. “Okay, so, two lines left… ‘Stay Left.’ The opposite of ‘Stay’ is ‘Go,’ so we Go Left.” “Correct.” “And Ten Fours Increasing…that’s Forty More!” “Correct again!” “So, if you put it all together, the clue means: ‘Go twenty yards down the mine, turn left, and in forty more yards you’ll find the treasure!” “Exactly!” James said, with a sharp clap of his hands. “Bravo, my dear Prefect!” “James, that’s genius! I’m amazed you figured it out so simply!” you laughed, then your smile began to fade. “But…wait…what does this have to do with a favor? And why haven’t you told Azul?”

“Because after today’s fiasco, I think Azul may be hesitant to listen to me on this treasure hunt,” said James, honestly. His eyes turned soulful as he approached you. “I need someone he WILL listen to, who will give him the answer. And I know Smitty well enough to know he’ll bungle the riddle and give a wrong direction somewhere.” “That’s fair enough,” you murmured, and narrowed your eyes. “But…are you sure? I mean…I hate to take credit for you solving this, and I’m sure Azul would listen if you really had valuable info…” “I’d rather not take the chance,” said James, holding up his left hand placatingly. He then placed it upon your shoulder, looking at you closely. “Prefect. Can I trust you to keep my findings secret and give Azul the answer tomorrow? I think for now we should all rest.” You looked James up and down…then nodded. “If you’re sure, I’ll tell him. Every word you told me,” you promised. “But I have to check once more: you really don’t want any credit at all?” “Credit is nothing,” James said, seriously. “I’ve already caused enough trouble through my ego. The least I can do is make sure my team - my crew - wins in the end.” You smiled slightly. “That’s…a surprising amount of humility, James,” you praised. “Alright. I’ll do what you say.” James grinned back, gratefully, and patted your shoulder. “Thank you, my friend,” he said softly. “You’ve been most helpful.” “Oh, so now I’m your friend?” you teased. “And I thought you said friendship was an illusion.” “We all make mistakes,” James shrugged. You laughed, and brushed James’ hand away. “Whatever. I’m gonna head back to camp. Don’t stay out here too long,” you suggested. James answered with a salute, and watched as you marched back towards the glow of the campfire. Once again, you had no idea of the menacing, cruel look that suddenly fell across his face once you’d turned around. He looked at his left hand - the hand that had touched your shoulder - and chuckled sadistically to himself. “So easy,” James Killian cackled to himself.

----------------------------------------------------------

Sometime later, James returned to camp. The fire had been put out, and nearly everyone at camp was asleep. The only light still shining came from the tent he and Smitty shared. James crept into the same tent. He found Smitty McCarthy already asleep, snoring in an almost musical way in the sleeping bag he had set up. The light came from a lantern in the corner of the tent. James nudged Smitty with his boot. “Wake up,” he grunted. Smitty mumbled - “Five more minutes, Mom…” - and James sighed, nudging him a little harder. “Smitty, wake up!” he snapped. Smitty snorted in the midst of a cough and finally opened his eyes. He fished his glasses out from somewhere and put them on, then smiled widely. “James! You’re back!” he cheered exuberantly. “I was getting a little-MPH?!” James glared coldly as he clapped his right hand over Smitty’s mouth. “If you yell so loudly again,” he warned, “I’ll use my left.” He lifted it, indicating the tattoo upon it. “You don’t want that, do you, Smitty?” Smitty paled and shook his head. “Good man,” James chuckled, and removed his palm before turning serious. “Did you find them, when the others were out looking for food and firewood?” “Aye, James,” said Smitty McCarthy. “That I did.” “And did you achieve your other goal, earlier this evening? Before we all gathered at the fire?” “Aye, James,” Smitty said again, this time almost sounding sad. “I…I took her, and…and I left a message, like you said. They were all asleep already. They never saw me. I-I guess the Royal Sword guys go to sleep sooner than we do…” James just bit his lip, holding back his excitement. “Where is she?” he asked, like a small child. Smitty seemed to hesitate, conflicted. Then sighed and pointed towards the lantern. “She’s been watching this whole time,” he admitted, very quietly. James looked at the lantern, squinted…then his face lit up with evil glee. He lifted the lamp and peered into it with a greedy, eager sort of expression. “Perfect,” he almost growled to himself. “Hello, my little lady. I think you’re going to be of great use to me very soon…” James Killian had to hold back his laughter as Kes the pixie desperately banged at the walls of the lantern, face pleading and bells muted by the soundproof glass. Smitty McCarthy watched the scene with great worry, eyes flitting between the pair. He wasn’t sure whom he felt worse for.

To Be Continued in Part 4…

[polysprachig]

Pardon me as I prepare to intrude my thoughts on language learning upon the public (again).

I’m working on taking myself less seriously and getting over what I like to call *nonsensical, self-inflicted recording stress*. Hence the one-take and post method I’m trying to experiment with on tumblr dot com in which I read and comment on my ***polyglot journal***.

WIP, unbeta’d, off-the-cuff. 🧿💙  

Transcript below (Orange = Speaking/commentary, Blue = Written commentary, White = Reading)

In the spring of 2020 I decided to write a detailed book on all of the language learning activities that I was doing. As I look here at page 27 of the book itself—it's pretty long; there are still blank pages—I can see several things. The one is a general overview, together with my own commentary about what I did wrong right from the off. 

[Reads] In which I accidentally bite off far more than I can chew, determine to do too much, establish a routine check in system and throw organization to the wind. Includes: Irish, Greek, German and Middle English; the Merlin project in its infancy, plus voca; a note on colour-coded translation exercise; a start to translating authors whose work I know; and the initial return to reading historical verse, which means, generally speaking, [whispers] Chaucer. The overwhelming theme is to consider what core vocabulary and skills I will need to accomplish the activities described, with special emphasis on trying the first ... to first rely on my own language skills in a—in an in almost Test -Teach slash Test-Check manner.

Now let's see how it starts. 

During the summer season I have decided to focus my language learning efforts on my productive skills, those being speaking, writing, translation and the creation of new materials. At the center of this decision burns the desire to spread the seeds of my knowledge of different languages to others and espouse the personality of fire to keep my learning active, invigorating, and all consuming. This trimester of learning—Yes, I can count, I just really like the word trimester (it's technically a semester) from May through to the end of August, is meant to prevent me from becoming too lethargic in my study habits. I shall focus predominantly on Irish, with approximately three lessons per week scheduled with various teachers—hilarious— in the hopes of levelling up within 3-6 or even 8 months—this timeline is still up to debate depending on various factors such as finances, travel, quarantine status and miscellaneous slash other. My secondary main languages are Greek, German and Middle English—[Laughs] Sorry, reading it now is hilarious to me because I already know what happens, and now I know where I am in my studies and we're ... we're basically back at this point, but in a better way. Okay, let's not jump ahead of ourselves—So, my secondary main languages are Greek, German and Middle English. In these languages I aim to create one to two significant works of translation—wow—and/or auditory material. My main goal is to drastically avoid using the Internet—best of luck with that—and other electronic digital tools to aid me, with the exception of the online Greek-English Dictionary (until I have purchased my own dictionary in Greek)—I should add a footnote here: I have got my grandfather’s print dictionary and Greek and it is from the 1920s and I need a ... updated one. Anyways—and the Middle English corpus as necessary. Moreover, I should hope to complete some written exercises and short writings in Hebrew, Italian and possibly even French.

Correct me if I'm wrong: too much is going on in this section, and as we'll see, it just gets worse. 

Stay tuned next time to find out the mistakes I made, but also the benefits I experienced in trying to learn multiple languages at the same time and, especially, improving those levels at multiple times (???) without having the firm foundation necessary to actually complete that type of an activity. Ohh so many things to go over. I'm very excited. See you next time!

-polysprachig

[danwhobrowses]

One Piece Chapter 1087 - Initial Thoughts

And We Are Back!

5 long looooong weeks for Oda to acquire his eye surgery laser vision but now we can resume the Egghead arc well...everything but the Egghead arc it seems

Still we finally get a manga dose of One Piece so let's see what we have

Spoilers for the chapter, support the official release also

An Ace cover page this time, shame we didn't do anything with the laser eyes but Ace and Capybaras make up for it

In the G1 shipyard there are two navy ships whose hulls are dented, apparently known as 'battleship bags' which Garp trains with

Jango and Fullbody are surprised that this is Garp's daily routine, but also that the second ship was Aokiji's!

Also these dents are caused by brute strength, no fruit or haki

Reminder too that Navy ship hulls nowadays are layered with Sea Prism, so I think this is the first instance we've seen of Sea Prism being weathered

I get that this dude has been present in the post TS Navy exposition but where's my man Bogard?

Back to Fullalead and Wolf is already in the drink

I mean Garp just tossed the mega-giant into the water like Thames Water dropping sewage

Vasco's next for the attack with a fireball

That's cold Garp, using the lesser pirates as a shield, but I guess since they're not your allies it's not morally ambiguous

Garp ain't even fazed either

Garp's fighting has managed to get all the slaves and marines back on the ship to escape

Oda my man, why did you bring Tashigi if you're not letting her do anything???

Coby, Helmeppo and Grus are fighting with Garp still, but the plan is to fall back

Aokiji's back and he didn't hear no bell

Garp gives the orders for the trio to leave while he holds ground, but Coby spots a woman in danger and jumps in to help

But Grus senses it's a trap, and he's right

Garp steps in but eats a stab from Shiryu!

Garp says the wound is nothing but Coby's still on the guilt

I wonder how Shiryu is bypassing haki? because Coby is known to have great Observation Haki, even sensing enemies below surface level

Cross Guild were foolish enough to bounty Garp? Seems that Crowns are worth 1 billion berry (how does Buggy, Crocodile or Mihawk have that kinda cash?) and Garp has 3, on par with an Admiral...and his otherwise absent grandson

The redshirts try to swarm Garp but Aokiji tells them they still wouldn't stand a chance

Mini flashback of how Aokiji became Garp's protege, turns out Aokiji insisted him into it

Young Garp definitely looks a lot like Luffy

So Kuzan was like 'I've learned everything the marines told me' but didn't know Haki? I thought all Vice Admirals knew it

Joint training led to Garp just venting at Kuzan about his family

"You have a habit of raising enemies" - well 'raising' is used loosely

Double punches from master and student sends both men flying

Now Pizarro starts gloating, taking aim at the escape ship

Pizarro's fruit does just feel like an advanced form of Pica's fruit

Pizarro being annoyed with Blackbeard being on the news is interesting, wonder if there's like a slight bit of dissent among the crew

Hibari, much like Coby, is annoyed that she couldn't help, but gets some reassurance from Kujaku

Garp is hopeful justice will prevail though, as we're left on a cliffhanger

It's good to be back

This chapter could've been a lot more action packed I feel, but I'm happy with what we got. Glad Aokiji showed more fight too, because making him look strong works for both Blackbeard and Akainu as well. Also kinda glad that the other Blackbeard members got involved, seemed weird that they would just spectate.

This is a point where Oda could easily move on to another plot section though, which I hope doesn't happen. But I'd also like Tashigi to do something impressive and if she can do something similar to Zoro's feat against Pica to save the ship that'd do pretty nicely. Realistically thinking there may be some navy backup, but we also can't rule out Perona and Moria getting involved, since Coby only escaped because Perona gave him the keys.

It's been 5 weeks but Oda has us leaned back in

[anisaanisa]

Will you be participating in any of the IY Fandom events this year? (Inu-Spiration, InuSecretSanta, Inuvember, Sugar and Spice Event, etc.)

Hello, anon! I realise you’ve sent this ask to multiple people, so in the interest of your interest check, I’ll answer your question. I tend to keep musings to hashtags, but as my closest friends here know, I’m an opinionated mouthpiece when given the opportunity. So, I’m going to be honest about my feelings here, since you asked in such good faith.

But for future reference – you don’t need to hide. I won’t bite unless asked. Note: These opinions are my own and not a direct reflection of how others may feel, or the coordinators of these events.

Inu-spiration: No. Mystery-bag art isn’t on my Christmas list, and the same goes for writing. When I want to collaborate, I have options, and those options come with people I adore and admire, and afford me the gift of knowledge. Not knowing who/what/when/where/why I’m being paired and the type of work I’ll create is not in my repertoire of a good time, and from personal experience, participants tend to be laden with stress up until the very last moment. In the interest of peace and tranquillity, it’s a no from me.

InuSecretSanta: My calendar quakes. In the interest of peace and time-keeping, it’s a no from me.

Inuvember Mothership (and somehow FC) Bingo: No. And because you forced me into having to read, re-read and make sense of something that doesn’t make sense, I returned the favour – this is going to be longwinded.

Incoherent: I have to read a lot to get to the meat of what this event entails. My brain is flighty, and I tend to skip ANs on a good day – so when I did just that, I was brought to percentages. So, I have to go back up to the top to understand why those are there. And when I read it all, it’s still not very clear what the aim is here – apart from, of course, competition, competition, competition.

Longwinded: Bingo. A game beloved by many, particularly OAPs and children. It usually comprises of a card and a time and place to meet. This event, so far, has come with 2 announcement posts, neither of which is a bingo card, and an edit (which I’ll get into) to the event itself. As per the previous incoherency issues, neither of these announcements have come from the Inuvember page, and have been spread between 2 other blogs. Having to jump through multiple hoops to find information is a PR nightmare, and I’ve already thrown my laptop out the window because I don’t know where to look. The OAPs and children weep, for the adults don't have the answers.

Exclusionary: This one is two-fold, so I’ve broken it down. -Themes: are, at best, exclusionary. Forcing people into rare characters and rare pairs has pushed the majority of the fandom out of participation within the first 2 weeks. On top of that, the original event comprised of an entire week of whump, which is baffling for so many reasons – so by week 3, there are half a dozen people left who might participate. By the time we reach week 4 – the only one that makes a lick of sense for a fandom-wide event – it’s Tropes, which, besties, no… Whump is a Trope. And as a final hoorah, the event has been amended before we’ve even seen a bingo card. If that isn’t fumbling the bag, I don’t know what is. At this point, we have 3 weeks until November, no Bingo card, and very little time to come up with a Hojo Whump story. – Competition: Ain’t my schtick. Leaderboards, as a concept, are not cute. Fandom is an escapist plain, and with the incredibly niche themes and modge-podging that has to be done to earn points/percentages/whatever, all but 2 people have “lost” their chance to place anywhere. To meet any requirements here, you’d have to give yourself over to the toxic productivity that only a handful of people thrive in. We already have a quarterly competition that happens too frequently for a small, dying fandom, so this portion of the event was unnecessary, ill-advised, and just plain whack.

Transparency/Prizes: There are prizes…apparently. There has been no mention of what they are and should have been announced from the word go. I’ve gleaned that this section of the event may have sprouted from Feudal Connection’s input, considering I've spotted they've answered a few concerns already. From personal experience, I have received 2/8 Winners banners promised from that specific event (which I do not feel to/shouldn’t have to chase, and no, I’m not a special case here), have found it to be nothing but an administrative nightmare from the ground up, and can't compute when suggestions for improvement are met with combative resistance to change. With all that being said, I am 1) not surprised this hasn’t been coordinated/planned properly yet and 2) not convinced that they will be worth the hassle of chasing up when/if these promises are met.

Convoluted: From my wading through multiple blogs and posts, I have concluded this is a Mothership event and bears no real affiliation with Inuvember, apart from appearing on a banner and in a tag. Three separate blogs/events conducting one’s brainchild is confusing at best, and I struggle to understand where FC or Inuvember come into this event other than being guilty by association.

TLDR: From my understanding, previous Inuvember events have been this: 30 days of themes for us to celebrate our love for Inuyasha as a fandom, in whatever way we see fit. This is 30 days of competition to see whose Franken-fic comes out on top. Fandom accolades have never been the aim of my game, so you’ll have to find this very, very particular bloodlust elsewhere. Verdict: In the interest of peace and sanity, it’s a no from me.

Sugar and Spice: Probably not, cause it’s too far in the future for me to say for certain what with having no concept of time. In the interest of refusing to believe 2023 is near, it’s a no from me.

Etc: Fandom is supposed to be about fun. And yes, some find competition and Being Number 1 fun. But I’m tired, I have a child to raise, and I just wanna write/draw my silly little grocery store daydreams and delight over them with my friends. I do not care who is the best. I do not care about stretching myself thin for things that do not bring me joy. And you won’t find any HoW tO WiN aT FaNdOm nonsense here. We have snacks – that’s about it.

Hope this helps! 🥰❤

[rottendaledramclub]

Rottendale Drama Club is a WIP comic! I aim to upload one page per week. If pages contain potentially triggering content they will have a trigger/content warning in post title!!

[more-than-a-princess]

Hello! As I prepare to open my askbox and post memes again, I thought this would be a good time to post a few reminders about activity going forward, as well as a bit about what and how I post on this blog. For new followers or anyone who hasn't written with me yet/in awhile, I'd love it if you looked this over! Especially as it seems like pinned posts are only working if you go to someone's tumblr page directly on a computer.

Most importantly, I'm aiming to take on fewer threads than I was before. I'm hoping this will keep me from burning out as badly as I did recently, trying to keep up with a lot of active threads particularly from muns who reply quickly.

Additionally, I will be doing my best to try and write with as many interested mutuals as I can! That being said, if we already have multiple threads together, I may hold off on sending/replying to memes until we finish the threads we're currently writing.

That's to say: if we currently have several active threads together, even across multiple blogs, if I'm not sending you frequent starter memes, it isn't due to lack of interest. It's just due to my own lack of time to be able to keep up with everything in a timely manner while being able to write with a variety of mutuals. I definitely still want to write with you! I'd just prefer to finish or drop current threads before starting new ones. It's just stressful for me when I've got a handful of threads with one mun and can't find the time to write with someone who doesn't have any. I don't think that's fair.

tl;dr - If we are mutuals, I want to write with you! However, in order to do that, I have to make an effort to interact with more of you, and that means not taking on as many threads at a time with any particular mun.

And a general refresher of important blog things under the cut. For new mutuals and those I've yet to write with, I'd love it if you looked them over:

Because pinned posts aren't working as they should, a few important things.

Nice to meet you! I'm Rae and my pronouns are she/her. I'm 30+ and live in the Eastern Standard time zone. In theory, I work a 9 to 5 job, five days a week. In reality, I work a lot of overtime. I chat, write, and plot when I can, but during business hours I'm far less available.

My preferred writing style is multi-para to novella. For all starter calls and IC meme prompts, this will be predominantly my style. I do not do one-liners or one-paragraph starters or replies, unless it's a dashcomm crack with established writing partners. For threads with me, I expect the same from my writing partners as well.

cue the Baymax voice: I am not fast. I research a lot, I write a lot, and I use the queue to post the majority of my threads. I don't post many threads per day nor do I write many threads per day, but I spend a lot of time and effort in the hopes of giving you fun and engaging interactions. I do try to be consistent with my posts, however: there will almost always be 1 or 2 new replies or starters on my blog each day. But if you are looking for quick turnarounds (0-2 days especially), I may disappoint you.

Do I write (platonic, romantic) ships? Yes! But for romance especially, I will only write romantic relationships with chemistry. I'm not a blog that will ship before threading, or even after a thread or two. I love writing the humor, tenderness, angst, and more that muses experience before committing themselves to a romantic relationship. I hope you do, too!

Do I write sm.ut? Yes, but with the following caveat: I prefer to only write sex scenes as part of a larger storyline and part of a thread. I'm not a fan of sharing NS.FW IC memes, so you'll never see them on this blog. I share NS.FW headcanon memes on occasion, but they usually don't interest me: I'd rather talk about my muse's preferences in an actual thread or plotting with a writing partner. Finally: I only write this type of content with writing partners I've been writing with for awhile and who are comfortable with writing such content. It's also posted under cuts and tagged.

Crossovers and OCs? Love them! I do look and see if you have a Dangan.ronpa verse on your blog, but I'm amenable to general modern verses and some historical verses alongside the specific verses on my verses page. I do not prefer to write high fantasy or science fiction threads. I also know nothing about many popular series/fandoms, including but not limited to: most video games (including Gens.hin/Hon.kai, Final Fa.ntasy, En.semble St.ars, and Pok.emon), most current anime barring a few titles. Ask if you're unsure, but I'll usually prefer general verses for these muses instead of fandom-specific ones!

I try to keep my replies to a turnaround time of 2 weeks or less. I understand that real life, other hobbies, etc. can deprioritize roleplaying and that's fine! However, I tend to lose muse for threads that are over a month old, are seasonal, or both. If you're returning from a hiatus and want to resurrect old threads, please ask me first! More likely than not, I'll turn you down in favor of starting something new.

Things that tend to make me not follow/unfollow, or engage with you less: one-liners/one-paragraph writing styles, excessive OOC posts outside of Munday, purely sm.ut blogs, callouts, and complaints due to lack of threads/interaction. All of these tend to kill my creativity in some way.

I said it above but I'll repeat it here: if we are mutuals, I want to write with you! However, I try to keep a lean dash over here and follow only those I want to write with. If you are an RP blog that follows me, I'm presuming you want to write with me too. But if not and you only want to read, I humbly ask you to follow me on personal blog instead so I don't accidentally follow you with the hope of interaction. I don't block personals for this reason, unless they appear to be spam of some sort.

[basiliskonline]

Started Paid GMing 3 months ago

This Post has Advice/Thoughts about starting Pro-GMs here.

I started paid GMing 3 months ago, here are my experiences:

When I started in mid-September it took me a while to figure out the process of getting set up through startplaying, a lot of amazing help from @sun-gone, who was familiar with the process.

I'm not a crushingly successful pro-GM yet but I'm happy with how it has gone, I'm closer to where you are as you read this, so I figure I'd share the perspective of someone who muddled there way through and where I am 3 months later.

September

I tried to focus on indie and small game one-shots, that... didn't work. I realized I was gonna need to do 5E if I was gonna get people, and that sounded just awful.

Most of September I poked around the website, looked at what other people did, how they set up their templates and familiarized myself with Startplaying while I considered if I wanted to do this knowing I'd have to play a lot of 5E.

October

My buddy asked if I wanted to join their PF2E game, I was hesitant (i hated PF1E and I am not exactly thrilled about supporting Paizo) but figured it was another option, and I'd heard it was much better than 5E so I dove on in.

Honestly I'm still shocked and somewhat dismayed by how much I like PF2E. I found an Adventure Path, The Quest For Frozen Flame, and I fell in love. It seemed like a module made for me, specifically. I started a personal campaign while still fiddling with Startplaying.

I then put together my pages for The Quest for Frozen Flame on Startplaying.

I started my price point at, I think, $18, per person with an aim to get 6 people. However, I had no reviews from confirmed/paid customers, no games played, I was fresh. I slowly walked my price down.

At $14 I got my first person to join, they were patient and waited while we tried to hit the minimum player count, but eventually they found another game in the same time slot, so understandably took that option.

I moved down to $12 per person, and I started to get some interest.

It still took me a few weeks to get a game together, i had some people drop. (needing 1 more, someone leaves literally days before another person joins was frustratingly common) my numbers and roster would fluctuate.

Once you get a couple people though, it has been in my experience now, much easier to get people in there.

November

By November my first campaign had filled up, I was aiming for 6, but capped it at 5 because my players were concerned about game drag (this is something I am no longer concerned about, the 5 of them are flying through the content, even with some new to PF2 people).

Just before the game started we lost 2/5 of our group to schedule changes, one after the Session 0, and one just before. That put me right on the edge, if people couldn't make it or someone drops, I go down to 2 players and the game stalls out. I was sweating.

Thats when I found this page about places to promote your games on startplaying.

I put together a google doc with the rules-appropriate formatting for each location so i could easily post and adjust as needed for each place.

By the end of November I was full 5-people and making $60 a game (3 hour sessions) so about $20 an hour. not.. *amazing* but sufficient to *start* for my situation.

December

While I ran my first paid campaign I started planning to start my second paid campaign, but moving into the holidays, I specifically set it up to start in the New Year, 1/4/2023.

This new campaign would be once again, The Quest For The Frozen Flame.

I am aiming to run the same campaign a lot for a few reasons:

I am, through weird brain stuff, basically immune to burnout, so thats not really an issue.

I am very excited for this module and its dinosaur, ice-age, paleo megafauna hunter-gatherer vibes.

If I play the same campaign as I am running for my personal campaign this greatly reduces extra game prep I need to do. Any game-prep is something I would have done anyway. This is very important to me, especially while I'm working at a lower than desired price point.

I get lots of practice, familiarity and tested feedback with this Adventure Path, which I'd imagine is alluring.

My second campaign I posted at $14 per person, aiming for 6 people.

January

My second campaign, just hit the minimal player count I set to start (3), so my session 0 will be Wednesday the 4th. I have no doubt, that it will fill up during the early days of the campaign, if not before session 1.

Once my second campaign gets underway, I'll be aiming for a 3rd paid campaign (also Frozen Flame) and probably aim for $16/person.

[dashawfrostart]

This Week In "Time & Again" #22: AUTOMATION 101 Because I Said So [Techy!] [And Other Ideas] 😎

I was thoughtful, so I did some simple math for the reason of mere curiosity and statistics. I counted the number of panels per chapter, just to see clearer what lies past and ahead of me, and to entertain myself. It turns out, the average number of the panels in every chapter for the chapters 1 to 4 is 92. Counting Chapters 3.1 and 3.2 as separate entities, just because they're basically two books anyway. It was a double chapter. ... Which means that for every more or less normal sized chapter I make I draw 92 separate little artworks, most of which have backgrounds and somewhat advanced, non-simplistic shading (although my latest art philosophy intends to go the opposite direction... but it only intends to do it, it does not necessarily do that very well yet, lol). Not just stick people. And here's the good part: Chapter 5 contains whooping 187 panels. The simple math tells you it's roughly double the original amount. Mostly because I needed to show the maniacal changes in Lothar's expression, the gradual changes, the agony. I hope those pretty numbers serve you well and answer the ultimate question of where the heck I disappear so frequently. And how much work it is. For one person. (and yet, I honestly think I do quite well regardless) Obviously, I disappear into "Time & Again". That is the right answer. That's how it's supposed to be for an artist working on something that is incredibly important to them 😁

But enough numbers, here are some exciting (and also facially hilarious) snippets from the storyboard! (of course, includes censorship by The Author, because Lothar never stops cursing)

With the page by page script fully storyboarded by now, I took a small detour on my road to Chapter 6.

Within the last few days, I set to work on the two important tasks, one of which is already accomplished by now.

The first task - the one that's done - was to mass process a tremendous amount of older artworks for the grand reupload (larger than the number of the panels in Chapter 5 - and that's sayin' something! 😱). I had 138 older artworks that I needed to resize and reapply a watermark on top; plus additional 77 to perform the same very task on afterwards. Why that is needed is a secret for now. But it will definitely see the light of day soon-ish (hopefully). ... As you can already guess, doing all of that manually would've been yet another nightmare - especially since my memories of going through pain and real hell of adding full bleed to "Time & Again" are still fresh in my mind, and hot like cakes straight from the oven... Also, of course, I didn't feel like dedicating a whole bloody month doing just that either, when I have Chapter 6 on the go as well as a transformation of Chapter 4 (more on the matter is just below). That's why I urgently needed automation of sorts. I'm a little surprised to discover that in my older post about how I prepared "Time & Again" for paper printing I totally skipped talking about an incredibly useful plugin for Krita that's called Krita Batch Exporter, made by GDQuest (whose videos I actually watched a few years back when I still worked on my game about the sleepy knight... but alas, as you might guess, the game never happened. oh well). Even though the plugin originally is aimed at indie game devs, it proved to be useful to me when I was working on full bleed areas for my chapters and when I needed to match them to the final print size. TL;DR: I simply opened all the pages of my graphic narrative as multiple layers, mass resized them all, and then batch exported layer by layer with the help of that very plugin. Simple and fast. Thank you so very much, GDQuest! 🌻 But alas, with the task that was ahead of me this time, with the supermassive number of random artworks that varied in size and aspect ratio GREATLY, that trick most likely wouldn't have worked. Instead, I braved learning the usage of ImageMagick command line utility. I was thinking about using it to batch edit and import "Time & Again" for printing, too, but back then I was not brave enough and didn't want to bother. This time, I urgently needed to learn. For a tech savvy person such as myself - who is a hardcore Doom nerdist who practiced modding not once but twice and thrice (and still does it 😁), a person with a lot of experience making older programs work on newer Windows, it was not very difficult. Yet, it still required some dancing with a tambourine around a table before everything started to work like a charm, and, of course, asking my Editor-In-Chef for guidance. I will even share my incredibly simple batch file code:

magick mogrify -filter Lanczos -resize "1200x1200>" *.png magick mogrify -filter Lanczos -resize "1200x1200>" *.jpg pause

to batch resize (and override!) all the PNG and JPG files to 1200 pixels wide or high depending on the original aspect ratio (unless they're already smaller), using Lanczos scaling method that proved very useful for downsizing the larger pieces to produce clean result. Afterwards, I needed to take my signature watermark and stamp it on top of all the downscaled artworks. I started working on the code for the image overlay in ImageMagick... And then, working on something totally different, I found out that IrfanView can do that for me. And unlike ImageMagick, IrfanView has UI (whatever will you do?.. I am indeed a person who has to see things in front of me, even though I'm not scared of CMD 😁). IrfanView is simply fantastic. It reads lots of different file types, it saves the watermark settings, and it works very fast. Adding my watermark to all those files was super easy and quick. And I only spent, like, one day doing all of that instead of a month of work manually 😁 Whooohoooo! I cannot verbally describe how rejoiced I am! (And I think I also used IrfanView to work on my Doom mod... that's why I installed that nice piece of software. Peanut Butter Jelly Time!.. Aaah, memories)

So that is done! Now you just gotta wait for all these 138 + 77 = 215 artworks to reappear in the internet sometime this year for everyone's happiness 😉

I am also glad that earlier this year I have discovered that Inkscape now supports batch export of layers natively - which is INCREDIBLY useful for my project (because I always start from arranging text and speech bubbles on multiple layers in Inkscape before porting everything to Krita for further work).

The second task bears a huge importance: I am polishing and slightly expanding Chapter 4 for the "Clean Cut Edition". The feedback on the chapter I have received earlier from my early access readers indicated a certain lack of hints... It was actually meant to be fairly vague to begin with. However, Chapter 4 was the only chapter for now that had a few outtakes from the script I wrote. I figured that I could fill in the gaps and make it easier to understand via the addition of a small (by my standards, lol) passage of text, aside from adding "Notes, Hints & Commentary" section. Ironically or not, all things considered, I simply decided to restore the cut content that was originally present - the content that I excluded for a truly naïve and dumb reason of keeping the page count intact (and, as we could see as of lately and thanks to my math above, Chapter 5 broke all those limitations and standards of yore anyways). Now I'm sad that I dissected my script without a weighty reason back then. But good news! I'm restoring all of that for the Clean Cut Edition! AND now with commentaries 😁 As for now, all the text and panel placement is decided on, and the only thing I have to do is to draw extra faces of Lothar and [redacted for the reason of spoilers for those who haven't yet read it] to portray a proper conversation between the two. And I think that the extra pages fit in quite nicely, too.

And aside from that, I also worked on a random artwork featuring Lothar. Here's the teaser; the full version will be uploaded soon.

And down below there's a bit more stuff I'd like to share today (even though I started writing it a few days ago, so idea simply accumulated in my head), in a form of expanded theses:

Since I don't want to stretch it all out as it sometimes happens with my endeavours, and there's no actually useful AI that might help me speed up the process, I think I'm going to try something peculiar this time, and it might sound... well... a bit crazy. I've been thinking about that for a while already (quite certainly, since the times I used to be an active DeviantArt user, which makes it approximately... 15 years by now?! wowza!!!), but never really had a chance to try out that approach. I was thinking about dropping the sketching phase completely. Earlier I've mentioned that, when I work on the comic pages in digital workspace once the approximate sketching and paneling on paper is all done, normally I work "in stages", outlining the panels in Inkscape first, then gradually working my way from sketches to lineart and, finally, to colouring, in segments. So I'm thinking about skipping the sketching part completely and doing the final lineart right away - simply because it will save me time. And quite possibly, a lot of time. AND time is a precious resource - so said Winston, and they were right. I understand that that might not be a good idea - but the student must learn sometime and through intense practice, right? And since I wished for that since a near immeasurable time ago, but then never ended up doing that for a reason unbeknownst even to myself - then it's probably the time to do it. Well, I'm looking forward to an adventure. I promise there will be no eyes on different height or any other fancy-schmansy stuff, and no extra fingers. With my demands to the quality it's near impossible - of course, unless intended. 😁 (I will still do simple sketches first for the complex views and angles. Otherwise everything will look crooked. Come on. I'm not that proficient yet.)

Ever since the development of Chapter 6 has been started, and its plot was in the stage of an embryo, my research lead me to a fairly solid conclusion that Lothar is a sociopath. He passes the test quite well and complies with numerous criteria wonderfully, I don't even have to doubt that. Heck, I don't even know if I like Lothar anymore... That Ar*****ch has done some very questionable stuff in Chapter 5. I just want him to put himself together and finally move on, preferably in a somewhat positive direction. This is also one of the reasons why I want to finish "Time & Again" - to help Lothar redeem himself. Come on, dude. Get in the effing robot... Eeeerrrr... Please don't take that too far though; that was just a figure of speech.

That's enough for today. See you soon 😁

[transition-with-the-torah]

I've been doing a little experiment with not using Tumblr on Shabbat, but I didn't want to rush making a post about it on Tumblr until I did a few weeks of tweaking the process.

I'm vaguely aware that some people avoid using the internet in its entirety during Shabbat, but I'm not aiming for that. I watch livestreamed Kabbalat Shabbat and Shabbat services, and I'm really trying to reduce unnecessary stress instead of jumping straight to no internet. So, I looked into a few website blockers of the anti-procrastination or productivity sort of tools with a focus on what I can try for free on my laptop [Windows].

I've been using LeechBlock NG (Firefox || Google Chrome), which allows up to 30 sets of websites to block with some of the usual features (customize your block list, whitelist, immediate lockdown option). [Predetermined block lists that include Youtube would not be helpful here, since I need to access Youtube for service livestreams.] I also liked the sound of the delay feature ("set a countdown to delay access to sites instead of completely blocking them"), since I was originally going to use a mix of delay and block. Scheduling is by the 24 hours of a particular day without overlapping, so a set doesn't get scheduled from, say, 1700 Friday to 1700 Saturday (you'd have one set for Friday and another one for Saturday).

I like that I have the ability to schedule, since some website blockers are more of a turn on/turn off button, but considering what I'm using LeechBlock NG for, I wish I could have more options around scheduling. (I imagine it's easier on the creating and maintaining side to not get too complicated in scheduling features, and I think some other website blockers paywall calendar syncing.) This isn't a deal-breaker right now, but I can't not mention that the only way to update the times for Shabbat starting [1] and ending [2] is manually updating that every week.

Originally, I started out with four sets: Friday (Delay), Saturday (Delay), Friday (Block), and Saturday (Block). The delay options used the default delay pages, had a countdown for an adjustable amount of seconds before allowing access, and were set for the winter Shabbat range for my location. The block options were narrower time ranges when I figured I was most likely to forget I had a delay, redirected to a page, and used the summer Shabbat range for my location.

Redirecting to a website page is what counts as having a custom block page:

Friday's redirect page: We Are Everywhere print, which is the starry pomegranate piece from @/iliothermia.

Saturday's redirect page: "Shabbat Shalom" Vintage Tee from Woz Art.

I did note that I was worried that I had overcomplicated things, and I didn't know how well this four set arrangement would hold up as sunset times change over the year. While I could make the sets once with this plan, I then had to remember if I was in the right season for ignoring a delay. (Or: My Friday Delay set started at the December time when Shabbat starts earliest in the year for my location, which is at least three hours before I actually need to worry about Shabbat starting in July and August.)

It sounded better on paper. I got caught in a loop of delay countdown pages while trying to reblog something during that Friday Delay, and I messed up listing out the times for the Saturday Block (and could just outright access Tumblr when I did my first trial of accessing Tumblr to make sure the delays and blocks actually worked). I switched over to one Delay set per day with an uninterrupted chunk of time that needs updated weekly, and I fixed whatever technical problems I accidentally created before. It's the 'did I remember to update my Shabbat times?' questioning mid-week that's now the hard part.

I have no doubt that some people find it easier to not use a website blocker at all, but it feels an awful lot like - if you really cared, you'd just remember and willpower your way through this. Been there, internalized that, didn't even get to join a club. So far, writing down the times in my planner is an obvious visual sign that I did the update, but I'm thinking of making a list for the rest of the year [3] and crossing each week off. (Checking each week isn't very hard when there's not a lot of weeks left in 5784, but a list will probably help more in 5785.)

Outside of all the technical stuff, it's been nice to not be on Tumblr during Shabbat. (If I curated a very specific Shabbat only dash, it'd probably be different, but that would probably entail undoing some XKit fixes in order to get another tab at the top of my dash for specific tags/blogs.) I've debated adding more websites to the block list for my sets, but most of my other sites are considerably less stressful compared to Tumblr. While it might be nice to try avoiding the whole internet on Shabbat at least once in the future, I think trying that now would be a bit rushed when I haven't built in alternatives yet.

~

[1] Why Are Shabbat Candles Lit 18 Minutes Before Sunset?: Technically, Shabbat starts at sunset, but we light candles early because we shouldn't light candles once Shabbat begins. Ancient reckoning for the amount of time do a certain thing gives us 18 minutes, though some places have different local customs.

[2] What is Havdalah (or, When does Shabbat end)?: Havdalah is at nightfall. When is nightfall? Traditionally when three stars are visible, but most times that I've seen use some sort of formula such as the sun being 7.5 degrees below the horizon (about 42 minutes after sunset) [medium sized stars], 8.5 degrees below the horizon (about 50 minutes after sunset) [small sized stars], or a fixed 72 minutes after sunset. [Depending on location and time of year, the time using the degree tactic may be a bit shorter than the times listed here.]

[3] Hebcal has Candle-lighting Times Year at a Glance. I was originally curious about whether elevation made a difference in my times, but honestly, it's not a large enough difference that I'm worried about using the default sea-level assumption.