#our smart little fishy

[urban-shade]

thinking about my sebastian headcanons this morning and something that I think about his personality is he is a really smart guy who is all about the details.

Like, him having a MILLION piercings while still human is one thing I feel like kinda fits in here, but his appearance while fish is also similarly quite accessorized. You really need to be dedicated to put on THAT many belts and bags (they're human body harnesses he stole, but still) As well as his overall fancy ass outfit. He cares quite a lot about looking nice.

We don't know how he got the outfit, but I assume he found the coat somewhere, modified a 3rd sleeve for it (you can see his hasty stitching..) and also made his jabot himself, mayybe found the undershirt as well.

In terms of how his detail-oriented nature affects his shop, I noticed that he likes posing his USB sticks

and then more generally, he chose to decorate his hideout with all these DNA containers (and various other objects)

and obviously, this is all just good set design from Zeal to make the shop look nice, but I like looking into things way too hard to glean some info about Seb's personality. We don't know the true Sebastian, we know the personality he puts on to talk to the EXR-P's, which IS him, but obviously he's hiding quite a lot.

He has an in-depth knowledge of the creatures in the Blacksite, he probably keeps his folders of documents very organized. Of course, he HAS to be like this for the game to.. work! But still, fun to think about. He's pouring over all the data he gets in his free time from the EXR-P's to try and find some little shreds of information that are good enough blackmail to get him out of there...

He's alsooo an engineer(sort of).. famously a career that kind of requires you to be pretty meticulous. I think its easy to not notice how smart of a guy he is, but it's a pretty major part of who he is! his poor college education.. all down the drain because someone framed him for murder...

and then like finally, this is also just straight up needed for the game to work as a game but still tells us more about Sebastian. He intentionally chose a keycard room for his shop to be in. He moved the keycard into his shop so most EXR-P's would NEED to come look at his wares to progress

[greentrickster]

Okay, so, been reading some good scumplane (OG!Shen Qingqiu/Airplane) lately, because in this house we support Airplane being loved by terrifying/terrifyingly hot men, but also, like... I do love Moshang just so so much as a ship.

And all this has awoken a mighty need in me.

A need for a Moshangjiu fic with scumplane getting established first and then bringing our favorite popsicle in on things.

Anyway, scenario! Shen Qingqiu starts noticing Shang Qinghua when they're disciples via the classic scenario of being smart enough to realize something is fishy about SQH being the only survivor of a demon attack, begins paying attention to his most anxious shidi, accidentally shows his most anxious shidi the simplest of Human Kindness, accidentally becomes shidi's favorite shixiong, accidentally becomes friends with shidi, accidentally catches feelings. Continues being a Sneaky Bastard in order to figure out what shidi is up to (and now also to confirm shidi is single).

Ah, shidi is entangled with an Ice Demon. This shixiong will make use of his scholarly peak's library to learn all and then decide to- wait. Wait, it's super violent by human standards, but is it- is this demon attempting to... court shidi?

...

Not if SQQ dates him first he's not!!!

There follows a whirlwind romance between SQQ and SQH where no one really knows what's going on, especially the two involved, it involves a lot of shit talking about everyone else in their lives, snacks, and accidental trauma bonding.

Also Airplane being Airplane and accidentally spilling that not only is he also kinda crushing (bad) on Mobei-jun, but also Mobei-jun's entire backstory and please, shixiong, I know it all looks bad but this shidi's house is literally the only place in the world it's completely safe for his king to sleep, everyone deserves to sleep without having to worry about their relatives murdering them for things that aren't their fault from time to time, right, shixiong???

Shen Qingqiu: ...goddammit, the demon's a fellow sad little meow meow. (only not in these exact words because he doesn't know these phrases, naturally)

In a wild, bold, and - dare I say it - shockingly sexy convolution of thought processes and ideas, SQQ manages to finagle SQH into letting him meet with MBJ (SQH nearly has a heart attack three times in the process but it's fine, it's cool, this is his life, this may as well happen, it's fine-).

SQQ: It has come to my attention that my shidi is spying for you on our sect.

MBJ: (glowering at SQH, who is cowering behind shixiong wondering how he got talked into all this)

SQQ: However it also appears that this is merely a cover story and the only thing you really do is use his room to nap. And also that you are quite fond of him.

SQH: (This is it, this is how I die. Again.)

MBJ: (...if I stare straight ahead and don't change my expression, no one will be able to tell that he's right)

SQQ: So anyway I think you should join Cang Qiong Mountain Sect.

MBJ: (gears grinding)

SQH: (squawking splutters of protest and confusion)

SQQ: (who speaks panicking!SQH at this point) Stop that, it's perfectly reasonable. He has the head disciple of our logistics peak under his thumb, it would be the simplest thing in the world for him to have you throw the sect into absolute chaos without even trying, then organize an attack, swoop in, and crush us all. He could have done it years ago, but he never has, he never even seems to initiate anything. I don't think he even cares about taking the Northern Throne, I think he's just incompetent about wanting to spend time with you. So he might as well just lie low until our shizuns ascend and then I'll take him on as a disciple on Qing Jing and you two can stop sneaking around like idiots.

MBJ: >8O

SQQ: Are you actually opposed?

MBJ: (folds arms and looks away sulkily, because like... it's true but you don't have to say it like that)

SQH: 8O ...reverse uno...

SQQ: What?

SQH: You're reverse unoing my blorbo!

SQQ: Quit making up word-

SQQ cannot continue because the System just presented the option to accept this potential new plot line (even if it does have the rather confusing title of 'Shidi Has Two Hands'), and holy shit, Mobei-jun seems to be potentially down for it, holy shit, apparently Mobei-jun actually likes me, holy shit, SQQ may have just solved all my problems-?!? This is great, this is fantastic, this is the best day of my life, this- is a long time I'm being allowed to be myself about all this, why is Shen shixiong not interrupting...?

Ah.

It is because I am kissing him full on the lips.

Cool cool cool.

At least I'm gonna die on a high note.

SQQ: O///O o_o (ahem) Shidi's- shidi's a really bad kisser.

SQH: Ah-haha, I can explain-

SQQ: We should work on that. Later.

SQH: (BEST DAY OF BOTH MY LIVES!!!)

MBJ: (I... did not actually hate watching that. Hm.)

Anyway, he agrees to the plan, SQQ and SQH start dating, some more time passes, the previous generation of peak lords ascend, the new generation take their places, and a week later Mobei-jun is an outer disciple of Qing Jing Peak.

The other peak lords are not amused, Qingqiu that is a demon, no.

SQQ: So what I'm hearing is that whole 'Cang Qiong will accept anyone from anywhere' philosophy was a lie then?

He's a demon!

SQQ: Children can't help where they're born. Now if you'll excuse me, I have classes to teach.

First lesson of the day is SQH and SQQ are a package deal, take it or leave it. Second lesson is no canoodling with Shang Shibo until you've finished with lessons and chores for the day. Third lesson is if you see any Bai Zhan disciples hassling our peak's disciples you can break their swords. Just snap 'em in half. Throw them off the peak. Don't kill them, but do make them cry.

SQH, meanwhile, has now seen MBJ in an outer disciple uniform and had a whole bunch of new awakenings on top of all the other things he already knew about himself.

And, in a twist of dramatic irony... Qing Jing's first disciple to ever have demonic heritage decides the dorms are a no-go after one night because, to him, they are broiling hot, how can anyone sleep in this heat, and chooses to go sleep in the wood shed instead.

[theocddiaries]

[Tom cautiously patrols the area, blaster ready. He glances to his left at the sound of rustling bushes. He tiptoes over, pushes the leaves aside, and finds Knuckles and Wade watching a movie on Wade’s phone.] Wade: Hey Tom, wanna join? Tom: What are you doing?? Knuckles: Donut Lord, before you rightfully ashame me for my actions, you should know I was eliminated a while ago. Tom: Oh… and how? Like this? [Tom swiftly turns around and eliminates Rouge, who was silently descending behind him. She drops to the asphalt in defeat.] Tom: You’re in my town, bat. [Tom’s vest lights up, and he freezes in shock. Shadow appears out of nowhere, sprinting toward his next target.] Knuckles: Run, hedgehog, run! Rouge: Get him, Shadow! [Sonic is perched in a tree, pressing his vest against the trunk for protection. His ears twitch at every sound. His attention shifts downward when he sees a chili dog approaching the tree on a remote-controlled car.] Sonic: Oooh, dibs--Wait a sec! This is real life, not a dream. Something smells fishy… tasty but fishy. [Back at the Mean Bean, Robotnik is spying on Sonic while piloting the remote car.] Amy: That’s cheating! Robotnik: All’s fair in war, hedgehog! Besides, nobody said we couldn’t bribe with food! Maddie: You scoundrel… Sonic, if you come down from that tree, you’re grounded—three months, no console! [The remote car starts circling the tree.] Sonic: Eggman, cut it out! I’m not coming down no matter how many laps you do! [to himself]: Oh man, please let the battery die; he loaded it with extra chili, that jerk… [A drop of water falls onto his nose. Sonic sniffs and rubs it, glancing upward to check the sky.] Sonic: Is it raining?? Robotnik [through loudspeakers]: For you, it is. [An Eggbot emerges through the branches, relentlessly spraying Sonic with water. Sonic swats at it.] Knuckles: That’s cheating! You know Sonic’s hydrophobic! Rouge: So what?! He’s only up there because Shadow’s scared of heights! Nobody said anything about exploiting weaknesses! [Sonic loses his grip and falls. Shadow runs, catches him, gently sets him down, and hands him a towel.] Shadow: You okay? Sonic: Yeah, yeah… Thanks. [takes the towel] Shadow: Good. [eliminates him] [Sonic groans. Robotnik, Stone, and Rouge cheer and run to hug Shadow.] Robotnik: CHAAAAAMPIOOOONS, WE ARE THE CHAAAAAMPIOOOONS!!! Knuckles: Worry not, family, I’ve got the solution. I read in a book that rats follow flute music. Dang it, we don’t have one. Well, they can’t be that smart. Maybe I can fool them. [mimics playing a flute, whistling off-key] Shadow: Sonic, we still going to the movies tomorrow? Sonic: Yeah, sure. One thing has nothing to do with the other. Robotnik: Hey, for a little extra cash, I can set up a home theater-- Maddie: Aaaah, shut up! Yeah, you won, but we’re not stepping into your stupid café unless it's open for clients! We’re going to my sister’s place. Tom: Damn it. Maddie: Zip it! Robotnik: Ah, look at the sore loser! Na-na na-na-na! Better start naming those rats, cause you’ll have them even in your soup! Though, well, naming rats is something you’re used to. Tom: Joke’s on you. Our kids already had names by the time we met them. Maddie: Tom, shut up! Stone: And you, Ivo, ease up. No need to rub salt in the wound. Robotnik: Oh yes, there is! Let me bask in this, first time I win, after all! Rouge: Waaaaait a minute… You just beat the Wachowskis at a game and insulted the matriarch… and there hasn’t been a single witty comeback…? Sonic: True. [looks around]: Where’s Tails??? He was playing too! Everyone: … … Robotnik [inhales slowly]: Tell me that fox is pushing up daisies. [stares at his family; they exchange glances and shake their heads]: NOOOOOOOOOOOOO! The Wachowskis: YEEEEEEEEEEES! Maddie [dancing]: THE WACHOWSKIS ARE STILL STANDING! Tom: Wait, where is Tails??

Part 1

Part 3

[flowery-mess]

popping in ik it’s been a minute but i saw this and

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DBKSi1CSnpU/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

dad!noah and the boys packing up for tour right when his kid presents him w this. and like trying fighting to keep straight faces but all of them absolutely dying

- @somebodyels3

I can't that's funny, but actually so smart lol😭

✨cunt✨

I can picture few days before the boys leave that they just hang out in the ware house with all the girlfriends, wives, kids etc.

The boys need to pack their stuff so you girls take the kids to the side to entertain them and tell them to draw something for they boys so they can take it with them on tour.

And you get Nick's kid, who's little artist like his dad, draw himself and his mom so Nick can have them with him all the time.

Folio's kid who draws lot of fishies, because his dad likes fishing.

Jolly's kid who draws their dog, because their dog makes Jolly happy.

And then yours and Noah's kid, who will hopefully be better at anything else than drawing, comes to you with the word cunt written on paper, with glitters, stars and hearts all over it.

First you'd think your son heard it from someone and knew what it meant and wanted to mess with you, but before you found words he'd start explaining what it means in his little 'it's obvious mommy' voice.

The kids would run to their dads, showing them their papers, Nick, Folio and Jolly being all aw so cute thank you baby🥰💗😘 while Noah's face would go through all the emotions, shock, fear, anger, laughter and he'd be speechless.

"Do you like it dad?"

"I love it baby, but what does it mean?" he'd give you the side eye like 'why would you let our kid write something like this' and you'd mouth him 'wait' back

With dramatic sigh your son would explain "it's see you next time dad." Like it's the most obvious thing, why does no one get it.

"Oh I see! Thank you!" Noah would pick your son up and kiss his head, while proudly showing other boys what he got.

Safe to say it would become inside joke for you adults, when saying goodbye, yelling cunt at each other.

And also Noah sending you pictures from his bunk where he'd put the drawing up.

You'd all get a good laugh and your som would be proud he'd make you laugh and that his dad put his letter up.

[m00nchildwrites]

Day 7- Or The Guys Last Chance To Keep Their Privileges To Dress Themselves.

Brought to you by:

My Last Damn Nerve

So here it is the final day and their final chance to keep their privileges to access their own closets and dress themselves. To recap, we have Sylus, who has this whole time, been his usual troublemaking self. He likes to press on my last nerve and see what he can get away with. And then try to butter me up with something that he knows all like the next day. Par for the course for our beloved troublemaker.

In a shocking turn of events, he somehow managed to wrestle Zayne into his antics. The pair of them somehow managed to get Rafayel in on the gig. Although, let's be honest, i'm not too surprised that he was down for a good prank or two as well.

They managed to all gang up on poor Xavier. Sweet little bunny that he is, did not see their switch coming, where they convinced him to dress like crazy. While proceeding to pull out their best fits, making him the odd one out.

Not to worry, though, Xavier was back to trying to make it up to me the next day while Sylus was back to his usual antics. And Zaybae had the good grace to look ashamed of himself. Rafayel being Rafayel knew that all he had to do was pull out my classic favorite, and he was back in my good graces.

So here it is, the finale of my little series. The last test. Will they keep their privileges? Or will I officially strip them of their ability to dress themselves like a naughty toddler getting into their mother's closet.

First up. The safest of the bunch....usually- Xavier.

A classic. A safe choice. Smart man.

Next up, my 2nd hubby, Rafayel... a little nervous...

Oomph! 😌🫶🏻 Abysswalker is a damn good choice. Yummy. Thanks for the eye candy, Fishie.

I am getting increasingly concerned, but, they made it halfway, so....

Next up, the good Doctor. Zayne, don't fail me now.

...you had 1 job. 1. Job. In a rush you say??? Cone of shame for you.

Alright, let's see what trouble is up to.... *winces*

.....

…......

What. The. Hell. Is. THIS????

Sylus. What?

Thats it. Zayne and Sylus are grounded. Hands off the closet boys. 🤦🏽‍♀️

[sydnikov]

avs anon back, love to know more about the guys! ik a little about aho since him and Mikko are buddies and played in world juniors but that's about it.... i was very endeared by seth jarvis in particular where he's introducing himself to Mikko and goes "Seth!😀". What are the narratives... the dynamics 🤌🤌 (also any blog recommendations would be much appreciated<3<3)

This is going under the cut, get ready 😎 I could go on for hours about them

As for some canes blogs, I gotchu!! I'm definitely missing some people bc this is off the top of my head, but on my blog who I'm following is public and I follow lots of other good canes blogs from there if you wanna give that a look :) but make sure to definitely check out @smileysvech @pyotrkochetkov @callsign-denmark @human-trainwreck

The canes aren't super flashy, they don't have huge, generation-altering talent like McDavid or MacKinnon, but that doesn't mean we aren't full of talent, and obviously I'm biased but we get closer and closer every year to having a team that can win the cup. Most of their success can be attributed to smart decisions about managing draft picks, and also our head coach Brind'Amour who was on the team when they won the cup for the first time in 05

I'll start with Aho since you seem to already know a bit about him—he joined the canes in 2015 and was a superstar once he found his footing, and tbh if it wasn't for him we wouldn't have had a good foundation to get out of the "dark ages" LOL he's very introverted but he's no less passionate and he cares a lot about the game, probably takes playoff losses the hardest tbh. His most popular nicknames by both his teammates and the fans are fishy and seabass, and he also just got married to his high school sweetheart over the past summer in Finland! Right now he's alternate captain but a bunch of us are hoping he'll be named captain after Staal retires, because it's been said numerous times that this is now aho's team

Seth Jarvis is in his third year playing for us I believe. We got him as a draft pick actually, from Toronto and developed him on our AHL team before his talent was too great to keep him down. He's probably the most energetic, happy go-lucky guy we have on our team and not to mention insanely talented. He also lived with Aho and his gf-now-wife for a bit when he first started playing here, and because he's so close to fishy and our other finns he's been dubbed as the "honorary finn" 😅 also honorable mention: he is a shit driver and when moving out of aho's house, he backed up into a pole right in front of them LMAO he keeps the older guys on their toes and is probably closest to kk (another finn), svechy, and also drury and neci :') RIP

Andrei svechnikov, who is in my pfp along with jarvis, is my favorite player personally right next to slavin. He's from russia and an absolute sweetheart to the fans and his teammates, also very close to jarvis and the other younger guys, but was prolly closest to neci (again RIP). There's actually a pregame tradition where martinook will shout svech's name at the top of his lungs before they walk down the tunnel bc it helped with his nerves when he first started playing, you should look up videos bc it's hilarious LOL he's a beast on the ice when he chooses to be physical and was the first in the league to score a lacrosse goal back in 2020—he also takes the most penalties out of everyone on our team...

Our current captain is j. staal, who doesn't score all the time but he definitely comes in clutch when he has to. Our other alternates are martinook and slavin (both who have so many funny stories but for time I won't include those here), and imo slavin is the most underrated defenseman in the league bc without him we'd be cooked. Every player on our team is so important and contributes in different ways but I think this would actually turn into a fanfic if I wrote about every single guy, so if there's anything else about certain guys you'd love to know about then feel free to ask 😭

We have one of the closest team dynamics in my humble opinion and in every video of the guys, whether it's after a game or after practice or even getting off the plane, you won't ever see someone not smiling. I hope Mikko feels very welcome here and helps soften the blow 🫶

[naffeclipse]

Excuse the rambling but we have our own mer au and possible crossover potential just crossed our mind and we need to ramble (its not gonna be made canon to our au, but still)

Our mer boys are a leviathan species, which typically is very solitary, but some families are unusually social. Moon was born to one of those families, but they disappeared when he was very young, leaving him alone and desperately needing social interaction, so he goes off and does the only thing that can get the leviathan mer gossip chain going (hoping to get attention); killing something your size or larger, the more fierce the better....baby Moon was about the size of an orca so......

In canon that fight doesn't go well for him, if Sun hadn't saved him he wouldn't have made it, but how hilarious would it have been if the orca he'd chosen was Eclipse (who would be considered a different mer species, not leviathan class. Fully grown leviathan Moon's hand would be about the size of Eclipse's whole body). Eclipse just living his life and suddenly a mer comes up and tries to fight him, but from the body language the strange mer is like, the human equivalent of a 6yo, even though its basically the same size as him

Moon would still very thoroughly lose the fight (Eclipse is probably smart enough to leave when another giant baby mer covered in spines comes to the rescue, but he's still an adult and he can handle a mildly venomous baby), but man would that be a thing that would baffle Eclipse for a while, what the hell was that giant baby and why did it come out of nowhere to fight him for no reason? He fought back because it was in his territory, but the baby didn't even seem to be from the north??? (Would he be unnerved if he met a fully grown leviathan later? If he was it would probably only last the length of time it took for him to realise the adult leviathan had no interest in fighting or eating him, after that he just wouldn't care)

(You've reblogged art of our boys before actually! This one! They're not fully fully grown here, but they're close!)

Anyways! Sorry for all that! Had to get that idea out there or else it'd keep taking up brain space bye!

Ahhh, that's so cool to think about a little crossover! And I remember your pretty mer art!!! Love seeing the boys as giant fishies ♥

As for Orca!Eclipse handling a large baby mer, he'd be so, so confused, and a bit harsh towards an aggressive other creature, even if said creature is technically a little kid—think an adult dog snapping at a puppy to remind the younger one to respect the older one. Not being harmful but still correcting the bad behavior.

When another enters the area? He's even more confused and just, wondering where these babies' families are. It is terribly wrong to have ones so young alone, but with that, he wouldn't want to stick around in case the much bigger adults came looking for their offspring. He'd put some distance but watch them from afar to make sure they turned out alright!

(He'd be very unnerved by a mer-creature so much greater than him. Eclipse is used to hunting and eating prey larger than himself, but not facing a predator so much larger than him)

[hannahwatcheshorror]

THE BABYSITTER (2017)

A fun and new story told in a nicely paced way. Very good acting, the child especially, you really connect with the kid and root for him. Samara Weaving does an excellent job in her dual role as babysitter and… other. 

⭐⭐⭐⭐

This is one of your classic “the babysitter turns out to be an ageless baddie” story. You know the ones. Cole is a little dorky kid (and who doesn’t love a little dorky kid, come ON people?) and he is getting picked on at school for still having a babysitter, that is until they see how hot Bee is. Cole’s folks go out of town so he needs a babysitter for the evening and wouldn’t you know Bee is the one for him. They get along like a house fire though and things seem more than normal, exceptional really. That is until Bee offers the tween a double shot to help him fall asleep. Not strange at all. Cole feeds it to a plant but pretends to drink up, wanting to impress Bee. This is the beginning of the weirdness. Next after Cole is in bed Bee invites friends over, now as an old Babysitter I can firmly say this is a big no-no. The only thing I would do once the kids were asleep was raid the snacks they weren’t allowed to eat and then watch The N (does this age me too much?).

Anyway, Bee and her friends are playing Truth or Dare with a Spin the Bottle twist and it is Bee’s turn and she is tasked with kissing the whole group and when she gets to our odd man out (who literally says “I’m not really a part of the group”) she kisses him but then stabs him in the head with two knives so there is certainly something fishy going on. Cole of course is spying on this whole thing from the staircase and is horrified. The hot teens collect the sacrificial blood in two chalices and start talking about Satan, like, okay, not the direction I thought this was going but I guess that's just how Samara Weaving movies go sometimes. Random Satan. Though this came out before Ready or Not.

The hot teens go up to get innocent blood from Cole and he pretends to sleep through it but Bee catches him and they tie him up. Not before the cops are called though! And then a big mistake because both cops get killed and one of the teens gets shot and it looks like right in the heart but I guess it wasn’t because she keeps kicking for a while. Cole is able to escape and he pushes one of the boys down the stairs which kills him, yikes! Next he goes into the crawlspace and lights a fire that takes out another teen, wack! Then he is face to face with the quarterback who is oddly inspiring but it ends up okay because he dies thanks to his own hubris.

Finally it is just down to Cole and Bee, Cole escapes next door to the girl he has a crush on. He is able to hide her and himself from Bee who now has a fucking shotgun and he scored a kiss from his crush (which terrified him because he thought it meant he was about to get stabbed). He makes it back to his house and the chick who was shot is still there and kicking which is wack and a half but Bee shoots her head clean off for Cole, saving him. You kinda think that she's good now but she has already shown herself as a witch or whatever she is, The Big Bad. Cole threatens to set her book on fire and she tries to talk him down but he is too smart. He even sends a car into the living room pinning her down. They have one last talk, it is beautiful and sad, Cole really loved Bee.

----------------------HANNAH WATCHES HORROR---------------------

[qmakobin]

When We Let Go

A/N: hiii. Eribin here. Please bear with my English. It's not perfect, I know but I made this with love. LOL. THIS IS JUST A FICTION. SEPARATE THIS FROM REALITY. WC: 1345 words Genre: Family drama, Father's love, Slice of Life Summary: Sakuma, a busy idol, spends a day at the aquarium with his young daughter, creating precious memories. Though their bond is strong, Sakuma struggles with the weight of his past decisions, particularly his separation from his ex-partner, Y/N.

_____________________________________________________________

Sakuma adjusted his beanie and pulled his sweater sleeve over his hands as he stepped into the dimly lit aquarium. 

The cool air smelled like the ocean, and bubbling tanks filled the space. Beside him, his daughter clung to his arm, her eyes sparkling as she took in the glowing blue world around them.

“Whoa…” she breathed, her little hand tightening around his sleeve. “It’s like we’re under the ocean!”

Sakuma smiled “Pretty cool, huh? You picked a good place for our date”

“I told you! My teacher said fish are fascinating creatures and I wanted to see them up close! Papa, do you think we’ll see a shark?” she looked up at him. 

“Maybe” he said, bending down to her level. “But aren’t sharks scary?”

She pouted, crossing her arms. “Noooo.. I’m not scared. Papa, sharks are cool! But I wanna see the little fishies, too.”

Chuckling, Sakuma took her hand and led her further inside. The dim lighting made the glowing tanks look more magical. Bunch of little tiny silver fish swam together, and a giant stingray glided overhead in a tunnel tank, making his daughter gasp.

“Papa, look! It’s flying!”

“That’s called a stingray" he explained, lifting her up so she could touch the glass. “They’re flat so they can hide on the ocean floor.”

She turned to him with wide eyes. “You know so much! Are you a fish expert?”

“Nah, I just read about them before coming here. Gotta impress my smart girl, right?”

She giggled, resting her chin on his shoulder as he carried her.

“Mama said you always try too hard to act cool.”

Sakuma gasped dramatically. “She said that!??”

His daughter burst into laughter, her arms tightening around his neck. “But I think you’re cool, Papa. You're the best Papa in whoooole world"

His heart clenched at her words. No matter how many fans cheered for him on stage, nothing compared to hearing that from his own daughter.

They wandered into the aquarium, stopping at each exhibit so she could read the signage out loud. He listened patiently, nodding along as she proudly recited facts about fishes and other creatures.

When they reached the deep-sea fish section, she pointed excitedly at an eel with a funny grin.

“Papa! That fish looks funny!”

“You think he’s happy to see us?”

She nodded eagerly. “Maybe he wants to be our friend!”

“Well, I hope he doesn’t want a hug. He’s got some scary-looking teeth.” Sakuma stated

His daughter giggled before tugging on his sleeve. “Can we take a picture? I wanna show Mama!”

“Of course.” Sakuma pulled out his phone and snapped a few shots, making sure to get one of her grinning beside the funny fish. As he looked at the screen, he smiled. Y/N was going to love these.

After a while, they made their way to the penguin exhibit. She gasped as she saw the penguins waddling around on the artificial snow.

“Mama’s favorite animal!” she exclaimed.

“Oh?” Sakuma raised an eyebrow. “She never told me that.”

“She told me!” His daughter grinned mischievously. 

Sakuma chuckled, leaning in. “Think we should take a video for her?”

“Yes!” She quickly positioned herself in front of the glass.

Sakuma hit record. His daughter waved excitedly at the camera. 

When they finally left the aquarium, the sun had set. His daughter tugged on his hand, yawning but still smiling.

“Papa, can we do this again next time?”

Sakuma lifted her onto his back, adjusting her little arms around his neck. “Anytime you want, princess.”

As she rested her head against his shoulder, he felt a deep warmth settle in his chest. No matter how busy life got, no matter how exhausting his career could be, moments like this were what truly mattered.

And he wouldn’t trade them for anything. He made a mistake once, he will never do it again twice.

Sakuma adjusted his grip on his sleeping daughter’s back as he stepped out of the subway station. Good thing, no fangirls around. Or maybe they knew that this is my day for my daughter. I never hide to media that I have a daughter and Y/n and I, are Co-parenting with her.

The evening air was not that cold, evidence of the coming snowy season. The city was alive, neon lights reflecting off wet pavement, but his mind was quiet. Heavy.

His daughter sighed softly against his shoulder, her tiny fingers curled into the fabric of his sweater. She was exhausted from their day together, her breaths slow and steady against his neck. He smiled faintly, pressing a kiss to the top of her head before continuing down the familiar street.

Y/N’s apartment wasn’t far.

When they reached her house, he hesitated at the entrance. The warm glow from her window spilled onto the pavement, and for a moment, he imagined what it would be like to step inside, to belong there again.

But that wasn’t his reality anymore.

He exhaled slowly, shifting his daughter’s weight before pressing the buzzer. Moments later, the door clicked open, and Y/N appeared in the doorway, dressed in a simple sweater and leggings. Her hair was slightly messy, as if she had been dozing off while waiting.

Her eyes softened the moment she saw them. “She’s asleep?”

“Hmm..” Sakuma said, adjusting the little girl on his back. “She had fun today.”

Y/N smiled, stepping forward to carefully take their daughter into her arms. The warmth that lingered where she had been resting on his shoulder disappeared in an instant.

“I figured. She wouldn’t stop talking about the aquarium all week.."  Y/N murmured, brushing a hand over the child’s hair as she stirred slightly in her sleep. “Thanks for taking her, Saku.”

He nodded, stuffing his hands into his pockets. “Of course.”

A beat of silence passed between them. The kind that held unsaid things. Regrets. Choices made in the name of protection.

Sakuma looked at Y/N, the woman he had once called his, the woman he still loved but had let go. She had always been his safe place, his constant in a world that demanded too much from him.

But being an idol meant sacrifice. It meant late nights, constant scrutiny, a schedule so packed that love had no space to breathe. He could handle the pressure, the expectations, the exhausting rehearsals.. but keeping his family? That was the hardest thing he had ever done. It was not easy.

And in the end, he had made a choice.

Breaking up with Y/N had been the only way to protect them both. To keep her from the spotlight that followed him, from the endless rumors and headlines that would have picked apart their relationship. From the loneliness of waiting for someone who could never fully be there.

He had chosen distance. Not because he wanted to. But because he thought it was right.

“Sakuma?” Y/N’s voice pulled him back to reality.

He blinked. “Hmmm?”

“You’re staring.”

A small chuckle left his lips. “Guess I was lost in thought.”

she shifted their daughter slightly in her arms, adjusting her tiny head against her shoulder. 

“Do you want to come in?”

The invitation lingered between them.

He wanted to. God knows he wanted to.

To sit on the couch and listen to Y/N talk about her day. To carry his daughter to bed and tuck her in. To pretend just for a little while that he hadn’t walked away from this.

But he shook his head.

“I should go” he said, voice quiet.

Y/N didn’t look surprised. Just… sad. But she nodded. “Alright.”

Sakuma forced a smile. “I’ll see you next weekend?”

“Yeah.”

He took one last look at his daughter, peaceful and safe in her mother’s arms. And then, he turned away, walking back into the train station.

The streetlights stretched his shadow, but his heart felt heavier with every step.

He had made his decision.

And he would live with it.

Even if it hurt.

Even if a part of him wished.. just for a moment that things could have been different.

---- THE END

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR READING. If you have spare time, you can read my other stories here . This story is also available on AO3.

[oceansprompts]

𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕧𝕒𝕟𝕘𝕦𝕒𝕣𝕕 𝕠𝕡𝕤 // 𝕕𝕖𝕤𝕥𝕚𝕟𝕪 𝟚 𝕤𝕥𝕒𝕣𝕥𝕖𝕣𝕤

this dialogue taken from destiny 2's vanguard ops strikes; hypernet current, lake of shadows, and the arm dealer. . . . adjusted for general use. . . . change as needed for usage

Let us hope that your technology continues to be resilient.

We need to get in there and stop them.

Screams, weird voices, nightmares... you name it.

It's resilient, but not impenetrable. A backdoor wouldn't be impossible.

Hopefully getting rid of whatever is at the center of this will shake all that weirdness out of the system too.

It looks like you're getting closer to the source of the problem. That track nearby looks like your best bet!

Let's just hope it's stable.

What-what was that?

Such a fragile space. This will do.

You don't want to see the pot of tea I made this morning.

Civilians are depending on you.

Mobilizing team for Operation, uh... Babydog? Why does this say Babydog? I must have forgotten to reboot the name generator.

Operation "Babydog?" Well, it has a certain ring to it, huh?

Yes... "Babydog" ... Well, the protocol is already running. Can't stop it now.

Yes, sorry, Operation "Babydog" ...We need to determine the source of — Haha! — I'm sorry, I can't.... Stand-by!

Our purification tech can only do so much. If the contamination spreads, people will die.

Good work. There's bound to be more than one.

We're making good progress, but energy readings are still off the charts.

This place is old; good thing we can't get tetanus.

If for nothing else but principle, I'm glad you're reclaiming it.

They just left that unguard...? This smells fishy to me.

Time for me to step out. I leave it to you.

Usually for an operation like this, logistical support would be provided. But it sounds like it's just us this time around.

Where'd you put my datapad? It had the notes about that thing I'm in charge of.

Into the action right away. I'm not surprised. You're up.

Whoa, wait wait wait, I'm not ready! I had a whole thing for this guy — I had charts and pictures — you know what, the one time I get it all — geez, forget it. You know what, just forget it.

Door's unlocked. But I couldn't get through without tripping their master alarm.

Not a trade I would have made, but you're the one on the ground.

Come on, how bad could one little alarm be?

Good different or bad different?

Did I just see a FLARE shoot into the sky?

Did you shoot up a flare? I thought we weren't allowed to have flares anymore after I… had nothing to do with why we're not allowed to have flares.

That's me! I must have… Oh, wait a minute. Nope not me.

Plan, schman. Take the radioactive thing, put in explode-y place. There! There's your plan.

Is this what "be brave" means for you? Didn't know it was a prayer.

Yeah, not blowing up is as good as you can hope for sometimes.

Way to reach for the stars.

Sounded like a nice dunk!

This guy's no ordinary space rhino. His weapons ain't half bad, either.

He's bound to have more. Insecure men tend to surround themselves with others like them.

Nope, she's totally right. Which is why I work alone.

I'm sorry, painted it what now?

Yeah, funny story about the Oh-roh? Oh-roh… Oh-roh-bahn… uh…

I think you should call it "payback."

Could be some really weird defenses in there. Not just flame turrets - I'm talking REALLY weird.

Why would they put a tank inside a ship?

Remember that elevator? Looks like we have to bring it down again.

Ok. Well, there are many… levels of easy.

Please don't encourage him

Oh, come on! ANOTHER one?

Wait, wait wait! Let me guess — giant flame turret.

Try to grab his flame turret blueprints after he's dead.

Watch for air support. This guy's too smart to not have a backup plan.

Eh, backup plans are overrated.

This is it. We've got him cornered… in an airfield. OK…

Now we've got you! In a… place you know way better than us. But that won't stop us. Let's get him!

Watch your six. And your twelve. You know what — just — just be careful

Sounds like I returned at just the right time. Excellent work, team.

Thanks, boss! It was by the book, the whole way.

Ok, you all are getting way too formal. Where's the energy? Let's hear some chatter out there! Huh?

The job's done. You can handle the chatter for a while.

You ever been hit with a rock? Don't joke about that.

YOU miscalculated?

Yes. Do you have any further questions?

It seems this new guy has done some “redecorating.” Although I don’t think I can call this an upgrade in terms of taste. But perhaps the cannons could be of use?

Names hold power. It is not unlikely that this new guy is a successor, who has taken up the mantle.

Unless we disable that shield, we’re sitting ducks out here!

That shield is making me mad! We’ve got to get rid of it!

Well fought! We’ve cut another head off the proverbial Hydra.

[justtluffythings]

HOME: Book 8 - CHAPTER SIX

MASTERLIST

November 18, 1991

Dear Charlie,

Oops, hehe! Did I forget to tell you about that? Well, here’s the story:

Over the summer, Dumbledore had asked Hagrid to pick up something from Gringotts. I can’t tell you what it is by mail because I can’t risk this letter falling into the wrong hands, but just know it’s something super important and valuable that dark wizards would die to get their hands on. Hagrid brought it to the school, and Dumbledore asked a few of us professors to come up with clever ways to defend the object that catered to our specific specialties. So anyone that wants to steal it would need to get past seven of our defenses. First is Hagrid, then Sprout, me, McGonagall, Quirrell and Snape. And the smart thing is that neither of us knows how to get past each other’s chambers. I can’t really tell you what all the defenses are exactly, but I used my specialty of Charms and Quidditch to put together this fun little obstacle. There are a ton of keys flying around the room and only one opens the door to move forward. There’s a broom in the room, and the keys are charmed to evade capture. So anyone trying to get past my defense would need to test out a bunch of different keys which would need them to be a pretty good flier and have a bit of Seeker skills in them. That part was dedicated to you.

And absolutely not. We are not seeing what we want to see. I can almost guarantee Quirrell is trying to steal it. He’s been acting so strange this whole year, and between you and me, Dumbledore has asked Snape and me to keep an eye on him. He also thinks something fishy is going on, and Dumbledore is never wrong, so something’s definitely up. It's a strange time at Hogwarts honestly, there’s something in the air. I just can’t figure out what it is.

Don’t worry, I’ve had a talk with her. Since she’s friends with Ron and Harry now, she comes with them to my office for our weekly chats. She knows her actions were reckless, and I don’t see her doing anything like that again. You know what I found out from them though? They think that Snape is the one trying to steal the object. And I can’t tell them why they’re wrong. Harry saw him on Halloween when we were going up to the third floor to stop Quirrell, but he didn’t see me. I had been ahead of him and had already turned the corner so he only saw Snape. And earlier this month, Harry had tried sneaking into the staffroom to get his book back that Snape had confiscated and saw Snape bandaging his wounds. Of course, it just so happened that Snape was talking with Filch about Fluffy, so now their suspicions are on him. And I can’t tell him that we’re all suspicious of Quirrell… he shouldn’t be involved in any of this to begin with.

And no, we didn’t catch him. I think he may have seen us coming and hid while we tried to get past Fluffy. He may have thought he could learn from us, but we just ended up leaving half-injured instead. Snape almost lost his bloody leg, and he doesn’t want to go to Madam Pomfrey for it. He’s honestly lucky it didn’t get infected. Anyway, I know that doesn’t prove it was him

The Gryffindor vs Slytherin game was absolutely crazy too. I was sitting with the other professors in the commentary box, which was so strange. But anyway, during the game, someone was jinxing Harry’s broom and trying to get him to fall off. Harry’s broom was going crazy, and Snape and I were trying our best to counter the jinxes. We were definitely slowing them down, but they were still doing enough to make Harry lose balance and almost fall off. We don’t know for sure who it was, but we are fairly certain it was Quirrell. Of course, the trio think it was Snape. Gryffindor did end up winning though! Harry caught the Snitch after he got control of his broom back.

Miss you loads,

Veronica

***

November 30, 1991

Dear Ronnie,

That is so cryptic! And I don’t like that you can’t tell me what the object is, but I know you have your reasons. That’s a cute obstacle though, and it represents you perfectly. And knowing Quirrell, there’s no way he’s getting past that. I can’t imagine him being a very good Seeker. Besides, I’m sure all the other professors made obstacles just as intense as yours and with there being six of them… someone would be crazy to try to get past them all.

I don’t blame them. Snape doesn’t help himself, he gives people a reason to be suspicious of him.

That sounds like a crazy game. I can’t believe a professor would jinx a student’s broom. How do you know it was Quirrell though? I’m not saying it was Snape, but how do you really know it was Quirrell? And maybe the broom wasn’t jinxed at all? Maybe he just lost control of it. Either way, I’m glad Harry was able to pull through in the end and win it for Gryffindor. He must really be a natural.

Hey, by the way, mum and dad are planning on bringing Ginny and coming to visit me for the holidays. I’m not sure if my brothers told you about that yet, but you should come! I mean, if you don’t have anything you need to do at Hogwarts, that is. But honestly, with trolls and three-headed dogs roaming the halls, it sounds like you might have your hands full, especially with all the students I’m sure will be staying at Hogwarts over the break. Still, I would love to see you.

Miss you more,

Charlie

[currentlyfckingurmom]

Her Song part 15

We quickly arrived at the museum, with Syd continuing to skip ahead of us. I have no idea why a five-year-old finds a museum so fun, but I'm definitely not complaining.

I briefly wonder why Florence isn't wearing a hat or sunglasses to conceal her identity, but she has this aura about her that makes her seem so normal. She's just so kind and approachable; if you didn't pay close attention, I doubt you'd notice that she's a famous celebrity. Her beauty could catch your attention from a mile away, but her personality is so warm and comforting— I can't even begin to explain it.

Syd stops in front of a painting, staring up at it in awe. We quietly come to a stop behind her, watching curiously as she takes in every brushstroke. Florence and I exchange a glance, silently asking each other what Syd might be doing.

"Momma, I like this one," she says, her voice barely above a whisper.

"You do? What do you like about it?" I question.

"Well, it looks happy. If you just looked at it really quick, you see bright colors and smiles on those people's faces. But if you look closer, there are darker colors in the corners and none of their eyes look happy. The brushstrokes are harsher in the areas where people don't usually look— like that corner. They're all faking it. It's all pretend," she states without turning from the painting.

I stutter, unsure of what to say. "Are you sure you're five?"

"It reminds me of you," Syd concludes, ignoring my remark. Abruptly, she turns and walks down the hall to look at another display. I remain frozen there, staring at the painting and feeling like I might puke.

"Are you okay?" Florence asks, brushing my stiff arm with her gentle hand.

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine. Just caught off guard," I say, forcing a slight laugh.

"She's a smart kid," she says, cutting through the silence that had fallen over us.

"Yeah, she is," I agree, watching as Syd stood on her tip toes to read a display. "Don't know where she got it from."

"Don't sell yourself short, Y/N. I hate it."

I shrug and laugh a little, unsure of what to say. Why  am I so damn awkward?

After walking through the rest of the museum, Syd asks to leave.

"Momma, I'm bored. Can we go to the park? I wanna show Florence the fishies!"

"Well let's go then," I reply enthusiastically, picking up her small body and putting her on my back to walk through the busy New York streets. It's safer and she has fun with it, so I figure it's the best solution.

As we walk down the sidewalk, singing "Do You Want to Build a Snowman?" without a care in the world, I spot Florence pulling her phone out. I stick out my tongue and make a funny face as she snaps a picture, giggling at the result.

"I'll get my revenge for that, Pugh," I warn her.

"Oh, I'm sure you will."

"Momma, keep singing!" Sydney demands.

Eventually we make it to the park, and thankfully there aren't many people here. Sydney runs, quickly leading us to our usual spot.

"Florence, Florence, come here!" she says excitedly, crouching down and peeking through the railing on the small bridge. I watch as they point out the fish in the creek together, giggling excitedly when a few ducks make an appearance.

"Momma, come here. Look at this one!" Syd points to a fish in the water that's swimming in circles. "I want it," she states.

"Okay, I'll throw you in so you can grab it," I retort. Florence snorts and chuckles, and I watch her with delight.

Just then, two older women walk by us, smiling lightly at the scene. "You have a beautiful family," one of them says.

I open my mouth to correct them, but Florence just says "Thank you very much," before I have the chance. I give her a look of confusion after the women are gone and she shrugs, saying "Why correct them? Just take the compliment and go on with the day, you know?"

"A compliment doesn't count if the circumstances are false," I argue, feigning seriousness.

"Who says? I think compliments should always count, no matter what. This world needs a little more kindness."

I pause slightly. "I guess you're right."

"Of course I'm right."

"Don't make me throw you in this creek, Pugh."

"Do it!" Syd yells.

"Don't you dare," Florence warns.

"Or what?" I challenge with a smirk.

"Or...or I'm- I'm gonna be mad," she stutters, trying to act tough.

"I can handle that," I decide quickly. I pick her up and throw her over my shoulder, carrying her off the small bridge and dragging her down into the creek. It was too shallow to just throw her in, so I had to improvise.

She yells the whole way, laughing as she hits my back to try and make me put her down. I get knee deep in the water before I drop her. She quickly sits up in the creek and splashes me with the cold water. I laugh and splash her back, but she tackles me and brings me down into the water.

"Asshole," I mumble.

"You did it first!"

Syd is laughing hysterically up on the bridge, and Flo and I are laughing right along with her. We make eye contact and our laughter dies out slightly, small smiles decorating our faces. "Come on. Let's go back to my place so we can dry off," I say, offering her a hand to help her up.

We quickly make it back to the apartment, pretending not to notice strangers' questioning looks at our soaking wet forms on the walk home.

Syd immediately heads for the couch to play with our cat, Liho. I lead Florence to my bedroom to grab her some dry clothes to change into. She looks around my room as I rummage through my drawers in search of my comfiest sweatpants.

I hand her a pair of sweatpants and an old oversized t-shirt. "The bathroom is right through there," I say, pointing to the en-suite attached to my bedroom. "Feel free to shower if you want."

"Thank you, Y/N."

She heads into the bathroom and I grab some dry clothes for myself, bringing them to the other bathroom to change.

After I'm done, I sit on the couch with Syd and wait for Florence to come out. We put a movie on and get out some ice cream, since I promised Syd we would get some at the park.

When Florence comes out into the living room, my breath catches in my throat. My sweatpants are just a bit baggy on her, and my t-shirt is hanging off her shoulder. Something about seeing her in my clothes makes my heart race.

"I didn't know you played hockey," Florence says, breaking the silence as she gestures to the t-shirt I gave her, which has the logo of my high school hockey team.

"Uh, yeah, I started playing when I was a little kid."

"Well, in that case, I think we'd better go skating together someday. I wanna see what you've got."

"I think we can arrange that." The conversation comes to a pause and we just look at each other, taking one another in with small smiles and light blushes. "Uh, do you want ice cream?" I ask, breaking the silence.

"Yeah, that sounds delightful."

[avirael]

FFxivWrite 2023

Day 11 - Once Bitten, Twice Shy

It all had started as a very peaceful day considering that it already was their second week in Limsa Lominsa without any suspicious incidents. Minfilia had send them there to keep an eye on the tensions between the Sahagin and the Maelstrom but so far nothing out of the ordinary had happened.

A'viloh had been in the city three times before, first as Flame General Raubahn’s envoy, later for a mission that had led him to the Sastasha Seagrot, where he had met Rael for the first time, and lastly for the remembrance ceremony. All of these visits had went perfectly well and yet A'viloh had only spent as much time in Limsa as had been strictly necessary.

He knew that it was entirely stupid but the watery city and its people made him uneasy, nervous even, and he often found himself looking over his shoulder and expecting to find a threat there.

By now however Rael had had enough of the Miqo'te’s strange behaviour, which they did not understand and he also refused to explain. Early this morning, while A'viloh had still been asleep, they had visited the Arcanists’ Guild, where they’ve been studying for a while now, and asked the guildmaster for a mission.

Then the Viera had returned to the Mizzenmast Inn, more or less kicked in the door to A'viloh’s room and conscripted him to help them with their task. A'viloh, who was more than happy about the change of scenery, had agreed without hesitation and so they had saddled their chocobos and left for Western La Noscea.

On their way Rael had explained that they were meant to meet Foreseer K'lyhia in Aleport to help with the inspection of a merchant vessel. Mealvaan’s Gate suspected to find smuggled goods on said ship and therefore expected trouble, so they were grateful for Rael’s and A'viloh’s support.

When they arrived at Aleport however they found that the Morningstar, the ship in question, was nowhere to be found in port and instead lay anchored roughly a malm out in the bay. They had met up with Foreseer K'lyhia, a friendly Miqo’te girl, and two Roegadyn mercenaries, who also were there for support, and tried to figure out what to do next. They asked around if anyone knew something about the ship only to be ambushed by a bunch of thugs. The men that attacked them didn’t really pose a challenge but they corroborated K'lyhias suspicion that something about the merchant ship was fishy. In no time the smart Miqo'te girl had put together a plan on how they would board the ship, deal with possible resistance and go ahead with their inspection.

She had already lost A'viloh at board the ship though…

Alone the sight of the ship made A'viloh feel queasy and not for every single Gil in Eorzea would he set a foot on it.

“I’ll remain here and make sure no more thugs are hiding around here.”, he suggested knowing very well how stupid it sounded.

Rael eyed him skeptically and K'lyhia took a quick look at her calculations before stating: “I don’t suspect any more trouble here, your help will more likely be needed on the Morningstar.”

With that the matter seemed to be settled for her and she and the two mercenaries walked towards the boat that was supposed to take them out to the ship.

“What’s up with you again??”, Rael asked irritated.

“I cannot do this.”, A'viloh simply answered unable to tear his gaze away from the ship on the horizon.

“Yo cannot do what?”, Rael asked still not understanding what was wrong with him.

The Miqo'te shook his head decidedly. “I am NOT gonna set foot on that ship!”

His voice started to sound a little squeaky though, so it came out less confident than he intended.

Rael tilted their head and stared at him for a moment before asking: “Are you scared?”

“I cannot swim.”, A'viloh said defensively. It was a made up excuse but it wasn’t a lie.

Rael chuckled and shook their head. “You don’t need to worry A'vi. I promise you we will be there and back in no time without even getting our feet wet.”

“But I don’t want to...”, the Miqo'te insisted like a defiant child and slowly Real started to loose their patience.

“Listen to me, A'vi. This is a little more important than your childish fears! Why don't you see this as a chance to improve your pathetically little self-confidence here, alright?”

Rael could be mercilessly blunt when they were angry about something and A'viloh wasn’t in the mood to argue with them. Somehow he even saw how the Viera’s words made sense and so he agreed reluctantly. Those memories can't hurt you if you don't let them, he told himself.

The first step into the boat didn't even take as much effort as he had feared but with every yalm they came closer to the ship it started to look bigger and more threatening. At some point he just tightly closed his eyes and tried to breath in and out calmy like Chuchuto had taught him. Rael and the others, going over their plan one more time, remained oblivious.

When they reached the ship they were indeed greeted by a bunch of ill-humoured sailors that tried to keep them away from their cargo hold with all means necessary. The men and their behaviour started to stir up unwelcome memories and A'viloh feared that he would be no use to the others at all.

Luckily some kind of fight-or-flight instinct kicked in as he saw the armed men charge at them. Since flight wasn’t an option, considering there was nothing but water around them, he gripped his brass knuckles and chose to fight instead.

With the five of them working together they quickly took out all of the goons and decided to go for the cargo hold, right as the big wooden doors to the belly of the ship swung open and send K'lyhia flying to the floorboards.

A deep growling voice echoed from the inside of the ship and then with heavy footsteps a tall Roegadyn stepped onto the deck. With him came another bunch of armed men, even more than they had fought before.

At the sight of him something in K'lyhia’s behaviour changed drastically and A'viloh felt it too. He saw the man for the first time but judging by his appearance and the way he spoke, he certainly was not just a crooked merchant trying to hide smuggled goods from taxation. This man was a pirate.

“N-No!”, K'lyhia stuttered. “It can’t be you!”

The Roegadyn smiled an ugly malicious smile. “Ha! Recognized me pretty face, did ye?”

K'lyhia’s otherwise friendly face only showed sheer terror now and she kept stammering about how he could not possibly be here.

Slowly the man bowed down and picked up her grimoire that had landed at his feet when she fell. “I’ve ‘ad enough o’ yer whimperin’. An’ I’ve certainly ‘ad enough o’ these bloody books. It’s clear ye ain’t learnin’ anythin’ from ‘em.”, he mocked and threw the grimoire, K'lyhia’s only means of defence, into the ocean. “Reckon it’s time ye got a different kind o’ lesson!”

At that the Miqo'te girl started to scream and aimlessly scrambled backwards, away from the man, until her back hit the mast and she couldn’t go further.

One of the mercenaries protectively stepped in front of K'lyhia and Rael motioned to do the same.

“A'vi, we have to do something!”, they yelled but A'viloh didn’t hear a word they said. Confused the Viera looked at him when he didn’t answer and found him standing there, shaking and gasping for air, his eyes wide with terror and fixated on the floorboards.

“A'viloh!”, Rael yelled and shook his shoulders. “Come on, we need you!”

But the Miqo'te didn’t react at all, his mind was somewhere far far away. Then his brass knuckles fell to the floor with a clank and his knees buckled. Rael had to catch him or he would have roughly landed on the floor too.

“K'lyhia!”, they heard one of the mercenaries shout. “Nophica preserve us, she’s fainted!”

Rael took a helpless look at A'viloh and then at the other Miqo'te on the ground and exclaimed: “We have to withdraw! Aersthota help me with him!”

Rael spoke a quick spell that put a barrier between them an the pirates. It wouldn’t hold for long, they had to hurry. While Geissfryn, the marauder mercenary, carried K'lyhia to the boat the other one picked up A'viloh, who gave a bloodcurdling yelp in protest but apart from that just let it happen.

They barely made it far enough so the pirates wouldn’t be able to catch up with them anymore, when Rael’s barrier gave up.

K'lyhia was lying unconscious on the ground and A'viloh sat opposite of them entirely apathetical and looked more dead than alive. Rael couldn’t understand at all how everything had escalated so quickly.

They glady made it back to Aleport without further disturbances and the marauder excused herself to bring K'lyhia back to the Arcanists’ Guild. Aersthota carried A'viloh back to land, this time without any reaction from the Miqo'te to Rael’s relief.

Another of that ghastly sounds would have broken their heart. They rarely regretted anything but now they felt horrible for forcing A'viloh into a situation that, as they now realised, had clearly been traumatic for him. He still was completely absent and Rael started to worry, because they had no idea what to do about it. Slowly they kneeled down in front of him and carefully touched his shoulders.

“A'vi…?”, they pleaded but without success. They knew that the Miqo'te didn’t have any physical injuries but nonetheless they cradled his hands in theirs, closed their eyes, and spoke a healing spell. “Please, A'viloh, talk to me…”

For a long moment nothing happened. Then A'viloh blinked and slowly looked up. “Rael?”, he muttered very quietly. “Where are we?”

Surprised Rael looked up and let go off the Miqo'te’s hands. “Back in Aleport. The pirates got away but at least you and K'lyhia are safe. I am so sorry, A'vi. I should never have persuaded you to go to that ship.”

A’viloh shook his head. „It’s alright…“

He looked a lot of things, but not alright. Rael wasn’t sure when they had grown so attached to that annoying little Miqo'te that they couldn’t bear the thought of seeing him sad.

„What happened?“, Rael asked tentatively and wasn’t quite sure if they meant what happened on the ship or what happened in the first place to cause such a reaction from the him.

A'viloh looked down.

„Can we please talk about this later?“

Rael nodded. „Of course, I‘m sorry.“

For a moment neither of them said anything. A'viloh just sat there picking at his nails and Rael watched him with a worried face.

Then the Viera sighed. „I need to check on K’lyhia too. We should return to Limsa.“

„No!“, A'viloh’s head shot up. „I don’t want to go there.“

Rael thought for a second and then suggested: „Would it be okay, if you waited at the Summerford Farms for me?“

„No“, he repeated and then added: „I want to go home!“

But just a moment after he said that he realised that he didn’t really know anymore where that even was. The person that had been his home was long lost in the ocean. He started to sob.

„Please don’t cry…“, Rael helplessly patted his shoulder. „Listen, I have an apartment in the Mist. How about you wait there for me and rest a little? And when I checked on K'lyhia I will take you to Kikipu, alright?“

A'viloh nodded weakly.

So Rael took him to their apartment, tucked him into bed and made sure to wait until he was fast asleep before returning to the Arcanists' Guild.

***

A'viloh was awakened by the morning sun shining through the window of Rael’s apartment. Had he really slept that long?

Slowly he sat up and noticed the Viera sitting in an armchair on the other side of the room with a book in their lap.

„Good morning.“, he whispered and made Rael startle.

„A'vi! You‘re awake.“, they put the book away and stood up. „How are you? Would you like something to drink? A tea perhaps?“

„I’m fine! Tea would be nice.“, A'viloh nodded with an amiable smile on his face. „Thank you.“

A moment later the Viera sat a steaming mug down on the bedside table and asked with an unfamiliar friendliness if A‘viloh wanted anything else.

„How is K'lyhia?“, the Miqo'te asked.

Rael sighed, pulled a chair from their desk by the window and sat down beside the bed.

„To be honest, she‘s not doing very well. Thubyrheim made sure to heal her properly but… well, her physical wounds aren’t the problem.“, they explained and carefully glanced at A'viloh.

„I see…“, he just said and stared into his teacup.

Rael hesitated for a moment but then continued: „Thubyrgeim also told me why K'lyhia and that Roegadyn knew each other. It seems that K'lyhia was -“

„I don’t think I want to hear that…“, A'viloh interjected very quietly without looking up.

Rael sighed, assuming their worst fears confirmed, and took the mug out of A'viloh’s grip. They placed it back on the bedside table and instead took one of the Miqo'te‘s hands in their own. „I‘m not stupid, A'vi. You are not fine, are you?“

A'viloh looked up at the Viera with a surprised expression on their face and Rael could feel his hand shake. Then slowly his face started to crumble and a tear ran down his cheek. „You are right. I owe you an explanation.“

„You owe me nothing.“, Rael clarified. „On the contrary, I owe you an apology. All I want is for you to know that you are not alone. I am aware that I’m no good at this but I‘m here if you need me. I know I can’t make anything better and I certainly don’t know what your going through. But if you ever want to talk I will listen. And if you don’t want to, I’ll just be here anyway and keep you company. I’ll always be there for you and I really mean that.“

Rael had hoped to make the Miqo'te feel better with those words but instead he just bursted into tears. The Viera awkwardly put his arms around him and was in return tightly hugged by A'viloh, who held on to them for dear life and than proceeded to have a good cry at their shoulder.

After a while he calmed down a little and between more tea for both of them and some chocolate Rael had found in a cupboard A'viloh began to slowly tell his story…

[carica-ficus]

"Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries"

04/01/2024

Reading progress: 44/315 (14%)

Read through since last update: 44

I'm doing a little buddy read with some friends and we chose this book. And I'm happy we did! I heard some good stuff about it. It's not overly popular, so I do hope the good word is actually correct (I find all the highly popular books too overhyped)...

Today's thoughts:

OH MY GOD!! CROATIA IS MENTIONED!!! AAAA!!! So cool! And while they haven't been mentioned by name, the mountain Folk might as well be our "vilas". Big, big kudos to Fawcett. This part warmed my heart. ❤️

The diary structure reminds me of some books I read as a kid, Dragonology among other works too. It's incredibly nostalgic. I have no doubt in my mind that I would have eaten this whole book up if it was written when I was in elementary school. I was a sucker for such books.

I already love Emily. It's a little painful reading about her poor social skills because it hits close to home, but I like her character. She's smart enough to understand people's expressions and reactions, but has trouble keeping conversation. She approaches social interactions from a scientific point of view, analysing them through patter recognition and her own knowledge of social cues. It's just... Very easy to relate to it. And her.

There's definitely something fishy going on on Ljosland. Emily might truly be in over her head. I bet she's right about Wendell and I bet he knows exactly the scope of the trouble she found herself in. Which is why he's probably going to visit her by surprise. At least I hope he will.

Speaking of Wendell, I really like his relationship to Emily. And it's cute that he drew her. Do I smell a "he's completely obsessed with her and she's totally oblivious to it" dynamic? Maybe. We'll see.

A small part for today, as a start. I'm liking it so far! The language is good, the characters interesting, there's a promise of something more, something ominous, and it's genuinely entertaining. I look forward to reading more!

[ye-it-is-skeet]

Autism Pride Day✨

First up is me✨ Hello I have autism and ADHD which means I’m smart but only at the last second😂. Now I am professionally diagnosed, and if you think there’s something fishy with how you relate to such videos about autism (or ADHD) talk to a medical professional who knows about that stuff and see if it’s for real. Everyone says therapists and EEG… but I was diagnosed this way: My teachers thought I was a dum dum and sent me to a classroom for the kids who need help with school. Then they said I was too smart for help. My mom took me to our family doctor and told him everything I do (she always knew I was different is what she tells me) and he said, “Yup, autism and ADHD.” And I’ve been awesome ever since. I got this paper that explained everything to my teachers so they’d know I do things differently and Id need a little more flexibility with what they do in a classroom, it’s called a 504. Anyways.

And yes, there is an Autism Pride day even though there’s a whole month. I missed that month so.. To say where I am on the spectrum I’m high-functioning, to explain it shortly, think of Donnie from rottmnt✨Except instead of science it’s art and math. And I can never be such an emotionally unavailable bad boy..

And if you ever wondered why the autism symbol is a rainbow infinity, the rainbow represents the spectrum of autism like a spectrum of colors, and the infinity represents the ✨infinite possibilities of autistic people✨

My brain developed differently and those who are my friends are enjoying my company very much✨ Some other little things is that I do have trouble expressing emotions, it makes sense in my head but words never work. It’s an important matter because since emotions and social stuff never work I also misinterpret information and/or it can emotionally effect me more than the other person initially believed it would. I don’t know how people work.

We’re all aware of the best autistic turtle ever, Donnie✨

Donnie: Was asked to just fix a robot but because it was his special interest he went all out and totally rebuilt Albearto Me: Was told that I could do an art project but didn’t need to do too much just needed some basic information but since art I took my paint and made a whole portrait with the information and presented it to the class.

Also some videos:

Lastly Hunter. Here I’ll just say that Hunter is my favorite and leave this video that can also educate the peoples✨

Tell me about your stims✨ Stims are fun✨✨ Happy Autism Pride Day

[pissypuffypissers]

For example, one of my little dudes rn is setting up a tank, BEAUTIFULLY. He's so detailed and he's planned it so well, and is enacting the plan honestly BETTER than I would. (im really proud of him, I feel like I acted as a stepping stone and ajlbvdeukads little man is so smart. I feel almost like a proud parent.) Is catching flack for being responsible. Its taken over a month and a half for it to start a nitrogen cycle and he's been catching flak for that whole duration. Like, at this point the poor boys been shit on by his siblings, grandparents, and parents for not stocking that tank with fish. Even though he's being so responsible and is exhibiting so much self control, just so his fishy friends can be healthy. They dont know shit about fish care/keeping. They dont know his hobbies and they, well, dont know. Which is fine! But imagine if he was being guided in his fish keeping by people who dont know. He'd have a crappy tank he wouldnt be proud of, as he loves a densely planted forest look, with fake plants he wouldnt take pride in having, and a tank full of dead fish or dying fish. Because he went out and found a mentor, he's doing amazing! Dense plant growth, amazing aquascape, and he knows the different nitrifying bacteria in the aquarium and is learning to fuck with PH by manipulating the KH/GH/TDS of the water column. I did nothing but teach him the nitrogen cycle and how to find good deals on plants. He just needed a tiny, tiny nudge and he was off to the races and surpassed me, and many, MANY other adults. He's only one, small example out of hundreds of interactions with kids/people as a whole. Kids THRIVE off of mentor relations, and more people should be willing to make them!

IDK, I feel like It shows how broken our society is when it comes to children. Hell, I was told that me merely interacting with kids, which is really just watching youtube videos that are centered around making aquariums/tarantulas/the universe (one of them really loves black holes and theories with white holes and stuff), discussing topics around it semi seriously, and me giving them dating advice WHEN THEY ASKED (most of my answers boil down to communicate well and shit) was weird! Like, IDK. I feel like both online and IRL kids are just avoided. Like they have a plague or some shit. Like, sure i've had to put my foot down a few times. Establish hard boundaries on appropriate conversation topics and shit but like.... I enjoy my time with kids. I think theyre fun, interesting people. I enjoy being able to act as a mentor, I enjoy hearing about their days and seeing them enjoy their youth. I wish more people gave children a chance to be more than a mostly silent person at a family gathering that only interacted with other kids. Sometimes I will go ahead and tell a kid that adult conversations are going on, and ill be with them later, but.... its so easy to treat them like humans. People need to treat kids like humans, not a pet.

Sorry for the incoherent vent, it just grinds my gears. Points are poorly made, shit is badly worded, but whatever.

TDLR: Kids need mentors, mentors are good, more adults should act as mentors as it can help protect kids from pedos.

Child abuse is a big problem, so it's important that we don't let children communicate with adults except their parents and other official authority figures. Everyone knows the best way to prevent child abuse is to keep children isolated and ensure all their communications are controlled.