#respectfully of course but AUGH

[randomthoughtsandspeach]

A a

[second-chance-stray]

RP Log: (Bucket List) Cravs and Lin go looking for a Pineapple.

Cravendy Hound - Circling steps can be heard upstairs. Thump, thump, thump, pause. Thump, thump thump. Finally, with a bucket full of papers in her arms, Cravs steps down the stairs looking bothered...her mind lost in who knows where. And what happens next is completely out of character for her - she trips! The notes scatter into the air.

Aislinn North ask anyone who knew her and most would tell you that Aislinn was a patient person. But everyone has their limits. She sat in the library pushing her notes around on the wide table. There was nothing for her to do but wait. Wait for Atreus to return from Ishgard with some news. Any news. Her utter lack of doing anything productive was interrupted by Cravendy's tumble down the stairs. She looks up sharply from her notes at the clattering noise and watches the pages waft....

Aislinn North gently down around the Seawolf like oversized confetti. She's quiet as they settle. Then, she's prodded into action, getting to her feet and making her way to the woman. "Are you alright?" she asks as she kneels down and starts collecting the papers.

Cravendy Hound: "Goddamn, 'alf broken buncha wooden...L-LIN?!" Cravs blusters. She forces the next string of swears back down with a pained swallow. Lin was just the person she was looking for, but she wasn't ready. The entirety of her morning had been spent procrastinating, organizing and reorganizing the notes that were now lay dispersed across the floor.

Cravendy Hound hurriedly begins to gather the papers in sloppy handfuls while her mind races to come up with a plan. A set of words to respectfully ask - do you want to work on Wyda's bucket list? Not to take anything away from what you two had, but she's gone, and she wanted to do a lot with you...maybe it'd be a nice thing to do anyway? Without realizing it, Cravs mutters those two questions out loud.

Aislinn North gives Cravendy a sidelong glance, a short huff of amusement issuing from her chest as she continues collecting the papers. "You sound surprised." she said, her quiet voice dry as usual. As she's depositing a handful of pages in Cravendy's bucket and concentrating on -NOT- asking Cravendy why she's carrying about papers in a bucket, the Seawolf's blurted words fill the space between them. Aislinn's hand stills at the pail's rim, pages in hand. She stares at Cravendy, her face carefully blank..

Aislinn North Looking down at the pages, she can now make out Wyda's scrawled handwriting. "These are Wyda's papers?"

(Aislinn North) ((OMG....a literal bucket list XD)) (Cravendy Hound) gotta do it xD ))

Cravendy Hound: "Blood 'ell. Bloody seven 'ells. Did I? I did, didn't I? I bloody did, didn't I?" Cravs stammers, heat rising into her already flushed face. She can't bear to get up and look at Lin's face, instead just sort of...sinks deeper towards the ground, trying and failing to hide how red she is. "A-aye. She left 'em on the floor and walls of our room like a crazy person, shite like 'go sleddin' and 'go sleddin' backwards.' And a lotta them call ye out. Like, erm."

Cravendy Hound feels around and grabs a random paper. "Eat pineapples. With...Lin. So do you maybe want to...find one and...eat one.." Her voice gets very small.

Aislinn North She sits down on the floor next to Cravendy and sifts through a few of the pages. She was right. All of them an unfinished list of things Wyda had wanted to do but never had the opportunity. Several of them remind her of the last conversation she had with Wyda. Where they had talked about what they would do after returning from the Red Argos job. Looking back it struck Aislinn that Wyda had to have some inkling. Some idea that she probably wasn't coming back. ...

Aislinn North Wordlessly, she lets the pages slip through her fingers into the bucket and glances over at Cravendy. The Seawolf is hunched over, as if afraid to even look at her. If she didn't already feel like a timebomb with all this aether business, Cravendy's look would have done it. "Hey." she says quietly, stopping short of nudging the woman's shoulder. "I like this idea. Can't say I've ever eaten a pineapple. Know where we can get one?"

Cravendy Hound blinks. Lin likes the idea? Though it wasn't outside the realm of possibility, Cravs had a habit of overthinking things until it felt like fantasy. She wipes her face with both her hands and tries to 'reset' herself. It works for the most part. She looks normal...if you ignore all the redness.

Cravendy Hound: "They're a rare find in Eastern La Noscea. Even seasoned botanists 'ave trouble locatin' them, so no ones sellin'. But maybe if we go lookin' ourselves, we'll be lucky?" Cravs shrugs.

Aislinn North nods thoughtfully. "Well," she glances over her shoulder back to library where she had been keeping an anxious, fruitless vigil. Pineapple hunting was clearly the better option by far. "No time like the present, aye? We could both use some time away from the house, in any event. We're due some leave time." she decided. "Let's grab some things and head out."

Cravendy Hound panics just slightly. Everything’s happening so fast, she didn’t expect this! And now?! She doesn’t know what to do with herself. Prepare? Right, right. Cravs entrusts the bucket of crumpled notes with the front desk worker and then just stands there, waiting. Oh wait, shoes? Check. She is /golden/.

(Cravendy Hound) what could even be 'pineappling equipment' XD ))

Aislinn North Aislinn, meanwhile, turns and heads back to her study. If she was heading out to hunt pineapples in La Noscea she certainly wasn't going in a casual dress and lacking the usual firearm. She returns a few ticks later, much better prepared for this sort of excursion and seemingly undaunted by Cravendy's sparse preparation. "Right, then. Ready?"

(Aislinn North) ((comfortable shoes? I think Cravs gots it!)) (Cravendy Hound) ehehhe lins coming prepared with GUN )) (Aislinn North) ((She never leaves home without it!)) (Aislinn North) ((THose pineapples could be dangerous!)) (Cravendy Hound) two extremes, I love it >:D )) (Cravendy Hound) *gruff protagonist voice* You can never be too prepared... ))

Cravendy Hound - Thank the twelve for aetheryte travel! Though the moment Cravs appears by the Costa del Sol crystal, she covers her face and quickly hands payment to the crystal's guard. Without letting anyone get a good look at her face, she makes a beeline to the cliffs waits for Lin in the brush.

(Aislinn North) arrives a moment later, a hand to her chest as though bracing for something. After a few beats she relaxes. Gods, that was beyond foolish. Looking around she just catches sight of a flash of red as Cravendy disappears into the brush. Shaken, Aislinn hurries to catch up. "In a real rush about these pineapples." she jests as she falls in step alongside Cravendy.

Cravendy Hound: “Let’s just say the locals ain’t a fan of me.” Cravs takes a look around, exuding the aura of a person who knows what they’re doing. Until she turns around, still just as confident, and says this. “Why do they call ‘em pineapples if they don’t look like pine trees? Or do they grow on somethin’ that looks like a pine tree?”

Cravendy Hound knows these three facts about Pineapples. They’re found in Eastern La Noscea (though she doesn’t know exactly where). They’re fruit. They’re yellow.

(Cravendy Hound) oops I guess she's talking about Pineapples the proper noun )) (Aislinn North) ((Pineapple the pineapple))

Aislinn North Glances back at Costa del Sol, imagining all the things Cravendy could have done to make her less than welcome. With Cravs temper, Aislinn can imagine a few. "Hmm...maybe because they're prickly up top?" she says, turning back to the Seawolf. "Maybe it's a derivation of 'spine apple' and just became 'pineapple' somewhere along the way." she looks out over the land. "But I'm just guessing. And they'd probably need soil. So I'm thinking the more inland, the better." ...

Aislinn North she nods and points up towards the direction of Wineport.

Aislinn North And just like that, the skies above open and a steady rain begins to fall. "Tch." Aislinn stares unimpressed up at the sky and then turns a flat look on Cravendy. "Every. Time." she observes. It seems she and Cravendy could do nothing without the rain following the Seawolf wherever she went.

(Aislinn North) ((Of course it's raining)) (Cravendy Hound) I can't remember the last time it wasn't raining when I came here )) (Aislinn North) ((Me either! I'm telling you! The game -knows-))

Cravendy Hound: "Augh, didn't ye 'ave to say it? Spine apple? Now I'm thinkin' of an apple made of spine meat...though that could be good in soup," Cravs grumbles. She gives it real thought. "Needin' soil doesn't exactly narrow down our search, but I'm always a fan of goin' to Wineport. Come on, this way."

Cravendy Hound heads north, in the direction of the ferry that must be crossed to get to Wineport. She makes idle chit chat as she walks. "Of course it's rainin'...Oi! Whoever's up there, aren't ye gettin' bored usin' the same weather over and over?"

Aislinn North As they walk, Aislinn keeps a steady eye on the ground, kicking aside the brush as they go. On the lookout for this elusive pineapple. "Sledding down a hill backwards." she suddenly says with a low burble of laughter. Clearly, her mind was still on what Cravendy had told her of Wyda's notes. "Because why sled down a hill the normal way when you could do something else. Something more." there's a fondness in her voice as she spoke.

Cravendy Hound: "Sounds dumb and dangerous. She 'ad 'er screws too loose..." Cravs lets out a low sigh. And yet that was one of the reasons why she was interested in doing these bucket list items, wasn't it? To learn how to let go after a lifetime of being on edge. "...but I...and maybe, we, are wound too tight. Need to find a middle ground."

Cravendy Hound observes the plain bush in front of her. Pineapple bush? She lifts its leaves, noses deep into the plant, then suddenly pulls back. BUGS? YUP. BUGS.

Aislinn North "Maybe there's good reason we're wound tight." Aislinn counters, without rancor, as though she's merely making an observation. She watches Cravendy, knowing now to steer clear of that particular kind of plant. She turns away and heads deeper into the brush. "But I'm not saying you're wrong. It's...exhausting sometimes." she admits quietly.

Aislinn North Leans down and pulls at the stout, sword leafed plant before her. The crown breaks from the root and a foul smell permeates the air. Definitely not a pineapple. She backs swiftly away and coughs.

Cravendy Hound 's frown deepens. The two of them were like two yangs without a yin to balance them out, and the fact that she understood the exhaustion Lin was talking about...well, she was tired of it. The sun is shining and danger is malms away - they deserved to relax once in a while. They did! But why was it so hard?

Cravendy Hound: "We'll feel better once we find that spineapple! COME ON." Cravs is determined to fight against her own nature and have a 'good time.'

Cravendy Hound doesn't know the first thing about plants though. She uproots what looks to be a mini-palm tree and holds it up to Lin. "What the 'ell is this? Can we eat it?"

Aislinn North laughs lowly as she doggedly continues her search. "I don't think Wyda considered the work in gathering a pineapple." she kneels down, rooting through the vegetation. "-That's- why we worked. One of us was wound tight, the other looser than a ribbon on the wind. We didn't try to be any other way. And together we balanced out to middle ground." She looks up as Cravs produces a small tree. "I think...well, technically yes. But I don't think it'd taste good."

Cravendy Hound: "Yeah...but it's okay. We can be uptight together. Like two 'ammers without any nails." Cravs smiles. Though she's determined to grow and free herself of her constant anxiety, she understands that no one changes overnight. It'll be a long journey.

Cravendy Hound notices a bug crawling from the uprooted tree onto her hand. Wordlessly, Cravs chucks the tree into the sky, where it disappears into the distance. WHOOSH.

(Cravendy Hound) LOL I wonder how these two will stumble onto one....so far they're hopeless ahah )) (Cravendy Hound) *stabs random tree* hmmm )) (Aislinn North) ((*holds up a rock* )) (Cravendy Hound) LOL pretty much )) (Cravendy Hound) at least they're getting some sun now :D )) (Aislinn North) ((And away from the fish)) (Cravendy Hound) LOL NOoo the fish ))

Aislinn North gaze flicks to the small tree in surprise as it goes sailing off. It's probably a good thing there aren't too many people around. Just to be sure, she pauses, listening for any yell of alarm or indignation. After a moment, she shrugs and goes back to wandering and searching. "What's with this fixation?" she asks as she moves along but then stops and looks at Cravendy over her shoulder with a dawning realization. "Twelve. You're wound up tight about being wound up tight." ...

Aislinn North a smile threading through her words.

Cravendy Hound: "What fixation. What." She claps her hands, brushing them free of dirt and anything else that might remain. "...Pff, I'm not uptight about nothin'. Now less talkin' and let's go find this goddamn fruit."

Cravendy Hound stomps ahead, slightly embarrassed by the exchange. "Is this the way to the docks? Seems like we keep climbin' up."

(Aislinn North) She merely shakes her head, a soft huff of amusement leaving her. But Lin knew when to leave well enough alone. "Docks are back that way." she calls out to Cravendy and jerks a thumb over her shoulder. "Let's see if we have better luck on the other side."

Cravendy Hound: "Ah right, right." She turns heel and dashes back in the direction Lin's pointing in. Stupid-stupid-stupid, how many times had she been here? How could she get lost? Cravs sighs...her mind was truly in the gutter.

Aislinn North Steps out of the ferry into the humid shade of the jungle. Almost immediately she can feel her shirt start to stick to her skin. Nevertheless she doggedly makes her way up the stairs. "Right then...gotta be better on this side. Pineapples like the humidity, right?" She really had no idea.

Aislinn North turns around in a slow circle at the bridge, taking in the three directions they could go. "What do you think?" she asks Cravendy and points out all the ways they could go.

Cravendy Hound always appreciates how fresh and floral the rainforest smells. On the ferry ride over, she dips her hand into the water and splashes some of it over her arms. And she would've tried to splash Lin if she hadn't left so quickly. Cravs releases water between her fingers and hurries up the stairs.

Cravendy Hound: "Uhhh, pineapples like...water. So." A pause. "Yeah."

Cravendy Hound: "But not as much as watermelon. Anyway! I've got a good feelin' about goin' south. Even 'eard that's where a cuttin' of bacchus grape was found, so who knows what else might be over yonder."

(Cravendy Hound) cravs: very few points in INT )) (Aislinn North) ((Aww come on! She knew about the Bacchus grape though! :D)) (Cravendy Hound) some points in WIS! :D )) (Aislinn North) ((hehe!))

Aislinn North Turns about and looks down the path to the south. It seemed as good a place to choose as any. She nods "That's as much of an endorsement as we need, I think." she says and starts off. "You ever wander out this way before? Can't say I've had a reason to see this part of the island. Suppose that's another good thing to come out of this pineapple hunt. Sightseeing."

Cravendy Hound: "Yeah, been 'ere afore. Not often, but sometimes...when we were moored out 'ere for a couple of suns. Mostly we'd go collect coconuts, wood, anythin' else that could come in 'andy for the long 'aul." She pauses a few steps onto the bridge to peer over the planks, holding precariously on the rope supports. "View's nice too."

Cravendy Hound glances over to Lin with a cheeky grin. "Ye scared of 'eights?"

Aislinn North "But not pineapples?" Lin's voice takes on a teasing lilt. She leans out, not quite as far as Cravendy, and looks below them at the lazy river far below. At the Seawolf's question she lets out a small snort. "Not really. Not anymore." she pauses, a flicker of some subdued emotion crossing her expression. There and then gone again. Smiling again, she continues. "Bertram used to climb....every thing when he got upset as a child. Walls. Buildings. Ren could never figure out where he had gone...

Aislinn North "I started to learn to look up. Then I learned to climb after him. Otherwise he'd be gone for suns." she looks up at Cravendy with a wry twist of her lips. "And I take it, from the way you're just hanging over the ropes there, you're not afraid of them either."

Cravendy Hound: "Never a pineapple. Though I was never lookin' for one so..." She shrugs. "Maybe we'll find one. Maybe we won't."

Cravendy Hound: "Where the 'ell would 'e climb to? Rooftops? And just for fun?" Cravs ponders a moment. Windy didn't strike her as the type to take a risk for the hell of it, but then again, he ran faster than a chocobo. A possible sign of madness.

Aislinn North "Well not with that attitude, we won't." she said, light and teasing. But next she nods. "Aye, rooftops. Parapets. Any place high above the noise. Likely still does it." she shakes her head as though trying to shake off a bad memory. She nods the rest of the way  across the bridge. "The place they found that special grape over there? Or do you know?"

Cravendy Hound: "Ye don't think 'e loiters on 'eartwood's roof, do ye? I mean, that'll keep the pigeons from roostin' up there but it's a bit...odd." She turns to point down the bridge with a confident nod. "Aye, somewhere on the other side. But actually, I want to show ye somethin'. Stand in the center with me for a second."

Aislinn North Decides Cravendy's question is more rhetorical than anything. Mainly because she simply didn't want to answer. Instead she follows the Seawolf out the center of the bridge but halts suddenly. "Wait." she stares down at the slapdash haphazard collection of worn planks that was supposed to be a patch job of some sort. "Really?" she next throws Cravendy an incredulous look. And yet, as piecemeal as the patch seems to be, it *is* holding the Roegadyn's weight. "Nymeia's breath." ...

Aislinn North she mutters a few other choice words as she wraps a hand around the railing and edges her way out to Cravendy. "I said I wasn't scared of heights. I didn't say I was stupid."

(Aislinn North) ((This is a testament as to how much she trusts Cravendy. I have a feeling that's about to be tested. XD)) (Cravendy Hound) oh no xD ))

Cravendy Hound: "Well, since yer not scared of 'eights and all...HAH!" Without warning, she gives the ropes a violent shake, sending a turbulent vibration throughout the bridge's deck. The motion is magnified at the center, which, coincidentally, is also the most shoddily built part of the bridge. Planks of wood twist at the nail; a few even teeter off and fall into the ravine!

Cravendy Hound: "AAAaAhaHAhAAaaa!" Cravs howls with a yell that's most parts laughter. She hangs on for dear life and glances over to catch Lin's reaction.

Aislinn North Like a cat suddenly faced with the prospect of falling into water, Aislinn all but attaches herself to the shaking ropes as if they were literal lifelines. "Seven burning hells, Cravendy!" she yells over the Seawolf's howls of laughter. Several obscenities follow. The litany goes on but as the bridge sways and creaks, she hears herself and the ridiculousness of it all. A laugh creeps into her voice even as she keeps shouting. ...

Aislinn North "And Nymeia so help me, if I die, I'm haunting you until the end of your days. Forever!" But they both know by now it's an idle threat. The patch job is clearly holding.

Cravendy Hound has to catch her breath in between cackling. As the bridge steadily stabilizes, she puts a hand on Lin's shoulder to help the other woman find her balance. "Bloody 'ells, the...the look on yer face at first, pffhahah! Like ye were gonna bloody murder me, ye were!"

Cravendy Hound: "Hehe, it's. It's somethin' the locals do. Why d'ye think there are so many planks at the center? People've been chasin' stupid fun since the dawn of this bridge." She stomps on the planks for good measure.

Aislinn North Breathless, Aislinn cautiously unwraps her arms from around the ropes and stops hugging the side. "Not gonna lie, the idea may have crossed my mind." she huffed at the Seawolf. But there's a look of exhiliration in the depths of her eye. "And for some poor fools the bridge *did* crack" she waves a hand at the collection of worn planks with one hand as the other rubs absently at her chest. She's silent a moment and then "Gods above, Cravendy!" ...

Aislinn North she yells all over again but this time with the laughter that comes with the relief of being alive.

Cravendy Hound: "Don't worry, if ye fell I'd catch ye. And it wouldn't be the first time it 'appened." She pats Lin twice on the shoulder and then turns to finally (thank god) FINALLY step onto the other side.

Aislinn North pauses at Cravendy's words and peers down to the long drop below. She hurries to catch up, glad to once again be on solid ground. "What do you mean it wouldn't be the *first* time?!"

(Cravendy Hound) kdjfls at some point these two dorks have got to find a pineapple xD )) (Aislinn North) ((The pineapple is a metaphor xD They're destined to never find it.))

Cravendy Hound: "People 'ave fell! And I caught most of 'em. Cept that one time...Hm...Don't worry. There's water at the bottom anyway." Cravs waves off Lin's questioning.

Aislinn North narrows her eyes, almost sure Cravendy was pulling her leg

Cravendy Hound: "They lived! It was fine!" Cravs says with a laugh. "Nothin' a little conjury can't fix."

(Cravendy Hound) kjdflsj dahahah )) (Cravendy Hound) the true treasure was the friends we made on the way )) (Aislinn North) ((*rainbows*)) (Cravendy Hound) but for my own IRL love of pineapples, I do hope they find one....and yet. And yet, why not roll? Why not roll )) (Cravendy Hound) Random! 906 (Cravendy Hound) ohhh that's actually pretty good. sometimes I hope for the low rolls because I'm just like that xD ))

Aislinn North "Hmm" a doubtful noise from the back of her throat. "Just makes me glad to be in one piece." she turns to survey the land again. "This pineapple...almost cost me my life." she says, purposefully melodramatic

(Aislinn North) ((That's a good roll!)) (Aislinn North) Random! 97 (Aislinn North) ((That....is a garbage roll)) (Cravendy Hound) ahhahah the two sides of the spectrum )) (Cravendy Hound) we can take the middle ground - there is pineapple, but not served on a silver platter...? XD )) (Aislinn North) ((Schrodinger's pineapple.))

Cravendy Hound: "Imagine gettin' that written on yer gravestone. Died lookin' for pineapple." Cravs chuckles, but then...looks like she's seriously considering her own question. "Ye know, it's not the worst way to bite the bullet."

Aislinn North now that her breathing has *almost* returned to normal, she begins poking at vegetation again. "Falling to your death?" she asks, just to be sure that's what Cravendy is indeed talking about. "I suppose...I mean, wouldn't be my *choice* but there are definitely worse ways to go."

Cravendy Hound: "If ye could choose, 'ow would ye 'ave it? I think most would answer slippin' away from old age, surrounded by loved ones. But I...I can't see myself fadin' away like that. If I go defendin' something worthwhile, that'll be good enough."

Cravendy Hound - A particularly honey-sweet scent cuts through the general musk of the rainforest. The good news is that the source is a pineapple! And the bad news is that said pineapple is growing out from the side of the cliff, out of reach.

Aislinn North like some sort of morbid vertigo, Aislinn can't help picturing it. "It'd be quick, at least. Smack. Done." she claps her hands for emphasis. She considers Cravendy's question. "Suppose if it's not going to be quiet like, in my bed, defending someone I cared about wouldn't be half bad. Quick would still be nice." she frowns a bit as she eyes the pineapple high above them. ...

Aislinn North "Seriously? They grow out of the cliffsides?" With a sigh she gauges the height and then eyes Cravendy, then herself. "Well...think if you lifted me, we could get that?

Cravendy Hound is just as morbid. "I agree. Quick and clean, if possible." She then peers up at the pineapple with a sigh. She was learning that when it came to death and pineapples, beggars can't be choosers.

Cravendy Hound: "Ye really think? Maybe ye got on me, and then I jumped and ye jumped at the same time for a bit of extra 'eight...ehh. That's a long shot too."

Aislinn North laughs low, shaking her head. "That's a bit too much coordination." she starts to look for a foothold in the cliffside. "Right. Well, then climbing is probably the best bet. See? All that scurrying up buildings is coming in handy." she finds a grip in the rock and begins to climb upwards.

Cravendy Hound is taken aback by how quick Lin is to hit the rocks and begin her ascent. She shakes her shock away and nods, equally determined to climb for the pineapple...and get to it, first. She doesn't say anything, doesn't make a bet. Just silently starts to climb without a word.

(Cravendy Hound) shall we have one final roll? xD )) (Aislinn North) ((Most definitely!)) (Aislinn North) Random! 490 (Cravendy Hound) Random! 943 (Aislinn North) ((NIce!)) (Cravendy Hound) my rolls are strangely??? on fire )) (Cravendy Hound) quit flexing cravs! )) (Aislinn North) ((But that just means we'll finally get that pineapple!))

Aislinn North Climbing rugged  rockface wasn't quite the same as climbing brick and mortar. Aislinn's progress is steady but slow. She's perhaps a bit too cautious, the talk before of falling down the gully may or may not have had an effect on her.

Cravendy Hound puts in extra effort and, through some miracle, none of the rockholds crumble away as she -powers- her way to the top. She makes it a few seconds before Lin and, with a triumphant yell, grabs the pineapple with her hand and tears it from its stalk. "Ach! This shite's spiny as all 'ell!"

Aislinn North glances up and laughs as Cravendy takes hold of the pineapple and immediately curses it out. "One pineapple. Obtained!" she starts to work her way back down. "Just be careful on the way down, aye?"

Cravendy Hound now has to climb down while holding a pineapple. She hadn't thought this far. ".......Maybe when ye get down, ye can catch it?"

Aislinn North nods and then realizes Cravendy wouldn't have seen her gesture of agreement. "Aye." she calls up. A few moments later she drops to the jungle floor and lets go a sigh. Brushing her hands off on her pants, she turns her head up to Cravendy. "Alright, drop it down!" she yells, holding her hands out at the ready.

Cravendy Hound: "Or I can drop down. Probably safe from this 'eight, right?" Cravs looks down. It felt like a 50/50 chance of going terribly, the worst case scenario being a sprained ankle and the near fatal blow to her pride if/when people asked how she got it.

Cravendy Hound won't risk it. She hucks the pineapple down to Lin.

Aislinn North "No!" she calls out with urgency but it seems Cravendy also thought better of that plan. Aislinn hurries to get beneath the pineapple and catches the spiny fruit with a grunt. "Guh. You were serious about the spines." she shakes one hand out and then the other, glad for her gloves. "I really hope this tastes good."

Cravendy Hound climbs down, huffing and puffing. So much work for a pineapple. "Feels like the backside of a cactaur...but 'opefully it tastes as sweet as it smells."

Aislinn North nods and hands the pineapple back to Cravendy as she hits solid ground. It's only right, seeing as how the Seawolf managed to reach it first. "Right! Now, let's head out of here and get to eating this. Let's head to the Mists. We've earned a bit of relaxation, I think." she smiles a broad, unhooked smile up at Cravendy.

Cravendy Hound: "Ye think it could regrow like 'ow a carrot can grow from a carrot top? Since we put in all this effort, it feels like a waste to -just- eat it." Cravs says with a tired sigh. "But aye, let's 'ead back. Can ask Haila about that later."

Aislinn North nods in agreement as she turns back the way the came. She pauses. "No shaking the bridge." she says turning to point accusingly at Cravendy.

Cravendy Hound: "I won't." And then, once Lin's back is turned, she mutters something under her breath through a grin. "Maybe."

[codango]

10 Things I Love About The Untamed

I’m just gonna spitball this.

I clicked on The Untamed in Netflix because a lot of authors I admire were geeking out about it on Twitter. I’d seen it around Tumblr, but I’m not much of a TV show person, and there are 50 episodes. I have a bajillion books on Kindle I can’t get to. I did not have time for this.

But these authors were into it, man. And I’m trying to respect the tastes of people I respect, and allow it to broaden my horizons. So last weekend, I said fuck it, and clicked on the show.

Halfway through the first episode, I was absolutely one hundred percent sure I did not have time for this, and took to an online writers’ group to say, um, hey y’all, this is bonkers, I don’t understand anything, the CGI is awful, the martial arts on wires is terrible, and the fake playing of musical instruments is worse, and do I really want to do this?

And then my betrayers said, Yes, you really fucking do. Traitors, all of them.

Get through the first three episodes, they said.

Guh, fine. I mean, I like Gintama, I can respect that instruction. So I did.

And by the time I got to, oh, about the 15th or 16th episode, you could not have paid me to spend my time any other way. Dear god.

Hence, a list of ten things I have fallen in love with about The Untamed. This is pretty much spoiler free, just evaluating the feels:

1. It is SUPER applicable to our current zeitgeist.

Globally, I’d say. A common recurring theme in the show is what is morality anyway? What makes something good or bad, black or white? Why do we choose to follow these ideals or those? Do we listen to our gut about our loyalty to this or that person, this or that teaching? How do we know when we’re being deceived or deceiving ourselves?

2. Family is everything and nothing.

This really ties into the first point, I think, especially with how divided so many families are right now with politics as they are across the world. How do you love a family member who doesn’t think like you do? Who rejects you and makes it known to the world that you, in fact, are the one in the wrong? What do you fucking do with that?

This includes found family, which the show explores beautifully.

3. Morality demands things of you.

Life is messy, and there are no easy answers. What does your morality demand from you? Listen, listen hard, and follow it. Question it constantly.

4. Sometimes you just want someone to tell you what to do.

When life gets SUPER messy, and you’ve tried your damnedest, and everything is still going to shit, god, wouldn’t it be nice if someone just told you what to do?

Who can’t relate to that emotion?

5. Romance is wwwwaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyy more than sex.

There is no way, zero way, that the two main characters are not in love. Zero. There is no goddamn way to read their relationship as straight and platonic. They never kiss, but in fact, no one kisses. There is one (1) straight romance that we see unfold over the course of the show, and even they do not have any physical intimacy onscreen.

Most people looking into The Untamed probably know that its source material is a BL novel. In that context, the heroes are unquestionably queer. However, the material from the book that the TV show left out is mostly dubcon and external and internal homophobia (yes, I read the BL novel, too. I did nothing else but wallow in this show for like four days).

I’m not here to kinkshame, but I am here to say that the soft-eyed, I-would-die-for-you romance onscreen was way more heartpounding for me than the hardcore sex of the BL novel. I also didn’t feel that the homophobia in the book was dealt with in any particularly meaningful way; it was just there. Your mileage may vary.

There are perhaps two physically intimate scenes in the book that I’d call sweet and would have liked to have seen onscreen. But even those could still be considered dubcon lite for readers with triggers or squicks in that area.

So when we take out the homophobia and the sex, we’re left with SO MUCH romance. Beautiful teasing, drunken escapades, flirty looks, stolen glances, awkward blushing, inside jokes, and about a bajillion declarations of loyalty and I’m-with-you-forever.

6. Friendships across genders are things of beauty, and I want more of them onscreen, dammit.

The main characters both interact respectfully with women constantly. One of the main characters develops a friendship so strong and loyal with a woman that it reduced me to tears on more than one occasion. And it is never, ever even remotely hinted as being romantic.

They are hilarious together, and fierce together, and goddamn, their friendship is beautiful. It’s honestly one of my favorite elements of the show.

In fact, all in all, there are just some really fantastic female characters in this show. They’re well-rounded and entertaining and surprising.

7. Sometimes mistakes create damage that just can never be fixed.

Sometimes that damage hurts, hurts so much. But there’s still life after it. Sometimes life will look very different, but there is always life, and life will always hold beauty. Keep going, loves.

8. Loving and guiding the next generation is important and rewarding.

Hatred and hurt are taught and passed down, but so is love and healing. You can always choose to be kind. It’s important for those younger than us to see that.

9. The music is beautiful.

Again, the fake playing of the musical instruments by the actors is, ahem, not great, but the soundtrack itself is gorgeous.

10. This show is a gift to bisexuals.

There are so many—so many—very pretty people in this show. Augh.

[fleur-marigold]

BROOOOO i just watched klaus?? and??? (SPOILERS)

i hadn’t heard ANYTHING about it up until now so i had no idea it was so eagerly anticipated but i can completely see why, when i first saw screenshots i either thought it was 3d or more akin to something like tangled’s flash animation, but... WOW! this is EVERYTHING 2d animation could be if it were still practiced (still waiting on that nostalgia cash-in renaissance) and more - the beautiful blending of 2d/3d like treasure planet, the gorgeous detail, effects and vividity of princess and the frog, the strong geometric 3d turn-style of el dorado and spirit, the showstopping scenery, lighting and colouring, the fantastically unique character designs, expressions and gestures, and the storybook stylization, texturing and natural look to everything akin to cartoon saloon and other indie studios... i’ve been waiting for a movie that makes every second feel like raw ART and this one had by eyes glued to the dang screen not wanting to miss a single second!

the trailer made it look a little more cheesy & literal, something more like you’d expect from a kids’ xmas movie, kind of like those indie movies that are a little on the corny/below average side but that you forgive or endear out of artistic ingenuity, but it turned out sooo much better than i’d hoped and beyond, my only real gripe in that area being that one or two of the better jokes were spoiled in the trailers but they were far outbalanced by the in-movie ones. the characters were a mix of pleasant surprises (i didn’t see many trailers but the advertising would NOT have made me of jesper as the kuzco type) and familiar faces (klaus’ wife is a story heard before but it’s still felt as genuine and heartfelt), the story so layered and clever, the setting and interactions so charming and lovable... augh

i feel like people are going to be quite open with their criticisms on account of how good the movie is otherwise so here are my main critiques that i’ll get out of the way so i can keep gushing: - geo setting is a subject but could definitely have included some racial diversity (though the saami being handled so respectfully was a breath of... icy fresh air) - alva is a little too close to disney pixar same face design (pale, thin, round and smooth but pointy chin/nose) especially in comparison to the exaggerated and whacky features of the others  - romance didn’t feel necessary (plus being rushed) but alva was fleshed out beyond love interest and it felt done without making too big a scene that i can’t really complain (though the ‘of course she did’ line is -_-) - i loved the subtle commentary through the inter-clan grudges! maybe a little more on that topic and how overcoming differences and finding similarities can be so empowering - i can’t tell if they were fat jokes or just big tall strong people jokes? there was only one but it still would’ve been cool without it - some music choices were a little on the dated/pop/distracting side but nothing too bad - i LOVE the ‘you were using us?’ ‘yes- no- well, at first, but-’ trope but it HAS been done in this way many times before, and the reveal felt a little weightless when jesper’s bad side wasn’t really known to the townsfolk so i’m not sure why they’d assume the worst of him automatically (someone mentioned making him more openly arrogant but still entertaining would’ve been useful), but knowing it would be wrapped up well took away most discomfort here

the entire viewing was filled with my FAVOURITE emotion to be filled with when watching anything new: surprise! i had absolutely no idea how gorgeous, entertaining and delightful watching this would be, and i kept having to yell about how great everything was to my brother any time there was a quiet moment. the witty dialogue, visual & situational humor were all freaking hilarious, the development of the townsfolk and the heartfelt nature had me ‘aww’ing’ nonstop, alva’s story of devoting herself to teaching in a happy and encouraging environment was gorgeous, their efforts to include nonenglish speakers in the festivities, the sneaky and unintentional explanations for the santa mythology... ALL great stuff. and of course the star of the show klaus was an absolute darling sweetheart ;__; i love... unconventional santas and he’s definitely up there in my faves alongside rotg’s, having him be cold, quiet and even scary is such an awesome way of doing things... i almost wish he’d stayed in that atmosphere a little longer but watching him open up, regain his joy and realize he’s safe to laugh and help others feel the same in the process was just 8′) having him hardly say a word and communicate so much of his intent through action, be it silly or tragic or toothachingly sweet (the birdhouses........ the reindeer ;o;) made him a treat to watch!

which brings me to by far my favourite part! this might be the only christmas movie i’ve ever seen that actually FEELS like a christmas movie, y’know you get all those ~true meaning~ and ~magic~ and ~family~ messages that try to make it deep but not once has one of them felt genuine until i saw klaus’ face upon seeing the pure, glowing childlike wonder his gift gave to the first child, realizing just how much it meant to him from that singular frame it just. guh. shoots me right through the heart. the setting for it was perfect too, having an entire TOWN play the scrooge role was wonderfully inventive and sooo satisfying and uplifting and purely FUN to see even the grumpiest of characters show change... it made me especially sad thinking about all the children trapped in such a horrible and unloving place, and knowing their parents had been born the same and forced into the cycle of violence to survive, so having them be the main focus of the letters, having innocence and good will and PLAY be the driving force that changed not only the heart of the town, but that of jesper too, is just... something i’d never get sick of watching. that scene where they gift margu her sled and she tries it for the first time? THAT scene is... pure, unbridled magic unlike anything i’ve seen before. i don’t think there’s any point in discussing ‘meanings’ of contemporary christmas unless it captures a feeling like this

i’ll likely add to this as i remember more (/rewatch a whole bunch) but i really enjoyed it and would definitely recommend it! it’s something i feel like i could watch people’s reactions to and still get the same wonder and elation i got from my first viewing for years to come :’) which is great for a yearly rewatch hehe

[royalrastafariannaynays]

Laundry Pods, Ch 10/?

The fishy guy ended up giving you a list. He knows what eggs are, despite yours being strangely hard shelled, and he wants more of them. He also says to bring a few handfuls of seaweed, the gross tangly green kind, some clean sand from a tide pool, a thin knife, and... that was it.

You end up throwing a first aid kit into a couple waterproof ziplocs for the hell of it. And a bottle of clean, fresh water. To drink, in case you get stuck wherever the fuck this dude is hiding.

No one is downstairs to give you weird looks, thank fuck. When you venture beyond the first floor, no one is upstairs, either. Did they all go out?

Wait, Jake’s bedroom door is closed. Ah. Dirk is there to observe you, then. Or he’s uh... occupied. With what, you don’t even want to know. At most innocent, he’s sitting and pining over him in silence. The lack of crying noise is telling, however, and you’re really hoping he’s just sleeping.  

Blech.

The sand is spicy hot on your toes when you skid down off the last porch step again after inching the back door closed. Your satchel of random shit is heavy on your shoulder, and you make sure to be a bit careful. Don’t wanna break any eggs. 

Down at the beach, you feel the prod and welcome it fully into your mind. It retracts a tad from its next poke, and seems to sit respectfully just outside your surface thoughts. A series of locations and notions leads you to place the bag of stuff right on the end of the dock. You sit with it, eyeing the steep slope of the beach for a moment while you face the mental silence. 

“Uhm.” you feel. It’s not really the word so much as something like hesitation and stalling. You get the same feeling as a regular ‘um’ so you’ll just stick with that. 

“What?” you say out loud, still struggling in the translations and stuff. His language is so particular. Maybe like. Is it anything like hieroglyphics? Nah, can’t be. 

With some struggle on his part, FG (fish guy) admits that he can’t come out of wherever he is to retrieve the items. It takes him about five minutes of edging uncomfortably around his original statement, and then points out that with how he’s hurt, like. He can’t move to fish, so coming out to get the stuff is just short of impossible. 

“How am I supposed to get it to you, then?” you ask, frown tilting your brow. You drop your legs into the water, noting that with the level of the tide, it’s not that far from the top of the dock. 

“I think you’ll have to bring it to me,” FG says, with no small amount of fear and regret in his voice. So he’s scared of you, but he knows you have brittle bones and soft skin, and he could easily rip you apart for breakfast. 

There’s a deeper underlying fear there, too. It’s one that every sentient being sees. Maybe every being whose existence isn’t based on that fear. Death. He doesn’t want to die. Does he honestly think he’s going to die? 

“In case you didn’t notice, humans can’t breathe underwater,” you snark at him. 

The feeling you get next is long-suffering. 

“I’m aware, two-legs,” it tells you. “But fortunately I can breathe in both surface and ocean. So I am in a...” 

He hesitates. Either he’s not sure how to place it, or he doesn’t want to tell you. 

It seems to be a combination of both. 

He sends an image of the inside of a small cave, lit strangely blue. It’s bright, but damp and bare. 

“Please do not reveal this to other humans,” he... begs you. 

Oh God. 

“Yeah, yeah,” you say, not wanting to get into something too serious or dark. “I won’t. Show me how to get in there.” 

He probes a little further into your mind, laying down tiles of thought and mortar of intent and instruction. Images of the rock pile near the dock, and then a tunnel. Oh wow. There was a tunnel in there? That has to go down beneath the beach. Holy shit. 

Without delay, after trying your best to throw an affirmative his way, you drop the bag gently into the water. When you get in yourself, you dive, away from the bag. Its strings are harder to manipulate underwater, and you have to leave your shades on the dock, but when you get going, you feel like a regular fuckin merdude. 

Or somethin’. 

So anyways, FG is silent except for a few pointers on direction. Literal pointers. 

It’s hard holding your breath that long, and at one point you feel a little like you’re going to panic, but you give it one last shove through the two-foot-diameter, dark, rock passage. Surfacing feels like heaven, and you brace yourself on the edge of the water, gasping hoarsely. Okay, you need more breathing training. That’s going to be HELLA annoying to go back through. But at least you can just push off the bottom to get back to the dock. 

Once you’ve got some air back, though, you notice that the subterranean air pocket is a lot dimmer than FG showed you. It’s still lit enough to see, and still that same, strange blue. 

Something like a small and bubbling murmur touches your ears, and you look up. 

There he is. 

Fishy man sitting there, one arm held protectively over his middle. The other is bracing him up against the wall, claws digging harshly into the cave floor. There are a few scratches there already, leading away from the pool you’re still pruning in. 

“Hey,” you say. And he makes this bewildered face, ear-fins fanning out. His pupils are large in his eyes, which seem this weird purple-brown in the blue lighting. They don’t glow. 

But his entire body does. 

As you lift the satchel out of the water, you look him over from tail to hair. And man, he’s got a lot of hair. It’s just as wiry and scratchy-looking as it was behind the thin veil of bubbles. Other than that, and the single dorsal fin you see splayed out against the wall, same as his fanned ears, you can’t focus on anything but the glowing. 

Almost like they’re coming from beneath his skin, Fish Guy is covered in spots of brilliant luminescence. The spots range from teal to pink. Several ring his neck up and down like a necklace, or a collar, and the same trail up the sides of his face and back to his ears. Each tip of the earfins is spotted with little fragments of light. 

Those ones are red. But a majority of them are blue. Soft, blue, like glow-sticks if they were just given a little more ‘umph’. Constellations of little spots dot his torso in what’s probably interesting configurations if viewed from afar, and then all the way down his. 

Holy shit. 

His tail is like. It’s covered entirely by those same iridescent scales, like the one on your bedside table. The scales are also on his face, and neck, and everywhere that fins recede into his skin, like the backs of his arms and the webs of his fingers. 

No nipples, which is. 

Weird. 

Kyle XY shit with the lack of bellybutton, too. 

“Stop staring,” he says, and when you’re this close, it’s punctuated by a sharp snarl. It rolls from the back of his throat, and forward into his lungs, and even out the gill slits that dot the side of his torso. They seem plastered to him, just lines, right now. Maybe this is the...

“I said, stop!” he repeats. The prod turns to a knife for half a second, and you have to let go of the bag to hold the side of your head. 

The bag turns over, sliding a little open. The eggs tumble out, along with the chunk of seaweed. 

The seaweed which is immediately shoved into his mouth, and he begins to chew aggressively. It’s seconds before he’s done masticating it, and spits it out of his mouth, to press it to the hole on his tail that you hadn’t noticed until now. It’s kind of sitting there like a ripped sail, maybe eight inches of it. 

God, gross. Gross, yuck, augh.

“Will it grow back?” you ask him. He stares at you for a long moment. 

“Of course it’s going to grow back, coral-for-brains.”

“Alright, geez,” you say, and after a breath or two more, you heave yourself up out of the water. There’s enough room in here for the two of you to sit a good distance away from each other. So you set about unpacking shit. His stuff, including the eggs, none of which miraculously broken. 

And then your stuff, which is. The first aid kit. 

“You said your other wound re-opened, right?” you ask. FG pauses, egg shell crunching in his mouth and fingers poised to pick up another. 

“That’s none of your business, you can leave now.”

You huff out a soft noise of disbelief. “I brought something to help patch you up.”

“I am not a doll,” he says, hissing again. The hiss spatters you with tiny flakes of eggshell. 

“Okay,” you say, swiping some of it off your nose and mouth. “But I can help keep the thing closed so infection is less likely.” 

“I’m still mildly impressed you humans have made it this far,” he sneers at you. “How am I to know that your medicine isn’t just as deadly as your pollution? Or as useless as your lack of sharpteeth, which are perfect for meat.” 

“Uhm,” you say, like a real diplomat. That concept caught you off guard. You attempt to think it back at him, with a question attached. 

“You know, sharpteeth,” FG says. Like it’s obvious. 

“I just have regular teeth, man,” you say, waving your hands. 

FG frowns at that. He goes silent for another long moment, and contemplates while you just get radio static in every sense. And then he beckons you over. 

And, like only an idiot can do, you lean toward him and crawl a few feet. He’s so close he smells like heat and ocean. But not in the bad way, he smells... it’s odd. 

“What?” you ask, glaring at him to avoid just staring at his body again. That prick in the forehead was weird and nasty. “I just have regular tee-hhreaaugh-”

FG has his two first digits in your mouth. They hold it open, and his sharp claws are so close to vital parts of your face that you’re filled with a split second of fear so intense you’re surprised you don’t wet yourself. 

He pushes his hand forward, dragging sharply but not too sharply across your tongue, and the top of your two rows of what you think are pretty good fuckin’ teeth. The fingers are warm in your mouth, and they taste like brine and sand and something weirdly... oily that you can’t define, but doesn’t taste unpleasant. You can’t move, for fear of getting gored through the face or your gums cutting up. He’s caught you like a fish on a fucking hook, and he’s just leaning in to inspect your perfectly normal teeth. 

When he leans back, your face is so incredibly warm that you pull back as soon as his hands are clear of anything soft and fragile. “What the fuck!” 

“Turns out you don’t have sharpteeth, human. Very... odd.”

FG stares openly at you, then, dragging his eyes down your chest. His eyebrows go up with every new incredibly squishy feature you possess. 

“I guess two-legs are... weak.” 

You make what you hope is more of a noise of protest than a squeak. 

“We’re not that weak,” you splutter, and he imitates your complaint obnoxiously even as he shoves another egg into his mouth, biting down with... oh boy. His are uh. 

Sharp. 

Once that egg is gone, he faces you. FG slowly opens his mouth, pulling back his lips gruesomely to reveal a set of proper chompers. And now you know what he meant. All of his teeth are sharp, and you get the feeling they get more deadly with age. 

Blue, and also dotted with small glowing lines, a tongue darts out to run over his teeth in a way that really should not terrify you as much as it does. He sucks on the top row of shining ivory, making a smacking noise that makes you think less about kissing and more about how loudly your bones would crunch in his mouth. 

You edge toward the pool. 

Something like a hoarse coughing comes from FG’s throat, and he holds his stomach as he winces in pain. That was... a laugh. 

“I can’t believe I feared you, mere moments ago,” he tells you. And swallows another egg, this one whole. Ugh. Oh god. 

"I used to have longer canines, but I bit my brother with them and they got shaved off to dull when I was at the dentist,” you mumble, rubbing your shoulder as it twinges. 

FG’s tail relaxes once he’s done with the hilarity at your expense. And you see the wound, which weeps just so lightly with blood. It’s thinner than yours in color, almost like it’s diluted. 

“You can use your human medicine, or try,” he tells you, with a wave of his hand. “Why would you shave off a tooth? Are you insane?” 

“Humans have their own weapons, asshole,” you tell him, creeping over with the kit. There’s a suture set in here somewhere. You’ve given stitches to yourself plenty of times.

Despite him giving you permission and access, FG still growls defensively when you reach to dab at it with gauze. 

It starts with him snarling ferociously in pain at the first stitch, and then with him making soft and pathetic whimpering noises as you finish, while he sucks the insides pathetically from the remainder of the eggs. His stance is more relaxed by the end, though, fins laying down on his body, and glow just barely dimmer than before. 

He must have been really hungry. 

Looking at his half-closed eyes and perpetual grimace, one fang sticking up over his upper lip, you realize something important. 

You’re gonna need to learn how to catch fish. 

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