#i keep forgetting arachnophobia is a thing | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

bluevaractyl · 10 months ago

Text

So I wrote a thing. I was not expecting to write a thing, and it turned out a lot angstier than I planned, but I think I managed to wrangle it into something readable. I promise there is comfort at the end. It's also on Ao3.

Warnings: canon-typical blood and violence, if you have arachnophobia you should probably skip this one. Let me know if I need to add something.

Don't (forget to) look up

The forest flew by. Wild sprinted ahead, leaping over a fallen tree. All too soon his stamina gave out and he stumbled to a walk, gasping as he tried to catch his breath. Ahead of him, the tail of the black lizalfos whipped out of sight. He clenched his fist and growled in frustration.

The clanking of weapons against armor and hurried footsteps heralded the arrival of the rest of the group as they caught up. Wild sighed and turned to face them.

“It got away,” Warriors said once they were close enough. It wasn’t a question, but Wild nodded. Rested enough, he bounced on the balls of his feet, ready to take off running again. A hand on his arm stopped him. He looked up at Twilight.

“Now hang on, don’t go haring off again. Now that we’ve lost him there’s no point, and we need to stick together, anyhow.” The older hero gave Wild a firm look, hand still on his bicep like he thought Wild would dart off if given the chance. To be fair, Wild had given him good reason to think so.

Wild sighed and nodded, resigned. The lizalfos was too far ahead by now for them to hope they could catch up, and even he could admit that taking it on alone would have been risky. It had already proven a far cleverer foe than any other monster they’d encountered. Twilight stared a moment longer, then released him and stepped away. He turned to Time, who was frowning in the direction the lizalfos had disappeared in.

Time seemed to come to a decision. “Let’s keep going.”

Twilight looked surprised but closed his mouth. Time continued walking, and after exchanging curious looks, they all followed. A few moments later, a strange, familiar sound reached Wild’s ears. They stepped into a clearing and stopped as one.

In the center of the clearing stood another gate. The intricate arch glowed an eerie purple, its depths swirling and dark. Looking at it too long made Wild feel dizzy.

“Looks like we might catch up to our slippery friend after all,” Warriors declared, hefting his sword with a savage smile. Time was still frowning, but he shook his head and addressed them all.

“Alright. We don’t know what we’ll find on the other side, so be prepared for anything.” With that, he stepped forward and entered the portal, his form wavering and vanishing.

Wild tightened the straps and checked that his slate was securely attached to his belt. Around him, the others did the same, checking weapons and bags and then following Time through the gate. Wild walked through just after Wind.

The feeling of moving between worlds was just as strange as the first time. It felt a bit like swimming against a strong current. Pressure built in Wild’s ears and against his closed eyes until abruptly disappearing as he stepped out onto solid ground. He took a breath as if breaking the surface and opened his eyes.

The gate led to a forest not unlike the one they had just left. Tall trees obscured the sky. Time, Warriors, Legend, and Twilight stood in soft conversation. Wind was turning in circles looking around. Behind Wild, Hyrule and Four exited the gate, followed by Sky.

“Where are we?” asked Sky, tilting his head back to peer through the canopy.

The others’ conversation paused. Time explained, “We aren’t sure yet. Do any of you recognize it?” Everyone shook their heads. Wild checked his slate, but the map was nothing but static, as usual. Wherever they were, it wasn’t his Hyrule.

Time didn’t seem surprised. A forest was a forest, Wild supposed, so without any sort of landmark, it could have been anyone’s – or even none of theirs. “Let’s get settled, then. It will be getting dark soon,” Time said. The group moved away from the humming gate, looking for a suitable place to spend the night. It was an unspoken rule that they never camped too close to a portal. The strange magic emanating from it made them all uneasy, not to mention the danger of something coming through while they slept and taking them by surprise.

They didn’t have to go far. Half an hour later, they were moving stones and setting up a fire in the middle of a clearing. Wild crouched by the firepit and started removing ingredients from his slate. He still had some goat butter and rock salt; maybe he could make risotto tonight.

The rice was cooking and Wild was dicing mushrooms when a hulking figure suddenly crashed through the trees, bellowing. Everyone leapt to their feet. Wild’s cutting board flipped over as he jumped up, yanking his shield onto his arm and drawing his sword. An armored, snub-nosed monster wielding a spear was attempting to skewer Wind, who used his small size to dodge and slash at its ankles. Two more of the monsters emerged from the trees and joined the fight. Wild wasted no time moving to engage.

Ducking below the spear, Wild stabbed upwards and was dismayed when his sword skated off its breastplate with a screech of metal. Backflipping away, he spared half a second to assess its weaknesses. While its torso and upper legs were well protected, its head was bare. It snarled at him, long canines protruding from its lower jaw, and jabbed the spear at him. He easily leapt to the side and yanked at the spear as it passed, hoping to pull the monster off balance. It was stronger than he’d anticipated, though, and stayed firm. Before Wild could recover, it had swung the haft into his midsection, throwing him back. He hit the ground hard with the air knocked from his lungs. Pain sparked through his head and back where they impacted.

Suddenly Hyrule was there, jumping impossibly high into the air. Sword pointed down, he fell upon the monster’s head, killing it instantly. It dissipated into purple smoke.

Hyrule approached where Wild was still on the ground trying to breathe. He held out a hand and pulled Wild to his feet. Then they both silently surveyed the battle.

Monster parts and a fallen spear suggested one of the bulky beasts had already been taken care of, but more must have appeared while Wild was focused on his, because now there were four facing off against the other heroes. Though outnumbered, the monsters were firmly on the offensive. Wild watched one thrust its spear towards Legend. Legend barely raised his shield in time to block and was pushed back several feet by the force.

Wild unslung his bow and nocked an arrow. Shifting his posture, he drew the string to his cheek, carefully aiming between the monster’s eyes as it advanced again. Just before he released, Hyrule yelled, “Wild, behind—”

A heavy weight slammed into Wild’s shoulders, knocking him to the ground again. Something sharp sank into either side of his neck, and he screamed in a mix of surprise and pain. Writhing, he tried to roll over or shake it off, but the creature only dug in harder. Tears sprang to his eyes. He twisted to try to reach his bag or quiver or anything to defend himself with, but instead his hand brushed something hard and segmented that moved at his touch. Panic gripped his chest, making it harder to breathe.

“Hyah!” a voice directly above him cried, and suddenly the monster released him with a screech. The weight disappeared. Wild immediately rolled over and scrambled away, dizzy from fear and relief and something else, probably. The world swam. He put one hand to his neck and felt a dull throb. Pulling it away, he found his palm red with blood. Oh, he thought muzzily, that’s not good.

Hyrule killed the deeler with a precise stab before it could attack again, then turned to make sure Wild was okay.

Wild was not okay. He was sitting propped on one elbow and staring at his other hand, which was dripping blood. He didn’t seem to notice Hyrule approach.

“Wild…?” Hyrule said uncertainly, a moment before Wild’s eyes rolled back and he slumped backward.

“Wild!” Hyrule skidded to his knees next to the champion and hovered uncertainly. There was a lot of blood, most of it coming from the deep puncture wounds on the back of his neck. Hyrule covered the wounds and applied pressure. With his other hand, he shook Wild’s shoulder, gently at first, then harder when he got no response.

Wild’s eyes opened and he blinked slowly. He grunted, “Mmf. Leave m’ ’lone, ‘Rule.” Hyrule let out a relieved breath.

Suddenly, Wild’s eyes widened and his breathing became faster. His legs kicked weakly at the ground like he was trying to get up. “’Rule, c’nt move,” he mumbled, sounding distressed. Hyrule’s heart sank.

Deelers used venom to incapacitate victims. Usually the paralysis was very limited and faded quickly, but Hyrule had never been bitten for more than a second or two. Wild had had the deeler on him for far longer, and it was showing. Hyrule scanned him with a worried eye. His entire upper body seemed to be affected already. He was looking less alert by the second, and his breathing was slowing again. A terrifying thought occurred to Hyrule: what would happen if the venom reached his heart or lungs?

He could use Life to heal Wild’s wounds, but the venom would still be in his bloodstream. Even a potion wouldn’t stop it, and Wild would have to be awake to drink it anyway. Maybe a fairy? Deelers were undeniably dark creatures, and this one had been infected, so it seemed possible that a fairy’s magic could neutralize the venom.

Hyrule didn’t have any fairies with him since the ones in his world didn’t like bottles. He grabbed for the bag hanging from Wild’s belt and dug inside it, but no fairies appeared. Desperate, he looked around. The others had almost ended the fight. As Hyrule watched, Time’s massive sword came down and snapped the last moblin’s spear in half. Sky finished it off with a swift strike to its neck. It went down.

Hyrule looked back down at Wild. His friend’s eyes were half-lidded and unfocused, and only the shallow rise and fall of his chest showed he was alive. They were running out of time.

“It’s going to be okay, Wild, just, just wait right here. It’s okay.” The words came out rushed. Hyrule couldn’t tell if Wild had even heard. Standing, he backed away and ran as fast as he could to the others.

As soon as he was within hearing range, Hyrule barked, “I need a fairy, now!” He skidded to a stop by Time, almost running into the taller man in his haste.

Time put his hands on Hyrule’s shoulders, steadying him. “What’s happened? Who needs a fairy?” Before Hyrule could answer, Twilight looked in the direction Hyrule had come from and paled. Without a word, he took off running.

The words spilled out of Hyrule. “Wild got bitten by a deeler, and usually the venom’s not so bad, but this time’s worse, and I think he’s going to—we need a fairy, quick, who has a fairy?”

Warriors’s gaze hardened and he started jogging over to where Hyrule had left Wild. They all hurried to follow.

Twilight was knelt at Wild’s side, cupping the back of his neck in one hand and holding his lax wrist in the other. Warriors immediately bent down to examine him.

Since Hyrule had left, Wild’s eyes had closed again. The pool of blood around his head had spread. It didn’t look like he was breathing. Hyrule’s heart skipped a beat.

Legend hesitantly asked, “Is he…?”

Warriors didn’t answer for a moment, fingers pressed to Wild’s neck. Finally, he said, voice tense, “Nearly. Hyrule—” Hyrule jumped at his name “—why a fairy? Why not use your spell?”

Hyrule stumbled to explain. “The venom—the spell wouldn’t stop it, and so he might die anyway, and then I wouldn’t have enough magic left to save him—but a fairy—it’s, they’re creatures of light, right? So I thought—I thought maybe—” He took in a gasping breath, helpless panic filling him. He looked from one face to another, but if any of them had a fairy with them, they would have said so.

Wind voiced the question they were all thinking. “What do we do?” He suddenly looked his age, frightened and unsure.

Warriors stayed crouched by Wild, but he looked up and said in a steady voice, “Wind, Four, Time, Sky, split into pairs and search for fairies. Even better if you find a fairy fountain—”

Hyrule interrupted, “There aren’t any. The fountains are gone.” At Warriors’s questioning look, he explained, suddenly horribly certain, “This is my world. You might be able to catch a fairy in the woods. Look out for deelers in the trees.”

Warriors accepted this with a nod. “You four, look for a fairy. Watch each other’s backs. Go.”

Wind immediately seized Time’s hand, and Time allowed himself to be pulled into the forest. Sky and Four set off in the opposite direction, clearly relieved to be given some sort of instruction.

Warriors continued, “Twilight, stay where you are and keep pressure on the wound. Legend, I need clean water and bandages, and potions if you have any. Hyrule…be ready.” His voice wavered on the last word, and he cleared his throat and turned away.

Cold washed over Hyrule as the meaning sank in. Unless the others returned with a fairy or Wild’s body broke down the venom in time, his heart would stop beating, and then Hyrule would be their only hope.

Legend gave a soft “aha!” from where he had been digging in his bag and withdrew a roll of cloth bandages. He handed the bandages and a bottle of water to Warriors and resumed searching his bag.

Warriors had Twilight carefully roll Wild onto his side so he could access the wound. He poured some of the water over the punctures to clear the blood away, then dabbed at them with a cloth. They were still bleeding steadily, but not spurting, at least, so probably nothing too vital had been hit. Hyrule tried to put what-ifs out of his mind.

Warriors frowned and began wrapping the wound. Hyrule watched, feeling as dazed as if he’d been the one bitten. Legend placed a single red potion on the ground in arm’s reach of Twilight. Then he came to stand by Hyrule, twisting his hat in his hands anxiously.

Warriors finished with the bandages and lay Wild down again. He felt for a pulse again. After a long moment, he leaned over and placed his ear over Wild’s chest. When he looked up again, his expression was solemn. “We can’t wait any longer. Either the venom has run its course, or it hasn’t. Hyrule, he needs your help now.”

Hyrule stepped forward, taking Warriors’s place by Wild’s side. All of his previous panic had been washed away by a calm focus. He gathered his magic to his fingertips, placed them on Wild’s chest, and cast his Life spell.

Of all the spells Hyrule knew, only Thunder required more magic than Life. He’d only used a little for Jump earlier, but it had been a long day. Almost immediately he could feel exhaustion tugging at him. He grit his teeth and put all of his focus into coaxing Wild’s damaged body to heal itself.

He directed the spell to the wound at Wild’s neck, then let it spread, moving up his head and down along his spine. He could feel it working, repairing and revitalizing damaged tissues. It wasn’t enough, though. Determination surging, he poured energy into Wild’s failing body, urging his heart and lungs to move as they ought to.

Beneath Hyrule’s hands, Wild suddenly shuddered and took a deep, gasping breath. He tried to sit up but fell back, gulping air and shaking like a leaf in a storm. Hyrule sat down hard, dizzy with relief and exhausted beyond belief, and watched Twilight put an arm around Wild’s shoulders and guide him to lean back against his chest.

He’d done it. Wild was going to be okay.

Hyrule let his eyes fall shut. He felt as if he’d just taken on Ganon a second time. His whole body ached from how tense he’d been, and his magic was wrung dry. A nap sounded like the best idea in the world. Safe in the knowledge that his friends could handle things from here, he let himself fall asleep.

Wild awoke with the terrible certainty that something was wrong. He couldn’t remember what had happened, but his heart was pounding like a galloping horse and everything hurt. Adrenaline was rushing through him, urging him to act. His chest was burning.

He tried to get up, certain that there was danger nearby. Immediately, every muscle in his body protested loudly. He let his head fall back to the ground with a dull thud, still gasping for air. What in Hyrule happened to me? he thought in bewilderment.

Suddenly strong hands were supporting his back, helping him to sit up. His head lolled to the side. He was leaned back against something warm and solid. A familiar voice asked by his ear, “You with us, Cub?”

Wild dragged his eyes open. Blurred colors resolved into the vague shape of someone leaning over him. The bright green and deep blue told him it was probably Warriors.

“Wha’ happ’n?” he managed. His tongue felt thick and clumsy in his mouth.

Warriors responded, voice oddly careful, “A deeler got you. How much do you remember?”

Wild pondered that for a moment, letting the words pierce through the fog in his brain. A deeler? He didn’t know what a deeler was. He absently reached up to scratch the back of his neck. His fingers met bandages, and all at once, panic was sweeping through him as he remembered the awful feeling of a creature’s fangs buried in the flesh there.

A hand captured his and pulled it away from the bandages. A low voice prompted, “Just breathe, Wild. It’s alright. Hyrule took care of it. Breathe.” Wild obediently sucked in a breath, choked, and tried again. He let out an involuntary whimper, overwhelmed.

Someone was rubbing soothing circles on his back. Wild tried to focus on that instead. Gradually breathing became easier, and he sagged back. Fur tickled his cheek.

“Twi?” he asked, finally realizing what—or who, rather—he was leaning against.

There was a puff of air against his ear as Twilight chuckled. “Yeah, Wild, it’s me. How are you feeling?”

Wild sighed, “Tired. ‘verythin’ hurts. M’ heart’s beatin’ real fast.”

Cool fingers pressed against his throat. His eyes shot open again, and he could just make out Warriors apologetic smile. “Sorry, just checking. Hyrule might have overdone it a bit.” Apparently satisfied, Warriors drew back and bent over someone else.

“Hyrule! Is ‘e ‘kay?” Wild struggled to sit up more, trying to see the traveler. A green and brown lump sat slumped against Legend, who so far hadn’t said a word.

Twilight shushed him gently. “He’s fine, Wild, just sleeping. That spell wore him out.” The rancher carded his fingers through Wild’s hair, pausing when Wild winced. The back of his head felt sticky.

Before Wild could fully process why and freak out again, pounding footsteps approached. He jerked upright and twisted around to look, then lost his balance and would have tipped over if Twilight hadn’t quickly wrapped an arm around his chest.

Wind and Time were hurrying toward them. Something small and glowy was following them. Wild squinted, but his vision was still messed up, and he couldn’t tell what it was. Wind jolted to a stop and then dashed forward faster than Wild could track. With an oomf! Wild suddenly had an armful of sobbing teenager.

Wind cried into his shoulder, “I thought—I thought we took too long and we would—hic!—we’d come back and you’d be g-gone!” He hugged Wild tighter. Wild did his best to reciprocate. Eventually the tears slowed, and Wind sat back. He scrubbed his face with his sleeve.

Time bent down and put a hand on Wild’s shoulder. To Wind, he said, “Let’s give him some space, alright?” Wind nodded, breathing shakily. He scooted back a little.

Suddenly the glowing light bobbed into view right in front of Wild. Up close, he could see it was shaped like a very small person with delicate wings. It must have been a fairy, though he had never seen a fairy like it before.

The fairy flew right up to his face, making him go cross-eyed. It gave a distressed chime. Then it darted upward and zipped in shimmering circles above him. Wild relaxed as the pain faded and the world came into clearer focus. He hadn’t realized quite how awful it was before.

He looked up at the fairy, who was still hovering anxiously, and said gratefully, “Thanks.” It chimed in answer, then swooped down over Hyrule and did the same. Satisfied, it flitted away into the forest.

Wild yawned. The frantic energy that had been thrumming in his veins since waking up was finally gone, replaced by tiredness. Sleep dragged at his eyelids. He thought he heard the smithy’s voice, but then Twilight rumbled something soothing, and he drifted off.

Time watched Wild’s breathing even out into true sleep. As soon as he was sure the champion wouldn’t hear, he turned to Warriors and demanded, “What happened while we were gone?”

Warriors sighed and motioned for him to sit. Time, Sky, and Four all joined the loose circle on the ground.

Warriors glanced over at Hyrule as if checking he was still asleep, then stated flatly, “It was really close.”

Time had suspected as much, but hearing it confirmed made him glad he was sitting down.

Warriors continued, “We did what we could for the wound, of course, but Hyrule was right that it was risky to try to heal him with the venom still circulating, so we waited to see if his body could deal with it fast enough. His breathing was too shallow, though, and his heartbeat just got weaker, so eventually we couldn’t wait any longer. I asked Hyrule to heal him.”

Warriors paused and shook his head with a breathy laugh. “Our traveler’s really something. I didn’t think it was working, but he doesn’t know the meaning of giving up. Suddenly Wild was awake and breathing again. The fairy took care of the rest of it, and after a bit of rest, they both should be fine.”

Time let out a breath he didn’t realize he’d been holding. When he had left with Wind to search for a fairy, some part of him had been convinced they would come back to find the champion dead. He had only agreed to go because watching helplessly was worse. He truly hadn’t expected they would find a fairy. Convincing it to help hadn’t been hard, in the end; the traveler’s world may have been scarred by hatred, but it still held kindness too.

Returning to find Wild upright and alert had calmed the torrent of pain and dread his injury had wrought. Looking around, Time could see his own feelings reflected in the others’ eyes. Wind was sniffling again. Sky pulled him closer, wrapping his sailcloth around them both.

Time cleared his throat and said, “We’ll camp here tonight.” He stood and went to restart the fire. As he passed Warriors, he clasped his shoulder and murmured, “You did well, Captain. Thank you.”

They all set about preparing to settle down for the night, voices kept low so as not to wake the two sleeping heroes. Sky retrieved rations from his bag and passed them around. Four gathered firewood to keep the fire going. Twilight carefully lifted a still-sleeping Wild and carried him to his own bedroll, laying him down and tucking the blankets around him. Time did the same for Hyrule. The traveler shifted as he was laid down but settled easily when Time hummed a few notes.

The sky was dark by the time Time sat down on a log next to Twilight. The younger man was gazing into the fire, his expression haunted. The day had been a shock for all of them, but undoubtedly Twilight especially.

“He’s going to be okay, Pup. I know that wasn’t easy, but it’s over.” He reached over and put his arm around Twilight’s shaking shoulders, pulling him to lean against Time’s side. In the morning, he would have to talk to Wild about working as a team and staying aware of his surroundings. He would have to check that Hyrule was recovering from the stress of holding his brother’s life in his hands. But for now, all was as it should be. “It’s over.”

#inspired by my hatred of the deelers in AoL #if anyone is curious the forest they are in is east of the town of Rauru #okay time to go to sleep #linked universe #blue writes #spiders tw #kinda

12 notes · View notes

stranded-labyrinth · 1 year ago

Note

post fall hannibal and will are regularly blowing each other's backs out on beaches and beds and every other available surface in cuba. life is good and they're killing and eating folks together on the reg. they learn and know everything there is to learn and know about one another, until one night they're cooking and hannibal sees a spider in one of the vegetables and five minutes later he's on the counter while will busts a lung laughing at him but gets rid of the spider in like five seconds while also identifying which kind it is and what its habitat usually is etc etc so basically a little fic based on your post and featuring entomologist will graham

i had to look at pictures of garden spiders for this. i hate you.

anyway, this didn't end up being very crackficy at all. as a matter of fact, this is just angst LOL. i'm sorry for taking it so far beyond the direction you wanted it to go in

also, big warning for arachnophobia, because spiders are talked about a LOT in this fic!

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

The weaving maiden, doomed to repeat her greatest accomplishment and gravest error for years to come.

Every so often, Hannibal found himself thinking back to her story. While he scarcely spoke of it, it had become one of his favorites.

There were two people on Earth who knew why Hannibal so frequently consumed human flesh, and one of them had counted herself amongst the dead that lay in his past. That left only one, who had stood alongside him, searing the other contender’s arm on a grill to show Hannibal the wonders of southern barbeque.

Then there was the classic depiction in Greek myth of mortals boasting to the divine, divinity striking down mercilessly until the mortal would indeed understand that there are fates worse than death.

Rule number one of the ancients: Never equate yourself to a god, nor place yourself above them.

Hannibal was quite certain that, should he have been born approximately 3,000 years prior, he would have been flayed open in public.

That being said, the myth was one of the only ones in existence to truly be able to make his skin crawl, and thus its horror was far more embedded into his mind than any of the other tragic tales of the Greeks (save for one that he’d lamented by heart for approximately four years).

People often made the mistake of assuming that spiders died off in the winter. They could not be more wrong.

There was a time years ago, during those frozen months in Lithuania, in which his captors had been able to keep their fires burning.

Their first goal had always been to simply obtain ransom money and be on their way. Hannibal could remember the glow of campfires then, Mischa asking him when they would be going home. He never had an answer for her.

He remembered killing all the spiders for her in their little den.

Easily frightened as she was, being so young, she sought her older brother when seeing something crawling horribly fast along the wall, or along the floor. Even sitting innocently in the corner, those little creatures frightened her, and thus they were swiftly sent back to whence all things came with a hard PAT.

There had been one that had passed them by, as it turned out. Mischa discovered it sitting in the corner and let out a shrill cry, loud enough that one of their captors had shouted at her for it. Hannibal did swiftly away with the offending arachnid, neither of them knowing what had already taken place before its discovery.

A day came not long after, closer to their freezing days, where Hannibal could remember Mischa growing sniffly. Searching around, he discovered the likely perpetrator: A dust bunny in the corner, aggravating her allergies.

He remembered grabbing it, hoping to remove it from their den.

He could almost forget her hunger pain induced cries when he remembered the way she screamed as hundreds of the spider's babies cascaded over them both. He had very nearly drowned her out with screams of his own that day.

Spiders, for every day since, were associated with exactly one scene in his mind: Fear, death, and the cold.

Arachnophobia, as people seemed to so commonly deem just about any distaste of the horrible little things, always seemed to be the butt of the joke. Something to be mocked for, something pathetic, something weak.

He was not weak.

That being said, he was rather fortunate that the concept never came up to begin with. In their little house, Hannibal had yet to see any of the cursed creatures. The most he’d hear of them were from Will, who would find one on occasion and inform Hannibal that he’d taken it outside, before going on about its species, where it was native to, the patterns of its body, and then inevitably inform Hannibal that he had just, in fact, been bitten by the little rascal.

Hannibal smiled to himself as he went on with his chopping in the kitchen, wondering just how much poor treatment at the hands of an animal Will could withstand. He imagined Will would forgive just about any creature that wasn’t human. Most of all, it was pleasant to be able to find himself unaffected by the knowledge of the arachnid’s presence, for once. Perhaps it could be said that it was because he never actually laid eyes on them.

In the middle of his thoughts, his eyes focused more on the pan he was pouring into than his hands, it seemed that the outer shell of the onion he’d been chopping was touching his hand. Odd, he thought he’d brushed those aside already.

And then it moved, and he glanced at his hand.

--------

Will stepped through the hall, brows furrowed in confusion. He could have sworn he’d heard his name be called, quickly and in a tone he’d never heard Hannibal use before, but he’d received no response when he called back.

“Hannibal?” he called, beginning to head towards the kitchen. “Are you–

Any question he may have had cut off entirely when he stepped into the kitchen, only to see Hannibal perched on the furthest possible counter.

Cowering.

Before he could so much as question him, eyes radiating concern, he spotted movement across the floor between them.

When his eyes locked onto it, he couldn’t help but smile.

“Oh hey there, little guy,” he cooed as he bent down, scooping the spider off of the floor and into his palms. “What are you doing inside? You’re never inside! Did someone leave the window open, hm? Were you curious?”

He doesn’t notice Hannibal staring at him, his eyes wide, his breathing shallow.

“Oh, you’re a pretty little guy, aren’t you? Yellow garden spider!” Will declared proudly. “Oh, your stripes are just beautiful…”

Hannibal swallowed hard, willing his voice to not quiver as much as he was sure it would.

“Will.”

Will glanced at him, snapped out of his reverie by the reality of his petrified lover.

“Kill it.”

It was not a request. It was a command.

Will frowned.

“Hannibal, I’m not killing it, you know that,” he argued. “I’m just gonna take it outside.”

Hannibal’s mouth opened to speak, his vocal cords cut off when they were inundated with things he could say. Let it go so it can come back? So it can lay eggs? So it can bring its swarm?

So he’ll be drowned in frightened screams again, no longer knowing which are his own?

Will’s eyes raked over him, his frustration beginning to dissipate.

“Hannibal,” he began, daring to finally ask, “why are you on the counter?”

Hannibal did not answer, his eyes firmly locked on the vile creature in his lover’s hands.

Concern melted back into Will’s look. “Hannibal…” He took a step forward. “It’s not gonna hurt you, see? Look, it’s just–”

As Will held the little beast out, Hannibal flinched.

“Whoa– Okay, okay!” Will said quickly, taking several steps back. “Look, I’ll…I’ll just take it outside, okay? You won’t have to see it again.”

“It’ll come back,” Hannibal said, quiet enough that he was just barely heard. “It��ll come back in hundreds.”

Will stood still, as though searching for a solution. He had never seen Hannibal like this before, not ever. He had never seen Hannibal frightened.

As the creature moved in his hands, he could feel a particular spot beginning to itch. Looking down, he saw a rather familiar two pin pricks in the heel of his palm.

He sighed.

He dropped the spider to the floor.

And he stomped.

He swallowed hard, trying not to audibly gag at the distinct crunch feel beneath his shoe. The quick shattering of the exoskeleton, like tiny tectonic plates forced to shift beneath a great weight. A little world coming to an end.

He lifted his foot, staring down at the curled up remains of the critter he was going to let outside.

Some small agony swelled in his chest, and he looked to Hannibal, the way he always did.

Hannibal was finally breathing again, his face showing nothing but pure relief.

And the agony was gone.

Carrying the spider corpse to the window to give it a good toss outside, the realization dawned on Will that he would do just about anything to never see that fear in that man’s eyes again.

It wasn’t the first time he took a life at Hannibal’s behest that he never thought he’d take.

And Hannibal gazed at him the way he imagined humanity had been gazing at the moon for thousands of years, in silent awe of the beauty he was beholding.

Somewhere deep in his memory palace, a little boy had someone to kill the spiders for him, too.

#stranded-writing

41 notes · View notes

pwuppyl0ve · 4 months ago

Text

having a bad time (stressed out) so i was like. i’m gna take a shower and a bath. get to the downstairs bathroom. dead mouse. get that out of the house. run up and down because i keep forgetting things. almost slip on the stairs. get down. see a big ass spider in the bath (guy w bad arachnophobia). text my friend n they just go. i’m sure this must suck but also it’s giving looney tunes.

my life is a joke 💔

#eury yapping

4 notes · View notes

hershelchocolate · 1 year ago

Note

Hi, what's your favourite marine animal and why? And in the same note, what is a marine animal that singlehandedly convinces you not to enter the ocean?

Ohhh willow is going to kill me for this they know way more about marine animals than me

What qualifies as a marine animal actually? Like, does a seal or a penguin count? I like penguins a lot they're funny guys

I do like the Bloody Belly Comb Jelly solely because that's one of willows favorite guys so it makes me think of the bestie <3 sea slugs and sea bunnies are also really good! Those are little babies! They're cute I like them c:

There's also guys I just think are cool like siphonophores and that one fish that can shoot beam attacks that I keep forgetting the name of 🥺 only slightly related but when I was 2-3-4 somewhere around there, I went to the zoo and fucking LOVED the polar bears because we were watching them from a platform where we could see them dive underwater. They kept jumping in and swimming around and doing lots of cool stuff, so when we went to the gift shop and I was allowed to pick something I immediately went for a plushie of a polar bear

I still have it, and it's right up there with Twinkles in terms of The Oldest Plushie I Still Own And Love Dearly <3

As for ones that make me not want to go in the ocean, pretty much anything that can kill me I think! Cone snails and blue ringed octopi and the visual ickiness of a sea urchin always makes me go wow I love not going into the ocean. I don't even know how to swim anyway! Although if we wanted to get a bit more specific, I think if I saw anything with tentacles in real life swimming around I'd cry. Something about it when moving just right plays into my arachnophobia in a weird way its WILD

EDIT: HOW COULD I FORGET. JAPANESE SPIDER CRAB. WILLOW LITERALLY HAD TO TAG PICTURES OF THEM SO I COULD BLOCK THEM ON THE FREAKY FISH FSHOWDOWN I CANT BELIEVE IT WASNT THE FIRST THING I THOUGHT OF

#did not expect to write this many paragraphs about marine animals but theres just so many #i dont know if otters count but i fucking love otters too i could watch those guys all day #randy rambles #ask #anonymous

3 notes · View notes

gonemechaniic · 2 years ago

Text

𝑬𝒎𝒑𝒂𝒕𝒉𝒚 𝒊𝒔 𝒂 𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒅 𝒐𝒇 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒈𝒕𝒉...

#TOPMECHANIIC - A private, selective/mutuals only, canon-divergent, and multi-versed CINDY AURUM from Final Fantasy XV. This blog is very headcanon driven ( pun kind of intended x3 ) and will incorporate some elements of Final Fantasy Versus XIII. Adored by Dani ( she/her, 30+, UTC +9 - Tokyo ) multi/OC and duplicate friendly! Personals & fan blogs will be blocked on sight!!

rules // carrd // playlist // pinterest

Affiliated with :: @liightbringr, @ravusnightblossom, @yukikorogashi, @battleshot ( ship exclusive )

Current Activity :: Slow af

links & basic rules...

Credits :: promo credit // theme bg & details // icon template // pinned banner // main psd Extras :: starters // memes // verses // Cid sideblog Blogroll :: Multi, Yoruichi, Serval, Rosaria, OC Wire :: topmechanic

Possible triggers include death ( parental loss/ loss of a partner ) and dealings with PTSD, night terrors and panic attacks. While not heavily focused topics, they are significant parts of Cindy's background. Naturally they will be tagged accordingly, but please place your own comforts first and follow at your own discretion. 💛

Don't be a dick. Any harassment, discrimination or gross behavior of ANY kind towards me or my friends will not be tolerated and will result in a hard block. Also please understand that I only interact with mutual followers ( except with meta/hc memes unless otherwise posted or in the case of sideblogs ) and I do not always follow back.

If we're mutuals feel free to send all the things! Memes are the best way to get interactions started with me as I rarely make starter calls anymore. So seriously if you or your muse are chomping at the bit over a certain meme or a random open starter, if you wanna turn a meme answer into a thread, DO THE THING! I'm totally cool with that. Just understand that while I am very appreciative, I am kinda slow. Sorry in advance.

Do not follow me just to pursue a ship. Shipping requires chemistry. It's also not my blog’s main focus and I will not change my muse in any way for a ship. Also any romantic meme or prompt sent w/o prior IC or OOC interaction will be disregarded or treated as purely platonic.

Please be patient with me. We all have a life outside of this hellsite. A casual reminder to something is cool cause we’re human and forget things or tunglr is just ... being tunglr. However daily reminders, random follows & unfollows/likes & unlikes might push me away from interacting with you.

Please tag any possible trypophobia & arachnophobia posts cause it really ooks me tf out! Also, my spicy posts are tagged ( usfw ) , ( usft ) primarily, and at times ⚙ ; 𝐍𝐒𝐅𝐖 :: Push it to the limit. Please blacklist accordingly to keep your dash as clean as you desire.

#( pinned )#dni #... i mean you can like if you read it I guess

6 notes · View notes

jeromefart · 2 years ago

Text

HELLO. I PLAYED JEDI SURVIVOR TODAY

i just left coruscant and im chilling in the mantis. its late and i have a busy day tomorrow so i dont wanna stay up all night. heres my first thoughts

it is visually STUNNING!! i was genuinely so shocked at how beautiful the home page is. all of the uis are stylized similarly to jfo, but its polished and new in a way that i really appreciate. a standout addition in the options menu was an arachnophobia safe mode. i think its awesome how they’re making this game accessible to people with phobias like that. i don’t know what this spider monster will be like, but it must be kinda intense to warrant an option like that. but it also made me think, “why just arachnophobia?” because including something like this opens the door to other pressing phobias that can prevent people from playing. i have thalassophobia, and the venator crash section in jfo was very dimly lit and it was so much i almost wasnt able to get the 5 or so chests hidden away in there. underwater sections in games can be a nightmare for me if they aren’t lit well and it freaks me the hell out. i wonder if they considered other phobias like mine, or what exactly drove them to this decision. i guess i need to just wait and see.

the graphics and worldbuilding are incredible. its so beautiful and the level design is noticeably upgraded. i have only been through a short linear area, but it’s great so far. everything is very very seamless (the gameplay to cutscene transitions.. fuck its perfect). there were some portions where the interactable surfaces blended in a bit too well, and i was also not used to the way they looked, and i found myself a little stuck in some parts. not to where its an issue, this happened in the jfo tutorial as well, but it was all just very seamless. coruscant is fucking beautiful and the vast cities, neon lights, and other little design details made me so happy. half my gameplay was just me gawking at the scenery around me.

let’s talk plot. i noticed that a lot of these first cutscenes closely follow what we saw in the first teaser trailer. that man (forogt his name..), cals lightsaber in the case, him losing a battle to an inquisitor, beautiful beautiful coruscant. the only thing missing is the character that cody fern plays, who is clearly very important to this game. but despite his importance, they’re keeping every detail they can hidden from us. i havent seen him yet as i’m not even in koboh, but i can’t wait. i love cody fern and i know he will do a great job in this game. that aside, from what i’ve seen so far, i’m really happy. i absolutely love bode and was not prepared for how much i would enjoy his and cal’s banter. and knowing me, of COURSE i couldnt help but make jokes over and over again about romance between them. my worst one was probably, after the reveal that bode’s baby mama died, i gasped and said “YAY!!!” ..anyway. i FORGET HER NAME but the girl that was apart of cal’s crew stole my heart. i thought she was so cute and i loved her personality and dialogue. and then they killed her off 😭 i knew i shouldnt have gotten attached but i couldnt help myself!!! rest in peace girl whose name ive already forgotten.

the customization is such an upgrade. and it also leaves for some hilarious results. you know i went all out with the blindingly pink lightsaber and blade. i did it to bd too and he looked crazy and i felt bad so i gave him a pink and purple look. i got the deluxe version so i have the luke and han outfits along with some blue and green color choices, bd parts, and lukes lightsaber. im gonna hold off on customizing my lightsaber too much until i get some more parts. the joy of this game is being able to mix and match! and for cal, the no beard option is genuinely scary and he looks naked😭

gameplay is so smooth and SEXY. loving the two bladed sabers so far. i am a double lightsaber girl because of darth mauls influence but i know its better suited for crowds of enemies rather than one on one (in jfo at least). i might upgrade it a bit though because wow the animations are just beautiful for that stance.

i think thats about all i have to say. oh cal is absolutely GORGEOUS. excited to play more of this tomorrow and i am just really happy depression cured 10/10 game

#jedi survivor spoilers

2 notes · View notes

ask-the-shorty-squad · 2 years ago

Note

*/w group No.1*

As a team manager it's my job to motivate my team and help them in every which way possible. Never giving up is essential to being a Team Manager, if you want the spirit.

YOU GOTTA SHOW THE SPIRIT!!! NEVER GIVE UP!!!!

And you gotta make sure your Team is fully and we rested, so if they need a break you gotta give them a break! Overworking your body will just cause problems! And then your body wont be able to comprehend all the pressure and strength your forcing out and you'll hit the floor!

Its why I hated school, during P.E if we needed a break they'd make us do extra. That aint healthy in the slightest.

You gotta make sure your team always does these things: Rest, Stay well hydrated, and Eat. And dont forget Shit. Shitting is very important.

And if you wanna train your team to the max start off slow, give them plenty of breaks, and start working your way up, give them tasks to fulfill at home, obviously make 'em record it so you know they aint slacking. But making them do just the little things like going on a walk everyday for fifteen minutes, keeping that up really helps your body, obviously your legs will hurt, but thats from your old muscles breaking creating newer stronger muscles. And resting really helps that. You gotta take care of your team like they're your family, like a second family.

Guess thats just about it for me! Gonta?

Gonta will tell you all about Entomology! And why Bugs are really our friends!

I know you have arachnophobia Teru so this will help, although some spiders can be venomous they'll only ever bite if they feel threatened if you very gentle and careful with Spider, Spider will simply crawl on palm. Most spiders arent venomous at all, and they really help our houses, they keep away food flies and wasps that try and sting us, and they very friendly and do no harm at all. Most bugs are actually very friendly, like: Centipedes, Stink bugs, Ladybugs, Mantis, Earwigs, Ground beetle, Dragon flies, Silver fish, Crickets, Tachinid flies, Camel crickets, Braconid wasps, Lacewing, Soldier beetles, Cicadas, Walking sticks, Spined soldier bug, Minute pirate bugs, Roly polies, Nabidae, and Mealworms too! All very kind bugs! All our friends too!

You should come with Gonta and meet Gontas friends soon!! Gonta would be very happy to introduce you to all of Gontas bug friends!

Maybe during a time when I feel like it. At the moment, I'm not too keen.

As a chef my responsibilities are very diverse. There's a multitude of qualities that are a must when working in the culinary industry.

• An absolute passion for food and cooking; • A total commitment to cleanliness and personal hygiene; • An ability to work under pressure; • Time management skills; • A balanced calm temperament and an ability to maintain equanimity in difficult situations; • An acute sense of business so as to rake in profits for the organization; • Good health so that one can spend long hours on their feet, lift heavy pots and pans, work in proximity to fire and heat; • The ability to take criticism; • The ability to work as a team member and mentor others once they become experienced enough; • Has to have the flexibility to take the unconventional hours that the trade demands;

It's also important to have a very keen memory. I've made it my sworn duty to memorize not just recipes, but also my dear friends and families most favorite dishes. All their likes and dislikes are always stored in the back of my mind when needed, or written in note cards. Culinary is what you make it to be. You could take a calm slow and steady approach like with those nearby bakeries, cafes, and other various types of small stores. Or you could take on the big restaurants where business is always booming and you're constantly on your toes. Whatever seems to work for you. At times it's not easy, but nothing worth wild is ever really easy is it?

#teruteru hanamura #sdr2 goodbye despair #danganronpa 2 #danganronpa

2 notes · View notes

er0t0ph0n0philia · 10 months ago

Text

rules.

[ last edited 01/31/2024 ]

This blog is a sideblog to a personal blog. My main blog is @kottonkandykiller and it is not a roleplay hub— please do not follow it. Nothing pertaining to this blog will be posted there. Asks may be sent from it if the anonymous feature is turned off, but otherwise it is a completely separate entity.

This blog is 18+. Minors who follow or interact with this blog will be immediately blocked, and if someone is found out to be faking their age, they will be blocked as well.

Smut is available to be roleplayed on this blog, but very selectively. It needs to be placed under a read more by both parties. It needs to be tagged appropriately (I will be using the tag nsfw tw). It cannot be the only reason that you write with me. Nikki is very hypersexual, so things of a sexual nature are important to him, but having normal threads as well as smut threads is important to me as well.

Several dark and generally not safe for work topics will be touched on often on this blog, largely due to the nature of the shows and the character. However, they will all be tagged appropriately, and if I deem something too dark to be left with merely a tag, I will place it under a read more.

This blog is not mutuals only in terms of interaction, but it is semi-selective. This means that I reserve the right to not interact with you or your muse(s) if I feel like said interaction will not be an enjoyable one. This is nothing against the mun, this is just for my own comfort.

All tags will be tagged as topic tw. I keep a list of things that I tag in such a manner (including all tags requested in rule pages), and you are welcome to request for something to be tagged.

I humbly request that you tag depictions of vomit, insects, arachnids, bigotry, biphobia, and transphobia as emetophobia, entomophobia, arachnophobia, misogyny, biphobia, and transphobia in your given trigger tagging style. This does not mean that I am unwilling to roleplay with these topics, but I would still like them tagged so I can mentally prepare myself for seeing them.

I will not roleplay incest, pedophilia, non-con, nor detailed bigotry whatsoever. This does include descriptions of the aforementioned topics (except in the cases of non-con and bigotry), but they can be mentioned in passing as long as a discussion about them is not occurring.

Personal blogs, do not follow this blog unless you have a roleplay sideblog and state it clearly in your pinned post or bio. Personal blogs are more than free to send asks as long as they specify whether it’s out of character or in character, but I will not roleplay with them.

Do not ask me to trim posts, because I am permanently on mobile and cannot. I would appreciate it if my partner could trim the post instead, but if my partner is also on mobile, I will create a new post every 4 or so replies and tag them and the post in it.

I will not participate in drama. Do not send me things about it. Do not ask me to defend or attack someone else. Do not involve me in any way. Any asks pertaining to out of character drama will be ignored and deleted.

The mun and the muse are not the same. Anything that my muse thinks of your muse does not pertain to my opinions of your muse or you. This includes my muse’s opinions of anything else. They do not reflect mine. Do not assume that they do, specifically in regards to mental health. Do not assume that my muse’s mental health reflects mine in any way, shape, or form.

Do not nag me for replies. I likely decided to drop the thread– I don’t typically forget to reply, as I privately track all threads that I am involved in. If you think that I’ve dropped a thread or forgotten to respond, though, feel free to start another thread.

If you send me a DM with the purpose of making small talk, it is likely that I will not respond. This is not due to any personal feelings against you, but due to the fact that it gives me intense anxiety to be chatting mindlessly online (unless you are using tone tags). This rule does have exceptions, but only if we’ve had multiple positive out of character interactions beforehand.

I don’t typically like slice-of-life threads that don’t go anywhere at all. A common exception would be attempting to develop a relationship between our muses of any form. Any interactions between romantic partners are exempt from this rule.

This blog is single-verse and multi-ship. All romantic relationships will be in separate universes from each other, but they will remain connected to the main universe. My muse is also polyamorous, however, so a joint universe could be arranged if all parties involved are okay with it.

I do not accept crossovers from any fandom except for The Amazing Digital Circus, Murder Drones, or Lackadaisy. Even from those fandoms, I would still like to discuss how this crossover is happening and which of our muses is in the wrong universe (or if something else happened). Fandomless muses abide by the same rules as muses from the above fandoms.

#promo.#rules.

1 note · View note

goremet-chef · 1 year ago

Text

godd my sibling is such a dick sometimes

we are two very different people yknow, theyre out applying to jobs in person and im too scared to leave my own house for anything more than a car ride or maybe going out to eat. i have pretty cripping arachnophobia like i would say it controls my day to day life. i have certain routines i go through that i always do when im leaving a room, coming up the stairs etc in terms of like. spider scanning to make sure theres no threat cuz like

in my head it is a threat, but not for the reasons youd think. ive never been afraid a spider was gonna hurt me (unless its like. a widow or something else fucky but i dont see many venomous types). the biggest threat for me and my wellbeing is if it touches me or not. i cannot let them touch me under any circumstance because it makes me want to like. rip my skin off or some shit. i wont be normal for a while if one does (which unfortunately has happened so thats how i know)

this is a pretty big inconvenience for me obviously but apparently its also a huge inconvenience watching me deal with it cuz they complain all the time about how my fear makes no sense and how its not that big of a deal. i know its irrational! its a PHOBIA. i know it doesnt make sense but at the end of the day i still feel it and the fear it brings so maybe stfu!!!

being argued with over my own fear is so. like they start speaking as if they know better than me "the spiders arent going to touch you" yeah not if i can help it! i have really bad luck with spiders tho and i can guarantee they probably will if they could. the way they act around me its like im a magnet bro. if theres one on the ceiling i will never walk under it because it WILL fall on me, thats happened several times. kill them as soon as you can reach on the walls cuz they will fall and crawl on yr bed or floor, etc like. DO NOT try and tell ME what a spider will do, i know what theyll do and im hardly ever wrong. when you spend as much time as i do looking out for them and watching them, you get a good feel for their behavior.

daddy long legs are the worst for me because of their. extendo reach thats more touching capability!!! theyr fucking massive in my eyes because the legs count, comparing their legspan to other spiders its very obvious why theyd be the ones i justcannot deal with. plus they are CLUMSY they fall so much i hate it

and then my sibling was CONFUSED??? as to why i couldnt kill the ones we were seeing myself. was genuinely confused when i said that i have a hard time killing any spiders because i get nervous before i swing and sometimes i fuck up just based on nerves alone. like why is that such a shock how can you barely fathom that if someones nervous theyre gonna hesitate and mess up a bit, its so.

im tired of explaining myself all the time, but i keep doing it over and over cuz they seem to forget that one of my defining characteristics is my fear of spiders like. they all know about it they never fail to complain about it and theyll be like "but thats so inconvenient for you to do this extra shit just to avoid a spider" yeah! it is! i wish i didnt feel this way at all, i wish i could be normal like them, but im not

its one of those things where like. as much as you dont like to hear about it or see me deal with it (for some reason), this is something that will ALWAYS be harder for me to handle than it is for them so theres no reason for them to be complaining. they arent the ones who miss out on things because theres a spider in the way

ik this all sounds silly probably but its very genuine and controlling fear for me, they think its voluntary. what a fucking joke, you think id voluntarily live like this?

#just ranting #arachnophobia

0 notes

tabletopbrainrot · 1 year ago

Text

Today was a D&D day, and we're in The Underdark.

So while we're in a homebrew setting that's only Forgotten Realms adjacent as far as you can Dream of Blue Veil/Plane Shift. We're still gonna be talking about The Underdark primarily in the subject of forced servitude if you catch my meaning.

That said not trying to throw punches at my DM, who is trying to make an interesting plot of why it's happening instead of "oh yeah they're evil see how evil they are, very evil you should murder hobo them all", but also understanding that people may not want to read this I dunno if I'll tag the post with all the DnD stuff... Probably just do a narrower tag or two

~ just making room here ~

So on this day we had "Yes the Drow are doing slavery, not many of them like it but it's a desperation situation" which you know fair still slavery though so the party either helps the Drow get to a situation where they aren't reliant on "interns", or we try to spark an armed revolution in one of the lowest levels of the Underdark and by extension potentially doom our potential Dwarven allies near the surface.

Now then the Drow are using said mentioned "interns" to build onto their fortress city they reclaimed about a forever ago because the lower levels of the Underdark is infested with something that's pulling from The Silence(Dr. Who) playbook. Invisible things that you can only perceive while looking directly at them and forget about them when you look away. So they're basically trying to wall out anything from a deeper layer of Underdark.

But because manpower is limited and resources are limited, they're doing the whole "you are being recruited do not resist" routine, being kept in check by one member of a four member council that basically has enacted as much protections as they can on these people, and are trying to get to where the captured workers will be compensated for their work upon completion. But fears that other members of said council are just gonna want to keep the system going indefinitely. This is where the chaotic and wacky bleeding hearts that are the party get involved, to try to earn the favor of the locals and sway power to the Council member trying to protect workers and end said forced work conditions.

Now a reasonable person would ask why don't they just reach out to these communities and actually hire them, and/or offer proper citizenship and the like. And to answer that is that the situation is basically a bunch of paranoid isolationists that may never actually leave their particular set of caves, are not prone to helping strangers or accepting help from strangers. So the Drow of this settlement are basically looking at this from a "greater good" mentality of protecting themselves and the people being taken from the dangers trying to get up from deeper below. Which as tagged cool motivation, still slavery. All this because we wanted a trade deal with some Dwarves that turned out to be stuck in the middle of a forever siege by the draconic forces in the area..

Also being in the Underdark surrounded by Drow, and playing a Drow you might go "So what about that Lolth bitch" well in our wacky little setting the gods fucked off before recorded history and left the dragons in charge, who swiftly proceeded to force everyone not a dragon into "internships". Thousands of years of that and revolution attempts and it finally stuck.

Now in current setting time we're having a sudden emergence of new gods. Which happened because the party makes great decisions, and on our way out of Barovia we had some tagalongs (why is it any the something happens you're involved -*gestures at Castle Ravenloft*-) so we have a pantheon including Lolth(who had a slight theme change due to a player's arachnophobia), Tiamat, Yrrga (yes Amber sarcophagus Yrrga), a Succubus that befriended (and empowered) one of the party monks on the way into Barovia, and Nepenthe (yes that Nepenthe the one from the Carnival Crimson but not quite, our Ranger had a shard of Crimson Carnival Nepenthe and managed to do a quest line to slip her into divinity while in Barovia), and Mystra.

Now for clarification these are not exactly Forgotten Realms versions of these entities, but more neutral leaning copies of them that have some knowledge of the other thems in the universe. And the previous thems of the setting where applicable (looking at you Lolth, Mystra, and Tiamat).

So Lolth is trying to slot herself in as Goddess of Elves and Nature since there is a vacancy, and really the only issue there is because Drow are Drow they get really into shit, and those that accept this new goddess are getting really into it, which is coming into conflict of the current/previous religious philosophy of "improving yourself is the path to divinity" because they're just selling Lolth as a one stop shop to fix everything wrong in your life.

So as the person that let Lolth piggyback into the setting I'm kinda obligated to get them to slow their roll before they accidentally into a Crusade.

That said I love the beatle themed armors the different types of followers are taking on stag beatle themed guards, ladybug themed priests, etc

Also the DM is attacking the party with horny bait, and it's just barely not working on most of us.

#Underdark #drow #Discussion about the Underdark and life within #our Drow are kinda different?#cool motivation still slavery #Lolth #please kids she just wants to make funky plants and have her kids love her #hit me with any questions I'm always down to talk about games

0 notes

crispy-buddies-bakery · 1 year ago

Note

Affo here...I decided to try an introduction like my owner did...

Well we did your suggestion and we got...mixed results.

I sent dark enchantress in to investigate and I think there was a misunderstanding that...actually turned out to be true. I said I saw an injured licorice SERVANT...not licorice...but you were right! Licorice was hurt, as dark enchantress told me.

Apparently they looked like they got into a fight with a mouse and won but they were clawed and bitten a little...they were shaken up and it seems that this licorice has had a bad experience with a dark enchantress.

dark enchantress told me the moment licorice laid eyes on her....they screamed in terror and started trying to attack her with licorice servants! She managed to calm them down enough to stop their attack but is very defensive...and wouldn't calm down until she left. Poor guy.

And incase you're wondering how our owner didn't hear the scream....well...thank god red velvet gave our baker the idea to listen to music. We didn't want them getting involved....especially now since the licorice seems scared. Knowing her, she'd probably try to offer treats to befriend it but have zero idea how to deal with their....fear of dark enchantress. What do we do? Should dark enchantress try to bring a peace offering? If so what should she take? Our owner leaves out a large bowl of jellies for us to eat whenever we want and always makes sure it's full so we can eat whenever we want to eat. We also know where she keeps potato chips, if a salty treat would be a good offering. We could also pretend to be hungry for a certain item and then have her fix it so we can offer it to the licorice. Any ideas?

Ah hello affo and I see (I really oughta get new glasses)

well for starters I find it a bit odd that a licorice actually fears a dark enchantress then again, with what string (Twizzly gummy buddy that works in the center) tells me that there are sometimes dark enchantress with a far more hostile intentions

Its clear that the Licorice is scared right now, now that he knows that there is a dark enchantress in the home, I suggest you or the red velvet try and calm him down a bit. offer him some of the jellies and talk to him a bit, the jellies should heal some of his injuries but I suggest you try and heal him a bit with some first aid.

As for a long term solution for his fear, I have a suggestion

Like with our own fears, the more we are around our fears in a controlled environment and have it repeat, we will eventually get over the fear, like people with arachnophobia. its called Exposure therapy, this will be a long process of convincing the licorice that not all dark enchantress are as bad as the one he has encountered and if you truly wish to not have your owner in this. try to hide him somewhere where she doesn’t go often

anyway, Exposure therapy, like stated and its name have the occupant come face to face with their fears, of course you start slow so in your case, have dark enchantress be visible to the licorice, but have her not interract with him and instead do things she usually do, as time goes on, and if he starts to slowly get over his fear, have dark enchantress slowly acknowledge him until eventually having her talk to him slowly.

Now I will say that exposure therapy takes a while weeks and even months, it all depends on how much they fear things, But it is the most effective way of helping others get over your fears, So you may have to eventually tell your owner about him depending on the situation.

I wish you luck and well Affo, do not forget that you are free to call us if you need anymore help.

#crk au #cookie run kingdom au #crispy buddies #crispy buddies au #cookie run kingdom #crk #Affo #Still darkness anon technically?#idk bruh

1 note · View note

mothgardens · 7 months ago

Text

tysm for the tag blue <3

1. do you make your bed?

commonly in the mornings i will attempt to atleast neaten my bed so i dont have a mess to come home to after school, but i dont make it pretty and pristine.

2. what’s ur favorite number

okay :) so I have ocd, mostly concerning correct placement and numeric symmetry, which means i have safety numbers !! 3, 5, 8, and 11 are my go to’s but 3 is my favorite (which seems to be common lol)

3. what is ur job

none currently but im seeking a job in table waiting or anything in a library setting

4. if u could go back to school, would u?

still in my 11th/junior year currently so i’m not gonna have a real answer for this, but i’m thinking i will say no. sure i will sentimental about the time of my life and the memories made but tbh i dislike 90% of the people bc they say so many slurs it’s baffling and in general they’re crummy.

5. can u parallel park

yes !! proud to say i taught myself via an incredibly awkward youtube tutorial, and i am actually quite good at it, i haven’t hit a curb in ages :)

6. a job u had that would surprise people?

none </3 ive yet to work in this wee little life

7. do u think aliens are real?

in short, yes, but i don’t believe in ever contacting aliens. i believe that we aren’t alone in the universe, it is too vast and there is so much to be discovered, no way are we the only living things. i can’t imagine that we are that alone.

8. can you drive a manual car?

no </3 i am the least informed person about cars, im a good ass driver but if anything goes wrong im fucked.

9. what’s ur guilty pleasure?

certain music genres and musicians like Flo Milli and ppcocaine. i don’t like the music per say but the beats are so GOOD— please.

10. tattoos?

none, but i want to get a small shoulder one I think, like a flower or bird or something. maybe a seagull bc they were my grandma’s favorite. i want sentiment.

11. favorite color?

green !! like a jade or olive tone. but also lavender and periwinkle <3

12. favorite type of music?

EEE- im a music fiend, i lovelove 60s-80s music, but i also love bands like Car Seat Headrest and The Front Bottoms, but also Taylor Swift (music, not her) Lana Del Ray, Girl In Red, Mitski (saw her live !!), Hozier— i could keep going on for ages.

13. do u like puzzles?

i am a problem solving whore so yes, but I never do any puzzle related activities nearly enough

14. any phobias?

i have emetophobia (fear of vomiting) and a genuine case of arachnophobia (fear of spiders). like i dont just find them icky, infact i think they’re cute, but god for id one comes near me or i think about them or anything.

15. favorite childhood sport?

ultimate frisbee <3 i used to be a badass during gym when my teacher would whip the discs out

16. do u talk to urself?

constantly and consistently; i’m either mouthing my thoughts, making reactive faces which make me look insane, mumbling, or full on chit chatting myself up

17. what movies do u adore?

OKAY— highly recommend all of these btw: Super Dark Times (2017), everyone should watch Everything Everywhere All At Once (2022) at least once in their lives, Perks Of Being A Wallflower (2012), Kill Your Darlings (2013), Do Revenge (2020), Dead Poets Society (1989), and Catch Me If You Can (2002)

18. coffee or tea?

both, but they have to be iced.

19. first thing you wanted to be when growing up?

an author !! i remember in like 3rd grade i would carry around a clip board and write stories and i would tell my teacher about it and everything.

—————

this was my 3rd attempt doing this lol, i kept forgetting to save my answers *thrumbs DOWN* but it’s done now and it was so fun <3

no pressure tags: @trx34ksh @thanatos-dahilias @serendipity0930

I was tagged by @hollyspn

I'll tag @beanmom @babyblue-mind @torturedpoetdean

Do you make your bed?

nopeee (living that Disabled Life TM where i'm in it more than out, so no need to bother lol)

What’s your favourite number?

What is your job?

I'm an online essay writing tutor! (hit me up if you need help with anything writing related!)

If you could go back to school, would you?

I would LOVE to get like an MFA in creative writing, or just take art classes at a community college (but can't be 1. disabled & 2. broke af)

Can you parallel park?

technically? I did in the past (not well, but did it) but that was like...10 years ago lol and I am Not Able To Drive now due, again, to the fkn disabilities

A job you had that would surprise people?

not really a job, and idk if it is surprising? but I helped take care of my granny for a long while after her brain surgery

Do you think aliens are real?

yes!

Can you drive a manual car?

nopee

What's your guilty pleasure?

...destiel :D

Tattoos?

none :( but I want soooo many

Favourite colour?

yellow!

Favourite type of music?

folk punk, and whatever florence and the machine is classified as

Do you like puzzles?

sometimes

Any phobias?

SPIDERS (and really any bugs), heights, the ocean, snakes

Favourite childhood sport?

i do not like sports ball

Do you talk to yourself?

allllllll the time

What movies do you adore?

but i'm a cheerleader (it was my lesbian awakening lol), four weddings and a funeral, steel magnolias

Coffee or tea?

suuuper sweet tea (i'm from texas what do you expect)

First thing you wanted to be growing up?

I think the first thing was an artist? but I'm not sure. I had a lot of things I thought of doing, including but not limited to: baker, photographer, author (doing it!), teacher (also doing it!), and garbage man (???) (this was because I thought how they got to ride hanging off the back of the truck looked fun lol)

#response for blue :)#hi :3 #i hope ur job application process goes well #its so scary to do big kid shit like getting a job #parallel parking is so much easier than i thought u need to know like 5 points and then ur chilling #i used to love yellow !!#60s-70s EAT in the music department #i have a whole playlist dedicated to that era #u should totes give me some recs tho :)#i still need to watch back to the future!!#ive been wanting to for ages

25 notes · View notes