#sory i went a bit crazy. had to get my thoughts out there

[zestyleaf]

a couple things i put together from the new zelda trailer!

link's cloak is an important object in this scene. (obviously, zelda ends up wearing it the rest of the game) it stays in the same spot at the top of the stairs, until it mysteriously disappears in the 4th shot. my guess is that zelda picks up the cloak right before running down the stairs, we just don't see it in the trailer.

there is a recurring strange object we see a couple times in the overworld and as an icon on the minimap. best guess is that it's a fast travel point. (also, peep that button prompt in the 3rd pic. you can rest on summoned beds! does it regain health? change the time of day? both?)

you can explore the dark world! yell heah

seems like zelda's guards have turned against her. they come to fetch her on the title screen, then they likely throw her in jail, where she meets tri and gets the staff. and later she has to disguise herself with the cloak to leave town. getting some link to the past vibes on that one

this one's cool. zelda uses bait to distract some birds, then she summons a plant monster that eats two of them, and the third gets shocked and flies away. it seems like the enemies have more complex behavior than most 2d games, almost akin to botw!

octobot! but wait, theres more! zelda didn't summon octobot with her staff. (you can see in the first pic, summoned objects/monsters have a yellow tri above them. octobot has no such icon, all the tris are following tri as usual) could this be a new mechanic? a mechanic mechanic?

go grama go! as far as i remember, impa in the series has been either an old lady or a ninja. cool that she gets to be both now. also, more evidence that zelda's guards are turned against her.

looks like some zora-on-zora conflict! this is the first time both styles of zora have been in the same game since oracle of ages, i think. they all look pretty regal, they're probably the rulers of each zora kingdom and their heirs.

potion seller. i am going into battle and i require your strongest potions

[ellsieee]

So. Now that I've seen the official release of ep 4, I have thoughts. And lots of feelings. But first I will say that I'm glad Sukfilm added the jagi reveal from the uncut to the beginning of the free version. It's too important to the plot to leave out.

So proud of Jaemin for standing up to that crazy bitch Sol/Sori. (They really need to stick with one name to make things less confusing. 😅) I hate that the threat of it getting out that Jaemin is gay would threaten his chances of getting a job. I also hate that Suk went with the evil woman getting in the way of true love trope, but since they did, I HATE SOL. So much.

Sol got to Jaemin. 😭 I want to shake Jaemin and tell him so what? Your man is hot, men and women would be jealous. Since Nami is rich, he can pay for stuff because he will spoil you rotten. Just mooch off him! (jk 👀 jk👀)

As much as it hurts, I do understand Jaemin. I know that the main reason he broke up with Nami was because of Sol's threat, but I feel like Jaemin finding out that Nami's not the struggling writer he thought he was, put a dent in his pride and made him feel a bit inferior. He thought they were struggling together, only to find that Nami works for funsies.

I felt terrible for Nami this whole episode. He had no idea what was going on. Jaemin went from loving boyfriend to asking for a break up with no indication anything was wrong in between. The whole episode he was confused, but smiling and trying to coax Jaemin regardless. 🥺

A freaking knife in my heart. 😭 I really wanted to start crying when Jaemin said "take care". The acting was so good.

ARGHHHH. You can find me ugly crying in the corner. Nami is trying to fight for them but Jaemin won't use his words. They had such good communication before this. I wish Jaemin had told Nami about Sol and about his insecurities with the wealth/power dynamics in their relationship. PLEASE. When Jaemin starts letting go of Nami's hand and Nami subtly shook his head in a "no, don't" way, I groaned a noooooooo out loud. I was way too into this.

I have been heartbroken over this ending since Thursday, but now that I've had time to kind of calm down, I don't think this is the end. MDL had this series as 2 eps, extended to 4, but I don't recall Suk ever confirming or saying anything about the number of episodes. In the last shot, Jaemin is letting go of Nami's hand, but he hasn't completely let go yet. In episode 5, Nami refuses to let Jaemin go and grabs his hand again and forces him to have a heart to heart. They talk it out, get back together, tell Sol off, and then have a hot make out session in the uncut. Then they lived happily ever after. 🤡

[basilgrimbitch]

Day Eleven/Twelve: Maniac

I’ve very clearly fallen super behind on the countdown but December is always just so busy. I’m just gonna post when I can. This is a short fic for the angst/song fic prompts. Not my best work but I wanted to write something. the ending is a bit open ended? make of it what you will. 

Words: 2079

Note: the song is Maniac by Conan Gray

No warnings, hope you enjoy :)

_____

SIMON

I walk into the flat and throw myself onto my bed. Can this week just be over? Crowley, I know I’ve had worse. Way worse. I just thought once the humdrum (and my magic) was gone nothing else would hurt this much, but I feel like my heart’s been ripped out, like I’m being drained all over again. That’s why I tried so hard to stop myself from caring so much, placed a distance between us for so long, some kind of wall. But he made me want to break all those walls down just to see him. Now I can’t.

I grab my phone out of my back pocket and start scrolling through Baz’s Instagram because, really, what else can I do anymore? Penny’s at some party with Agatha and well yeah that’s about it. I should go out, do something, do someone. Fuck, I miss Baz.

My phone rings briefly and… oh shit, it’s a text from Baz.

____________

Friday 21/10

Baz <3 [23:44]: Snoww

Baz <3 [23:44]: simoon

Baz <3 [23:45]: i fucked up, fuck fuck fuck ii fuckedup

Baz <3 [23:45]: sory

Read 23:4

____________

Shit he’s drunk. Is he like all alone drunk at home? Or is he out, getting drunk with his friends or minions or whatever the fuck he wants to call them. I don’t know what would be worse. I don’t want to think about this; I don’t want to think about Baz or his hair or his rosy cheeks when he drinks or the fact that I miss him. I can feel the thoughts of him swarm in my head and I try my best to push them back. I used to be good at this. Not thinking. My head is beating like crazy that I can hear the thumping headache.

I decide I’m going to stay in bed and feel sorry for myself until further notice. I put my playlist on shuffle and oh of course, some Conan Gray, it’s like my phone knows I’m not coping with this break up well.

 You were with your friends, partying

When the alcohol kicked in

____________

Friday 21/10

Baz <3 [23:51]: u kno wa fuCK YU

Baz <3 [23:52]: this not myh fualt

Read 23:55

____________

My phone is still chiming and the thumping in my head is still going. I go into the kitchen to grab some Panadol and water and the thumping is louder and louder. Aleister fucking Crowley, it’s not thumping it’s the door knocking. What? How? Why? I look at my phone and it’s close to quarter past midnight - and I have six missed calls from Baz.

 So, you showed up at my home, all alone

With a shovel and a rose

Do you think I'm a joke?

 Of fucking course. Let me just paint you a picture: Baz Pitch plus London rain along with the drinking attitude of a 50-year-old Irishman and a bouquet of flowers (if you can still even call them that; they’re destroyed.) and of course wearing a scowl that says, “I still broke up with you.” Because the git still can’t get over himself, even when he’s drunk at my door holding flowers at midnight.

I want to slam the door in his face. I probably should. But then I hear myself saying,

“Are you okay?”

FUCK!

He takes a deep breath, “Yeahh, yeah… well no.” he’s slurring his words a bit. A month ago, I would’ve teased him about it and kissed him. Now I just stare at him.

“Why are you here, Baz?”

He thinks to himself for a second, I don’t think he knows. I don’t think he knows what he’s doing at all. But for once I know what I’m going to do.

 Cause people like you always want back what they can't have

But I'm past that and you know that

So you should turn back to your rat pack tellin' 'em trash

 “Baz, you should go.”

“But-”

“As long as you’re fine and you’re not driving, yeah?”

“Yeah.”

Wow. I didn’t think I could ever do that. He was so gorgeous, Merlin, he probably would’ve let me kiss him.

The next few days are kind of a blur. The weekend flies by and then it’s just work, uni and sleep. That last one is a lie, I don’t sleep very well. I want to say it’s uni stress or its work or something, but I know… I know its Baz.

When Penny starts mumming me about the bags under my eyes and my slumped shoulders, I blurt out a line about how crazy my classes have been, but she just nods knowingly. I can’t keep anything from her.

“Si?” I hear Penny say a bit hesitantly. Penelope Bunce is not hesitant.

I look up at her, confused.

“Have you spoken to Baz recently? Have you been texting him?” I’m sure she doesn’t mean to sound like she’s accusing me of something, but I can’t help but feel like I’m being interrogated. I haven’t spoken to Baz since he showed up at my door on Friday night. Penny doesn’t know about that though; she’d freak out.

“No.” I don’t trust myself to say anymore.

“I just overheard Baz today. He was… you know what never mind, as long as you know what you’re doing. As long as you’re okay.” Penny’s waving her hands at me like she wants me to forget what she just said but there’s no magic in her words so its only bothering me.

“What, Penny? What did he say?” it comes off too eager. But I am! Eager, that is. What is that git saying about me?

 Tell all of your friends that I'm crazy and drive you mad

That I'm such a stalker, a watcher, a psychopath

 “He was just saying that you’ve been pestering him to get back together, that you drunk texted him on Friday or something of the sort. And then he… yeah.”

“Then he what?”

“It doesn’t matter Simon. You’re both still just angry. Basil doesn’t know what he’s saying.”

“And what is he saying? Apart from the fact that I’m basically stalking him. That dickhead needs to get over himself, it’s the other way around by the way. He showed up here! Drunk! On Friday!” I’m yelling now. Whatever, it’s better than crying. I wish I could cry right now.

 And tell 'em you hate me and dated me just for laughs

So, why do you call me and tell me you want me back?

You maniac

 “He said he doesn’t know why he ever dated you.”

“Oh.” And then I am crying. Penny is instantly holding me, patting my hair, kissing my temples, telling me he doesn’t mean it, but I just shrug her off and go to bed.

____________

Thursday 27/10

Pen [15:22]: you okay?

Pen [15:30]: Simon we live in the same flat and I’ve seen you like twice this week.

Pen [15:54]: can we have dinner together at least? Just us at the flat. No you know who talk I promise.

Read 16:03

____________

Thursday 27/10

Ags [16:15]: trust me I’m all for the privacy/alone time thing. But like??? Were here for u. just call me yeah?

Read 16:17

____________

I get a whole bunch of texts from everyone. Well Agatha and Penny and a few uni mates (that’s everyone), a bunch of angry messages from my manager because I took the week off and some emails from my professors about assigned work. Honestly, I’m not sure what I’m doing or what I want. No, again, a lie. I’m doing nothing and I want Baz. But I guess now that we’re not dating, he has no reason to not be a prat again. So, really, I should have no reason to want him back. Except I do.

I want his black wavy hair to be the first thing I see in the morning again. I want to wake up to the sound of the kettle boiling and warmth beside me where he spent the night. I want to go for walks at 3 am because we both couldn’t sleep. I want cold lips smashing into my face after a stupid fight about throwing my stuff around his flat. I want him. Here. Now. That’s not what you need though, I can here Penny say it in head. Though I’m sure it is; I don’t think I’ve functioned normally since this happened.

____________

Saturday 29/10

Dickheadwhoregretsdatingme???? [21:43]: Snow I swear I wouldn’t contact you if it weren’t important, but this is and yeah sorry.

Read 21:43

____________

And then he calls.

“Simon?” I melt into my phone a little, I miss the sound of my name on his lips. He doesn’t sound drunk, but he does sound different. “I’m so sorry I just, it all happened so fast and now I’m calling you because I can’t call my parents or they’ll kill me and my friends, they’re bloody useless. Aleister Crowley, I’m so sorry.”

“Baz, what’s happened?” How am I the calm one? What in the world of mages is happening?

“I crashed my car.” He’s calmed down now.

“Are you okay? Did you hurt yourself? Are you alone? Are you okay?” Suddenly any semblance of calm is gone and replaced with unmoderated anxiety. He knows I fucking love him. Merlin and Morgana, why would I hide it now.

 You just went too far

Wrecked your car, called me cryin' in the dark

Now you're breakin' my heart

 “I’m fine. I’m sorry I don’t know why I called.”

“You don’t sound fine.” And then because I have no self-control, “Where are you?” There’s a brief silence. Fine don’t tell me.

“I’m at the corner of Smith and Dundas.” He sounds ashamed.

“That’s at the top of my street.”

“Yeah.”

And, again with the no self-control, “I’m coming.” I hang up before he can argue with me.

I don’t get a chance to l look at myself. I know I’m wearing mismatched socks and the same joggers I’ve been wearing all week. I look down and realise I’m wearing Baz’s old t-shirt. How fitting. I’m throwing on some trainers and I can hear Penny asking where the hell I’m going so late. I don’t care.

It’s only a five-minute walk but even that is too long, so before I know it, I’m running to his car. It’s been backed out from the light post I assume he hit and parked a bit lazily by the pavement. Baz doesn’t do anything lazily, but then again Baz doesn’t get drunk and he doesn’t crash his car and he definitely doesn’t drive anywhere near here if he doesn’t have to.

As I get closer, I can feel my heart beating faster and faster, and its not from the running. His head is resting on the steering wheel and I can’t see his face. Fuck. What if he has a concussion? And then without thinking I’m opening the right car door and holding his face so close to mine. Crowley, his eyes are blood-shot, his face is streaked with tears and he’s just looking at me fangs popped and eyes wide. How could I ever let him go, I should’ve fought harder.

“Snow.” He finally croaks out and that’s when I realise, he’s been sobbing, he takes a deep breath and buries his head into my neck all while whispering sorry, I don’t know why I called, you don’t need to be here, but he makes no effort to remove himself from me, so I don’t leave. I wouldn’t anyway.

 So, I show up at your place right away

Wipe the tears off of your face

While you beg me to stay

 I detangle his hair as I feel the pool of tears forming on my shoulder. I pull him up to look into his eyes. Baz’s eyes, so grey, they’ve always been so beautiful. His cheekbones are pronounced and his flushed – he must’ve fed recently. That’s good.

“Are you okay?” I ask and it feels like it’s all I’ve been saying to him for weeks now.

“Been better.” He tries to smile but his eyes betray him, and he starts tearing up again. He brings a hand to my cheeks, “you’re here.” He seems to realise what he’s doing, how he’s holding me, how I’m holding him while were broken up, so he tries to pull his hand away quickly, but I stop him.

“Of course.”

[freakinfiction]

Theme Park 🎪 and A Broken Heart💔

An imagine when Taeyong dared Doyoung to approach a girl and give her some free fast pass and food vouchers from the theme park but the someone came and Doyoung thought he was her boyfriend and got heartbroken.

*

"Go on, Dodo. You can do it", Taeyong whispered from behind him.

"Taeyong, I swear to God, I'll kill next time you force me to do something like this", he warned.

"Well, I'm not the one who lose the bet", Taeyong smirked. "Meet you at your home. Bye", he said as his friend got off from his car and walked towards the girl.

*

"Hey, guys-", her mouth hung widely as she looked at the vacant space infront of her.

"Yah... Did they really leave me? I just went to park the car for awhile", she said referring to her friends.

Scratching her head she dialed her friend's number but nobody out of her 5 friends answered.

"Aish! Jjinja?!"

"Where are they?!"

She yelled in frustration at the empty car park.

"Need some help?", a husky voice asked her.

She faced the owner of the voice.

A guy.

A tall, young and rugged man. His shirt hung from his broad shoulders perfectly. A warm smile plastered on his face.

"Urm..."

"I think you do. Come let me show you around."

He gestured her to follow him.

*

He showed her around the theme park but she didn't go on the rides. She wanted to look for her friends. Everywhere they went, she kept an eye for any of her friends.

She frowned all the way of the tour.

'Where are they?'

'What will they think if they see me with this stranger?'

It's not that she's not grateful, she was indeed very grateful of this miracle. It's not everyday someone will lend you a helping hand. Moreover, a stranger.

But she's afraid of what her friends would think. No, more like she didn't want to get teased.

"I haven't introduce myself. I'm Doyoung. And you?", his question brought her back to reality.

"Huh?"

"Your name?", he asked again.

"Oh... I'm Jina", she answered.

Then, her eyes caught a glipse of her friend. Minji.

"Well, you look distracted. Are you okay?", his eyebrows formed a concerned frown.

"Actually, I'm looking for my friends. It's not like I'm not grateful for your help but I need to go", she said and quickly ran to Minji.

"Thank you!", she managed to shout as she ran while waving her hand.

*

"Hey, I think we left someone behind", Hayeon said.

"Right...", Chaemi nodded.

"Wait. Where's Jina?", Sori asked.

"Right... We left Jina at the car park", Aeri said.

"Hey, guys. I got a missed call from Jina", Minji said.

"Ppali, guys. Look out for Jina while we walk around", Hayeon said.

*

"Guys, isn't that Jina?", Sori pointed at the merry-go-round.

"Yes. It's her", Aeri said.

"Who's that next to her?", Chaemi asked, pointing to Doyoung.

*

"There you are", Jina said as she catched her breathe.

"I've been searching everywhere for you guys", she panted.

"Searching for us or going on a blind date?", Hayeon teased.

"Eh? No!!! Aish! You guys left me and accused me going on a date?! Ai! You are so mean!", she yelled.

"I'm just kidding, Jina-ya", Hayeon grinned, patting Jina's shoulder.

Jina pouted.

"Come on. Have you guys go on the rides? Cause I haven't", Jina linked her hands with Hayeon and walked towards the rides.

The others followed suit, grinning as they did. Feeling grateful because they had found their dear friend.

*

"That ride was NASTY!", Chaemi yelled the last word, referring to the rollercoster.

"I want to puke already", Aeri put a hand across her mouth.

"You weak ass bitches, look at me. Strong and steady", Sori smirked.

"Wait till we get to the haunted house", Hayeon deadpanned.

Sori rolled her eyes and stuck her tongue at Hayeon.

"I'm not scared."

Then, they heard someone coughed from behind them.

They turned around and saw Doyoung.

"Hi", he waved.

"I'm Doyoung", he introduced himself.

"Ohh~ You're that guy with Jina,right?", Chaemi asked.

"Yeah... She looks like she was lost so I showed her around", he explained. "No harm intended", he raised his both of his hands in a surrender motion.

"Thank you for taking care of our friend", Hayeon thanked him. Her eyes scanned him from top to toe.

She was wary of this stranger. Her instinct told her not to trust him.

As for Doyoung, he had been searching high and low for Jina since the latter left him a few hours ago. He still hadn't settle the bet - but actually it was more than that.

That Jina girl, caught his attention.

Although her indifference towards him, kind off irked him but he knew, she's just worried about being alone in a foreign place.

The way her eyes wandered around the compound made him wondered what she was searching for. Her small frown looked disturbing but cute at the same time.

God, Taeyong must say that he's crazy if he told him that but imagining if he could wipe away the frown and replace it with a smile made his heart skipped a beat.

What does that girl had that made him so crazy right now? He didn't believe in love at first sight but that Jina girl changed it all.

Suddenly, someone greeted them.

"Jina. Is that you?"

"Oh... Hi, girls", the same person said again.

"Jae... Jaehyun. Hi", Jina awkwardly waved at him.

"Didn't saw this coming. I must be lucky to bump into you today", he said with a grin.

"Don't be silly", Jina replied. Her face was red as a tomato and her eyes wandered everywhere except Jaehyun's face.

"Ai~ Did you plan this or something. I smell something fishy here", Minji teased them.

"Eh? Jina didn't tell you guys? We're going on a date. Sorry, I'm late, Ji", he winked at her.

She looked else where, her face turned redder. Her friends laughed at her and continued to tease them.

Doyoung's expression turned gloomy.

'So she already have a boyfriend.'

"Erm... actually, I just want to give you guys this", he handed Hayeon some tickets.

Hayeon cautiously took them.

"Goodbye", he said and walked away.

Everyone didn't notice Doyoung left except for Hayeon. They seemed to be absorbed in teasing Jina and Jaehyun. Jina's face was as red as a beetroot while Jaehyun grinned like a mad man.

"So why are you actually here, Jung Jaehyun?", Aeri asked. "Waiting for your girlfriend?"

"Yeah. I came here a bit earlier than her. Last time I made a big mistake of arriving late", he answered.

"What if she saw you flirting with Jina?", Sori asked.

Jaehyun chuckled.

"She knows about us."

"Come on, Jina is fine with it, right?"

"Yeah. Thanks for giving me fake hope", Jina made a face.

"Jina, don't be salty. Aren't you happy seeing me again?", he teased her.

"No but I think you'll be happy seeing her", she pointed at his girlfriend.

"Oppa!", Jaehyun's girlfriend ran to him, giving him a big hug.

"Jinri", he hugged her back.

"Eww... cringe", Hayeon faked a gag.

The couple laughed.

"Annyeonghaseyo, eonnie", Jinri greeted the girls.

They waved at her.

"Now, shoo. We single girls want our bonding time together. Couples are not allowed", Minji said, gesturing the couple away in a playful manner.

Again, they laughed.

"Have a good day", Jinri wished them as Jaehyun lead her away. The older girls nodded and waved them goodbye.

"Now... Lets eat", Chaemi said. Marching to the nearest restaurant.

"But first, where's Doyoung?", Jina asked.

"Aww... Already missing you prince charming?", Sori asked.

Jina rolled her eyes. "He was here a second ago", she said, ignoring Sori's tease.

"He left already but he gave us this", Hayeon showed them the tickets.

"Wah! Free fast pass and food vouchers!", Aeri grabbed the tickets.

"What a day! Lets enjoy!", Chaemi pumped her fist to the air.

"Why do I have you as friends?", Minji massaged her temple, distancing herself from her two child-like friends.

"Stop acting weird guys. Lets go", Jina said.

A part of her still worried about Doyoung but then he's just a Good Samaritan so she shrugged off the thought and enjoyed the day with her friends.

*

"How's today?", Taeyong asked him as he entered his room.

"The cute girl already have a boyfriend", Doyoung sighed.

"The girl I dared you to approach?", Taeyong asked.

Doyoung nodded.

"It's a shame. She's cute", Taeyong said. "She might make a good girlfriend."

Doyoung shooked his head and grabbed a console.

"Lets play some games, Taeyong", Doyoung said, switching on the TV.

"Whatever make my friend happy at this moment", Taeyong said, jumping off his bed and sat next to Doyoung on the couch.

*

Hi there!

This is my first time posting on tumblr. Actually, I posted this oneshot on nct amino and wattpad. I hope you like it! ❤😘

[forged-through-trials]

Before we left the city, for what was sure to be a long exodus, I decided to pay one more visit to Mercator at “A Fighting Chance”, to see if he’d made any progress with Mephala’s blade. To my surprise, he’d made quite a bit, actually, producing a number of replicas of amazing quality, in an assortment of dagger, one-handed, and great-sword variants. ...all of which were WAY too expensive for me to actually buy. By the Nine, the great swords were all over twelve-thousand Septims, each! I could buy a house for that kind of dosh! ...but they’re kataaaaanaaaas! I waaaaaaaant theeeeeeem! So I guess I have a new goal in life; to afford one of these magnificent swords. I’ll be sure to add it to the ever-growing list of things I need to do, including the Mobius Strip of; “Fight vampires, get legendary sword, use it to fight vampires.” And hey, since Mercator was done with the sword, he said I could take it back. So... I now once again own this thrice-cursed blade as a reminder of all the innocent blood spilled due to Mephala’s conspiracies. ...yay? That done, Ruin and I vamoosed as quickly as we could. I told Ruin that I had ‘convinced’ Soris to part with the staff with a lot of smooth talk and a little coin, and he seemed to buy it. The trip back was just as unremarkable as the trip there, and after a few hours, we were back in Bravil! First up, was delivering the package we’d picked up, and as fate would have it, I was to deliver it to Aryaire at the Bravil Mages Guild. Perfect, since once I was done, I could turn right around and talk to Kud-Ei about that Recommendation.

Kud-Ei: “You’re back. And you have the staff? Excellent!” Trials: “I hope Ardaline appreciates what I went through for this; having to deal with both a creepy stalker and a crazy hermit.” Kud-Ei: “Your efforts will not go unrewarded. You’ll be granted a glowing recommendation from me, and I’ll even teach you a new spell to sweeten the pot.” Trials: “Oh, sweet, free magic lessons. Lookit me, Ruin, I’m turning into a real mage and stuff.” Ruin: Gave a thoughtful smile and turned to Kud-Ei. “We thank you, madam. May we ask, what is the word around town?” Kud-EI: She paused to ponder that a moment. “Well, have you heard the story of the Loches? Particularly, Aleron Loche, who has gone missing. Poor Ursanne has been beside herself since he disappeared, but hasn’t been able to find anyone willing to help.” Trials: “So that makes at least two people in this town who’re missing that the guards aren’t doing anything about.” I rolled my eyes. “Well, looks like it falls to the Forged-Through-Trials Detective Agency to do the guards’ job for them, again!” Kud-Ei: “With you on the case, I’m sure Aleron is as good as found. “You’ll likely find Ursanne at the chapel. She’s spent most of every day there praying for her husband’s safe return.”

With that tip-off, we made for the chapel. We got a few dirty looks after delivering that package the other day, but I just ignored them and looked for Ursanne Loche, whom we found weeping and praying, as was predicted. Ursanne: “You... I’ve seen you popping in and out of the Fighters and Mages guilds. I’m sorry to impose--” Trials: “Oh, it’s no imposition at all. I’ve heard around town that your husband was in trouble, and helping people is what I do!” Ursanne: “R-really? I’m... not wealthy, you know. I’m not sure I could afford to pay for your help.” Trials: “Hmm... payment is nice, but listening to your story, at least, is something I can offer for free.” Ursanne: “...oh, thank you!” She leaned over, and draped her arms around me, squeezing me dearly in her gratitude. Trials: “Aww, don’t thank me until I actually agree to take the job. So, what’s the whole story?” Ursanne: She drew back and wiped her eyes. “My husband has, well, a gambling problem, you see.” Trials: “Hey, it’s only a problem when you’re losing.” Ursanne: “Oh, he lost, and lost big. Big enough that he started barrowing money from a usurer to cover his losses and place new bets. “Well, doubling down didn’t quite pan out for us, and he ended up owing up to five-hundred gold to a ‘Kurdan gro-Dragol’. Kurdan breathed down our necks about the money for a while, until recently, when he sent for Aleron to meet him at the Lonely Suitor Lodge. My husband hasn’t returned since, and I’m sure Kurdan has something to do with that.” I furrowed my brow pensively at that. Back in Morrowind, I’d know a few slaves who’d gotten themselves into the life due to debts they owed. It was a viscous catch-twenty-two situation; they were in bondage from debt, but as slaves, could never earn the money needed to buy their freedom. For that reason, I had a healthy distrust of loan-sharks. I don’t know if Kurdan had sold Aleron into slavery or not, but that story got my hackles raised. Enough so that I decided right there and then, that even if Ursanne couldn’t pay, I’d take the case. Ursanne: She was visibly shaking. “I fear for my husband’s life. Kurdan isn’t known for his patience. I’m not wealthy, but I’ll find some way to repay your help, just please save my husband.” Trials: I crossed my arms, and gave a nod. “I’ll take the case, Ma’am. I‘ll have your husband back to you in a day or two!”

Ursanne gave us our first lead; the Lonely Suitor Lodge. It was just at the south end of town, so we made there, and asked around within to find Kurdan.

We found the man in his room on the second floor. Trials: “Ho, orc!” Kurdan: “Piss off, lizard!” Trials: “...okay, rude! Jeez, we just wanted to ask you about an ‘Aleron Loche’.” Kurdan: “I don’t know nuffin’, and even I did, I wouldn’t tell you!” Kurdan was evasive, and not too interested in talking, but I readied the spells Kud-Ei had taught me, and with a cast of the two of them, he finally opened up... somewhat. Kurdan: “Alright, maybe I know where Aleron is, and maybe I don’t. Maybe, if you’re willing to do me a little favor, it might loosen my tongue.” Trials: I sighed and grumbled. “Where to, and how many?” Kurdan: “One of my stupid relatives lost a prized family heirloom, the ‘Axe of Dragol’. But I’ve tracked it to Fort Grief, which is on an island in Niben Bay. I want you to go get it back. Do that for me, and I ‘might remember’ what happened to Aleron.” Ruin: “This sounds very suspect. What would happen were we to refuse this request?” Kurdan: “Then Aleron may not be coming home from his... uh, journey, for a very long time. Like, permanently!” Trials: “Yeah, yeah, we get it. So, how’re we getting to Fort Grief?” Kurdan: “I just so happen to have a boat you can take. It’s docked in the water behind A Warlock’s Luck. Now get moving, meat!”

Ruin and I agreed, this request seemed sketchy as all heck. But we were out of options, so we agreed to do Kurdan’s favor. We found the boat just where the orc promised it would be, and after an hour’s ride, we’d arrived at Grief Island. Embarking from the doc, we followed the short trail to the gate that led into the Fort. A nearby leaver opened the gate, and we embarked inside... finding a smear of blood upon the wall that led deeper into the Fort. Oh boy is that a bad omen. I feel like a month ago, I probably would have just turned tail and left without a second thought... but I’d made a promise to Ursanne Loche that I would find her husband and bring him home. Danger or no, we were going in!

Well, that was fast. There’s the man himself, standing right here, as if waiting for us. Aleron: “It appears as though Kurdan has tricked another pair of poor souls with his ‘axe’ story.” Ruin: “...I knew that story was suspect.” Aleron: “That’s right. There is no ‘Axe of Dragol’. It was just a ruse to lure you out here. I fell for the same trick. In my case, he told me if I retrieved the axe, he’d erase my debts. I was such an idiot to believe him.” Trials: “So why has he lured us out here? I’m guessing he’s not going to jump out from behind that pillar with sweetrolls and wine.” Aleron: “You might say that we’re here to play ‘the most dangerous game’.” Trials: “Is that the one where you lay your hand on a table and poke a dagger between your fingers and see how fast you can go?” Aleron: “...” He shook his head. “Uh, no, this is the one where wealthy psychos pay Kurdan to kidnap people so they can be hunted for sport.” Ruin: “...ah, yes, I know this game. Back in Black Mash, we used to call it; ‘Tirdas’, and whoever one got a prize!” Trials: “...by the Nine, Ruin, your old home society sucked.” Ruin: “Why do you think I left?” Trials: “Anyway, Aleron, we have a boat. We can just skip out on this sick game and bounce back to Bravil.” Aleron: “Don’t bother. The door to this place is now locked. The only way to get out is by descending into the Hunter’s Run--the dungeons under Fort Grief--and killing the hunters. One of them will have the key to the door. That’s Kurdan’s rules, and the only way we can ‘win.’“ Trials: I sighed and shrugged. “Can’t we go anywhere without having to leave a trail of bodies??” Aleron: “I wish I could help, but I can’t fight. I’ve never held a weapon before in my life.” Trials: “I’d never held a weapon before until a little over a month ago. Mastery comes surprisingly fast once you understand that the pointy end of the sword goes into the other guy.” Aleron: “...” He turned to Ruin. “You’ll save me, won’t you, Male Argonian?” Ruin: He shrugged and grunted.

Such was our job; to descent into the dungeon, and kill the sickos who came here to kill us for the fun of it. A dark and bloody task, but it’s them or us... and given the choice, I’d rather it be them. Dying hurts, Gentle Reader, and I plan to do as little of it as I possibly can! This was also my first real opportunity to try out the Night-Eye spell I’d worked so hard to master. With a wave of my hand, my eyes tingled, and began to glow in the gloom of this dungeon. And as you can see from the pictographs, the image was nice, bright, sharp, and clear! Now I can actually show off what I get up to in these dives! And can watch me kick some tail in bright, crisp color!

To the left of the entrance was a locked gate. Just beyond, I could see a lever, much like the one that let me into Fort Grief in the first place. The lock was too complex to pick, even with my best tools, so it seemed indeed that my only option was to win the Hunter Run. Just me and Ruin, versus a group of highly practiced loonies. Wish us luck! We’re going to need it.

[nightwingxy]

This is Sayaka Maizono, She is a character from the First Danganronpa. While changing profile pics on another account, I was reminded about how I found out about her & my love for her and decided to tell that sory.. Bare with me this story does get a bit wierd/Weebey at times,though i'm 98% sure i'm not a weeb. How I found out about her was rather interesting/strange. Back in my senior year of HighSchool, In September or October of 2014 I think. I was in my English class skimming through an issue of Gameinformer I had on me, Issue 258 "The Horror Issue" Which had a alien isolation cover. As I was near that end at the review sections I saw an image that peeked my interest, 2 Really Really cute/beautiful anime girls in an awesome looking artstyle, standing next to a ripped dude with crazy anime hair about to fuck shit up, with what looked like of TV's behind them And I looked at the review, and it was for a game called Danganronpa 2: Goodbye dispair. I also saw that it was for the Vita, a handheld I still to this day love and praise with all my heart, and got more interested. Then I saw it was a point&click game and my interest went down. Though I was interested in the 2 girls in the image, as well as the art style they were in, so later on that night I looked up the artist, rui komatsuzaki, and found a lot of his art on some site, Zerochan I think. And While scrolling though the Pages of art I came Across what Looked like concept art or whatever of This extremely cute/Beautiful Girl in a School Girl's outfit with Dark Hair, and I instantly loved her design (2nd and 3rd Pics). I saw that her name was Maizono Sayaka, which I found out was a direct translation of her name in japanese, with her localized name being Sayaka Maizono. So I goggle imaged searched her and found this image, where I noticed her hair was more blue than black (4th Pic). Then I came across This image of her (5th Pic), and That's when I realized.... I was kinda in love with her. And I say that as someone who Didn't watch anime or hentai, read any manga, and is 98% sure he's not a Weaboo. But Something about her drew me to her, and I wanted to know more. So I checked out her page on the Danganronpa Wiki. For her personality it said "Seeing as she's an idol, Sayaka has a cheerful, sweet, and supporting personality. Despite her idol career, Sayaka actually enjoys cooking." Which I liked. But I also saw that she was the first to die, which bummed me out a little, but it didn't stop me from looking up more info on her and more pics. Like I said earlier she was the closest thing to a real anime waifu I've ever had. Like before i've obsessed over some other Game characters, Including some fighting game characters like Cammy from Street Fighter, Morrigan from Darkstalkers, The Smash Version of Zero Suit Samus, and Hitomi from DOA, along with non FG characters Hatsune miku and Magurine Luka From Vocaloid. But this....this was different. Unlike all those other characters, who I thought were cool and/or looked beautiful/hot, in addition to maining them in their respective games, save for Miku and Luka. Maizono was Someone I wanted to be with, someone I wanted to spend time with, someone who I had romantic feelings for. Someone who wasn't real. That last part hurt more than knowing she died. And she was the closest thing to "love" or a Girlfriend I've ever known/had at the time. Like During High School Getting a girlfriend wasn't a top priority, I kinda wanted to have one, but Didn't mind being single. There also wasn't too many girls I had a crush on, aside from 1 or 2 specific girls, who which I didn't try to become friends with or purse a potential relationship with because it wasn't wasn't a top priority (Doing good in shcool hanging out with friends was), and I was SUPER socially awkward around new people (still kinda am), especially girls, with a major example being Me trying to be funny to a girl I liked back in freshman year. It was embarrassing AF, I pretended it never happened &Never talked to her after that. Never talked to the Other Girl I had a crush on from Sophomore Year through the rest of High School Either. There was also the occasional cute girl I walked by between class periods but that was it. Sayaka Maizon was the closest thing to "Love" I was ever going to get. Even if that was just me looking at pictures of her before going to bed (no not like that you creeps.), and Wanting to be with her, very, very much so. I loved her to death and I thought about her a lot for a good chunk of my senior year, Though by the end I didn't think about her as much if at all. About a Month Later I was in a Bose electronics in Carlsbad and in one of the display rooms they were playing a clip of frozen, from the First time in forever reprisal song when Anna & Elsa are at the ice castle, which rekindled my Love For Princess anna, and the rest is history.As for Maizono, I would occasionally see her picture when scrolling through the downloaded photos on my phone, and I would briefly reminisce about our time "Together" and my Senior year, then move on to the next photo. And Earlier tonight when Changing profile pics for another twitter account I have I decided to go with Maizono as I wanted to keep an anime girl as my profile pic there, &got thinking of this story. Was gonna tell it there but decided I should talk about it publicly, as I felt ok coming out about this, Since it's old news by this point. As it stands Maizono is on top of the Regular Waifu list (for now), as Princess Anna is still the one true waifu at the moment (and is separate from that list) despite not really thinking of her much recently, though I tried. Also despite my love of Maizono and the Vita, I only now have pics of her on my vita, and is is the wallpaper on the bottom 2 menu screens with all my PS1 classics. With that, My Maizono story comes to a close. I still think she is pretty amazing, and still is still someone special to me....despite never playing the games or watching the anime, The latter of which I might do now once I finish one punch man and watch castlevania, 

[betwixttwoendlesswinters]

The Scratching

It started right after Reagan’s second inauguration,

Something clawing gently at the walls,

Sometimes fast and frantic digging desperate to reach the world outside;

Often slow, thought out, methodical,

Trying to find the weakest points, possibly for fragile paws.

I stayed up all night searching to find the source. 

Occasionally for too many days at a time. 

The exterminator politely avoided saying I was crazy,

And gently said sometimes rats can hide inside of walls and go out scavenging during the day,

I protested that I knew about the nests, and meant to call sooner but this was new and must have another cause.

He didn't say he found any rats, but he would come again and see what he could do. 

It seemed that he felt bad for me, since he only charged half his normal fee. 

I set out an tape recorder, to see if the noise was just inside my head,

But in the morning, the battery was dead. 

This doesn't sound unusual, but considering both battery and device were new, it left me scratching my head. I got some more new batteries, but the same thing happened the next night, and the next. 

It happened with every camcorder and, and every new cassette recorder died. 

The cheap ones plugged into the walls, all had frayed wires and never worked, I finally gave up on this when I realized how much the total cost had come to be. 

But it seemed that something didn't want what was in my walls to have it's noise heard in any way but live.

My performance at work was suffering, my boss asked if everything was okay,

I said I was having trouble sleeping, explained it away to him as stress. 

I had vacation days saved up, 

And in a surprising twist, I had no ongoing cases,

The only client had settled out of court the other day.

A week in the Cayman islands later, I felt much more relaxed and sane.

But the infernal persistent scratching kept me up that night again. 

My mortgage was too fresh and, loan too high, for me to move out to somewhere new,

So I slapped my forehead with bloodshot eyes, looking in the bathroom mirror late one night, I tried getting some earplugs, At 3:00 AM to the sound of monotonous intermittent scratching, once every 10 seconds by my clock, I found them set neatly on the shelf where I kept my notes on what the defending lawyer’s case history was and strategies quite often were, before they appeared in my ears minutes to hours later, leaving me more confused and anxious then before.

I started working more overtime, even though being on salary meant that I didn't get paid any more,

I filed and sorted and organized and cleaned, doing anywork I could find,

Until my boss in the calm and soothing voice of one trying not to get bit by something foaming at the mouth,

Said I had worked enough the past two weeks that I could take the next three weeks, off and still not fall behind,

I hadn't noticed in my manic feverish productivity borne out of a desperate need to be anywhere but at what I once had called my home, that my job title might as well as have read “paralegal” or “secretary”. 

I hadn't met with a client in over a month, for that I was secretly grateful,

For if I hadn’t been sent home to rest, I wouldn’t have had that encounter most fateful.

I realized I could either spend the rest of my days, driven mad by the repetitive, scratching, Or I could take back control of my life.

I checked my local library, out of one last desperate grasp for any chance of taking back my life. For a book on morse code, maybe there was a hidden message in this endless scratching on my walls?

I passed a newspaper stand, the owner talking about how someone who i’d prosecuted for murder, he managed to get the charge down to manslaughter despite my best attempts, a decade ago got released on parole, it was high profile at the time, but right now I had more concerning things on my mind.

I found a book that looked like one I wanted, it was really easy to understand, had lots of illustrations, and I continued with what I had planned. That night as with every night, for months without any end in sight, the scratching kept me up again, but no message came too light. When at dawn the scratching stopped, as was often, but not always the case, I threw the book down in frustration, and slept while I could trusting the clawing to eventually cause me to wake. I woke up sometime later, to an unexpected sight, with scratches on the book I’d left unattended and out of sight. Some of the pages were torn out, and scattered on the floor. I’d grown used to unexpected occurrences, and thought about it no more. 

I busied myself cleaning up, putting the shreds as close as I could back to how it was before.

And when that evening soon arrived, the book unharmed with not one page out of place but that detail soon went out from my mind without a trace I nearly fainted from surprise. In unsure, hesitant scratching, that I had to check what remained of the book to be sure if I was right, the clawing gave me a message, it said

“Im sory for giv frite”

I tapped out my response on the wall, with shaking unsteady hands,

“You can talk?” I wasn’t expecting much, thinking I may have lost what remained of my fragile, brittle mind, But stayed up that night for a new reason, listening to the sad story of a scared and lonely creature who needed a friend.

They didn’t know who once they were, where their mouth went, or how they got their long and torturous claws.

Or how and why they got trapped inside my house, unable to put one scaled and gnarled foot inside.

Or even why they seemed to have no form to touch the world, barely any mortal guise.

But sunlight seemed to banish them, they couldn’t stand the taste of day,

And in their broken faltering english, they finally managed to say.

That they wanted to find someone, so they could finally relate, but never had any means to speak, or any message to relay, any damage or effect they had on the physical world that would cause people to take notice, would quickly fade and turn back to how it was, leaving them with no ideas on what to do.

The only exception to their ability, was that what living things they shredded with their dastardly and grasping claws, stayed forever sundered, and I realized that's where the rodents I once had must have gone,

The thing I could not see explained, it didn't mean to do me any harm, I said that if only it would let me sleep, we could have our little talks.

In its endearingly innocent way, ignorant of the trouble it had been making, it asked me to explain what sleep was, since it spent every moment waking, and was trying to make sure that when I died at night, that I would come to life once again.

With confusion and some difficulty, I explained that sleep is only a partial death, but is needed in some quantity for us humans to maintain our health, we came to an agreement, we would talk to each other in our long and short patterned, coded way, during the hours between day and night, near dusk and near each dawn, 

But during the dead of night I needed sleep, and life went on in this strange, but bearable new way.

When I came back to work days later, my boss said I looked like was much better, and I agreed. I said the reason why was complicated, but the problem was now removed.

It only was a little lie, the cause of the issue was still there but was now a little more understood.

He said that I should be careful, as the leading witness in the case that started my career was found in a lake, strangled, blue, and floating,

I said that I’d be careful, and vowed to call the police for some patrols to come by house,

I’d arranged with the clawed and mouthless thing that I could now communicate with, to stay late at the office, but leave the tv on to entertain it,

It liked the PBS channel especially, and Sesame Street even more,

It often told me at great lengths, what Big Bird had been up to while I slept.

I arrived that night quite past sunset, to a certain smell, unfamiliar and nauseating, 

On my doorstep I found filleted corpse, of someone for who the police were now ineffectively searching. I rang them up immediately, they arrived and had a number of questions which I answered with the truth.

I didn’t see what happened, or know the name of anyone who might of, And that the murder weapon appeared to be several knives, but no blood trail was to be found.

They took the body with them, along with all the evidence, and said if they had anymore questions, they’d let me know, but didn’t seem particularly worried.

They figured it was likely a sort of wild cat, lost somewhere in the city, and since he likely would’ve gotten the chair anyway, the figured someone had done the city a service.

I asked my new friend and new protector, only one question about what happened to that man, I asked “Why?”

And waited several minutes of contemplative silence for the similarly brief reply.

“Friend, good, man, bad”

I left it at that but realized, I could take on more cases such as those, without the expensive security, most lawyers who chose such a path often required.

I still live in that house to this day, comfortably retired, and left a note in my will that my next of kin who gets this house must comply with,

Morse Code must be learned, and an open mind is unquestioningly required.