#wynne ah wynne i miss you.

[tragedia]

i wonder what would put wynne out faster, shiri's heretical tendencies or her shameless personality and careless approach to flirting.

[rwby-encrusted-blog]

Reese as a Sea Bunny faunus?

~At a Certain Kind of Establishment

Reese: *Sees jaune* Oh, you're-

Velvet: Hello Sir! Are you having a good time?

Jaune: Uh, Pardon? Well .. Yeah!

Reese: Heh ...

Reese: *Walking over to Jaune and Velvet* Leave this to me! you can help someone else!

Velvet: Huh? But ...

Reese: It's alright!

Velvet: Oh- okay ... alright then ...

*Velvet leaves*

Reese: *Turns to Jaune* Are you having a good time

Reese: With another "Bunny" Girl?

Jaune: *Thoroughly intimidated* No! I mean- I- I'm sorry?

Fun Fact! Zelda Wynn Valdes and Latvian émigrée designed/tailored the bunny suit to help enhance and show off the figure for the playboy bunny waitresses in the penthouse! However, they didn't take into account that the guest would be in leather armchairs which is lower than a a regular chair that sit at tables which lead to spillage (and not from the drinks) so the bunny dip was a technique to help by leaning back a little slightly bending the knees and serving drinks and/or food behind them.

~Later~

Jaune: I don't understand how people can have preferences between Humans and Faunus ... We're all pretty much the same.

Neptune: ha! you say things like that, people are gonna think you're picking a fight!

Reese: *Going to serve another customer* Oh hey!

Jaune: *Blushing*

Reese: You're back again! Good to see you! Have fun!

Jaune: Y-Yeah! haha ...

Jaune: *Ahem* L-like I was saying I don't understand why people have preferences ...

Neptune: ... Face the facts man.

Sea Bunnies, or Jorunna Parva, have a set of organs resembling Lagomorphic ears near their 'face.' However, they are not hearing organs, but more akin to Scent organs. Their "tails" are external gills.

~~~~~

Jaune: Hey! Excuse me, are you Miss bunnygirl?

Reese: *beginning to run away* Sorry! You've mistaken me for someone else!

Jaune: Wait! !ou might fall if you suddenly-

Reese: *thud* Ouch!

Jaune: ... Run.

Jaune: *Helping her up* Hey, are you alright? Why did you start running?

Reese: Well, i'm ... not used to getting recognized in casual clothes ...

Jaune: ...? But I usually see you in a bunny suit though?

Reese: There's a separation between work and normal life.

Jaune: ... I'm Jaune by the way. It's nice to officially meet you.

Reese: ... you can call me Reese.

Sea Bunnies come in many colors, but all of them are covered in dark-tipped papillae.

~~~~~

Reese: Hey, how about a game? Whoever loses has to grant the other persona wish!

Jaune: Uh, Okay!

Reese: Rock! Paper! Scissors! Shoot!

Jaune: *Throws paper* ...

Jaune: Reese? Why didn't you extend your hand?

Reese: *Slowly raises her fist* Oh No~ I lost. It seems I'll have to grant you a wish~

Jaune: ... Did you lose on pur-

Reese: NO! Of course not!

Sea bunnies prey on Toxic Sponges. Some of these Toxins are used in Cancer Treatments.

~~~~~

Jaune: *carrying groceries for Reese* You're cute when you're not working Reese!

Reese: Ah ... Really?

~At her apartment~

Jaune: So do I just set these here, or- WHEN DID YOU CHANGE YOUR CLOTHES?

Reese: *in her bunny suit* You said I was cute? *Slams apartment door shut* Right?

Reese: As of right now, I will be working~

Jaune: W-WaiT!

Sea Bunnies are hermaphrodites. when mating, the pair will interlock their genitalia and exchange sperm.

~~~~~

Reese: *Serving Jaune a Drink*

*CLICK*

Reese: Huh?

Jaune: Ah! Aw, the power went out! Hang on, Ill get the

Announcement: Attention dear Customers, there seems to be an issue with the electricity. Please be patient while we fix it.

Jaune: ... I'll ... Turn the flashlight on on my phone- I left it on the table somewhere ...

Reese: Here, let me help look for it to-

*Gentle Squish*

Reese: Uwah!

Jaune: Ah! What happened?

*CLICK*

Jaune: Oh! The lights are back!

Reese: *Holding her hands to her chest*

Jaune: Huh? What's wrong?

Reese: *Blushing against her anger* Patrons Are not allowed to touch the girls at the bar!

Jaune: What Happened?!?

[cactusnymph]

Prompt 33, bandaging the other’s hand and not quite letting go, for dragon age? ❤️

"Ah, I miss our dear Wynne and her impressive bo—"

"Don't. Say it."

Alistair has no capacity for Zevran's jokes right now. Every single muscle in his body is hurting and his blood is humming with the awareness of at least a dozen Darkspawn in the area close by.

Zevran's ability to make light of situations is something that Alistair might be able to admire if Zevran wasn't also bleeding out of various wounds.

Having Wynne here would make all of this so much easier and way less dangerous.

"It would do you good to think of something nice in a dark situation like this, my dear Alistair", Zevran says and doesn't bat an eye when Alistair goes to wash one of the deep cuts between his ribs. Zevran's pain tolerance is a frightening thing to behold.

The sweat on his forehead and his unusually pale skin tells a different story, of course.

He wishes he didn't drink his last healing potion an hour ago. While Zevran's pain tolerance might be very impressive, Alistair knows that he's the one who can take the heaviest hits. He should have taken the brunt of this.

"Yet again you're not following my advice. You look as if you're thinking of funerals and Mabari excrements", Zevran says and manages a smirk.

"I'll start thinking about nice things once you stop bleeding out", Alistair mumbles, pressing a bandage on one of the wounds and tying it as tightly as possible to stop the bleeding. Then he moves onto the next.

Three Darkspawn down the tunnel behind them.

He hopes Nerian is safe. Usually Alistair wouldn't mind if Morrigan's head got ripped off by an ogre, but maybe not while they're already in such dire circumstances.

"Is that worry I detect, my friend?"

For some reason Alistair wishes that Zevran wouldn't keep calling him that.

"I don't want Nerian to look at me with a disapproving frown when I let you die", Alistair lies, rummaging around in his pack to see if he has any elfroot left to disinfect some of the nastier cuts on Zevran's thigh.

Since they headed into the Deep Roads Alistair didn't exactly have time to examine his feelings for—well. Neither Nerian nor Zevran. Instead of taking some quiet time to contemplate his attraction towards not one but two men, Alistair is zoned into the constant humming of the Darkspawn blood flowing through his veins.

He could really use a good night of sleep under the stars without nightmares of the Archdemon.

"Ah yes. Your fellow Grey Warden has a fierce aura of disapproval about him whenever something displeases him. I can see how that would strike fear into your heart", Zevran says and watches Alistair's every move as he does his best to clean the wound with water and elfroot.

Alistair glances up at Zevran's pale, sweaty face and swallows.

"So. I noticed you—uh. Stopped. With the. With the flirting", Alistair finally says. This is absolutely the worst time to address this, but Alistair could do with a little distraction from the horrors and maybe Zevran feels the same.

Zevran chuckles weakly and Alistair is concerned about the way his eyelids droop.

"I am nothing if not respectful", Zevran says, making Alistair snort. "And since I noticed that you fancy our dear leader I have graciously decided to take a step back."

Five Darkspawn fifteen meters ahead.

The air smells like dust and blood.

"You don't have to", he finally mumbles, his ears burning with shame and the blood rushing into their tips.

There's a beat of silence while Alistair starts bandaging Zevran's hand. He's very aware of every callus and the way they're almost holding hands like this, with Alistair cradling the bleeding palm in one hand while cleaning the wound with the other one.

This is ridiculous. He has to concentrate.

For a breathless moment Alistair is scared that Zevran went unconscious, but when he glances up he registers that Zevran studies his face, his expression unusually serious and below all the strain there's a hint of curiosity that makes Alistair's cheeks burn and his heart hammer in his rib cage.

"Well, aren't you full of surprises", Zevran says with a lopsided smile. Alistair fumbles with the final bandage as he tries to sort the Darkspawn awareness from the rushing of blood he feels while he feels Zevran's eyes on him.

He only realizes too late that the bandage is already done and he's still holding on to Zevran's hand. Alistair takes a deep breath before hastily letting go and turning away from Zevran to grab his shield.

"Stay there", he orders and in one fluid motion beheads a Darkspawn turning the corner.

No one is going to die today. Not on his watch.

feel free to send me one of these <3

[fandomsandflyingstingrays]

Stepping Stones: Chapter 10

“Do you ever regret teaching Luz to sew?”

Hunter walks over to join Darius at the window, following his gaze down to where Luz is making her way to the house. Despite being a good distance down the road, she’s clearly visible thanks to her neon green shirt, bearing the words GO EMERALD ENTRAILS in lopsided, brilliantly gold letters. 

A grin stretches across Hunter’s face. “Not for a moment,” he replies, and Darius sighs deeply. 

Luz knocks at the door a moment later, and Hunter pulls it open for her. She throws her arms around him without preamble. 

“Hunter! You’re going to be amazing today, I know it!”

“Thanks.” As she pulls back, he adds, “nice shirt.”

Luz twirls. “I thought you’d like it.”

As she spins, Stringbean rises up from her shoulders, slithering through the air to nuzzle Hunter’s cheek. “She’s been so excited all day,” Luz tells him.

“That makes two of us,” Hunter replies, gathering Stringbean into his arms. Over the last three months of taking her to school, he’s come to really love her. It doesn’t make him miss Flapjack any less, and he knows she’s not really his— he doesn’t innately understand her the way he did with Flap, and she isn’t as attuned to him— but she still curls around his shoulders when he’s nervous and shifts into different animals during class to keep him entertained, and she’s flown like the wind during every practice they’ve had. It makes him happy to know she’ll be with him today. 

“Are you nerv—" Luz begins, but quick as lightning, Darius sends a tendril of abomination goo to cover her mouth.

“Ah ah ah! We’ve put a ban on that question in this house.”

Raine smacks Darius’s shoulder, and he reluctantly pulls the abomination back. With an apologetic look at Luz, they explain, “it’s pretty much the only question any of us have been getting all week.”

The school administrations have been in contact with the Isles’ makeshift leadership committee, but clearly not enough, because whoever thought that scheduling the first Flyer Derby game on the same day of the election was a good idea had no idea what they were doing. Hunter has heard Raine say more than once that the house hasn’t felt this tense since it was serving as the headquarters for the rebellion, and on top of that, anyone who comes near it has to ask about it. 

“The only thing worse than the waiting,” Hunter tells Luz now, “are the many people asking about how well you’re handling it.”

“Gotcha.” Luz mimes locking her lips and throws away the invisible key. “But for the record,” she adds, “I meant what I said. I really do think you’re going to win today. All of you.”

Eber folds his arms, and since Hunter has been teaching Luz what he’s been learning in Beastkeeping, both of them know what he says. 

“Yes, even you, Eber,” Luz replies. “We win when our friends win!”

Eber rolls his eyes. Darius shoves him lightly. 

“Speaking of winning,” Hunter says, “we’d better get going.”

Stringbean lifts out of his arms and transforms into a staff, but rather than taking her, Luz lets her fall into Hunter’s hands. Hunter gives her a smile, grateful for any extra practice time he can get, and he takes off with Luz behind him and the others following.

The field at Hexside is already packed when they arrive, but it doesn’t take Hunter long to find the Nocedas in the crowd. They’re seated in the front row, Camila blowing him kisses and Vee waving frantically with one arm, her other hand in Masha’s. Amity sits on Masha’s other side and gives Hunter two thumbs up when she sees him looking at her. In the row behind them, Wynne, Gemini, and Ivy are listening to Eda explain something, and Dell and Gwen are giving him bright smiles and reassuring waves from her other side. 

Luz slides off of Stringbean and gives Hunter one last hug. “Good luck!” she says, and races off to sit beside Amity. 

Raine kisses Hunter’s head. “You’re going to be great,” they promise. 

Eber nods, patting Hunter’s arm and scampering after them. Darius ruffles his hair.

“Make us proud, little prince.”

For a moment, Hunter watches them go, and he feels like he’s already won.

Then he takes a deep breath and makes his way to the side of the field where the rest of the Entrails are waiting, Willow ready with his face paint. She draws the fork of green lightning down the left side of his face with careful fingers, and Hunter prays she can’t feel how his face is heating under her light touch. 

She steps back and winks. “Looking good, Hunter.”

Knowing from many unfortunate past experiences not to speak, Hunter gives her a double thumbs-up. Somehow this feels worse.

“All right, team,” Willow says, and they huddle up in a practiced motion at the familiar words.

“I’m sure you’ve heard the rumors about the Saint Epiderm Fire Bees— that they’ve been training since the beginning of the year, that their palismen are some of the fastest recorded in the history of school sports… yeah,” she says to their nods, “you’ve heard it all. But you know what they haven’t heard about us? Viney can make a shield so strong it would stop a wall of actual fire bees. Skara has won a grudgby game and a flyer derby game in the same afternoon. Gus can fly on one foot, with his eyes closed!”

“For a short amount of time,” Gus interjects.

Hunter waves this away. “It still counts.”

“And Hunter can teleport, and make turns so tight he might as well have teleported, and fly so fast that…”

“He might as well be part palisman?” Hunter gives her a tiny, wry smile.

“And,” Willow says, wrapping and arm around him, “he’s always looking out for his team.”

But Hunter can hear the tremor in her voice that she gets when she’s worried she’s said something wrong. The team has been full of nothing but praise for her— but Hunter knows all too well that years of harsh words take years to purge. 

He wraps his arm around her waist. “And our captain here, in addition to being an excellent flyer and a summoner of plants I don’t even know the names of, is such an excellent judge of character that she brought together the best flyer derby team the Isles have ever seen!”

The Entrails let out a cheer at this, and Hunter glances at Willow, raising his voice until she gives in and cheers too. 

The distant screech of a bell lets them know it’s time to line up, and Hunter steps apart from Willow, trying to ignore the sudden cold that sweeps across his side. He tightens his grip on Stringbean and walks over to his place— only for a movement in the stands to catch his eye. It’s Masha, waving for all they’re worth. When they and Hunter lock eyes, they point at Willow and nod in encouragement. 

He could have asked Luz or Amity or Raine or Eda, all of whom have lived through the mortification of having a crush on one of their closest friends, all of whom know about Hunter’s on Willow since he is, in Luz’s words, “as subtle as Hooty trying to rip himself out of the house”. Gus and Willow are the only people he’s ever made any real effort keeping the secret for— Willow, because the idea of ruining their friendship makes him feel like he’s going to throw up, and Gus because he doesn’t want to make him keep a secret from Willow.

But somehow it felt easier to talk to Masha than someone he knows well, to ask them how they took the leap. Their words flash through his mind now as he looks at them. 

“I told her because I needed to say it, and I needed her to hear it, not because I needed to hear anything back. She was so scared of herself, and I wanted her to know how deep my feelings went— and I needed to get them out, because at some point, rejection is actually easier than carrying around feelings that big all the time and not knowing what to do with them.”

And he thinks about these flashes of fear Willow still has, how she cares so deeply about other people that she forgets to ask for anything in return. He thinks about all the risks everyone is taking today— Darius and Raine leaving their futures in the hands of a million strangers, five basilisks at a sporting event filled with people who have been raised from birth to be afraid of them, Willow reaching for her dreams with a team no one would expect to pull anything off— and suddenly, he feels like taking a risk too.

He takes his place in like next to Willow but, before getting into position, leans forward and quickly kisses her cheek. She turns to him, eyes wide, and he thinks she might be blushing but he turns away too quickly to tell if that’s anything more than wishful thinking.

“Good luck, Captain,” he mumbles.

Instinctively, he glances up at Masha to find them grinning. Beside them, Amity applauds him, pointing between her and Luz and nodding emphatically. He’s not entirely sure what that means, but clearly she thinks he’s done something right, so he’ll take it.

And maybe she’s onto something, because suddenly Willow’s hand is in his, their fingers threading together as she squeezes.

“You too, Hunter.”

And then the referee blows their whistle, and they’re off.

Two of the Fire Bees streak towards Gus, clearly thinking that he’ll be the slowest. Hunter hurtles towards them, but it’s too late— a third Fire Bee is here now, behind Gus, grabbing his flag, which— disappears. The real Gus appears behind the two Fire Bees in front of his illusion, holding one of their flags in each hand.

“Better luck next time!” he calls with a wink, ducking under them and streaking for the goal. Hunter takes the opportunity to fly for the third Fire Bee while they’re distracted, but they turn just in time, flinging a wad of abomination goo into his eyes. Crying out, he lets go of Stringbean to wipe them— and topples off of her when the Fire Bee knocks into him, trying to get his flag.

Hunter kicks, screaming, and manages to summon a vine from the ground, calling it to curl around him, place him back onto Stringbean, and wipe his eyes.

Someone claps a hand on his shoulder, and he looks up to see Willow speeding past. “Nice work!” she calls.

Hunter glances behind him at the end of Luz’s staff. “They got my flag!” he calls.

Willow’s face turns grim, and she fixes her eyes on the Fire Bee streaking towards their goalpost. They’re so focused on the goal that they don’t notice as she flicks her fingers, sending a tiny vine to lightly flick their flag off of their staff. Hunter teleports beneath it, grabbing it, and makes his body as small and aerodynamic as he can as he flies like mad for the goalpost across the field. 

The Fire Bee closest to it turns and lets out a piercing whistle that cuts straight through Hunter’s ears, slamming the breath from his chest as he careens backwards— and then bounces forwards again, back onto Stringbean. He glances behind him to see a shield of blue light fading to reveal Viney beneath it.

“Keep going!” she yells.

The Fire Bee lunges for her, grabbing her flag— at the same time Skara grabs his.

“Viney’s was our last one!” she cries. “We have to beat him to the goal!”

Hunter puts on a burst of speed without looking back, his heart beating double time in his chest, every one of his muscles clenched so hard they ache. Come on, come on, come on, the thinks, clutching the flag in a clammy hand.

He reaches the goal and slings the flag onto one of the posts, turning back to Skara with a grin— only to see a vine reaching for her from behind. Without thinking, he teleports between it and her, gasping as it wraps around his waist and Skara slams the last flag onto its post.

“And we have a winner!” the referee calls. “The Emerald Entrails take the day!”

Hunter opens his mouth to cheer— but his breath comes out in a sharp exhale instead as the vine tightens around his waist, yanking him off Stringbean. For the second day, he finds himself hurtling to the ground— only this time, it bursts into flowers, and he lets himself fall. 

He brushes his hair out of his eyes and looks up to see Willow lowering her hands and racing towards him. Her arms are open, and Hunter instinctively raises his, intending to catch her in a hug. So he’s completely unprepared when she plants her lips on his.

Hunter kisses her back, wrapping his arms around her, and when they break apart, tears are streaking his cheeks. Willow lets go of him quickly, alarm crossing her face.

“Oh, I’m so sorry— I should have asked, I just thought—“

“No, no— Willow! You’re fine.” He wipes his eyes and beams at her. “I’m just happy.”

Willow’s expression eases into a wide smile, and she kisses the last of his tears away.

“Finally!”

Hunter looks over Willow’s shoulder to see Viney and Skara clutching each other’s hands and grinning, while Gus throws his arms up in exasperation.

“You knew?” Hunter asks.

“Obviously. And frankly, I’m kind of offended neither of you ever told me.”

“I didn’t want to put you in a difficult position,” Hunter and Willow say simultaneously, then laugh.

“What was difficult was watching you two pine after each other,” Skara says, rolling her eyes. “At least that’s over.”

“And more importantly, we won!” Viney shrieks, running for the bed of flowers and pulling Skara with her— and then all of the Entrails are together, tangled in one knot, cheering so loudly Hunter thinks they could be heard from anywhere on the Isles.

…

The victory party at the old CATTs headquarters starts off buoyant and happy. Hunter walks in holding Willow’s hand and feeling like he’s still flying, his cheeks aching from smiling. People keep clapping him on the shoulder or ruffling his hair and congratulating him— on his win or his incredible girlfriend, he can’t tell. Raine breaks out the waffle maker and makes an enormous batch of them for dinner, and people sit on the floor in little groups to eat, the room filling with overlapping conversations and laughter.

But then the evening wears on, and the laughter fades, the conversations becoming hushed. The Nocedas are the only ones who can stand to keep vigil by the crystal ball and watch the votes be tallied, all of them holding each other’s hands and sitting with tense, perfect posture. Everyone else in the room ignores the coverage completely, all finding something to distract themselves with instead. Masha paints Raine’s nails; Eda teaches Rhee how to play her mandolin; Lilith and Amity organize every book in the house alphabetically by genre; Steve and King board Steve's motorcycle and drive around as Gwen and Dell watch with mild fascination; Willow and Gemini play Hexas Hold ‘Em against Gus and Hooty; Wynne and Ivy go from group to group collecting dishes; Eberwolf shows Viney how he takes his beast form; Alador and Darius tinker with some kind of abomination. Hunter just wanders from group to group, watching one for a bit before drifting away.

When he gets to Darius and Alador, he wonders if he’ll have to break up a fight. They’ve been civil lately, but he wouldn’t put it past them to revert to the incessant bickering that was their normal right after Belos’s death under the stress of the situation.

“You’re going to win,” he hears Alador say with quiet conviction as he approaches. He raises his eyebrows, pleasantly surprised.

“If only I was capable of sharing your delusional optimism,” Darius responds dryly. 

“No, I’m serious. You have to. I want to end my marriage to Odalia as soon as someone has the power to do it, and you’re the only person I can trust to do it fast enough.”

Darius looks up from their abomination so quickly Hunter’s neck throbs in sympathy. “You and Odalia are… over?”

Alador snorts. “We should have been over a long time ago. I… being with her was… the wrong choice.”

Darius’s expression softens into something Hunter’s never seen on him before, and he realizes it’s definitely time to stop watching this. He turns around— just in time to catch Luz’s eye as she stands.

“The results are in,” she says, her voice about three octaves higher than usual.

Everyone abandons the pretense of normalcy at once, scrambling to face the crystal ball. Hunter wraps one arm around Luz and feels Willow brush up against his other side, sliding her hand into his. 

Being old enough to join a coven, Hunter was also deemed old enough to vote, so he knows how the process worked. All of the candidates were listed on a form, and he was told to fill out the circle next to the five he wanted to rule the Isles. The five candidates with the most votes will be chosen to serve as councilors for the next five years.

“And our first councilor,” Perry Porter says, his voice conveying all the tension currently choking everyone in the room, “is… Alexis Calian!”

Alador nods approvingly. “They quit Blight Industries a few years ago. Good person.”

“Our second councilor is… Arthur Hanover!”

Lilith snorts. “How did he get elected? She has no opinions on anything!”

“That’s probably why people like him,” Luz points out. “They can project.”

“Our third councilor is… Hettie Cutburn!”

No one can speak for a few seconds. When a voice finally cuts through the horror, it’s Masha, but even they know to whisper.

“Who’s that?”

“She was the head of the Healing Coven,” Raine replies, their voice tight.

“At least it’s not Terra?” Eda offers.

“Yet,” Raine mutters.

Darius pinches his nose. “Well, putting the former Coven Heads on trial just became a nightmare.”

“Maybe we can impeach her?” Luz offers.

“What does that mean?”

Luz’s eyes widen. Just a fraction. Then she waves her hand. “We’ll talk later.”

“Our fourth councilor is… Darius Daemonne!”

The horrified silence is shattered by a wave of outright screams. Raine is jumping up and down, Eber is running circles around the room, and Hunter lets go of Luz and Willow to throw his arms around Darius before he can question the impulse. When he pulls back, though Darius is smiling wider than Hunter’s ever seen.

“All right, all right, settle down,” he calls. “We’ve still got one councilor left.”

But as soon as the word Raine passes Perry’s mouth, settle down becomes a foreign concept. If Hunter thought all the Isles could hear the cheers after the Entrails won, well, he’s sure even the Human realm could hear the noise that erupts. Eda dips Raine into a kiss as Lilith lets out a piercing whistle, Luz and Vee and Masha grab each other's hands and jump up and down, and everyone else is hugging and dancing and screaming themselves hoarse. Hunter picks Willow up by the waist and twirls her around, laughing and laughing, and even though he knows there is more work to do and more games to play, when she leans down to kiss him, he can't stop himself from thinking that things are finally falling into place. 

[sulky-valkyrie]

Hey Sulky! I'd love to see something with the Origins crew for the prompt "They all have different drinks in the morning, and all of them know by heart what and how the others like to drink theirs (for example coffee, tea and energy drink, coffee with milk, tea with a tiny bit sugar, and a very specific brand and sort of energy drink)" in 600 words or less!

Happy Friday, Lucky! Have 600 words on the nose of a slice of life of the DAO crew's morning drink habits for @dadrunkwriting

The door handle rattled loudly.  “Breakfast!”

Ris groaned and rolled to her back.  Leliana was always too chipper in the mornings, but this time she seemed particularly grating.  It made sense, and she’d regret it if she didn’t take advantage of it: real food, not a cookpot of whatever oats and barley and bits of dried meat they’d scraped together.  The arl’s estate in Denerim was by far the nicest place they’d slept, even if the arl himself left a great deal to be desired.

As she sat up, Alistair grumbled sleepily and wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her close.  “Five more minutes.”

Five would turn into ten, then twenty, then an hour, and breakfast would be cold or gone before they made it down.  “Now,” she yawned firmly.  “Bacon, Alistair.   Bacon and real bread and tea. With milk.”

That got his attention.  “You think?”

“We’ll never know if we don’t go down there.”  She slipped out of his grasp and tugged one of his shirts on.  "Come on.”

He sat up, stared blearily at her – his – clothes, then handed her the belt from his trousers.  “Dress fit for a queen.”  It practically was, minus the ‘queen’ bit.  With the belt around her waist, it bunched and flared out almost like a dress should.  Alistair was big, even for a human, and though Ris had the height to look most elven men in the face, she was still slender.  

A quick kiss later, and they headed downstairs and found Zevran and Leliana already eating, while Morrigan stirred her usual strange herb concoction in a wooden cup - not quite tea, because it dissolved instead of steeped, but something like it.  “Thought you'd be in bed at least until lunchtime,” she muttered.

Alistair blushed as he sat down as far from Morrigan as the table allowed.  Leliana passed him a mug of tea, and he frowned at it, then her.  “Did you –”

“It's got all the milk you want,” she interrupted as she offered a different to Ris as while she grabbed a plate.  “And none of it for you.”

Ris smiled in thanks as Sten appeared in the doorway holding a tankard.  “The brewmaster was reluctant to part with ale this early, but I prevailed.”  He put it down at an empty seat, then walked around to the coffee pot.  

Zevran grinned and slid a cup in front of him.  “No need, my good Sten.  I have yours right here, and with enough sugar that the spoon stood at attention, as befits a warrior of the Beresaad.”

“Your attention to my preferences will not make you any safer when my people return to conquer these lands.”

“Ah, but they will make me safer now, will they not?” Zevran replied cheekily.  “If I please you now, will you hold the line more firmly?  Turn a blade meant for my back?”

Sten rolled his eyes as he sipped his coffee.  Ris had sampled it once, and had found it so painfully sweet she thought her tongue might shrivel up and die, like a slug that had been salted.  

Wynne, Shale, and Ohgren were still missing, but that wasn't much of a surprise.  Ohgren was likely sleeping off a hangover, and Wynne had probably awoken hours ago and gone to Eamon's library.  Even as she wondered, Shale came in from the kitchen holding a steaming bowl and followed by a prancing wagging Borkin.

Alistair took a curious sniff as she put it down on the floor.  “Chicken broth?”

“The furry squishy one deserves a treat as much as the rest of you.”

[howdy-cowpoke]

[pm] What do you do if you miss someone who you are in love with? Wynne. They're in Ireland and I keep sobbing because they aren't here.

[pm] Ah, mi hermanita... I am sorry. Why did they not take you with them?

[vigilskeep]

I mean, 100% if The Gallows was known for Force Magic, then I hc Kinloch Hold was Spirit Healing, I'm with you there. I just meant in terms of Spirits. 🤣

Wynne had Faith. I wonder what Anders had before he got possessed by Justice?

AH i see

yeah i mean i’m not super educated on spirit healers but wynne’s personal relationship with one spirit doesn’t seem like something she talks abt super freely or is really encouraged? iirc? nor does awakening anders seem like he’s had extended chats with a spirit before—he asks questions w the blatant implication he’s never had the opportunity to ask, “i’ve always wondered—”, though that may just be writer oversight, there’s a lot of missing implications in awakening

it would be my assumption that prior to justice anders worked with several spirits rather than one in particular, and not really closely. i’m never really clear on how much communication a lot of mage to fade interactions involve. it’s not like spirit healers have to open up the fade and chat with spirits every time they draw on their abilities but maybe they have to idk make arrangements prior to that

i wonder if anders still has those or if they’re all gone now he has justice

[bengiyo]

History5: Love in the Future Ep 2 Stray Thoughts

Last week we kicked off our return to the History franchise for a sci-fi outing. Our poor protagonist has been kicked into the future, and I am unsure if he's living in a fake life, or if he's somehow taken on someone else's life. Either way, I'm already significantly more invested in the side couple.

Viki is saying 10 episodes, and MDL saying 20. Seems like a Viki episode is equivalent to two on MDL.

This man is squatting in a warehouse. Call the people.

This show is making me miss my grandmother.

How does Hai Yi to expect this random dude to somehow make things work with this wealthy woman?

I see it's going to be a competition between Kim Jong Chan (The New Employee) and Liang Wen Hsen for my heart at the beginning of the year. I absolutely love the way both of them look out for their new hires on whom they also have massive crushes.

"I need someone young to try the food," is very smooth.

This hat and jacket combo is doing so much work in this flashback.

I understand Bo Wei using some of his time to catch up on the last 22 years of shows. I can't imagine what queer cinema and BL will look like 22 years from now.

Tony is my new bias. I would also need to know why I was told to hire a hot twink.

My man Liang Wen Hsen has been simping over Lin Wynn for years, and is literally staring at him wistfully while listening to the song Lin Wynn composed years ago. The competition is stiff this year!

Your card getting declined is so embarrassing. Wonder what changed between then and now for Hai Yi financially?

I do like the way they said "Dai Johnny."

Meng Shao Fein would approve of this suit.

Setting aside the terrible pickup lines, it's telling that Hai Yi didn't know Si-Chi is allergic to red wine.

UM, SIR! "Chop the pork into small pieces and feed me"?

Ah, he was trying to teach him a lesson about boundaries.

Why does Bo-wei need to befriend Si-Chi at all?

The warehouse becoming more livable is a quiet set design plot happening in the background. It's clever. They're gonna turn this warehouse into a wareHOME

Lin Wynn best boy. Even if the magic would have worked, I wouldn't have wanted him to jump.

Ah, Hai Yi is gripped by a fear of abandonment, which Bo-wei just triggered.

Did the best boy lose his phone? Was it stolen? I will get my daggers if it was stolen.

Um, how does Mr. Jiang know where Lin Wynn lives? This is not HR-approved.

"Let me put the seatbelt on you," my beloved.

Hai Yi has great tits.

You know, I had forgotten Hai Yi was in quarantine. That means he and Bo-wei were exposing people.

Liang Wen Hsen you have joined the list of faves.

I don't want to see them get struck by lightning next week lol.

The talent from Taiwan is just ridiculously attractive.

[boiling-potato]

what are some of your Moots'OCS that you ship with your own? Liem your favourites!

Ah ok! :)

• Elysian Flaw (Salem x Ace) of course! ùwú

• Psychotic Soliloquy! (Trickster x Lo x Meztli) one of the best!! (⁠✯⁠ᴗ⁠✯⁠)

• Starxiang (Star x Chaoxiang) do I even need to explain? (⁠◕⁠ᴗ⁠◕⁠✿⁠)

• Megumi x Trickster! I miss them (⁠｡⁠•́w•̀⁠｡⁠)

• Farris x Wynne! Heh came out of nowhere and I love it!! (⁠ ⁠ꈍwꈍ⁠)

• Ink x Tate! Been Craving to draw them but I keep forgetting!! ಥ⁠╭⁠╮⁠ಥ

• Sweet Carnage (Meztli x Trickster) Love their interactions! XDD

• Crimson cardmaster x Trickster! Yes, I enjoy them --w--

• Lo x Luke! Unpopular but been having a brainrot about them

• Wyenne x Trickster! Heh I just love drawing Wyenne with her (⁠◍⁠•⁠ᴗ⁠•⁠◍⁠)

(please let me know if I forgot some! It's 3 in the morning and I'm drowsy (⁠╥⁠﹏⁠╥⁠))

Also some ships that I've received on my inbox that I don't understand but still think they're interesting!

• Luke x Elios? literally have two ask about them and I don't know why (⁠•⁠‿⁠•⁠)

• Star x Trickster? This I understand but she's already married to Chaoxiang s-so yeah.. (⁠・⁠∀⁠・⁠)

• Wyenne x Rosemary? I'm so confused (⁠´⁠ ⁠.⁠ ⁠.̫⁠ ⁠.⁠ ⁠`⁠)

• Trickster x Vince? Hmm I also kinda understand but it also came out of nowhere (⁠･ั⁠ω⁠･ั⁠)

• Zalgo x Farris? Angel x Devil? Interesting!

---

Ace, Meztli, Vince, Elios and Zalgo belongs to @aesopsbaby !!

Megumi and Star belongs to @startheimpactfangirl !!

Lo belongs to @feelin-lo

Tate belongs to @mystique-flowers-and-sibling-duo !!

Crimson cardmaster belongs to @thekinderwizard !!

Wynne belongs to @hanawrites404 !!

And Wyenne belongs to @chisekai !!

[moistvonlipwig]

Books I Read in 2022

I only finished 8 books this year, but amazingly enough that's actually more books than I've read per year in quite a while, so, I'll take it! These books are listed in the order I finished them.

How the Soldier Repairs the Gramophone by Saša Stanišić. I thought Stanišić's Before the Feast was a really magical novel, and this one is also quite beautiful. It's a work of fiction but it incorporates autobiographical touches of Stanišić's childhood growing up in Bosnia and then fleeing for Germany during the Bosnian War. The child protagonist goes on tangents that are often imaginative and whimsical and sometimes heartbreaking and brutal. A really thought-provoking read.

Remote Control by Nnedi Okorafor. As always with Okorafor's work, the worldbuilding here is excellent and makes you want to spend book after book inside it. I really like Sankofa as a protagonist as well. It didn't quite feel like a standalone book and after looking it up I guess it's in the same universe as some of the books of hers that I haven't read -- I'll have to check those out. I do hope she writes more about Sankofa in the future, though.

The Dark Forest by Liu Cixin. This book was good but not as good as the first one in the trilogy, The Three-Body Problem. I also have to admit I found it kind of sexist. The subplot with Luo Ji imagining up a perfect woman only for her to actually show up and then fall in love with him with no complications whatsoever...not a fan. Also, I can't help but feel that this book would've been better with Ye Wenjie as the protagonist; she is by far the trilogy's most interesting character and yet she's relegated to a brief cameo. Oh well. The actual ideas in the book are still really interesting, and Da Shi is still a legend.

Unexpected Magic by Diana Wynne Jones. A fun collection of stories. Weirdly enough I'm actually not sure I've read any DWJ before? Which is wild to think about since I have a ton of her books because my mom was such a big fan. (Obviously I've seen Miyazaki's Howl's Moving Castle, but I've never read the book.) This was a nice introduction and made me want to dig into my mom's old collection and read some more of her. My favorite stories were the two written from the perspective of cats, "What the Cat Told Me" and "Little Dot". I mean...are you surprised? Lol.

We Were Liars by E. Lockhart. So I think the best way to sum up how I feel about this book is that I really wish I could read a version of this book written by William Faulkner. The basic plot of the book is twisted and haunting and somehow deeply Southern Gothic despite being set in Massachusetts. But the writing is just...fine? There are moments where the prose takes a more impressive turn but mostly it, well, feels like it was written for teenagers. Which it was. But still. I think a version of this book written for adults (and, again, preferably written in a Faulkner-esque style) could've been fantastic. Also, this is minor, but for a book called We Were Liars, there was remarkably little lying going on. Like...weirdly little. Where was the lying, E. Lockhart? You promised me lying!

A Mercy by Toni Morrison. Ah, Toni Morrison, how I've missed you! It's been a hot minute since I've read her and it was so good to come back to her. This book is short but packed with lyricism and depth. The way it switches between different characters' perspectives and imbues all of them with humanity, even the ones who don't treat other people with humanity...the way the title emerges throughout the book in brief glimmers, only to be heartwrenchingly pushed to its limits in the last few pages...God, I've missed Toni Morrison.

Storm of Locusts by Rebecca Roanhorse. A good sequel to Trail of Lightning, although I admit it's been a couple years since I read that book so my memory of it is a bit fuzzy, and I kind of wish I'd stopped to re-read it before going into this one. Still, I was able to follow the story, and it's a compelling tale with some really great imagery and fun characters. (Ma'ii, my beloved!) I would love to see a big-screen or small-screen adaptation of this series, if Roanhorse is up for it.

Antigonick by Sophokles, translated by Anne Carson. This is the first Anne Carson translation I've read and I found it really intriguing and fun to read. The way she manipulates language and plays with anachronisms is so interesting. I would love to see this performed; I think you could do a lot of really cool things with it.

[dinrelsanddragons]

@reginalucem cont'd from ask

"Ah, King Rhoam! A bit early perhaps, but I would wish you a happy new year." hat was a... wide smile for this man, usually so stern. But everyone deserved a break now and again, as his own Lady Aine would so gently impress upon him. How he missed her... Ah, time enough for melancholy later when now there was merriment. "Your Majesty, I would be honored to join you and yours. I suppose Dame Wynne is not participating that she might tend to anyone who might overindulge?"

"I wish you a happy new year as well, King Jacinto, early for the wish as it is." Rhoam nodded before continuing to speak. "Yes, Dame Wynne has requested her exclusion for that purpose. The celebration is soon. Shall I guide you to the dining hall where it will be held, King Jacinto? I do not know how Hyrule Castle has changed since your time; the labyrinthine quality it bears in this time may differ from what you know."

[reginalucem]

(From Rhoam of dinrelsanddragons) "King Jacinto." Though Rhoam typically bore a stern expression, at this time he offered a smile. "There is a celebration occurring amongst my guardsmen tonight, in Hyrule Castle's dining hall, for the occasion of the year's end. Do you wish to attend? This is my invitation."

"Ah, King Rhoam! A bit early perhaps, but I would wish you a happy new year."

hat was a... wide smile for this man, usually so stern. But everyone deserved a break now and again, as his own Lady Aine would so gently impress upon him. How he missed her... Ah, time enough for melancholy later when now there was merriment.

"Your Majesty, I would be honored to join you and yours. I suppose Dame Wynne is not participating that she might tend to anyone who might overindulge?"

[springvaletales]

((The Zoo, Part 6!))

We’re finally back, after a long month of IRL scheduling mishaps!!!

“Honk is the best, and I would hide a body for him.”

“The DM will remember that.”

We have two new players joining us today!! They’re friends of the DM from up in State College. One of them plays a centaur named Yay, and the other plays a fairy named Wynn. We won’t meet them until later, tho.

“We’re going to turn Nosca into a furry by proximity.”

From Koira, an actual dog, to Nosca, a half-elf, our party is a sliding scale of furry degrees.

Honk’s Player, when asked what quest he wanted to pick: “Honk would like the elemental infestation, for the purposes of expanding the infestation, specifically.”

Dynamite is desperate to kill something after finding no challenge in the zombies and getting her kill stolen two sessions ago, so she wants to fight the worms.

After consulting the map, however, the party decided to go deal with the elemental infestation instead, as the location was a little closer, and another quest marker was nearby.

“Can Honk eat the elementals to gain their power?”

We had to explain to the new players in chat that the party had committed Hero Fraud in the first session after befriending and forcibly-adopting the necromancer they were hired to kill, and thus, could no longer enter the largest desert town for fear of facing Consequences.

Bored of the party discussing routes to take, Honk took off running, wings spread, towards the door. Koira, a retriever by nature, immediately took off after him.

Cue frantic honking and the Benny Hill theme.

Yay the centaur and Wynn the fairy walked into the inn after camping outside of town overnight just as our party was also sitting down to eat and discuss their routes.

Yay’s Player, about the party: “Yay’s just gonna ask the innkeep for a Breakfast Menu, these weirdos are clearly having a time.

Wynn and Yay have fantastic chemistry with each other and I love them.

Honk jumped up on the table and knocked all the plates to the floor. Koira looked down at her spilled breakfast sadly, and then climbed down off of her chair to eat the food off the floor, because the sanitation didn’t really matter to her but she felt super fancy using a plate like a person.

The innkeeper couldn’t stop staring at Wynn because she’d never seen a centaur, or a fairy so colorful, before.

Koira is also staring intently at Wynn for his wild coloring, mouth full of sausage.

Yay asked the party why the dog was staring, and Dynamite just said “she likes colors”. Yay decided to make a friend by pulling a scrap of blue fabric out of her bag to show to Koira.

She was very surprised to hear Koira speak, but friends were made, indeed.

Yay, seeing Lin-Shi lurking on the far side of the table with a visibly burned face: “It’d be rude to ask, so I’ll not.”

Honk leaned around to see Wynn behind Yay, and Wynn panicked, cast reduce on himself, and climbed up Yay’s tail like a gym rope.

Yay, confused: “Is the, ah…is the goose a person, too?”

Dynamite, about Honk: “They’ve got the mind of a noble, the body of a goose, and the brains of something you’d scrape off the bottom of a barrel.”

When the innkeeper finally came by to sweep up the broken dishes, Koira trailed behind her to snatch up any bits of food that were missed.

Honk stole the map and rushed out the door. Koira  - darn that prey drive - immediately bolted after him. She was a terrible sheep dog in her youth.

At some point, Honk took flight, and started leaving Koira behind, so Wynn - the only other party member with wings, now - took off after him.

Yay: “I can’t give you wings, but I can make it so you don’t get hurt when you land?”

Koira: “Oh, yeah! That sounds like a great idea?”

Nosca, under her breath: “Why don’t we throw the one with opposable thumbs?”

Dynamite, hearing her: “DO NOT YEET THE RABBIT.”

Between a goose’s normal flying speed and Honk’s boost from being a monk, he can fly 60ft per second. Wynn can only fly 30ft per second. 

Thankfully, Honk just wanted the party to stop talking and start walking, so he landed just on the other side of a nearby river.

As the party ran across the bridge over the river, Koira stopped to shove her head through the railing, shouted “Hi, friend!!” at the water, and then resumed chasing the goose.

Nosca managed to mage-hand the map away from Honk, but for a small corner of the right hand side that ripped off. Honk ate that piece while Dynamite looked on in horror.

Koira tried to slide down the grassy hills of the plains we were walking through, but utterly failed her acrobatics roll (a 2…plus a 2…oh boy), promptly rolled over her stick, pole-vaulted ears over tail, and got her paw stuck in an animal hole.

Honk tried to steal Koira’s stick as Wynn tried to dig Koira’s paw free, but Koira’s stick is much, MUCH too big for a goose, so all he could do was drag it around until Lilly stole it back.

‘We set up camp for the night a little ways off the trail, and Lilly had to tell Koira that she couldn’t sleep in her new tent, because Lin-Shi was going to use it, too, and he was still allergic to dogs.

Koira was sad until Lilly pulled out a child-sized tent kit, and sent up a little tent just for her.

Honk sneaked into Lilly and Lin-Shi’s tent purely with the intentions of biting Lin-Shi’s toes when he fell asleep.

Wynn cast Tiny Hut for the party to sleep in, and made it neon orange…

….which caused Koira to fail a perception check on her first watch, because if she looked at the tent long enough and then looked away, she saw blue!

DM: “She’s loosing her little doggie mind about it.”

Thankfully, Dynamite was also on watch with Koira, and crushed her perception check.

She saw some mysterious shape rising and fallen in the dark outside of camp a few times, but it never came into camp.

Yay and Wynn took the next watch with Wynns newly-summoned tiny owl familiar. Koira gave the owl a hesitant play bow, and the owl fluffed up its feathers and hopped at her.

Yay failed her perception check, as did Wynn, but Wynn’s owl familiar rolled a 20, and saw the same mysterious shape Dynamite did.

Wynn sent his own to fly out and investigate the strange shape, and finds a giant worm out hunting; it’s eating coyote and deer and other larger creatures, chasing the sound of bodies hitting the ground, but it doesn’t seem to be interested in our camp.

Yay, thrusting a vine in Wynn’s face: “Hey check out this plant I found!”

Wynn: “That’s poison ivy. You should probably put that down.”

While Wynn and Yay are talking about worms and whether they should wake the party, Honk tied Lin-Shi’s boot laces together, and then crushed a stealth roll to slooooowly climb into his chest, and bite him in the nose for five points of (specifically nonlethal) damage.

Lin-Shi woke up spitting curses, and Honk legged it out of the tent. Lin-Shi tried to run after him, and immediately face planted because his boots were tied together.

Wynn tried to send his owl up to check their surroundings again, but failed the roll, and instead had to experience the first-hand disemboweling of a very unfortunate field mouse.

Koira - roused by all the noise - stumbled out of her little tent, fur sticking in all directions, and she, Nosca, Dynamite, Honk, and Wynn all rolled high enough on perception to notice that the ground was rumbling.

OH NO.

Yay: *doing the nervous horse skitter dance*

We took a quick snack break and rolled for initiative - Yay and Koira are at the bottom of the order, with Nosca, Dynamite, and Wynn (to his dismay) up at the top.

The DM used a spreadsheet shared through Google with color-coded cells for a quick battle map; Yay and Koira had to fight over their preferred shades of blue.

The first worm burst out of the ground about 15ft from Wynn, who immediately cast Expeditions Retreat and legged it 60ft straight up with their bonus action/

They they cast Fairie Fire on the worm….but the worm nat-20’d on the save, so nothing happened.

Nosca Firebolt-ed one of the worms, but missed, and Yay began frantically tuning her dutar in the background.

Dynamite magically boosted herself with a good ol’ alpha chest smack, and raged. How surprising!

Her wild magic surge also gave off an effect that would have increased the AC of any ally within 10ft of her by 1….sadly, nobody was within 10ft of her at the time.

Honk was up next, and quickly took to the air to get within 10ft of the only above-ground worm, paused to calculate how many attacks he could fit into one turn, and made two attacks for a total of 20 damage.

He then flew 40ft straight up, inviting an attack of opportunity, but the worm juuuust missed snapping a few tail feathers off.

Another worm surfaced, and made a beeline (wormlike?) for Nosca, and tried to bite her. It’s natural 1 allowed Nosca to roll to hit it back, which she did, with an 18.

The worm then tried to sting Nosca, doing 22 points of damage and an additional 12 points of poison damage.

Haha, we’re in danger! :D

The other worm closed the distance to attack Nosca, and rolled a 30 to hit. We may be about to lose her.

So uh it turns out that only Honk’s player truly understands how CR works and we may actually be in danger here.

DM, too far along to backtrack out of combat: “Guys don’t worry if you die you’re gonna wake up and it’ll all have been just a bad dream we’ll get through this”

Wynn’s Player: “Aww, man. Why do I only have AoEs?”

Dynamite’s Player: “Just don’t cast it on the ground and we’ll all be fine, rIGHT, SOLI?”

Me: “OKAY LOOK-“

“Please don’t hit the dog! The ASPCA won’t appreciate that!”

Seeing Nosca go down, Koira cast Searing Smite on her stick, and tried to leap onto the back of Worm 1 to smack it.

She couldn’t land the hit, and bounced off of its side with a comical yelp and flailing of paws instead.

Lilly cast Spiritual Weapon, and said spectral weapon is a tea kettle. 

Me, as the DM is rolling for Lilly to hit the worm: “Vengeance for Nosca!”

DM: *rolls a nat 20*

Me, louder: “VENGENCE FOR NOSCA!!”

As soon as it was her turn, Yay used Healing Word on Nosca….for 3 points. Better than nothing, right?

Wynn bestowed a Curse on Worm 3 as he flew by it, and then Nosca staggered to her feet, and blasted Worm 3 with 48 points of damage.

It isn’t dead yet, though.

Dynamite finally got to beat on Worm 1 for 32 points of damage, screaming all the time.

Honk cast Arms of the Astral Self to basically give himself giant spectral human arms, and fist-fight Worm 1 for 31 damage.

Worm 1 tried to flee underground, giving Honk and Dynamite an attack of opportunity, which they took full advantage of.

Koira would have gotten one, too, but she failed her attack roll, and only succeeded in pulling herself out of the Loony Tunes-esque hole she’d fallen into after failing her last attack.

Worm 3 failed it’s Wisdom save against Wynn’s Curse, and wasted it’s turn spinning its teeth in an apparent directional crisis.

Lin-Shi actually acknowledged that Worm 2 was still lurking on the outskirts of the battlefield, and Fireball-ed it.

Honk’s Player: “I wouldn’t mind if Honk died in a raging fireball, actually.”

Dynamite’s Player: “Then the party would have dinner!”

Koira marched up to Nosca and booped her forcefully in the leg with her nose, casting Aid, and raising Nosca’s HP by 5 points for eight hours. Dynamite was in range, too, but she hasn’t been hit since combat started.

Worm 2 tried to eat Lin-Shi, but rolled a nat 1, and gagged on the smell of corpse instead.

Lilly tried t hit Worm 3 with her Spiritual Tea Kettle, but missed all but one attack. She still did 12 damage on that one attack, though, and that’s better than nothing.

Dynamite’s Player: “Just lie about the dice roll. Please, kill it with the kettle. It would be so funny.”

DM: “It would be, but she rolled a 1, my guy.”

Yay lined herself up very, VERY carefully, and cast Thunderwave on Worm 3. The worm passed the save, but still took half damage, and finally died.

“Do not let Honk eat the worm flesh.”

We wrapped up with two worms left to go - half of us work in the morning, and the rest are tired. XD

We have to juggle next session’s scheduling around finals week for a few players but we’ll be back in a week or two!

[bengiyo]

History5: Love in the Future Ep 1 Stray Thoughts

I hope that I enjoy this History series. It's always hit or miss for me, and I couldn't do History 4: Close To You. This one has a neat sci-fi premise that has me excited. I know little else beyond that, so let's just do it

Longer intro than I expected, but at least I know there are two couples.

Bo-wei is a grandma's boy. I already like him.

I like the use of the tunnel to send him to the future.

Huge fan of this streak of grey hair on this summoner.

I like that they didn't downplay the pandemic, but I am sad about this poor man's likely dead grandma.

Has Bo-wei taken over the body/life of Johnny Dai? I don't know about that.

At least the summoner is feeding Bo-wei, because my man is stranded in the future.

The intro didn't pair these two, so I probably shouldn't read this as a meet-cute.

I don't know about an interview question about your romantic life. That seems like a labor violation.

Ah, a crash into you meet-cute. There you are, my beloved.

Everyone has been so pretty this year, but goddamn what are they feeding these boys in Taipei??

My boy needs to bathe, and he needs secure housing. Now he's chasing down a woman who doesn't want to see a guy?

Oh good. I was worried the manager had hired Wynn Linn for gay reasons. I can relax a bit.

Okay, but this higher level manager definitely likes Wynn Lin.

No, don't pan away from the Wynn Lin backstory. I'm here for the two lonely boys becoming friends.

How could he arrange such a nice place? Baby boy, you are illegally squatting in a warehouse.

Okay, I guess we should settle in, since MDL is saying 20 episodes.

[eldritchaccident]

Ah yes. And if you think I wasn't listening to all of her music the whole way up, you'd be wrong. My guy and kids. Hah. That's so-- I mean you are right-- but-- yeah they're mine.-- It's definitely one of those "I know how much I care about them, but being away makes it about 10000% more intense" things, I guess. Suppose I just have to dote on them all approximately way too much. AND YOU, I missed you too Jadeywadey.

[pm] Oh same, I'm like 90% sure I don't know where I am 100% of the time. Online or otherwise. [...] Gonna need some clarification on that, a lot of birds are gay. Flamingos? Guianan cock-of-the-rock? Kingfisher? Personally I think the Secretary Bird serves the most cunt but you know, I'm getting off topic. [...] Why was the gay bird scary exactly? He would have, he would have hated that so much.

It's in my bones, can't help it. <3 Yeah, I'm still on bed rest and not really "allowed" to leave the "house" or whatever. I think he is just... y'know being, Emilio. Wants me close. I can't say I wouldn't do the same. He better be. Wynne and I are planning to cook something big. You should come over for patchwork family meal.

I too, would answer the call from the home of the greatest artist of our generation. Carly Rae Jepsen. You're so right :/ but I'm glad it wasn't the option chosen for ya! I know your guy and kids are too. Did you know about Irel Nora's like really messe

[pm] Whoooops, I never notice when I hit DMs and when I don't. Airing it all out type of gal. There was a gay bird. And we had worms with us so, we fed it. No one ran. We were so badass. Except maybe we did fear for our lives a little bit. He would've been soooo pissed if a bird and worms were the reason for his demise.

LOL. That's so gay <3 I know he did too. It was a rough Nora and Wynne and Maybe I should've Maybe he's finally ready to have a decent meal.

[snarky-bee]

Dreams

Zevran was on watch. His back was silhouetted against the low burn of flames. He faced outward into the dark, with an ankle crossed underneath one leg. The stir of bushes and trees rustling in the wind and the occasional pop of wood crackling were the only sounds. It was late. The moon was a mere haze of white light obscured by clouds; a chill hung in the air.

Kallian wrapped her arms around herself, pulling the blanket tightly to her shoulders while a gust of wind tried to strip it from her.

Her footsteps rustled grass and crunchy leaves. She watched Zev’s ears twitch briefly but he didn’t turn. She plopped down on her knees behind him and wrapped her arms, blanket and all, around his shoulders. Her cheek pressed to his shoulder blade. He was warm from the fire.

“Up before dawn?” Zevran murmured. She could feel the rumble of his voice in her chest. It comforted her. “I heard you tossing back and forth.”

She was still groggy, but falling back asleep on her own sounded worse than seeking Zev out even in the cool autumn air. “Darkspawn shit,” she said by way of answer.

It was getting worse. Alistair had said it was worse for those who joined during a Blight, but for the first few months, she had dreams maybe once a week and always fell back asleep right away. Now it was strange if she went a night without the archdemon invading her mind. 

She sighed and nuzzled her nose into Zev’s neck. Blond hairs tickled her face as the wind teased his loose hair. 

“You should go back to sleep, my warden,” he soothed. His hand fell on hers, rubbed the stretch of skin between thumb and pointer finger. He chuckled lightly and scoffed. “What a fool I am. Suffering here under this Fereldan cold and sending you and your warmth away from me.”

That dragged a smile from Kallian and she squeezed him tighter. “Only you would complain when you’re sitting next to the fire.”

“The fire is nothing compared to your body, mi amor,” he sighed dramatically. “While in your presence, the fire is mere sparks but you are the warmth of the sun.��

Her face warmed up. Pure flattery. She laughed it away nervously. “You’re so dramatic, Zev. It’s barely even dipped into fall. Wait til fucking winter comes. The very idea of undressing will make your balls shrink,” she cackled.

“What an appealing image,” he said with a frown clear in his voice. “Makes me want to escape to Antiva before it is too late. You are welcome to tag along of course.”

A heavy silence settled over them.

Neither could escape to anywhere. The Blight was in Ferelden. The Crows were in Antiva. 

“I hate being a fucking warden,” she mumbled.

“If you were not a Grey Warden, what would you do? Who would you be?” Zevran asked suddenly.

What would she do? “I was a thief before so… that?”

“As you have said. I imagine if circumstances were different, you would choose a different life, no? Or have you always aspired to pick unsuspecting patrons’ pockets?”

“When I was little I used to say dumb shit like I wanted to be a ship captain. Me, an elf, captain of a ship - or a pirate.”

Zevran cackled. “I have a certain fondness for pirates. Were I to meet you at a port I have no doubt we would have an exciting tryst. Imagine you and I, a dark tavern on the ports of Antiva city, mm? Wine flowing, shared looks across the room. I offer to buy you a drink, you flirt a little, I flirt back. One thing leads to another and your legs are wrapped around my hips as we tangle in the sheets.”

Kallian sucked in a deep breath. She could almost imagine it. Sea air, a sexy stranger in the dark with a handsome smile… 

“And you wouldn’t even have to try to kill me first.”

Zevran chuckled again. “True at that. I imagine getting you into bed would have taken far less effort on my part.”

“Hey!” Kallian flicked his chin. “I’m not that easy.”

He grabbed her wrist and nibbled on her finger with a playful bite. “Perhaps not, but I am incredibly handsome and charming. If we were strangers meeting for the first time?”

She bumped her forehead softly against him. “Fine, maybe if we were strangers looking for a spot of fun, yeah. And what are you in this then? Still an assassin? What did you dream of becoming when you were a kid?” 

“Like all Antivans, I dreamed of becoming a wealthy merchant. I imagined myself in a palace draped in gold, the finest silks and richest of brandy. I would want for nothing and have everything I ever desired.”

“Antivans aren’t the only ones who want nice things.” Kallian sighed a little wistfully. “I never kept any of the shit I stole. Someone would notice if I suddenly had a fancy necklace worth more than a year’s pay. An elf with pretty jewelry can only be two things: a thief, or a whore,” Kallian scowled.

“Ah, I know too well how it feels to not be allowed to keep the things you want. Truthfully, I once ran away to join the Dalish,” Zev said, uncharacteristically muted. “I told you before, that my mother was Dalish?”

Kallian nodded.

“I had nothing but a pair of gloves from her. I made up stories in my head as a child, of what she was like, of what my life could be if I were one of the feared Dalish hunters. Being the son of a Dalish whore made me special, or so I believed. It was a point of fascination for many years.”

“Did you find a clan?”

Zevran stared out into the moonless sky. “I did. When a clan came near Antiva city, I approached them. But as you can imagine, fantasy never quite matches up with reality. I did not fit in. I was too Antivan, you might say. Life in the woods, hunting for your next meal, I was poorly suited to it.”

“So… you left? Wasn’t it better than the Crows at least?”

Zevran chuckled wryly. “I came back with my tail between my legs like a properly chastised street dog. They had me convinced of course, after thorough punishment for my disloyalty, that my talents were best used for the Antivan Crows. Perhaps they were right… The gloves were missing from my belongings not too much later, but these were never lives meant for you and I, were they? It is best to accept my place and move on.”

Kallian felt a rush of affection towards him. A longing to protect Zev from more hurt. “I’m sorry they stole your gloves. I have so much from my mother: her boots, passed down clothes, but the one thing I wish we had was her dagger. It was passed down from her side of the family. Someone must have taken it when she was killed… It had an engraving in elvhen that means ‘Fang’ or so she said.”

“Like your mabari?”

“It’s a fitting name for a warhound, I thought,” Kallian pouted.

“Mmm, indeed.” 

Another pensive silence passed, his thumbs stroked the backs of her hands. “I suppose it does no good to dwell on dreams and wishes that may never come true now. People like you and I are not the product of happy lives of contentment, after all.”

Sorrow pierced her chest. Once she had been happy, happy enough at least for her lot in life. “I never really wondered what I might actually want when we’re all more worried about having a job at all. I fucking wish I knew what I wanted to do. I still don’t and I’m already roped into this whole warden for life deal.”

She hadn’t noticed her hands clenched into fists until Zevran was prying them off his shirt. 

“Being a warden is not what you hoped it would be?”

“I…” Kallian didn’t know how to answer that. “It’s not like it’s bad. Freedom, doing good, saving the world, right?”

Zevran’s shoulders shrugged and then he twisted in his spot, tugged Kallian to his side so he could look in her eyes. His thumb brushed against the skin beneath her eyes. She had bags and the beginnings of dark circles, she knew. She longed for his touch to linger on her skin. Her eyes closed, she leaned closer to him and sighed.

“The lack of sleep, constant darkspawn fighting, and I hear the severance package is utterly terrible,” Zevran teased knowingly. 

“Mmm,” Kallian agreed. Flashes of her dreams played in her mind’s eye - so much screeching, an endless marching and a black void. “I’m so tired.” She could hear it even in her voice, like her throat was parched of water.

“I will wake Wynne early,” Zev said abruptly, “Let us catch more sleep before the sun forces us to rise again.”