#and so abysmal at fishing <3< /div> Explore tagged Tumblr posts

[bizarrelittlemew]

Our Flag Means Death 2x8 | Ed in his (brief) serene fisherman era 😌 ⌊ requested by @catbells-and-summerlinens

[lovely-hikari-cosplay]

We’re still early into Day 2 of Splatfest but I don’t think anything’ll top this performance from me today

[naffeclipse]

Sand and Sea

Reader x Orca!Eclipse

Commission Info

I have the pleasure of being commissioned by @missdreamyhead to write a fluffy and sweet fic for @tubbyartz's birthday! Happy birthday! I hope you have a lovely day! Enjoy a little slice of Orca!Eclipse and the reader in a tropical setting and spending time together in the water! <3

———

Eclipse meant what he said: he would hunt you down to the ends of the earth. There is nowhere you can go where he can’t find you, reach you and draw you back into the water into his sea salt embrace. 

You find yourself rather content with such an arrangement. Leaving the Arctic wasn’t easy, not with how long you knew he would have to wait to find you again, but you sit on a warm, white sand beach. The ocean softly laps up against the land, eager to touch your toes and drench your ankles. 

Where is he? Eclipse is not one to keep you waiting or to stay away from you. He couldn’t hardly keep his hands off of you when he did rediscover you again standing waist-deep in the shallows and eagerly snatching you up to admire you once more. It had only been a few weeks, but he greedily devoured you with his eyes as if he were a man who had been shipwrecked without food for days.

You hum and tap on your journal. There are a few interesting species growing on this island, especially of the fungal kind. You’ve kept yourself busy searching for mushrooms along the decaying wood. The rich moisture and the fallen trees lend to a beautiful crop of fairy inkcap mushrooms and oyster mushrooms. 

Beyond the edges of your journal, the waves splash and toss further from the island, overturning softly with white crests and deep, aquamarine hues. The air is blissfully warm as it heats your skin. The sun shines brightly upon the pale grains of sand. You wiggle your feet a little deeper into the beach just to feel the ground shift and heat the top of your feet. 

You couldn’t have gone farther from the frozen Arctic tundra if you tried. Eclipse doesn’t seem to care that these waters are not of his home—so long as he has you close by. 

You feared for a time that these warm waters would be uncomfortable for him, so unlike the icy, gray wafts of his cold homeland. He reportedly told you that he is none too affected by the change save for getting used to the prey that he must snatch up around the shores of the island. The fish are not as tasty as seals, but he says it means little to him now that he has you.

You catch a sharp red dorsal fin cutting through the surface. You straighten where you sit on the beach, your heart picking up softly at the familiar sight. The water is crystalline and blue, giving way to a sharp shape of black and white and red just below the rippling surface. 

There he is.

Setting your journal aside before it can get wet, you patiently brace for Eclipse to get your attention. You don’t have to wait for his head to rear. Framed in sharp, pointed frills, bleeding burnt orange and deep red hues like a darkening sunset, his face rises above the water with heavy trickles dropping back into the ocean. His black and white crescent mark face splits into a grin. Razor-sharp teeth flash in sheer delight. 

He stops his shark-like approach, almost beached in the shallows. His tail waves slowly side to side and stirs up sand, clouding the space where he lies in anticipation. Resting on his elbows, his sleek and dangerous frame half submerged and revealing his beautiful, shiny pattern of black and white, Eclipse slowly lifts a hand. Arching a black-bone clawed finger, he grins.

“Come closer, mushroom,” he rumbles low, sweet and abysmal. He beckons with his fingers. “I want to see you.”

You lift your chin, a mischievous streak painting you with playful intent. You grin. Eclipse is already on guard, his wide eyes drilling into you with the intensity of twin suns, one yellow, and one red. 

“But it’s so nice on the beach.” You reach down and pat the sand beside you. The heat of the sun warms it underneath your palm. “Won’t you join me?”

His grin turns harsher, askew. He lowers his hand but you watch it drag just underneath the water, cutting into sand and leaving ribbons in his wake. 

“You will be so much warmer in my arms.” As if to emphasize this, he opens them to welcome you into his embrace. His claws curly slightly with a greedy need. “Come closer, my fairy.”

“I didn’t hear a please,” you answer, batting your eyelashes sweetly. “Besides, the sun is so warm already! If you joined me, you could find out for yourself.”

He will beach himself. You know he will, but he wants you in the water today. You see it in how his tail curls, almost as if to slap the surface with his frustrations but the game is still going. It’s his turn now.

Eclipse is no less spirited when he snaps his jaws. “Please, mushroom. I won’t beg again. Come closer. Let me hold you. Let me have you entirely.” 

You brush your hair back over your shoulder. Fixing your red hat, mushroom in shape and dotted with small white specks, you slowly get to your feet. You stand, pushing Eclipse’s patience as you regard the water and then him with a mirthful smile.

“Come closer to me. Meet me halfway,” you press, flippant and challenging, all at once.

The orca siren snarls low, yet he never loses the glimmer in his gaze as he pushes himself up the shore. You balk internally, catch off guard at how quickly he beaches himself, his tail almost entirely out of the water as he regards you with a hunger bordering on something savage. 

“I am here.” He presses a wet hand into the hand, pushing himself into a looming, threatening shadow over the sand. His one claws curl. Your insides bubble at his intensity. “Come. Closer. You only need to take a few steps to be mine.”

Softly, you take a step forward. His eyes flash to your toes curling in the sand and you hold your stance again. A growl rumbles through his chest. You shouldn’t enjoy this so much. He could have sang and already had you in his clutches, but he enjoys your feisty dares as much as you do. Holding yourself strong, you return his gaze unblinkingly. 

“You have to be nice, or else I’ll swim far away.” You bite back a note of laughter.

Eclipse, however, does not. His pulsing chortle echoes, almost rippling over the waves in melodic amusement.

“Even in your siren form, you aren’t fast enough to escape from me.” He holds out a hand. The slickness of his palm, just inches away from snatching the edges of your pale dress. “But I will be good to you. I always am.”

You muse for a moment, and his gaze narrows in the slightest. You’ve reached the end of his rope.

“Be good, my little fairy.” His black bone claws turn underneath the sunlight, glinting wickedly, and you almost choke at how beautiful and terrible they are. “Come closer.”

You have resisted him for long enough. Teasingly, you walk slowly, stretching your stride and sinking into the sand. Eclipse shimmers slightly, almost drying out underneath the baking sun. His tail and fins shift anxiously as if he intends to pounce upon you. Once you move within reach, you can hardly blink before he captures your wrist and gently pulls you down with him.

You laugh once as he quickly covers you in his shadow. He’s been waiting far too long, you imagine. Your knees are propped on otherside of him as he bears down upon you, nearly pinning you underneath his weight before studying you slowly. His looming form provides a gentle reprieve from the harsh sunlight. 

“You need to be good,” he reminds you. A deep rumble vibrates the very air and touches you. You gasp softly underneath him. A claw carefully brushes away a thick, dark brown lock of hair from your face. “I must always have you within reach.”

“You always grab me when you do,” you counter with a pointed look, but a smile traces your lips.

“I want to see you.” He lowers himself until he’s almost laying on top of you. His sleek body gleams and a few drops of water fall from the end of his head frills and onto the sand around you. “All of you. I want to feel how soft and sweet you are.”

Internally, you begin to melt. A softness washes over you, taking you underneath his gentle touch. The orca siren draws his fingertips carefully along your cheekbone, carefully memorizing the shape of your face. His slick touch leaves a residue of sea salt and water behind. It cools your skin gently. He parts his mouth and swipes his tongue over his rows of teeth. Your eyes follow the movement, captivated. He chortles.

“You want to see me as well,” he purrs. “You must have me close. You always want me here with you. Say it.”

You resist for a moment, a teasing retort somewhere in the back of your throat, but he takes hold of your chin and you are lost in his burning eyes. He is too stunning, too overwhelming. Your body is hot and molten. 

Softly, you echo his words. “I do. I want you close to me.” You blush as you keep speaking, unable to resist the red surge in your cheeks. “I want you here with me. Always.”

“Good, my little fairy,” he drawls, and his grin widens with delight, “Come here. Swim with me in the water again.”

He gently tugs you further and further off the sand. You let him, carefully cradled in the strength of his arms, small and tiny in his embrace. You hide your face briefly in the crook of his shoulder. The scent of sea salt and a harsh musk like rime fills your nostrils, and you breathe easier. 

The first touch of the water against your skin sends a shiver up your spine. Quickly, your body adjusts to the warm, soothing temperature of the water. The sand stirs, filling the shallows as Eclipse manages to flip his tail and bring you with him as the slope of land underneath your body falls lower, and lower still. 

“Eclipse?” you ask softly. You touch his hands, holding them tighter to you as he begins swimming from the safety of shore. He easily keeps you above the lapping waves trying to drench your head and mushroom hat. 

“I won’t allow you to sink,” the orca siren rumbles as sweetly as the lowest cords of bass in a song. Held to his chest, the water splashing your sides, you believe him. There is no place safer than within his arms. “I have missed your beautiful tail and how silky your hair becomes in the water. Let me see you like that again.”

He stops well within sight of the island. You turn within his embrace. His large hands rest on your waist and keep you afloat. A gentle shudder falls over you with the encouraging brush of his finger along your spine, pressing the fabric of your soaked dress against your skin. 

“You swam with me yesterday.” You meant to answer with more resolve, more of a teasing bite, but it leaves your lips softly, as if reminiscing on how far he swam with you, the great reefs he helped you explore and then the sandy shore you both laid upon as you explained to him the nature of fungi and how beautifully and diverse they grow.

“I did. I want to see you again.” His gaze softens. His pelvic fins softly sway to keep him steady against the ever nudging presence of the tide. You watch his tail for a moment, breathless. His black and white colors strike out against the blues and his red and orange tipped flukes cut through the depths with ease. 

His hand, slick and salty, cups your cheek. You fall softly into his embrace. Gently, you cup his much larger digits closer against your face. 

“My little fairy. Swim with me,” he murmurs, raspy and yearning. 

His voice lowers to a gentle hum as he presses you closer against him still. Your legs slide against his sleek flesh and your breath rattles out of your throat, overwhelmed by his closeness. How much he hungers for you. You close your eyes and nod gently.

“Alright,” you chuckle, “Just this once.”

But you’ve said that before.

Eclipse clicks a joyful series of sounds. His jaws clap as his hand cups the back of your head. Claws entangled with your long, brown locks. A smile tugs on the corner of your mouth as he closes the distance. 

In the sea, the orca siren dips you low into a kiss, pulling you underneath the surface with a soft swirl of bubbles. The great eruption of magic and power flows into you, set free by his lips and gently pressed into your body, stirring up your marrow and lying over your skin. It is energy and love; it is the will of a siren who has claimed you as his mate.

He gently eases you back. You float softly in the water, but when your lips part, free of his magic and air, you freely intake water. Oxygen flows through you, keeping you buoyant and uncensored as any other fish who swim these crystal clear tides. 

A sweet hum ripples through the water and washes over you. Eclipse eyes roam you freely, hungrily. Softly, you open your arms and look down at yourself, your dress still hanging wet and secure against your body but your legs are no more. Instead, a slender, flowing tail flicks through the sea. You’ve grown used to the waving motion of fins, flipping back and forth—though Eclipse often saves you from such effort by carrying you where you would like to go. 

Long tendrils flow from your mushroom hat. Your senses awaken to the new appendages as they surround you like the tentacles of a jellyfish and your cap acting as the bell. Your hair flows freely through the water, softly twisting and waving. You gently push up your hat to gaze adoringly at Eclipse.

His hands find your waist and gradually slide down. His palms are large, almost squeezing you with his adoration before he brushes a hand softly over a red flowing fin, dotting in white not unlike your mushroom cap. 

His eyes glimmer. A tenderness fills his frame while softly, he admires your stunning new form. It is thanks to him you can even experience the sea in such a way. You wonder if your red tail stands out too much or if the vivid yellow tendrils falling down from your cap are too strange to a siren, but Eclipse easily brushes those aside to meet you underneath the water. His mouth parts and a few bubbles escape. His lips mouth words of sweet nothing. 

You blush fiercely when he takes your face gently in his hands. You breathe softly as he draws nearer. His claw carefully traces the shell of your ear, following the sharp point and admiring it as if it were sea glass or a treasured seashell. How he looks at you, how he holds you spills over with cherishment that sets your heart aflame. It is a miracle the water around you doesn’t bubble and fizz when he at last pushes aside the last of the ocean separating you and captures your mouth sweetly in a kiss.

The gentle pressure of his presence trickles into you, filling you like an empty well given fresh rain. You trace his arms. Underneath your touch, you marvel at the lithe cords of muscle tucked underneath his sleek, shiny skin. His claws wickedly trace the corners of your jawbone until you let out a soft, sweet sound of awe. 

He parts from you gently and grins like a shark with the prey already between his teeth.

Gently, he turns and tugs on your hand. You follow with a flick of your tail, your soft, translucent fins seemingly more for beauty than any speed or agility akin to an orca siren. 

Eclipse told you when he first changed you with his siren song that you are perfect. Though you don’t have his teeth and talons, he promises to protect and provide for you. You always thought he was far too eager to serve, to give you everything, but his love has always been like a floodtide, washing you out to sea with the force of it.

You wouldn’t have it any other way.

His flukes flick carefully, minding how you fit along his side. Even in a siren form, you are tiny in comparison to his natural streamline body and cutting-edge fins. You don’t mind. Eclipse has tried to feed you fish time and time again and you refused, opting to wait until you had your human legs back to find food and feast. 

Towards the back end of the island, the trees grow too dense and the ground too muddy and slick to traverse well, but through the water, you arrive without an ounce of difficulty. 

Eclipse gently takes you by the arms, guiding you forward while he swims you faster than you could have hoped. A beautiful reef teams with life, bursting with colors in dozens of corals and darting with tiny fish and creatures who propel and jump and dash through the aquamarine and sunshine dazzling the ground.

You marvel. Your hand softly flies to your mouth as you gaze at the vision. Gently, you reach for Eclipse’s hand. He slows enough for you to push your mushroom cap up, peeking out from underneath, and beam at him with all your might. 

Eclipse chortles. He doesn’t speak in the water but he doesn’t have to. You show him how pleased you are, and softly, while twirling one of your yellow tendrils gently around his finger, Eclipse glides with you over the reef to admire the beautiful wildlife.

[motherroam-rs]

Sleep Deprivation

Relationship: Hunter x Reader

Summary: In the search for Omega, Hunter struggles to sleep and needs a push to get some rest.

Warnings/Tags: Sleep Deprivation, Angst, Comfort, uhhh I think that’s everything

Word Count: 1.2k

Notes: The first 3 episodes have me in a chokehold, I wanna see Hunter happy again - Here’s a super short angsty lil comfort fic for Hunter set just before the beginning of episode 2 🫶🫶 Apologies for any grammatical errors!

Every noise in the Marauder seemed louder with just the three of you in it. Any hum, beep, and sigh seems to be amplified, even Gonkys small movements seemed to echo through the empty space just as loud as Wreckers snores.

Though, it’s not the only change. The ship seems too big now, and it’s hard to remember a time where it was so over-occupied that you would all fight over who got to sleep in a bunk for the night, and who had to use a sleep mat on the floor. Durasteel walls that previously made you all feel like fish packed together in a can, now seemed to stretch out impossibly, making it seem that you were planets away from the ships other two occupants.

Currently you’re sat in the co-pilot chair, preoccupied with your glitchy datapad, attempting to send an encrypted message to Echo for any updates from the clone network. You’re biting down on a sigh at how you wished Tech were here to fix it for you when Wrecker nudges your foot with his own.

You look up, puzzled at the man but your silent question is answered by the attempted jerk of his head. Behind you both sits Hunter, staring abysmally at the control board of flashing lights with his fist tightened around a horn from Roland Durand. The lights cast a harsh shadow on his features and your lips can’t help but work themselves into a frown at the dark circles beneath his eyes.

It had been well over 24 hours since he last slept.

Glitchy datapad now abandoned, you give a quick nod in thanks to Wrecker, before leaving the cockpit to approach Hunter. His chair doesn’t turn, and despite his enhanced senses and the lack of noise in the ship to cover your steps in any way, he gives no indication that he’s heard you. You follow his line of sight to both Tech’s goggles and Lula, both of the items bringing a pain to your chest.

“Hunter?” You press your hand to his armored shoulder, and he finally turns to look at you, slightly startled and you can’t even recall a time that you’ve ever caught him so off guard. Now that he’s facing you, the exhaustion is evident in more than just the dark circles under his eyes, his body seems to slump against the support of the chair in some sort of emotional defeat.

He’s been running himself into the ground over the last few days in pursuit of the Pyke needed in order to get the lead you had all been after, but at least you and Wrecker still managed to somewhat take care of your basic needs of sleep and rations.

Before you can speak, he turns back towards the controls, as if sensing what you were going to say about the neglect to his sleep schedule.

“Tech made this all seem… easy.” Gloved hands gesture to the console of flashing lights, his throat bobbing with a dry swallow as he shakes his head. “All of it takes me twice as long as it took him.”

Hunters hand pinches the bridge of his nose, the same way he does when he has an oncoming headache and your hand presses to the unarmoured section between his shoulder and neck, an area that is usually covered by his scarf. At the touch, his eyes close and lips part with a soft release of breath.

He needs to sleep.

“Come to bed, Hunter.” The whisper echoes through the too-quiet ship, amplified like every other noise, and for a moment it looks like he’s going to refuse. He doesn’t speak, but gives a slight nod of his head, and brushes your hand away to stand and begin removing his armor as he follows you on the way to your shared bunk.

After so long of racing to be the first one on the Marauder after a mission to secure your own bunk for a night, there was some sad irony in the fact that you now couldn’t sleep alone. Following the loss of Tech, and the painful absences of Omega and Echo, all attempts to adjust to the atmosphere of loneliness on the ship were almost painful.

At the start, you think you barely managed a standard 8 hours across 3 full day cycles, let alone in one night, and your restlessness didn’t go unnoticed by Hunter, who had probably slept even less than you. On the fourth night of staring at the ceiling and trying to muffle your quiet crying in the too-silent ship, he had abandoned his bunk beneath you and climbed into your own. His arms allowed you the comfort of not grieving alone that night, and almost every night since.

At some point, it delved into more than simply finding comfort in each other so you could both sleep, sending you far enough past the line of friends for Wrecker to tease you both in an attempt to lighten the heavy atmosphere in the Marauder.

Now only wearing the lower half of his blacks, Hunter lifts himself into the shared top bunk, and offers you a hand up, immediately pulling you into him once you’re safely up. In the small confines of the bunk, you’re entirely pressed to his firm body, yet he still holds you tightly against his bare chest as if fearing you’d slip away the moment his eyes closed.

He’s pulled the thin blanket over you both, but with the heat of his body it’s more than enough to keep you warm. “We’ll get her back.” You murmur against Hunters chest in assurance as one of his hands pulls your leg across his own, entangling the two of you together.

You feel his hand twitch against you, “It’s been a long time, and we still don’t know where she is, the only lead we can get right now is by handing over a Pyke to the Durand family.” His voice is heavy with exhaustion and you crane your neck up, lifting yourself from his chest to place your hand on his stubble covered jaw, forcing him to look at you.

“We’ll get her back, Hunter, but you need to sleep.” You lean in to press a kiss to the lips that seem to have set themselves into an ever present frown since that day on Ord Mantell.

Hunters hand presses to your face to mirror your own, his other arm tightening around your waist protectively as he kisses you back. Even when you pull away and rest your head back on his chest, his fingers continue to trace slow patterns on your waist, still refusing to let you go as he gives in to his tiredness.

You wait for his breathing to slow, ensuring he’s asleep before you allow yourself to close your eyes and follow him. In the night, you dream of living together in a house on Pabu, where the only echoing noise is Omegas laugh, where there are no empty spaces to make you feel lonely, and where Hunter can finally rest.

[mindfulstudyquest]

starve your ego, find your peace

these are my personal thoughts, an outburst. if you want to share your opinion in the comments, i welcome it, but please be kind. if you just want to insult, go elsewhere. if you're not interested, don't read <3 i remind you that english is not my first language, so there may be a few mistakes.

ego, what an interesting word. it is a latin lemma which literally means "I", it indicates

the self, especially with a sense of self-importance.

(psychology, freudian) the most central part of the mind, which mediates with one's surroundings.

a person's self-esteem and opinion of themselves.

in a society like ours, we fight against our ego every day, the anxiety of constantly being in the spotlight, the overwhelming thought of having all eyes on us.

the idea we have of ourselves is the strongest chain that prevents us from freeing ourselves from this mental cage. both positively and negatively. if you have a distorted idea of yourself and low self-esteem, you will never be able to become your higher-self, to take that extra step that allows you to transform your daydreams into a solid reality, if you think you are unintelligent, you will tend to take this truth for granted. "i'm not smart enough for this" and you'll give up your dreams of a higher education, or of getting all A's on your finals, or of having a great and fulfilling job.

but sometimes we think too highly of ourselves too. i always joke that i make study plans like i'm a genius who studies 200 pages in a day, but the truth is, i'm not joking at all.

many of you will recognize themselves in the stereotype of the burned-out gifted kid, especially when you move to a higher level of education (from middle school to high school, or from high school to university) and at that moment all certainty of your acclaimed intelligence collapses. you are no longer in the pond with the small fish, now you are in the big tank with the big fish, relating to a much bigger world (at least in italy, the difference between high school and university is abysmal) and your brain will do everything to maintain an accurate simulacrum of your self-image.

in fact, your brain spends less energy processing two pieces of information that agrees rather than disagreeing information and since our biology is based on self-preservation, your mind will do everything to preserve its rightness. when i started university i was incredibly afraid of taking my first exam, why? because i didn't want to find out that i wasn't good enough for a more advanced education, that i wasn't the straight A's student i thought i was.

but waiting for the fear to go away will lead to you staying in the same place forever, because the fear only goes away if you face what you are afraid of, and yes, being afraid of exams may seem silly, but i'm sure many people who follow this blog will understand what it means to identify so much with your grades and to crave academic validation more than anything else.

so i did it, even though i was scared, i had to have the certainty that this was the right place for me, i studied hard, and i definitely rocked my exams. but then the spring exam session arrived, and the fear returned. tired and burned-out from the winter session i had little or no desire to study, so when the exam date approached, i was afraid of not achieving the same results as just two months before, so i postponed, i procrastinated, until the day before, i knew i had to study otherwise i wouldn't pass the exam, yet my brain continued to do everything to protect itself, to protect that completely crazy idea of myself that i could study the entire program in two days (i wish). i don't even have social media (tumblr and pinterest excluded), which is why i found every excuse possible not to study. i didn't want to sit at my desk and realize that i wasn't going to pass that exam, that i should have studied harder, try harder.

that is until i realized that it wasn't laziness or procrastination that was stopping me, or rather, procrastination was just a symptom of a bigger cause: a distorted image of myself. understanding this in my first year of university will perhaps change my next academic years, or perhaps not. i don't know how many of you have drawn these things or reached these conclusions, i just hope that you soon understand that you are not lazy, nor procrastinators, you are just humans who are afraid of failure like all other humans.

the problem arises now, how to change this image? i don't know yet, honestly, but i won't let it stop me from living my life.

uptade in the end i was so fucking lucky and got a 30/30 on my exam yesterday, but still at the cost of a lot of sanity, sleep and unjustified stress.

[theladyofbloodshed]

Be Consumed By The Flame - Chapter 3

Thick wedges of sunlight seeped through the gaps in the busy buildings of Velaris as they returned to the city. It was cooler than the weather Nesta had enjoyed for the last two days. The skin beneath Nesta’s eyes was tinged pink and pulled tight from a morning spent in the Dawn Court followed by a day in the Summer Court. Lucien had taken her there after breakfast and they had enjoyed a day spent wading in the shallows of the ocean, feasting on sea food – which wasn’t as bad as she thought – and marvelling at Lucien catching fish with his bare hands to show off. He’d caught brightly coloured fish to show her, before letting them go again back into the waves. The waters of the Summer Court had been so crisp and clear that they were able to stand still in the shallows and fish could be seen darting near their legs in a colourful shoal.

While her own skin tingled from the kiss of the sun, Lucien’s had simply turned golden. Both of them had enjoyed strong alcohol that had been disguised with fruit juice on the beach until they had become giggly and flushed in the afternoon. They had lamented their miserable existences together, taking comfort in the fact their lives were equally abysmal. There was a sort of camaraderie in shared misery. At the first signs of sunset, Nesta conceded that she ought to return despite not really wanting to. She hadn’t missed Cassian. They rarely spent time alone anymore. Now she was shiny and healed, he did not need to ensure she didn’t fuck her way through Velaris. He could devote his time to his precious circle of friends.  

Holding onto Lucien for support, they wove through the gleaming streets of the city. Already, Nesta missed the constant roll of the ocean against the shore, the towering palm trees, and the dusting of sand on the streets. The return to Velaris brought with it a sense of dread that she knew should not accompany her arrival home.

‘Are you ready to do battle, my lady?’

Nesta couldn’t help but snort. Her mind was scrambled from a day in the sun along with lots of strong smelling alcohol. ‘You take on Azriel and Mor. I’ll handle the others.’

‘Even the baby?’

‘Isn’t it disturbing that Feyre is closer in age to her son than her ancient mate?’

‘Your mate is ancient.’

‘Everybody is. Surprised you haven’t turned to dust.’

Lucien made a scorned noise. ‘I will you have know, Nesta Archeron, that I am barely two centuries old.’

She swiped at his arm. ‘Practically a baby yourself despite the fact you groan when you have to stand up.’

‘That’s not old age,’ he said, grinning at her. ‘I’m just lazy.’

Nesta gave him another swat. ‘Stop making me smile. My face hurts.’

She pressed her cool hands against her glowing cheeks, trying to flatten the smile and stop the ache from the skin being pulled taut when it already felt like it was stretched too tightly over the bones.

‘What a positively wicked thing to say. It is my personal mission to make you snort with laughter each time I see you now.’

Elain did not realise how lucky she was to have a male who was so brilliant, so uplifting, waiting for her to notice him. Lucien had made her laugh often during their two days together. He was a silver-tongued prankster who waited until Nesta’s mouth was filled with liquid before he cracked a joke so that she’d spit it out down her lap. He had even made her suck in a breath at a comment so she’d began choking on a chunk of battered squid and Lucien had needed to slap her on the back amidst his laughter.

‘Halt!’

Lucien held up a hand and Nesta staggered into him. They stood before a glass window. It was the bakery that they had visited a few days earlier. It was readying itself to close for the night, but there were still a few items that would be thrown away lingering in the window.

‘No. I couldn’t eat another bite. All you’ve done today is feed me.’

Lucien paid her words no heed as he peered around the doorway into the shop. ‘My lovely friend here will have the carrot cake and if that’s a macaron, then she will have that too.’

‘I will not. I’m too full.’

‘Ignore her. She’s drunk. She doesn’t know what she’s saying.’

The bakery owner gave a laugh as she boxed up the items for Lucien.

‘I don’t want them.’

‘You will want them later. I know you already.’

When they arrived to the river estate, the conversation amongst the inner circle dried up. The weight of their gazes pressed upon Nesta. She could already see the disapproval seeping from Mor’s thin lips and Rhysand’s tense jaw.

Cassian’s eyes raked over her, assessing for injury, then he announced, ‘You are drunk.’

‘Well spotted,’ she snorted.

Beside her, Lucien pressed his lips together to keep from laughing – and she had to do the same. This shouldn’t have been a funny situation, so Nesta fought valiantly against the urge to burst into giggles once more. She could not look to Lucien. He would make her crack.

‘You know she’s not supposed to drink, Vanserra. What the fuck are you thinking?’

‘I explicitly told Cassian that I did not want Nesta to leave. Worse, you tricked Az into helping.’

The shadowsinger stood in the doorway with Elain peering over his arm to look at them with a pinched expression.

Lucien gave an uncaring shrug. ‘I hadn’t known Nesta was a prisoner who could not make decisions for herself.’

‘She’s not,’ Feyre said quickly.

‘Oh good, because you were not very happy when Tam wouldn’t let you leave the manor, so I’d hate for the same to be inflicted upon your elder sister. She’s already living in a house that she cannot escape from though, so I am a little uncertain on what constitutes a prisoner in the Night Court.’

‘Who the fuck do you think you are?’

If Rhysand did not have his son slumbering his arms, Nesta was sure that he would have stood after uttering those words. Nesta did not like his tone. He gave Lucien the same repulsed look that he had used on her the first time that they had met, condemning him to a life in Rhysand’s disapproval list.

‘Don’t speak to him like that,’ Nesta retorted.  ‘A high lord should have more neutrality when it comes to his court. You’re all ruled by your hearts. My apologies, emissary, for the lack of manners within this court. Feel free to return to the mortal lands.’

She gave Lucien a stern nod that tried to convey to him that she could manage this lot and he didn’t need to be in the firing line any longer. Lucien had never truly been trusted by them, so she could understand exactly why he would be leaving his post. After one day in the Dawn Court, even she might contemplate a life there.

Lucien departed without fanfare. He pressed the box of cake into her hand after giving her a soft smile.

Nesta could feel their judgements of her scraping at her skin. She was a bad person. She had hurt Cassian’s feelings. Lucien had hurt Feyre’s too so by default, it was Nesta’s fault. The arguments were building on their tongues, but before Nesta could be pelted by them, she turned on her heels. ‘Well, I have ten thousand stairs to climb. Farewell.’

***

Lucien was a fool whose tongue always landed him in trouble. This time, he dreaded that it had landed Nesta in trouble too. He could not help the remark about Tamlin from leaking out. Feyre was blind if she could not see the parallels to her own situation. He had known that Nesta had had her struggles with alcohol after the war, but it was not uncommon for others to numb pain that way. The inner circle never held events without alcohol also being a guest. He had known she was not supposed to have it. If that had been the case then they were insensitive to be drinking around her. But Nesta had not been a shaking, desperate wreck who had clawed at alcohol as a crutch while they languished on the beach. Lucien had been the one to suggest it. She’d sipped her drink slowly and decided that she had drank enough before she was too inebriated. Despite everything, Nesta was capable of making her own decisions too. The Night Court did not know what was best for her.

His knee bounced as he tried to read a report from his contact in the Summer Court. Lucien’s mind was unable to forget Nesta Archeron. He worried for her. It was different to the way that he had worried for her sister in Spring; Feyre was unable to follow simple instructions designed to keep her safe in a world of faeries. It was also not the same worry he had for Elain. Lucien had worried for her thin frame and hollow eyes. Now, she was whole again, but content to hide. The worry that he had for Nesta was because she would stand her ground and bleed to prove a point. The thought of her having to weather the Night Court’s scorn – or face Cassian in an argument – because nothing she could do was right, infuriated Lucien.

What could he do?

Even if he returned to Velaris now, she might have already been sequestered into the House of Wind, with no hope of reaching her to ensure that she was well unless he could brave a dizzying ten thousand stairs.

And after he handed in his notice? What then? He wouldn’t be able to see her again.  

He had made his peace with an unwanted mating bond. He would not burden Elain with his presence any longer. But maybe he needed to burden the Night Court with it to be a lifeline to Nesta.

‘Will you stop shaking your fucking leg?’ Jurian let out something like a snarl. ‘The whole table is wobbling.’

‘Sorry. I’m distracted.’

‘And drunk.’

‘I’ve sobered somewhat.’ Lucien scrubbed at his face, fingers snagging on the ribbon of scar tissue ruining his face. ‘I have a feeling I have made a monumental mistake.’

He shared details of the last two days with Jurian along with his worries that he might have put Nesta in an unfortunate position due to his attempts at lifting her mood. She had reminded him too much of his mother to leave her alone. In a strange sort of atonement for his life, Lucien had reasoned that because he could not help his mother, helping Nesta carried an equal weight. Although he hoped Cassian was not a male like Beron, Lucien had seen the general’s temper, had seen the way he spoke down to Nesta or preferred other people’s company to that of his mate. These small things might have been insignificant, but over time, they would erode her just as they had to his mother.

‘Bring her here if you’re so concerned.’

Lucien’s eyes canvassed the room, from the cracks in the off-white paint of the ceiling to the faded paper peeling from the wall. The chair that Jurian sat in creaked with every movement, the window frame was rotting, and one strong wind might blow the roof off. He could offer her nothing beyond basic safety.

‘She’s mated besides. I can’t steal her.’

‘Who says you’ll steal her? I’d be glad to leave the insufferable righteousness of the Night Court. I spent fifty years trapped with Rhysand, remember? I’ve seen his cock more than I’ve seen my own.’

Vassa, transformed for the evening, strode into the room. She took the seat beside Lucien on the couch then tucked her feet beneath her legs. ‘Whose cock are you discussing today?’

‘You make it sound like a regular thing,’ frowned Lucien.

‘It is for him,’ she replied, inclining her red head towards Jurian on the other side of the room.

He made a noise of protest. ‘No. I said Graysen engages with a pissing contest every time we meet. It wasn’t specifically about his cock.’

Ugh, Graysen. The male that Elain harboured feelings for. Lucien could not understand it. He was one of the dullest people he had the misfortunate in meeting. The male lacked ambition, expected everything to be passed to him by his father’s work, his voice was monotonous, and quite frankly he was rather plain on the eye. Still, that might have been better than a metal eye and a face full of scars on an exiled fae.

Despite the bickering that went on between his two friends that evening, Lucien’s mind was elsewhere. Beyond worrying for Nesta, he could not shake the thought of her cheerful laughter that had reminded him of sunlight. It was so glorious, so unexpected as she tossed her head back and squeezed her eyes shut. Nor could he let go of that wit that he struggled to keep pace with. They had volleyed words back and forth, the conversation more stimulating and engaging than any he had had for some time.

More than anything, Lucien looked forward to seeing Nesta again.

***

‘Don’t be ridiculous.’

Cassian’s hand clamped around her wrist, pulling her to him in the darkened front garden.

‘It’s ten thousand steps. I’ll fly you up.’

Before Nesta could speak, he’d hauled her roughly against him then pushed off from the stone. Her breath caught in her throat as they flew upwards, the cold air whipping her cheeks, the altitude unbalancing her.

She was unsteady when he put her down on the roof, so Nesta staggered a step forwards, colliding with Cassian’s chest.

‘You see? You’re in no fit state to walk straight, let alone go upstairs.’

‘I am fine,’ she bit out.

Cassian followed her across the roof and into the house. Both of them were warriors with neither knowing when to yield. Nesta already knew that there would be a fight that night.

‘I’ll have Lucien for letting you drink.’

Nesta pushed out a breath. ‘Lucien didn’t let me do anything because he isn’t my keeper, Cassian. I decided to enjoy a few drinks on the beach because I was having a good time. Mor constantly has a glass of wine in her hand and that is fine. You drink every time we visit them. Why can’t I enjoy a few drinks to unwind? I had a lovely time with Lucien, by the way – thank you so much for asking.’

‘Oh yeah. I’m sure you had a great time with another male. Did you fuck him?’

The question absolutely blindsided Nesta. It took her a moment to even process it. She blinked at him. ‘I beg your pardon?’

A slight blush crept up Cassian’s neck but he held her stare. ‘You heard me.’

She turned away from him to begin unpacking her bag – although she wished she could escape somewhere else. Somewhere far away. ‘Unbelievable,’ she muttered under her breath. ‘I will not even dignify you with an answer.’

‘You made a habit of it before.’

Those words were worse than a slap. Cassian knew she hated that part of her history. She had told him once that she wished she had never ventured down that path, had saved her maidenhead for him because he loved her, rather than bouncing from male to male, sometimes two males a night, in her pursuit of drowning out the hatred for herself.

She was too stunned to even speak.

Nesta continued unpacking as she forced away the prickling of tears that were a common occurrence in this relationship.

A hand brushed down her arm. ‘I’m sorry. That was out of line.’

‘Leave me alone.’

‘Nes,’ he continued, trying to link his fingers with hers.

‘Leave me alone.’

Her voice was hard and raw, leaving no room for negotiation. To his credit, Cassian did leave her alone. Faintly, she made out the boom of his powerful wings. Soon, her ears would be burning as he would likely spin a tail about her being cruel, not opening her legs for him after her absence, and not answering his questions about a dalliance with Lucien. If Nesta had said anything similar then she would be hung from the rafters. She was tired of constantly being pecked by them all for not being the female they decided that she ought to be.

She wished she had some plates to break. Lucien had been right when he said she had a lot to be angry about. Life had never been fair to her. Nesta was not Feyre; she could not air out all of the horrible things her mother and grandmama had done to her to make everybody feel sorry for her. It was bad enough that there had been witnesses to what happened with the Cauldron – yet even then, Elain’s experience was somehow made to be worse than Nesta’s. Feyre’s trauma at being unable to help was more important than Nesta actually going through it.

Her bag hit the ground with a bang as she tossed it there.

Feyre had forbidden her from marrying Tomas Mandray. She wondered whether her sister ought to have extended that advice to Cassian too. What did he offer her except heartache? A mating bond did not equal perfection. It provided strong offspring, nothing more.

Tears dropped onto her cheeks as Nesta tried to keep busy in the bedroom by tidying away Cassian’s messes. She could not stop the echoing voices in her head that she always tried to banish.

Not good enough. Embarrassed of your past. Second place to Mor. Shackled to me.

When her tears blurred her vision enough to make her stop, Nesta perched on the edge of the bed with her face in her hands. It wasn’t fair. This wasn’t the life she wanted. She did not want to be with a male who made her feel as if she did not deserve him, like he was doing her a favour by being with her. There was always something she did wrong, always a reason to be blamed for something. She had survived the Blood Rite that she had been forced into, but it was her fault that the Illyrians were angry. She had given up her powers to save Feyre and Nyx, but now she was defenceless when they might have needed her skill one day. She had accepted Cassian’s bond, but had been warned to be good to him.

Nesta had not stolen from the Cauldron and killed the King of Hybern to sit here and cry over a male. She was made of steel and flame, made for more than this.

In a sudden burst of passion, she re-packed her bag, ensuring that she could lift it easily onto her back without Lucien carrying it for her as he had in the Dawn Court. Hurriedly, Nesta scrawled a note to Cassian then aimed for the stairwell.

You have done this once before, she told herself. Anger had accompanied her then too, giving her feet wings.

It was better if she did not count the steps. She forced herself to go on for as long as she could before resting a while in one of the landings. It allowed her the chance to steady her heart beat. Nesta pressed her cheek to the cold wall to cool it then she was on her feet again, ready to tackle the next chunk.  On. On. On. Throughout her marching, Nesta was her own support, telling herself that she deserved better, deserved more, deserved a future that filled her with joy. On. On. On.

When her legs began to tremble, Nesta did not force them to keep going. She took a rest again. There was nothing wrong with resting. The corners of her mouth ticked up as she peeled back the lid of the box containing her baked goods. Lucien had been right. She did need them. Needed that sugar to bolster her on the final way. Her tongue traced through the thick layer of icing. She wished she had a cup of tea to wash it down.

On. Nesta went on. Her fingers brushed against a wooden door that felt damp from the cold. A surge of pride built in her chest as she realised that she had managed the stairs for a second time. Her muscles might have been burning and she’d be in agony in the morning, but Nesta had done it.

Her hood was pulled up over her golden hair and pointed ears. A few streets were still busy with revellers enjoying drinks and as she passed the Boar’s Head, Nesta faintly made out the sounds of instruments seeping from the open doors. It was tempting to go inside to bask in the atmosphere that she had once coveted but it would be the first place that Cassian would think to look for her. No, Nesta had to be smart. If she headed towards the south-westerly portion of Velaris, that was where traders were permitted to enter the city. There were roads that led through the mountains towards the Day Court or there was even a quiet port where ships could rest a while. Either of those was a better option than staying here with a male who could always find fault in her.

***

Sleep had not come. Lucien tossed and turned until the sun came out, worrying over Nesta. He had gotten her in trouble then left her to fend for herself. It was wrong. Lucien had pondered and puzzled on a way to get a message to her – a way that she could let him know that she wasn’t in trouble. Then, the most obvious thought struck him and he’d wished he had thought of it earlier. He would return to Velaris and claim that he had thought that he had left an item in the bedroom of the House of Wind. It gave him a chance to enter the house, to see Nesta with his own eyes.

Lucien waited in the lounge of the crumbling manor until it was an acceptable time to call upon Feyre and Rhys. In his head, Lucien tried to sweep away his worries. Nesta was likely asleep still in the arms of her mate. They had spent a night apart for the first time in months, both had likely jumped at the chance of seeing each other again. He hoped all of his worries were foolish.

When Lucien winnowed onto the lawn of the high lord’s river front estate, the shadowsinger strode from the house followed by Morrigan. She shot him a look. ‘Where is she, Vanserra?’

A crease pressed between his brows. ‘You’ll have to run that by me again.’

‘Nesta,’ supplied Azriel.

A shiver ran down his spine.

The female had nowhere else to go. She’d told him that enough times.

‘Did you check in Windhaven with Emerie?’

‘Obviously,’ seethed Mor. ‘She is not hiding in the library either. She got out of the House of Wind.’

‘Careful, Morrigan. When you speak that way, it really does sound as if Nesta is your prisoner.’

Throwing her hands in the air, Mor stalked past him, saying she didn’t have time for Autumn Court males. It left him alone on the grass with Azriel. Memories of the Winter Solstice resurfaced. Lucien had been unsettled that night too. He had risen from the bed to retrieve a glass of water. Careful not to wake anybody, he had moved like a fox through the house then heard Rhysand berating Azriel for kissing Elain.

‘Where is she, Lucien?’

‘I am unsure why everybody is of the opinion that I should know that.’

‘You took her off the other day.’

Lucien held out his hands. ‘I left her here yesterday. I’ve only come back today because I believe I left a report on the desk up at the house.’

The lie had fallen off of his tongue smoothly, rousing no suspicion.

The shadowsinger scratched the back of his neck. The early morning summer sun was swallowed by his broad wings. ‘Nesta can’t have gone far.’

‘I’ll help you look.’  

[chaifootsteps]

Been playing BG3 again (I stopped at a certain point because I disliked enough of it to shelve it) but I'm back at it to actually form a good opinion on *why* I dislike it, since the refund period was already well out the window by the time I was fed up the first time around.

Why am I coming to you about this? Because I noticed something while playing and doing some digging on the other romance routes that I will not be doing. Astarion and Stolas are incredibly alike. It's fascinating to me, Astarion literally admits to the player that he manipulated you so you wouldn't ever cross him, but only after *he* fell in love does he decide you get agency. Which sounds very similar to how a certain owl treats a certain imp.

Honestly the more I play the game and do some digging on the fandom the more BG3 feels like Helluva Boss. Both stories had initial premise (for BG3 it was the Early Access, for HB it was the pilot/season 1) but fell into just being romance or focusing on the writer's pet (for BG3 this is Astarion). Both stories handle abuse abysmally (Wyll and Gale are both victims and yet their abuse isn't treated as serious? There was even a 'patch' where the PC could pressure Gale into group sex and he still expresses being uncomfortable the entire time, Wyll's abuse is... A fucking lot to get into) and both stories are just. Flat out racist? HB has the whole... Imps and Hellhounds metaphor going on (that gets conveniently forgotten about when we need to focus on how sad Stolas is) and BG3 also has fantasy racism (playing as a Teifling apparently has NPCs call you slurs right out the gate) but also just has normal, everyday racism in the foundations of the game (Wyll is the most lacking companion in content while Astarion gets more and more content, the lack of options for POC to make a character that even looks like them). *This* was 2023's GotY?

I'm so, so tired of mediocre at best pieces of work being propped up as 'the best thing ever and if you disagree you're a bad person' by fandom at large. I wish people were more critical of the things they consumed, I wish stories about male victims of abuse were treated seriously and not just made as wank fodder or without the author constantly implying that the victim 'deserved' it.

Apologies in advance if this is heavy, I generally try to form my thoughts about these things more constructively as I believe it's important to establish *why* something is flawed, but I'm so frustrated. It's hard to be charitable and kind all the time when it feels like doing so is coming up against a dead end. It also goes without saying that if any fans of BG3 see this, I don't hate you, I don't think you're a bad person for liking this game I despise, I'm just... Tired.

(I'd also like to request that this ask, if you decide to answer, is paired with the suggestive tag due to the language I've used. It's a personal preference, thank you in advance.)

Haven't gotten around to playing BG3, but between the resemblance to Stolas and the terrible flashbacks to actual worst character Iron Bull sleeping with your Inquisitor as a means of spying on them and then "catching feelings," I'm thinking I might have to skip romancing Astarion. At least there's plenty of other fish in the Baldur's Gate 3.

[merakiui]

Might be a little controversial, but 6D* You're just so friendly and welcoming. I did put you with your beloved tako in the end at least!

Ignihyde, Kalim, and the board game club!!!! :0 why, thank you for putting me in the club my favorite tako is in hehe. <3 I would absolutely demolish him in a card game. >:) I feel like Ignihyde would be a fun dorm to stay in because it's so high-tech and the neon blue is pretty, but truthfully I am abysmally bad at handling technology problems. I would be at Idia's doorstep nearly every day just to ask for help LOL;;;;;; he would hate me for that.

Octavinelle, Azul, and the mountain lovers club!!! This makes sense to me and I promise this isn't my love for the fish speaking. I understand Azul's grind!! He's annoying and so very persistent when he sets his sights on something, but then so am I and we're both dedicated to reaching our goals. I'm forever rooting for him. And the mountain lovers club vibes omg!! I will be the first to join Jade's club. I adore nature. orz we could enjoy so many nice hikes while admiring the flora and fauna. We are meant to be. True love is taking a hike together and stopping every five seconds to look at a cool rock or a pretty flower or a patch of moss.

Pomefiore, Kalim, and light music club!! Omg I don't think you're off at all! Light music club is so fun because I think my vibes align similarly with Lilia, Cater, and Kalim. And Pomefiore is a fun choice. If I were sorted into Pomefiore, I would absolutely thrive. Every day would be fun getting to be around students who like fashion, and I think it would be interesting to spend a day just talking about fashion. And I'd do anything just to have a spa day with Vil or let him do my makeup omg!!!!

Octavinelle, Riddle, and board game club vibes. OOOOOO the Riddle vibes... he's just like me fr. <3 I love my strawberry bf with all my heart!!!

Pomefiore, Kalim, and mountain lovers club! I have been assigned the Kalim vibes by many, so I think it's safe to say this is a factual truth at this point hehe!! :D

Octavinelle, Vil, and gargoyle studies club!! Oooo I think the Vil vibes make sense! I'm not harsh on others like Vil, but I do strive to be my best possible self at all times. Also, I adore fashion and makeup. No matter what mood I'm in, I must always look my best in a nice outfit. I think Vil would understand that sort of feeling! :D and the gargoyle studies club!! I would love to spend hours in that club looking at gothic architecture and gargoyles with Malleus. I'll gladly listen to him talk about gargoyles all day if he lets me ramble about all things gothic and Victorian.

(assign me a twst vibes!)

[simmetrycal]

stepdad!raymond ༉‧₊˚.

couldn’t stop thinking of stepdad!raymond taking eli on a 3 day trip to a rainy coastal town for labor day weekend

˚ · .

raymond of course wants vanessa to be there— he’s never really spent more than a day or two with eli without her but she’s super busy for the weekend

the two make it a boys trip except raymond doesn’t love the outdoors when it’s rainy, but he does enjoy fishing

the drive to the port city is abysmally long. like hours and hours and hours of nonstop driving. the only stops being quick potty breaks or stops at the gas station

raymond simply cannot say no to eli when he runs in and finds snacks and drinks he wants. even if they’re super unhealthy

eli’s so excited about a bottle of bug juice that he downs the whole thing in minutes— meaning they have to keep stopping for bathroom breaks, even when there are no outhouses

eli is definitely in the back in a booster kicking raymond’s seat

“quit it or i’m turning off the music” (the music being disney sing-a-long songs per vanessa’s suggestion)

raymond is a hotel man. 5 stars if at all possible but he’ll settle for 4 or maybe 3 if necessary

when they get there it’s cold and rainy and dark and raymond shakes out his wet hair when he enters the lobby of a nice hotel

he comes to the counter fully expecting them to have a room but they’re completely booked.

no worries- he’ll just go to the next hotel..

booked also.

surely the 3 star hotels aren’t full, so raymond drives the two of them to those.

all of the hotels. all of them. are fully booked. every single one in this whole town.

raymond has to take deep breaths as they sit in the silent car. he calls vanessa and she answers immediately, happy to see them. she isn’t so happy though when she sees raymond’s stressed out demeanor.

“you didn’t call ahead or make reservations?!”

“i thought they’d have plenty of rooms.” raymond steps out of the car so he can curse. he doesn’t know eli can still hear him. “there’s like a billion hotels in this goddamn town and none of them have a fucking room? like what?”

when he gets back in from talking with his wife, he puts on a happy attitude for eli.

“it’s okay, buddy. we’ll figure something out, yeah?” he turns around in his seat to see eli in the back and gives him a fist bump.

there’s an rei close by that sells everything raymond and eli need to camp tonight and more. it’s not as extensive and big as the one close to where they live but it works just the same.

he buys a tent which was probably too much money, sleeping bags, a tarp, pillows, lanterns, pretty much everything they didn’t pack.

he uses ash’s phone number for the membership and they get a discount. (ash loves hiking and rock climbing, so naturally he has an rei membership)

setting up was even more difficult for raymond. it might have been fine if it wasn’t so dark out but what’s worse was it’s raining.

his nose and ears became pretty red but nothing compared to his hands. they were so cold and he got so frustrated setting up this tent.

“are you okay raymin?” eli pipes up when raymond enters the warm, running car. he knows he’s wasting gas and draining the battery but he’d rather have eli cozy and dry in the car than out there in the cold rain with him.

he smiles when eli says “raymin”. he doesn’t try to correct him anymore because eli just continues to pronounce it like that.

“i’m fine kiddo i just need to warm up in here for a minute.”

once raymond finally finishes setting up, he wakes up eli who had fallen asleep in his booster seat.

eli, groggy and holding his blankies, makes his way to the inside of the tent. raymond quickly picks up the tail ends of the blankets that eli was dragging on the muddy ground.

inside the tent was small, but just spacey enough for the two of them. well, for a large 6’3 man it was not preferable but eli thought it was huge.

a frigid chill arrived in the morning but the rain had stopped. raymond found little eli between his buff arms, hugging him for heat.

the day was much more enjoyable now that it was actually. daytime.

and the two did all the things raymond planned.

eli looked cute in his little green raincoat and froggy rain boots. holding raymond’s hand and jumping through puddles.

they made their way to the pier where raymond taught eli how to fish. eli got bored of it extremely quickly so he just sat in the folding chair next to raymond’s tacklebox, playing on his phone.

it was too big in his hands but that didn’t stop him.

“raymin! uncle ash is calling!”

“uncle? ash is not your uncle, who told you that?”

“he did!”

that night raymond was able to get a room for them in a nice hotel for once. he was relived to finally be able to shower after all that; a day long drive, a muddy camping night, and an all day fishing session. but now it was finally time to get clean and relax.

“raymin!” eli’s voice called from behind the close bathroom door. “can you help me turn on da shower?”

raymond got up and opened the door to see little eli trying to cover himself with a large towel. raymond chuckled at how he literally was not covering himself at all in the back— tiny buns just fully exposed.

he turned on the shower for him and asked eli about the temperature. he said it was fine but the water was “too fast” and “felt like needles.”

raymond noticed the water pressure too. it was definitely too high for a kid. a bath it is then.

raymond wasn’t used to taking care of eli like this. he knows vanessa would be doing this better but he was determined to be a good father.

he let eli play in the tub for a little, sitting on the closed toilet on his phone, texting vanessa pictures from their fishing excursion, before he noticed how disgusting eli’s little dinosaur toys were making the water.

dirt and sand and mud came off the second eli put them in the tub and raymond was quick to take them out, wash them in the sink, and toss them back in.

at some point they all sank and eli couldn’t find them under all the suds and bubbles.

raymond scrubbed him clean and it reminded him of washing his dog, bruce. both somehow more muddy than he realized and neither of them could ever sit still.

raymond snapped a picture of eli with his hair soaped up to a point on the top of his head like a cone. raymond’s warm laughter disappeared the second his phone slipped out of his hand and dropped into the tub.

“shit!” he muttered and tried fishing it out but it kept slipping and sliding around at the bottom. eli was having an absolute giggle fit at this.

later the two watched cartoons on the tv. the channels were weird, like they always were on hotel tvs, but they enjoyed it.

toy story 2 was playing but it was nearly over so they channel surfed.

“i wish dey had disney plus!” eli says, falling asleep into the big covers next to raymond.



bonus ·˚ ༘

thinking about them coming back to this town like 10 years later.

it’s become a tradition now to go every year together.

teenage eli casting his fishing pole on the pier next to raymond.

they talk about nothing and everything. just enjoying their labor day weekend together there in the rainy, beautiful town.

the first night they camp in a tent, the second night they stay in a hotel.

“hey dad can i ask you something?”

“absolutely bud,” raymond responds, looking through his glasses as he replaces the hook at the end of his fishing line.

eli grabs the line so it’s still, making it easier for raymond. “so.. there’s this girl i like..”

“uhuh..”

“and i was thinking about asking her on a date when school starts again.”

raymond looks at eli and nods. “yeah no, that’s great! i think you should. sometimes you need to just bite the bullet.”

“like you did with my mom?”

“exactly like i did with your mom.” raymond says, knowing full well vanessa is the bold one out of the two of them.

“what are your plans?”

“well uncle ash said i could borrow his car..”

“how many times do i need to tell you he’s not your uncle.” raymond chuckles and casts the line.

[c0rv]

do u have anything to share with the people about playing genshin with me everything is normal to me idk what bothers everyone

you have like 12 recipes and ur food inventory is abysmal

ur exploration in most areas is 20% or less, and even in mond i think ur highest is 60%? for an area

you have not done any reputation things at all except for when i was on your account and desperate for mora so i did them for you

you have the red exclamation things on every icon bc theres things the game wants you to check so bad you refuse to

you dont usually do your daily commissions

you refuse to read the game tutorials

you have like 20 quests in ur journal and id be impressed its even that low if not for the fact u could go to any city in game and theres so many npcs wanting to start shit

you have yet to do any hangouts

ur only world level 4

you havent even unlocked the camera gadget so i had to watch u try and take pictures inside a domain but bc u couldnt open the menu without leaving u just ended up taking screenshots with the ui and everything

ur teapot is still empty and u wonder why kaeya is getting companion exp so slowly

you didnt know u could craft higher level mob drops at the alchemy stand, you dont know what condensed resin is

you thought there were 20 floors in the spiral abyss

you only recently attempted the spiral abyss after over 2 years playing bc u thought the first 9 floors scaled higher if u leveled up higher

you didnt know about the graphics settings in the menu

you didnt know what the motion blur was

when i watch u fight enemies u dont keep ur camera on the enemies and seem to be shocked when u get surprised by them

you only recently started using healing food after i asked u to

you have like 3 5 star artifacts total

you were leveling an artifact and it kept going to def and i told u to stop and u didnt anyways cuz u dont know what the def stat means

you thought that 4 stars r limited only to the limited banners they appear on

you also thought u could only get diluc from the standard banner

you dont know what the crown of insight is

when in the windblume event shop u were looking at the mailed flower refinement materials and i had to beg u to buy them cuz u thought they were useless

to add onto the previous thing u didnt even know you could refine weapons until like. last week

when u were screensharing windblume and starting the rhythm game thing i told u u could change note speed cuz i know u prefer faster notes but u didnt open the menu and didnt figure out u could do it until several days later

ur werent gonna do the photo aspect of windblume bc u had to do a quest where u talk to a guy one time

when bubbles and u and i were gonna fight azhdaha u instead walked to the geovishap

u will open the domains for talent level up materials and ask me what they r for

u will ask me what u even need the talent level up stuff for and when i have u open the characters talents theyre all level 1

u still havent maxed out any statues of the seven, not even in mond or liyue so u dont have max stamina

u unlocked fishing in an attempt to get the catch for raiden but u still havent even bought the recipes for anything but the default bait

u only have the default namecard and 1 other namecard u got through achievements

when i was screensharing u were asking me what the sigils in my inventory were (the ones u use for a ton of shit in enkanomiya)

didnt realize until yesterday that the 5 stars have orange backgrounds

u were playing yaoyao and kept doing her burst and immediately switching off so it did nothing

i was watching u count ur wish history and i explictly said ur at 80 pity so a ten pull away from a 5 star and a week later u seemingly forgot and wished and were surprised to get a 5 star

u usually dont get the wishes in paimons bargains that reset every month unless i remind u

u thought u didnt get anything from the battlepass unless u paid for it

theres the whole boat thing where u. didnt know boats were in the game. so u just didnt unlock any waverider waypoints. u were icebridging to all the islands in inazuma

tbh im shocked u even finished the tcg tutorial

u thought if u gave characters healing artifacts they would just be able to heal even if thats not in their skill sets

u started the spiral abyss on accident with 2 characters in ur party

thats just what i thought of at the top of my head im sure ill remember more later ^_^ ur welcome taye. i didnt even bring up how u beg me to switch to childe so u can look at his balls

[anonymouscomrade]

SO BECAUSE YOU FUCKING FUNGUS-BRAINED SHITMOUTHS SEEM TO LOSE ALL BRAIN FUNCTION AND REGRESS INTO DROOLING FUCKING TODDLERS WHEN HANDED AN OVERPOWERED WEAPON THAT'LL DO ALL YOUR WORK FOR YOU IN SALMON RUN, HERE'S A QUICK FUCKING OVERVIEW OF HOW THE CURRENT BATCH OF GRIZZCO WEAPONS WORK

CHARGER: COMBINES THE ONLY GOOD FEATURE OF THE BAMBOOZLER (PRACTICALLY INSTANT CHARGE TIME) WITH THE ONLY GOOD FEATURE OF THE E-LITER (INSANE DAMAGE), WITH SOMEHOW EVEN MORE RANGE. CHUGS INK LIKE YOUR MOM AT THE SWINGERS PARTY THOUGH SO BE CAREFUL NOT TO RUN OUT AND GET SURROUNDED OR YOU'LL GET COVERED IN FISH SLOP, ALSO LIKE YOUR MOM AT THE SWINGERS PARTY!

SPLATANA: IT DOES NOT INK. IT DOES NOT COVER TURF. IT WILL EFFORTLESSLY MURDER ANYTHING SHORT OF COHOZUNA WITH A CHARGE SLASH. NOT ABLE TO COVER ENOUGH GROUND TO STUN THAT FLIPPER-FLOPPER? HOLD THE TRIGGER AND WAIT FOR THAT ASSHOLE TO POP HIS SHIT-EATING GRIN OUT OF HIS FUCKING PUDDLE THEN GUT HIM HEAD TO TAIL. DON'T HAVE THE INK TO STUFF A BOMB DOWN MAWS'S THROAT? YOU DON'T NEED IT, EVISCERATE THAT SON OF A BITCH WHERE HE FUCKING STANDS. GOOD FUCKING LUCK IF YOU GET A GRILLERS ROUND THOUGH

STRINGER: HOLD THE TRIGGER. RELEASE THE TRIGGER. ANYTHING STANDING IN A CONE-SHAPED AREA IN FRONT OF YOU IS NOW DEAD. ALTERNATIVELY, ANYTHING THAT WAS STANDING DIRECTLY IN FRONT OF YOU JUST HAD ITS ASSHOLE TORN INSIDE-OUT AT THE SUBATOMIC LEVEL

BLASTER: HOLD THE TRIGGER AND WATCH IN AMAZEMENT AS THE VERY LIFE FADES FROM THE EYES OF ANYTHING STUPID ENOUGH TO STAND DIRECTLY IN FRONT OF YOU. WATCH YOUR INK SO YOU'RE NOT CAUGHT JUST STANDING THERE WITH YOUR LIMP DICK IN YOUR HAND BECAUSE YOU WEREN'T PAYING ATTENTION TO THAT GROUP OF COHOCKS!

BRELLA: SEE ABOVE, EXCEPT TRADE SOME DAMAGE FOR RANGE

SLOSHER: "WAAAAAHH I DON'T KNOW HOW TO USE THIS ONE, WAAAAAHHHHHH" IS WHAT I KEEP HEARING BUT IT'S EXTREMELY FUCKING ELEMENTARY SO DIG THE SHIT OUT OF YOUR EARS AND FUCKING LISTEN TO ME: YES, THE RATE OF FIRE IS FUCKING ABYSMAL BUT THE SHOT PLOWS THROUGH FUCKING EVERYTHING SHORT OF THE ACTUAL STAGE GEOMETRY. A DIRECT HIT WITH THE COCKPIT WILL KILL A *CLOSED* FLYFISH. IT WILL PUNCH THROUGH A SCRAPPER'S PATHETIC ARMORED CAR AND LET YOU KILL IT FROM THE WRONG SIDE. IT WILL PASS THOUGH A SLAMMIN' LID OR A GRILLER LIKE IT'S NOT EVEN FUCKING THERE. THAT STEEL EEL THINKS ITS INK JETS WILL KEEP IT SAFE AND IT'S WRONG. ONE SHOT AIMED IN EVEN THE GENERAL DIRECTION OF A LINE OF CHARGING SALMONIDS DURING A GLOWFLIES ROUND WILL KILL THE ENTIRE GROUP. FUCKING THINK FOR ONCE IN YOUR LIFE

AND ONE LAST THING, ABOVE ALL ELSE:

YOU HAVE TO PUT THE EGGS IN THE BASKET TO WIN

YOU HAVE TO PUT THE EGGS IN THE BASKET TO WIN

YOU HAVE TO PUT THE EGGS IN THE BASKET TO WIN YOU HAVE TO PUT THE EGGS IN THE BASKET TO WIN YOU HAVE TO PUT THE EGGS IN THE BASKET TO WIN **STOP FUCKING TIMING OUT AND GOING 12/23 ON QUOTA AT THE END OF ROUND 3 BECAUSE YOU ABSOLUTE MORONS WON'T PUT THE MOTHER FUCKING EGGS IN THE GOD DAMNED BASKET**

[semi-sketchy]

I finished Chaos Island again

Odd thing to say, but I had a better time than my first playthrough? Like ok, the way I've been playing is map out the entire island then do the story stuff. No needing to stop and do cyberspace or worrying about tokens, I literally just spin in circles for 10 minutes (or fish, but circles is faster) and I'm good for the entire island. It's been nice.

Yes, Chaos suffers horribly from 2D, but the dash pads are just as bad on Ares and at least when I see an island in the distance, it's easy enough to run around the edge looking for a rail system rather than trying to figure which path that's out of draw-distance leads me to the top of a ledge. I like the wider area without walls sectioning things off.

That's...about where the good parts end, though.

I've been avoiding chests I know for a fact are traversal objects, (I'm actually surprised how well I remember?) but the ground is incredibly uneven to the point you can't properly cyloop some stuff. This is also bad because while you go flying half the time, Sonic also sticks to the ground and makes crossing the few lava rivers an actual problem. You jump and his gravity almost follows the curve of the ledge and dunks you. You have to put in some serious effort to combat the wonky physics here.

The quests have always been my least favorite part of the game, but this is abysmal. Bridge the gap sucks ass because you have no control over where the homing attack locks onto and you keep having to reset because oopsie! Sonic wasted 2 seconds by going out of his way to change the homing reticle two frames before you hit the button! I also had no issues with pinball on my first playthrough, but I get the hate now. Look I like pinball and I like pinball in Sonic, it's the one quest that's on brand for him (I will seriously never understand why cutting grass is an actual required objective in this game), but my GOD is that a bare bones and bad pinball table. The score multiplier also gets reset if you lose a ball, so when it decides to off itself, it pads onto your time. Hacking minigame is an odd choice, but I like it? Maybe I should play Ikaruga...

While I like mapping the island, the part I hate most here is two points are locked behind story progress and this is the only time in the game they do this. It's stupid and I hate it. I hate it because it forces me to do the story and this is the point it gets really bad.

Like Kronos was kinda nothing, Ares was entertaining with Knuckles (even though they were trying to gaslight me about Knuckles never leaving his island like I'm sorry have the last 20 years been a joke to you?), but Chaos actually pissed me off. Tails' dialogue is stupid because it's so clearly written by someone who isn't smart trying to sound smart by using big words to confuse others even though they aren't actually complicated. (mutation is not a hard word to grasp, guys.) That's not how Tails speaks and it completely throws the idea of character voice out the bloody window to fit into an archetype.

Man I wanna play Xenoblade. I'll even take Xenoblade 3 with Alvis being reduced to an ageist computer at this point.

[cherryrehab]

Lanceolate 1.5

The joys of fatherhood.

This is the chapter between the first and the second sort of? I just wanted to write the missing scene of lil Jinxy Jinx giving her father his present.

(Chapter 1) (Chapter 2) (Chapter 3)

On his more noble days he considers the repetitiousness of the meetings and the skull numbing drudgery comforting. But his fingers are cramping, head aching, and his teeth are grinding so terribly he has to forcibly remind himself bone is not a replenishable resource. Between the white noise in his head and the booming bass of the nightclub opened much, much too early – for fuck’s sake it’s only 7 p.m. – he misses Jinx’ clomps.

She appears to be unscathed. Well, glancing at the newest holes in her clothes, largely unscathed. He’s going to have to teach her to sew and darn one of these days. But considering how fast she’s outgrowing her clothes it might be a fool’s errand altogether. It’s quite endearing, going with her to the tailor and watching Jinx prod and poke around, picking fabrics and color schemes. He often must reel her in after the fourth or fifth clashing pattern combination, but he can’t say he isn’t proud of her creativity. He’s proud of many things he’s never thought he’d spare a second thought to nowadays, usually regarding her.

He'd always thought parenting would be an abysmal return on investment, but with just one look of satisfaction on her cherubic face, his whole day is made. Speaking of her face…cat that got the cream is an understatement. Jinx’ got her hands clasped behind her and if she’s another glitter bomb on her hands it will be proof once and for all that Janna has it out for him, specifically.

Her soft little face twists gleefully yet she doesn’t make eye contact.

“So,” Silco begins tentatively, “…what did you get up to today?” Wryly he wonders what Vander would think of him now – patiently awaiting to be assaulted by a slip of a girl. Oh, how times have changed.

“Oh, um.” Jinx’ volume is negligible.

Brows furrowing, he straightens up. Few things can make her cower now after nearly a year together. She doesn’t even avoid his gaze like most people do, wide blues shining with a trust and eagerness that makes his ribs constrict around his lungs. Well, she usually doesn’t avoid his gaze. As a thousand things race through his mind Silco shoots up and with a few quick steps makes his way to her. At his proximity the girl twitches minutely, if he wasn’t paying attention, he might not have noticed but at this point he is more in tune with her emotions than anyone else’s.  

He drops to one knee, in the hopes of making her more comfortable. If she’s got something unpleasant to share he’d rather not force her to look up at him looming.

As softly as possible he mutters: “What’s wrong, darling?”

Frustratingly, Jinx’s frown tightens further. Usually, Silco would cradle her hands in his, knowing she found it soothing but they’re hidden away. He’s minutes away from breaking into a cold sweat from worry. She’s too young for menses, right?

In one gasp the truth gushes out: “Igotyouapresent!”

He relaxes, thank Janna. Then tenses back up, a present? Jinx has thrusted her hands forward, cupped in her hand is a plastic bag bulging with clear water.

Oh.

Oh, darling girl. In the round, distended bag is swimming a little fish. Rainbow hues color the miniature scales and the critter darts around quickly, looking for an exit that it won’t ever find. Jinx is looking imploringly at him and slowly, gently, as not to spook either her or the fish he cups the bag in his own hands. Humiliatingly, Silco finds that his eyes are prickling.

There is little that compares to the adoration of a soft thing. He knows that now better than ever. While nation building brings with it its own satisfactions it’s more to do with time and effort than altruistic content. He’s labored long and hard for it. It’s his due. But this. This brings about a much different feeling. Jinx is squirming, squeezing, and pulling at her hands. There’s a barely suppressed glow to her, whole being shining with pride and satisfaction.

“Well…do you like it?” Jinx’ voice is soft like the bell on a cat’s collar, and his chest constricts further at the sound. He’s surprised that he hasn’t passed out at this rate. Silco clears his throat, the lump of emotion constricting his voice.

“I love it. How…how did you even think to get me this?”

Jinx shines a thousand-watt smile at him and continues happily wiggling back and forth, reminiscent of a sunflower tilted towards the sun. He will never tire of looking at it, never. Nothing will ever compare to the feeling of knowing that just with his silent affection, he has made her day. Hopefully, she doesn’t know she’s got him wrapped around her little finger.

“Well, I didn’t know when your birthday was. So…” she shrugs, “…I just decided it was today.”

Oh. So, she knows.

He chuckles good-naturedly, plops the bag down on one hand and ruffles her blue locks with the other. Silco sticks the fish bag on the desk between two mounds of paperwork and halfway through turning back towards her Jinx rushes forward, throwing her skinny arms around his hips and digging her face in his midriff. It’s a vice grip, his sides are aching from the force of it, but he would rather pluck out his good eye than reprimand her. He shuffles around until they’re both facing each other, laying down his hand on her head.

“Aa mffph ooo.” Silco bites his cheek.

“I can’t understand you Jinx.”

She lifts her head up and gasps dramatically, as if she’s coming up for air, her face pinking charmingly. Big blue eyes are shining with happiness and he can’t believe–

“I said,” she huffs, “I love you.”

Silco’s eyes widen and his eyes prickle again. Goddamn it. He bends down and begins nosing at her scalp, taking in the scent of the city, gunpowder, and the sickly-sweet shampoo she practically ripped from the shelves in excitement.

“I love you too, kid.”

[clariongradiation]

Lots of wolqotd posting ahead, I use the tags #wolqotd and #my blorbos if you want to skip it

(Sourced from twitter but I completely forgot to write down the names, if you see your ask here lmk!)

Your WoL/OC has switched jobs with their significant other (or close friend) for a day! How do they fare?

Kai/Y'Shtola (friendos) - Kai could figure out how to BLM, but I think she'd grow impatient with the study and specificity. Y'shtola would probably find SMN fascinating in theory, but having not defeated a primal would have little practical use for it.

Kai/Zenos - Zenos would prob find a way to SMN because of his Resonant ability, but it'd be weird and fucked up uwu. Kai could RPR, probably even be good at it (brainworms where she somehow gets Zenos as her void summon after he dies)

Yuki/Sidurgu - Yuki is DRK in canon so she's good 👍🏼 but Sid would be an absolutely abysmal WHM. Like hilariously bad at it. Rielle and Yuki would give him tips and he'd probably end up throwing a tantrum

who in your ship is the one who says they don't want dessert, and who's the one resigned to having to share theirs? 😄

Zenos: grew up a royal heir, educated, knows what's on the menu and what he wants

Kai: grew up in the desert, wandering the realm, can and will steal from zenos' plate

Sid def says he doesn't want any while Yuki is the one who asks for an extra spoon (rielle shares hers too)

if your wol was a romance-able option in a game, what are 3 gifts that would increase their friendship meter? What 3 things would decrease it?

Kai: ❤ rare fish, gaelicatnip, raid food; 💔 giant beetles, love letters, jewelry

Yuki: ❤️ nice lotion, jewelry, anko buns; 💔 monster parts, ores, carrots

Twi: ❤️ any food, drink, or ingredient of at least good quality; 💔 trash, bad food, broken weapons

Negi: ❤️ fried rice, fresh ingredients, flowers; 💔 perfume, spoiled food, motor oil

Crystal: ❤️ weapons, sweet things; 💔 anything that isn't food or a weapon

Bonus lala friendship meters:

You can only give Punch money. This will always increase her friendship, but she never becomes romanceable. After certain (extreme) amounts, she will give you something back that you can give as a gift to someone else to greatly increase friendship

Popoto likes cooked food, alcohol, and books. Her meter will never decrease, though non-liked items will give 0 friendship. When you max her out, and anytime you give her something she likes after, she will /dote you and that's it.

inspired by the korean player poll ! what reasons would netizens (or npcs) give for wanting to marry or not marry your wol/oc ?

Kai:

+ so strong, can pick me up even though she's small

+ always bringing home random gifts

+ knows a lot of jobs so can support us no matter what

- always wandering, so restless!

- go to sleep!!! (in our bed!)

- will go to work (raid) and not come home for a long time

Yuki:

+ sweet and caring, always smells nice

+ whm so can take care of me no matter what

+ family is important

- already married and has children 🥲

- I don't want to break them up, Sidurgu would be so sad

- shes scary sometimes

Twi:

+ tall 😳

+ big muscles 😳

+ I want her to pick me up and jump up somewhere really high for a romantic date

- always fighting, I think she likes monsters more than me

- impulsive

- shes kinda loud and childish, I don't know if she'd be a good mom

Negi:

+ cooks really good food, would be a good homemaker

+ gentle and soft, I want to fluff his hair and tug on his ears

+ he wouldn't mind if I wore heels and was way taller than him

- so stubborn sometimes, I think we would fight

- always out fishing at random times

[theavengerfairy]

Tales of a Wildflower: A Wildflower in the Woods (Pt. 3)

Eyes wide like a pair of full moons, Reyen watched dumbfounded as Grog effortlessly downed yet another mug of booze in a series of large gulps before grimacing down at her noticeably lighter coin purse. Though she couldn't see the barmaid hovering over her shoulder due to her raised hood obscuring her peripheral vision, the wizardess could sense the woman's expectant gaze upon her.

"Just…let me know when this runs out." she sighed, fishing another small handful of coins from the bag and sliding it to the table's edge.

After the payment was briskly snatched up and carried off, Reyen dropped her cheek into her palm as her eyes did another sweep over the cozy little inn, absentmindedly tugging on the edge of her hood while her stomach twisted and churned uneasily. Perhaps she should have expected the only tavern for miles to be rather busy, and yet she found herself somewhat perplexed by just how many people had congregated here. There were so many faces to survey, so many expressions to try and decipher, so many eyes to hide from. Even amid the babbling of patrons, the barking of the staff, and the clattering of plates, cups, and platters, the low creak of the main doors caught her ear, a jolt shooting through her as her attention snapped to the newest group of strangers coming to join the crowd.

"Just another group of farmers. The worst they might do to you is try to sell you some produce before you leave town."

Reyen's heart jolted in her chest as her gaze shifted to meet Vax's hazel eyes observing her inquisitively from across the table, although his gaze contained traces of warm empathy intermingled with the keen interest. Her cheeks burned at the realization that in her vigilant surveillance of the numerous unknowns surrounding her, she had failed to maintain her guard against the scrutiny of the group of strangers seated at her own table. Yes, they had provided her much needed aid back in the woods, but they were still strangers, strangers whose favor towards her could change at any moment-

"So what is a noblewoman like yourself doing fleeing through the woods?"

-just like that.

Reyen's blood ran colder than the ale pouring down Grog's throat as her attention shifted to Percy, his gaze far colder than Vax's as it bored deep, searching, into her own. "I'm sorry?"

"Your attempts to be subtle aren't entirely abysmal, but if your clothing and mannerisms aren't already clear enough indicators, the depths of your coin purse is a dead giveaway. Not many people could afford to feed an adventuring party our size, especially not with a half giant on the roster, and the fact that you are only just now starting to show concern about the lightness of your coin purse indicates that worrying about money is not something you are accustomed to." Percy rattled off matter-of-factly, his eyes never once wavering from the wizardess as the flustered flush of her cheeks steadily paled to a more ashen hue. "So let me ask you again: why is a noblewoman like yourself fleeing through the woods all alone? Escaping from an ambush by bandits? Or perhaps trying to avoid an arranged marriage?"

Reyen couldn't breathe, her chest burning as her lungs shriveled to the size of raisins while her mouth ran dry. Her knuckles were turning white from how tightly she gripped the hem of her cloak, a garment she had mistakenly believed to be humble-looking enough not to draw attention. Her heart thundering in her ears only added to the noise of the dozens of thoughts swirling into a wild storm within her panicking mind, each shouting for her attention as she wracked her brain for the best course of action. Should she try to lie? Should she flee?

"There's no need to interrogate her, Percy," Vax chimed in whilst shooting his comrade a pointed look, his tone brandishing a cautionary edge. "She has been through enough-"

"In your haste to play hero, you failed to consider what helping her might bring upon us." Percy retorted just as sharply, sparing Vax only the briefest of glances before returning his attention to the wizardess. "This isn't personal, Reyen. I truly don't give a damn about who you actually are. What I care about is whether or not associating with you will come back to bite us."

"So what if it does, Percival? We did the right thing." The bite to Vax'ildan's voice was far less subtle now, drawing the attention of the rest of the table—well, except for Grog who was blissfully engaged in savoring the newest mug of liquor that had been brought to him.

"Good deeds can still come at a cost, a cost we can't afford to shoulder right now. We have enough on our plates as is at the moment. Demonize me if you want, but I'm trying to protect us by figuring out exactly what we've put ourselves in the middle of." Percy remarked sternly before adding, "You can understand that, can't you Reyen?"

She could. As much as she wished she didn't, Reyen understood Percy's reasoning perfectly. However, just as he wished to protect his team, she too had to protect herself. Perhaps if she revealed just enough, he would be satisfied and let the matter rest. "I-"

The crinkling of paper served as the only warning before Vex swiftly slammed something down into the middle of the table before moving her hand away. From beneath the words "RUNAWAY" etched in bold letters, a monochrome sketch of a somewhat familiar face smiled up at the group, albeit without the blunt bangs that now framed her brilliant blue eyes.

"Her name is Reyen Dubault, and it looks like Mummy and Daddy are offering a pretty little sum for whoever returns their wayward daughter home." the ranger crooned smugly. Observing Reyen's horrified expression, she added with a cheeky chirp, "Oh don't worry, love. I took down all of your other posters that were up on the notice board. Don't need you causing us any further trouble at the moment."

"Dubault…" Percy echoed, his brow wrinkling in thought for a moment before recognition sparked in his eyes. "As in the famous wizarding family of Abriven? Those Dubaults?"

Reyen didn't even notice that she was shaking until she felt a small hand tightly grasp her own. Meeting the gaze of the gnome cleric beside her, the wizardess didn't find judgment or greed boring into her but instead concern and reassurance reaching out for her from those soft eyes, a silent outstretched hand with no strings attached. Hesitantly, she curled her fingers around the cleric's own, bracing herself, before loosing the words on the back of her tongue with a heavy sigh. "Unfortunately."

Scanlan's brow arched as an incredulous smile stretched across his face. "'Unfortunately'? What's so unfortunate about living in the lap of luxury?"

"A life in a gilded cage surrounded by fools and cowards is no life at all." Reyen answered coldly, the sudden frostiness of her tone catching the rest of the table offguard. "There is nothing 'great' about my family. For generations, they've amassed knowledge and magical trinkets, but to what end? Do they use it for anything? Only bragging rights and occasionally showing off for the amusement of the public, that's what. What's there to be proud of in cowards who would rather hide behind their books and ostentatious performances than actually do something with their knowledge and skills?"

"So that's why you left?" Percy probed inquisitively, "To do something more?"

Nodding, Reyen's eyes fell to her free hand, and after a moment, faint wisps of silvery magic began to dance and coil around her fingertips. "What's the point of knowledge and power if you don't use it for anything meaningful? Maybe they're content to squander their gifts on trivialities, but I'm not. I want—no, I need to use my abilities for greater things."

"And let me guess, Mummy and Daddy didn't take that very well?" Vex purred, still leaning against the side of the wizardess's chair.

For the first time since setting foot inside of the tavern, Reyen laughed, the sound dry and acrid. "That would be an understatement. As far as they're concerned, my 'dreams of grandeur' are a death sentence."

"I mean, they're not entirely wrong…" Scanlan began to add, but a sharp elbow to the gut from Vax swiftly cut him off.

"I know there's risk in the life I wish to live, but to me, the possibility of making a difference is worth the danger." As the tendrils of light in her hand began to dissipate, she finally lifted her eyes to meet the stares of the table. "Surely you all can understand that? Why else would you help a complete stranger in her hour of need?"

Awkward silence fell over the table for a moment as the group exchanged uneasy glances before Vex broke the tension with a chuckle, "You're giving us a little too much credit there, love. You've got a lot to learn if you think we are an epitome of honor and heroics."

"Or perhaps you aren't giving yourself enough credit." The response came out a bit more cheeky than Reyen intended, but judging by the slight upward twitch she observed at the corner of the ranger's lips, her unintentional brazenness was welcome enough. "Whatever your reasons, I am grateful for your help. You've bought me a little time before another set of my parents' hired dogs come yapping at my heels."

"Dogs that might come looking for us as well now that we've helped you?" Percy frowned, his expression darkening again.

"I…can't say for sure."

Vax's brow creased faintly with concern. "And what will you do when you're found again? You got lucky this time, but fortune's favor is fickle."

"Well, my goal at the moment is to locate and reconnect with my uncle, Garett Dubault. He was my mentor for years and the only one who didn't dash my dreams—a choice that got him and his family exiled from Abriven. Assuming…Assuming he doesn't hate me, I plan on asking to stay with him and learn whatever else he can teach me. I had hoped to join an adventuring party in the meantime while I searched for him, but as you can imagine, a sheltered wizard with a bounty on her head is a bit of a hard sell." Reyen rambled, another self-deprecating scoff puffing from her lips. "I mean, I don't suppose you all would happen to be looking for an extra member and willing to take a chance on me, would you?"

Once again, awkward silence coupled with glances that spoke louder than words fell over the table. Vex's watchful eyes could practically see the gears turning in her brother's mind, and hardly had he opened his mouth before her response was already poised on the tip of her tongue.

"Absolutely not." She and Percy stated firmly in unison, slightly startling one another though they tried to conceal it.

"And why not?" Vax argued, his gaze shifting from his sister to the gunslinger and then back again. "We just got our asses handed to us; another person, a mage no less, might be just what we need to turn the tides in our favor."

"Vax, with all due respect to everyone here, we barely function as a team the way we are now. Throwing another person into the mix, someone without experience no less, will only exacerbate that problem, not fix it." Percy refuted bluntly, his resolve not wavering in the slightest beneath the rogue's steely gaze.

"Not to mention how easily she was neutralized by that silencing spell earlier." Vex chimed in. "She said it herself: what's the point of power if it isn't able to be used?"

"To be fair, Pike, Scanlan, or myself probably wouldn't have fared any better if we were hit by that kind of spell-" Keyleth began to say only to shrink back a bit in her chair when Vex's piercing gaze swung in her direction. "-I'll stop talking now."

"There's also the matter of not painting a target on our backs-"

"You already said it yourself that we might be targets anyways at this point, Percival!" Vax exclaimed in exasperation. "And the only way she is going to improve is if someone gives her the opportunity to learn! I mean, who are we of all people to cast judgment against someone just looking for a chance to prove themselves? Is that not why we took this damn job in the first place?"

"Why do you care so much what happens to her, brother? You don't know her." Vex scowled at her brother, her hands falling to rest on her hips.

"You hardly knew Percy when we met him and you didn't give him even half as hard of a time about joining us." Vax shot back, his glare perfectly mirroring his sister's.

Vex could feel her cheeks beginning to burn, a fact she hoped Percy wouldn't notice, "You little shi-"

Springing up from her seat, Pike swiftly stepped between the twins with her hands raised, "OKAY, I think we should all take a step back, maybe take a breather before we lose our heads-"

"You know what? Fine." Vex snapped bitterly, twirling on her heels and strutting back to Reyen's side to fix the apprehensive wizardess beneath her harsh stare. "If she can prove herself to be of some kind of use to us against a very real, very deadly dragon, she can join us. Happy?"

"I'm sorry, a…dragon?" Reyen echoed, eyes wide.

"Yes dear, a dragon. That's the shit we are dealing with. Why? You're not getting cold feet on us now, are you?"

Vax knew what his sister was doing. He could tell in the way her eyes were fixed unwaveringly on Reyen, studying her features for even the smallest of tells. Following his sister's gaze, he watched her as well with bated breath, noting the way her gaze grew distant and uncertain for a few seconds before focusing again with fortified clarity.

"What kind of dragon?"

Vex blinked. "Excuse me?"

"What kind of dragon was it?" Reyen repeated calmly. "What color was it? What size? What can you remember about it?"

Vex's tongue sat like a lump of lead in her mouth, her brows knit in confusion. Sensing her uncertainty, Pike spoke up instead. "It was blue and pretty big."

"How big?"

"Big and powerful enough to level a small section of forest without breaking a sweat…and to send Grog flying like a leaf in the wind." Vax clarified, head tilting to the side with piqued curiosity. "It also breathed lightning instead of fire."

"That fits with it being a blue dragon…When you encountered it, what were your surroundings like? Was it overcast or possibly even storming?"

"Something like that, yeah."

"So it's an adult at the very least to be able to affect the environment like that… It could possibly even be ancient." Reyen mumbled whilst one hand pressed pensively to her lips. "That definitely presents more of a challenge."

"What do you mean?" Keyleth grimaced, clearly already dreading the answer.

"The older and more powerful a dragon is, the more tricks it has at its disposal." Reyen explained, her gaze becoming distant again as she delved further into the depths of her own mind. "There are some ancient dragons who can even change their forms to conceal their identities, although there would still be indicators pointing towards their true identity."

"Indicators like what?" Vex prodded, clearly more interested than she was willing to admit.

"It depends on the skill level of the dragon, really. It could be anything from habits and behaviors to physical characteristics like skin tone or eye color."

"So in other words, looking for such signs would be an ineffective waste of time." Vex huffed, arms now folded and resting against her middle. "Anything else?"

Reyen reluctantly shook her head. "That's all I know…but I can find out more."

"Go on…"

"Being a wizard is about more than learning spells and rituals; it requires you to become fluent in the arts of study and research. If I don't know something already, I'm willing to put in the time, effort, and skill required to learn more in as quick and efficient a manner as possible."

"So in other words, you're willing to do all the hard work, meaning others of us won't have to?" Scanlan grinned impishly. "Well, she's got my vote."

Groaning, Vex pinched the bridge of her nose to try and suppress the non alcohol-related ache starting to assault her head. She could feel her comrades' expectant gazes upon her, waiting for her consensus though she wasn't sure for what reason. Clearly their minds were already made up.

"Fine." she grumbled. "For the record though, I still think this is a terrible idea."

"More terrible than fighting a dragon in the first place?" her brother crowed with a smirk.

"Depends on which one gets us killed first."

Perhaps Vex's words should've stung more, but at the moment, Reyen hardly cared. As she surveyed each face around the table in turn, some skeptical and others welcoming, as they all settled back into their nonchalant revelry, her gaze eventually found Vax's, his smile perhaps the warmest of all. She still didn't quite understand why he had argued so fiercely in her favor, but for now, she wasn't about to question his kindness.

"Thank you." She whispered, unsure if he would even hear her above the hubbub of the other patrons.

Chuckling, Vax took a swig of his drink before answering. "Thank me after we all survive slaying this dragon and prove your parents wrong, yeah?"

[eldritchsurveys]

1210.

[chasingghosts @ bzoink]

1. How long ago did you wake up? >> I woke up about 13 hours ago.

2. With a fried egg, do you prefer the yolk runny or set? >> I guess I could go for either, but when I think of a fried egg I think of a runny yolk, so I guess that's what I'm most accustomed to.

3. Would you ever want to visit Thailand? >> Sure.

4. Do you like Marvel movies? Do you have a favourite? >> I used to enjoy them a lot more and I still consider myself a Marvel fan overall... But the oversaturation fatigue set in pretty hard in the last couple of years, especially since the quality went from "variable (some good, some abysmal, most mid)" to "oh, are they just ALL bad now???" My favourites are Thor (2011), Guardians of the Galaxy, and Doctor Strange. Thor: Ragnarok was a fave for a while but I've kind of cooled on it (partially because Love and Thunder, directed by the same guy, was so awful that it kind of retroactively spotlighted the flaws in Ragnarok and the weird direction they've gone in with Thor as a whole, and frankly I just grew weary of Taika Waititi's particular brand of humour). Black Panther is an honourable mention, I'm really loyal to that one.

5. Have you ever planned a wedding? >> I mean, I participated in the planning of my own.

6. How far away from home is the place you work or study? (or spend the most amount of time outside of home) .

7. Do you have any pimples right now? >> I don't think so.

8. What member of your family are you most similar to? In which ways? .

9. How do you listen to music? Spotify, Apple Music, Youtube, something else? >> Spotify.

10. Do you think everyone should vote, even if it's not mandatory? >> I don't care who votes, I really don't. It's none of my business, just like my voting habits or lack thereof are none of yours (general "you").

11. Have you ever painted a rock? >> I have not. 12. If you could have any animal as a pet, what would you have? .

13. Do you ever shop at Aldi? Do you even have one nearby? >> I do shop there, frequently. Also, Sparrow happens to work there. There are three ALDI locations within a reasonable distance from me. 14. How old were you at your first concert? >> I was 19.

15. What are some of your favourite snacks? >> Green onion crackers, almost any kind of seaweed snack, these crunchy sesame fish snacks that the Asian store sells that are like crack to me, pita crackers, various kinds of fruits (especially berries), etc.

16. Are you religious or spiritual in any way? >> In many ways, actually. 17. Do you know how to change the oil in a car? >> I know the broad strokes. But I don't own a car, so I don't feel the need to know any more detail than I already do. 18. Has it rained or snowed today? >> It has not.

19. Did you go to school with anyone named Levi? If so, what were they like? >> Not that I can recall.

20. What's on your shopping list at the moment? >> Right now, nothing, because we don't have shopping money. I'll figure out a list when I have an actual budget to work with.