#love this creature the lizz

[thetinyblossom]

Picrews I like as a age regressor :3

Personal opinion/reccomendations

1.

It’s so cute, with some good amount of options, including some mobility aid, many skin colors and some good variety on hair textures

2.

Cute animals! Many colors and pieces, you can make basically any canine or feline (and I think bunnies?)

3.

Make yourself as a Pokémon trainer :3

4.

Trolls!

5.

Silly animals! Careful for drug references/imagery!

6.

Kittens! Not many options but very cute

7.

Make your pony!

8.

Another pony maker!

9.

The famous paci maker!

10.

Great diversity, very cute but no paci

[traffic-smp-headcannons]

i may sound crazy for this but. skizz-lizzie siblings. no, jimmy and lizzie aren't siblings (not by blood at least), jimmy is pearl and grian's brother. but... ANYWAYS. I don't know where this idea came from but imo they're a very underrated duo so... ya :3

Ender/Fae genetics, Skizz got more of the first half of that and Lizz(ie) got more of the second. (And then Skizz died and came back able to shapeshift just like his sister could already do, but that's besides the point)

and of course if we play into one of my very favorite headcanons. imagine. the both of them growing up in the Seelie court (their land was much kinder to mortals, given that their ruler had fallen in love with one). skizz never quite fitting with the magical aspects, never understanding the thrill everyone else seemed to get from the Hunt. never quite perfecting the laws they have to abide by. meanwhile lizzie shaping up to be the perfect next ruler of the court, and yet still finding time for her little brother. helping him realize things about himself (*winks in transmasc*) even though she doesn't quite understand it (after all, the faeries are magical creatures, borne of it, exactly how they want to be in every way).

then one day skizz makes a friend on the edge of the forest's border! a mortal, half-demon and half-rock giant, who tries to kill him at first sight (before realizing that wait, nope, that's one of the fae, BAD IDEA). They get over it and become Besties. and skizz gives up some of that immortality, that magic, in order to well and truly live. mortality sounds fun! Lizzie, of course, sends him off with a smile and a reminder of her love in the form of some (non-magic-imbued) pastries. Skizz comes back two weeks later with some new friends in tow, stays a few days, leaves, comes back again. It continues.

And then one day, he brings another friend with him: a human, some kind of mage, with a streak of green in his hair. and gods, if lizzie isn't (internally) struck dumb at the sight of him!

At least she's subtle, though. The cute human is so obvious, turning into a blushing mess whenever he tries to talk to her, and honestly it's a little embarrassing at this point!

...doesn't change the fact that, a few years later, skizz comes back to the court for a very special occasion. Seems this lineage has a bad habit of falling for mortals, one way or another!

-mod enen

[fazgoo-connoiseur-1987]

I love how your Eleanor looks like bill. That actually makes a lot of sense and in a weird roundabout way makes her being the only character Williams ever shown with any kind of respect canonically other than Henry make sense

(Sorry all of your art worms its way into my brain and I can't get it out)

tee hee :] yeh :] My understanding of Elanor is that shes the pit agony creature which is intrinsically linked to Bill anways. And in headcannon territory shes the Mimic and thus also Bill anyways. She's like if you put Bill, Lizze and Charlie in a blender and gave her malicious intent.

[alectoperdita]

Rules: pick a song for each letter of your URL and tag that many people.

tagged by @bdeblueyes. thanks!

A - American Idiot by Green Day

L - Landscape by Florence + The Machine

E - Everywhere Cover by Yellowcard

C - Creatures In My Head by Run River North

T - This Hell by Rina Sawayama

O - Our Lawyer Made Us Change The Name Of This Song So We Wouldn't Get Sued by Fall Out Boy

P - Plastic Love, English Cover by Lizz Robinett & L-Train

E - Easier to Run by Linkin Park

R - Red:birthmark by AiNA THE END

D - Death Stranding by CHVRCHES

I - In My Room by Troye Sivan

T - This Is How I Disappear by My Chemical Romance

A - Anyone by Demi Lovato

tagging @leechysmile, @sushilabs, @melodiousramblings, @mediocredoots, @arien-elensar, @worldendercharles, @chazz-is-a-zelda-fan, @luxielovesparkles, @unfriendlyamazon, @kaijous, @hopefullyidontscrewthisup, @heyholmesletsgo, @worldendercharles. Phew, that's what I get having a long username.

(Give me permission to tag you on games here. Comment please or I won't be able to figure out who is actually giving out explicit permission.)

[bluiex]

So like it’s really late, I was originally finishing up the first chapter of the Sprite family but my Jimmy Stream in the back ground(Among us, he and Lizzie were the imposters) He said that the seablings are imposters and that got my brain working it much-

EVIL SEABLINGS(ESMP1)

Is the same normal thing but WAIT! Aeor and Exor actually aren’t able to access the mortal world anymore- but wait…how’s Scott got his ice powers (pow pow) and Xornoth still evil and corrupted(GRAF GRAF)? ITS LIZZIE AND JIMMY’S FAULT!(mostly Lizzie) So like we all remember that Scott didn’t really unlock his powers till “A DEAL WITH DESTINY”- 

Lizzie and Jimmy are gods controlling mortal bodies that they can leave at will and go back to whenever, so obviously, they are totally ‘following’ the ask of a god(not as powerful as Lizzie) by granting their chosen twins to be the protectors of their land….Wait what?! Yeah! Both Exor and Aeor are good! Lizzie may or may not half done something for her and her little brother’s entertainment. 

Liz and Jim totally corrupted Xornoth and where going to make it that Xornoth could kill Scott but Jimmy fell HARD and Lizzie will do anything for her brother<333(didn’t that back fire😭)

You know the seablings little story of them ‘forgetting’? They faked it knowing that they other emperors might get suspicious(and the gods watching over them) 

THEIR SO EVIL I LOVE IT!!

Lizzie is the god of the Ocean, the life it breathes and the shadows that it casts(Oh my- Last life reference? In my ideas? Unheard of!)

Jimmy is the god of Lost memories that no one takes and the way it may form the creatures someone shall form for memories that one day shall be forgotten, creating an forever living cycle.(Why are these so poetic???)

On the note that Jimmy fell HARD for Scott, he totally cried his eyes out to Liz when they assented back(And maybe JUST maybe begged her to try and bargain with Death to either bring Scott back or make his at least immoral or a Demi god in his next life)

^

(This is the cause of the canary curse in the life series.) 

I have no idea on where in taking this so like- Scott becomes a semi god 500 something years later after his first death and he’s so confused???? Cause he gots his memories back and now reunited with his boyfriend? Lover? Husband?(like I said he’s so CONFUSED) 

Scott’s the Demi god of the light of the stars and the way they guide you.(I forgot I make poems for a living-)

They went off the rails of the OG thoughts I had but who cares!

-🌺🪸🥀

AAAH OH MY GOD SEABLINGS VILLIANS

Dude I lvoe that their gods who came into esmp1 and the ones who make Xoronoth corrupted..

Lizzie was on the verge of commanding Xorn to kill his own brother.. When Jimmy starts to plead and beg and confess his lover over the cold mortal. Begging his sister to let him have Scott

Who is Lizz to deny her little brother?

[th3-gr34t-m0th]

an open species I made called koliz (Ko-LIzz) their silly lil wild creatures that are surprisingly dangerous and aggressive yet some stupid people keep them as pets (they are short lived) and don't be fooled those party hats are horns! not magical ones tho more like a rhino's horn the strings on the stringed "hat" is just a string of nerves the most common reason koliz's turn fearal iz due to the lost of their child or long periods of isolation or even hunger! theres not really any of that "common" "rare" "uncommon" stuff cuz each one is meant to look uniqe and special! I mean we have alphas but their not much different the only thing all of them share is the fox like body and their unusually stubby legs! but yeah i've seen alotta these things online recently and decided to join in on this cuz it lookes fun but yeah have fun and make one yourself i'd love to seem 'em! :3

[helmetkeeper]

Hi! Could I ask for some song recs for a carnivore monsterkin? I have cryptid vibes in a more creepy way, hunting people and other animals (I was the stalker/ambush type of hunter, but wild chases and other styles are great with me too, so please don't feel constrained by the type)

I'd love it if there were some themes of hunting, horror-esque stuff, consuming, can be any genre, can be both on the calm side and on the wilder one!

Songs I like with this or similiar vibe would be, for example:

Beast and Teeth by 8 graves, outer science, the wolf by siames, voracity, bad blood by creature feature

Thank you if you do it, don't feel forced if you don't vibe with the themes though! <3

Hello!! I think I leaned towards more horror and consuming/cannibal-esque stuff, so hopefully you'll find some things you like! :D.

this one is a bit longer, so i put them under a cut 👍.

songs go like "song" + "artist"

"Smells Blood" + "Kensuke Ushio"

"Behind The Scene" + "Kensuke Ushio"

"Final Girl" + "Graveyardguy" and "Slayyyter"

"DEATHWISH" + "poutyface"

"You Can't Hide" + "Ck9c" and "Elizabeth Ann"

"Murders" + "Miracle Musical"

"It's Playtime" + "MOB Games"

"MEAT GRINDER" + "japanesecoffee" and "Jerma985"

"Tear You Apart" + "She Wants Revenge"

"Vampires" + "Night Club"

"Schizophrenic" + "Night Club"

"Stranger" + "Spence Bare"

"The Masochism Tango" + "Tom Lehrer"

"Poisoning Pigeons in the Park" (Stereo Mix) + "Tom Lehrer"

"The Hunting Song" + "Tom Lehrer"

"Run, Rabbit Run!" + "Flanagan & Allen"

"Hide and Seek" + "Lizz Robinett"

"Hell and You" + "Amigo the Devil"

"IN MY MOUTH" + "Black Dresses"

"Animal Impulses" + "IAMX"

"Bloom" + "j^p^n"

"Magnum Force Theme" + "Lalo Schifrin"

"We're All Mad" + "The Circus Contraption Band"

"Let's Kill Tonight" + "Panic! At The Disco"

"Murder! Murder!" + "American Murder Song"

"Something Wicked (That Way Went)" + "Vernian Process"

"The Greatest Show Unearthed" + "Creature Feature"

"Sinister Exaggerator" + "The Residents"

"Insidious" + "joseph bishara"

"The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" (Theme) + "Scary Music Masters"

"Dreams" + "NERO" and "ZHU"

"Overlay of Evil" (Main Title) + "Harry Manfredini"

"We are Gods! We are Wolves!" + "Le Loup"

"Hunger Of The Beast" + "Cattera"

"I Am an Animal Cannibal" + "Mysteron"

"Entangled Life" + "Merlin Sheldrake" and "Cosmo Sheldrake"

"Counting Bodies Like Sheep To The Rhythm Of The War Drums" + "A Perfect Circle"

"She Wants Me Dead" + "CAZZETTE" and "AronChupa" and "The High"

"White Flag" + "Delta Heavy"

"My Demons" + "STARSET"

"Snap Out of It" + "Arctic Monkeys"

"Andromeda" + "Gorillaz" and "DRAM"

"Reflektor" + "Arcade Fire"

"No One Knows" + "Queens of the Stone Age"

"The Red" + "Chevelle"

"I Love You... I'll Kill You" + "Enigma"

"Every Breath You Take" + "The Police"

"Psycho Killer" (2005 Remaster) + "Talking Heads"

"Psycho Killer" + "The Wrecks"

"Artificial Flowers" + "Fangbanger"

"Eat Them" + "Lady Pills"

"Carnivore" + "OrgansDotOrg"

"Trypophobia" + "Sunrhythm"

"I Fink U Freeky" + "Die Antwoord"

"The Sound Of Your Fear" + "Midi Blossom"

"Cannibal Girlfriend" + "Baby Bugs"

"Run Run!" + "Jorge Aguilar II"

"Animal Skin" + "Bryan Dunn"

"The Axeman's Jazz" + "Reddie & Abel"

"In the House - In a Heartbeat - 28 Days Later" + "Extize"

"Circus" + "Lindsay Mendez" and "Drew Gasparini"

"Bottom of the River" + "Delta Rae"

"Cannibal Summer" + "Delilah Bon"

"People Eater" + "Sodikken"

"Cinnamon Bone" + "Eliza Rickman"

"Sociopath" + "StayLoose" and "Bryce Fox"

"flesh" + "babychaos"

"Human" + "Anavae"

"Pass The Knife" + "No/Me"

"Animal" + "Badflower"

"One Eye Open" + "Lola Blanc"

"Content" + "Gum Disease"

"Death" + "Æther Realm"

"Bloody! Bloody!" + "Junie & TheHutFriends"

"The Silent" + "The Tragic Tantrum"

"FALLEN ANGEL - second encounter" + "AZALI"

"Sympathy" + "LuLuYam"

"Are You Happy? (Questions)" + "Jhariah"

"Waiting For The Night" + "Ghost"

"Diet Soda" + "Starbenders"

"Blood" + "Starbenders"

"Animal" + "The Living Tombstone"

"Zombie" + "Siiickbrain"

"It Almost Worked" + "TV Girl"

"Floating" + "Glare"

"Burden" + "Midrift"

"Stockholm Syndrome" + "Muse"

"Jesus Dont Like That I'm Gay but Satans Cool With It" + "Lil Boodang"

"No Looking" + "Bloodbath64"

dividers from @/grungenglam and @/horangipilled

[literaturewithliz]

Lizz!! How are you?! I've decided to ask my moots a few noninvasive questions to get to know them better (if you don't feel up to answering, that's totally fine <3)

• What's your favorite color?

• What's your favorite mythological creature from a book?

• What song hits you in the feels every time you hear it?

• What is your favorite possession?

• Who is your favorite book character of ALL TIME? (You can totally pick more than one)

hiiii autumn! i love this idea! thanks for thinking of me!

color: yellow (like, the light yellows. bright colors freak me out for some reason.)

mythological creature: the nifflers from harry potter. they are just so cute to me

song: marjorie by taylor swift. i cry every time i listen to it.

possession: do pets count? i love my rabbit, Jesper.

book character (thanks for letting me pick more than one, you just saved me a lot of overthinking) Annabeth Chase, Reyna Avíla Ramírez Arellano, Hazel Levesque, Tam Song, Sophie Foster, Sandor (the goblin? does he have a last name?) Meilin Teng, Luna Lovegood, Remus Lupin, Stiles Stilinski, Kamala Nandiwadal, Jesper Fahey, Wylan Hendriks, Tolya Yul-Bataar, Nina Zenik, Inej Ghafa, and many, many more!

can you answer the same questions in the comments? id love to know you better too!

[beanieexists]

Did I ever show off this poorly made clay Lizzbeth?

[quaranmine]

Gadus morhua

Atlantic cod, scientific name Gadus morhua, is benthopelagic fish in the family Gadidae. A series of three scenes from the Cod Empire, focused on the hydrological, ecological, toxicological, environmental, and engineering problems Jimmy tackles as the Codfather.

In which I use my college education to do worldbuilding for MC roleplay, and have entirely too much fun with it. Jimmy-centric, but other characters appear: Joel, Lizzie, fWhip, and Scott. No content warnings. Set in at a vague point in Empires S1!

Words: 6142

┈ ┈ ┈ ⋞ 〈 ⏣ 〉 ⋟ ┈ ┈ ┈

1.

It was a casual sort of meeting day with Joel down by the docks of the Cod Empire. Jimmy had invited him over to do some fishing and some talking, and to well–just hang out. They were best allies, after all. They’d been out here for an hour or so already, but being a ruler was unfortunately a ‘round the clock sort of job, and even leisure time with other emperors was often punctuated by work. 

“So what did you invite me here for?” Joel asked. He was laying on his back on the dock with the sun shining on him and a hat over his face, while Jimmy slowly reeled in the line he’d thrown. 

“I wanted to talk about water,” Jimmy said. 

“Fish people,” Joel muttered. “It’s all you do.” 

“Hey!” Jimmy said, lightly smacking Joel’s shoulder. “Water happens to be the most important part of life. You wouldn’t exist without it!”

“Fine, fine,” Joel said, sitting up and pulling the hat off his face and on top of his head instead. “What about water did you want to discuss?”

“I wanted to talk about your desalination plants,” Jimmy said. “I was thinking about getting a few for my empire.” The corner of his mouth twitched up a bit as he said it, because he knew that asking this was tantamount to asking for a spiel on how much Joel loved his wife. It had been one of their most important trade agreements, and it’d apparently left quite the impression on Joel because he never stopped going to see the Ocean Queen after that. 

“Ah, those,” Joel said, and clapped his hands. “Built through an agreement with the love of my life. You, know, that was our first really important trade agreement–”

Jimmy bit back a laugh. Yes, he’d known. 

Joel continued. “Mezalea is a rich land blessed in many things. What it’s not blessed with is water. It’s dry and hot.”

“And yet you export moss,” Jimmy said. “Isn’t that known for growing in wet places–”

It was Joel’s turn to smack Jimmy. “Yes. Don’t talk about that.”

Jimmy raised his hands placatingly. “Fine, fine, just tell me about the desalination plants.”

“We have aquifers and reservoirs in Mezalea for water, but I know that in the future they might be drained. It’s not good for the growth of the kingdom–if we try to raise exports of moss, we’ll need more water, and as the economy grows we’ll need more people and clones who will need more water, and then we’ll start drawing more water than can be recharged. So we needed to find more options, and the ocean was right there.”

“So you went to talk to Lizzie.”

Joel twirled the wedding band around his finger absentmindedly. “Yeah, I went to talk to Lizzie. Didn’t know if she’d approve but she seemed more than happy to provide the technology when I told her how she could benefit as well. Desalination’s tricky. It’s not always efficient.” Joel squinted off into the ocean in the distance. “And I didn’t just need her help, I also needed her permission. Can’t be pumping ocean water without it. It can harm sea creatures, you know, but Lizzie’s able to keep ‘em away from that area.”

“What do you do with the leftover salt?” Jimmy asked, tossing his fishing line out again. Maybe he’d catch some salmon today, but so far he’d just got a pufferfish and an old useless book. It wasn’t really about the catches, though. It was about sitting here and enjoying himself. 

“Give the brine back to Lizze as part of the agreement,” Joel said. “She exports it. Scott buys a lot. It’s good for deicing apparently, but it never snows in Mezalea. Or here, for that matter.”

“And it works?”

Joel beamed proudly. “Come on Jimmy, you’ve been to my empire before. Would it look so good if it didn’t work?”

“I dunno mate, everything’s still a bit to dry for my liking over there.”

“Ugh,” Joel said, waving him off. “I don’t know why I bother with you, you’ve got no taste out here in the swamp. Just mosquitoes.”

“If you put on the slime, the mosquitoes wouldn’t bother you–”

Joel put a hand on Jimmy’s shoulder and said solemnly: “Jimmy, I wouldn’t be caught dead wearing slime. I would rather be carried off by the mosquitos first.”

Jimmy just laughed loudly at that. It wasn’t his fault that he told everyone how to live in the swamp and they refused. He thought they were all a bit too pretentious. After all, they’re surrounded by water here–you could wash the slime off any time you’d like. 

“Why do you want desalination facilities, Jimmy?” Joel asked. “You’ve got so much water here. I mean, it’s literally a swamp.”

“It’s brackish.”

“What?”

“Salty?” Jimmy said, and then pointed to the wide expanse of ocean on the horizon. “We live on the coast, and the river comes out here. This is an estuary. That means that the saltwater and freshwater mix, making the water brackish.”

“And can’t you just . . .” Joel trailed off, and gestured vaguely at his throat. Gills. “Like Lizzie does?”

Jimmy subconsciously brought his hand up and brushed the edge of his gills. “Well, I can,” he said. “Me and Lizzie both can. Doesn’t matter if it’s air or freshwater or saltwater. We were born in the ocean, after all. But that doesn’t mean all my people can. Most of them still need freshwater.”

“What about your wells though? Surely you get enough rain to keep them full?”

Mezalea was arid, and rain was infrequent enough that depleting the aquifer was always a worry. The water underground was thousands, if not millions of years old, and it was no guarantee that it could be recharged quickly enough through rain to keep up with the demand of a growing empire. 

The Cod Empire was wet. The water table was at ground level or above ground in most places, leading to soft muddy ground, marshy pools, and little ponds. It rained frequently, and the river came in from the south. But the river mixed with the ocean throughout the empire, and the water around them was not fresh as a result. 

Jimmy nodded. “We do. But it’s just . . .” He fixed Joel with a look. “Joel, you’re my best ally. This is important alliance matters. This is being told to you in confidence.”

Joel stared back at him. “Okay.”

Jimmy glanced over his shoulder as he talked. The tips of his walls were just visible over the trees. “The wells are a weak point for us,” he started. “They’re too far on the edge. They’re vulnerable to attack from my enemies, and that would be dangerous for my people to be left without freshwater.”

He’d always been on shaky relations with Sausage. He didn’t think the man would attack his water supply, but he wasn’t sure with all the corruption on the server. Jimmy also knew he wasn’t always on the best of terms with a lot of people–he was often a bit too bold or brash or impulsive, which didn’t suit him as an emperor and had caught him in hot water more than once. 

He also knew he wasn’t the strongest empire on the server. He knew what other people said about him, and he was too proud to admit to any weakness. But he was still pragmatic enough to see the truth: he didn’t even have enough resources to guard the wells all the time, anyway. They’d always be a risk. 

Joel scowled. “So why don’t you just move them closer to the middle of your empire? You’ve got water running out your ears, can’t you just drill further until you reach freshwater?”

Jimmy shook his head. “Can’t. If we move them closer, we’ll just start sucking seawater in and ruin them. We’ve got freshwater, but just like on the surface, it mixes with saltwater underground too at a certain point. They also have to be far enough away from the coast that they can keep up with the demand of the empire, because we can only take up so much water at a time safely.”

“Oh.” Joel blinked. “So, desalination.”

Jimmy smiled. “It’s just for backup.”

Joel clapped a hand on Jimmy’s shoulder. “Well, Codboy, I won’t go tellin’ your empire’s weakness to anyone. If you ever need help, Mezalea’s on your side.” He leaned over. “I don’t understand, though. Why’d you invite me here to ask me this, and not Lizzie? She’s the one you’d have to actually talk to about getting it built and she’s the one who knows the ocean better than any of us.”

“Oh,” Jimmy said, amused. “That’s because it’s not nearly as fun to do this with Lizzie. She just swims too well.”

“What-”

And with a great shove, Jimmy pushed Joel off the dock. He hit the water with a splash, leaving the hat floating behind him. 

Seconds later, the man popped up above the surface, sputtering in anger. “JIMMY!” he shouted. “Did you plan this all day?”

Jimmy didn’t answer, because he was bent over double laughing so hard he could barely breathe. He wiped a tear from his eye. 

“That could be considered an act of war, you know!” Joel yelled. 

“You wouldn’t,” Jimmy wheezed. 

“Oh, I will,” Joel said. “In fact, here’s my first attack!”

And with a great effort, Joel grabbed Jimmy’s foot from where it dangled over the dock, and pulled him in after him, and Jimmy laughed the whole way down until water filled his lungs and forced his gills to start working again. 

┈ ┈ ┈ ⋞ 〈 ⏣ 〉 ⋟ ┈ ┈ ┈

2.

Jimmy was not having a good day. Or, well–series of days. 

Yesterday, he’d received word from one of his merchants who had been traveling home via the river of a fish kill upstream. Dozens of fish, all inexplicably dead and floating in the water. They’d come straight to his governing office to report it as soon as they were back in the bounds of the empire. 

It wasn’t within his borders. The reported fish that were killed were all salmon. Some people would likely think that would make Jimmy happy but . . . he winced.

It’s for the greater good. 

Salmon were large fish. It was the wrong time of year for spawning season, where salmon frequently died after laying their eggs. If something had killed many of them, then it was undoubtedly screwing with the rest of the river too. It was likely that smaller fish, plants, amphibians, invertebrates, and more were also killed. 

And water flowed. 

And Jimmy’s empire was downstream. 

It could be a magical accident. Jimmy had made sure his advisor questioned the merchant about that, but the average person could not detect magic like Jimmy could, and thus the merchant didn’t know. It could also be some form of pollution–something that lowered the oxygen in the water, or perhaps a chemical. And that was why Jimmy had ordered his staff hydrologist to take samples.

Samples whose lab work were now laying on his desk. Jimmy squinted at the papers. He was no scientist–he was the Codfather, it was his job to rule, he had governmental officials for this sort of work–but he did know a little about it. It was good to know, because it was important and he might have to make final decisions over it. He couldn’t be totally out of the loop on issues that could mean life or death in his empire. 

Either way, he knew enough about the reports he was reading to know they weren’t good. There were no reported cod deaths in his empire so far, but the ecosystem was stressed. Jimmy could feel it. They couldn’t afford the problem getting worse. 

Before he could examine the paper much more, there was a fast knock on his door. 

“Come in,” he called. 

The door swung open to reveal one of Jimmy’s advisors, who spoke quickly. “Sir, the Ocean Queen is–”

Lizzie ducked past the man and walked through the door. “I don’t need an introduction to see him, I can come anytime I like. Isn’t that right, Codfather?” She winked. 

Jimmy rolled his eyes and set down the paper. “You’re always welcome in my empire, Lizzie. Come sit down.”

“See?” Lizzie turned to the advisor and smiled a little too sweetly. Jimmy just shrugged apologetically and waved him away. He appreciated the effort of the warning but it wasn’t really necessary for his sister. She’d have climbed in a window or mined through the wall if his advisor had said no, anyway. 

“What do you need?” he asked. “‘Cause I’m having a busy day.”

“You? Busy? I doubt it,” Lizzie said snarkily, before stopping and correcting herself. “No, wait, nevermind, the thing I’m here about is probably the same thing you’re busy with. See, I’ve got some papers of my own.” She pushed them across the table. 

Jimmy picked them up, but he already knew what they were. He scanned the headings of the lab reports. 

2,4,6-trinitrotoluene, 2-amino-4,6-dinitrotoluene, and 4-amino-2,6-dinitrotoluene. 

Those were the same chemicals from Jimmy’s report. Lizzie’s listed a few more complex chemicals–2,4,6-trinitrobenzaldehyde, 1,3,5-trinitrobenzene, 2,4,6-trinitrobenzoic acid, and 2-amino-4,6-dinitrobenzoic acid–and less of the first one than Jimmy’s had. The numbers were a bit less concentrated, but overall similar. Jimmy didn’t need his hydrologist to tell him it was the same problem. 

“Yeah,” he muttered. “Me too.”

“Jimmy,” Lizzie said. “This water came from you. Your estuary opens out into my ocean. These readings are from the edge of our border.”

Jimmy gave her a sharp look. “You can’t think this is me,” he said, a little too hotly. 

Lizzie raised an eyebrow, and crossed her arms. “Of course not,” she said. “I came here to see what you want to do about it.” She gestured at the paper. “These concentrations aren’t enough to bother the ocean. The ocean’s big, so it’s all diluted. But it is large enough to prompt a visit to an ally. So since you clearly already know, what are you going to do about it?”

Jimmy leaned back in his chair, tipping his head back and staring at the ceiling. “I need to talk to fWhip,” he said finally. “Trinitrotoluene. That’s TNT. The hydrologist told me that the other chemicals are what it degrades into when it’s exposed to sunlight in surface water.”

“Well, I can stay here for the meeting if you’d like,” Lizzie said, reading his mind. “Two empires are more intimidating than one.”

Jimmy sighed and rubbed his eyes. “I don’t wanna have to intimidate him. I just want him to take me seriously.”

┈ ┈ ┈ ⋞ 〈 ⏣ 〉 ⋟ ┈ ┈ ┈

fWhip arrived alone, and Jimmy thought he should feel snubbed about that. 

Casual meetings between rulers were rarely accompanied by guards or advisors, especially between allies. Lizzie and Joel certainly didn’t bring any of their people to Jimmy’s when they visited, for example. They didn’t even make appointments or let him know they were coming most of the time. They didn’t even always knock.

Hell, Jimmy preferred to go places alone too. He wasn’t a fan of pomp and circumstance and making a fuss and having people follow him around. But this wasn’t a casual visit, this was official serious business. And Jimmy and fWhip were not allies. And fWhip hadn’t even brought any of his environmental personnel. Jimmy had brought along his chief advisor, staff hydrologist, and staff ecologist. 

Hence, Jimmy felt like he wasn’t being taken very seriously right now. 

Nothing made him angrier. He couldn’t show that though, lest he was taken even less seriously. If fWhip knew he was riled up, he’d continue to push his buttons and try his luck. No, he had to be calm. He grit his teeth a little behind his smile. 

fWhip was measured, but standoffish. He listened patiently to Jimmy’s explanation of water pollution and how it had to have come from a spill upstream, but his expression was closed off and unreadable. Jimmy knew he had to explain the connection to be listened to. Whatever happened further up the river wasn’t located in his empire, and he had no ability to clean it or fix it. But it was affecting the Cod Empire just the same, so he needed help.

Or a threat. This was the safety of his land and people on the line, and while the problem wasn’t an imminent mortal hazard, he still needed to guarantee it wouldn’t happen again. If he failed to talk it out now, he’d have to escalate this. A threat with fWhip was unlikely to go down very well though, and Jimmy didn’t want to make the relations between their empires any more tense than it already was. 

As such, Jimmy needed diplomacy.

Before he could bring out the lab reports though, fWhip spoke up. “I don’t understand why you’ve called me over here,” he said, crossing his arms. “Why not Sausage? He’s your nearest neighbor upriver. Or even Joey is further upstream. I’m a lot further away than the rest of them. How can you prove this came from my empire?”

“I’m so glad you asked,” Lizzie said, and when she smiled her sharp predator teeth glinted dangerously. She handed fWhip the Cod Empire documents. “Tell me, what do you see in there?”

fWhip was silent as he flipped through the papers. He didn’t respond, but he scowled. Jimmy knew he recognized the chemicals. There was no way that fWhip–alchemist, tinkerer, engineer, inventor–didn’t know what he worked with. 

“Is your empire not the server’s leading manufacturer of gunpowder and explosives?” Lizzie asked. What a leading question! Jimmy almost wanted to reach over and high five her, except that it’d be terribly unprofessional in such a serious meeting. 

“I am,” fWhip said cooly, returning the documents. He looked at Lizzie and Jimmy. “This looks like the result of discharge from TNT manufacture. There’s TNT, compounds from the degradation of TNT, and chemicals associated with red water that’s produced during the TNT purifying process. It’s highly toxic.” He paused for a moment. “It’s also illegal to dump this in my empire.”

“Are you following your own laws, fWhip?” Lizzie asked. 

“I always dispose of my waste properly,” fWhip snapped. 

Jimmy cringed a little. He was certain it was from the Grimlands–not only did the chemicals match up with his manufacturing processes, but the location of the reported fish kill matched up for a place further upstream than Sausage. He had no jurisdiction, though. He couldn't fly over to the spill, document it and prove it was from the Grimlands, and go home. He wasn’t allowed to collect data from there–he was barely allowed as a guest in normal times. 

Well, it was time to pull out his secret weapon. 

“Do you know how I knew to test for this?” Jimmy asked. 

“No.”

“One of my people was traveling between empires and found a fish kill upstream, which they reported right away. They reported that the dead fish appeared to have hemorrhages, which can be caused by this type of exposure.” He made eye contact with fWhip, and really tried to drive it home. “They were salmon, fWhip. Don’t you want to protect them?”

 Don’t let pride get to you, he wanted to say. Just because you have to admit I’m right.

fWhip sighed. “I don’t know anything about any waste discharges,” he said. “If one of my forges has been disposing of waste by dumping it in the river, they are breaking the law. If it was a spill, then I haven’t been notified, which is also breaking the law. But it’s definitely explosives manufacturing waste, and I can’t risk the salmon.” He frowned. “I would have thought you wouldn’t care about that, Jimmy.”

Jimmy shook his head. “For the greater good,” he muttered. “It affects all of us.”

fWhip nodded once, then stood up and quickly gathered the copies of the reports that Jimmy’s hydrologist had supplied. He tightened the strap on his elytra. “Well,” he said. “Thank you for bringing to my attention.”

“Thank you for listening,” Jimmy said, and he meant it. 

fWhip headed for the door, but before he went he threw a glance back and called over his shoulder. “Don’t get your scales in a twist, Codfather,” he said. “I’ll fix this. You’ll be hearing from me again soon.”

And then he was gone. Jimmy let out a breath he didn’t know he had been holding, and laid his head down on the desk. 

“I think we did well,” Lizzie said. 

“Ugh,” Jimmy groaned, muffled by the wood. “That was almost a disaster.”

“What do you think he’ll do about it?”

“He’ll do something,” Jimmy said. “I don’t know what, but he won’t want to look like he’s not in control of things happening in his empire.”

The staff hydrologist stepped up. “If I may,” she started.

“Of course,” Lizzie said. 

“I can tell you what he might do,” the hydrologist said. “It’s not up to us to choose how to handle it since it didn’t happen within our borders. But we’ll probably be fine anyway if the source of the spill is stopped. For rivers, time and dilution can work wonders. The further it dilutes into larger bodies of water, the less concentrated the contamination will be, and it will be less likely for our ecosystem to be badly harmed. We’ll likely be able to get by with increased monitoring until all the contamination diffuses.”

“What about the source?” Jimmy asked. 

“It’s hard to say. He could try some bioremediation methods, or even install a filter across the mouth of the river. He could divert water and try and treat it before it is redirected back into the river.  Most importantly, he should ensure this doesn’t happen again.”

Jimmy sighed. “Thank you,” he said. “I suppose this is the best we can hope for when it’s not actually within my borders. He put his arm around Lizzie and pulled her into a half-hug. “Thanks for staying, Lizzie. Definitely made it look more legit.”

“I know,” Lizzie said. “What would you do without me?”

“Probably start a war with fWhip.”

┈ ┈ ┈ ⋞ 〈 ⏣ 〉 ⋟ ┈ ┈ ┈

3.

“So, Jimmy,” Scott said. “What am I here for today?”

“Um,” Jimmy said, raising his hand over his eyes and squinting at the sunlight behind Scott. The sun rises in the east, and Rivendell is southeast of the Cod Empire. Sometimes in the morning Jimmy looked at the rising sun and wondered if Scott was awake yet. He was definitely awake this morning, since he’s standing in the Cod Empire with his back to the rising sun. It’s like a halo of light around his head. 

“So?” Scott prompted again, gesturing with one hand. “I don’t have all day, you know.”

Jimmy blinked. “I was wondering if you wanted to build an embassy.”

Scott cocks his head. “Didn’t I already build one over there?” He gestures to the lily pads where all of Jimmy’s allies have built little statues. 

“Yeah, well, it’s just . . .” Jimmy trails off. “Too small? I mean, you couldn’t stay the night there if you wanted. It’s just for decorative purposes. I mean, I built one at your empire . . .”

“Ohhhh.” Something changed in Scott’s stance. He leaned forward, a little too closely, and made direct eye contact with Jimmy, who until that point had mostly been looking just off to the side of Scott’s eyes. The edge of Scott’s mouth tugged upwards. “Are you trying to invite me to spend the night, Codfather?”

“No, no, no, it’s not like that, I just mean-” Jimmy’s face was suddenly hot like the sunburns he’d learned to avoid in the swamp. Scott was nearly bent over laughing at him. “Well, now you’re not invited to my empire anymore,” Jimmy said, trying to retain at least a little of his dignity. 

“You’re banning me?” Scott said. He raised an eyebrow skeptically. 

“Yes. For life.”

“Hm,” Scott said. “Seems like a blessing, honestly. Your empire has so many mosquitos. And it’s so not cute here.”

“Hey-”

“Where do the Ocean Queen and the King of Mezalea stay?” Scott asked, interrupting before Jimmy had a chance to sputter any indignant defense of his empire. Slime worked perfectly well as a repellent, even if Scott refused to touch it. The Cod Empire’s aesthetics might not be as grand as the other empires’, but they serve their purpose and Jimmy finds more comfort and familiarity in them than anywhere else. 

And, well. The question. Jimmy wasn’t not sure how to say Lizzie is always welcome in my house and Joel just comes by and crashes without any prior warning. They were more than just old friends, they were literally family. Even before Jimmy had found out Lizzie was his sister, they’d felt a little like family. 

Scott was different. Rivendell was a new ally to the Cod Empire. They didn’t have years of prior relationship between them. Jimmy thought it was, well, a little too personal. Maybe someday. 

“They stay in my house,” he said finally. 

Scott’s mouth dropped open in mock offense. “So I’m not even special enough to stay in the Codfather’s house? Wow, I guess it’s a good thing I’m banned then.”

Jimmy rolled his eyes, but fought to keep a smile off his face. “Enough! Enough. Do you want to build an embassy or not, Scott?”

“Sure.”

“Great. I have a spot in mind for it, and I can call over my engineers to discuss your plans. You can bring in one of your royal architects, to make sure that the decorative elements of Rivendellian architecture make it into the final product. The project will be overseen and constructed by my team–”

“No, no,” Scott said, shaking his head. “You don’t have to give me your engineers, I have my own. I don’t want to end up with some Cod Empire building, I’ll ask them to build something cuter than that.”

Jimmy frowned. The insult to his building hardly even registered to him at this point–it might as well have passed through his brain like water through his gills. He knew he didn’t have the prettiest empire, it wasn’t new knowledge. And he knew Scott liked to tease him about it. But what caught Jimmy’s attention this time was that Scott really, really wasn’t making the sensible choice here. 

Did he even realize? “Um,” Jimmy said. “This isn’t Rivendell, this is the swamp. You need my engineers. They’ll provide–”

Scott waved his hand. “Don’t worry Jimmy, I’ll still report to them. I won’t build anything where I’m not allowed and I won’t ‘harm the swamp.’ But if this is to be a Rivendell embassy, then it is part of Rivendell and I won’t be building a Cod Empire building.”

Jimmy opened his mouth to object again, but a larger, pettier part of his mind made him shut it again. The rising sun was still behind Scott, but it was higher now, shining less like a halo around the edges of his hair and instead beating down on his head. Maybe Scott could afford to be knocked down a few pegs. 

It was ill-advised, inefficient, and possibly even irresponsible, but Jimmy thought the satisfaction of seeing Scott flounder would be worth it. What better way to gain a little respect for the Cod Empire than direct action?

It’s not like Jimmy didn’t have a precedent for doing ill-advised, inefficient, and irresponsible things. 

The Cod Empire’s buildings weren’t grand or beautiful like other empires. The nicer rulers said his buildings were “simple” or “homely,” while the ruder ones outright called them ugly. Jimmy knew this. Aesthetic architecture had never been a part of Cod Empire culture and he was fine with that. After all, floods and typhoons can cause significant damages. 

But what the Cod Empire was really good at was making buildings that last.

Fluctuating water and particulate matter levels? Some areas of the swamp were anoxic, leaving submerged wood practically preserved without any special treatment since it couldn’t rot without any oxygen. In other areas, the constant moisture caused severe decay. Flooding? Many buildings in the Cod Empire were built on stilts because of this, depending on elevation. Typhoons? Houses in the Cod Empire were built with thick and reinforced walls, but flexible enough to move with wind instead of breaking, if needed.

There were parables that reminded the reader that good things came from having sturdy foundations. Unfortunately, the point was always moot in Jimmy’s empire. Sturdy foundations didn’t mix with wet, submerged, and sinking soil. So the Cod Empire drove piles into the ground until it hit solid ground, and made floating foundations. They made amphibious houses to float on floodwater when required to. The Cod Empire had developed special engineering techniques that as far as Jimmy was aware, hadn’t made their way to other empires yet. 

So no, the Cod Empire’s architecture was not pretty, but it was sturdy. Jimmy didn’t care if it had awe-inspiring castles and steep spires. It just needed to last, and it did. 

Rivendell had rock foundations, blasted and carved out of the mountainside. 

Jimmy’s foundations were floating, ever complicated and up to the whims of nature.

This could end up being fun, on second thought. 

Jimmy shrugged. “Do what you want,” he said with an easy smile. “It’s your embassy.”

┈ ┈ ┈ ⋞ 〈 ⏣ 〉 ⋟ ┈ ┈ ┈

“Codfather.”

“Iris.”

She stood in front of him, on the balls of her feet. A large grin split her face, crinkling the corners of her eyes. The gill-fins on the side of her head twitched a little in excitement. 

“I just wanted to say, to start, that this is the best thing you’ve ever asked me to do.”

Jimmy shook his head, unable to keep the corner of his mouth from turning up. “I hope you’re not enjoying this too much.”

“Well, it is a lot of fun to watch them. I’ve never found construction work so interesting.”

“What’s the latest?”

“Cracking foundation. They had to repour it twice, and then it didn’t dry properly and sank.”

Jimmy laughed. “And how distressed is Scott over this?”

Iris tilted her head. “Pretty annoyed. His engineers were convinced that the soil substrate wouldn’t pose any problems and they promised him a much faster timetable than this.”

“Iris,” Jimmy asked. “I’ve known you for a long time. You’ve been my closest advisor. Tell me: is this really evil of me? Like, on a scale of one to ten, how bad of a person am I to let this continue for this long?”

Iris tapped her foot, making a big show of thinking it over. “Well, sir . . . if you asked me, I’d say Rivendell has had this coming for a long time. So maybe it’s like a 5, sort of rude, but hey, you did offer our engineers to them and they refused it. So yeah, I think this will make them put a little respect on the Cod Empire name.”

“So you don’t think this will, like, cause a war or anything?”

“You can fire me if it does.”

“I don’t think I could manage this place without you.”

“I know you can’t,” Iris winked, before twirling around and walking out, braid swinging behind her. “Besides,” she called back just before she stepped out of the door, with a certain tone in her voice Jimmy had trouble placing. “I don’t think Scott exactly wants to fight you.”

Well, he’d never been very opposed to the idea of fighting in the past, Jimmy thought–although they were allies now. But he also insulted the Cod Empire a lot, so maybe he deserved this a little.

Jimmy pushed back in his chair and looked out the window. The builders had been at work for a few weeks now. They had previously made blueprints for other embassies and were using the same one, so architecture hadn’t been a concern. Only the site condition and foundation remained an issue. The Rivendellian engineers had surveyed the site though, to their credit. 

They just . . . didn’t have the knowledge of how to build in a swamp. They had no experience trying to build on a moving, unstable, saturated surface. The mountains in Rivendell didn’t move at nearly the pace the swamp did. 

And as such, they were struggling. Hard. 

They didn’t just have to keep the foundation and building from shifting, but they had to make sure that it didn’t flood. And they had to do this within the rules of Jimmy’s empire–wetlands were very important ecosystems, and Jimmy didn’t want them going in and messing anything up. Of course, constant construction and tearing down failed foundations wasn’t great for the land either, but Jimmy found he didn’t worry about that so much when he was enjoying Scott’s frustration. 

He went outside to supervise them in the afternoon. He didn’t have much paperwork to do for Codfather duties and was already through for the day. He never did. Not that’d he tell the other emperors that, though. They’d probably turn up their noses and make some comment about how of course he had nothing to do, he wasn’t a legitimate empire. 

Jimmy thought a lot of that red tape was unnecessary if you ruled properly, made things simple the first time, and had people who respected you. And that it wasn’t a bad thing if your people saw you enjoying some free time once and a while–especially if they felt comfortable enough to join in. He found he got to know a lot of people better like this. 

He decided to use his free time to lounge around the edge of the construction site with a smug look on his face and see how long it took for Scott to come up and start yelling at him. 

It took about five minutes. 

Scott, engaged in some sort of argument with an engineer, turned and saw Jimmy leaning against another building in the shade, and stalked over. It looked like he was muttering to himself. His hair, normally perfectly styled, was a little sweaty. That just made Jimmy even more smug, because Scott wasn’t exactly used to exerting himself in the hot sun since Rivendell was so cold. 

“What did you do?” he demanded. 

“Me?” Jimmy said. “I didn’t do anything. I’m just standing here. My people aren’t involved in this project at all.”

“Stop smiling,” Scott groaned. “There’s nothing here to smile about.”

“I disagree,” Jimmy said, still grinning. “My advisors and I are having a great time with this.”

“Well I’m not,” Scott said petulantly. “Why didn’t you warn me? Why won’t you help me?”

“Huh,” Jimmy said. “Last I remember you didn’t want any input from the Cod Empire on your design. You said you’d build something cuter instead.” He looked over Scott’s shoulder to where someone was somewhat frantically trying to fashion a water pump for the foundation. “I figured your grand Rivendellian architects could handle a little water. Aren’t they the best in the land?”

“They are,” Scott hissed. 

“Then why don’t they know how to build something on wet ground? I mean, I guess they could be the best in the ‘land’ but not the best in the water–”

“Rivendell is not this wet!” Scott cried. “Or muddy! There’s no saturated ground and sinking foundations. They’re perfectly good engineers.”

“So you agree that your engineers only know how to build in Rivendell?” Jimmy asked. “Because I offered you mine and you refused them.”

Scott glared at him. “My engineers could build in any place. It’s just your swamp that’s stupid.”

“The swamp,” Jimmy said sternly, “is just existing. And it’s been the home of my people for generations before, and will be for generations to come.”

Scott sighed, picking up Jimmy’s not-so-subtle irritation. As much as Jimmy got teased, there was a limit that all the rulers recognized where teasing dropped into true offense. Scott backed off, but he didn’t apologize. “Your swamp’s fine,” he mumbled. “It’s just difficult to build in. I can’t believe you all live like this.”

“It’s difficult for you to build in,” Jimmy said. “My people do it just fine.”

Scott turned partially away from Jimmy, scanning the horizon full of houses. He had a look on his face like maybe it was the first time he’d actually seen any of this and properly paid attention to it. “How do you do it?” he asked finally. “My engineers don’t know the techniques.”

“Well,” Jimmy said. “How about I show them? Or, well, I guess it wouldn’t be me specifically showing you, I’ll call my head engineer and architect over here, ‘cause I’m not the one who actually does the calculations for these things, I just sign off on them–”

“Jimmy,” Scott interrupted. “I’d like that.”

┈ ┈ ┈ ⋞ 〈 ⏣ 〉 ⋟ ┈ ┈ ┈

Thank you for reading! :D Sources, links I used or found while writing this, cool things I found (well I thought they were cool) etc can be found in reblog of this post!

[nershalomva]

Trivia

How well could YOU answer these Very Rabbi Lizz (TM) trivia questions?(played last night following services at our socially distanced Selichot event)

 Round One: Judaism 

1. Who is traditionally understood to be the First Jew? 

2. Which Biblical Prophet tried to outrun God? 

3. Which King of Israel is credited with writing the Book of Ecclesiastes/Kohelet?

4. When was the Second Temple in Jerusalem destroyed? 

5. Which Jewish/Hebrew month has no Jewish holidays? 

6. Which medieval European rabbi is rumored to have taught his daughters Talmud? 

7. In what German city did the first Reform synagogue open in 1818? 

8. Who was the first female Prime Minister of Israel? 

9. How many Jewish holidays can you name? (1 point each) 

10. In which movie did Barbra Streisand play as a young woman disguised as a young man in order to study Talmud? 

Round Two: Musical Theatre 

1. Which musical stars Barbra Streisand playing a groundbreaking Jewish comedienne? 

2. Which musical is based on the stories of Yiddish author Sholom Aleichem? 

3. What Argentinian First Lady is portrayed in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s 1979 Tony Winner? 

4. Before “Glee” Lea Michelle got her start playing Young Cosette and Young Eponine in which show? 

5. “Come From Away” tells the story of a small Newfoundland town hosting 7,000 passengers grounded due to what historical tragedy? 

6. Which beloved animated movie became the first Disney on Broadway musical? 

7. West Side Story and Sound of Music each have a song by the same name. What is the name of the song? 

8. Which musical holds the records for the most Tony wins? 

9. Identify the play from these photos: 

9a.

9b.

9c.

9d.

9e.

9f.

9g.

9h.

9i.

9j. 

10. What dark musical set on Fleet Street of London is actually loosely based on a true story from Paris?

Round Three: Lore 

1. What ghost-like creature is named for the Hebrew word “to adhere”? 

2. What is the name of the wailing woman whose cries foretell death?

3. Dracula is based on which Romanian prince? 

4. Which American president is the most reported ghost in the White House, and around his old Illinois stomping grounds? 

5. Why did people of the Victorian era often bury their loved ones with bells? 

6. What mid-Atlantic creature walks on two legs ending in hooves, flies, and sports horns or antlers out of its head? 

7. Contrary to their depiction in the 1984 movies, “gremlins” originally referred to what specific type of monster?

8. Oborat, lobizón, Varulv, and loup-garou are all foreign language names for what mythical creature? 

9. Pukwudgies, the mischievous woods-dwelling little people, originate from the folklore of which Native American tribe? 

10. Which mythical creature is said to have protected the Jews of Prague during 16th pogroms?

[damienthepious]

could we get an authors commentary starting from “Well. The question is a fair one. Arum himself barely understands how this particular arrangement is even possible.”? That scene was just *chefs kiss* <3

[Pick a short passage from any fanfic I’ve written and send it to me, and I’ll give you the equivalent of a DVD commentary on that snippet]

:D thank youuuuuuuu!! also i remembered to schedule this one so. happy lizz kiss 😘

[Well. The question is a fair one. Arum himself barely understands how this particular arrangement is even possible.] Heron voice yo lizard lord what’s up with the humans??? y r u chillin with humans now? >:3c this heron intends to Cause Problems On Purpose, and Arum’s still not past his automatic reaction of embarrassment to... uh.. everything. He is, however, not really angry about it. He’s not embarrassed by them, he’s just... he really doesn’t know how circumstances aligned to make him so goddamn lucky that these two are with him.

["These- they are-" Arum pauses. He swallows, and then he half turns to glance back towards the humans, and then he quickly turns his attention back to the front as the looks on their faces break through his control, causing his frill to flare partway. The assembled beasts shuffle, slightly, but they do not chitter or call through his brief silence, and he squares his shoulders.] Arum has had a decent amount of practice not letting his frill just do things by now, but like... he looks at them and his body just... reacts. And the monsters who came to see him are a little confused, but he’s home! whatever it took, obviously it was worth it.

["Amaryllis and- and Sir Damien," he says. At the edge of his vision Amaryllis waves, the absurd, charming creature,] this just felt right as a response. god i love Rilla. also before the confessions he would have forced himself to think of that as only absurd, not charming. because arum lies to himself like it’s his job.

[and he feels Damien stiffen at the further attention. He inhales, and then he- he reaches back, opening his palms without looking behind himself again, and before he can harbor even a moment of doubt he feels their fingers twine with his own, and they step up beside him properly.] he reaches. arum does! arum reaches, which- like. okay. It’s not just that he’s actively requesting physical contact from them, but he’s doing it.. publicly. in front of his subjects. during, essentially, a speech.

[Where they belong, he thinks.] He’s settling into this, and it feels... good, actually. It feels good to reach out and get the reassurance that he hoped for. Without even a shred of hesitation. of course they take his hands. miracle: they love him.

["They are… they are my… consorts," he tries, eying the pair of them,] what is an Arum-in-public word for “lovers”, i think wildly, while sleep deprived. What is a formal term that a Lord-Of-The-Swamp might pull for the creatures he does not want to live without? I thought of consorts and then snorted into my tea and i knew i needed it. A little silly, a little overblown & formal & dramatic, a little Royal- that’s literally perfect for Arum trying to publicly... codify this. And hey, it works! And it makes rilla almost laugh, which is also good.

[and Amaryllis raises an eyebrow with a wide grin. Damien flushes dark, which- is interesting. Worth revisiting at a later time.] look i have Feelings about the things that make Damien get a little hot and bothered. being claimed is up there. Also i feel like consorts has that thinly-veiled lovers vibe, like it feels like a sex thing, and damien is an easily flustered boy. And Arum is finally letting himself pay attention to their.. physical responses to things, in that realm.

[They do not seem… bothered, that he would claim them as his, however, so he exhales slowly and turns his gaze back towards the assembled creatures.] kind of like the reaching his hands back, this was... not a test, really, but another instance of Arum proving to himself that he can reach for them in different ways and they aren’t going to reject him. They could have laughed in his face or tried to back out of a public declaration of association- but... he trusted that they wouldn’t.

["They are honored guests, under my protection. It was their efforts which allowed me to return to you as quickly as I have. It was their efforts which allowed me to return to you at all."] and... not only publicly allying himself with humans, but making it clear that they were instrumental in his return. publicly. honestly this is... both sentimental and also, in the future, could prove strategic. The monster collective is... a whole ass thing, but the senate betrayed him, and Arum’s loyalties are Here. With these humans, his Keep, and his Swamp. He wants his subjects to understand that these humans are on their side.

[He pauses again, and the creatures titter with varying levels of excitement and confusion and enthusiasm, and Arum sticks his snout in the air.] And i’m sure that’s a strange pill to swallow, for some of them, but mostly??? they’ve been directionless and Lord-less for months now. If these humans are part of bringing Lord Arum home to them? cool! fine! into it!

["That will be all, then," he snaps quickly, turning as the Keep dutifully reopens a portal for the three of them. "This has taken rather enough of your time- and mine. This absence will not be repeated. Return to your homes and lives and all will be taken care of henceforth, good day."] Arum Has Publicly Spoken Too Long And Said Too Many Personal Things And Now Must Retreat Before He Expires, Thank You. tone read: Those will be all of your questions for today farewell. It’s been a trying like... quarter year, for the lizard. he’s tired and he wants to spend more quality time with his consorts before they have to leave again ;3

[the-fae-folk]

I have a friend who seems to have experienced an encounter with a Gancanagh.. I'd never heard of it before I saw your last ask post and it sounds so much like what she's experienced. Pls tell me she has hope?

A Gancanagh’s spell is difficult to break. All Faerie Enchantments, curses, and spells can be like thorny vines and twisted roots. Difficult to remove without terrible damage. But the Gancanagh’s magic is quite wicked. Though perhaps other Fae could remove it with incantations of their own, there will always be a steep price to pay in exchange, likely far more than any rational being would ever accept. But there is another way. We would speak to you of the ballad of “Tam Lin.” Though much of the story deals with the roguish Tam Lin and his foolish ways, the important thing to note is that he was taken away by the Queen of Faeries, who in the tale wished to use him to pay the tithe to Hell which came every seven years. The maiden who holds a love for Tam Lin, and also bears his child, comes to rescue him. To do so she must run up and catch him in her arms as he rides by with a company of Elfin Knights. She must hold him tight and not let go, even as the Faerie Queen transforms him into all manner of beasts and monstrous forms. In the end the girl manages to cling to him and the spell which chains him to the Queen’s service was shattered and he was released. While much of this story is of little use, there is one thing you may take from it. Stand by your friend, offer her comfort and support. Be the person she needs and never shame her for her choices, even should you think them ill advised. Offer advice when asked for it, and should she appear to be wasting away to illness or lack of food, then ensure her health. Hold tight to your friend in the way that friends should, stand by her as Lizze stands by her sister Laura in “Goblin Market.” Only time itself can break a Gancanagh’s enchantments. Like all addictions it will eventually fade away, lingering at the back of the mind, but grown ineffective as your friend grows stronger than she was before. But even should the knavish creature who hurt your friend be a mortal man and no Faerie, know that such men possess something of the Gancanagh within them. Bereft of any magical power, they hold in them the cruelty and rotting hearts of those wicked Fae. Charming and manipulative they seek out playthings to woo, and when their fun is ended, they leave behind a woman whose will they tried to break and whose heart is shattered. The remedy for either Faerie or Man is the same. Stand by your friend as a true friend must, be there in a way that will show your friend that the true meaning of love (even love between friends) is greater in power than any abuse held at the hands of another. In time the darkness shall fade. Only in time.

[thatlongspringnight]

About Meme

About Meme

Thank you for the tag my lovely @pseudofaux 

Nickname: Julie (which is based on my middle name).  

Gender: Female

Star Sign: Libra sun, Scorpio moon. My birthday was supposed to be Halloween, but I was too eager, so I came on the 15th of October instead. I’d like to think I’m just as spooky as I would have been had I come on Halloween. 

I feel like my starsign is pretty accurate, my astrological chart is really heavy on air and water. 

I’m also ENFJ. 

Height: 5′3″.  I am, as they say, a little teapot, short AND stout. 

Sexuality: Bisexual <3 

Hogwarts House: Slytherin 

Favourite Animal: Red panda (I once convinced my friends to take a road trip to San Diego, all the way from Louisiana, JUST so I could see the red Panda at their zoo). 

Favourite Color: The gray of an overcast sky. Lavender, powder blue and pink. Forest green, glittery gold. 

Current Favourite Song:  This really beautiful cover of “My Will” (You know, the one of the songs from Inuyasha) by Lizz Robinett. 

Favourite Idea to Get Creative With: THE AU. Give me the fantasy, or the modern world, or slice of life, or coffeeshop, SOULMATE, anything. I like to world build, to see how characters would act in settings and scenarios different from their usual. 

What Do I Like to Do When I’m Alone:  I like reading smutty fanfiction. Currently i like studying for finals. But in reality I enjoy writing poetry, painting, going on walks in nature, sitting by the water, and day dreaming. 

What Do I Think of My Friends: I’m a loyal creature. So I love them, very much, and would do almost anything for them. Sometimes I wish there was a way for me to adequately express how much my friends mean to me, but I feel like words don’t quite measure up. 

Average Hours Spent Sleeping: 5-7, but usually friday night I’ll end up sleeping 9-10 when my body is like “K, you’re finished.” 

Cats or Dogs: Cats AND dogs (I have two kitties, but I love puppies too). 

Number of Blankets I Sleep With: 2 blankets are present in the bed, though I may not use both of them. and currently 3 pillows because I am high maintenance, probably. 

Dream Job: A professor at a university teaching the history of Law (or history in general) I make enough money to pay off my debt and also live comfortably and save for travel in this dream scenario. Or a high profile attorney that does the right thing. 

Dream Trip: ( @pseudofaux South Korea is MAJOR HIGH ON MY LIST too) I want to go to Greece, or back to Italy to explore the ruins of the Roman civilization. I like touching old things, to put it lightly. I also really want to go to Japan and South Korea to get a taste of history I am not used too. 

When I Made This Account: This side-blog I made summer of 2016, so it is almost 2 years old (gasp). My man blog I’ve had since I was 18 (and I’m 24 now, so much time). 

How Many Followers:  1,140 (Which makes my heart want to burst into hundreds of euphoric pieces) which means I am overdue for a giveaway (it’ll have to wait till after finals, but it’ll happen. 

I hope my blog can continue to make people happy, because it makes me SO happy to write and love on people in this fandom. <3 

Tagging: @han-pan @jemchew @frywen-babbles @tinydadkanetsugu @wonky-glass-ornament

[elizawritescrap]

🐬🐵🎵!

🐬 if you could transform into any animal/magical creature, what would you be and why?

I took WAY too much time thinking about this one. I still default to unicorn; it was always my favourite as a child, and there’s still something just really innocent and beautiful about them to me. I would love to be that pure. (Also I’m talking about real unicorn lore, not any of this new age stuff.)

🐵 which quotes changed you?

The one that has sticked with me most, and is actually on the cover of my “BoS” is one from Roald Dahl:  “And above all, watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places. Those who don't believe in magic will never find it.” I just really, really love it. The other one that still haunts me from childhood was Mr. Krabs’ (from spongebob... it’s probably from somewhere else but that’s where I heard it from) “What is today but yesterday’s tomorrow.”

🎵 name 5 songs you love at the moment

I’m heavy into P!nk right now, so:

1) Just Like Fire - P!nk

2) Fucking Perfect - P!nk

3) So What - P!nk

4) Who Knew - P!nk

5) Hitorinbo Envy by koyori(Specifically Lizz’s cover)

[tkpro-scenarios]

[April Fool's] My Issei loving heart is suffering, please aid me... maybe? :)

I don’t know how much aiding this is but…yeahIssei’s scenario is connected to the previous Yokai!AU Dai scenario. Hope you like it~!

Kuga Issei

[E/c] hues stayed fixed on the creature in front of you, tiptoeing yourway towards it when it suddenly broke into a run. You gave pursuit, runningthrough the forest when you felt a sudden rush of wind pushing you away, makingyou lose your footing and fall onto your back.

“Ow…” you groaned as you sat up, tracing the squirrel skittering up tothe shoulder of the raven-haired boy standing before you. Blinking for a fewmoments, you offered a smile. “Ah, is that squirrel yours?!”

He took a step back, placing a hand in front of his tiny companion in defense. “Youcan see me?”

You nodded, standing up and dusting your clothes. “Sorry if I startledyou! It’s just…it’s my first time seeing a blue squirrel so I wanted to get acloser look…” you scratched the back of your head with an awkward laugh whenyour eyes lit up in remembrance.

“Ah! You’re a Kamaitachi, right?” you asked, startling the boy and hissquirrel further.

He gave a cautious nod, taking another step back as he scanned thearea.

“Hmm…could you be the one that Tsubasa-san talked about?” you wonderedaloud, the black-haired boy seemingly relaxing at the familiar name.

“…You know Tsubasa-san?”

You nodded again, pointing at the mountain behind you. “The Tengu thatlives on that mountain! The blond, noisy one that likes pulling pranks!” Yoursmile widened once you saw him becoming less hostile, blue eyes widening a bitin realization.

“Ah. Could you be…the nosy, stubborn human child…?”

“I-Is that what he’s telling people I am?!” your shoulders slumped athis description, muttering something about the tengu under your breath beforeyou offered the youth a friendly smile. “I’m [Name]! Tsubasa-san told me aboutyou too. The twin Kamaitachi that reside near the lake.” You placed a hand toyour chin, humming in thought. “So are you Ichiru-kun? Or Issei-kun?”

Azure eyes watched the hornedyokai gingerly cradle you in his arms, lowering you into the water, redspreading across like ink as the lake took on an ephemeral glow. They watchedas your breaths came out in shallow huffs, remnants of tears staining your faceas you whimpered in pain.

“[Name]…” he muttered, fingerscurling at his side as he remembered how just a few moments ago Tsubasasuddenly showed up at the lake, carrying your blood-soaked figure as he beggedShu for help.

“Issei.” Shu’s voice snapped himout, Issei’s cerulean hues blinking at the Mizuchi who gestured to the Lizzsitting on the raven-haired youth’s shoulder.

“Hm? Ah…” the raven-haired youthnodded, gesturing for the blue squirrel to go ahead.

The critter hurriedly scurriedover to the Mizuchi with its jar, climbing up Shu’s arm and hopping onto yourlap, making its way over to your shoulder to rub the green medicine over thewound. Issei continued to watch silently as you hissed at the stingingsensation before your expression softened, your body falling limp in Shu’s armsas he stepped out of the water.

“[Name]!”

“Don’t worry, she just fainted.”Shu assured, thanking the blue Lizz. “It’s better that we let her rest for now.”

—

“She went to help Dai even thoughhe nearly ate her…I don’t know whether to call that guts or stupidity.” Ichirumused, sitting by your bedside and patting his Lizz on the head. The two yokaihad been tasked with taking you to an abandoned shack near the river andwatching over you, making sure to let Shu and Eichi know once you woke up.

“And invoking a spell that cuts yourlife in half every time you use it…” Issei muttered, fists clenched atop hislap while he stared at the floor.

“Issei…?” the younger kamaitachicalled, worry contorting his features. He reached out a hand to his olderbrother when he heard a low groan, both boys shifting their head to find youslowly opening your eyes.

“[Name]!” Ichiru exclaimed,leaning forward to check on you while you sat up, the red Lizz scurrying offhis shoulder to hop onto your lap. You winced in pain, placing a hand to yourshoulder to find it bandaged.

“Where…” You began, [e/c] hueswidening at the change in scenery. You whisked your head to look at the twinKamaitachi. “Dai-san! What happened to Dai—”

“YOU. GIANT. UNFORGIVABLE.IDIOTTTT!!!!!” the door slammed open, revealing a more than upsetTsubasa who stormed in to the small shack.

“Tsu-Tsubasa-san?!” you shrankback in terror of the rage present in his golden orbs.

“I told you so many times not tocome over at night! I even told you to stay away from Dai-chan for a while‼ Whydon’t you ever listen?! What would’ve happened if I was even a second late?!”he barked, not bothering to hide the anger and disappointment in his voice.

“You’re too loud! She just wokeup, you know?!” Ichiru began when he felt a tug on his sleeve, glancing back tosee Issei shaking his head.

“I think we should let Tsubasa-sancontinue. He’s better at expressing these kinds of things…” the blue-eyed yokaireplied calmly.

“Issei… Don’t tell me, you’reangry too?” the black-haired youth asked to which his older brother stayedsilent, glancing away with a reluctant nod. Taking a breath, Isseicontinued to silently observe the exchange.

“M-More importantly, what aboutDai-san? What happened to him? Is he alright—Ow!” you held your head which gotclonked by the Tengu’s fist. “That hurts!”

“An idiot like you has no right tocomplain! You just barely escaped with your life and you’re still on aboutthat?!” Tsubasa continued his scolding.

“Tsubasa-san…I-I’m a patient, youknow?” you meekly replied, rubbing your head when you felt yourself wrapped inwarmth.

“Honestly, you’re such an idiot!”you blinked as Tsubasa hugged you tighter, his voice and body shaking as thoughhe was desperately holding back tears. “Going along with Shun’s stupididea…didn’t you learn to not go along with strangers?!”

You stayed silent, taken aback by hissudden change in demeanor before you offered a small smile, hugging him back.“I’m sorry for making you worry…” you whispered, feeling your strength leaveyou again as your eyelids grew heavy.

—

The black-haired yokai sat beside you, looking around thequaint shack while you slept.

Tsubasa had gone back to check upon Dai, leaving you in the twins’ care.

Blue orbs then shifted his gaze toIchiru who fell asleep along with his red companion whilst Issei’s blue onecurled up beside you, nuzzling against your cheek as it slept. His eyesnarrowed at the bandages peeking through the hole in your shirt, his handmaking its way to your head as he caressed your [h/c] locks.

“Are you mad?”

A quiet gasp left his mouth atyour sudden voice, Issei reclining his hand as you blinked at him. You sat upwith a groan, placing a hand to your shoulder before offering him your usualsmile.

“Are you mad? That I did thiswithout telling you.” You reiterated, waiting for the ebony-haired Kamaitachito answer. His gaze darted for a bit before he looked down with a nod.

“Sorry. Though I guess it’s alittle too late for that!” you giggled, turning your head to see Ichiruadrift in sleep, a blissful grin on his face whilst he snored. You giggledagain, picking the red Lizz off his face and placing it onto your palm tostroke the sleeping squirrel’s lush fur. “But thank you for staying with me.”

“Eh?”

You nodded, picking up the blueLizz as well and placing both of them on your lap. “To tell you the truth I’mactually a little scared of myself. About what dumb thing I’ll do next if I’mleft alone.” You said with a sheepish smile, expression turning dark.

“Back onthe mountain…when Dai-san lost control…I thought the spell failed, that Iwasn’t strong enough and so I was going to be eaten.” you took a breath torecover yourself from terrifying memory. “And I was actually okay with that.Until Tsubasa-san’s voice called out to me, I was honestly thinking I was finewith getting eaten by Dai-san. I even welcomed it.”

“[Name]…” Issei stared indisbelief as you gripped your blanket.

“That’s why…I’m glad you’re here.”You said, petting the sleeping Lizz. “Seeing Ichiru sleeping sopeacefully and talking with you like this…it means that I’m still here. Andthat Dai-san is too.”

You lifted your head, facing theyoung yokai with a smile. “So feel free to let me have it. Tsubasa-san probably won’t let me off so easily…” you scratched your cheek, shudderingfrom the memory. “…but you also look like you have a lot you want to say solet’s hear it, Issei-kun.”

Blue eyes blinked at your request,shoulders sagging as he stared at his lap. “I…”

You sat straight, patientlywaiting for the Kamaitachi to gather his thoughts.

“I think…” He dug his fingers intothe fabric of his clothes, shaking his head to try and push away the stingingfeeling in his chest. “I think you need more rest.” Issei lifted his head,surprising you by suddenly standing up.

“Issei-kun?”

“I’ll go fetch some water so sleepin the meantime.” Issei replied, heading towards the door to open it.

“But—”

“I’ll be back soon, I promise.Ichiru’s with you…and so are the Lizz-kun so it’ll be fine.” He looked over hisshoulder to give you a kind smile, feeling his heart getting tugged by yourlonely expression. “Don’t worry about anything and get some rest, [Name]. Goodnight.”

And with that he closed the door,pressing his back against it while the night breeze kissed his cheeks.Releasing a breath, the young yokai took a few steps forward, raising hishead up to look at the moon—it’s pale light illuminating the area sobeautifully despite everything that happened.

You were right. There were a lotof things he wanted to say. But nothing he could possibly say could compare towhat he heard from you. Nothing he could say would change what had already happened orsway your heart.

He bit his lip at his ownpowerlessness. He wanted to be able to heal you like Shu could, or at least reprimand you like Tsubasa did and yet he couldn’t even stay by your side whenyou asked him to.

He wanted the very least to be ableto convey his own feelings.

He was angry with you for doingsomething so reckless but he was also relieved that you were alright. He wasalso angry with Dai, but he also knew full well that he would never hurt you onpurpose. Despite what he might say about you at times, there was no doubt Dai careddeeply for you.

Shu told him and Ichiru that justlike how there are good and bad yokai, there are good and bad humans. Given hispast experiences, he couldn’t say that he completely believed the Mizuchi butafter he met you, he found something even harder to believe. That humans andyokai could actually become friends—much less fall in love. That he himself would fall in love with one.

“…I was honestly thinking I was fine with getting eaten by Dai-san. I evenwelcomed it.”

He blinked in the darkness,closing his eyes to offer a silent prayer under the moonlight. Cerulean hues opened as the image ofthe Gashadokuro–who was probably the one suffering the most in all this–came to mind.

“To tell you the truth…Dai-san, I’m actually a little jealous. You really are a verylucky…but also a very pitiful person.”