#the short hair ones a human and the other ones a fairy!

[preggomancer]

giant water nymph girl gets both of her girlfriends pregnant at once! good thing they both look so cute this big 

(its these guys!!!) 

[yandere-writer-momo]

Shoutout to Monster Anon for another amazing idea

Yandere Short Stories:

Right Where I Want You

Yandere Private Investigator x Fem Reader

TW: Yandere themes, delusional behavior, unhealthy behavior, racism (ex mil makes a comment), savior complex, murder, stalking, etc.

Inhale. Exhale. Nicalli blew cigarette smoke from his lips while his body sunk into his plush couch in his pent house. Another failure of a day in an attempt to find dirt on his target.

The stench from his lit cigarette did little to soothe the loneliness in Necalli’s heart. No, this small vice merely burned the back of his throat and made his clothes reek of bad decisions. This small action did little to satiate the growing lust that consumed his very being.

Nicalli ran an umber hand through his long, black hair. A few strands stuck to his sweaty palms while his heart raced in his chest.

Nicalli had been plagued with alien feelings ever since he’s taken on this new case. The case that involved the Goldberg family and their son’s fiancée, (your full name).

He has been a private investigator for over a decade and he’s never had someone be so innocent. How could (your name) not have a single speck of dirt on her?! Good people didn’t exist in this world! There was no way someone so pure could be involved with the Goldberg family…

Nicalli sighed in frustration and put his cigarette out on the jaguar shaped ashtray on his coffee table. His russet eyes scanned the various documents before him in frustration.

All he had were pictures of her helping at the local soup kitchen and her indulging in her small hobbies. She was so mundane… he didn’t have anything to give his employer to ‘protect her precious son.’

Nicalli had been on this case for eight months now and he still had nothing but pictures of this absurdly beautiful woman. Henry Goldberg was lucky to have such a faithful woman… Nicalli would die for one.

Nicalli didn’t believe in love after the betrayal of his lover when he was in the military. It was that betrayal that made him become a private investigator in the first place so no one else had to find out like he did… yet this life was lonely. Nicalli was so lonely and now he was enchanted by his target. How pathetic was that?

Nicalli continued to admire to various pictures he had of (your name). She was really beautiful… how could someone smile so joyously? There was nothing in this world to be happy about… or was there?

.

.

.

Nicalli recalled the memory of when he first received this job. He sat in the Goldberg mansion’s study. His large body squished into a small leather chair while the mother and son gave him fake smiles.

“We need you to investigate (your full name).” Mrs. Goldberg pushed a file towards Nicalli, the Mexican man accepted the file with a solemn look. “I feel like she’s cheating on my son… or even involved in some sort of illegal activity.”

Nicalli was shocked to open the file to see the smiling face of a beautiful young woman. This woman was involved in some sort of illegal activity? She looked like she couldn’t harm a fly!

“I will be able to sleep better at night knowing my son is in good hands.” Mrs. Goldberg she d a few crocodile tears before Henry Goldberg handed Nicalli a check that would make anyone gasp at the amount.

“I heard you’re the best in the business so please, don’t disappoint us.”

Nicalli took the money and nodded his head. He could do this… this job would be like all the others…

.

.

.

Nicalli felt his breath hitch the first day he saw (your name). He’s never seen someone so pretty before… she had to be some sort of forest fairy rather than a human.

Nicalli studied her from his car, his russet eyes studied her in great interest. He has followed her around for weeks now and there was still not a speck of dirt on her…

Nicalli was in disbelief. (Your name) seemed to be a good person… but he was determined to find something on her. Anything would do.

So he continued to stalk her which brought him to present day…

.

.

.

“Have a good day!” (Your name) smiled at the various homeless people that inhabited the soup kitchen. She served each one with a cheery smile, even if they seemed displeased with her.

Nicalli sat in the corner at a bench. His russet eyes studied her in distaste. Didn’t she tire of this? These people didn’t appreciate her company… no one seemed to despite her constant efforts. Nicalli didn’t understand the point of her unnecessary kindness.

(Your name) was so sweet, she could make teeth rot. A woman like her didn’t belong in a place like this, it was dangerous-

Nicalli jumped when (your name) stood before him, a bowl of soup in her hands.

“Hello?” (Your name) tilted off her head to the side as she studied Nicalli in interest. “I always spot you here, but you never come up to the stand so I thought I’d come to you.”

Shit. He had grown careless since she’s so docile… now she knew his face. Should he just call the mission a done deal?

Nicalli was shocked when she gently placed the bowl in front of him with a soft smile. “Here. Enjoy some soup, okay? You always look so sad…”

Nicalli bit his tongue. No matter how badly he wanted to refuse her, he couldn’t bring himself to. If he rejected her kindness, it would be as if he kicked a puppy. And people do not kick puppies.

Nicalli was surprised that the soup was delicious but then he saw her smile even wider.

“I made the soup, so please enjoy to your heart’s content. If you need anything, I’m (your name)! I’ll see you around, mister!” She then went back to the kitchen while Nicalli sat dumbfounded.

The Hispanic man sat there for a few minutes longer before he felt a blush envelope his cheeks. His heart wildly leapt in his chest and his palms began to sweat buckets. What just happened to him?

There was no way… no way he had a crush on (your name)? Yet he couldn’t help the way his eyes shyly glanced towards her bubbly form while she served the rest of the costumers.

She was a good person… (your name) was a genuinely good person. Nicalli was sure of it. And now he needed to report his findings to the Goldbergs.

.

.

.

It took everything in Nicalli not to choke slam Henry Goldberg into the velvet carpet in his study. This man was a bastard… he didn’t deserve (your name).

“God, I thought you were the best of the best!” Henry sighed while his parents chuckled.

“Now son, I’m sure he’ll find something on that commoner.” Mrs. Goldberg pointed out to her son who scoffed.

“Mommy, at the rate he’s going. He’ll need to make something up!” Henry hummed, the man reached for his check book. “How much money do you need to fabricate a lie on her? I truly cannot marry a commoner, but it looks good for the citizens-“

Nicalli furrowed his brow. What on earth were they on about? “Aren’t you happy she’s a good person?”

Henry and his mother paused before the two of them erupted into laughter. “Happy she’s a good person? No one told us you were a comedian!!”

“How about you plant one of my necklaces or jewels in her home so we have the grounds to annul this engagement? I really cannot have my son end up with a woman so poor like that.” Mrs. Goldberg took off her diamond necklace and tried to hand it to Nicalli but the private investigator pushed it back toward her. “Oh come on. People like you are familiar with stealing, right?”

Nicalli’s head spun in horror and confusion. They were going to frame her to make themselves look better for the people… they were going to frame an innocent woman for a crime. The Goldbergs were horrible people… horrible villains.

“Mother, not all Mexicans are thieves.” Henry rolled his eyes before he gave Nicalli a knowing smile. “But I do need you to pin a crime of some sort on her. I can’t have her have the Goldberg family name.”

Even though Nicalli wanted to scream at the two of them, he must feel himself in. He needed to have evidence to show (your name) to save her. Nicalli wanted to save her… she didn’t deserve to have her name tarnished over corrupt people like these ones.

“I’ll see what I can do.” Nicalli gave the Goldbergs a stiff smile. Yes… he’d contact his sources to dig dirt up on the Goldbergs.

Nicalli didn’t become a private investigator to harm innocent people. Nicalli did this to protect the innocent from heart break.

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.

.

Nicalli threw his coffe table across the room after his source had called him and faxed him over pictures of Henry Goldberg with escorts. Bastard… that fucking bastard!

Henry had this perfect woman and he cheated on her with escorts?! He was involved in drug and sex slave trafficking?! This was a rabbit hole Nicalli never thought he’d find himself in… and he had to get (your name) out.

A man like that didn’t deserve her… not like he did. Nicalli would treasure a woman like her. He’s pamper her and make sure she was properly pleasured- what the hell was that?!

Nicalli shook his head to clear his thoughts. How dare he think of her in such a way… Nicalli wasn’t worthy of her.

Nicalli’s cheeks flushed in anger. Henry had to suffer. He had to pay for his crimes. The Goldbergs had to pay for their crimes.

Nicalli snatched one of the pictures up before he was able to locate Henry’s location. It would be easy to track him down… Nicalli was all too familiar with the Red Light District.

All he needed to do was figure out which vehicle was his, but that couldn’t be too hard. Henry was a classic spoiled narcissist. His car would be colorful and loud, just like him.

.

.

.

The death of Henry Goldberg was on every news channel and in every article. His shiny red sports car was totaled and the bodies of two escorts were found with him. The cause of death was drunk driving and brake failure.

There was not a doubt in Nicalli’s mind that (your name) would be distraught… but he had to take care of Mrs. Goldberg first.

Nicalli adjusted his black leather gloves on his hands as he slowly approached the Goldberg’s office to discuss further business. The pistol with a silencer attached was buried deep within his coat.

This was all for (your name)‘s future… for their future together. It only made sense to him that he got the girl after saving her! Nicalli could make her happy!

Nicalli would have (your name) right where he wanted her…

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.

.

(Your name) sniffled in her bed, her body trembled in sorrow. She couldn’t believe Henry died and his mother had committed suicide… she knew Mrs. Goldberg adored her son, but she had no idea it was to such an extent…

Yet she wasn’t surprised about Henry being a deviant. It was why she avoided being physical with him. There was a small voice in the back of her head that told her he was bad news… yet was it wrong for her to want the money to live a good life? She’d never have to worry about bills again if she married him… but then he sent the private investigator her way.

God, it irritated her… but she wasn’t a horrible person. She just wanted a better life was all… was that a crime?

And she always felt unsettled under that man’s gaze. He had such sharp features and such a piercing stare. There was no way people didn’t know he was there when his presence felt like a predator’s.

The man had such a bewitching appearance. Hell, his hair was prettier than hers and his hooked nose was gorgeous… that private investigator was more attractive than her dead white fiancé.

So when she had a package full of photos of Henry with escorts, she knew it was her ‘stalker.’ It was nice to know he had a good moral compass, but these photos were too late. They weren’t anything she wasn’t aware of.

Despite her bubbly attitude, (your name) was not naive. She knew the Goldbergs weren’t good people. No old money family were.

(Your name) sighed as she rose up from her bed and wiped her eyes. There went her plan to be with a man with a trust fund…

(Your name) was surprised to see a bouquet of red roses and carnations on her doorstep. It seemed that private investigator may have a crush.

(Your name) smiled in thought. He was a private investigator for rich people, right? Then maybe he had the money to ensure she had a good life?

She turned her head and spotted the shy man on his car. That classic 1964 Chevrolet impala always stuck out like a sore thumb.

(Your name) wiped her eyes a bit before she gave him a smile. She could spot his red cheeks from her place by her door. It seemed she wouldn’t have to work too hard for this one… because she had him right where she wanted him.

[monster-match-if]

Welcome to Paradise!

A few decades after the mystical veil between the human and supernatural world was shattered there are still efforts done to fully integrate the two societies. What better way to achieve that than an international & interspecies dating show?!

Ten lucky beings are going to be selected for the first ever edition of Monster Match, and embark on a month-long vacation on a tropical island. Follow your heart or mind when making decisions and win the public’s favour. At the end of the month, the fan favourite couple will win a whopping cash prize of €500,000, to keep or split between them.

Couple up, have fun with the various challenges and most importantly stay alive find love!

And beware of what’s lurking in the shadows!

Genre: Reality TV dating show, monster fu- lovers. Love island the game, but with monsters. Strictly 18+!

WIP - some things may still change on the way.

Play as Male or Female.

Choose to be a Sweetheart, a Charmer or a Flirt.

Have fun or stir up some drama between the other contestants!

Find love or do it all for the money.

Split the prize, or keep it all to yourself… if you win.

Choose between 5 gender selectable ROs and two male partial ROs.

Try to figure out what's happening to the eliminated contestants or ignore the gnawing feeling.

Entirely choice based, the stats are there for flavor text. This is an excuse to write monster, ermm, loving content. The story is rated 18+ and will contain NSFW and maybe some gore along with other dubious things. There will be fade to black options and skippable scenes as well as preference options and some pretty tame and sweet routes, but why are you here if monsters are not your thing? Read at your own discretion!

Morgan → Vampire🦇 - M/F - 6’  Tall and pale, with dark hair and crimson eyes, and an infuriating naturally gorgeous body. Always has the hair styled neatly and preferes classy clothes. An incurable flirt. Expect: Blood and biting related activities. Not particularly loyal.

Elindorn / Eli → Deep forest elf 🏹 (basically a drow) - M/F - 5'7 / 6'4  Tall with an athletic swimmer’s body. Dusty lilac skin, long milky white hair and pale silver eyes that seem to look into your soul. Expect: actually… the most well adjusted of the bunch. Elves mate for life.

The bombshell - Blake → Incubus/ Succubus🌶️- obviously M/F - 5’8/ 6’4  Deep brown skin, short curly black hair and vivid blue eyes. Horns and tail in their “true” form. Skimpy clothes to attract potential vict- partners. Expect: open relationship, multiple partners, life… sucking?

Kitai → Kitsune 🦊- M/F - 5'5 / 5'11 (Casa Amor contestant) The shortest of the group, but the most attentive and ready to please. Ivory skin, long jet black hair and yellow eyes.  Expect: probably the sweetest, most wholesome route, tails - nine of them.

Fionnlagh / Fion → Cecaelia 🐙 (yes, tentacles) - M/F - 5'6 / 6'3 (Casa Amor contestant)  Tanned skin, long wavy red hair, and green eyes. Eight crimson tentacles in their “true” form. Expect: foursome options, but otherwise tentacles and fun, dubious consent-ish if you squint.

Partial ROs

Ragnar → Werewolf 🐺 - M - 6’9/ 8' when in werewolf form Only RO available strictly to F MC and only one who will break up with MC if they cheat or don't have the same views. Tall and built like a mountain, with lightly tanned skin, brown hair and beard and kind brown eyes. Covered in tattoos. Expect: *sigh* knotting, breeding, bestialityithink??

Seishish  - Sei  → naga 🐍 (yes 2 🍆) - M - 6'2 / 11' long with tail out  The Host - not being a contestant will limit interactions in the first half of the story, but he is also an endgame RO. Rich olive skin with a golden hue, long wavy platinum blonde hair, hazel snake eyes. Gains a lot of length in trier half-snake form, the tail an iridescent golden colour. Expect: dubious consent-ish if you squint, ovo…ovi… the eggpreg thing.

Other OG contestants

Warlock/human - Gael - M Human - Kat - F Siren - Oralla - F Fairy - Feyre - F (original name, I know) Angel - Arael - F Demon Azrorath - M

Demo coming soon

[emsartwork]

Hey yall im not dead!

COSMIX!!! I've officially redesigned all the transformations in the Winx Club TV series hell yeah

Lore and Design notes below

So Cosmix is a rather defunct transformation in the modern era. It used to be used heavily in the age of space exploration but since teleportation and hyper speed ships became common place, the Magix dimension prefers to use those. Essentially, in order to set up a teleportation center, the caster/s need to have been to both the origin point and the target point. Witches and Mages were the primary people responsible for setting up the teleportation system, but in order to achieve the spells requirements, they would require help from a Cosmix fairy. The primary function of Cosmix is the ability to fly through space with out detrimental effects. Cosmix fairies can take 1, maybe 2, people with them while they fly in a shooting star esc trail function. Cosmix is not great for fighting unless the foe is darkness/light based. Defense is strong against cold, pressure, and friction, but not most other kinds of damage.

Cosmix is also theorized to be the Magix Dimension's version of the elementix. So like Sirenix is the transformation that grants access to the Infinite ocean, Cosmix is the one that would grant access to the Magix Dimension if fairies were in the other realms. Because humans already belong to the Magix Dimension, and the transformation isn't required to earn Nymphix, it isn't considered a true Elementix. Some fairies (mostly Solarians) do experience biological changes when using the transformation, seen here in Stella, but it's not super common. The hair takes on the magic color and drifts into nebulous star dust and galaxy clusters. Solarians are located closest to Lumenia, a tightly clustered star formation, and frequent attract Lumens due to Solaria's binary star system. They have formed fast friendships with the Lumens and many Solarians carry a Lumen's Blessing (it's similar to the elemental companions' bonds in the elementix) in their bloodline which contributes to the biological changes when using Cosmix.

I'm still hammering out how seaosn 8 works plot wise but I'll add it to my show changes masterlist eventually.

Design! The initial concept was "man i wanna draw some chunky ass boots" and i kinda ran with the cyber punk look from there. I was also adamant that Cosmix is a pants transformation, both out of practicality and spite because they made everyone so hyper feminine in season 8. I referenced the actual cosmix designs and their "space travel" oufits for the general shapes for these, but obviously there aren't a ton of similarities since I went in such a different direction haha. Also my first time drawing Aisha with twists! I almost gave her a fro cus it would mimic an astronaut's helmet (and lowkey a nod to Garnet from steven universe) but i like how the twists came out haha

Cosmix includes! Hair up and out of the way, a mesh base layer with light veins and stars, a body suit or shorts and top, a padded armor torso piece with some tubing ports, so many buckles and straps, a clear plastic portion(usually part of the torso peice, sleeves, or around the waist/hips), wrist/arm guards, and chunky chunky boots. The wings are also larger than most transformations (rivaling Butterflix/Faunix) and trail more of the fairy's magic color than usual. Simple geometric designs are standard.

[flowerofbenevolence]

Queen Maleficia Draconia Headcanons

TW: I have not read CH 7 yet, so this may be inaccurate and will be edited in the future!

"So you are the human that my grandson keeps telling me about."

Appearance:

She is envisioned to be extremely and timelessly beautiful, but also old-looking, like an older version of Maleanor. Like her daughter and grandson, she has dark midnight bluish-black hair, except it is slightly greying, or having grey streaks and is usually tied up into a bun. She also has yellowish-green eyes comparable to that of peridots, with long eyelashes and a few wrinkles beneath her eyes. she also has alabaster moonlight white skin, and of course, the famous, elegant, S-shaped horns that dragons and dragon-fairies are known for. Her attire would typically consist of the silver crown of the reigning monarch of Briar Valley, and long, black robes with green and silver accents as well as jewel and feather details.

Personality:

At first glance, Queen Maleficia seems to be cold-hearted, stern, and regal to the point of approachableness. But underneath that is actually a strong-hearted and passionate queen who loves her kingdom and people dearly, loved her daughter greatly, and is affectionate yet protective and strict towards her grandson. For that reason, many of her subjects praise her for her vast wisdom, knowledge, nobility, and being an amazing ruler. Humans, however, both fear and loathe her for her dark, cold aura and tend to take her inspiration for the villains of fairytales.

Background:

Long before the Human-Fae War started, Queen Maleficia actually had a human lover whom she loved very deeply, and promised to make him her king consort, regardless of how weak he was as a human and how short his lifespan was. However, much to her heartbreak, her human lover left her for a human princess, believing her to be much more beautiful, according to human beauty standards, and being much more "kind, graceful, and benevolent", which really meant her preferred softer, timider, and more insecure girls who suited his ego. Maleficia, following her draconic instincts (which many of us had assumed meant being jealous, possessive, and "hoarding their treasure"), was enraged, but kept her composure, knowing she had an image to maintain, being royalty and all, and tried to reason with him instead. She tried to tell him that beauty, especially human beauty doesn't last forever, and that she was the only one who would love him despite that and how his new human girlfriend's beauty would eventually fade. She also tried to tell him about how he would need someone wise like her to point out his flaws and faults and advise him so that he would be able to learn and grow as a person. When he got angry and continued to insist on leaving her, Maleficia finally snapped and decided her little human boyfriend needed a "punishment". She kidnapped his royal human bride and demanded ransom while torturing her. In the eyes of the fae, this was seen as acceptable, since fairies seek long-term relationships, strongly value loyalty, and believe that it is right to seek revenge when cheated on. Humans, on the other hand, were outraged, since they are more easily prone to cheating, being unfaithful to their spouses, but also moving on, and believed that Maleficia should be doing exactly just that instead of being a "jealous monster". As a result, Maleficia became the inspiration for numerous villainesses and witches in fairytales about "a princess who falls in love with a prince, but is hunted by a witch who is jealous of her relationship with the prince". Green also became a color associated with jealousy and envy since she often wore it, and sayings like "green-eyed monster" became invented. In the end, her human ex-boyfriend managed to rescue his human bride as well as severely injure her and return home where he was glorified as a hero. Centuries passed, and even when her human boyfriend died of old age and Maleficia found herself Malleus' grandfather, she still continues to resent her human ex-lover and the woman he left her for.

Ah, and of course, when the Human-Fae Wars started, Maleficia's hatred of humans increased tenfold, and when they killed her daughter, Maleanor Draconia, it was the final nail in the coffin.

Relationships:

Her daughter, Maleanor Draconia - Queen Maleficia loved her daughter very much and was very doting and protective. Afterall, she was basically a carbon copy of her and she would loathe herself forever if the same heartbreaking fate that happened to her happened to her daughter. That's why she was very wary of her son-in-law but eventually accepted him when he proved himself to her. She was beyond devastated when her daughter died and vowed vengeance against all the humans that caused her demise.

Her grandson, Malleus Draconia - Though she loves her grandson very dearly, she is very strict and protective of him. She acknowledges that he is the only heir left of Briar Valley, and how hard it was to hatch him. For that reason, she takes being his only living relative very seriously and disciplines him to become the perfect ruler that not only she, but the entire kingdom needs him to be. She also strives for his safety above all else and only hires the best guards and retainers to keep him safe. Lastly, she would also be very picky and judgmental if her grandson were to fall in love - not only would she hate to see her grandson get his heart broken, but it would be terrible news if the Crown Prince of Briar Valley was distracted from his royal duties.

Y/N - If Y/N was introduced to her BEFORE the overblot and she and Malleus were NOT dating and just friends, Queen Maleficia would be very cold and wary of her at best, harsh and hostile at worst. She wouldn't like how casual, informal, and intimate she would be with the Crown Prince. However, if Y/N was introduced to her AFTER the overblot while just being friends with Malleus, Maleficia would at first be shocked and refuse to believe it. Afterall, how could a magicless human possibly save one of the top five most powerful mages in the world??? However, over time, when she sees that her grandson isn't joking and hasn't gone insane, she would eventually warm up to you and be extremely kind to you. Afterall, you DID save her grandson's life. If Y/N was introduced to her BEFORE the overblot and while she and Malleus WERE dating, she would be ardently against the relationship. Not only would a dragon fairy crown prince with powerful magic dating a magicless human commoner cause numerous political and social problems, but she knows better than anyone else that humans can leave behind the most devastating of broken hearts even before they're dead. But if Y/N was introduced to her while she and Malleus were a couple AFTER the overblot, as mentioned earlier, she would be very reluctant to believe such a revelation but would eventually come to quite passionately, support the relationship. With that said, the most that you'll be is Malleus' future queen consort, and the least that you'll be is his mistress. If you were to choose the former, she would be overjoyed and along with all your royal fae teachers, teach you all that you need to know to be a member of the royal Draconia family as well as the future queen of Briar Valley.

A like is a punch to Queen Maleficia's human ex-boyfriend!

[ghost-1-y]

Worship

Human!Giyuu x AFAB!Naiad!Reader

Content Warnings: MDNI, sub!Giyuu, dom!reader, penetrative sex (f! receiving), unprotected sex, oral sex (f! receiving), face-sitting (f! receiving), pegging (not strap-on, Giyuu gets fucked with a dildo though), body worship, having sex underwater, virginity loss (Giyuu is a virgin), creamp!e, praise k!nk, worship k!nk, temperature play (ice), slight degradation from reader, reader refers to Giyuu as “pet” a few times, please lmk if I missed anything!!

Summary: As a water nymph, you never saw the world from beyond the spring you were born from, having only seen humans come to your spring bearing gifts and performing rituals for the sake of worship. However, one day, a beautiful human male stumbled his way into the domain of your sacred spring, and with neither offering nor sacrifice to give you, he thought of another way in which he could pay you worship.

Word Count: ~3.6k

Divider Credit: @/benkeibear

A/N: this was inspired from the story of Hylas and the Water Nymphs, a Greek mythology story where Hylas, a young male, goes to get water from a spring but is kidnapped by the Naiads because of how beautiful he was, it’s a short but interesting read!

Beauty was beheld by those who wished to seek it.

It would be bestowed upon in many different forms, through life, through fertility, and through healing.

Oftentimes, those who sought such beauty would do so through sacrifice – and would give thanks through continued worship of those who so graciously imparted such virtues upon the needy.

As the sun would rise, your eyes bore witness to such worship, as humans from the nearby village would arrive – men, women and children all wishing for their lives to be filled with beauty unknown. Some would ask for it on behalf of others, a sick family member perhaps – or possibly for the good of their village, praying for the blessing of a good harvest with the changing of seasons; others would ask for their own sake, for personal gain and fulfillment. And you were willing to provide them with what they desired, so long as they gave appreciation and thanks in return.

When dawn broke over the horizon, a line of villagers would emerge from the woods, the men carrying the corpses of swine or lambs for the sake of sacrifice. You would peer at them from within your quiet spring, eyes just above the surface of the water as they’d form a circle and remove the bones from the animal and offer them at the edge of the spring. 

Smiling, you’d emerge from the water and would take the bones into your possession, admiring the beauty in the humans’ effort to worship you. As you stood collecting the bones, some of the children would come by and offer locks of their hair to you – curious and excited to see such a pretty being emerge from the spring. You’d take their offerings and gently pat them on the head, before using water to create doll-like figures made out of ice as the children stared in awe at your power. Giggling, they’d take the shaped ice into their soft hands and run back to their mothers, showing them what the “beautiful water fairy” gifted them before it slowly melted away in their hold.

The villagers would cook and feast upon the meat that was not sacrificed until the sun rose higher into the sky, chatting amongst themselves, happiness evident in their eyes as they’d return to the village to find their crops thriving and their sick healing.

It was good.

It was beautiful.

And so you’d return to your spring, with water as calm as night and falls as enchanting as the morning mist, cascading into the place that inhabited your very soul. You submerged into its depths, ripples causing floating lily pads to drift away from you before swimming behind the falls, your home behind its veiled entrance.

Each week, the same ritual would take place – the villagers would change over the years, some growing old and some with newer faces. You’d always laugh at those who’d blush and refuse to make eye contact with you due to your lack of clothing – something unnecessary for a water nymph such as yourself – but the unmistakable happiness remained constant throughout their years of worshiping you.

However, on a day in which the villagers would usually not come to your spring with plans of worship, you heard the trudge of footsteps from outside of your home. Curious, as it sounded like a single human had come to your spring rather than a group, you’d wondered if there had been some sort of emergency that required your help.

Perhaps the human was in need of healing? Or caring for someone who was dying? So you emerged from behind the waterfall, only to find a young man – no older than his early twenties you’d assumed, as you’d learned of the average human lifespan from blessing generations upon generations of villagers over the years. His raven locks splayed past his shoulders and fell down his back and chest – which was completely bare down until his waist, where the only cloth he wore seemed to be his woolen chiton which had fallen off of his wide shoulders and pooled past his hips, revealing a physique that would invoke the envy of Heracles himself. 

He crouched down at your spring, filling his hydria with the sacred water of your home.

“May I ask why you fill your cup with the water of this spring?” you asked, looking at him with curiosity. Startled, he stood up, spilling the water that he had collected in the process.

“This water is not meant for your consumption, love. I must ask that you refrain from drinking it at all,” you continued, a soft smile gracing your features.

“Who are you?” the man asked.

How rude, you thought, taking from your home and not knowing who you were.

“I am the spirit which inhabits this spring, dear human. May I ask what you are doing alone and so far from your village? I’m afraid I have not seen your face before.” You walked along the water’s surface, ripples emanating from your footsteps as you closed the distance between you and the stranger. This man, however, did not seem to like that idea – pulling out a xiphos blade from the scabbard hooked to his waist belt to point it towards you in warning.

“Do not come near,” he demanded, a certain venom lacing his tongue, although a faint blush seemed to grace his cheeks as it took everything within him to not look below your shoulders.

“Such weapons are useless against me, love – I’d have hoped that your kind would be smarter than to show hostility to a being like myself,” you sighed, continuing to draw near. “I assume you did not come for the sake of worship, then, given your confusion?” 

He glared, yet said nothing, instead deciding to sheath his blade – expression nearly unreadable as you tentatively approached him. 

“Why would I waste my time by spending it on worship? I’m collecting water for my group.”

“So there are more of you? I don’t sense them, could they have left you behind?” You looked over his shoulder before gazing at him again. His eyes narrow, his jaw clenching before looking back over his shoulder, searching for someone who wasn’t there.

“Doesn’t matter. I’m thirsty, so I’ll be taking this water with me,” he resolved, holding his hydria close to his naked chest.

“Is that so?” you smirked, a playful look in your eyes, “and yet you have not brought anything for me in return? Not a single offering nor any sacrifice…” You drew close enough to touch him, before a sudden voice rang from the forest.

“Giyuu–!?” the voice called out, and the raven-haired stranger turned his head quickly, seemingly responding to the name. While distracted, you grabbed him by the arm and pulled him into the depths of the water, your grip strong enough to persist in holding him close despite his thrashing movements, trying to escape from you and the spring. You exchanged your grip on his arm for holding his jaw, colliding your soft lips with his and exhaling into his mouth. He gasped and parted from you, staring at you in bewilderment as he found himself able to breathe despite being completely submerged under the surface. 

“Is Giyuu your name?” you ask, and he nodded quietly.

“I can’t have you take from me without giving anything in return, Giyuu,” you paused, “if you offer me something, I will allow you to return to your group, does that sound fair?”

“What would I offer? I don’t have anything of value,” he admitted.

“Well, unless you wish for your voice to become a mere echo that haunts this spring, I suggest that you think of something, love,” you folded your arms, looking at him expectantly. “I am a gracious spirit to those who treat me well, but I am also selfish should I not receive any thanks for my good works.”

Giyuu thought deeply, trying to think of something – anything – he could possibly give you to save his life. His mind raced, and his heart started to beat faster out of sheer panic.

But then, he thought back to your kiss – how your lips were soft against his own, and how it lit something deep within him that he wished to feel yet again. His eyes were downcast, unable to meet your own as a blush spread from his cheeks to the tip of his ears.

“I– I could give you–” he swallowed, “my virginity.”

Your eyes widened, having never received such an offer from a human before. You couldn’t lie, the man before you was beautiful, but you also knew that this was a rather unconventional way for one to worship a spirit such as yourself.

“Are you sure?” you asked, wanting to make sure he was fine with it, “you could gift me something else, it could be something small even – like your hydria or even the clothes on your person–”

“No. I’ve made my decision,” he paused, “you wanted someone to worship you, right?” he asked, and you nodded.

“Then let me worship you.”

Despite his words, he seemed very unsure of himself as he reached out for your hand, holding it up to his mouth before kissing along your palm. Your eyes softened, his actions nearly melting your heart. You moved your hand to his cheek, tracing your thumb along it as you initiated a kiss with him once more. This time, rather than doing so to prevent his drowning, you savored the taste of his lips upon yours, enjoying the roughened texture of them as they caressed your lips. His movements were hesitant, but the groan that bubbled from his throat told a very different story.

“Is– is this okay?” he asked once parted from your lips, and you smiled at him.

“It’s more than okay, Giyuu, you’re doing perfectly,” you reassured him, causing the faintest blush to appear on his cheeks.

“Okay.”

He kissed you once more, his hands hesitant before placing them gently on your bare hips. You could feel his pulse beating rapidly against your skin, slowly guiding his hands further down towards your ass. His breath caught in his throat before looking at you, eyes nervous and unsure until you kissed him once more, encouraging him to grope and feel how soft and pliable you were in his hands. A hum emitted from your throat, and he smiled into the kiss, feeling slightly more confident in his actions as he held you close to him.

He moved to your jaw, kissing along it before slowly licking a stripe down your neck, the slight saltiness evident against the freshwater you both were submerged in. His kisses were delicate – soft despite the chapness of his lips as he kissed along your collarbone. He moved his hands from your ass, making them travel upwards and around towards your breasts, holding them gently.

“Squeeze them,” you commanded softly, and he obliged, groping them like he did your ass – but it wasn’t enough. You took his hands in yours, taking them off your breasts.

“Did I do something wrong?” he looked worried, and you shook your head.

“No, love, I just want to show you how I like it, okay?” you reassured him, before taking your own breasts in your hands, pinching your nipples and rolling them between your fingers, moaning softly as you played with your tits. Giyuu watched eagerly, taking in every movement you made as you pleasured yourself. You looked back at him before taking his hands and placing them once more on your breasts, and he copied your movements, yet it somehow felt better than when you did it, his roughened hands playing with your breasts – a delicious contrast against your soft skin. Eventually, he lowered himself so he could latch his mouth to one of your tits, sucking gently as his eyes fluttered shut in contentment, his cock beginning to strain against the cloth that hung from his waist.

“Mmh– such a good boy, Giyuu, doing such a good job for me,” you praised, causing him to groan against your nipple, sending vibrations through it as he felt his cock throb at your words. Your hand rose to cradle the back of his head as he sucked at your tits, alternating between the two when he felt as though he wasn’t giving enough attention to one compared to the other.

Eventually, he started to kiss down your stomach, descending towards your heat until he stood on the floor of the spring, with you floating in the water above him. Your fingers found purchase in his hair as he gave a shy lick to your swollen clit, causing your hands to tighten around his dark locks. His eyes looked up to you in approval, peering through his pretty lashes at you as you brushed your fingers through his hair, smiling down at him. His pupils dilated, and he pressed the tip of his nose to your clit as he began licking around your sopping hole, not tearing his eyes away from you while sloppily eating your hot cunt. His tongue was flattened against your slit as he licked a wide stripe up it, before licking at your clit, running circles around it teasingly. 

Suddenly, an idea came to his mind, causing him to temporarily part from your cunt before sitting down on the sand below him. You lowered yourself down to the floor as well, wondering what he had in mind, before you saw him lay fully on his back.

“Please, will you… sit on my face?” he asked innocently, his eyes peering up at you in such an obedient manner. You smiled at him, and did as he asked. He wrapped his arms around your thighs, pushing you down so your full weight was on him. His tongue delved into your hole, shallowly thrusting in and out of it, causing you to bring a hand up to your mouth, muffling your moans. 

“Wanna hear you, please,” he begged from between your thighs, and reached to bring your arm down and away from your mouth, causing you to moan unabashedly as you ground your hips into his face. 

He continued to slurp up your sweet juices, nose nudging at your clit as he fucked his tongue into you, collecting anything and everything you’d give him, groaning hungrily with each taste. 

“Fuck– I– shit, you’re gonna make me cum,” you moaned, grinding down faster as he continued his ministrations, a tension building up deep in your gut as he licked at your needy pussy, until finally the tension snapped, causing heat and pleasure to course through your blood as you screamed his name.

“Giyuu—! Fuck, so good– so good f’ me,” you whined, and he moaned into your cunt, sending vibrations into it as you rode out your high, roughly grabbing at his hair, causing him to let out a small whine.

“Shit, such a good boy for me, aren’t you?” you asked, and he nodded quietly.

“Say it.” 

“Mmh.. ‘m– ‘m a good boy f’ you,” he whimpered, “love worshiping y-yo– oh!” 

You reached under his cloth and started stroking his cock. You were slightly surprised by its length, giving long strokes along his shaft before collecting the precum that had leaked from his tip. 

“So sensitive, aren’t you? Have you never touched yourself before, Giyuu?” you asked, and he whined pathetically, shaking his head, “so cute, ‘s a shame no one has ever touched this cock before– not even yourself. It’s okay though, baby, ‘m here now to take care of that.” 

He moaned softly as you kept stroking his dick, pulling it out from the cloth that hid it. You pushed the cloth he was wearing down his legs and off of his body. Once he was completely bare, you moved on top of him, your pussy hovering just above his cock.

“I’m going to ask you one more time: are you sure you want this, Giyuu?” you asked.

“Yes, please,” he whimpered.

You sank down on his cock, feeling it throb inside of you, veins pulsing as you took him deeper and deeper inside, moaning as your hips were finally flush against his. You reached behind your back, cupping his balls in your hand before starting to bounce up and down on him. His eyes shut, brows furrowing as he tried to take in how good it felt for your cunt to be wrapped around him. 

“Wait– wait s-slow down, I won’t last long–” he protested, but that only encouraged you to move faster.

“N-no, please, ‘m gonna– ‘m gonna–!” his voice was cut off by a low groan as he spilled himself deep inside of your pussy, his cum hot as it exploded in ropes against your pulsing walls as your second orgasm came crashing down around you, grinding yourself into his hips as you both tilted your heads back in ecstasy.

“Such a good boy, maybe I’ll keep you as a pet– you’d like that, wouldn’t you? To have no worries at all except to look pretty and please me?” you asked him, and he whined a small yes in response.

“I knew it – good pets deserve rewards, don’t you think, baby?”

He nodded, whining at how overstimulated he felt from your pussy clenching around him. You slid off of his cock and stood up, before holding your hand out, palm facing up towards the surface. Ice fractals began to swirl around your palm, forming an object Giyuu couldn’t quite make out until you held it out in front of him, causing his eyes to widen and his cheeks to flush in embarrassment.

“Do you want me to fuck you, pet?” you asked softly, holding up the ice dildo that you created, “I promise I’ll be gentle with you.”

He swallowed thickly, but he was intrigued, so he nodded, “yes, please,” his voice small and soft as he spoke.

“Turn around for me then.”

Giyuu sat up and turned his back to you before getting onto his hands and knees, his ass on complete display for you. You caressed one of his cheeks before giving it a light slap, causing him to whimper softly. You knelt behind him, at first inserting a finger into his hole, causing him to tense at the sensation.

“Relax, pet, you’re doing such a good job for me,” you cooed, and he did his best to relax his muscles, softly whining as you moved your finger in and out of him, caressing his walls before slowly working in a second finger and prodding them deeper into his hole.

He was trembling, arching his back as you thrust your fingers in once more before removing them completely, making him whine at the feeling of emptiness inside of him. His whining was cut short, however, as you pressed the ice cold dick against his ass, causing him to shudder due to its temperature. You leaned over him, and brought your face close to his ear.

“Are you ready, baby boy?”

“Yes,” he moaned, gasping as you inserted the toy inside of him, the coldness of it making it difficult for him to relax as you slowly began moving it, having the toy press against his prostate with every single thrust. You reached around his torso to stroke his cock as you fucked him, and the combined stimulation caused a familiar buildup to bubble up in his gut.

“Nngh– so, so good,” he moaned, slowly losing himself as he began fucking himself back on the toy, meeting each of your thrusts while simultaneously fucking his cock into your fist.

“Such a good little slut for me, you love this don’t you? You love being my pretty little whore, huh?” you smirked.

“Yes, yes– love it,” he moaned, the tension nearly at its breaking point as he continued to fuck himself with your help. “Gonna– gonna cum again, please let me cum,” he begged.

“Of course, baby. Cum for me.”

His legs shook as he arched his back further, head tilting up as his eyes rolled back into his head, moaning as his cum spurted out from his cock. He gasped, panting as he fucked himself slowly into your hand to prolong his orgasm, cheeks red and hot as he finally came down from his high. You removed the dildo from his ass and converted it back into liquid before pulling him into your arms, allowing him to collapse into you from pure exhaustion.

“You did so well for me, baby,” you praised, and he gave you a small smile as he closed his eyes, head resting against your chest.

After a while, you swam him back up to the surface of the water, allowing him to swim and crawl back onto the land surrounding your sacred spring.

“You may always return if you wish, I’d never be opposed to receiving more worship from you,” you teased, and his blush was hot as he frantically tried to pull on his wet clothing, grimacing at the slight discomfort it brought him.

You smiled and, with a wave of your hand, you evaporated the water that soaked both him and his cloth. He sent you a thankful look before pulling it onto his body.

“I believe you should go find your group, pet, they may think you’re dead since you’ve been gone for so long,” you smiled at him.

Nodding, he muttered a quick, “thanks,” before collecting his xiphos blade and hydria and walking off into the forest once more.

It was only by the time he reached his group's encampment that he realized that the hydria he was supposed to fill up was completely empty.

He may need to go back to the spring once more – just to collect the water this time, of course.

Taglist: @oreo-creampie, @k-a-t-h-r-i-n-a, @wow-im-gay, @peanutpunchy, @love-me-satoru, @crazycatlddy, @dinosaur-crime-scene, @thisbicc, @gojoscumslut, @everyonesfinaldestination, @leehoonii-i, @whateverfontmindmenere, @kyojurismo, @briefrebelfanalmond, @izuoyarmin, @ahashiraswife, @d1gitalbathh, @homo-homini-lupus-est-1701

If your name is crossed out, it means tumblr didn't allow me to tag you - apologies for the inconvenience.

I hope you enjoyed!!

[birdietrait]

🎲birdie's random cas challenge🎲

✿ This challenge is all about mixing different prompts together to get interesting results! 

✿ Sometimes rolls can be redundant or conflict with each other, so if that's the case, just re-roll!

✿ If you don’t roll an occult type in The Main Theme, you are free to choose! I didn’t include human because it’s the default. 

✿ Use the tag #birdie.rcc and tag me so I can see your sims!

Use this to create a new sim, make over a townie, or make over one of your own sims!

Here is a random number generator that may come in handy

Rolls under the cut 🕺

The Main Theme 1-58 (Roll 1-3 times)

Your favorite movie

The forest

Your favorite decade

Cyberpunk

Western

The ocean

The first song in your favorite playlist

A myth/fairy tale

Your favorite TV series

Emo

Goth

Grunge

Punk

Skater

Pastel

Rainbow

Boho

Hippie

Streetwear

Vampire

Alien

Spellcaster

Plant Sim

Werewolf

Fairy

Ghost

Zombie

Mermaid

Horror

Your favorite video game (other than the sims)

Preppy

Retro

Your favorite book

Your star sign

The moon

Apocalyptic 

Fantasy

Medieval 

Winter

Spring

Summer

Autumn

Your favorite flower

Your birthstone

Your favorite cryptid

Sporty

Rocker

Glam

Dark academia

Royalty

The sun

Monochromatic 

Barbie

Bratz

Your favorite color

Primary colors

Prom

An iconic townie (from any sims game)

Details 1-40 (Roll as many times as you like)

Bald

Buzz cut

Short hair

Medium length hair

Long hair

Black hair

Brown hair

Blonde hair

Red hair

White hair

Grey hair

Colorful hair

Warm skin tone 

Neutral skin tone

Cool skin tone

Fantasy skin tone

Blue eyes

Brown eyes

Green eyes

Black eyes

White eyes

Grey eyes

Hazel eyes

Colorful/Fantasy eyes

Freckles

Eye bags

Scars

Body hair

Piercings

A hat

Glasses

No makeup 

Minimal/Neutral makeup

Colorful makeup

No eyebrows

Fangs

Dimples

Gap teeth

Tattoos 

Acne

[adrift-in-thyme]

And so it begins >:) I'm super excited for a month full of whump!! I hope you all enjoy reading these fics as much as I've enjoyed writing them. Now, whumptober day 1 LET'S GOOOO

Whumptober Day 1: Race Against The Clock

Read it on Ao3

- Warriors & Wild

- Summary: When Wild gets poisoned, it's up to Warriors to get him to safety

CW for blood and injury, poisoning, near-death experience

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

Warriors runs and does not stop.

His scarf flies out behind him, its flight a thing of fragile elegance. His boots collide with the earth so harshly puffs of dust rises with each step. His breathing is short, quick; his mouth dry, saliva thick. 

Keep going.

It is the only order he has. And it is an order that rises from the depths of his own mind. 

Keep going until you reach the fountain. 

In his arms, tucked close, lies Wild. Draped in an awkward bridal hold, his legs and arms flap limply with the movement, like damp clothes hung on a line to be tossed by the wind. His breaths are an unending rasp of thin, courageous gasps. Blood deepens the tranquil blue of his tunic into a somber maroon and drains past his lips in a line of faintly bubbling gore. 

He coughs. More life flees in a murmur.

This time, the persevering rises and falls of his chest nearly ceases with it.

“Stay with me, champion,” he orders through gritted teeth and the taste of sweat. 

“No problem,” the boy had chirped mere moments before. He had stood with an arrow in his breast, dripping emerald, he had stood bloodied and beaten…and he had grinned. 

“Takes more than this to kill me.”

And therein lies the heart of the hero’s sentiment. Warriors has certainly thought the same phrase many times himself.

The idea that you are stronger than evil, stronger than fate — it is one you must hold to if you mean to survive. The thing about heroes is, they always mean to survive. 

Pride is necessary. Pride does not change a single thing.

Blue eyes turned milky blink up at him. Cracked, crimson-dampened lips part with a sigh.

“I’s okay Wars. ‘M fine.” His voice cracks, a structure of crumbling stone. His head lolls sideways, bumping against Warriors’ chest. 

“I know...”

He is not. Not in any way.

Warriors knows little about the various poisons that exist within this darkness-entrenched world. He should, what with the sheer amount that have been sent his way. But even Impa’s knowledge and Zelda’s wisdom cannot comprehend them all. Like the cursed stalfos in Wild’s Hyrule, they lurk, waiting, watching until the right moment to leap. 

Whoever they hit is left floundering. That much is so certain that it aches. 

Warriors pauses. His chest heaves with quick, thin, burning gasps. There is a crossroads before him. He examines the two worn signs, like human arms, each gesturing in a new direction. He has little clue as to which leads to a fairy fountain. But the one claiming to take him to Kakariko seems the more promising choice of the two. If, goddess forbid, his gamble fails to pay off then at the very least they will be in a town, amongst people. Perhaps, someone will have medicine or know magic. 

He bows his head. As long as he can make it, there is hope.

He wishes, not for the first time, that he had Epona. 

A roar shatters what stillness there had been. Out of the cover of the overgrown grass leaps a bokoblin. Its muscled body gleams silver and violet. An enormous club rests in the beast’s clawed grip, its surface roughly hewn.

Cursing himself for his inattention, Warriors lunges sideways. The bokoblin brings its weapon hurtling through the air with such force that it lifts his hair, makes his scalp prickle. He drops into a battle stance, plants his feet, clumsily maneuvers Wild into the hold of his nondominant hand. His sword sings as he lifts it from its sheath.

Two more beasts fly forth as though conjured by dark magic, one black, the other that cursed hue verging on white. 

The first lunges once more and the others join him. But this time Warriors is ready. He brings his sword up in front of him, angled horizontal. Stealing his will, he pushes himself into a vicious whirl. The world blurs. The wind whistles in his ears, joining the beat of his heart. The monsters cry out and fall.

Warriors comes to a stop, breathing hard more from the panic he must fight down than from physical exertion. Wild moans, protesting the jostling, and he murmurs an apology. There is no time to stop, however. Hefting the champion into a firm grasp once more, he races forward. 

��Almost there,” he murmurs. “We’re almost there, Wild.”

Under other, better circumstances, he would try to get him to talk. He would pry about his Hyrule or Flora or his favorite weapons. He would tease and chatter, keep the conversation going all while his mind worked towards a strategy, a remedy. 

But Wild is too far gone for that. 

The time for words is over.

…

His chest has ceased its valiant movements almost completely by the time Warriors bursts into the town with all the grace of a raging moblin. Every breath stutters out of him. Blood and bile bubble from his lips. His eyes are murky slits of dim white, his brow creased and studded with sweat.

We’re running out of time.

“Fountain!” Warriors gasps to the first person he sees — a middle-aged man with his gray tipped white hair pulled upwards in a high ponytail. “Is there a fairy fountain nearby? Please, it is urgent!”

The man’s eyes widen, mouth working to form words. He points up at a hill rising steeply nearby.

“I-in the woods! The Great Fairy, she resides there!” 

Warriors turns on his heel, nods his thanks. 

“Link…will he be alright?” The man calls as he runs.

“He will!” He faces forward, grits his teeth, forces himself to believe the words that fly forth from his lips.

“He’ll survive this, just as he has everything else.”

…

It happens all in a blur. He locates the fairy with relative ease, watches with trepidation as she springs forth from her bud, holds Wild as magic swirls around them. 

Magic, thank the goddesses above, offered without a cost.

“This little one has paid for this,” the fairy says, painted lips lifting in a soft smile that Warriors is surprised to see. “He has more than paid for it.”

And so, Warriors is free, unhindered by boundaries of suffocating glass, when Wild blinks open his eyes. It takes them a moment to focus, but as soon as they do, they land with gentle focus upon his face. Wild’s expression morphs into a fatigued grin.

“Hey, Wars,” he murmurs, drowsy and weak. “Told ya it would take more than that.”

Warriors laughs. Even as the fear breaks its leaden walls and tears gush past the crumbling ramparts, he laughs. 

[ckret2]

Chapter 14 of Human Bill Is A Prisoner And Only Mabel Is Being Nice To Him (real title TBD), and the conclusion of the first big plot arc:

Also featuring: what Pacifica has been up to the past year! Dipper and Mabel arguing about Bill! The hand witch, briefly! Funny pranks that Ford does not think are funny! And other things.

####

Dipper and Mabel waved goodbye as they left the Hand Witch's cave. The witch, her boyfriend, and Mabel's spare right hand on the witch's shoulder waved back.

"Thanks for helping us out on such short notice," Dipper said.

"Oh, any time!" the witch said. "Come back whenever you like! I'll make tea and snacks again."

"Girl, you know I'm always up for more of your..." Mabel flashed the witch a pair of finger guns and a wink, "... finger food!"

Her spare hand made a finger gun back. The witch laughed so hard she wheezed. Her boyfriend leaned down to pat her back.

As Mabel and Dipper wove their way down the Hand Witch's mountain, Mabel said, "It's good to see she's found a relationship. She seems happy! And less desperate."

"I dunno, I'm kind of worried about that guy. What if he's just using her to learn her handomancy secrets?"

"Naaah, I'm not worried about him. He's a really bad apprentice. I think he's just letting her train him as a bonding activity. Like when girls let their boyfriends explain football so they can watch games together." Mabel turned to peer at the dark cave above. "Do you think Alehandra will be lonely without me?"

"Wh—you already named it?"

"Hands come in pairs, Dipper. Maybe she'd like a twin sister." She looked at Dipper's hands. "Or brother."

"Oh no. Uh-uh, I can see where this is going. We've already gotten in enough trouble with that stuff."

Mabel's phone buzzed. They must have gotten near enough town to get reception again. She pulled out her phone, saw a text from Soos, and swiped it open. "Mabel, this is Ford..."

"Speaking of growing extra hands," Dipper said. "Mabel... I think this whole thing is a bad idea. I mean—worse than it was originally. Getting Bill magic hair growth formula is one thing, but, growing extra limbs? I don't know what he could do with that, but he could do something."

Mabel's thumbs hovered over the screen, paralyzed as she tried to figure out what to tell Ford and Dipper at the same time.

The truth was, she'd had the same worry as Dipper. She lowered her phone. "Yeah, okay, maybe he could possibly do something with it hypothetically—but clearly the whole reason he asked for it was for the hair growth part! Because he's bald. So maybe he just... doesn't care about the rest? If we get only enough Hairy Fairy to regrow his hair and use it all up, then he won't have a chance to use it for anything evil, right?"

"Unless he's not even interested in regrowing his hair." Dipper pulled off his backpack and rummaging through it until he found the advertisement Ford had given him. "Look, everything in this ad lines up with what Bill told us about Hairy Fairy's history. If he knew that much, he definitely could know it can grow extra limbs. He might have even known it was coming back on the market before he saw the commercial! What if the only reason he burned off his hair was to manipulate us into getting this formula?"

"What would he do with a bunch of extra body parts?" Mabel asked. "He's clumsy enough with the ones he already has. I kinda think more would make him weaker."

"I don't know, but—I didn't know what he wanted a 'puppet' for, either, and see how that turned out?"

Mabel bit her lip, looking at Dipper's face—and then looked down at her phone, rereading the last sentence of Ford's text. "I'm worried he might be up to something nefarious."

She couldn't have this conversation in two places at once. She typed a quick reply to Ford—"It's too complicated to explain in text! I'll tell you when Dipper and I get home. (It's NOT dangerous, don't worry!) ❤️"—and stuffed her phone in her pocket. "Okay," she said. "Look. Sure, it makes sense to be extra paranoid with Bill—especially when we saw him finish his big master plan last summer—but honestly? I kinda don't think he's that good. Think about how many times Grunkle Ford says he tried and failed to get into our universe! I don't think he's a big alien super-genius with a careful zillion-year plan; I think he's just some guy that needed to try a zillion years just to get one plan to work. And that's... kind of lame. What can a guy like that do with hair formula?"

Dipper absorbed that. "Wow. Yeah, actually, when you put it that way, that—that isn't very impressive." He grimaced. "But—okay, even if he didn't have a complicated escape plan, what if he saw the hair formula and thought of one that he needs extra arms for—?"

"Dipper, we can 'but what if' Bill forever!" She flung out her hands in frustration. "If we second-guess everything he says, we'll start wondering stuff like 'what if he wants us to distrust him so he can reverse-psychology us into doing the thing he actually wants?' It'll drive us crazy! And letting Bill drive us crazy won't make us safer! We can't spend another summer being paranoid about Evil Bill Tricks!"

"Okay yeah, you have a point, but—why is the solution 'do what he wants'? Why isn't it 'tell him no, and cover our ears whenever he tries to say he wants something so we don't even know what he wants and he can't manipulate us'?"

Mabel's mind flashed back to the sad ghost under the zodiac blanket, huddled in a dusty corner. She looked at her feet and kicked a clump of grass self-consciously. "Because... he's sad and it's making me sad."

Dipper groaned. "Mabel."

"I know—"

"Mabel, he could be acting sad on purpose—"

"I know he could, I know, I KNOW!" Mabel let out all her accumulated Bill-induced frustration in a scream that startled several birds out of a nearby tree. She jumped furiously on the clump of grass. "He probably thinks I'm a big soft sucker! He's the worst and I hate him so much!"

"YES!" Dipper aimed a kick at the grass clump. "He's the worst ever! It's his fault we're even having this argument!"

"This summer was supposed to be different!"

"No apocalypses, no murder attempts, and no demon triangles!"

"No triangles at ALL! I don't even like geometry!"

When they'd collaboratively destroyed the grass clump, they fell silent, breathing heavily, staring at the upturned dirt. "I needed that," Mabel said. After a moment, she knelt down and tried to set the mangled grass back upright. The grass did nothing to deserve this.

Dipper leaned against a tree. "So. Are we giving up on the hair stuff?"

Mabel carefully patted a mound of dirt around what was left of the base of the grass. "I... still wanna go through with it."

Dipper had used up all his frustration on the grass. He sighed. "If you're gonna get that stuff for Bill no matter what I say, then... why are you trying to talk me into it?"

"Because I'm not going to do it. Not unless you agree."

"You... what?"

"Dipper, I feel like this is the right thing to do—but that's why I need to know what you think. The last time we didn't talk things out, the world almost ended! We always make better decisions together than we do apart. If I can't say anything that makes you think it's worth the risk, then—I'll give up. I'll tell Bill we couldn't get the stuff, and offer to get him a discount wig after Summerween, and... that's it." Mabel shrugged. "I'm scared too. I keep wondering stuff like 'what if he gives himself leg stilts and climbs out the chimney? What if he grows seven fingers and can finally overpower Ford?' But that's stupid."

She looked up at Dipper. "I want to make sure that if we give up, it's because there really is a danger. I don't want to refuse to help somebody suffering just because we're scared of him."

Dipper slid down to sit on the grass and watch Mabel give the grass clump first aid. Once Mabel was satisfied enough to sit back and wipe her hands off on her skirt, Dipper said, "Yeah. I am scared of him. He's tricked me with some misleading wording before, and I don't want it to happen again. I want to say I'm just being logical, but... right now, maybe I'm doing more feeling than thinking, too." He shrugged. "The truth is, I can't think of anything he could do with the hair growth formula that isn't so ridiculous, even I don't believe it's possible."

Mabel nodded. "Are you scared enough to say 'no'? If you are, we'll quit."

"No, I'm not." Dipper heaved a sigh. "I guess... let's do it. But I want to be as careful as possible. We'll get just barely enough to regrow his hair, one of us will apply the formula so he can't misuse it—"

"I can do that," Mabel said. "I've already slathered like a whole bucket of yellow paint on his face."

"Okay. And I'll watch the whole time as backup, in case he tries anything."

"Barty can watch from the vents as the backup-backup, too!"

"Good idea."

"Boom! Flawless plan!" Mabel grinned. "Now let's go see Pacifica!"

####

The address Pacifica had given them led to a small fenced-in pasture outside town.

Over the main gate was a sign that read "Platinum Alpaca Estates".

In the pasture, a half dozen pink-collar-wearing alpacas placidly grazed.

And standing in front of it all—wearing immaculately tailored lavender overalls, a set of white rhinestone-studded boots and cowboy hat, and a nervous smile—was Pacifica.

Dipper and Mabel gaped.

Dipper said, "What the— What is—"

"Pacifica what."

Pacifica held up her hands. "Okay wait, just let me explain! After my family lost our mansion last year, I could only keep one horse? Which was devastating! I needed to fill the void of hoofed mammals in my life somehow."

Mabel leaned over the fence. "So you got alpacas?"

"I was actually inspired by the llama sweater you gave me." Pacifica gave Mabel a small, crooked smile. "It reminded me that I've always secretly thought alpacas are cute, and I really like alpaca wool goods, so I thought... you know... what if I try it out?" She opened the gate, gesturing for the twins to follow her toward a small barn. "And I actually really love it! These are like, my babies. And I'm talking with some fashion brands about maybe selling them some luxury wool?"

She led them into the barn, and then into a small office being cooled by a window A/C unit. Several wool garments, protected in glass cases, were proudly displayed on the walls with labels underneath: "First Sweater", "First Scarf", "First Blanket"—

"Hey!" Mabel pointed at the familiar blanket, creamy white with the anti-Bill zodiac in ochre yellow. "That's the one I made! Did the yarn you sent me to make it come from your alpacas?"

"It did! You're the first person to make anything with their wool."

"Whoa."

"I actually want to use my symbol from the circle as our brand. I'm waiting to hear from my copyright lawyer about who I need to talk to for the rights to the image—if it's you or your great-uncle, or if it's still with the tribe that left the valley like a thousand years ago, or if it's public domain," Pacifica said. "It's a vague enough shape, I think it could look like either a llama or an alpaca, right?"

Mabel considered what Bill had said about Pacifica's symbol, considered the small alpaca herd visible through the office window, and said, "I have it on good authority that it's supposed to be an alpaca."

"So, wait," Dipper said. "What does this have to do with your modeling job?"

"The ranch isn't turning a profit yet. I'm still in talks with the brands that want our wool, and in the meantime I've got to hire more people to help. I don't know the hard stuff about taking care of alpacas, I just kind of brush their wool and make friends with them while my employees do the hard stuff."

Dipper snorted.

"Hey! I'm learning! But I've only been doing this a few months." Pacifica sank down into her desk chair, propping her chin in her hands. "Almost all my allowance and side gig income is going toward my alpacas. My parents don't want to invest in my startup!" She pouted. "They said if I want to act like a rancher instead of a socialite, it'll be on my own dime."

"So that's why you're working two summer jobs?" Dipper said. "Oh, man. I should have known something was up. I thought it was weird when you said your parents wouldn't pay for a spring and summer wardrobe."

"Yeah, I spent my spring wardrobe budget on this barn," Pacifica said. "I figure I'm investing in my future wardrobe, you know?"

Mabel planted her hands on Pacifica's desk. "Pacifica, I can see how important this is. I've run a business myself—I appreciate the pressure you're under. But, how about this: we could help each other! If you get us a tiiiny bit of that formula, I'll come over once a week for the rest of summer to help out with your alpacas. For free!"

Pacifica blinked. "What?"

"And that way, even if you do get in trouble and lose your Hairy Fairy job, you'll still have someone to help you out!"

Dipper's eyes widened. "Um—Pacifica, could you give us a moment?" He grabbed Mabel's elbow and tugged her out of the office.

"What is it?"

Dipper whispered, "Are you sure you wanna make that kind of commitment for the rest of summer? For Bill's sake?"

"Dipperrr, it's like working in a petting zoo!" She gestured toward the office window. "Look at how soft they are!"

"Oh, boy."

"And maybe I could get some luxury alpaca wool! I'm gonna have the fanciest sweaters."

Dipper grimaced, but decided Mabel would probably have looked for an excuse to spend time around the alpacas regardless of the situation. "Okay. Have at her." He nodded back toward the office.

When Mabel and Dipper came back in, Pacifica was sitting up straighter, hands laced on her desk, a miniature businesswoman entertaining a business proposal. "I appreciate the offer," Pacifica said. "But I don't think a few hours of labor a week balance out the profits I could make at my modeling job. It just doesn't make financial sense. I'm sorry, Mabel. I've got to think of my alpacas."

"I understand. But—I've got to think of my not-friend. If you could just see..." She trailed off as a thought occurred to her. "Dipper! Let me get in your backpack."

"Um, okay—?"

Mabel rummaged around in the main pouch. "I'm sure we left it... Ha!" She slapped down a ziplock bag containing the lock of Bill's hair that they'd collected to make his poppet. "This... is the person I'm trying to help." She crossed her arms triumphantly. "Okay, not the person, but it's his hair anyway."

Pacifica's brows shot up. "Oh, wow." She opened the bag and carefully extracted a few strands to examine. "This is the most golden golden hair I've ever seen. And look at it. Little oily, could use a good conditioner, damaged roots, but otherwise amazing health, no split ends..." Pacifica looked at Mabel, pointed at the baggie, and asked, "Virgin?"

Mabel laughed nervously. "I have no idea and I never ever want to find out."

"No! I mean is this the natural color and texture, or has it been treated?"

"Oh. I'm pretty sure it just came like that?" She looked at Dipper.

Dipper shrugged. "I mean, probably? I doubt he hit up a salon before coming to the Mystery Shack."

"And... you say he had a bad haircut?" Pacifica asked. "What does he look like now?"

Gently, Mabel said, "Bald."

Pacifica let out the softest gasp. "Okay. I get it. I'll help. And also send over a couple of conditioner samplers, because whoever your friend is, he has not been taking care of his hair lately. Natural beauty can only carry him so far. I'll have the conditioners overnighted to your shack."

"Great!" A wide smile broke out across Mabel's face. "Thank you so much, Pacifica! And the formula, too?"

"Actually, I can give you that right now." Pacifica pulled a small green Hairy Fairy bottle from one of her overall pockets.

Mabel gasped in delight. Dipper said, "Wait, you had that the whole time?"

"When we escaped the country club, I accidentally still had the bottle we'd used for the live demonstration in my pocket," Pacifica said. "I was going to replace it tomorrow morning before anyone goes looking for it; I'll just give you guys a few drops and make up the difference with a little alpaca shampoo. Hopefully, nobody will notice the difference."

Mabel said, "Pacifica, you're the best!"

"I know." Pacifica leaned across the desk to put a hand on Mabel's shoulder. "Just promise me one thing."

"Sure! What?"

"I won't be able to do this a second time," Pacifica said. "So you'd better make sure your friend takes care of his hair."

####

Bill squinted at the chocolate chip-sized dollop of lotion at the bottom of the quart-sized plastic food container. "Gotta hand it to you, Shooting Star. This is the funniest way you could have transported the formula."

"We forgot to bring anything to put it in." Mabel snapped on a pair of yellow dish gloves and pointed at the kitchen floor. "Okay! Sit down so I can reach and let me work my magic."

"What, don't think I can handle it myself?" But he sat down even as he protested. He'd already removed his cardboard triangle helmet—which now sat, battered and bent, on the kitchen table—and had washed off his paint/makeup as well as he could without requesting shower access.

Mabels scooped the dollop of lotion onto one gloved finger, then massaged it across her fingertips. "I'm your official makeup artist now! I've gotta do it. Besides, you missed a chunk of hair when you were removing it, you'd probably miss a chunk when you were putting it back on."

"Eh, fair enough. Okay kid, do your worst."

As Mabel coated Bill's scalp, the chemical burns he'd given himself while removing his hair vanished, replaced with new healthy skin—and Dipper quietly lamented, once again, that this stuff was being marketed to grow hair and not regrow limbs. He'd have to document it thoroughly in his journal later.

Dipper was sitting at the bottom of the attic stairs, watching the proceedings in the kitchen, armed with Mabel's grappling gun to use as a projectile weapon if Bill dared try anything. But Bill just sat there, legs crossed with his feet on his thighs and his hands palm-up on his knees like he was meditating, not even turning his head as Mabel worked.

Mabel jerked her hands back in surprise as a fresh layer of golden hair sprang out of Bill's scalp—then quickly reached in again, massaging the lotion into all the strands and coaxing them out until they were all around shoulder length, the same as they'd started. "There! Ta-da! Good as new!"

As the hair crawled down Bill's temples, tickled his ears, brushed his cheeks, he squeezed his eyes shut as tight as he could and clenched his jaw, straining hard to keep from moving. His open hands curled into fists. Dipper raised the grappling hook. But when Bill turned to face Mabel, he was all grins again, and if Dipper hadn't known to look for it he wouldn't have noticed the anxious tic in Bill's eyebrow. "Well? How do I look?"

"Gorgeous! If the real Goldilocks saw you, she'd have to change her name in shame."

"Ha! That's what I like to hear!" Bill un-pretzeled his legs and stood up. "And you did it without giving me any spare eyebrows, too." So he did know about the side-effects.

"Oh, pfff, yeah, I'm not lowering my guard around that stuff again. The first time I opened a bottle, I got some on me and grew an extra hand!"

"No! Really?" Bill gave Mabel's gloved hands a skeptical look. "Where's it now?"

"I donated it to the Hand Witch."

"Ahh, pity. You could've had some fun with your temporary crown."

"'Crown'?"

"Most fingers in the household?"

Mabel's eyes bugged out, and then a manic smile took over her face, as if her brain had just been flooded with more glee than her face could process. She yanked off the gloves, hastily rubbed them on her left wrist, and shouted, "GRUNKLE FOOORD!" She sprinted through the entryway and took the turn down the hallway so fast she ran a couple steps up on the wall before landing back on the floor. "Grunkle Ford, guess what!"

Dipper almost followed her—until he caught Bill moving in the corner of his eye, bending down to pick up the discarded gloves. Dipper raised the grappling hook. What was Bill planning to do with them—use the remainder to mutate himself? Save them to use later? Eat them—?

Bill dropped the gloves in the plastic container the lotion had come in, sealed the lid, and dropped them in the kitchen waste bin. Under his breath, he muttered, "The last thing I need is the pig sniffing this and growing an extra snout." He paused. "Wait. That would be funny."

From the other side of the house, Ford's voice bellowed, "BILL!"

Bill's head snapped around to face the kitchen doorway—and for the first time he glanced at Dipper sitting on the stairs. "Hey. What do you bet he didn't even let Mabel explain before deciding this is my fault?"

"Uh..."

Mabel and Ford's approach could be tracked through Mabel's hasty explanation: "Grunkle Ford, it's just a prank! I'm okay, see? I'm gonna donate Mirhanda to the Hand Witch, it'll be fine—"

The moment Ford saw Bill, he made a beeline for him and seized him by his t-shirt collar. "What did you do to her?! Answer me, Cipher!"

"I didn't! I'm innocent! I plea the fifth! I've been falsely accused! I was framed! Mercy!" The sincerity of his pleas was somewhat undermined by the fact that he couldn't stop laughing the whole time Ford was trying to menace him. His too-wide gleeful smile looked a lot like Mabel's.

####

"Okay, Pacifica," the director said. "This commercial is for the teen market, so we want you to talk to the camera like you're talking to your peers, all right? And by that, I don't mean your real��peers. I mean the slightly less rich girls who would do anything you asked to be considered one of your peers."

"Don't worry, I've got this," Pacifica said. She positioned herself on her stool, hands laced over her knees, and said, "Ready when you are."

"And... action!"

Pacifica gave the camera her best haughty-but-not-too-haughty look, the one that said maybe if you say something interesting to me I'll double your social standing for fun, and launched into her memorized lines: "Hey, I'm Pacifica Northwest—you all know me, most of you probably want to be me. Listen, girls: have you ever tried to go short and it just didn't work out? Maybe that pixie cut makes your ears look weird, maybe those bangs are not for you. If you wish you looked as great as me, I have just the thing for you..."

Everything continued as normal, until Harry's Hairy Fairy Formula was applied to her hair... and nothing happened. Pacifica stumbled over a word, and then kept going, as if maybe no one would notice if she didn't draw attention to it. As she was wrapping up her monologue, her hair finally... slowly started growing... and stopped at half its usual length. Pacifica bit her lip.

"Pacifica!"

She winced and turned toward her boss, feigning a look of innocent surprise. "Yes, Mr. Haroldson?"

"What did you put in your hair! You know you're not supposed to have any product in your hair on shoot days!"

"Nothinggg! I've been following my hair care instructions perfectly! And I had it rinsed just before the shoot like always!"

"Well—what's the problem, then?" Mr. Haroldson turned to the hazmat-suited hairdresser holding the formula bottle.

"I don't know." He took off his mask. "This is the same sample bottle we used at the country club demonstration, it should be fine..." He took a sniff of it, and grimaced. "What...? That's not our usual fragrance, is it?" Mr. Haroldson leaned over to sniff as well.

She'd been found out. She was doomed. Her poker face collapsed like a house of cards. "Okay fine I took a few drops for a friend and maybe replaced it with a little bit of shampoo, so what!" She pointed at Mr. Haroldson. "What are you gonna do about it, huh? Fire me? Go ahead, see if I care! I can get a million better modeling jobs in a week!"

Mr. Haroldson's expression darkened in rage—and then he said, "Pacifica, you're a genius!"

"Huh?"

"Watering it down! Of course! We can sell unaltered bottles to hook new customers and then stretch out our supply by giving repeat customers the weak stuff—we'll tell them that it's less effective if they're overusing it! We can keep up that scam for years, it's not like the FDA is regulating this stuff! Why, we could even make a whole new product!" He turned to wave at an assistant, "Call R&D, get R&D on the phone—we'll make a formula designed to grow short hair. We can call it... Pixie Dust Pixie Cuts! It's all thanks to you, Pacifica!" He beamed at her.

She beamed back.

He said, "You're not getting credit or a raise though."

"Pshhh, obviously. I know how this industry works."

"All right, back to work." He pointed at the director. "Crack open a new bottle and let's wrap this up ASAP. I've got to schedule some meetings about the new product line."

####

"Well, he didn't grow himself eight arms," Dipper said, sitting cross-legged on his bed. He was going over a map of Gravity Falls he'd taken from the gift shop, circling locations of potential paranormal activity he wanted to investigate over the summer. Bill-tainted places got an additional triangle. "And I took out the kitchen trash to make sure Bill couldn't go back for the formula later. I guess he wasn't up to anything after all." He paused. "... Unless he wanted the formula in our trash, and now it's multiplying the garbage or getting picked up by some sleeper agent outside the shack—"

"Stooop," Mabel said. She was carefully coloring in a green bottle of Harry's Hairy Fairy Formula in Dipper's journal; Dipper had started entrusting his journal's art duties to Mabel whenever they went on a joint investigation. "We can't start thinking like that! Remember, our therapist told us that paranoia is a natural coping mechanism for dealing with scary situations, but trusting people is healthy and a sign of healing!" She set down the journal so she could emphasize the word "healing" with jazz hands.

"I think that's supposed to apply to trusting normal people."

"Yeah, but still." The journal flipped a few pages as she picked it back up, and her eyes were caught by scribbles in bright highlighter yellow. "Hey, what's this new stuff? Did you make up a secret code to keep notes in? Can I learn?"

"Ugh. No, Bill did that. I left my journal out and he wrote a bunch of secret messages. It's probably telling me how I'm going to die or the names of all the girls who will reject me or something."

"Pff, probably. Have you shown Grunkle Ford? Maybe he knows it."

"Not yet. He's been too busy."

"Right..." And now, she was sure, he was probably mad at her personally for worrying him with the hand prank.

Mabel flipped through a few more pages, looking at the bright yellow notes. She glanced toward the window, scanning the trees outside. She sighed and got up, leaving Dipper's journal on her bed.

"What's up?"

"Now you've got me worrying about sleeper agents. I'm gonna make sure the gloves are still in the trash."

When she'd confirmed all the garbage was right where it was supposed to be and came back in the shack, she spotted Bill in the living room. He was scrunched up on one side of the sofa as close to the doorway as he could get, watching TV. He glanced over as she shut the front door and flashed a grin. "Hey, Shooting Star. What're you up to?"

Ah, great. They were on casual chit-chat terms now. She edged toward the doorway but stayed outside the living room—sorry, not staying long—and said, "Oh, you know, just—looking at... the outdoors." Before he could dig further, she changed the topic. "So! How's that hair working out for you?"

"Ah." His smile wilted and his glance drifted back toward the TV. (He seemed to be watching the local news. Mabel decided he must've been really bored.) "Well, hair's still the worst thing that's ever grown on me and I still see a human in the mirror—but at least it's a human with a vaguely triangular silhouette. I can live with being back where I started."

"Sorry we couldn't come up with a real solution." As glad as she was to finish her obligation to Bill, she hated that all her efforts hadn't even really helped. Some problem-solver she was.

"Yeah, well. You can't build a pyramid out of meat. You did the best you could." Bill turned to fully face Mabel. "But, hey—listen." He had one eye squeezed shut but the other one stared her down with the intensity of a spotlight, paralyzing her in place. "Even if it's not perfect, I appreciate the effort you put in."

"Hey, it's no big deal. Crafts are my whole thing! It was kinda fun."

"No, I'm serious," Bill said. "I know I'm the town bogeyman, and everyone's only putting up with me until they find the easiest way to obliterate me. But you did a lot more than just 'put up with me.' And, well—don't tell the others I said this," he rolled his eye toward the hall to the rest of the house, and lowered his voice, "but... it's been a long time since anybody's treated me with a little kindness. Longer than you can imagine. I think I'd forgotten what it feels like. Even if I don't have much time left to enjoy it—I'm grateful for the reminder, kid."

Mabel's eyes widened. "Bill, that..." A lump formed in her throat. How long had it been? As big a jerk as he was—centuries? Millennia?

She darted into the living room, squeezed Bill in a hug before he could protest, and then bolted up the stairs two at a time.

And Bill thought to himself, got her.

Humans were so easy. Once you figured out what they wanted to believe in, you could make them do anything you wanted.

Mabel wanted to believe that everyone everywhere yearned to be friends with everyone else, and that the only thing holding them back was the defensive walls they built around their emotions. Mabel wanted to see people's walls come down. Mabel wanted every social problem to be simple enough that even a child could solve it if they were earnest and honest enough.

Mabel shouldn't have let Bill watch Color Critters. It told him too much about the kind of world she idealized. He had that kid completely figured out—

There was a loud pounding as Mabel leaped back down the stairs three at a time. "On your feet!" She grabbed Bill's hands and tugged him off the sofa, then wrapped a measuring tape around his hips.

He twisted around in bewilderment as she circled him, now measuring his chest. "What—?"

"Face forward! Arms out from your sides!" She measured his shoulder span, then grabbed one arm to measure the length. "I'll be back later. I've got work to do. Do not come upstairs!"

Bill leaned out the doorway to watch her bunny-hop back up to the attic.

Okay, he had that kid mostly figured out.

Well, the odd quirks just made her a little more interesting than the average human. The important thing was that, whether she knew it or not, she wanted Bill to be her friend. She wanted to be the horse girl who tamed the hostile bronco, the beauty who saved the beast. She wanted monsters to swear their loyalty to cute spunky protagonists, and she thought she was a protagonist.

The "reformed bad boy" was outside of the usual characters he played—he was better as the ancient teacher, the playful trickster, the divine messenger—but it was an easy enough role, and it gave him plenty of room to misbehave while staying in character. It's so hard to change my old ways—but maybe it would be easier if you give me another chance, if you help me, if you do this one little thing for me...

There was a fun little quirk of human psychology that was so well-known they'd even given their own name to it: the Foot-In-The-Door Technique. Once you get a human to do you one small, tiny little favor, they'll be more likely to do you another, bigger favor later. Borrow a dollar today and they'll be more likely to let you borrow a hundred dollars next week. Ask them to drive you to the auto shop and you'll have a better chance of asking them to help you move. Get them to bring you a little hair solution, and... well, Bill would just have to wait and see what he wanted next.

As long as everything Bill asked for was harmless, there was nothing the warier members of the household could do to intervene without making themselves look like the unreasonable ones. And by the time Bill started asking for anything dangerous, he'd have Mabel eating out of the palm of his hand, and she'd have no idea until it was too late that she didn't mean a thing to him—

####

Bill stared dumbly in the mirror at the yellow yarn hoodie. "H—Did you just make this?" With his arms at his sides, from the shoulders down, it looked like a decapitated triangle. 

"I used velvet yarn for your brick pattern," Mabel said. "It makes the lines stand out more! And I cut one of Dipper's bow ties in half to make the hood's drawstring so you can tie it into a bow!"

Wordlessly, Bill tied the bow—it hung in the center of his chest—and then he pulled the hood on, tugging it low over his forehead, completing the triangle. Mabel had put an eye on the hood. She'd even remembered Bill's eyelashes.

"I thought, hey—if the mask was too much, and the hair is too little, maybe a hoodie's just right," Mabel said. "I don't usually make sweaters for people—sweater curse, blarrr, you know—but, this one time, I thought it was important." She gave Bill a nervous smile. "So... what do you think? Do you like it?"

Bill stared at his reflection. It was hideous, misshapen, and alien, but it was almost himself.

He looked at Mabel. He got down on his knees. He put a hand on her shoulder. He said, "I will kill one enemy of yours, for free, no questions asked, in any way you want."

Mabel blinked. "Please don't do that."

"When I take over the universe I'm giving you your own galaxy."

"I don't—I don't want a galaxy. What would I do with a whole galaxy?"

"A solar system. A planet? Everyone wants their own planet!"

Mabel shook her head.

"Then what do you want?" What the heck do human children like. "Can I show you a magic trick?"

Mabel considered that.

####

"Grunkle Stan, Grunkle Ford!" Mabel ran into the kitchen, pushing Waddles in front of her, breathless with excitement. "Look what I can do!" She held a clear plastic spoon at arm's length, peered through it at Waddles like it was a magnifying glass, and slowly lifted the spoon up. Waddles floated up into the air as well. He snorted in mild bafflement.

Stan's jaw dropped. Ford said, "Ohhh, boy."

Mabel beamed at them both.

####

(This chapter isn't quite as edited as I usually do, because I've been sick this past week but wanted to get it out anyway. Apologies for that and I'd appreciate if you noticed any typos or disjointed sentences! And I'd doubly appreciate any nice comments, I've been having a hell of a week.)

[bluecheeseinmyoffwhites]

Hello, saw your posts about RWBY Characters' Allusions. A question, does team rwby have another character allusion?

A lot of characters have more than one allusion, and team RWBY is no different. These allusions often have a character fill a complementary role of a significant figure in another fairy tale.

Let's start with Ruby Rose. She is of course Little Red, but there are also other characters she embodies. The Wolf in the story is known for his big & shiny eyes, a very notable feature of Ruby (that was pointed out by Ozpin in the first episode, just like the fairy tale). She is also her own huntsman, equip with an "axe" weapon of her own.

Weiss Schnee is Snow White, but also takes other roles of the story based on her summons. Her Boartusk represents the huntsman, who killed a boar to spare the princess. Her Knight represents the noble prince who saves her. Her Queen Lancer represents the Evil Queen who plagues her. Weiss seems to take after the Evil Queen the most, with her friends often referring to her as "Ice Queen".

After reading those first two, you can probably now understand why Blake is based on both Beauty & the Beast. She has Belle's beauty, part of her name, her love for books, her relationship to "Adam" and her tendency to run away. But like the Beast, she has animal traits that she hides, is haunted by a rose, prefers living in isolation, and eventually falls in love with a human girl. She is often seen in Forever Fall, a forest with wilting red flowers, representing the wilting rose that curses the Beast.

Yang is Goldilocks with her destructive nature & yellow hair, but can also be seen as Baby Bear, the child of the Papa (Taiyang, blue eyes) & Mama (Raven, red eyes), resulting in Yang being a mix of both (purple eyes). Each parent compares Yang to the other, and she learns to embrace the good and bad traits of both in order to become "just right".

The tale of Rose Red & Snow White, two young girls based on Little Red & Snow White, can be the inspiration for the partnership between Ruby & Weiss. The two were sisters, which is represented by the ever-growing bond between Ruby & Weiss. Weiss's fairy tale, Snow White, could also be the reason for Ruby's theme, Red Like Roses, which is how the Evil Queen described how red she wants her lips in the original tale (in some stories she compares it to blood in the snow, both line up perfectly with the Red Trailer & Players & Pieces).

Weiss also represents the story of the Snow Queen. She is called Ice Queen. She has a male companion (Kai/Whitley) who is cold, distant, & rude. She sets off to find the Snow Queen (Winter) in V5, during her trip she meets a talking corvid (Raven) & a robber maiden (Vernal). Weiss also gets pierced by evil glass like Gerda.

Gerda’s most cherished memories is being young playing in the rose gardens with her friend. They shared many happy memories here. This rose garden takes the embodiment of Ruby Rose, who befriends Weiss & takes her on adventures. Weiss reminisces about Ruby in V4 after the attack on Beacon, missing the days when they had fun together. A frozen rose garden is seen in Weiss Character Short, representing her longing for Ruby (innocence, fun, freedom).

Blake & Yang have so many allusions when it comes to their relationship. Start with Beauty and Beast. Blake already shows traits of both Belle & the Beast, but Yang does as well. Her affiliation with yellow, adventure, bright energy, & beauty is reminiscent of Belle. The Red Trailer even directly ties her with Blake, calling her the beauty to her beast. Yet Yang also displays signs of the Beast, most notably her behavior when she is angry. She sparks fire red eyes similar to the monstrous Grimm they fight, and is the most aggressive fighter of the group. She receives an injury on her arm identical to the Beast. Most importantly, she is abandoned by Beauty in V3. This theme of having similar & different traits within one another ties into another dynamic that will be explained later.

There are two roses that bring them together. They meet through Ruby, the good rose Yang gives to Blake. Adam is the bad rose that Blake tries to keep away from Yang, but he breaks them. Adam starts off as the Beast (Adam) to Blake’s Beauty. Once she leaves him (like the fairy tale) he then embodies the Rose that haunts her. Once he meets Blake’s new partner, he then becomes Gaston & adopts his jealousy. Once Blake & Yang defeat him, they free themselves from the curse and come back to the Good Rose.

Blake & Yang also represent the Yin & Yang dynamic. We have the darkness (Blake) and the light (Yang), with a little bit of each other in each (matching eyes). Many cultures depict Yin as a tiger (Blake's cat ears) and Yang as a dragon (Xiao Long). The themes of darkness and light has been associated with Blake & Yang since their trailers. Blake engulfs in darkness when she leaves, while Yang brings light when she enters (kind of like their semblances). Scenes with Blake & Yang play with lighting a lot (2x06, 6x01, 9x06), and fights involving them often have them circling around each other or moving across each other, just like the Yin Yang Symbol.

Team RWBY as a whole also has references. One commonly known reference is the Wizard of Oz crew, with Ruby acting as Dorothy (who had Ruby/Silver slippers). Weiss is the Tin Man who gains heart while the real one loses it (Ironwood), Blake is the Lion who gains courage while the real one loses it (Lionheart), and Yang is the Scarecrow who learns to fight smarter while the real one acts irrationally (Qrow). These four adventurers set off to Beacon (Land of Oz), meet the Wizard (Ozpin), and get their wishes (graduating). They are told to stay on the Yellow Road, but fail.

The team's respective Remnants also allude to their fairy tales. Ruby sheds roses, representing her red color scheme, her youthful innocence, and the flowers Little Red picks for her grandmother. Weiss sheds snow, representing her white color scheme, her cold attitude, and Snowhite's soft skin that gave her the name. Blake sheds shadows, representing her black color scheme, her dark personality and background, and the Beast condemned to the shadows. Yang sheds fire, representing her yellow color scheme, her bright but scorching personality, and the porridge Goldilocks claimed was "too hot".

Ruby represents multiple figures from others characters’ allusions. Penny is based on Pinocchio, who wishes on a Shooting Star to be a real human. Ruby, who is often characterized as a small flickering light (literally & figuratively) she represents the star that Penny wishes for & makes her feel human (literally & figuratively).

2x07 Dance Dance Infiltration is a retelling of the Cinderella story. The maiden is told she needs to return by midnight, puts on a disguise, & goes off. Ruby tracks her, Cinderella enters the stage, the two dance, and she leaves without a trace. Ruby in this case represents the Prince that wants to find the mysterious maiden he danced with the night before. His only clue was her missing glass slipper. Cinder fights with glass, a point Ruby reports to her professors as information to track her down.

There's a lot more micro references to other fairy tales but these are the most notable for Team RWBY. These references influence how a character is portrayed, how they interact with others, and the actions they take.

[addledmongoose]

Good Omens Fanfic Friday (20 Sep 2024)

Because I finished my first draft of my latest (a Reverse Omens AU), and because two separate bangs are starting to come out this month, I have a really long list of (mostly short) stories to recommend this week. And if you like your GO fanfic smut-free, this is the list for you. Only one of these stories is rated E.

These first three aren't part of any bang.

Tadfield Zoo (40K; Rated E) by @groovynightstrawberry

Human AU. Crowley is the zoo's herpetologist. Aziraphale is the new vet. Crowley needs a plus one for his cousin's wedding, and Anathema has a great idea.

***

There’s no algorithm for the ineffable (12K; Rated T) by @thinkinginscripts

Human AU. A lovely, angst-free short with a lot of wonderful witty dialogue between the Ineffable Husbands.

Aziraphale Fell has been running Heavenly Matches, bespoke dating concierge for queer professionals looking for serious relationships, for over twenty years. His success rate is unsurpassed.

His new client, Mr Crowley, is just lovely - there are plenty of candidates interested in taking him to dinner. But after three dates with three perfect men, Crowley's not even sure what he wants anymore.

***

Flowers From Hell (42K; Rated T) by @entanglednow

I loved this story so much. Set post-notpocalypse, Aziraphale makes an effort to get more involved in Crowley's interests, especially his love of gardening. I don't want to spoil it, but I can say you will absolutely fall in love with Ivy.

***

These shorts are part of the GO Fairy Tale Minibang. There are a lot of stories in this collection, so be sure to check them out if you like fairy tales.

The Marriage of Robin Redbreast and the Wren (9K; Rated G) by @starryfull13

A Scottish tale about a wild red-breasted robin and a wren of the Royal court.

***

A Warrior in a Garden (9.8K; Rated T) by @snarky-synesthete

Set post-scene after Wessex, Aziraphale is a Knight of the Table Round when Crowley shows up to sow discord as Morgana la Fey. This story could have easily fit in the GO world like an extended Wessex minisode.

***

The True(ish) Tale of Hansel and Gretel (4K; Rated G)

Aziraphale arrives in a small town to find several of the village children missing and goes to find the witch responsible, only to stumble upon a lovely, ginger-haired demon he hasn't seen in a few years.

***

The Bounds of Gold (18K; Rated T) by @suavissimapenna

Human AU. Nice twist on the Rumplestilskin story.

All Aziraphale wants is to Illuminate a book commissioned by the royal family, but a gold shortage in the kingdom means he has to use a cursed spell book to spin straw into gold. All Crowley wants is to escape the curse that's bound him to the spell book for centuries. When the royal family finds out about Aziraphale’s new skill, things go to hell in a handbasket. A Rumplestilskin AU.

***

When The Lanterns Are Lit (5.7K; Rated G) by @the-ineffable-dance

Deep in The Wood, pixies Aziraphale and Crowley live a life of carefree delight. But when a doorway into Faerie appears, Aziraphale and Crowley have to work together to help two lost human boys admit the feelings they have for each other... and maybe recognize their own feelings along the way!

***

These stories are part of the Do It With Style Silver Screen bang. There are a lot more stories in the works, so be sure to check it out.

The Bookshop Around the Corner (18K; Rated G) by @luinlothana

It's You've Got Mail in the GO universe. This is NOT a human AU. It's the story of angel who doesn't want to sell books and a demon who is feeling a wee bit guilty about one of his plans coming to fruition.

***

The Crowley Family Values (11K; Rated T) by @ezomind-the-other-one

Human AU. As the name implies, this is a crossover fic with the Addams Family Values. If you don't know the other IP, you might struggle a bit simply because the dark humor can seem odd, but if you do know the Addams Family, you'll find the story fits perfectly with the style of humor.

[mistressroxielove]

Hey everyone~ I got some more stuff for ya~

Long story short, I've discovered the new Fairly Oddparents reboot, absolutely loved it and was inspired to make this AU idea for the show! With a slight reimagine/redesign of the characters as well.

Here's some more info about my AU:

Fairly Odd Parents AU/Rewrite

Au Name: FairlyOdd Brother

Summary:

Perri (previously known as Poof) recently graduated from Fairy Godparents School and is eager to start granting Wishes for his very own godchild! Only problem is that with his lack of experience Jorgen is weary of giving him an assignment and keeps finding excuses/reasons to not give him a godkid. Realizing it might be a 1,000 years before they give him a chance to be a Fairy Godparent, Perri decides he needs to be a little bold and perhaps, bend Da Rules, to get his foot in the door so to speak. And his answer comes to him from a new neighbor in his human home, a family with a sweet shy 10 year old girl who is absolutely miserable. Perhaps Perri might be able to offer this girl a little comfort and fun as her new Fairy Godbrother!?

(Basically the same premise of the show, except Perri’s first godchild is Hazel, and through a technicality in the rule book, becomes her god brother instead of her godparent.)

ALSO please note this AU is more of a slight reimagine of the original show, meaning I did tweaked / changed some of the characters personality to match the new story I made for them. Nothing majorly different, but again just a heads up before you read on. Hope you like it~

Name: Devin “Dev” Dimmadome 

Age: 9/almost 10

Sex: Male

Physical Description: 

Is basically the same as in the show, though there are a few key differences. 

-Despite having slicked back hair he always has a single strand that no matter what always sticks out, he hates it and is always trying to move it back into place but to no avail. In reality without the hair product he has natural curly hair like his father, though his curls are a little more difficult to comb and manage than his father, something that he doesn’t like about himself

-Has freckles! But always wears makeup to cover them as according to Dale’s research are ’less desirable’ and would statistically do better with them covered up

-Also has heterochromia, one blue and one green eye, but always wears either a blue or green contacts to hide his ‘flaw’, again being told to do so by his father

- Though he is always required to wear a branded white hoodie, Dale actually lets him wear whatever shirt he wants underneath, just with the promise Dev never takes his sweater off in public. Dev usually wears all sorts of geeky and nerdy shirts, mostly love meridian and Crimson Chin related stuff, it's the closes thing he’s allowed to wear ��freely’ without requiring his father’s approval. Again this ‘freedom’ is kinda pointless since he still has to wear the hoodie, but he still appreciates it.   

-As you can see in the photo above I showed what he looks typically on the left, and on the right is basically what Dev would dress like if he had no rules or restrictions.

Personality: 

It's basically exactly the same as in the show, I really like Dev both in a story sense and a comedic sense so nothing to really change. The only slight difference is that Dev in this version clearly gets a crush on Hazel in this version. I think the show is ‘hinting’ of them possibly being a couple later on, but in my version I wanted to make it a little more clear that he has a subconscious crush on her. Basically think Anya and Damion from Spy x Family if you want a good example. He likes her, but being a 10 year old boy with severe daddy issues has no idea how to handle this and ends up being kinda mean to his regret. 

Other fun facts:

-I won’t get into it now, but his relationship with his father is a bit different, as I have a unique take on Dale and who he is as a person. I’ll probably draw him next but for now just know Dale isn’t an evil heartless father and there’s more to him than it seems, and thus the relationship between Dale and Dev is a little more complex.

-And yes though it isn’t important yet, he does end up getting Cosmo and Wanda as his fairy godparents instead of Hazel as the AU would suggest.

- In this version Peri is also not a big fan of Dev. As he obviously doesn’t like how he’s mean to her at first, but as they become friends and Peri soon realizes that Dev has a crush on Hazel this leaves Peri horrified at the thought. And of course being a proper big brother is completely against and despises the idea of Dev and Hazel ever ending up together. He’s not too over the top about his dislike, but definitely would be sitting in to conor with his arms crossed, while trying to subtly tell Hazel she could do soooooooo much better than him.   

I hope you guys like this, I'm personally really happy with how this design turned out, especially his 'real Dev' design on the right. But I would love to hear your guys thoughts and opinions about my designs. Do you like them, hate them? Feel free to tell me below.

Also tomorrow I'll post a version of this photo with a transparent BG and maybe upclose shots of the design as well, just so you can see the design easier without the BG

Previous - Next

[spooky-bunnys]

Hiii can you make an Undertaker one? It’s okay if you don’t :D

It's the Undertaker! I had to do something for him! Hope you Enjoy!

When Ciel arrived at the Undetaker's funeral palor for information regarding to his current case, he wasn't expecting company. Well...live company that is. When he entered the palor he wasn't expecting to see Undertaker interacting with someone that was actually living and breathing.

When the bell rang over the entry door. The conversing duo stopped and looked at the door. Noticing the Young Earl and his faithful butler. "Oh! Sorry. I didn't know you'd be expecting guests". A male with (hair color) hair spoke standing. His eyes were a dark purple. Which immediately Sebastian noticed.

He gave a small smirk. "Hello (Name)." The male now introduced as (Name). Looked confused. Ciel was equally confused on how his butler knew the male and not him. Unless...."He isn't human?" (Name) looked surprised. "How...." (Name) took a good look at the butler and noticed Sebastian's eyes and nodded. "Demons."

Ciel looked between the two extremely confused. "How the bloody hell?" (Name) gave the Young Earl a smile and bowed. "You must be Earl Phantomhive. I've heard so much about you!" Ciel looked at the Undertaker Furious. "Why the bloody hell would you tell other supernatural creatures about me!" The Undertaker laughed loudly. That's when Sebastian cut in. "He didn't Young Master. (Name) is a Fairy. He lives in the forest surrounding the Manor."

Ciel stared at the young male. "A Fairy? Like in the fairy tales?" (Name) gave a small huff. "I hate those fucking stories." The Undertaker laughed harder hanging on the young male. "Interestly Fairys are almost completely different from those children stories. So my little (Name) here is nothing like the stories you were told." The Undertaker hugged the male close to him.

"Your little (Name)?" The sliver haired male nodded excitedly. "After so many centuries he's finally accepted my marriage proposal!" Ciel looked flabbergasted at the "Young" male. "Centuries?! Just how blood old are you?!" (Name) laughed at his reaction. "I'm only 1,900 years old. I'm actually still quiet young." ONLY 1,900!? Sebastian looked surprised."Why you are still quite young then aren't you."

Ciel turned to Sebastian Furious. "You knew about them?!" "Well of course Young Master. How do you think I was able to rebuild the Manor so many times. (Name)'s tribe is quite helpful when it comes to issues like that." Ciel whipped to the other male. "Wait! You were the one to build my Manor?" (Name) nodded with a smile. Undertaker smiled brightly. "My little Fairy is quite the worker isn't he?"

The fairy blushed and pushed the Undertaker off him and brushed the "dirt" from his clothes. "Well since you're here that must mean you need help with a case. I shall see you later Taker." (Name) gave the male a short but passionate kiss. He turned and looked at Sebastian with a raised brow. "My elders are wondering when you'll come again. Apparently you missed the last meeting."

Sebastian gave a small bow smirking as he did. "Yes, unfortunately we were caught up in a case. I shall visit as soon as my master excuses me later." (Name) nodded and gave a deep bow to the Earl. "It was nice to finally meet you Young Master. I'll see you again soon." Then (Name) was surrounded by a pale green light and disappeared. Leaving a small (Flower) in his place.

[glorious-sunset]

How Immortals age in cdramas – clues from LBFAD

Many of our favourite cdramas sweep us into the beautiful fantasy world of the Xianxia genre, where immortal beings live for thousands of years! But they look so young?! How does ageing work for these lucky immortals in terms of human appearance? LBFAD (Love Between Fairy and Devil) gives us a few clues about this mysterious process!

Details are below, but in a nutshell, immortal beings grow quickly in childhood then the appearance of ageing slows down and stops! Sometimes their hair turns white when they are drained of energy making them look older than they should! For spirits who have cultivated from plant or animal form, it works differently as they transform directly into adult human form :) I created a graph of the immortal ageing process vs. human appearance based on clues from LBFAD (appears further down, yes I am a math nerd and proud :D ).

Young child

Our first clue to the mysteries of immortal ageing is Changheng, who was a few hundred years old during the Battle of Two Tribes (30,000 years ago) and is described as having been only a young boy at that time (let’s say around 7). Babies born to immortal parents mature (relatively) quickly into young children over a few hundred years, but ageing slows down after that.

Shangque was also a young boy when he was orphaned and rescued by a young DongFang QingCang (DFQC). Since Shangque describes DFQC as like a brother to him, they are likely of a similar age and DFQC was also a young boy at that time - both a few hundred years old.

Pre-teen

Shangque says that he has served DFQC for 38,000 years since DFQC saved him (in ep. 17). For the last 30,000 of those, DFQC was imprisoned in Haotian tower. Therefore, DFQC had been aged just over 8,000 years during the Battle of the Two Tribes - rough guess 8,500 – 9,000 years old since he was a young boy when he saved Shangque. The Battle of Two Tribes occurred soon after killing his father* and physically, his appearance was of an 11-year-old at that time (the actor was 11 during filming).

At this time, Xunfeng’s appearance was of a 9-year-old (actor was 9), and his age probably around 5,000 years old (based on graph below :D )

Xiao Lanhua’s (XLH) first life with her parents in the beautiful mountains of Xishan was also cut short when she was the same age as DFQC entering Haotian Tower. Her actress was also 11 during the tragic massacre of her tribe, and she began a new life as a little orchid flower spirit hidden in the mortal realm.

(*We know that the Battle of Two Tribes occurred soon after the death of DFQC’s father because XLH tells his father’s spirit in ep. 17 that 30,000 years have passed since his death).

Early 20s

The immortals Xunfeng, DFQC and Changheng have the appearance of young men aged 21, 22 and 23 (the age of their actors during filming) and represent the early 20s demographic in human appearance! 30,000 years have now passed and their immortal ages are around 35,000 for Xunfeng, 30,500 for Changheng, and 39,000 years for DFQC. (Sadly for DFQC, his body had been unconscious over these 30,000 years while imprisoned in Haotian tower, but his disembodied spirit had stayed conscious and pounded on the Haotian matrix every day.)

Thus immortals aged 30,000 to 40,000 years seem to take on the appearance of humans in their early 20s. Wouldn’t it be great to stay 21 for thousands of years?! :D

Early 30s

The ages of most of the other characters are unknown, but we have one more clue from an older immortal! We know that Supreme Liyuan is aged over 80,000 years, as he tells “Changheng” in ep. 12 that he is over 50,000 years older than him, and Changheng himself is aged ~30,500 years. Physically, Liyuan’s human appearance is mostly that of a 33-year-old man (the age of his actor during filming). What is strange about his appearance is his hair, which had turned white during the Battle of Two Tribes and never recovered – more on this phenomenon further down.

The Immortal ageing process

Based on the clues LBFAD gave us, here is my take on the ageing process for immortal beings born to immortal parents. Plant spirits, and animal spirits (mentioned in the novel but not the drama) that cultivate into human form are discussed separately below.

Hair turning white

We sometimes see the hair of immortals turning white when they are drained of their energy and cultivation. It happens to three immortals in LBFAD. The first is Ronghao – he uses up half of his cultivation to heal Changheng in ep. 13. His face and lips drain of blood and his hair starts to turn white.

DFQC’s hair also turned white during the Battle of Two Tribes. First he was weakened by his battle with Lady Chidi, then Lord Dong, Supreme Liyuan and the entire High Council of Shuiyuntian ganged up on him, separating his body and spirit and imprisoning both with the Haotian matrix. It also turns white when he is possessed by Taisui in ep. 36.

Back to Supreme Liyuan. Along with the others in the Heavenly High Council, he poured his spiritual energy into creating the powerful magical seal of the Haotian matrix 30,000 years ago. Liyuan is one of Lord Dong’s peers, and he and Lord Dong likely worked especially hard to seal DFQC. The process was so draining for Lord Dong that he has been in seclusion since then, leaving his son Yunzhong in charge. Liyuan managed to stay out of seclusion but his hair hasn’t been the same since! It used to be black during the scenes where he enters fatherhood but now seems to be permanently white. (Assuming Danyin and Jieli were born shortly before the Battle of Two Tribes, this would make them around Changheng’s age).

Cultivated spirits

XLH is a special case and has lived three lives in LBFAD (In her third life, she tells Changheng in ep. 35 that she remembers her previous two lives). In the first, she aged “normally” as above after being born to immortal parents. In the second and third of her lives, she cultivates directly into adult human form from a plant spirit form after cultivating for a period of time. This is what generally happens for plant and animal spirits cultivating into human form in Xianxia.

In XLH’s second life, she was an orchid plant in the mortal realm for 28,500 years or less (or so Siming told her). Time runs faster in the mortal realm, where a few hours in the immortal realm is equal to a few months in the mortal realm. Then Siming brought her to Arbiter Hall, cared for her, and she transformed into human form! At the start of LBFAD, she is 1,500 years old (as she says in ep. 2) and mentally a young girl on the brink of adulthood. She then quickly matures through the drama.

In XLH’s third life, DFQC meticulously cared for her orchid form so well every day that her transformation process is much shorter! (the drama doesn’t specify how long but it took ten years in the novel). After transforming this time, she retains the memories of her previous two lives, and is a mature and responsible goddess with the appearance of a woman in her early 20s.

Lived experience

The lived experience of both DFQC and XLH was interrupted early. DFQC was aged only ~9,000 years when he was imprisoned in Haotian tower. XLH was similarly aged when her tribe was massacred and she was reverted back to a plant spirit with no human form. The child actors for both were 11 during these tragic events. XLH re-emerges 1,500 years prior to the start of LBFAD, then frees DFQC in ep. 1. Thus compared with other “young” characters like Xunfeng and Changheng, their total lived experience is much less, and they are most comparable (and compatible! :D ) with each other.

Here is a link to my article: Character Names in LBFAD – Meaning and Significance

All of my LBFAD articles can be viewed with the tag #lbfad reflections (hyperlinked) and the table of contents to these is here.

[murmiss]

Living with a monster guy.

(inspired by the anime 'Monster Musume no Iru Nichijou')

Pairing: TF141/you, maybe Kortac/you.

Warning: Possible mistakes in words,OOC,This is all purely my personal vision of the characters.I will not say that this is a full-fledged fanfiction, more a sketch of the idea.

summary:Hybrids and humans began to live in peace and harmoniously. You're just a girl with a damn lonely and boring life, but your friend, the head of the interspecies exchange department, decided to add a little tin to your life..

Part.1

A few years ago, a great secret was revealed to the world: the existence of hybrid creatures is real. Lamias, Harpies, and even fairy, mermaids were no longer myths and legends, but became common creatures for mankind. Now, going to the store, you can meet not only the neighbor's grandmother or a former classmate, but also a beautiful fairy choosing a herbaceous tincture with the aroma of roses, or maybe a centaur occupying the grocery department, with a grocery basket in her hands. So, hybrids have tightly integrated into our ordinary life, have become friends, colleagues, and even defenders. Defenders? You may ask. That's right, hybrids have obvious advantages over humans:speed, high jump, flight, fire breathing-and these and many other abilities were used in the army, the police, even in volunteering! Werewolves are good at finding people under rubble, they are strong and have an amazing nose that can smell the target they need for several kilometers.

There were also special groups created from hybrids with exceptional outstanding combat skills. One of them was the Task force 141, the most famous group in narrow circles.It will be discussed.

-Tess, you have no idea how lonely it can be, Girly...- you mumbled to the blonde sitting next to you. Tess Oskott is one of the employees of the interspecies exchange organization. This organization is responsible for ensuring that some types of hybrids (and, concurrently, almost all) have at least one owner who would monitor the well-being of his ward and ensure compliance with all the rules.

-And what about Cullen?-Tess asked with a chuckle, leaning back on the bar stool.

- Cullen? I've never seen worse assholes in my life!- you hiccuped, complaining in a genuinely indignant voice about your recent beau.- He talks for fifty minutes about his wonderful work, then made me pay the entire bill and asked me more "Let's go to you or to me?"

-Oh, it sucks -a friend laughed in response, smiling significantly, looking in your direction.

- I know how to help you, dear-Tess's self-confident smile did not mean anything good, for sure not for you.

- No zombie hybrids!- you moaned, getting to your feet and not taking your eyes off this cunning fox. Tess was up to something, but fatigue weighed on your shoulders, forcing you to run away as quickly as possible.After a short chat, you and Tess parted, she went to the office, and you went home.

Opening the door of your small house, you stumbled inside and kicked off your heels at the entrance, staggered up the stairs, opening the first door and casually throwing off your bag by the bed, plopped into the arms of soft and much-desired furniture.Sleep enveloped you almost instantly, taking you somewhere on a fabulous journey through the beautiful open spaces. You're riding a horse across wide fields, the wind is in your hair, and the horse is neighing and saying, "Pretty girl, wake up." You smile weakly, but at the same second it dawned on you: is the horse talking??! And as if at the behest of that bad man, you open your eyes, wanting to look into the eyes of this shameless intruder of your sweet dream. Next to the bed, Tess was leaning over, dressed in her strict black suit, holding a folder of documents in her hands. Workers walked nearby and dragged some furniture into the house. You jump to your feet and let out a cry of incomprehension.

-What the fuck, Tess!?

-calmly, sleeping beauty, I fulfill your wish, then you'll thank me again -the woman winked and immediately turned on the boss mode, rushed towards one of the rooms, saying in a growling bass voice, "I said the bathroom needs to be expanded! We are also expanding the doorways"

- What?? Do you mean to expand the bathroom?- you rush towards your cozy shower room and see a completely dismantled room. A disappointed groan escapes from your lips when you say "Fuck" in a smacky and disappointed way

Before you know it, workers are turning your house upside down, spoiling all the comfort...

"So, miss, you are participating in the 'hybrid exchange' program, your house has been improved in order to create more favorable living conditions for hybrids."

-What the fuck is so official, Tess? In the sense of hydrides?

"Shh, listen further. You have been honored to become the host for an elite group of handsome men, that is, hybrids.".

-What do you mean?-You asked, raising one eyebrow, but the creatures that suddenly appeared in front of you threw away all questions.

A man of large build, tall, with particularly strong-looking hands came into the house. With your eyes, you unconsciously traced every curve of his muscles hidden under his T-shirt, almost drooling. A black T-shirt with a print of some kind of rocker band, gray skinny jeans and sneakers - a simple image that fit him wonderfully.. Oh, a face with rough features, a scar above the left eye, gray eyes with a blue tint, stubble, thick eyebrows, a mohawk, and that self-confident smile! Tess definitely wants you dead, because this man was definitely hot.A light dreamy sigh escapes from your lips as you shamelessly examine the man in front of you. Tess nudges you in the side, whispering in your ear with a smile.

-Wait, it's too early to melt into a puddle, that's not all

When you hear a quiet hiss, you abruptly turn your gaze to the front door, quietly buncha crawled into the house. Stop.. Crawled in? Oh no.. You see Lamia crawling into your house, cursing at the narrow passages and the cold floor along the way, squinting in your direction in disbelief. Following the Lamia came, or rather, flew, a Harpy- a man with dark skin, a charming smile and the purest plumage. Well, in the end, with a slight alarm, a man with dragon wings came in, he turned from side to side, trying to get comfortable, and accidentally flicking a flower vase with his wings.. Your favorite one! You let out a plaintive moan, but while doing the inhale-exhale-inhale exercise, you managed to squeeze out a smile.

-Umm... oh.. uh.. Hi?- you say uncertainly, greeting them. The man with the wolf ears and tail smiled again, showing his sharp teeth and confidently saying, "Oh shit, Gas, I won. Our hostess is charming."

Charming? Damn, after the bar, you didn't even bother to wipe off your makeup, let alone change your clothes, and this dude is telling you that you're "cute"? It all looks like a dream or a violent comedy, and the director of photography here is Tess. The woman, noticing your bewilderment, patted you on the shoulder and threw something simple like "we'll call you later", busily left the house.

So you were left alone with four hybrids, not knowing what to do.

[suengmi]

✧ curious ✧ .9k, g

you raise your head, eyes scanning along the bank on the opposite side. all you can see is a pair of beady eyes, and long pale fingers pressed onto a large tree branch that's resting on some rocks.

pairing: felix x gn!reader genre: fluff, magical/fairy!au warnings/other: felix is a water nymph/reader is human, it's like 2am and i just thought of this. it's self indulgent pls enjoy

little ripples bounce around the small pebbles rolling in the water, a fish or two swim past, weaving around the little plants growing at the bottom of the lake. it's not too deep, maybe just above your ankles.

a group of small blue fish enter your eyes as you venture further down the bank, pretty pearlescent green scales shining in the late night of the evening sun, their tails so small they'd be no bigger than your iris. gently, you press your hand into the water, trying your hardest not to disturb the fish. when you splay your fingers, the mud beneath is slightly disturbed, causing a few of the dish to swim away.

but one of the fish stays, slowly dancing in and out of your fingers. it stops on top of your hand, as if resting it's weary body from swimming all day. you decide not to disturb it and just enjoy what nature has gifted you.

further along, the water is disturbed, it somewhat sounds like a splash. you raise your gaze, eyes scanning along the bank on the opposite side. all you can see is a pair of beady eyes, and long pale fingers pressed onto a large tree branch that's resting on some rocks.

the boy doesn't blink, just stares back at you as he seems to be assessing what you're doing. you raise your neck, slightly turning your head to the side as if signalling you're curious about him too. he copies your actions, head turning the same direction as yours. one more time, you flop your head to the other side and he follows.

you bounce your head back and forth and he copies. this goes on for about ten seconds, but you stop as you begin to feel dizzy.

"ow." you say to yourself, raising your hand from the water to rub your temple. the boy across the water smiles, resting his chin on the branch.

within a split second, he jumps on top the fallen tree, legs flopping in front of himself as he lets them dangle. his feet are slightly webbed, and his hands too. when he turns his head to the side again, almost comically, a long pointy ear bounces out from his blonde hair, little silver trinkets dangling, maybe some small gems decorating his ear. you're not too sure, he's not close enough for you to see.

the boy smiles at you again as he wiggles his legs, his brown cotton shorts and shirt almost falling off of him. he's small, but not too short from what you can see.

ah, a water nymph, you realise. you've never seen one before. not this close. you realised you've ever actually heard one speak.

the boy nods to the river a few times, pointing to something. you follow his gesture. there's a another school of blue fish, seemingly gravitating towards him.

"you... want me to watch?" you ask, slowly dipping your bare feet into the water. he returns with an eager nod, pointing again at the fish.

the same group of small fish you saw prior look as if they're swimming towards him. they seem to happily oblige as he wiggles his fingers back and forth, the school of fish pooling at the other side of the bank. he looks up at you with a big grin on his face, pointy fangs pressing into his bottom lip.

"that's amazing!" you say in disbelief, trying your hardest not to disturb them.

slowly, you edge a bit forwards, now only about two metres away from him and the fish.

the nymph makes a cupping motion with both of his hands, instructing you to do as such.

"like this?" you ask, placing your hands together. he nods excitedly, gesturing for you to pick them up.

placing your cupped hands into the water, you wait for a moment. the nymph rubs two of his fingers together, his tongue sticking out to the side underneath one of his fangs. within a few moments, one of the fish swims into the palm of your hand and stills.

you gasp, trying your hardest not to move. but the boy doesn't mind, he seems to be enjoying your fascination with what he's doing.

"can i... lift it?" you ask, eyes feeling like they're going to pop out of your skull. the boy nods, jumping down from the branch to be at your level. he steps forwards and bends down, his soft webbed hands cupping your own. softly, he helps you raise them, the small fish swimming in little circles in the tiny pool you've made with your palms.

when you look up at the boy, he just smiles, those little fangs appearing again.

"it's so... pretty." you smile, watching the fish swim around. the nymph watches you intently, seemingly curious about your fascination with that he's doing.

"i wonder how they get so blue-"

"felix!" the nymph blurts out, pressing his face a bit too close to yours. you raise your brows turn to face him. he's no more than ten centimetres away.

he pushes his nose against yours, and pulls back. those big dark eyes wide and staring into your own, silly grin showing. "i'm felix."

-

idk what this is don't ask i lov felix

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