#chili kin

[twisted-lies]

༊·˚ Day 21 of @multieditors-teahouse pride month challenge!

Gay Couple :: Gay/Mlm Zhongli x Childe Matching Icons

♡ / ⇆ if saving | credit if using

[gluttonyedits]

wishbox for anon: honeycore Chili Pepper Cookie rentry graphics

[crvwly]

the thing is about crowley is he's such an important character for dark little weirdos to see. he's such a good example of how you can be pessimistic and negative and grumpy and withdrawn and never ever lose your love for humanity or inherent goodness along the way, he sets such a shining precedent for how the worst of circumstances can bring out the very best in someone in the most bittersweet way; crowley intimately knows rejection and suffering and loss and loneliness and he tries to keep people from experiencing those things on his behalf and others' while keeping his absolutely ridiculous goofy little guy energy almost the whole time like. of course aziraphale wholeheartedly believed a stupid sentiment like "poverty gives greater opportunities for doing good" before he gave it an actual think, crowley is practically the baseline of his entire belief system and crowley is dark and weird and so good

[antifathomable-shapeshifter]

I found the post I thought I lost when I remade this blog! It's below the readmore. Its about my nonhuman idenity feelings. TW for venting about nonhuman dysphoria, CW for body horror/injury talk (I think that's a good tag for it? (it's also in the tags)), and more general horrifying language (as in the way i describe my feelings may cause others feelings of fear/horror/paranoia). also i talk about wanting to shapeshift.

i feel drawn to the nonhuman label, but there so many posts out there talking about really specific experiences. like, being a specific animal, being a specific monster, etc. that's great for them, and others who relate! (genuine) but for me personally, it more so this vague feeling of otherness. (def from autism, but like, yknow)

idk i want to being able to "ripple", to shapeshift into something incomprehensible, into goop, into a fractal, into the corner of eyes, and the back of minds. to disappear and be omnipresent. to pull apart my limbs and rend my flesh, to ooze and crawl and devour.

and being able to look and be whatever i want sounds cool as shit. 6 foot 4 and jacked as hell? shapeshift. size and body of a barbie doll? shapeshift. cryptic wolf-human-thing with coarse fur and long, clawed fingers? shapeshift. having a dick? shapeshift. vagina? shapeshift. both? shapeshift. something else? shapeshift.

becoming machine, becoming slime, becoming beautiful, becoming, becoming, becoming, becoming, becoming, becomi

[paradoxkinspace]

A moodboard for a transfem Galekh Xigisi, with an alternate with a little bit of Tagora's colours.

🃏

[coffinwoodx]

this is the funniest ad I've seen today

[p01son3d-ent1ty]

QUICK IF I WERE A DRINK, WHICH ONE WOULD I BE !!????

(y’all should definitely reblog with ur pics so me and gang can tell u what drink u are :DD)

[k0nanharv3y]

Invented drinks from Tim's coffee shop:

This is part of an AU I'm writing about Tim never joining the Batfam, so, yeah, read that first. Im too lazy to put all the parts, so, go to that link, there will be the first parts

• Coffee I'm The Night – $4.50 (A dark and robust coffee, with a hint of mint, ideal for those looking for something strong and comforting)

• Purple Spoiler Tea – $4.00 (Lavender or blueberry tea, with a touch of honey, something soft and relaxing)

• Espresso Depresso – $3.50 (A strong and bitter espresso, for those who need an extra push)

• Frappuccwing – $5.00 (A frappé with whipped cream, garnished with a hint of strawberry or caramel)

• Latte Matte – $4.75 (A latte with oat milk and a touch of spice)

• Orphan Coffee – $4.25 (A traditional coffee with a hint of cinnamon, evoking something warm and cozy)

• Robin Mokkaccino – $5.25 (A delicious mocha with a hint of dark cocoa and a touch of vanilla)

• Ice Hood – $5.50 (An iced coffee with vanilla syrup and cold cream, perfect for cooling off)

• A Decaffeinated Signal – $4.00 (Decaffeinated coffee with a hint of almond or hazelnut)

• Chai-dentity Crisis – (Chai with almond milk and a touch of honey)

• Two-Shots Latte – (Double espresso latte, because someone always needs two chances)

• Villain Vanilla Shake – (Wickedly creamy, vanilla shake with chocolate chips)

• Gotham Fog – (Dark version of London Fog, Earl Grey tea with steamed milk and a touch of lavender)

• Cold as Freeze – (Coffee slush with whipped cream and mint chips)

• Nightwing Nitro – (Coffee Nitro, elegant but with a strong punch)

• Bane's Protein Shake – (Banana and almond butter protein shake to break your fast in style)

• Caffeinestein – (Coffee infused with an extra boost of caffeine, for those who need to go crazy in the morning)

• Espress-Oh No! – (Espresso with a touch of cinnamon and hazelnut liqueur, ideal for making bad decisions)

• Riddle Me This... – (Mysterious infusion of hibiscus, red fruits and a touch of pink pepper)

• Ginger Crowffee – (Ginger and honey spiced latte, as chaotic as a certain scattered bird)

• Shaken, Not Stirred Espresso – (Non-alcoholic espresso martini, because class needs caffeine too)

• Pump Bat-kin Latte – (Pumpkin latte with a hint of dark chocolate and cinnamon)

• Choco-Freeze – (Chocolate and mint shake, so cold it leaves you frozen)

• Deadshot of Espresso – (Double espresso without sugar, because one shot, one hit… or a tachycardia)

• Venti-llante – (A venti latte, because nothing screams “night watchman” like too much caffeine)

• ChocoBane Shake – (Chocolate protein shake with a hint of chili, because it will make you stronger… but it will hurt first)

Desserts:

• Bat-nana split – $6.00 (A banana split with a touch of dark chocolate and whipped cream)

• Stealed Cat-Cake – $5.75 (A dark chocolate cupcake with creamy filling and a hint of mint)

• Moccha Riddle – $4.50 (A soft and fluffy mocha cake with chocolate frosting)

• Joker Cake (Because it explodes) – $7.00 (A chocolate cake with a surprise filling that 'explodes' with a splash of liquor, decorated with brightly colored cream)

• Black Cookie(s) – $2.75 (Dark chocolate cookies, perfect to accompany coffee)

• ScatteredCrow – $5.25 (Walnut brownie with a hint of sea salt and caramel, a robust dessert)

• Harley's Chaos – (Red velvet cupcake with raspberry filling and decorated with red and black colors)

• Raspberry Ghoul-ette – (Raspberry cupcake with dark frosting, for ghosts who love sweets)

• Puddin' Proof – (Chocolate caramel pudding, because if you have to prove it, it's not real pudding)

• Crime Brûlée – (Crème brûlée with a hint of rum, so good it should be illegal)

• Sin-amon Roll – (Sinfully Delicious Cinnamon Roll)

• Death by Chocolatewing – (Dark chocolate cake with layers of ganache and a pinch of sea salt)

• Sweet Tooth's Revenge – (Ice cream with caramel, brownie pieces and lots of chocolate chips)

• Hood Velvet Cake – (Red Velvet Cake with Cream Cheese and Raspberry Filling)

• Jelly Dent – (Strawberry jam filled donut, perfect until someone takes a bite)

• Snicker-Crow – (Chocolate, caramel and nut bar, with a touch of coffee for those who need a plan)

• Sweet, Sweet Vengeance Pie – (Salted Caramel Apple Pie, because revenge is better when it’s sweet)

• Broken Wing Brownie – (Brownie with a melted dark chocolate center, perfect for melancholic nights)

• Joker's Wildberry Tart – (Wildberry tart with colorful whipped cream, because there's always a surprise in every bite)

• The Double-Face Cookie – (Half chocolate chip, half oatmeal cookie, for the indecisive or the morally ambiguous)

• Not-So-Fortunate Fortune Cookie – (Fortune cookie that only says "Tough luck, kid.")

Breakfast and Brunch:

• Eggs-tra Vigilante – (Scrambled eggs with cheese, bacon and toast, because night heroes also eat breakfast)

• Robin's Toast – (French toast with powdered sugar and red berry syrup, as sweet as it is deadly)

• Bat-cakes – (Chocolate pancakes with bat ears and whipped cream)

• The Darkoats Rises – (Homemade granola with Greek yogurt and honey, because sometimes simple is best)

• The Last Bite of Krypton – (Spinach and feta omelette, packed with solar energy in every bite)

Sandwiches and Salads:

• Gotham Club Sandwich – (Triple sandwich with turkey, bacon, lettuce and tomato, as big as the city itself)

• The Knightwich – (Roast beef sandwich with melted cheese on rustic bread, for those dark and stormy days)

• Harvey's Half – (Sandwich with two different halves: one with ham and cheese, the other with turkey and cranberries)

• The Poison Green – (Spinach, arugula, avocado, walnut and basil dressing salad, as fresh as it is lethal)

• The Anti-Meat – (Vegan Sandwich)

• Scarecroissant – (Croissant filled with ham, Swiss cheese and mustard, so addictive it’s scary)

• Hall of Just-ice – (Crispy Chicken Caesar Salad, so classic it deserves its own monument)

• Bane's Big Bite – (Chili with meat and melted cheese, because surviving in Gotham requires a main course)

• Shiva's Hair – (Noodle soup with spicy broth, pork and egg, as lethal as its creator)

• Freeze Fries – (French fries with cheese and ranch dressing, always served cold, but with a warm heart)

Honestly I was too lazy to put prices on the rest of them, but I had fun naming them.

Well, my brother told me "You should put copyright on it" and I really don't want to, but, if you ever make any of my desserts and/or use any of the names I'd like you to send me a picture of it, and be tagged, other than that you're free to use any, and since I see you want ALL O_o the recipes, I'll post them on my personal account and tag them here, because I refuse to have so many recipes here, I have to scroll down too far to find my past posts

[rissiuniverse]

new ship pls

two responsible adults in charge of a bunch of kids

[cyborgpuppyofficial]

Hey! Before I begin this thread, I just wanna say, DON'T HARRASS ANYBODY. If you find the original post about what this is, then don't harass them or send them threats. They just have a bad take, that's all. Don't look for them, don't engage, just ignore their ass.

Trigger warning for Transphobia, and general dumbass takes ahead. This is gonna be a long one, so strap in! ^w^

So there's this assinine thread that is spreading around in the Sonic Headcannons tag, and I'm here to ratio it, and debunk it. Because it's been REALLY on my nerves, and I wanna talk about it in a longer format. Again, don't look for this person. And if you find them, don't harass them. That's not cool, and I blurred their name for a reason. Anyways, let's begin! In this first screencap I took, they talk about Sonic not being Trans because it doesn't fit with his character

Now me personally, I don't see Sonic as Trans. But I do see him as Demisexual and Demiromantic as two parts of my headcannon for him. So I'm gonna tell you that it's NOT THAT DEEP. Sonic can still be Trans or Cis, and still have the same personality. It's almost like Trans people are human beings, who have personalities outside of being Transgender! Who would've thought! What a crazy concept!😱 Which by the way, his personality changes in many interactions, look at Sonic Prime, or Sonic Boom for example. In Sonic Prime he acts way more goofy, and in Sonic Boom he's more of a sassy dork. But they still like the same things as far as we're aware. Do you know what would change about them and their personalities if they were Trans? If you said absolutely nothing, congratulations, you're not a braindead idiot! >w< Sonic can still run fast, be cocky, eat hot chili dogs and lie, as well as being Transgender! Because being Trans changes nothing about a person, especially not a FICTIONAL CARTOON HEDGEHOG.😱😱

Also Sonic is a fictional character, he's not even from nature itself, and it's fine if he were to change his gender. Which by the way, MOST TRANS HEADCANNONS MAKE HIM FTM, WHICH CHANGES NOTHING ABOUT HIS PYSICAL APPERENCE OTHER THAN TOP SURGERY SCARS. Side note about this first part, whoever actually uses "Woke Propaganda" in a non ironic way, I'm not gonna take you seriously. >:3

This next part of this weird take talks about how Trans Sonic is not representation, and that I can call them a transphobe all I want. So I will! Okay Transphobe, and I will fight you.🥰

Sometimes people like to just put headcannon things onto characters they kin, or they genuinely have reasons for thinking Sonic is Trans. Either way, Sonic and someone's headcannon of Sonic aren't the same! Someone drawing cute little top surgery scars on Sonic isn't going to change the Sonic Brand. It's not cannon, and Sonic being Trans is a headcannon for a reason. It's just a silly thing that lots of people agree with, and it literally harms nobody that some people draw Sonic as Transgender. People can still love Sonic the character, and still draw him as Trans.

They aren't doing a disservice to the franchise by making him Trans, people are just having fun. You should try that sometime! It's better than spewing hateful opinions, and unironically using the word "Wokies" to refer to anybody who DARES to draw Sonic with two little lines on his chest. By the way, bellow is what they're SO PRESSED ABOUT!😱 Isn't that just the scariest thing you've ever seen!? Just two little lines on a character's chest area! Woah! I'm never gonna be able to sleep again!/silly Grow up.

(I don't know who the original artist is, if ya'll know, please tell me!)

Last screenshot I promise, but I'm not sharing their image they included with their lovely post.

Uhh, Trans teenagers exist in real life. Sure a lot of them don't get surgery, but that's the beauty of FICTION. Also why do you care so much that if he is a Teenager and Transgender? That seems a little gross to me. Trans people are able to make their own decisions, and can choose to, or to not get surgery. I'm not Trans myself, and I think that people should wait until they're older to get surgery. But I'm not going to throw up in disgust because someone made a choice for themselves. And it's really weird that you're pressed over a fictional teenager with top surgery scars being drawn on them.😒

People can draw their favorite characters as Trans to kin them, or just because they feel like it. In either scenario, it's a drawing. A fictional drawing that was made for fun. And what exactly are you "helping" by saying this take? Just exposing yourself for being scared of little lines on Sonic's chest? What changes about the video, or drawing, or media you consume because Sonic is drawn with, or without top surgery scars? Again, ABSOLOUTELY NOTHING!🥰🥰 Unless you're reading or watching a comic about Sonic's journey with being Transgender, which is a fanmade thing. Then nothing about certain videos or fan content changes in the slightest. And I think it's so strange that you're hurt enough by Trans Sonic, that you had to say it was the worst headcannon BY FAR. What about those headcannons that Sonic is in love with Tails, or where he's a stalker, or a creep? I guess those aren't nearly as bad as a Trans person existing according to this lovely individual. And I guess a Trans person is the worst thing he can be. (GROSS TAKE)

Fuck off, get a hobby, cope, L+Ratio.😒 Also Trans rights are human rights, and all my Trans fans are valid! And they're allowed to headcannon whatever character as Transgender, since they aren't hurting anybody by doing it! ^w^

Thanks for reading all of this if you did. Again don't look for this person, and don't harass them! I just had to get this off my chest as someone who's been harassed for my own Sonic LGBTQ+ headcannons before. Continue doing your headcannons, as long as you aren't being mean about them. And I hope you... enjoyed this post I guess? XD I hope I did well debunking this weirdo. I'll be sharing my own headcannons, as well as their headcannon designs over here hopefully sometime soon.

Trans rights are human rights! And have a wonderful day everyone, peace out! ^w^

Boo! Ahhh so scary!/silly

[tastesoftamriel]

Greeting dear Talviel! I was wondering if you have any recommendations for werewolf friendly cuisine. A lycanthropic friend of mine suffers from an awful lot of bleed over effects particularly around food, so onions, garlic, avocados, raisins & grapes, and mushrooms are out. And while I know my compatriot would be content with a simple steak or fish, I also would like to be able to ensure they're able to enjoy some wider flavor expierences as well

I was commissioned to write a tome on werewolf cuisine some time ago. As this was privately commissioned, I can only provide excerpts, provided below.

'Werewolves are equally respected and reviled across Tamriel, and are associated with the Daedric Prince Hircine. Contrary to popular belief, older werewolves are perfectly sentient and in control upon shifting form. While clumsy paws deter shifted werewolves from activities as complex as cooking, many werewolves across Tamriel incorporate food into their transformation rituals. The reason I call them rituals is that, to some, transformation is a sacred gift from Hircine, and it is a precious time to commune with the Daedric Prince whilst enjoying the freedom of taking wolf form. 

Transforming is, rather than being a curse, a cause for celebration, and the preparation and consumption of offerings both to fellow wolf-kin as well as the Lord of the Hunt has become standard practice by proud werewolves around Tamriel. These food offerings give us a glimpse into the werewolf psyche; what food we consume is indicative of what we value and what nourishes us both physically and spiritually.'

'The following dishes are a selection of personal favourites belonging to many werewolves of every race across Tamriel. These dishes are consumed before, during, or after shape-shifting, and reflect the richness and variety of Tamrielic cuisine whilst being unique to werewolves and followers of Hircine.

Venison-and-rabbit steak tartare: With whole raw goose egg

Grilled cow’s heart and tongue: Sliced thinly, and served medium-rare with blood jus dipping sauce

Juniper hare stew: With red wine and herbs

Beef carpaccio: With capers and wild honey

Gryphon steak: With Cloudrest-style béarnaise sauce

Riverhold coconut-grilled surf and turf: With moon sugar chili dipping sauce

Guar mince gratin: With spiced scuttle and guar blood sauce

Veal saltimbocca: With Cyrodiilic cured ham and wine

Ancient Falinesti timber mammoth meatballs: With meat gravy'

[cryptidclaw]

Bonehunter (aka. Bone)! I love this design sm , i love u Bone <3

Design wise, I tried to make her markings look kinda like bones! Also I gave her a funky eye color bec I thought it looked cool and it makes them pop!

...

Bonehunter

Butch Lesbian; Gender Nonconforming; she/her pronouns

Age as of 1st arc's end: 3 cycles, 7 moons; ~30 Human years

Title meaning: -hunter = a cat who is very skilled at catching prey or their enemies; a cat who will not cease until their opponent is caught and delt with.

First Second of Blood Order; Bone is not related to Raven and was made deputy before the Order followed the usual succession rules

Mother: Chili

Father: Bandit

Siblings: Iceshard, Snakebite, Barleycloud, Violetdream

Mate: Brickfall

Other notable kin: Macgyver (uncle), Cowstep (niece), Lambcry (nephew), Ryewhisker (nephew)

Extra notes: Bonehunter dies in Po3 during the great attack against Blood Order, she is succeeded by Paintdapple.

[Image ID: a digital drawing of Bonehunter an au version of Bone from Warrior Cats. She is standing with her left side showing, and a serious, menacing expression on her face. She is a large, buff, short furred black and white molly with blue eyes, and pink pupils and eyelashes. She is mostly white with black markings that emulate bones. The black covers her face, emulating a skull, it then goes down her back, covers her front leg, excluding her paws, and goes down her sides in vertical stripes like a simplified rib cage. She has tattered ears, two scars on her forehead, an x shaped scar on her chest, and scars on her back left leg. She wears a dogs teeth studded red collar, as well as a tooth in her right ear. Her nose and inner ears are both dark black and her scars are pink./End ID

[feralchaton]

porcelain. are you wasting away in your skin? are you missing the love of your kin? drifting and floating and fading away

[croisstime-gf]

Hello! This is my (@movie-plush-baby) fictoromantic/selfship blog for Timekeeper Cookie and Croissant Cookie! Here I’ll be putting most of my art and gushing from now on.

DNI or follow if you’re proship, comship, or neutral. I do not want to interact with you.

While I take me and Croissant and Timekeeper’s relationship seriously, I am okay with dupes and ships. To me, that’s a different version of Croissy and Timey.

I also ship Croisstime. We’re all in a polyamorous relationship and this is a very big part of our relationship. If you aren’t comfortable with Croisstime please keep that in mind.

READ MORE FOR EXTRA STUFF

wheeee spinnies :3

- I kin Coffee Candy Cookie! My self-insert is a kinsona version of her named Ginger Candy Cookie, based off of my fursona. If you see a weird lookin’ Coffee Candy with cat features and three eyes, that’s me.

- I’m lesbian and use xenogenders and neopronouns.

- My favorite Cookie Run characters are:

Croissant and Timekeeper (They both get first!! I couldn’t put one lower than the other that would be mean :()

String Gummy (Despite how much I bully the guy he’s a cool character)

Chili Pepper (My first ever favorite)!

ABOUT US

- Me and Timekeeper have been together for roughly 5 or so months, while me and Croissant have been together for 4.

- I am a committed fictosexual/fictoromantic, and I think the term for that might be “waifuist” but I don’t really like the term (and r/waifuism is dumb anyways. They don’t allow poly. Cowardsssss.)

- Here’s a little ship template I filled out!

Thank you for reading :D! My tags for them will be these (although I’m probably going to just put them in the same posts anyways)

“#🕰️timey” for Timekeeper

“#🥐croissy” for Croissant

“#🕰️🥐my gfs r kissing” for CroissTime

[radioactivepeasant]

Snippet Thursday part 1: Blackmail au

First

Prev

Next

Daxter fanned himself rapidly and slid down into the shadow cast by the front seat. "How can you people live like this?" he groaned, "Can we go back to that beach? Let's go back to that beach!"

Jak smirked but said nothing. It was a dry heat, not quite like the humidity he remembered from the Precursor Basin. After two years of the prison, and feeling as if he would never be warm again, Jak felt almost at home.

Home. What a strange thought. What was this man, Damas, going to do once they got to his city? Did he have any intention of letting Jak go free?

What did fathers do usually? Samos complained and criticized and demanded and condescended but he did teach Jak to channel. Praxis blustered and brutalized, he took and he took and he took -- even from his own kin, judging by Ashelin's complaints about risky missions to find relics.

Those were the only fathers Jak knew of. Daxter spoke often and fondly of a man called Osmo, he knew. An elderly man who had opened his home to Daxter while Jak was imprisoned, who treated Daxter like his own child. Jak knew it wasn't fair. He knew it wasn't Daxter's fault. But sometimes he listened to his friend speak wistfully of the home he'd shared with the old man and his son and a bitter envy crawled up his throat like vomit, burning on his tongue. He hated himself for it. Of all of them, surely Daxter deserved it the most! He'd been treated the worst of them growing up, even Jak was "raised" compared to Daxter.

What was wrong with Jak? How could he be bitter about that?

And yet.

Jak folded his arms across his knees and gazed out at the towering red rocks as they passed. The air was surprisingly clean, if hot. He took in a deep breath and glanced up at Sig and Damas. They seemed to be more focused on their surroundings than he'd expected, looking around constantly as if expecting an attack. Well, Jak supposed Kor had mentioned there being really big metalheads in the Wastes.

"Hey, uh-" Jak cringed.

What did he call this Damas guy? It would be a cold day in hell before he called a total stranger "Father" or something ostentatious like that. But it felt a little uncomfortable to call the guy by his name. They weren't friends, after all. Jak would grant him a modicum of respect unless he did something to lose it.

Damas turned instantly with an inscrutable expression. "Yes?"

Jak shifted to lean against the hot metal of what was probably a gunner's seat under normal circumstances. "What are you watching for?"

"Two kinds of enemies," Damas answered. He pointed back the way they'd come. "The southwest coast of the Central Wastelands holds a colony of Frosthold. The Marauders weren't thrilled to discover that the island was already inhabited, and they have a bothersome habit of trying to kill or enslave my people whenever we leave the city."

Jak bristled. The Marauders were slavers? Like Praxis? Dark eco dregs swirled around in his stomach -- mercifully too few to let him transform. He didn't want to know what his alleged father would say if he was That Thing.

"If you see them," he hissed, "Stop the car. I'll kill them."

"Absolutely not. We have a turret gun for a reason." Damas pointed to the construct over Jak's seat. "Sig tells me you're something of a prodigy with firearms. If we come across Marauders, you can prove it."

Daxter waved a limp hand before squeezing further into the shade. "Er...what's the...other enemy?"

"Metalhead Beasts, Chili Pepper," Sig answered without looking back. "Around here, we call em Apex Metalheads. Big-ass suckers, run in packs."

He pointed to a dusty plain ahead where the sand gave way to scrub grass and desert sheoak.

"And they like to graze up here in the steppes, so keep your eyes peeled."

"Graze?" Daxter repeated hopefully, "Like they're herbivores?"

"Graze for unwary drivers," Damas answered with a scowl. "Humans, Leapers, even other metalheads. They'll eat anything."

________________________________________

They make it to Spargus unscathed, and Jak is not as happy about the crowds as Daxter is

_________________________________________

The West Market was loud. Loud, and bright, and crowded. There were dozens of stalls, and scores of Wastelanders wandering between them. Some haggled for fresh fruit, some examined racks of fabric and garments, and some even sat chatting while people did their hair. The nearest equivalent Jak could think of was Rock Village. 

"Lord Damas," a stout, cheerful man greeted him, echoed by a boy no older than Jak. "What can I do for you this evening?"

"I need a few sets of clothing for this one, Finn," Damas answered, gesturing to Jak. "Three tunics, two sets of trousers, underclothes et cetera."

"Pre-made, or custom?" Finn asked, raising pencil-thin eyebrows.

Damas looked back at Jak, who appeared distracted.

"Jak. Jak. Do you want to choose the fabric yourself?"

Jak started like an alerted deer. Dark eco heightened the senses, made everything sharper and clearer. In a crowded market, that wasn't necessarily a good thing. He could hear a man ten feet away complaining about prices. Two people at the next stall over were gossiping about someone's love life. There was a baby crying somewhere close by. All of it grated against Jak’s sensitive ears. Damas calling his name was just one more sound lost in the rising babble. He flinched when Daxter squeezed his shoulder. 

"...what?" he asked, a little hoarsely. 

Wearing an aggravating look of sympathy, Damas repeated, "Do you want to choose the fabric yourself, or do you mind pre-made?"

Jak stared blankly at the men. He had choices? He hadn't been given real choices in years. How many options were there? Was it important? Why did he need so many clothes anyway?

"What's the difference?" he asked after an awkward silence. 

The boy behind the counter answered instead of Finn. "Well, pre-made is faster, but there's always a chance that it won't fit you as well as something tailored. But you could also grow into it."

"...I could?"

Damas looked concerned.

 "What's tailored?" Jak asked, completely serious.

The other boy didn't seem to pick up on the meaningful glances Finn and Damas were passing each other. He scratched his nose with one hand -- a prosthetic, Jak realized belatedly, with some interest, and shrugged.

"You know, tailored? We measure your neck and shoulders and waist and stuff so the tunic will fit you and only you perfectly?"

It was bragging, just a little bit. But Cairn was very proud of his family's textile business.

He held up his favorite blue measuring tape and smiled.

"I could get your measurements real quick if you want?"

But the other teen jolted. 

Jak flinched back, caught somewhere between trying to curl inward and trying to puff himself up to look bigger and more intimidating. He seemed...oddly and noticeably paler than he had been when they'd approached the stall, pupils blown wide. Cairn had seen older Wastelanders react like this before, but never anyone his age. He frowned and looked to his uncle for assurance.

Damas raised a hand placatingly. "Don't take it personally, young one. We are all strangers to him still."

He had hoped Jak would feel more at ease around someone his own age. He liked Cairn. The boy wasn't a warrior, or a scout, but his skill with a loom was darn near prodigious. 

Sig placed a comforting hand on Jak’s back.

"We're just not ready for that kind of close contact yet," he apologized, "Just give him time to adjust."

Cairn, thankfully, didn't seem upset. "Oh. Okay, guess you'll want pre-made, then. See any you like?"

Jak looked to Daxter and raised his brows. "Um...do we?"

The ottsel examined the small selection on the rack and nodded. "The yellow one, that's gonna look good on you."

"I like blue."

"Do you see blue?" Daxter argued, winking at Cairn as he skillfully pulled Jak out of his shell, "No? Go for the yellow. It'll bring out your eyes."

"I don't like that shade of yellow! It looks like a pine-pear!"

"So? You'd be a very handsome pine-pear."

"No!" Jak scowled and shoved Daxter, nearly sending the ottsel off his shoulder. "I shouldn't have asked you."

Finn laughed. "Well, we don't have any dark blue at the moment -- the traders haven't brought any more indigo yet -- but we have some woad-turquoise."

He fished around in a basket under the wooden counter and produced a scrap of a dark green-blue. 

"Cairn wove this himself," he said proudly, "You won't find a softer, lighter, linen anywhere in Spargus."

"Uncle!" Cairn covered his face in embarrassment.

Hesitantly, Jak reached out and touched the scrap of linen. It was lightweight. Tightly woven, worn smooth and soft. Experimentally, he rolled up his sleeve and laid the linen against his skin.

It felt like barely anything was touching him at all.

What would it be like to have an entire tunic made of this?

Damas watched the boy twisting the fabric around his fingers, over his wrist. There were markings there, the telltale calluses of shackles. 

Praxis was going to die. Slowly. 

"Finn," he murmured, "Would you make two kurtas in that fabric? And- and a blanket, I think."

The tailor nodded. "I can have it done in a week."

"Thank you. In the meantime, we can take that brown one. What do you want for it?"

Finn shook his head. "You go on and take it, sire. There aren't enough young'uns in the Wastes. I'll not charge; seems the lad's in dire need of a little kindness in his life."

He glanced meaningfully at his nephew's prosthetic. 

"Call it returning a favor."

Cairn’s family had never forgotten that Damas had commissioned the boy's prosthetic himself after taking the throne. They'd tried to "pay him back" so many times that Damas was fairly sure that he was the one in debt now. 

He chuckled. "Alright, alright. Put it on my tab."

Then he looked thoughtful.

"Can he keep that scrap? Seems to be helping."

"Sure!" Cairn piped up. "I can always make more!"

Jak tucked the scrap into his sleeve and nodded to the other boy silently.

First

Prev

Next