#oh dael. oh dael....

[carnivalcarriondiscarded]

Daelyn my beloved <3

[soothedcerberus]

Baby Dirk with Dael doodle that was sitting in my sketchbook....now he is plotting arson

[heartfullofleeches]

Kaimana and huge monster darling. Dick obssessed babe and enormous darling whos body is double kaimanas and therefore dick height.

That's it, that's the ask.

Somebody once said something about Kai and Shark Hybrid Darling. Them or just a run of the mill sea monster darling who's just as if not more of a thembo as Shark Darling would work beautifully for this - Daeling packing two of those things would put Kai in some serious danger so maybe we'll stick with sea monster..... Darling has zero care how other view them so they'll happily swim around or walk on shore in their full glory for all to see. They can't figure out why Kai won't make eye contact with them despite their attempts.

Holy shit - what if - every year or so a virgin sacrifice is given to Sea Monster Darling to do with as they please. He almost feels bad for the human, but it's really none of his concern. He has his own priorities and he can't be going around saving any random human's....... Good lord, look at the size of that thing? Sea Monster Darling rises from the rocks and all Kai can focus on is that gigantic.....enormous.....oh fuck, he's drooling.

That human needs to get out of his way because he saw them first. He's a virgin, came from the sea so he already has something in common with darling, he's looking to start a big family with the right person, and he came probably handle darling leagues better than some land dweller- Kai would be on that rock with his legs spread the second Darling pops out of the water if someone had told him sooner

Theres a chance darling may devour or play with their sacrifices, but there's another that they may pity the mortals thrown at them and whisks them away off to some island where they will be safe from those who casted them anyway. Kaimana is gushing from this revelation as it shows a somewhat nurturing side he prayed they had. Even if Darling wanted to mate with this humans they're much too small... Our seahorse boy is different from the rest as his body is more willing and likely to be compatible with Darling's.

Sea Monster Darling: Are you hurt?

[Kai shakes his head]

Sea Monster Darling: Scared?

[Kai shakes his head again]

Sea Monster Darling: Can't you speak then? Is there something wrong?

Kai, cheek pressed to Darling's cock - drool falling onto their skin: Wrong? Why would there be anything wrong? This is fate - destiny even, I've never felt better in my life....

[an-actual-attack-helicopter]

HE’S SOO FUCKING PRETTTYYYYY

all the ghostly figures might represent him channeling dead spirits through magic like that one spell Lujanne did.

so that on top of the lotuses means this represents him doing moon magic. oh and the moon is in the background. and the moon side of the cube is activated.

that would make the red figure blood moon magic perhaps. so that might be kim dael oorrrr another blood moon mage before her.

those are my first impressions, anyway.

[omegaremix]

Rioux, 1999.

Post-Brentwood was a turning point in my life. The minute I heard Sick Of It All played at Drew’s (♀) graduation party was the very minute my music tastes would change forever. As an Eighties’ kid, I grew up on Duran Duran, Run DMC, Alisha, Lisa Lisa & The Cult Jam, Poison, and other chart-toppers. Anything could be ‘pop’ if it becomes popular enough. That’s how it got its name. Pop set me up to be diverse person I am now with stations like New York City’s Z100 where there’s a new market trend manufactured and released every five years to be fed on by the majority.

“Maladjusted” blasted through her backyard boombox for all of fifty of her closest friends and classmates to hear; the same friends and classmates who laughed at me or ignored me for being a poser. They weren’t laughing or shit-talking behind my back now that they saw me at Drew’s get-together. “How did he get in?” they wondered. That didn’t matter. They didn’t say shit to me. I never saw most of them again after that, nor did I keep tabs, either. I asked Drew who they were and she told me. Boy, did it go down angry and aggressive. I didn’t hear anything like it. So I went to the South Shore Mall’s record store and copped Scratched The Surface on cassette to quickly become my go-to record during senior-year summer. That was my introduction to hardcore and the start of something more personal and relatable than what I listened to before.

Shortly thereafter, Wipeout XL came out for Playstation and my trajectory in taste had changed for a second time. It was one of the first games released that had a major soundtrack thanks to disc capacity. A line-up of Underworld, Fluke, Photek, Future Sound Of London, The Prodigy, and Chemical Brothers gave me a three-month head start before - you guessed it - pop and alternative rock stations jumped on that wagon as the next great profit maker. Even stations changed their formats for a night or two to keep up with the hottest trend of the year, such as when Atari Teenage Riot slipped through the airwaves and literally changed my attitude of music. Another hand would be dealt, and one which was the most fascinating: industrial. Mortal Kombat motion picture soundtracks were the gateway to it after establishing Nine Inch Nails, Filter, and Ministry as my Big Three. I snatched up on three Meat Beat Manifesto tapes, four Skinny Puppy discs, The Wax Trax box set and label mail order, and some Cleopatra label compilations. (Yeah, I know. No need to tell me.) It all goes to show how a lot can happen in one year before heading to community college.

Whether or not I had employment, I still managed to purchase tons of music. It became a beast I constantly had to feed. I had record store visits, radio, magazines, and now the internet (‘world wide web’ they once called it) to keep me updated. Every week I found something new to check out. Oh, look. Alec Empire is on the cover of another magazine! The December 1997 issue of Wire, #166. Have to buy it as his stock was riding high with (once again) Atari Teenage Riot and his DHR label. On the way to Empire’s glow-up were two other artists I came across in their pages: Autechre (who they proclaimed as noise gods) and Merzbow.

When you keep hearing the same names over and over, eventually they’ll get you to check them out. That’s what happened with those two and with expectations - what you shouldn’t have when diving into an artist or album. Autechre’s Tri Repetae++ caught me off guard. They said it was an electronic record and I foolishly thought it was techno instead. I hear the album opener “Dael” expecting a build-up leading to an explosion of sound. Wrong. The minimal structure and complex melodic rhythms of a cold, mechanical, emotionless being started as-is and moved its way to the end. This wasn’t anything to a traditional dance record I was accustomed to. No. These were experiments that Sean Booth and Rob Brown created which were so innovative that they’ve gotten endless praise for them since. A few listens later and I had Tri Repetae++ on constant repeat.

Merzbow? That’s another story. Like Tri Repetae++, I bought Pulse Demon at the Port Jefferson Music Den, once a bastion of everything obscure which hasn’t existed in 20 years. That was my introduction to noise. Fucking Lady Godiva riding on a Sybian did I not know what was in store for me that day. It was the shiniest and sharpest-sounding thing I now had in my collection. I load the disc in, pressed play and - what?! It was one giant maelstrom of harsh white noise, produced and output louder than usual, complete with Bridget Riley-esque op-art and its silvery prismatic sheen. Pulse Demon was devoid of any rhythm, melody, beats, measurements, sound structure, tonality, vocals, or even a sense of time whatsoever. It was a giant endurance test that felt like there was no end in sight. Again, expectations are a foolish thing to ask for.

I didn’t know what to think. I immediately dismissed it and never played it again. I couldn’t say I was actively disappointed or put-off but rather dissuaded. It was nothing what I experienced. Back then, I was a feature writer for the student paperduring my disastrous time at community college’s middle campus. The campus majority consisted mostly of shallow club-goers and superficial people who stood in their safe comfort zone of basic dance music, fashion, and friends who judged and dismissed anyone who were weird or different from them. I always went against the grain and reached for something different and challenging; things that loudmouth belligerent chauvinist Opie & Anthony fans were too stupid to learn from. I had no other albums to review on the backburner, so Pulse Demon was it for the following issue. I was honest about my take on it: it was an unlistenable mess of a joke. I handed in my 1,000 words to our features editor, a long-haired burnout held over from the hippie generation, and it finally saw print in one of our Spring issues.

The day after my review came out, I was called in to the office by my editor-in-chief Phil. Somehow we got word from a professor who read my article and took issue with it. “Really?” I said. But it didn’t stop there. Phil also told me that Professor Rioux wanted me to visit his office to discuss the article with him.

I failed an article for a professor I didn’t even know I had?

Phil had him for English. But not to fear. The overall consensus was that he was friendly, calm, and reasonable with his students. And here was an odd moment he shared with me: Pfr. Rioux played some of his favorite weird music during an end-of-the-semester holiday party for his students to hear. Seriously, not to fear. He sounded like someone I would connect with. Phil assured me that all would be fine and ended up arranging a time and day to meet up with him. That would be next week Wednesday after the publisher’s meeting.

I arrive at Prf. Rioux’ office where he welcomed me in and introduced himself, dressed up in the usual teacher’s attire of blazer and dress pants. So far, so good. I sat down in his office and looked around to notice two rows of tapes sitting on a desk next to his bookshelf. There was a Temple Ov Psychick Youth cross hung up on the wall and also noticed the black shirt he was hearing under his blazer which featured Aube’s Quadrotation on it.

We sat down for a good 45 minutes discussing my article. Not once was Prf. Rioux mean, belittling, or off-handed - unlike others who called themselves ‘professors’. Rather, he gave me constructive criticism. Judging by my article, he told me that I missed the mark on Merzbow and didn’t come into the album open-minded. Clearly I didn’t understand noise music enough for me to write what I did and there was way more to it than I thought. The most important takeaway was that I shouldn’t have compared noise to anything else in a traditional sense. Sure, it was an entirely different animal that can still have value, substance, a structure, a methodology, and a meaning to it all like everything else.

So he kindly offered to make me three cassettes of whatever rang familiar and whom I was curious about to widen my horizons and get a better understanding. All early industrial and / or noise. Wonderful. I obliged. One week later, I returned to his office where he had them all ready for me. I thanked him for the tapes and said goodbye to him.

What was on those tapes? First, Merzbow. Not surprisingly. Three unknown tracks from the Lord of Harsh Noise. On the other side was Masonna, another Japanese noise artist whose Inner Mind Mystique finished up tape #1. Tape #2 was more varied. I heard very little of Coil other than “The Snow” off the Wax Trax compilation. Right after that was Jim G. Thirwell / Foetus whom followed up with three tracks. (Coincidentally, both aforementioned artists remixed Nine Inch Nails). Rioux threw on three tracks from Einsturzende Neubauten’s Kollaps with a small sampling of Clock DVA tracks from Black Souls In White Suits. Our final tape had a good ten tracks of Death In June whom I never heard of, and several versions of Throbbing Gristle’s “Discipline” rounded out all that Prf. Rioux gave me. Never had I received anything like it from any professor.

I was forever grateful. I played those tapes to good use, enough to go back into my usual grind of music and artist reviews with a better understanding and reasoning. I didn’t review any of the artists after that Merzbow debacle, but my stance of him changed for the better and went back to Pulse Demon several more times. I happened to purchase several more of his albums where I could, dove back into Inner Mind Mystique and picked up on Nic Endo’s White Heat when that was released. I pushed more heavily into Einsturzende Neubauten’s chaotic phase, Clock DVA’s experimental era, and the world of Throbbing Gristle. I would be only toes deep with the other artists; checking in from time to time.

What were the chances that anyone (who appreciated the genesis of industrial and a knowledgeable noise fan) would notice a specific artist printed in a campus newspaper no less? It was bad enough that I dealt with one disappointment after another interacting with people and trying to find my place on campus; which I eventually did with neutral results. Where reaching out to people with similar tastes in music were few and far between (only one or two people on campus wore Dead Voices On Air, Ant-Zen, and Ras DVA shirts), someone reached out to me instead. Of all the professors I ever had, no one and I mean no one had that kind of knowledge that Prf. Rioux did, with mixtapes to boot, too.

As his tapes played in my Walkman while trekking around campus, everything else around me was happening as usual. Cover bands and boring flavorless local bar acts peppered the Long Island music scene. WBLI continued to pump out more puerile paint-by-number club mixes as usual with Fatboy Slim and Robbie Williams up next. Ska fans hopped out of the woodwork to defend their precious circus music and became overnight know-it-all elitists ready to play the scene-politics card. And free pink PVC cowboy hats came included with Pamela Anderson, Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, Spice Girls, and Limp Bizkit worship. Forget it. The late Nineties was clearly a bad era in music and pop culture - and it still had time to get even worse. The only places of solace I had were the few record stores I frequented. Commack’s Cheapo’s, West Babylon’s Looney Tunes, Central Islip’s Mother’s Music, Port Jefferson’s Music Den, and Centereach’s None Of The Above. At least they catered everything to my choosing.

But I never forgot where I came from or lost track of where I headed. By the time I attended Stony Brook, I fell victim to the Mothers Of Noise ‘scandal’ and discovered Prurient from it. I’d be one of the few on campus familiar with Whitehouse, Boyd Rice / NON, and even Lou Reed’s Metal Machine Music on top of everything else.Each and every one of these artists were mentioned in my new wave of reviews and I even featured on my radio show. I also never forgot those tapes. I still have them, and they became one of the few shining reminders of an era that was mostly ill to me.

Cassette #1, side A:

Merzbow: “???”, “???”, “???”

Cassette #1, side B:

Masonna: Inner Mind Mystique

Cassette #2, side A:

Coil: ”Panic”, “Tenderness Of Wolves”, “Clay”, The Anal Staircase”

Foetus: “What Have You Been Doing?”, “Today I Started Slogging Again”, “Gums Bleed”

Cassette #2, side B:

Einsturzende Neubauten: “Tanz Debil”, “Steh Auf Berlin”, “Kollaps”

Clock DVA: “Consent”, “Anti-Chance”, “Uncertain”

Cassette #3, side A:

Death In June: “Hello Angel”, “Heaven Street”, “She Said Destroy”, “Fall Apart”, “Leper Lord”, “C’est Un Reve”, “Touch Defiles”, “The Torture Garden”, “Come Before Christ…”

Cassette #3, side B:

Throbbing Gristle: three live “Discipline” performances.

[jewishdainix]

Back then i was dauntless the dawn could never know and my weekness made me weep less than i would ever show you i burned so bright it blind but i know that light guided me here

I walk into that river to wring those embers from my beoken heart broken liver youll never get your dinner if you dont know how to get along a fox somewhere is hiding that light i thought wa sblinding brought me

Here

I look into the river and see a face i dont understaaaand

Were both unwanted daughters but theres more than whater in these autumn hands whats this who are you what changed i ask

So strange

She repliiiiiiees

Shoulder the skys (i cant wait to show you) open those eyessss (all i know you cann beee just let the rain come let the rain come) theres a kiiind of calling

Calling

Back then i wasnt hopeful but now my inks blood red not black and I blink like ripping evalopes in the hopes that youll right back and on the banks of that river i shiver as a fox stands frozen and I close them I close them I close my eyyyyes

Cause Im between that just one more and drank too much again

And i promise you ill write I love you with my fingers on your sleeping hand and when that fox howles ill howl with it in cries ill find an end

And when I think im fine youll visit and then you happen to me you happen to me all over again in the waters i see a face

I dont want to look

Back

Do they like my dress its got pockets? The rock beneath my feet begin to crack

Oh I look into the waters long ago that current caught us and we triiied

I tried

I really fucking tried

But the rain kept coming down

I WATCHES THAT WOMAN DROWN

SHOULDER THE SKYYYYYYYYYYS (I CANT WAIT TO SHOW YOU ALL I KNOW) OPEN THOSE EYESSSSS (YOU CAN BEEE JUST LET THE RAIN COME LET THE RAIN COME) THERES A KIIIIIIIIIIIND (COME NOW DARLING CANT YOU HEAR IT HOWLING YOU ITS) OF CALLING

(CALLLING)

CALLING

SHOULDER THE SKYYYYYYYYYYS (I CANT WAIT TO SHOW YOU ALL I KNOW) OPEN THOSE EYESSSSS (YOU CAN BEEE JUST LET THE RAIN COME LET THE RAIN COME) THERES A KIIIIIIIIIIIND (COME NOW DARLING CANT YOU HEAR IT HOWLING YOU ITS) OF CALLING

(CALLING)

CALLING

SHOULDER THE SKYYYYYYYYYYS (I CANT WAIT TO SHOW YOU ALL I KNOW) OPEN THOSE EYESSSSS (YOU CAN BEEE JUST LET THE RAIN COME LET THE RAIN COME) THERES A KIIIIIIIIIIIND (COME NOW DARLING CANT YOU HEAR IT HOWLING YOU ITS) OF CALLING

CALLING

CALLING

SHOULDER THE SKYYYYYYYYYYS (I CANT WAIT TO SHOW YOU ALL I KNOW) OPEN THOSE EYESSSSS (YOU CAN BEEE JUST LET THE RAIN COME LET THE RAIN COME) THERES A KIIIIIIIIIIIND (COME NOW DARLING CANT YOU HEAR IT HOWLING YOU ITS) OF CALLING

(CALLING)

CALLING

SHOULDER THE SKYYYYYYYYYYS (I CANT WAIT TO SHOW YOU ALL I KNOW you caaaan beee) open those eyyyyyes (just let the rain come let the rain come) theres a kiiiiind (come now daeling dont you hear it howling you its ) a calling

(Calling) calling

In

The rainfall

[thedizzydinosaur]

snuggling up to them when they're cold for Kim`dael

It was an unusually cold night, a all consuming biting chill filled the air as the wind wipped the clouds across the the dark, foreboding sky.

There was a winter storm brewing somewhere to the north, driving down the temperatures and chasing any sain person indoors.

Kim'dael pulled her cloak tighter around herself as she darted across gilded rooftops that shimmered in the pale moonlight.

She had had a long day, and the sudden cold snap was not doing her tired self any favours.

It was a small miracle that her favourite space heater had left her balcony door oh so slightly ajar.

Queen Aditi's private bed chamber was always warm, both from the underfloor heating that felt so good to pad across in nothing but socks, and from the figure laying in the beautiful, pillow laden bed in the middle of the room.

Kim'dael slipped under the scarlet and thred of gold covers, smiling with glee as her target tenced up in supprise.

"You." Aditi grumbled as kim'dael snuggled her whole self into the sun queen's back "are an ice cube"

"And you are a delectable campfire," kim'dael purred in response. "And it's such a cold night."

Aditi just grumbled, gave kim'dael an arguably deserved elbow in the ribs, and rolled over to go back to go back to sleep.

[m4rs-ex3]

should i call the police because oh my god what did they do to these voice actors. in no way was the va ever bad which makes it even more impressive how INSANELY GOOD IT WAS THIS SEASON (like many things as you might have gathered.)

ez was precious as usual and pleasantly-surprisingly sassy, claudia--particularly at the end--was perturbing, terry was terry, domina sure was attractive for a giant anthropomorphic lizard, janai was one bad bitch, kim-dael, rayla was transcendent perfection ("'ohraylathelastdragonguardWHAT DID YOU DO TOTRYANSTOP THE FALLEN STAR?''well i did what the queen told me an sat on myhands 🤗'" + her screams of tortured agony. two sides of the coin. FORLACKOFBETTEROFBETTERTERM.), and where. do i even fuckin begin with callum

jack de sena WHO ARE YOU BLINK TWICE IF YOU NEED HELP AND LITERALLY KYS BC YOU CANT JUST DO THIS TO ME. just unreal so good every line is superb my son is absolutely irresistible and is often in a state of full torment just for good measure. (talked about this one before and i do not plan on stopping) "well i'm glad you like it :)" NOPE DONE WHATTF THAT WAS THE MOST PRECIOUS THING I'VE EVER HEARD WELP YOU WIN I GUESS I DONT KNOW WHAT YOU WIN BUT YOU WIN I GUESS YOU WIN IT ALL THATS CERTAINLY FAIR. the hopelessly devoted anguished vehemently furious exclaims? O YOU DESERVE TO BURN IN HELL BUT ILL SEND YOU THERE WITH A SALUTE ❤

both hurt and blessed, i take my leave.

[svperluminous]

Feel like sharing some more? Same rules.

Maybe for Kim`dael this time?

Kim'dael is in a relationship with Janai while Janai is also married to Amaya. Kim and Amaya don't get along very well at first and takes them time to get used to each other. That's usually not a problem because Kim doesn't live with them.

Kim'dael is the type to skip breakfast and just have brunch instead and Amaya disapproves xD

Whenever Janai spends time with Kim'dael, it's either somewhere in town or at Kim's place. Kim doesn't like the palace too much.

Oh, they're back in Lux Aurea because Aaravos cleaned up his mess.

While Amaya takes Janai on adventures, Kim'dael takes her to social gatherings and sometimes - to some seedier establishments where Janai has to disguise herself not to get recognized. She got to know her own city a lot better than she ever would have that way.

Kim'dael is a smoker, but neither Janai nor Amaya smoke. Amaya can't stand the smell while Janai got used to it because it reminds her of Kim. Also, Kim only smokes quality stuff.

Kim'dael loves expensive and fancy things but she's very reluctant to accept such gifts from Janai, at least in the beginning of their relationship. Many people gossip that Kim'dael is using the Queen for money and status and that she manipulated her into releasing her from her debt and while Kim never shows it, it deeply wounds her. She's not very good with expressing her feelings or showing affection but she loves Janai with all her heart and is deeply loyal to her. At some point, Amaya saw through her act of a cold nonchalant anti-hero and that was one of the things that helped her warm up to her metamour.

Kim'dael prefers to be the cool aunt to Janaya's daughter rather than a mom but mostly because she's secretly afraid of the responsibility that parenthood entails.

At the beginning of their relationship, Kim'dael would climb into Janai and Amaya's bedroom through the window. Amaya would sign, "we have a door, you know". She would come over only to whisk Janai away, never staying too long.

There's a specific timeline of events in my current story idea and Janai and Kim'dael develop feelings before Aaravos surrenders (yes, he surrenders in this one) but they don't really talk about it for a while. Kim'dael goes through the same trials as Aaravos, Claudia, Viren, Karim and Miyana (though Claudia and Viren have separate trials in Katolis as well). Janai wants to be fair and unbiased and doesn't want to give Kim any special privileges but she cannot imagine ever hurting her beloved. She gives everyone a more lenient punishment as a results.

[dungeonofthedragon]

Ttrpg Recs: my bookshelf!

I don't have that many games in physical form. But inspired by the lovely Dael Kingsmill's recent video, I want to do a little post about the ones I do own.

Animal Adventures by Steamforged Games

Animal Adventures is a third party setting for 5th edition Dungeons and Dragons. I picked up Secrets of Gullet Cove on clearance, and it's full of fun adventure hooks for a younger audience than usual for 5E. However, a member of my dnd group wants to run this at some stage, so it has a wider appeal among fans of cute critter rpgs too.

It's fairly easy to incorporate ideas from this book into your home games. A guest in my Strixhaven campaign wanted to play a character who had been transformed into a cat. The cat stats from this book fit right in with the other characters, who were all created using official 5E materials.

Fate Accelerated by Evil Hat

The first rpg I ever purchased! It's simple, streamlined, and flexible enough to run in any setting you can imagine. We'd planned to play 'card games in space' at one stage (after watching too much yu-gi-oh), and the system works as well for that as it does for urban fantasy, pirates, or magic schools. You can access the rules of this game for free at the link in the heading.

The main issue I ran into with Fate is that it uses a specialised set of dice called Fudge dice- but as long as you have a device that can download a dice app, you're good to go!

Girl By Moonlight by Evil Hat

I backed this one on Kickstarter. It's not the easiest book to navigate but, gosh, it's just so beautiful and the game is a great time once you get the hang of it! I ended up ordering five copies, because a bunch of my friends wanted the game too and Expensive International Shipping is more manageable if you split it. Tragic magical girls from the creators of Thirsty Sword Lesbians? It is just as excellent as I'd hoped.

Just the other week we played At the Brink of the Abyss using the core book and relevant one-session playkit. Transcendence is a great mechanic- players get to describe their character's unique transformation and feel powerful with the addition of new abilities! Our Midnight Quill was running around invisible for half the game. Raven's mother was knocked out with a well-flung shoe. It was very fun and very silly.

Girl By Moonlight is a Forged in the Dark game. If you're familiar with Blades in the Dark, Brinkwood, Court of Blades, or my own simplified fitd game Voidwalkers, the system is easily picked up.

Lex Arcana by Quality Games

Lex Arcana is an interesting one. It has a fascinating premise: a Roman empire that never fell, in a low-magic setting. I had a lot of fun running this as a short adventure for my classics-buff brother's birthday last year. However, the group agreed that it would be difficult to play this one long term.

This has nothing to do with the rules system, which has an enjoyable amount of crunch for those who like their games that way, but enough abstraction that running it was not a complete nightmare for a more narratively inclined GM such as myself. Rather, it was difficult for us to get past the fact that so many of its adventure modules involve you preventing indigenous populations from breaking away from the empire, often casting their spiritual views in a negative light.

I had an idea for a campaign called 'Enemies of the Empire', which involves the party having to go up against it, but we'll see if it ever comes to fruition.

Tales of Xadia by Fandom Tabletop

I love the Cortex system. I love systems that use dice pools, and my first experience with that was the Tales of Xadia playtest. I couldn't afford the full version when it released, and so I was very excited when I received it for my birthday last year in glorious hardcover!

Tales of Xadia is set in the world of the Dragon Prince (even if you're not into ttrpgs, the book is excellent for additional lore nuggets. For a year or more it was our best resource for what earthblood elves might look like.) It's a world of high magic, mages and assassins and bold warriors, imperious dragons and reclusive elves. And it's totally classless- score one for the fans of classless systems!

[pearlescentpearl]

6-Sentence STuesday

Tagged by @sallysavestheday!

Been making progress on several wips lately, so I'll let you see 3 of them. Tagging @captainadwen @tanoraqui @actual-bill-potts and anyone else who'd like to participate!

Among Us au part 3

Curufin, who'd been cursed with their father's inability to sleep without substantial prep, immediately offered his services to their cousin in killing Tyelko.

"Hey," Tyelko says, annoyed.

"Please don't offer me that, I promised Maedhros."

"Hey!"

"He doesn't have to know," Curufin said. Finrod makes an exceptionally pained face.

"I'm feeling endangered here!" Tyelko splutters.

The Mae/Eol fic

Blinking in the ghostly lamp light in the hall, the morning finally started to feel real with a semblance of proper light. Time has a way of feeling perpetually midnight in Nan Elmoth, like all is caught in a mire of amber and the only things truly moving were the people. But he only needed to find a window to catch the thin glimmers of sunlight that made it through the thickly clustered crowns of trees — more noticeable now he knows what to look for — and Time seems to move again.

He understands now, how Elu Thingol could lose two hundred years here.

Even with the House of Eöl keeping time, Time itself had little meaning in the face of giving himself over to an unexpected love.

The bathing room is lively this morning, the tub hosting four of the household members; the brothers Celebain and Dael, who oversaw the animals, Lostamoth, one of the gardeners, and Loeglawar, one of the household servants.

Orgasm Denial fic

“We’re not using the table, we’re using the chair,” Maitimo points out, and runs his hands up his thighs. Unlike Maitimo, who favored an older style of dress with long tunics and long stockings, Findekáno leaned towards a more modern mode of dress with knee length side-slit tunics and vibrant leggings that were hip length stockings attached to a garter belt by another name. There was a separate sash for protecting modesty that also tied to the belt, but he hadn’t bothered putting it back on. Why would he when it’s just him and Maitimo?

It’s this Maitimo takes advantage off, flipping his tunic up and applying his mouth to the thin strip of thigh between inner legging and groin with a hungry noise that goes straight to Findekáno’s dick.

“Oh!” Findekáno gasps, burying his hands in dawn-red hair, legs spreading wider so Maitimo had more room to work.

[the-insouciant-scientist]

🛏🌧🎭🌌 for daeling harper faraday? >:) (~the-dye-stained-socialite)

oh evil. tormenting them asdfsdgfg (lighthearted) 🛏️ What does your OC’s bed look like? What would they like their bed to look like?

Very messy, absolutely covered in blankets and quilts and pillows. They run a little cold and that tends to cause aches and stiffness in their joints, but lots of warm things can help mitigate that. Also functions as hidey-holes for their army of weasels. I don't think they'd want it any other way.

🌧️ What is the favorite thing for you OC to do on a rainy day?

For given value of rain in the Neath, I think they'd enjoy spending time inside with a cup of tea, compiling and working on research or reading. Alternately, excitedly pacing their home talking about new scientific advancements and theories out loud to their weasels, who have decided this means it's "Harper-powered carnival ride" time, and are making themselves very comfortable in whatever pocket, trouser leg, or sleeve they can. Usually this also involves Harper gesturing dramatically to thin air with Florence in hand, who thinks this is the best thing ever.

🎭 What is the one thing your OC regrets most? Would they undo it, considering how their life turned out?

I do think they regret the ending of their ambition, but it was also the only ending they could tolerate. They wish that they could have just... convinced Veils to stop? It never would have happened and they know that, but it doesn't stop them from regretting it anyways. If faced with the choice again, or the option to undo it, I don't think they could choose anything other than what they already did. It was always going to end this way. It was always going to be its own sort of tragedy.

🌌 If your OC has a nightmare, what’s it most likely about?

You have to sleep first in order to have nightmares! :-) But genuinely, it mostly depends on who's "closest to the front", so to speak. The Hunter's nightmares center around powerlessness or futility, and Isabelle's mostly involve being trapped, physically or conceptually. Harper's nightmares tend to be more varied, but usually have at least some thread of fearful judgement in them, typically in the form of someone close to them seeing them in some new and horrible light. Or not recognizing them at all.

Ask game from here!

[judeswhore]

Tell me a celebrity that have the same accent as u I'm soo curious I LOVE British accents. Especially jude's Mason's and adele's oh and kate moss accent tooo 😩😩

i don’t know any celebrities w my accent bc no one’s from here smh but imma link a dael fry interview bc we have the same accent💪

[tsarbomba567]

Pavlov's Cabin

TW: Blood, Gore, Death

The human skier groaned as they slowly stirred from unconsciousness, their face covered in snow as they contemplated their decision to go off the piste for a more exhilarating experience. Laying on their chest, they attempt to stand up, only to fall back down in agony as a sharp pain irradiates from their left leg. Looking down, they scream as they see part of their tibula poking out of their skin and now torn pants, blood seeping out the wound. Tears ran down the human's face as they carefully took their skis off; gritting their teeth, they realigned the broken bone before using their skis as a splint for their leg. Their splint tightly secured, they began to crawl through the Birchwood Forest, a small trail of blood staining the pristine white snow behind them as they attempted to find help. As they dragged themself across the ground, the skier slowly became more confused and cold, shivering as they began to lose their sense of direction.

After what felt like an eternity, and dusk fastly approaching, they saw a small light in the distance, which renewed their hope in salvation as they crawled their way towards the source of the light. "Hey! I need help over here!" the human called out as they maneuvered quicker towards the shimmering yellow light, only for it to suddenly go out to their horror. "HEY! DON'T LEAVE ME HERE!" they cried as they began to feel uncomfortably hot, their misplaced hope turning into dread. In an attempt to address their abrupt hot flash, they tried to take off their winter clothing to no avail as their shivering subsided. This is the end, they sadly mused as they slowly drifted unconscious, but not before hearing what sounded like footsteps rapidly approaching them.

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

The crackling of fire awaited the weary human as they awoke from their slumber, only for them to see that they weren't in the cold wilderness, but rather in what seemed to be a warm and cozy log cabin. They were lying on the floor, near the fireplace and covered in blankets in what seemed to be the living room. Wha … where am I? they pondered as a dull pain throbbed above their left knee; speaking of his left leg, he couldn't feel anything below his knee. Removing their blankets, they screamed at the sight of their missing lower half of their left leg, which was now bandaged just above the knee. What happened to me? the human internally cried, why was my left leg amputated? WHERE AM I?! Their internal monologue was cut short by the front door opening and sound of hooves clopping on the wooden floor, the mysterious figure looking around before heading into another room. From there, an aroma of berries and cheese flowed from what they believed to be the cabin's kitchen as the cabin's owner prepared something to eat. After several minutes, the scent of berries, eggs, coffee and cheese flowed from what the skier assumed to be the kitchen as their anxiety only rose. The human's fear skyrocketed when he heard the clopping exit the kitchen and enter the living room as the figure made their presence known to the human, who could stare back in awe.

The person staring back at them looked like a mix between an Anacondrai and an Oni, with regal purple scales and cream colored Oni markings. Additionally, they had vanilla colored neck and tail fur, along with having hooved legs, ears, ivory horns, scarlet eyes with white pupils, and Black Star sapphire gem on their head. "Oh good. You're finally awake," the hybrid avered in relief, their Slavic accent confusing the human skier. "Who … what are you?" the human quavered, still processing the hybrid's appearance as they sat down next to the one-legged skier. "My name is Pavlov Sokolov, an Oni/Anacondrai hybrid. My dad - Yuri - was an Anacondrai while my mother - Galina - was an Oni, though she took on the form of an Anacondrai," the male hybrid explained. "What about you?" Pavlov asked the nervous human, who replied, "Name's Dael Visser, though I do have to inquire about why the lower half of my left leg is missing." "Well, when I spotted you, I converged on your position and took you in. While your leg was splinted very well, it seemed that frostbite had taken its toll on your exposed wound, which was now black and reeked of decay. So I had no choice but to amputate it so that I could save the remaining unaffiliated part of your left leg." As Dael digested Sokolov's words, the hybrid got up to fetch the two breakfast, coming back with two plates, both with fried eggs, black bread, and some fluffy pancakes topped with blueberries. Putting them on the coffee table, they left again for the drinks as Visser pulled himself onto the couch, getting comfortable as Pavlov came back with two cups of coffee.

"So, in addition to a cup of coffee, we have fried eggs, black bread, and some Syrniki - which are just cheese pancakes - topped with blueberries," the hybrid detailed to the human amputee. "насолоджуйся своєю їжею. Bon appétit," Sokolov stated, and the two began to eat their morning meals. Taking a bite from a slice of the black bread, Dael was greeted by a mixture of molasses, brown sugar, and coffee - among other things - indulging his taste buds. Taking a forkful of Syrniki, he found himself enjoying the fat yet soft pancake, the blueberries complimenting the sweet yet mild cheese. "You know, I'm normally not fond of outsiders. I tend to be … territorial," Pavlov blurted out, breaking the silence in the living room as Visser looked up in interest. "Normally, when people lose their way and end up here, I'm initially strict and serious around the lost intruder. It's only when I get more familiar with them that I soften my stance." "So why are you immediately welcoming me with open arms unlike everyone else?" the human asked after sipping his black coffee, the hybrid taking their time to construct their response. "Well, you were gravely injured and on the verge of death, so I had to take you in and nurse you back to full health. Besides, I've seen too many instances of the corpses of those who froze to death in this forest; some of them had stripped naked because they thought that they were getting hot, when in reality their body is dilating its blood vessels to keep itself warm. By taking off their clothes, they're actually expediting their demise." The hybrid took another bite of fried egg as the skier realized that he did feel hot as he failed in his attempt to remove his clothes while freezing to death. Trying to get his mind off that dark thought, Dael inquired, "You talked about how you had an Oni mom and Anacondrai dad. Could you further elaborate on that?" "Звичайно. Sure," Sokolov immediately replied as he took another bite from Syrniki, washing it down with some of his coffee, "After all, I think you deserve an explanation for how I came into this world."

"Like I stated before, my mother was an Oni who took the form of an Anacondrai, and during her time Oni weren't welcome in Ninjago. Back then, there were many incidents of humans and Serpentine exiling or even killing Oni after their true nature was discovered. When my parents first met, Galina was tasked with spying on the Serpentine, yet Yuri instantly won her heart, with the two of them moving here in the Birchwood Forest to start a life together. One night, my dad found my mom in her true Oni form, but rather than slithering away and telling his fellow Serpentine of his revelation he comforted her by promising that he would keep it a secret between the two of them with his dying breath. So when I was born, I had no friends, or contact with the outside world for that matter; it was just me, Galina and Yuri. At the time I thought that it was strict and cruel, but now I realize that they did it to protect me. They knew that, just like Oni, Oni hybrids were also not welcome in Ninjago, so they restricted my movement outside the cabin so that I wouldn't get caught. When the First Serpentine War came, my dad and I - along with family photos and other memorabilia - went into the basement while my mom took the form of either a single human or Serpentine and lived on the main floor. Several times during the war, humans and Serpentine entered our land, either fighting each other or simply passing through, and neither side suspected that anything was off."

"Once the war was over, while we were relieved that we were spared of the death and destruction the war caused, we were shocked about the Serpentine's fate, particularly the Anacondrai whose leaders were sent to the Cursed Realm. Nevertheless, we continued with our lives in isolation, secretly trading some of our goods with the humans, who by now were suffering from economic collapse, disease and famine. Those who came to us in person kept our true nature a secret; they were desperate for food and medicine at the time, so they were willing to covertly interact with us." The hybrid paused, his mood dampening as a frown developed across his face as he continued his story. "Sometime after the war's end, my 149 year old dad Yuri suffered a sudden and fatal heart attack, and me and my mom buried him underneath the floorboards in the basement. My parents were very close with one another, so with dad's passing my mother became inconsolable and depressed as she grieved the loss of the love of her life. I tried to comfort her, but she couldn't move on, and she would continue to grieve until she died from a broken heart one year later. When my 150 year old mom Galina passed, she reverted back to her true Oni form, and like my father I buried her under the basement floor so that she could be with Yuri. After that, I spent my days and years living by myself, helping those who accidently wander onto my land while also protecting it from thieves and hooligans."

The hybrid finished the last of his black bread, looking depressed now he had recited his painful past. The human noticed the change in atmosphere as they finished the last of their coffee, the two of them having finished their meals. "Hey Pavlov, are you okay?" Dael asked, yet he got no response from the Serpentine as they gathered all of the plates, cups and dining utensils before going back into the kitchen. After several minutes of washing and putting away the dishes, the hybrid returned from the kitchen and sat next to the concerned human. The two of them sat on the couch in silent thought, the crackling fire of the fireplace the only sound reverberating throughout the room. After several minutes of the deafening silence, Dael finally found the courage to speak up, stating, "Hey, Pavlov. I know that it must be hard losing someone that's very close to you, like a friend or a family member. From what you've said, it seemed that your parents were very nice people, hellbent on keeping you safe. And while I know it hurts to lose them both in the span of a year, you should realize that they passed just about a year into the Serpentine's entombment. If they had lived to see the Serpentine reemerge from their tombs, they would have been in their 190s, which I recall is knocking on the end of a Serpentine's average lifespan of 200 years. Your father would only have ten - maybe eleven years before he probably would have kicked the bucket, with your mom following him sometime afterwards due to a broken heart."

"What are you trying to say?" the hybrid sniffed, their eyes watery as tears ran down his face and into his fur. "What I'm saying is that their time was nearing its end," Dael stated, "No one lives forever, and while death is a scary concept that we want to avoid at all costs, the sad reality is that it's inevitable. The passing of a friend or a loved one or a family member is tragic, but we can't bog ourselves down by always grieving for the past. Eventually, we have to get up and move on, leaving the heavy baggage of grief behind while keeping the memories of the dead alive in our hearts." Now having explained his point, the human hugged the crying Sokolov, burying his head into the Serpentine's warm neck fur as the snake returned the gesture. "It's okay, big guy. Let it all out," Dael whispered as the hybrid bawled on the man's shoulder; the two embraced for several minutes before pulling away. "Thanks Dael. I … I really needed that," Pavlov sniffed as he wiped the tears from his scaly face with a blue handkerchief. "You're welcome. Besides, everyone needs a good cry every now and again," the human explained as the human leaned back into the couch, trying to get comfortable.

After cleaning his face, Sokolov got up and went into his room, coming out wearing a fur coat of a bear and a bow and quiver filled with arrows, as well as an Anacondrai Spear. "Hey Pavlov. Where ya going?" the human asked as he proceeded to lie down on the couch, covering himself with a blanket. "Going to go out and hunt. Need more food, as well as go out and do something to ease my mind," the hybrid responded. "I might be gone for a while, so don't do anything either stupid or dangerous. Got it?" Sokolov simply got a thumbs up from the human as he sighed in relief, before the two said their goodbyes as the Serpentine left the cabin.

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

The silence of the Birchwood Forest was shattered by a deer falling to the forest floor, the pristine white snow under it splattered by the creature's blood. An arrow had lodged itself into the animal's neck, severing its spine as their eyes rapidly scanned its surroundings, attempting to find their assailant to no avail. The animal's eyes stopped moving as their brain suffocated from a lack of oxygen; the creature now expired, Pavlov emerged from the shadows, turning visible as he carefully walked towards his kill. Crouching down, the Serpentine hybrid couldn't shake the feeling that something was off as he ripped the arrow from the corpse, throwing it onto the ground. Why does it feel … much colder than usual, he noticed as he slung the deer carcass over his shoulder as he began the long trek home. What was I thinking? Leaving my usual hunting grounds and traveling far away from - his pondering was halted when he spotted a black fog rapidly creeping towards him. The hybrid tried to run away from the mysterious cloud, but the fog was simply too fast for the snake, even if he wasn't carrying the deer carcass on his person.

Sokolov was so focused on running from the rapidly approaching dark cloud that he didn't notice the fallen log that tripped him, sending him and the deer corpse to the ground. The snake could only watch in fear as the black fog consumed him, sapping him of his energy and breath; he shivered as the surrounding temperature plummeted to arctic levels. He began to feel weak and stiff as he noticed that his body began to turn a stone gray. I'm not … going out … like this, he protested as he slowly got up, focusing on resisting the cloud's effects as he began to hear voices in the distance. "H-hello?" the snake stuttered, leaning against a nearby tree as the sound of footsteps trudging through the snowy forest, yet the fog greatly obscured his vision; he could only see 50 feet in front of him. As the mysterious figures emerge into his field of view, he discovers that the people the voices belong to are Oni, armed with spears and swords as the leader of the ten-man group. The old, gray-haired commander scanned the hybrid with a piercing glare before their neutral expression turned into one of vile disgust as they grumbled, "Great. Another one of those degenerate hybrids." The leader pushed the weak Sokolov to the ground as they continued their little rant, "Ugh. Not only are they a disgusting hybrid, but they're a Serpentine one. Is that … Anacondrai I see l? It doesn't matter. Soon Ninjago - like every realm - will be under the Omega's control." The Oni were about to leave when one spotted the deer carcass and made the move to attempt to confiscate it, only for the increasingly stone-looking serpent to throw himself onto the corpse. "You're … not … getting … my … kill," he slowly declared, much to the annoyance of the other Oni as they attempted to lift the snake off the deer to no avail.

"Get off you stupid abomination!" one of the younger, short-horned Oni grunted as they kicked Pavlov in the chest, yet the now winded serpent refused to budge. "Forget it," the older Oni ordered, "Let this … thing have its kill. We have to regroup with the Omega. After all, it is your fault that we got lost in this forsaken island." The two Oni proceeded to get into a shouting match, unaware that the gray hybrid was slowly getting standing up, chuckling to themself in amusement. "Huh. All of … you fucks … will never … conquer Ninjago," the weak Serpentine dryly laughed, only for the younger Oni to shove the snake into a tree. "Shut the fuck up, Pavlov," they yelled, sending a chill down the serpent's spine as the young Oni grinned in sadistic joy. "Oh? You don't know? Yeah, we know that your mother Galina had betrayed the Oni by wedding an Anacondrai. We've been spying on your little family ever since she failed to report back to us on the Serpentine's activities." The Oni then punched Sokolov in the gut as they boasted, "You know, I'm glad what happened to your heretical parents. Galina was always the odd one out of our forces, not loyal to the Omega; she was always a weakling, everything an Oni isn't. Her small, lovely little heart couldn't bear to be without her sweet Yuri, so it gave out and shattered so that she could be with him in death. How cute … and pathetic."

The young Oni walked away as his superior shook his head in disapproval, all the while the Serpentine hybrid looked on in shock. "Come on, Shōtohōn. It's time to regroup with the Omega's forces," Shiraga urged, yet the youngling refused to comply, all the while the snake hybrid simply stared. They laugh at … my appearance, Pavlov silently monologued as he picked himself up, They … mock my … family. They … spied on us … for years. I'll … make them … pay … for … everything. The snake's Oni markings and head gem began to glow as his skin reverted back to its normal colors, his vision clearing up and rage filling his mind. The ambitious Oni noticed that the "abomination" hadn't turned to stone like all the other humans and Serpentine that had crossed their path. "Oh. It looks like the bastard child isn't ready to give up yet," Shōtohōn laughed as he waltzed towards the Serpentine, eager to knock out Sokolov for good. "Let's see if you're as tough as those pesky Anacondrai claim they arRAHHHHH!!" As Shōtohōn wound up a powerful punch, the snake hybrid suddenly lunged towards the young Oni and bit him on his left shoulder, breaking the fool's shoulder blade. Throwing the youngling aside, Pavlov equipped his Anacondrai Spear and rushed towards one of Shōtohōn's friends, delivering a quick slice to their throat. The mortally wounded Oni clutched their bleeding throat as the others closed in on the Serpentine and began their attack, Shiraga leading the charge. Unfortunately, when he went to swing his club at the hybrid, Pavlov parried their attack with the shaft of his spear before clawing the left side of the old Oni's face. Shiraga screamed in pain, holding the left side of his face only for the hybrid to knee him in the chest, sending down to the ground.

Turning around, the enraged Sokolov slashed at the stomach of another Oni, disemboweling them as he moved on to his next target, who was attempting to leave the scene of battle. Not wanting to let anyone escape, the angry serpent threw his spear like a javelin towards the coward, hitting its mark directly in the Oni's back, destroying their heart. As he went to reclaim his weapon, the Anacondrai was ambushed by a club-wielding Oni, who knocked the snake off his hooved feet. On the ground, Pavlov rolled to dodge his foe's attacks before fiercely kicking them in the right shin, sending the Oni to the ground. The serpentine proceeds to get up and jump onto the assailant's head, cracking their head wide open and sending blood and gray matter splattering onto the snow. Great, now I have to clean the blood and brains off my hooves, the hybrid grumbled as he retrieved his spear, just in time to dodge a charge by yet another Oni. Sensing an opportunity, the hybrid took a swing at the enemy's legs, the unmatched sharpness of the Anacondrai Blade swiftly cleaving through flesh and bone as his opponent fell face first into the snow screaming in pain. Blood gushed from the now severed legs as the victim's loud cries of pain grew softer with each passing second, all the while Pavlov trudged back to his kill.

I swear, if I get jumped by another Oni I'm going to - Pavlov's grumpy musing is shattered by the war cry of an Oni charging from behind, spear in hand. The frustrated hybrid simply sidestepped his foe before grabbing them by their throat, Sokolov's eyes filled with rage. "So you want to take my kill?" the hybrid sadistically asked as his foe struggled for air, "THEN YOU CAN HAVE IT!!" Pavlov then rammed the Oni's head into one of the dead deer's antlers, piercing the foe's right eye as blood and gray matter spilling out of the fatal wound. The hybrid then broke one of the antlers off of his kill, leaving an antler in the fresh corpse's head, just as he spotted another enemy converging on his position. The sword-wielding Oni charged the hybrid, who dodged out of the approaching demon with ease, sending them into a nearby tree; the sword was now embedded into the birchwood tree. As the demon attempted to dislodge their sword, they felt two cold, scaly hands on their shoulders, which ripped them from their weapon and threw them to the ground. "Do you need a helping hand?" Pavlov sinisterly whispered, leering at the defenseless Oni that was frantically trying to crawl away from the menacing hybrid. Unfortunately for them, their efforts were in vain as Sokolov grabbed them by the throat and pinned them against a tree, a thirst for blood in his eyes. "Here. Let me help you," the hybrid dryly murmured, following it up with a ferocious uppercut to the Oni's jaw, knocking them out as the sickly crack of their mandible fracturing reverberated throughout the forest.

As the hybrid stared down the unconscious Oni, the sound of muffled breathing grabbed his attention as he turned to see an Oni tail poking out from behind a tree to his right. Getting closer, Pavlov could hear the distressed demon sobbing as they held onto their spear with an iron grip. "S-stay back! D-don't come any closer you … fucking monster," the terrified soldier cried as he began to shiver in fear, the grotesque images of his dead comrades burned into his mind. Sokolov's hands began to spark with the purple essence of Destruction, the cornered Oni dropping their weapon and closing their eyes, awaiting their total obliteration at the hands of the Serpentine hybrid. "That's enough, hybrid," a raspy voice bellowed behind Pavlov, who turned around to see an exhausted Shiraga leaning against a tree, the unconscious Oni slung over his shoulder. "You've already killed most of my forces … and sent Shōtohōn running for the hills. I think that it would be in everyone's best interest that you stop this senseless -" "Stop? Stop?!" an unhinged Sokolov hissed, "Why should I stop?! You're the ones that invaded Ninjago! You're the ones that stalked me and my family for decades! Why should I spare the three of you now when removing you from existence will serve me well in the long run?" The demented hybrid leered at the old Oni, his once scarlet eyes now as purple as the essence of Destruction crackling in his hands; meanwhile, Shiraga was mentally racing to formulate a deal that could save him and his two remaining warriors. "If you spare the three of us, we - along with other Oni - will never enter the Birchwood Forest and spy on you ever again. Whether or not the Omega's plan of conquering Ninjago succeeds, I'll be damned if another group of Oni stumble through here and be erased from existence by your hand."

The offer gave the deranged Sokolov pause, being torn between allowing the surviving Oni to withdraw from his territory, or to destroy the decimated remains of the small enemy force once and for all. The deafening silence that filled the air began to slowly kill the three Oni, with the snow starting to suck out the conscious duo's remaining energy as the frigid temperatures attacked their skin, suffocating them both in anticipation. "Go," Pavlov suddenly shouted, stunning Shiraga and the cowering Oni, "Just … go. But don't make me regret betting the cabin on your little promise." "If it means that Oni lives can be saved, then that's a promise that I'm to keep," Shiraga answered before turning to the other Oni, "Come on Sumōruhōn, let's get out of here." The scared Oni didn't hesitate to bolt toward his superior, leaving his spear behind as the duo hurried out the Birchwood Forest, constantly looking behind their backs as they disappeared into the black fog. The hybrid studied the horizon, observing the Oni retreat until the sounds of their voices and footsteps were masked by the icy winds blowing through the forest. Confident that his opponents have thoroughly left, Pavlov looked down at the purple essence of Destruction flickering in his hands.

The revelation was like getting kicked in the chest by a horse.

"FUCK! OH FUCK!!" he screamed as he began to wildly shake his hands to rid himself of the dangerous element; the purple essence fizzled out as his eyes returned to its original color. The essence of Destruction now gone, the hybrid began to take deep breaths as he took notice of the gore on his hands and hooves, along with the many Oni corpses that they came from. He attempted to form a coherent thought - any thought at all - to distract him from the slaughter that he uncontrollably unleashed, but his mind only drew blanks. "The deer," he suddenly murmured to himself, quickly taking inventory before rushing towards the carcass and picking it up, before beginning the slow journey home. The dark fog made it difficult to see where he was going, but he had a gut feeling that he was heading the right direction. As he trudged through the snow, his mind began to replay the violent and gory events of his fight with the Oni, their horrified faces as he relentlessly snuffed out the lives of six men while leaving three injured. That wasn't me, he silently repeated to himself as he finally detected his cabin, that bloodthirsty … monster isn't me.

A mixed sense of relief and dread washed over him as he entered the cabin's butchery with his kill in hand, putting it on the butcher's table as Pavlov left for the bathroom to clean himself up. Getting all of this blood out of my fur is going to be an absolute nightmare, he moaned as he entered the shower and filled a bucket with water and began to vigorously scrub off the gore staining his scales and fur. After spending thirty minutes of repetitive washing, as well as expending an entire bar of soap and dirtying a washcloth, the Serpentine wrapped a towel around his waist and exited the bathroom and headed towards his bedroom, but paused when he entered the living room. The wood in the fireplace had ceased burning, and lying on the couch was Dael Visser, his cold skin stone gray; observing his petrified friend, Pavlov noticed that the human had most likely taking a nap when the dark fog engulfed the Birchwood Forest, trapping him a deep yet pleasant sleep. At least he was asleep when the black fog petrified him, the exhausted hybrid whispered as he walked back to his room, deciding that taking a rest was more important at the moment than butchering his deer.

[cyber-streak-2]

Title: A Meeting Of Knights

{Description: After Rembrandt and Dirk lose their Taur halves, Rem goes out to search, and stumbles across a friendly group}

{A little gift fic that I decided to make for @soothedcerberus involving Rem}

——

Rembrandt walked through the forest with his new pair of legs, in search for where his taur half could’ve gone—since it immediately took off running after the separation happened.

The case was the same with Dirk’s taur half—and after both ran off to who knows where, the three had decided to split up, in hopes that it would help them find the dragon and horse quicker.

He hoped Dirk and Dael would be alright during their own searches.

~

“WoAH-�� Shizen flew up in time, out of the way of the horse—which seemed to be upset, but the fairy didn’t know what could potentially be wrong. She didn’t even know where it had come from.

While this was certainly an issue, Kishi was just relieved that it was simply a horse that would need to be dealt with, and nothing of the norm—like fairy hunters.

“Are you-...” Kishi started, looking up at where Shizen had flown up to—but, while doing so, noticed a shaking Ikuto, who was nowhere in the horses range, and was hiding behind a tree.

“Ikuto? What’s the matter?”

“I-... I can’t like horses...” The shaking Android muttered.

“You can’t?” Shizen looked down at them from above, “Don’t you mean that you don’t?”

Ikuto shook their helm. “Di-... Did I ever tell you how my creator was terrified of horses? He programmed me to feel the same...”

~

As Rembrandt continued his walk through the forest, he started to hear what sounded like a horse—was it his taur half? He hoped so.

At the same time, he could hear some voices—a little distant, but still well enough for him to understand what was being said.

“Why... would somebody do that? That’s such a weird-“ The first voice decided to question.

“Don’t ask me, it’s not like I can go meet up with him a-“ The second voice had started to reply.

“Guys, later. Right now, horse!” The third voice told the first and second.

“Hm?” Rembrandt raised an eyebrow.

Curious as to what was going on over there—and in the hopes that the horse mentioned happened to be his taur half, the Knight started to approach where he could hear all of this.

~

Kazoku watched the horse, wondering how it could be dealt with—the young girl didn’t want it to be hurt, and she figured the others felt the same.

An idea popped up in her mind. Maybe it wasn’t exactly the best one—but it certainly was an idea, and she didn’t think it was the worst thing ever.

At first, Kazoku slowly approached the horse—who seemed to be thinking of what to do next—from the side.

Then, when the young girl was close enough, she ran, and jumped—managing to get onto the horse’s back, although there was a bit of a struggle for a second or two.

“Kaz!” Kishi stared with widened eyes.

Kazoku waved the Knight off in a “Don’t worry” motion, before her attention was back on the horse.

“Hey, horsey,” Kazoku gently began to speak to it, “Is something the matter? Maybe we could-“

Kazoku was cut off with a yelp when, suddenly, the horse was beginning to kick around. And when it stopped a moment later, it started running off—with her still on its back.

“Kaz!”

~

Rembrandt figured that he was getting closer—but, rather, it was the other way.

He came to a stop when he noticed a horse—immediately managing to recognize it as his taur half—approaching.

On top of it was a young girl, who was holding on for dear life—not wanting to fall with how fast the taur half happened to be going.

Although, despite her best efforts, she hadn’t held on enough.

Moments later, the horse started to kick around again, before coming to a sudden halt—and that was when she was suddenly flung off its back.

“Oh!” Rembrandt gasped.

He ran forward as she started heading towards the ground—and managed to catch her just in time, causing both to sigh in relief. He had stumbled a little, but managed to stay standing.

He looked down at who he had caught, and noticed how she was now clinging to him—perhaps out of alarm from what happened, but she also seemed pretty comfortable.

“Are... Are you alright?” The Knight gently questioned, earning a nod in response.

While Rembrandt was distracted with the girl, the taur half took this time to run off, yet again, to who knows where.

“That’s good,” Rembrandt smiled in relief. Carefully, he placed her back onto the ground in front of him.

He had taken notice of how his taur half was already gone, but that was alright—he could just continue looking.

“Kaz!” Rembrandt heard one of the previous voices from earlier, and turned to look—noticing another Knight hurriedly approaching, although this one didn’t have a taur half.

Following behind it was a fairy, and someone else was following behind said fairy. At first glance, they could easily be seen as human. But, as they got closer, it was easier to tell that they were an Android.

“Are- are you hurt, Kazoku?” Kishi worriedly asked.

He carefully pulled the young girl close, and it started to try and check her over... until she made a quick little motion for that to stop.

“No, I’m okay,” Kazoku smiled, and pointed towards Rembrandt. “He caught me when I was thrown off.”

Kishi stood back up to their full height, and looked towards the other Knight. “Thank you.”

“It’s not a problem,” Rembrandt hummed.

“What brings you out here?” The Android asked, “This place could be a bit dangerous,” Sure, if you could defend yourself, it could be a little easier—but still. He was glad his home was safe.

“And... and there was also that horse...” Ikuto frowned, shivering.

“Ah... well, you see, that horse is actually the reason I’ve been wandering,” He tells the group, “That horse is my taur half- we... got split.”

“That- that can happen?” Ikuto raised an eyebrow.

“In this situation, yes.” Rembrandt nodded.

Kishi seemed to have already decided on something. “Perhaps us four could help you track down your half and get this fixed?”

Having the help while Dirk and Dael were searching elsewhere would be nice. Rembrandt nodded.

With that, the group started to head off in the direction that the taur half must’ve gone.

“Oh!” Kishi had just realized something—introductions. Names. That had yet to happen.

“My name is Kishi, it’s nice to meet you.” They held out their hand.

“I’m Rembrandt.” The Taur-less-Knight took and shook the others hand.

“This is my daughter Kazoku,” It started to gesture around to everyone, “And these are our friends, Shizen and Ikuto.”

“Soo,” Kazoku hums, looking up at Rembrandt—she definitely wanted to know all of the details, “How did this even happen?”

“Well...” Rembrandt started. It was a big story—although he was sure that they’d all have enough time for it to be shared.

[a-spoonful-o-generosity]

"Do you think Cozy Glow should have deserve a 100 spankings in the plot for insulting Flurry Heart?"

Oh no, Daeling, I would think she deserves to be incarcerated in a mental institution and forced to endure therapy with Ms Starlight until she can be deemed fit to rejoin society. This having nothing to do with the interaction between Flurry and her adult self and everything to do with her sociopathy and attempting to banish all magic from Equestria because she doesn't understand equine emotions as a filly.

But I guess spanking her as an adult is more satisfying for you?