#maybe my goat trades????

[loveologystudies]

Did you guys know that I love Goatlings

#goats are awesome #anyways time for goat posting #and goat reblogs #sorry followers your entire dash will be goats #im cuddlefishCuller on goatlings btw check out my shop maybe????? #maybe my goat trades???? #i trade names for like. ss and items n stuff

[victorluvsalice]

AU Thursday : Valicer In The Dark -- Playbook Tweaks, A Bit of Worldbuilding, Potential Scores

Been thinking more about my Valicer In The Dark AU as of late, and I have a few updates and additions to the Three Pillars and their particular version of Duskwall that I would like to share with you, as indicated by the title:

Playbook Tweaks -- While I’m pretty happy with Victor’s stats as a Whisper from the original post on this subject, I found myself wanting to tweak Alice’s and Smiler’s just slightly after writing them up. Specifically, I wanted to add a special ability to Alice’s, and an extra ability point to Smiler’s. I didn’t want to do this without a concurrent trade-off somewhere else, though (yes, I know I’m just using this for potential fic-writing purposes, not actually playing the game, but it still feels only fair!), so after some thought, this is what I’ve come up with for each of them:

Alice -- I felt like she really needed to have The Devil’s Footsteps special ability (the one that allows you to do things like jump extra high or extra far) along with Not To Be Trifled With (the one that allows you to do superhuman feats of strength or battle six people at once) at the start -- those two in concert basically cover everything she can do in the games! So, in exchange for her having two starting special abilities, I’ve decided she also starts with the Haunted trauma! This is a trauma that means you are haunted by bad things in your past and sometimes slip off into fugue states -- which meshes perfectly with Alice’s memories of the fire and Wonderland occasionally dragging her out of reality! It also means she can only take three extra traumas before having to get out of the criminal game -- usually, starting characters have four slots for having their brains broken. *shrug* Them’s the breaks!

Smiler -- After reviewing their stats vs their history, I realized that maybe I should have put that dot in Survey in Attune instead -- after all, they’ve been directly touched by their god Mar-Mal! That’s how they got the glowing yellow eyes in this verse! However, I still liked them having that dot in Survey, as it did also suit their character. So, in exchange for getting that extra starting dot in Attune, I’ve decided that Smiler has a slightly shorter stress tracker than most characters -- instead of nine slots, they get seven. Stress is something that characters can use to push themselves to perform certain feats (get an extra die while rolling a weak stat) or resist the consequences of their actions (downgrade a potentially crippling blow into one that just hurts a lot). It’s very useful, but you have to track it carefully, because once your character fills up their stress tracker, they have a mental break and gain a trauma. I figured that trading two stress slots for the Attune dot was both fair and thematically appropriate -- Smiler has lived in a cult that venerates happiness as holy for years, and was directly touched by a god of pure joy. It only makes sense that they’d be a little worse at handling stress and bad emotions!

Worldbuilding -- I haven’t fully fleshed out my Duskwall yet, but there’s a few ideas I’ve been banding around:

-->This first one is straight from the Oxventure Presents Blades In The Dark stuff -- one of Kasimir’s and Edvard’s earliest scores in Volisport was at Cab-Con, a convention for the various cabdrivers of the cities. I thoroughly enjoyed it, but as I wrapped up the episode, a pun popped into my mind referencing the even-more-powerful gondoliers faction (as more of the city is traversable by canal than by road) -- Con-Dola! XD So yeah, that’s the big convention in my Duskwall -- an annual festival the gondoliers put on where they try out new boat types, exchange stories, and have races. Members of the public can come in for a fee and bet on the boat races. It’s a fun time and everyone looks forward to it!

-->While the official book outlines a few holidays on the Duskwall calendar (the monthly Moontide celebration, Arkenvorn to honor the spirit wardens, Gratitude to honor the ascension of the Immortal Emperor to his throne (and just more general Thanksgiving stuff)), I decided we needed a Halloween equivalent as well and came up with “Devil’s Night,” where children dress up as devils and go around causing minor bits of mischief and knocking on doors for spare food and coin. The actual devils in the city are also said to offer better deals than usual, with prices that mortals are better able to pay, but people tend to be iffy about checking out if this is true or not. Because, you know, devils. There’s always someone desperate enough to try, though. . .

-->I’m still working on how the other Alton Towers coasters beyond Smiler and Wickerman would fit into this world, but I know the other secret weapons would all have various cults -- the Agents of Oblivion for, well, Oblivion (who sacrifice people to the void -- not sure if they’re trying to keep it contained or encouraging to grow yet. Maybe both, with a secret internal schism in the cult?); the Spirits of the Trees for Thirteen (who worship the poisonous trees in that one park and are trying to create more -- though perhaps a little less poisonous so they don’t immediately kill everyone they come into contact with); the Clan of the Creature for Nemesis (who worship this bizarre crab-like demon and believe it will somehow save them when the leviathan blood eventually runs out); and the Galactic Rangers for Galactica (who believe the stars are the remains of their god and that if they give her enough worship, she’ll do something about the moon that seems to keep getting either bigger or closer year by year. . .). Rita doesn’t get a cult -- rather, she’s the leader of the Speed Queens, a group of smugglers known for their insanely fast car that only she can drive properly. She is, however, involved with the head priestess of the Spirits of the Trees, even if she’s not an official member. XD

-->Very tempted to put Doc and Marty somewhere in this world, of course -- don’t know if they’d be criminals, but Doc would HAVE to be a Leech well-known for his bizarre contraptions and strange experiments with electroplasm. Probably they have the local equivalent of the DeLorean around, and Doc’s looking to get his hands on an old train. . .

-->And another one just for the funsies -- having gone through both the main book and a semi-official “cookbook” supplement (see the Supplements page -- I can recommend it, it’s a short but fun read), I have decided to pull a Fallout with this universe and declare that horses went extinct sometime during the great Shattering, and goats have taken over all of their roles. This is purely because sometimes I imagine my Three Pillars trio ending up in other worlds, and it amuses me greatly for them to go “what’s a horse?” whenever the subject comes up. XD

Scores -- Obviously, you can’t have a criminal gang and not have any crimes for them to commit! Here are some of the higher-profile missions the Three Pillars would undertake during their career:

-->Sorting out Dr. Bumby at the Houndsditch Home for Wayward Youth (their first score after getting together, and after Alice tells them what he’s up to -- their goal being to either get evidence of his misdeeds to one of the incorruptible Inspectors, or just straight-up kill the guy in a way that doesn’t leave a ghost)

-->Getting some of Victor’s stuff out of the Van Dort mansion (which involves Victor learning just how little his parents worry about his actual safety when he encounters them and all his mother can do is complain about how Victoria Everglot has now TWICE married someone else while he’s been missing; I am also SO TEMPTED to have Barnaby and Kasimir in the mansion on their OWN score to rob the place, only to run into Victor, Alice, and Smiler, and Victor to tell them “hey, help me get my stuff back and I will just GIVE you some money from the safe”)

-->Taking care of one Dr. Kelman and his Sanctuary when he puts out a bounty on the three of them, saying that they need his special “social compliance therapy” (this is how Alice and Victor learn Smiler’s birthname, and Smiler justifies the Advocates’ gray morality by saying “at least we don’t CUT THE SMILES INTO PEOPLE’S FACES BEFORE SCOOPING OUT THEIR SOULS”)

-->Acquiring rare and not-always-legal ingredients for the Golden Plum restaurant (I have this in mind as a score that would be kicked off by the first time Smiler overindulged their Pleasure vice there -- the owner and chef, having realized who they are and that they’re a scoundrel, does a little light blackmail to get the gang to help get him ingredients; part of Smiler’s price is that they get first taste of the resultant dishes, which the owner is happy to agree to)

-->Being hired by Victoria to embarrass her parents by stealing a silver egg they recently acquired and won’t stop bragging about (as you might imagine, she’s a little bitter about the Barkis thing and wants to stop them acting like it wasn’t her husband’s money that bought it; midway through the score though, things go off the rails when the egg HATCHES and produces a baby dragon -- cue the gang getting a surprise new pet)

-->Getting Alice’s Jabberwock’s Eye Staff (she needs it as her scary weapon, and I think it would be fun to make getting it an adventure -- maybe in the Lost District outside the lightning barrier?)

-->Attending Con-Dola (this would be a “joke” score where the goal is to actually have some fun in their lives; I can see Victoria hiring them for this one too, saying she needs them to do a few things there, and at the end they realize she hired them literally to have a nice day out XD)

-->And I’m kind of tempted to do something inspired by The Hangover movies and that one Skyrim quest “A Night To Remember” where, after a night of drinking, the gang wakes up in the Lord Mayor’s house not knowing WHAT happened last night (only that for some reason the lady of the house doesn’t seem to mind they’re there) and have to figure out what they did (possibly may involve them getting drunken group-married and being upset only because they didn’t realize that was an option and they would have liked to do that SOBER damn it)

We’ll see if any of these actually make “written” status! (I mean, I hope so, but with the monster of “Londerland Bloodlines: Downtown Queensland” looming over me. . .)

#valicer in the dark au #valicer #worldbuilding #yeah I was thinking about Alice's and Smiler's playbooks #and was like 'maybe Devil's Footsteps fits Alice better for the platforming' #'and Attune fits Smiler better for the Mar-Mal thing' #'ugh but I like what I already gave them too' #and then I thought 'hang on I already sort of headcanoned Alice starts with the Haunted trauma' #and things went from there #I feel they are fair trades #more power for more stress basically :p #and I am fonder than I should be of that ConDola pun XD #look it was sitting right there out in the open #had to be done #and yes horses not a thing in my Duskwall #I think they MIGHT be in the book itself but #funnier for me for it all to be goats #one of these days I will actually write up one of these scores #just again Londerland Bloodlines #I love it but girl you massive #my own fault for going into the missions in detail I know buuut #I do have some other bits of fanfic to share though #eventually! #queued

[theoutcastrogue]

[From a 2014 article by John Darnielle of the Mountain Goats. He's talking about how a random spam email ended up inspiring a part of his book Wolf in White Van. Later, in 2020, the album Getting Into Knives came out, and I think it inspired its artwork too.]

"It took years for me to be able to just reflexively delete spam, or filter it so that I never see it at all. I blame the spammers for this; the quality of their work took a sharp nosedive at some point. But during whatever period of the internet’s growth you’d call the early 2000s, it seemed like you’d still get some winners: things that had been typed up by a person, sent out to a bunch of email addresses they’d bought or rented for 5 or 10 bucks from the only guy who was ever going to make any money in this particular exchange. Most of them went directly, if manually, into the trash; but once in a while, there’d be one that seemed to earn, at the very least, the minute it’d take me to read it.

The one I’m remembering here was subject-lined SUPPLY OF KNIVES. [...] The subject line opened on an all-caps email that boasted, in ornate, antiquated English appealing to the reader’s more refined sensibilities, about the high quality of the knives on offer at an external website. You shouldn’t click on links in spam email. I live my life on the razor’s edge! I clicked the link.

I want to tell you about these knives: They were beautiful. They were weird. They had elaborate designs in the handles, moons or stars of wolf heads, and special grips, and a variety of points. They were made from metals whose pedigrees were described lovingly, and had been struck — smithed? wrought? — via processes I knew absolutely nothing about, but that sounded fantastic, difficult, arcane. It’s the joy of specialized language: When you’re an outsider to it, it can’t help but sound cool.

Of course this is the whole idea of any operation like this. SUPPLY OF KNIVES could well have been, and probably was, a company in Ohio who’d stumbled across an old warehouse full of knives, and knew enough about sales to describe these things in the most exotic terms they could find. I’m pretty immune to pitches: Who likes to feel like he’s being pitched? But somebody involved with SUPPLY OF KNIVES had had just enough authorial flair — that, or true faith — to caption each knife’s mysterious, blurry accompanying JPEG with a description whose constant recourse to specialized vocabularies seemed to say, “You’re not even reading this unless you already know about this sort of thing. Let us therefore speak like the fellow travelers we are.”

It was like a trade catalog for roadside bandits in need of knives.

I can’t speak for everybody, but I know that when I was a child the life of the roadside bandit seemed like a pretty romantic way to go. I looked at all these knives and read the descriptions and was just generally delighted about the whole thing, so I saved the email in a “memorable spam” folder I used to keep that had maybe two other emails in it. A few years later, Apple came out with this robotic-arm-screen iMac you never see any more, and we were long overdue for a new computer so we got that; and then, after a while, I got myself a laptop, because I was traveling all the time, and eventually both the old iMacs ended up in the basement, and they were both asleep but alive until fairly recently, as far as I knew.

But when I went to check for the email, it was gone. The old blue iMac is dead, bricked, lifeless. Searches on the term “supply of knives” on this laptop and on good old robot-arm-screen find nothing. The backup CD for the blue iMac drive is probably in a drawer around here somewhere, but that’s like saying, “The coin I had in my swim trunks’ pocket is probably somewhere in the ocean.” There is no SUPPLY OF KNIVES. There’s only the memory."

[source]

And this is the wonderful cover art of Getting Into Knives. Back cover and promo material below. Note that "Knives International" and "Knives Wordwide" are not real companies, they appear to be a callback to that elusive spam email.

#not that I'm particularly into TMG #but it's interesting #trs #The Mountain Goats #John Darnielle #Getting Into Knives #Wolf in White Van #only knives left #tools of the trade #bandit #prison ballads #tangentially

[bonefall]

I have my own clan project and I need some quick advice. I calculated the feral cat population I chose to base the setting on, and I got back that the feral cat population is usually one tenth of the human population in the area. Instead of throwing that 15-30k cat estimate away ("THATS A LOT OF DAMAGE") I wanted to at least massively increase the amount of cats in each clan and let the cats in the city soak up the mass majority of that number. So, anywhere from 100-150 cats in a clan I decided, a HUGE leap from the 30 something in the normal clans.

The cats DO have access to large prey- one clan hunts goats by using gravity for example, but I'd love to know how I can wring out every calorie and nutrient to make this massive population viable eating-wise. I'm thinking that the massive size would encourage hunting larger and larger prey (no sweet fat of the hog in the area, but deer and caribou are here), but do you think the small prey population would still be able to support the large clans?

YOWZA you're going to start having some troubles there, but I do think it's doable if you start giving them some serious advances. I don't think this is sustainable if you're doing a canon-compliant Clan; but you can squeak by if you're using fire, traps, and domestication.

So, even above the technological level of BB, but you're dealing with a BIG number here. So anyway, here's how to REALLY maximize the amount of meat you have in an area;

Domestication You seem to be somewhere cold, but I could imagine this being HUGE for Clans that are set up in South America. Natural home of the guinea pig, a living, breathing sausage. Even without guinea pigs, you might be able to have them domesticate pigeons, goldfish, mealworms, mice, maybe even chickens if you're REALLY advanced with making your fencing. What you can't make up in livestock, you can supplement with hunting. Check out CGPGrey's video on domestication, and think about how to adjust the information for a species of cats which is very small.

Fire You need fire. That 20% to 50% increase is HUGE when you're cutting back on prey.

Traps, spears, other hunting tools, for catching larger prey You can use gravity to chase a goat or a sheep off the side of a cliff, but you don't want to rely on this too much if those are human-owned. A few going missing once in a while? That's expected. If they go missing with regularity? Those humans are going to check in. Another thing to be careful of; It's a LOT easier to do this trick with an entire herd than one individual. In fact, the deadliest wolf attacks are accidental, like this one time two accidentally fenton'd 143 sheep to their deaths. OOPS!!! Plus, it straightup doesn't work on boars. They will turn around and kill you to death. You're going to want some cats who can figure out how to set traps and handle weapons. Forget about killing boars if you don't have spears like BB!ThunderClan does.

Spread Out You might even benefit from having the Clans all be interconnected, honestly, regularly trading resources. You mentioned having your city Clan, so you could be having them plus one of the further-out Clans (maybe even have one be nomadic) be the ones who are known for food production, with some Clans supplementing their diets with imports.

There IS a group kind of like this in BB, actually; The Tribe. This is actually why they have those three "Wards" I mention-- the Cave Ward, which is the "canon" Tribe, doesn't actually produce a lot of its own food and has a lower population than the Mountain and River Wards. But, put together, they significantly outnumber the Clans of the Lake.

#Bones gives advice

[fandom-puff]

I'm constantly switching between thoughts about those three men whenever I'm thinking of Westeros. I just can't decide between being cuddled and protected by Sandor, him just treating you like a fragile little kitten he needs to take care of, or being Lady Lannister and having one of the most powerful and stoic men wrapped around my finger, being his Lady wife and royally pissing off Cersei. On the other hand though, riding Ned in front of a fire sounds great too. 👉👈

Omg 😵‍💫😵‍💫 I went a liiiiitle bit overboard. There’s some reference to smut but nothing too explicit.

Living a peaceful life in the country with Sandor, far far away from the political cess pit of the capital. Raising chicken, maybe a cow or goat, travelling for miles on Stranger to trade goods with other farmers. Perhaps raising a few children of your own, or a dog or two… or both. Peaceful and rustic, without having to worry about saying the wrong thing or making a misstep in court. Not being a Ser and a Lady… just being Sandor and YN

Entering an arranged marriage to a man old enough to be your father, or even grandfather. Stepping into Casterly Rock or the tower of the hand as a meek as a kitten, afraid of the power your new husband (and his adult children) wield. Your marriage beginning with dutiful formality; a hand tucked into the crook of his elbow during walks; murmurs of ‘Lord Husband’ and ‘Lady Wife’; occasional late night visits to your chambers, for the purpose of procreation. But a frightened little kitten has no place at court, or the Rock. So Tywin has handmaidens and squires present you with bolts of rich red velvet, regal gold brocade, delicate lace imported from the Free Cities. He sends tailors to fit you with gowns more befitting of a noble lady rather than a maiden, Smithies to fashion intricate metalwork like belts and pendants, jewellers to craft stunning pieces with the rubies and gold that represent House Lannister. He has you meet with the Castellan of the Rock, the Maester, the cooks, the blacksmiths- all to teach you how to run Casterly Rock in his absence. He hosts meetings with the vassal houses of the West to ensure they respect you. To disrespect the lady of Casterly Rock is to insult Lord Lannister himself. What starts as a formal, cordial arranged marriage soon turns into Tywin fashioning you into Lady Lannister- not a trophy wife to sit pretty and sew, but a political force to work in tandem with him, slowly earning the respect of the Old Lion of Lannister.

Marrying Eddard Stark (because his honour would not allow him to take a mistress) after the death of Catelyn Tully. Initially your role is to run winterfell while Ned runs the North, and to see to it that the five stark children have a maternal figure to aid them through their grief. He won’t even share your bed for the first few months of marriage, and even then, the consummation was brief, done out of necessity to the gods to legitimise the marriage. But as the frigid winter sets in and the farmers leave their fields for the warmth of their homes, you and Ned spend more and more time in one another’s company. In silence, but nonetheless together. As the months pass, Ned’s grief begins to fade as he watches you with his children. Robb turns to you for advice and reassurance, the burden of being the heir hanging over him; Sansa begins to follow your every move, learning the ways of being a noble lady as she matures; Arya likes you, because you let her run around with her brothers, and had promised to teach her about the dragons of Old Valeria; Bran is keen to show you how high he can climb, and he enjoys the stories you and Old Nan make up; young Rickon enjoys your company, nuzzling to your breast when he is tired. Even Jon Snow seems at ease around you, and the bastard of Winterfell is allowed to sit at the high table with the rest of the Starks. Seeing you with his children awakens something in Ned. He realises your commitment to House Stark, despite being closer to Robb’s age than his. He begins to invite you to his chambers at night, to share hot ale and talk in front of the fire, or to read in comfortable silence. Months of waiting and restraint comes to a head when a gentle, dutiful kiss Goodnight just outside his door descends into one of passion and longing, and passing squires and servants watch in knowing amusement as Ned gathers you in his arms, his cloak enveloping you and guides you back into his rooms, kicking the door shut. You make love that night, on the thick fur skins on the floor in front of the fire, and afterwards you lay, entwined with one another as the warm orange of the flames bathes your naked skin in its glow. As the dull ache of his passion begins to bloom in your muscles, he helps you up and guides you to bed. Within minutes he has you again, and as you nuzzle into his side, fast asleep, he sighs softly, rubbing your hip, his fingers tracing over your belly. Perhaps his seed will take root in your womb. He has five children already, but he would like some with you. You deserve children of your own, and with winter coming, survival of the young is not always guaranteed.

#game of thrones #game of thrones headcanons #Tywin Lannister x reader #Sandor Clegane x reader #ned stark x reader #eddard stark x reader #got headcanons #Tywin Lannister headcanons #sandor clegane headcanons #Ned stark headcanons

[batsarebetterthanpeople]

ok what do you think every character in ofmd's highest dnd stat is?

Oooh ok let's get going. Ed and Stede are both very long and the others are rather short.

Ed- ok so I think Ed is definitely maxed out in both intelligence and wisdom. I think he's actually got a surprisingly low charisma. He just has expertise in intimidation and proficiency in deception and maybe persuasion. But more likely his player is looking at that persuasion skill and asking can I make an intimidation check instead.

Now if I was playing a d&d game and the assignment was play Ed in d&d I would give him a high charisma because I would stat him out as a lurker of the deep warlock BUT I think in canon where they're all rogues and fighters his charisma is ass.

Stede- Stede's difficult to stat out. I think most of his stats are probably pretty bad but he has the lucky feat. And some other means of making sure he roles well. He's not dexterous, I'm not sure on his strength, his constitution seems middling, his charisma is hard to pin down because everyone initially hates him (implies low) but he frequently wins people over with the power of friendship (implies high) but I'm leaning towards low on charisma because the winning people over is through persistent whimsy rather than true people skills. They become begrudgingly fond of him because he's impossible to get rid of rather than because he's charming is what I'm saying. He's a good problem solved he thinks on his feet and he's got a good insight which makes me think high wis but also every survival check he makes fails in comical ways so maybe this is another situation of his proficiencies tricking me into thinking he's got a higher wis than he does. The one thing he does have going for him is that he's pretty book smart so I have to go with int by process of elimination, but again, maybe strength, that's kinda the dark horse stat for him he doesn't show it but he doesn't fail any strength rolls either. He knocked a guy out with a punch tho so maybe strength. But his defining trait is problem solving so maybe wis? Idk. Not Con Cha or Dex tho those ones are definitely negative modifiers. If I had to guess middling wis, middling but slightly higher int, most of his proficiencies are in int and Wis skills, medium to high strength but he never uses it.

Jim- Dex. I will not elaborate.

Olu- I generally see Olu as the Jack of all trades build. He's a well rounded individual. None of his stats are all that exceptional but he's good to have around because he's got no negative numbers, and can do it all if push comes to shove.

Lucius- Charisma. He's an artist and his most used non-technical skill is being good with people.

Zheng- Charisma. I feel like this doesn't need any explanation.

Archie- fighting your way out of a snake takes grit, not being digested, and quite a few successful checks to not pass out while holding your breath. Constitution.

Frenchie- Frenchie is very cerebral, but not very book smart. That being said artificers are intelligence casters so I'm going with INT.

Pete- strength or con. He's a silly little guy but his mental stats aren't great and he's not giving me dex vibes either. Human fighter build.

Fang- Strength. See him breaking a guy over his leg and him holding onto the side of the ship with the goat in hand for an hour at least so Ned Low wouldn't find them.

Roach- survival and medicine are both Wis skills and historically my DMs have made players role wisdom for cooking checks.

Wee John- Strength but Charisma is definitely second.

Buttons- Druids are Wis casters.

Swede- drank poison. Lived. Con.

Ivan- he wields an Axe which is a strength weapon so probably strength.

Spanish Jackie- Charisma or Dex, but she displays more charisma.

Calico Jack- Charisma definitely.

Anne- Charisma is the one we see her use but I'm gonna go out on a limb and say her Dex is better.

Mary R.- Strength on the Ivan principle. Definitely not charisma

Mary B.- Commoner stat block with proficiency in painters tools

Izzy- Strength. But much like Stede this is a process of elimination. His Constitution is the worst Constitution we see in OFMD (Izzy the spewer), his Charisma is ass (see everything about him) his wisdom is so bad he can't succeed on an insight check to save his fucking life (and his life has depended on it) intelligence is not so good, Dex is good given how often he lurks in the corner unseen and appears places and the thing he does to Stede's shirt in 1.02 but the beginning of the duel with Stede is the most clear instance of a character using a versatile weapon with their strength stat I've ever seen so I think his strength is probably equal to or better than his dex. Also all the things we see him teaching Stede in 2.05 are strength and dex skills so I think that's where his skill set is.

Damn this crew is not a dexy bunch. Jim said "I'm playing an assassin rogue that throws knives" and everyone else said "alright let me not step on your toes then"

[giorno-plays-piano]

Thorns In His Mouth

Part VII

Pairing: fae!Steve Rogers x reader

Warnings: obsession, dubious consent, minor character death, drugs (neither reader nor Steve are involved), slight eating disorder, mentions of tumor, high tech elves.

Words: 1.2k

Summary: Maybe it was a good idea to chat with a waitress a bit more once she brought you your order. Perhaps she could at least tell you with whom you should speak because you simply couldn’t force yourself to look at others, most of them already high, shouting something loudly or laughing or weeping. You could constantly hear the flapping of someone’s wings, weird whispers and noises, and the sound of boots and hooves that made your hair stand on end.

Part I | Part II | Part III | Part IV | Part V | Part VI

_______

"But where are we going?" You hurried after the elf who was walking way too fast on his goddamn perfectly long legs.

"My friend is a phooka who doesn't like sunlight much," Steve said, turning his face to you but not slowing down. "Since magic costs us too much in your world, not many fae can afford constant glamour. And phookas don't exactly look like humans, so he has to hide where not many people can see him."

Oh. You hadn't thought of that. Phookas were black-haired cat-like - or goat-like? - creatures, as far as you remembered from a book about Celtic fairies you've had as a child. It would be incredibly hard not to freak out if you suddenly saw one in the middle of the city.

Poor creature. Where was it living? How hard it would be to not only be unable to use magic, but also communicate with pretty much anyone at all with an exception of fellow faes? Steve, on the other hand, looked perfectly human even with his strange face and piercing blue eyes, his ears perfectly normal. Was he using glamour?

He seemed to be amused with your expression as he laughed, extending his hand to you so you could walk close instead of dragging behind him.

"Do you use glamour to change the shape of your ears?" You blurted out, unable to keep silent to satisfy your curiosity, and then shame bubbled up inside you as you realized it was a too personal question to ask a literal stranger. Nevertheless, you took his hand when his fingers brushed against yours.

His gaze warmed up. "I do. What, do you want me to oblige you and show you their true form?"

"No, no pleasure, I'm sorry! I don't know why I asked that."

"It's a shame," the elf winked at you. "I'd ask you for a wish in exchange."

Warmth crept into your cheeks: was Steve flirting with you just now? Or was it his fae nature showing itself? The fair folk were supposed to be overly playing - or utterly horrifying. Steve, you thought, was likely both.

Turning to the left, away from the bus station with a long queue of tired students nervously clutching their Ipads and Iphones, you followed the Watcher with your eyes on the road instead of looking at him. It never came to your mind that he considerably slowed down his pace so you could keep up with it, his palm warming yours as he held it gently. You missed his intent stare as he stopped smiling, and his eyes flashed oddly.

"Your first lesson," he finally said after a couple of minutes, breaking the awkward silence. "Don't ever bargain with a fae if it demands a wish in return. Always try to propose something first. Give it something valuable, but what you're ready to part with."

"Like my earrings?"

There's a faint smile on his full lips, "Like your earrings."

"But what if I really need to bargain with a fae, and it wants nothing else but a wish?"

Steve abruptly stopped, and you nearly fell down the ground if he didn't catch you, steading you with his unbearably hot palms on your shoulders, towering over you, his expression somber.

"You NEVER bargain with that fae," he said, and your knees started to tremble out of nowhere when he squeezed your shoulders tight. "Never. Come find me, and I will trade something else with you to help."

There's something dangerous in the way his lips crooked, but you continued staring at his face, anyway, like a snake charmer at a cobra - except it was you being controlled, his voice a low command.

"There has always been plenty of malicious fae even in Sacred lands, but many turned worse in exile. You will never guess which one is which, and you don't want to know what they'll do to you if you give them a chance."

"But... but weren't fair folk forbidden from harming us?" Your voice trembled a little, and Steve blew out a little breath, his thumbs drawing circles through the fabric of your blouse to comfort you, probably, after he stopped painfully squeezing your shoulders.

"When you give them a wish, you hand them the power over you. Do that, and the law will no longer work in your favor."

It was a rule #1, perhaps the most important one among the long list of other rules you were given when dealing with the little folk. Never have you ever allowed a fae to ask you for a wish since then, promising yourself you wouldn't waste your own life even for your mother. There was always a different way, Steve said, glancing down at you as he towered far above you. Sacrifices, whatever their nature, rarely led to anything good in the end.

By the time he walked down the stairs to enter the nearest metro station, you realized you had a very vague picture of a place you were going to, immediately asking the elf where he was planning to take you. Why were you leaving fae's part of the city? Did some creatures live outside it? Was it far? Was it a dangerous place, too?

The man was chuckling again at a limitless number of questions you could ask without drawing a second breath. "You were a worrier, weren't you?" He asked, and your cheeks grew hot with embarrassment.

"He lives close," he finally said, motioning to the metro tration. "And no place is dangerous as long as you're with me. You might get nervous, though. It's dark and dirty there."

Dark and dirty? Was it, like, some sort of a cave.

Looking at the growing smile of the elf, you suddenly realized why he was taking you down the metro station. Dear God, that's where that hairy phooka lived, right? Somewhere on an abandoned metro line or between the stations where no one but rats would see him, and so he wouldn't need glamor.

It all felt like some sort of urban legend.

You didn't have it in you to stop, knowing your mysterious friend was expecting results in return for his earnest work, but when Steve was helping you jump over the protective fence right on the tracks, you squeezed his hand, breathing heavier.

"Can I hold your hand, please? This place gives me the creeps," you smiled nervously at him, and Steve let out a loud laugh in his typical fashion, grasping your shoulder.

"You weren't scared of coming to a place full of drug addicts and all sorts of scum, but the metro scares you?" He helped you up when you had finally jumped down, barely believing you were really doing it, your anxity amping up. "Don't fret, you lovely little thing. I know this place better than anyone. I've lived here for many long years myself."

________

Tags: @heavenly1927 @yazzzmints @devils-blackrose @lost-and-founds @kennafild @toodlesxcuddles @shygardengalaxy @heimtathurs @moonlightazriel @tsujifreya @lilithmoon92 @greenowlfactif @minshookie29 @nina2697 @youngdreamer3214 @jsrblue

#steve rogers x reader #steve rogers #mcu fanfiction #mcu #captain america #dark steve rogers x reader #dark steve rogers #yandere

[artzychic27]

For the Actor AU, how did they feel abt the canon heroes' outfits? If they could, how would they have modified them?

Marinette: Basic as fuck! It looks like I’m wearing footie pajamas! If I were in charge of my costume, I’d give myself a full-on punk look because Ladybug’s are some badass motherfuckers. Oh, and boots that have soles equipped with a shock-absorbing cushion, and a heel that contains a reinforced spring to soften the shock whenever I land. And… Maybe a backpack shaped like ladybug wings to hold my Lucky Charms and anything I need to collect for my plan.

Adrien: Less leather! That stuff shrinks, and a full leather bodysuit is not comfortable. Also, because of the cat holders’ powers, it would be cool if heroes had some sort of medical supplies on them just in case, like stored in a utility belt. And I’m with Mari, those boots sound badass. What else?… Oh, definitely add some more color instead of just basic black.

Alya: Well, the Fox doesn’t seem like a combative hero due to the powers. I see Rena Rouge as a distraction, really, so her outfit wouldn’t be one of those “ready for battle” types. Here’s what I’m thinking, one of those noir-film type outfits. The hat covers my face a bit to give me an air of mystery, and the outfit would look almost casual that no villain would suspect me.

Nino: I mean… Carapace’s look is cool. It’s alright. I’m liking the goggles, but… I’d prefer if he had armor. He’s the fucking turtle hero! He should be ready to take any blow that a villain sends his way!

Rose: Where to begin? Look, you all know me; I love pink more than the next guy, but… Sometimes too much is too much. The Pig Miraculous strikes me as… More farmhand than ballerina. Yee, I know, the heroes come with a tambourine, but come on! While I do love the skirt, I’d trade it in for overalls, either shorts or a skirt. Oh, and add some black in there, too. Daizzi has a black circle around his eye, let him be represented!

Juleka: Studded jacket. That is all.

Luka: Oh, honey, either give me a hood so I can look like a cobra or get the fuck away from me with that outfit.

Myléne: The mouse strikes me as more of the elegant type, I’m not sure why. Maybe it’s the pastel pink mixed with the grey, but I see Polymouse wearing skirts over Pigella. But, that’s just my opinion.

Ivan: Honestly, I’m fine with the canon design for Minotaurox. Yeah, he’s got pockets and padding, I-I like it. And if you show me a better design, I’ll happily take a look at it.

Marc: … I think all of the effort went into making Rooster Bold’s costume. He’s got rooster hair, the little tallons on the back of his boots, and a fucking tailcoat! He and Mayura are the only ones to have tailcoats! I’m not complaining, though. I… I actually like it, but it is a nightmare putting on and taking off that wig.

Nathaniel: Well, I can say I sort of know how some of the girls feel, because that suit was tight as hell! You could see my hip dip! Also, I would’ve liked to have a different hairstyle and maybe some color, because I am the only male redhead around for miles. Oh, and climbing boots becuase, I’m a goat, duh.

Alix: … Do I need to say it? Okay, give me some active wear! I’m traveling through a shit ton of different timelines! I need someone sporty and active when I’m on the go. Also, I’ll need a backpack like Marinette.

Kim: Not hearing any complaints from me! I liked Roi Singe, but being Scarlet Beetle is way cooler!

Max: The glasses can easily come off. What I need is a high collar or a bandana that can cover the lower half of my face in case my glasses become askew or someone is able to place my identity because all I have on my face are some stupid glasses! God, I’m so glad I’m doing this new show now.

Chloé: Oh, I just want wings.

Zoé: Same.

Sabrina: Can mine just not look like my clothes, please?! I’ll take whatever, just not that!

Kagami: I would prefer if I had some form of armor and not a spandex bodysuit. It would need to be lightweight but also durable to allow me to travel faster, of course.

#miraculous ladybug #miraculous #nathaniel kurtzberg #marc anciel #marinette dupain cheng #adrien agreste #nino lahiffe #mylène haprèle #Ivan Bruel #alya césaire #chloé bourgeois #sabrina raincomprix #juleka couffaine #rose lavillant #kagami tsuguri #max kanté #lê chiến kim #alix kubdel #luka couffaine

[ghost-takes-the-scene]

The very long post of Endermen anatomy in my mind

ok, first off there’s four main Endermen.

Northern (The end)

Middle/Earthen (Overworld/earth (this is where most subspecies would be))

Southern (Nether)

Farlanders (Farland endermen :D)

Stuff like height, eye color, snout shape, horns, teleportation distance, etc would be different depending on where the enderman is from and who the parents are. Albinism can also be a bit more common depending on which enderman it is.

When it comes to teleporting, I think each different endermen has a different distance they can teleport and the amount of times they can do it rapidly. All endermen have these three slits on each side of the neck called ‘vents’ and those open when they teleport or if they’re exhausted. It’s like a magic exhaust pipe and that’s where the little colorful particles come from. Particles usually follow around the individual and fade away if they don’t teleport for a while. Chorus fruit is a good source of energy for teleporting and if eaten just before teleporting, can give a little extra distance.

What else is a broad trait for them uhh

oh, eye color also goes with blood, flesh, guts, in the mouth and stuff (blush as well)

Northern Endermen

The end seems like it would be really cold. No weather or wind, just cold. So endermen have a lot of fur, thick fur and maybe different coat types (wavy, curly, coarse, soft etc).

First off, I think the end dragon and endermen would be like a beehive kinda system. So the dragon would be their leader. Every 500 years or so, the dragon flies off to a secluded area and lays eggs. Returns and then the endermen that are already there take care of the eggs til they hatch (it can take a few weeks all the way up to a decade). Eggs are translucent and the color of the egg is what their eye color will be. They’re a bit bigger than a watermelon.

Kits have floppy ears when born and some will have round horn nubs already growing. It’s not super rare, but still it’s uncommon for an albino enderman to hatch. (Ex: Indie :D)

Northern endermen have paws. Big paws, very soft :], but really sharp claws and rough, thick paw pads. Feet are two-toed with sharp claws. The snout shape is kinda boxy?

Like this??? (I don’t know how to describe snouts ;-;)

Northern enderman have broad, long tails for balance AND for fighting (whack em :P). Horns are like Indie’s horns, long and smooth and simple, but some can be born with one horn or have an extra set of horns. Some horns can grow and end up growing into each other. Ears can be like Indie’s, but can look like goat or cow ears. The vents on northern endermen aren’t usually visible due to their fur, but if one overworks themself and teleports too much, the particles that blow out can cause the fur to move and expose the vents. They can teleport a pretty good distance (around the same distance as Endermen in Minecraft) and can teleport repeatedly ten to fifteen times before it starts to tire or hurt them.

Eye color ranges from bluish purples all the way to purple-magenta and can be any shades between that. Pupils are like cat pupils.

Scarring starts out as the color of the blood but ends up fading to black like the rest of the skin. Albino endermen’s scars fade to pale or dark grey

Scars from water don’t fade. Ever. (Most that’ll happen is that the color will turn a bit pale, but it won’t fade to black like normal scars)

oh shit I should put this somewhere, they do have sharp teeth, but also incisors since the only source of food is chorus fruit in the end. So yeah, they could eat meat, there’s just nothing around for them to eat that’s alive (aside from endermites). So the sharp teeth would be mainly for fighting.

I like to think that endermites are considered a rare treat and that’s why endermen are so quick to murder the little bugs. It’s funny to me.

They’re pretty chill, a player could barter and trade with them as long as they don’t look em in the eyes.

Last thing, there are three different kinds of northern endermen.

Standard: Just an enderman. Like a worker bee in a way. These guys would be the ones you see just roaming around the End. Body type can vary greatly.

Guard: Larger, bulkier and a bit more aggressive. These guys would stand around the little portal that the end dragon egg sits on. There’s four there at any time (unless one is killed). They also have a higher chance to have four arms. Larger snouts and more canines than usual. Paws are larger as well. They can hold their ground really well and very rarely move from their spot guarding the end dragon egg. Eye color is on the warmer side of the spectrum.

Falcon: These guys would be in the end ships. I think they’d run the ships and guard the loot in the chests. A couple weeks after hatching, they’re given a pair of elytra that kinda just fuses to their back after a year or two (I haven’t figure out how yet, so the excuse is ✨magic✨) They’re thinner and lighter so they can go faster and also have four arms more often. Excellent fighting skills and good accuracy when trying to hit a target. Paws are more like a hand-paw fusion than just paws so they can handle weapons with more grace. Eye color is on the cooler side of the spectrum and albinos’ can end up having pale lavender to teal eyes.

The eldest endermen are often the ones in charge of the rest. Some aren’t the best though and don’t really take into consideration what the entire population wants or needs and will even ignore any they don’t like (Ex. Indie). They show blatant favoritism towards individuals in groups they’re in charge of and often end up leaving the members within the groups to help and teach the ones that aren’t as liked.

Earth Endermen

Alright, these guys vary a lot because of the biomes they live in and the climate. So one that lives in a tundra would look a lot different from one that lives in a mesa biome or the desert. Fur patterns aren’t uncommon either. All endermen in the overworld have fur though, it’ll just be different lengths and types depending on what area they live in. Kits all have floppy ears that may or may not stiffen up as they get older (depends on parents’ genes). Horns, teeth arrangement, eye color, snout shape, ears and tail type all vary depending on the biome and general climate, but there are a few things that stay the same.

At least two horns

Blood, guts, inner mouth, vents and eyes are all the same color (heterochromia is addressed further down)

Canines no matter what (at least four, two on top row two on bottom row)

Three vents on each side of the neck

Paw pads

Fur

Some endermen that live near water or an environment with rainy weather have a higher resistance to water and can even stay in water for a certain amount of time (can’t injest it though, that’s a death sentence).

There’s also a whole other subspecies that’s semi aquatic. They have a very high tolerance to water, but will still die if they stay in it too long. Diet consists of fish and shellfish. Body expels any water accidentally swallowed through the vents.

Southern Endermen

My favorite of them all, southern endermen live in the nether! They can either have really really short fur (almost like peach fuzz but not quite) or scales. Sometimes one is born with neither, leaving them with just skin, it leaves them vulnerable though, like a scaleless snake. And sometimes, when scales shed, they have a chance to grow back gold, it’s like a freckle or a beauty mark :). Southern endermen are more reptilian than the rest. Their snout shape is more like a snake’s (wide and kinda flat) and the vents on their neck are almost always visible. Teeth are mostly made up of canines and they’re black!

Necks are longer so they can snap at stuff and have a further reach. Paws are more like a hand-paw fusion and have long claws on the ends. Horns aren’t super long but they are sharp and there’s usually more than two, often growing in rows. Ears are shorter and pointed. Some can have more animal like ears though. Eye color ranges from magenta to reds of any shades (the exception being endermen that live in the warped forest, they have turquoise eyes), often having little flecks of gold in the eyes. Pupils have tapetum lucidum (the shiny over it when light shines over the eyes). They also have fire/heat resistance to an extent. So if one were to touch lava by accident, it wouldn’t hurt as long as they take their hand out within the next few seconds.

Hands and feet are larger and wider, which helps when walking across soul sand valleys. Tails can have spines along the top (like a croc or gator) that travel up the spine as well. The underbelly has the softest scales.

Also teleportation distance is pretty short, maybe a meter or two, but they can repeatedly teleport a lot more times than the other endermen species (thirty times or more). Afterwards they get really tired though, kinda loopy and giggly as well if they push themselves for too long.

Kits with scales are very vulnerable for the first two to three years of their life while their scales harden. They’re also very bony and lanky lookin, like a calf or foal. Walk funny, look funny, act funny (love my lanky little babies, I need to draw them). Ears are floppy as always.

(Most) Southern endermen live in packs. Could be as small as five or as large as twenty, sometimes they travel alone, but often don’t last long. Pack mates are super close, they roughhouse and spar and annoy older pack members (harmlessly tho). Younger members often go out to hunt and forage for mushrooms and nether wart and other plants and stuff. There’s always one older enderman that is established as the one in charge of the younger ones. They end up teaching kits how to fight and hunt and other neat tricks they’ve learned. And then the rest of the older pack members work as the parents and healers. Some might also dabble in potion-making if they can get their hands on the right materials.

They don’t like piglins. Like, at all. Go out of their way to inconvenience any piglins near their territory. They don’t like players that much either, but kinda in the way a goose doesn’t like people. They’ll keep their distance and only attack if the player keeps pestering them in some way.

Farlanders

Very tall, like really really tall, almost twenty feet but they can definitely get taller. The entire population is white and they have fur of varying lengths.

There’s not a lot known about farland endermen, but they are known for being able to teleport miles at a time. They’re often very lanky and stare off into the distance, which gives them an unsettling feeling. Horns can become very intricate and complex, but some either have normal horns or don’t grow any at all. Eye color can range from bright green to teal and cyan. Snout shape is a bit more beak like, not as broad and boxy. And the teeth are mostly canines. Vents are always visible and so many particles blow out after a single teleportation that it almost creates a colored fog around the individual that teleported. Ear shape is more of an animal’s ear, like a cow, goat, deer and sometimes rabbit ears. Paws are very soft and they don’t have paw pads. Feet are also like a northern enderman’s feet, two-toed and clawed. Tail is often really long and thin.

They’re not the best fighters, since they’d rather teleport away than fight, but it’s already hard enough to fight them due to their large size. And they travel alone, sometimes bumping into another endermen, talking for a minute or two before going back to whatever they were doing previously. When it comes to meeting other things (like people), they get really awkward and might just teleport away mid-conversation.

Kits are around three feet tall when they first hatch, floppy eared with a lot of fur to stay warm.

alright, that’s all I have for each enderman species (species?) there are a few other things that I didn’t know where to put so it’s going at the end

If an enderman has heterochromia, two things might happen. The two colors that the eyes are will blend and that’s what the color of blood and guts and other stuff will be. Or the insides will just be one of the eye colors.

If a flask of dragon’s breath is consumed by an enderman, it acts as a plasma blast (like toothless). The blast can be stored until the enderman wants to use it and if they consume multiple bottles it stacks up. Plasma color is the same as eye color.

All northern endermen born from the same dragon are related, but there are other super-far-away islands that have a different dragon with different endermen.

Hybrid endermen exist

When an enderman dies, their body fades and what’s left is an enderpearl (so if the body doesn’t fade, they aren’t dead)

for shits and giggles, all endermen have that same thing cats have, where if you pinch the back of their neck, they get really calm and immobile (this works well with southern endermen if you catch them off guard)

I think that’s everything, if you have questions send me some :D

I want to add more to this of course, things like clothing styles, mutations and hopefully more. Sorry this took so long to finish :’)

#Long post #infodump #Minecraft enderman #northern enderman #Southern enderman #Earthen enderman #I need a better name for overworld ones i dunno #Farland enderman #Enderman #enderman anatomy #this took too long #but I finished it :D #enderman headcanons

[imagines-to-quench-thirst]

Sometimes Love Stops In Its Tracks

You love your man, but sometimes, it can lead to a breaking point.

Includes: Victor Creed (Sabertooth), Loki, Thor, Steve Rogers (Captian America), Bucky Barnes (Winter Solider), Bruce Wayne (Batman), Clark Kent (Superman), Arthur Curry (Aquaman), Orm Marius, Joker, Duncan Vizla (Polar)

MAIN MASTERLIST

Quill Imagine

Victor Creed

Living the way of mutants and humans was a thin line to follow. Victor felt that he was an animal, proud of his lone wolf ways, finding solace in the hidden corners of the forest around the globe as he traveled from one mission to another. Being on the side of power that wanted to bring respect to mutants, even if their ways were questionable at the very least. And now, it was gone, traded from a role as a teacher, educating younger mutants, having battle quips with some of the twerps that think they are brighter than the 200-year-old Sabertooth. Little things like that stuck in his brain, bits and pieces that he most of the time brought home to his lover and partner. Which, after a while, bred new arguments and fights. Something which both sides did not like. Tension bubbled, and Victor felt himself dive back into his ways of thinking.

'You would NOT understand my pain!!'

'Of course, I do not know since you don't communicate anymore. Victor, please, this has been going on for way too long; talk to me! ...Tell me so I can understand.'

'Even if I told you your human brain is too stunned to comprehend.'

'What?! Why are you talking like this? Do not talk to me like that.'

'And what are you going to do?! You are no match for me.' with that, Victor knew he had crossed a line he didn't think he would cross, ever.

'I will not be treated like this! You are on your own now.'

You spoke, starting to distance yourself away from the raging mutant. Placing permanent distance between each other, leaving love to stop in its tracks.

Loki Laufeyson

For him, his heritage was a silent trigger in his mind. Whenever his blue skin showed itself unexpectedly, his manners would shift, not speaking to anyone not even his love. Which would, in return, create silence so loud it could break your heart. And it did. The silence brought no mature way to deal with it. You tried to comfort him, offering hugs, kisses, and soft touches to the broken god, but each time at the offer, Loki would pull away and even sometimes roar at the devotion. 

'Do not touch me! How many times do I have to tell you?!'

'I am just...trying to help.' The last part can be only whispered at the raging man

'Do not help me. Leave me alone.'

Loki turns away, walking away as you tried to do it to your best ability, but if he wanted help, he would accept it. Maybe it was time to leave him...alone. Sometimes the best thing you can do is remove yourself from the situation and let love stop in its tracks.

Thor Odinson

Thor fancied traveling, exploring new places, and new people, and having exhilarating adventures. Thor would leave on a whim sometimes, even most of the time, without saying where he is going or when he is coming back. Each time Thor would come back cheery as ever, retelling his stories to you with the same gleam, not understanding what he left behind and expects when he came back. You would communicate what you felt, from the sudden 180 from having him in youR arms to an empty apartment and waiting each day and night, wishing that this is the moment when he will come back. So when he came back, Thor did not read the room.

'Do you not like the story?'

With a heavy sigh, you hoped that it would be obvious. 'No-no, the story about you riding a giant goat sounds like great fun. But, Thor, do you know how I feel? Waiting for you here? Hoping that you will arrive, hoping that you will send a message that you are okay? At least that...'

Thor treks back, his eyes widening in puzzlement. 'I do not understand, dearest when I was in Asgard, my family would not grumble regarding my adventures.'

Relying back upon confusion from your side, they speak with a sharp tone, 'Thor...I know that. But this is not Asgard. This is our home. I know that your family got unfortunately reduced to myself, but what we have is a relationship. And our relationship should be based on communication. Therefore when you leave at the very least, very minimum, let me know.'

Thor took one more step back, feeling his confusion start to simmer. 'What do you mean? I thought that our bond was powerful.' Thor withdrew, looking at his lover.

'It IS strong, but this, like this, your last-second adventure, are things that can chip away at this life we have. I don't want that.'

Thor looks at you, seeing the ping of confusion on your face now 'I am a god. A god goes whenever the path takes them. My heart told me at that moment to go and explore a new corner of the realm. Experience a new life there, fresh cultures, exciting quests and help the less fortunate there, to let them know they have a god...' Thor started to ramble on his reasons for making such a bold move, and in a second, he struck in the wrong path '...explore new lovers there.'

What?

You and Thor look at each other, and you feel a small ping in your heart. Not wanting to say it out loud, but still going to walk in your truth. 

'While your heart told you to do all those things.... did it ever think of me and my heart?' Standing up, you spoke into the viscous silence that started to settle heavily on Thor's shoulders, 'Me and my heart won't take you back. Our love has stopped because of your adventures.' 

Steve Rogers

Steve was continuously on a mission, rarely home. And when he was home, it was almost a designated time for him to do all the things he couldn't do back when he was living, meaning going to 1900s museums, dinners, activities, and so on... but one thing Steve was always stuck with was Peggy. More times than not, Steve would catch himself saying Peggy's name instead of yours. Which would create disharmony. Steve would play it off, hoping you would understand where he is coming from. Creating fights and blowouts as you were trying to get your point across to Steve. 

'Steve, I understand that Peggy was your girl then, but now I am here. Don't call her name when you call me. We don't even have similar names.'

'You are telling me to suppress an important part of my life. You, of all people, should understand what kind of pressure I go through when I am on a mission. So when I come here, I mostly blow off some steam, and my brain mixes everything. Hence, the name mixing.' Steve argued his point coming across less and less, dipping more into the black hole that was forming between the lovers. 'What if the roles would be reversed Steve, hm? What if I said my ex's name instead of yours?'

'Oh, for the love of god. Please, not that gender-role-reversal crap. Back in my day...'

'Stop!' It roared in Steve's ears, the way the word just shouted in his ear, halting his words.

'If your brain is still in the past. Then you can live through it by yourself. As much as I give myself to you and your activities so you can "relive" your "golden days," even though you have been willing and ready to make a life together, you still want to go back. And that is completely fine, but you could have told me that and not strung me along all this time.' 

Steve sat back, hearing and feeling the wave of emotions falling into a black hole, growing more and more and very soon encapsulating Steve, losing himself forever. 

Bucky Barnes

Bucky consistently feared everything and everyone. Not a lot of moments in his lifetime offer solace and peace. But you tried your best to give him a piece of the comfort and love you felt for him every day. Bucky tried to dissociate from everyone, including you, and the moments you shared with him, cooking, knitting, reading, you name it, his brain was always halfway turned off, and you really can not blame him. You tried your best to understand the poor soul; you really did! But when he was zoned like that, he tended to be more jumpy and scared, resulting in a fiery shout directed at you.

'Dammit! You scared me!'

Turning into a frigid zone, no talking, no touching for 1 hour, as Bucky instructed. And that rule made it hell for you; you thrived off of physical touch! 

'I am just saying that I am here, Buck. You do NOT have to be alone. You have me, for crying out loud.'

'You would not understand what I went through. And with all my scars, I am fearful how I will live like this.'

'I can not phantom what you went through, Bucky. But the reason we are in this relationship is to be with each, enjoy each other's company, touch each other, and just- just let everything be, no past, no future-just us; together.'

Getting your point into his thick skull, Bucky's eyes winded in anger and misinterpretation. 'So what you are saying is to forget myself. To be no one?! To be just an insignificant speck on this planet and forget my hurdles and trauma. Like you?!'

Looking at him, you felt the ripple of sadness coloring your veins; there was no way Bucky thought that about you, someone who he loved, cherished, and most importantly trusted, was he?

'Is-is that what you think about...me?! '

'Yes!' He boomed the answer without a second thought, sealing this chapter for the both of you. Looking at him, you come close to him, placing a soft kiss on his cheek respond in a hush, loud enough to be engraved in his brain.

'Remember this kiss, because it is the last sincere thing you will feel. Until you come to terms with yourself, James.'

With that, you left the room knowing that the best option was to leave him if he wished so letting your love stop in its tracks.

Bruce Wayne

Bruce always thought that he wasn't made for relationships, the man dressed like a bat, for goodness sake. Therefore, when you two got together, you raised Dick from a small baby boy with the fattest cheeks that were just screaming to be pinched to a teenager going through his phase of 'begging secretive,' although I don't know how much you can get secretive if you are a superhero and being mentored by Batman. A few years perished, you would have thought that Batman was more open to having a partner in his house, not ours, his. But no. Bruce would hole up in his cave and not talk to anyone, not even Alfred, if he was working on anything. And that fueled sleepless nights resorting for you to give him the cold shoulder but masking it in front of Dick to appear as if everything is okay. Which in hindsight, would bite you in the ass when you would feel yourself crack under the façade. 

'Alfred? Why is Mom crying?'

'That... Master Richard is hard to explain. The best we can do is give her a hug and reassure her that everything is okay.'

The hug would help in a 'band-aid over a bullet wound' type of way, but nonetheless, it helped. What didn't help was Bruce and his stoicism. No matter what emotion you chuck at him or say, he would just stand coldly. 

'Bruce! Just come out of this forsaken cave. For one hour! For Dick! For me! For Alfred!'

'I told you. I have a case. I can not leave the cave just yet.' He spoke in a stern tone, not moving an octave higher or lower.

'You have been in here for 6 days. This is borderline madness. I forgot your touch.' You responded, feeling your body tremble with unhappiness and uprising anger. 'I have been nothing but patient, but nothing can make you move. I tried, I really, really, really tried. But you gave me nothing!'

Stepping away, you see Bruce's eyes dilate slightly at your discouraged-filled sentences, but now it is too late. As you were going up the stairs, Dick stepped out of the shadows looking at his father.

'Are you just going to stand there?'

Bruce looks at the boy feeling his heart twist in the same way yours was feeling your shared love stop in its tracks.

Clark Kent

Clark moved on when Lois found a new guy to be with. By finding you. Being with you, making a life together, living together in Metropolis. Finding yourself with him. Clark was a sweetheart and still is, to the bone. But when you are such a sweetheart, there are bounds where you will trip up because of your niceness. For Clark, it would be the ability to say no to Lois when she calls for help. Be it a heroic save from a no-name villain to a minuscule task such as carrying furniture up 5 flights of stairs, where she moved in with her new boyfriend.

'Clark, you have to stop helping her so much.'

'I couldn't say no. When she asked me so nice-'

'She has a man! He can do all those things. You are my man!'

'What are you saying?! I should have let her plummet to death when she was falling?'

'That's not my point, Clark. What I am saying is... she is your past. I am your present.'

Clark stood up, hugging you gently, reassuring you with a soft touch, 'You have to understand that she will always be my past. Someone I still very much love.'

Hearing that you pushed him away, you felt a coil snap in your heart, nudging you in the direction where you opted you would not go. 'What?! Lois broke your heart and left you all alone to pick up the pieces, and you still love her?'

'She didn't know what she was doing. I told her how I felt, and we mended that.' More actions came to light 'When?! You never mentioned that to me. Clark... what are you hiding?!'

Clark moved away, seeing what effect all of this had on you, heartbreak in sight. 'Nothing! Just Lois and I talked it over and decided to move friends. Nothing more!'

Looking to the side, you could not see him anymore; your emotions got the better of you. 'You are saying that just now. Do you understand how much jealousy and insecurity I have to press down when I see you going to Lois first and not me? Have you tried to think how I would feel?! All the time, I was really supportive and understanding, but I am human, and my other emotions would boil if this continued, and it did. I gave you so much grace hoping you would understand by yourself. But you did, and look where we are now.'

Looking at him, you saw his eyes dim with hopelessness. 'So what are you saying? That we-' '-yes, we have no future. But maybe your past can help you pick up the pieces.'

Arthur Curry

Arthur is a hunk of a man. He attracted people of all genders and orientations. He is a beef magnet. Arthur knew his charm, but he was oblivious to how it affected you. Whoever was flirting with Arthur, it made you a bit mad when Arthur would return the flirt even when you were with him.

#154th time

'Babe, if I am nice to the barmen, we will get free drinks.'

#484th time

'No worries, toots. The woman there is smoking hot, but I am still yours.'

Arthur tried to reassure you, but all that would fall on deaf ears by the time you saw it for the 500th time.

'Arthur, you have to stop. I am uncomfortable seeing you flirt with other people while I am with you.'

'When did I do that?' He would ask as if all of that did not happen 3 hours ago, 'You are messing with me, right?! You were flirting with the girl outside the bar while I was getting the car!' 

'Oh, that?! That doesn't count.' He retired, saying a small pfft.  

'Sorry? And when "does it count"?' You asked, feeling genuine curiosity mixed with rage

'Only when I get something free out of it.'

it took you a second to comprehend was he was saying and what he was speaking

'So you mean you do it all the time, but most of the time, you do it to gain something you can very easily buy?'

Arthur takes a second to realize and says deadpanned, 'Yes.'

Losing all hope in the merman before you, you just left, leaving him to his own consequences. Letting your silence speak louder than his words could ever, letting him know that your love has stopped in its tracks.

Orm Marius

Orm never would have thought in a million centuries that he would leave his birthright of being a king to be with you. That decision weighed heavily on his shoulders and heavier on yours. As you were described to others as 'the reason Orm left him throne' sometimes it was spoken with a devoted ping but sometimes with a bitter punch. And that decision was not yours; it never was. It was his. Orm just wasn't ready to admit it. Creating a toxic atmosphere in your household. You were mostly quiet on the matter, hoping that Orm would digest it like an adult man, while Orm was boasting about his accomplishments in Atlantis and always ending with a bitter 'And now I am here.'

'Orm, if you feel that way. You are free to go. I am not some anchor that will keep you here against your will. Plus, we all know YOU chose to come here. I did not put a gun to your head and force you to come here. I had no problem having a long-distance relationship. YOU were the one who wanted to escape that throne and those responsibilities.'

Orm strode to you, feeling disassociated with himself. 'I beg your pardon! The reason I came here was to be with you! Because I love you.'

'I know you do. But every time we talked about your royal duties, you always mention what kind of mental toll they had on you, so much that you started to lose your hair from the stress.' 

Orm looked at you as if a film playing before him; you were right. But he was not ready to fall back.

'You are the one at fault!' He argued, trying to stick to his points that stood on wobbly legs. 'Me?! How??!' You rebutted, ready to stand your ground firmly. 'You and your heritage! Why did you have to be a surface dweller?! Why did you even have to be born?!' He screamed at you, unleashing the avalanche he formed 

'How-how can you say that? You said you loved me moments ago,and now you don't want me on this earth?'

Pacing back, you turn towards the balcony overlooking the ocean, just a few steps ahead. Opening the balcony door, you step aside, saying with a bittersweet sound, 'Here! You can go! I won't hold you back, Orm. It was never my intent to make you so miserable. But when you realize that I was right, don't come back running to me.

Joker(Suicide Squad)

J never intended to have you in his life, someone so typical. Not corrupted, not willing to rob a bank or squishy an ant. You were an angel, and he wanted to corrupt you, but then he knew it would lose parts that made you so distinct and memorable to him. J never tortured you or forced you to do anything. But he did leave you alone while he wreaked havoc in the city. Locking you in the "safe" castle prison while he rampaged Gotham. At first, it wasn't a big deal; after a while, it was like a panic attack that you had to suffer alone in the ample lustrous space. 

'J, can you not lock me next time. It really weighs heavy on me. Please stop.'

'Angel, you being locked here is for your own good. What if someone tries to take you away?'

'And me being locked away will keep them away?'

'You are right! From tomorrow I will add a safe and code lock on the doors and windows.'

'No! J! You can not do this to me! Every time you leave, you lock me in. I feel like I haven't been outside for days now.'

'It was exactly 6 days.'

'J, you have to let me out! I am not someone who is okay with staying in here.'

J started to laugh uncontrollably, looking at you like you are the crazy one 'You are acting like you didn't know, pet. HA! Did you seriously think you would not have some "conditions" to be with me???!!!'

Looking back at him, it dawned on you just now. J wasn't the one going mad, you were. Being locked up in here like some twisted life routine. You had to cut this twist now and forever. 

'I do not wish to be with someone who gives me solitude J.' 

Standing up you walk out of the room, hearing J yelling at you, 'Do NOT forget how good of a life you had with me and in this golden cage!' 

Trying to assemble his thoughts, J halts all his actions feeling his love stop.

Duncan Vizla

Duncan looked at the snow-covered window watching as you walked out of your truck and into your shared home with the retired assassin. 

'Hey, Donut! I'm back. I found the cutest dog ever, a mix of poodle and french bulldog; his name was Mocha. So freaking cute.'

As you explained your day to Duncan, he asks you, cutting the cheery atmosphere short 'No one was following you, dove? Did you check your surroundings?'

A little stumped at the change of atmosphere you spoke with a tint of lie 'Yes. all clear.'

Duncan raises an eyebrow seeing your smile drop 'Liar.'

'Fine, yeah. I didn't check my surroundings but I was extremely careful and I only went to the famers market and petted Mocha.'

Duncan sighs loudly filling the room with his anxiousness. 'It was fine and-' 'It's not fine. You could have been hurt. Someone could have taken you.'

Placing your hand on his you try to soothe him 'IT WAS fine, Ducan. No one is after me. No one is after you. You can relax. We are together here now.'

'You do not understand my fear. Every time I walk out I feel their eyes on me and I do not want you to feel that. I just want you to be safe.'

'Duncan, and I am. When I am with you. Please calm down and let us just enjoy this day.' you talked to him, trying to reason with him but not much was going up his walls.

'Do not downplay my emotions. You would not understand the fear I have to harbor to keep it away from You. To keep you happy and live in this fantasy.'

'What?! How can you say that?? All my feelings towards you are sincere Duncan, I have told you many times that we can talk whenever and about whatever you wanted. I gave myself to you and help you overcome your past life.'

You rebutted looking at him, trying to get your points across and into his thick skull.

'Don't downplay me, little girl! You watch who you are talking to.' Duncan shouted, making you come to a standstill. 

How could he talk to you like that? And downsize you to a small girl. You aren't helpless. You aren't dumb, far from it. You are more than capable of walking away right this instant. 

'You will not talk to me like that Duncan. And you will not minuscule me. I do not care what you have gone through if you will tear me like that, and talk to me like that. No one will talk to me like that and you will finally learn that what you say hurts far more than a weapon can.'

Walking out, you look at the snowstorm coming in, sealing your fate far away from Duncan.

#victor creed imagine #avengers imagine #marvel #imagine #marvel imagine #sabertooth #victor creed x reader #mads mikkelsen #xmen imagine #sabertooth imagine #victor creed one shot #loki (marvel) #loki imagine #loki laufeyson x you #loki laufeyson imagine #thor one shot #thor x reader #thor imagine #winter solider x reader #winter solider imagine #winter solider one shot #bucky fanfic #bucky imagine #bucky barnes x reader #james barnes x reader #captain america imagine #captain america x reader #captain america one shot #steve rogers one shot #steve rogers x reader

[quibbs126]

All right, so as said last post, this was a request from @a-weird-bean-bag, and this is Chowder Cookie

For those who don’t recognize the bottom character, this is @a-weird-bean-bag’s character Goat Milk Cookie

You know fun fact, this is the 2nd OC x Canon I got, and the first was I think either the day before or earlier the same day. Haven’t finished that one though

So I think the process for this name was that I saw the two of these characters and was like “oh hey isn’t there some recipe in Breath of the Wild that uses seafood and milk?” and so I went looking on a website I knew for the name of it. Note that I know nothing about seafood, my family doesn’t eat it and we just generally stay away from it. Anyways, so the thing I was thinking of was trout soup, which I’m now realizing is from Stardew, not Breath of the Wild. Okay so it went Trout Soup from Stardew, which didn’t really work, so I went looking for anything that mixed seafood and milk, but couldn’t find anything. Then I thought about that BOTW recipe and looked it up and it was Clam Chowder. So I looked up chowder and it turns out it doesn’t necessarily have to clams, so I just went with Chowder Cookie

As stated above, it’s because it mixes seafood and milk. So, simple enough

Chowder:

Okay, looking at it now, maybe I made her skin too dark, but ah well, it’s probably fine. Anyways moving on to her hair

So I know Caviar and Goat Milk only have partially curly hair instead of Chowder’s entirely curly, and she probably looks closer to Cauliflower, but that’s just what I went with, and I liked it. I made her hair lighter than either of the two since it was supposed to be the soup, and I didn’t think Goat Milk’s hair color necessarily cut it as light enough

Also the pink and green bits are supposed to be like, things in the soup, since chowder doesn’t just seem to be a base soup, it has other ingredients in it. My idea is that she had more in her hair when she was younger, but maybe she picked them out to seem more professional or something. I also tried to make it seem somewhat liquid-y, but I don’t know how successful that was

I had a lot to say about her hair, but not much on the outfit front. I kind of just tried to come up with something based on Creme Republic characters, specifically the Lower City designs. She’s supposed to be a trader, so I wanted to make her look somewhat professional, but also she’s not into wearing particularly fancy clothes, so I just kind of went with this (though she probably also has more formal clothes, this is just day to day). I suppose it’s fine

Also you may notice the tiny horns. They were honestly a pretty last minute inclusion, hence why they look like they were kind of tacked on. But also I’m kind of fine with them the way they are

I was also thinking of giving her freckles like Goat Milk’s old design, but they didn’t pan out

But yeah, overall I like the design well enough. Maybe not one of my best but still good. Maybe doesn’t look enough like Caviar though

Anyways, so let’s move on to her character

So as I’ve stated before, she’s in the maritime trading business. I think I got this idea because Caviar’s captain of a ship (and I think their navy), and my brain was like “boats also = trading”, which may have been spurred by my recent history lectures which have been discussing the road to the American Revolution, and we got to the shutdown of Boston Harbor which affected merchants. But also I looked back at Goat Milk’s info and saw he’s a trader too, so it all works out

Generally she’s a very business oriented person, with a drive to get things done as quickly and effectively as possible. As such she can be a bit stern and not the most pleasant to be around if you work with her. She’s nicer if you meet her outside of work, she’s just trying to get things done

She also can have a bit of a short temper and doesn’t really take setbacks or mishaps well. I mean, she’ll find ways to work around them, but when she gets bad news she doesn’t react the best in the moment. Likely it will involve her swearing. Sometimes excessively

Also she likes chowder, as shown in the left sketch. I had something else there, but I thought I should show her being chill so she doesn’t seem like a completely angry person. She isn’t, it’s just that she gets pissed off a bit easily

Anyways I think that’s about it. I feel like I’m forgetting something but I don’t know what. Ah well, I can edit it in later if I remember. But yeah, I hope you enjoy her!

Oh and also, I didn’t know where to put this, but what actually got me to get around to drawing her was making this rough sketch. I actually did a few of these, and maybe it’ll help me actually get around to drawing them more, since it was pretty fun and I feel like drawing the other two I did sometime

Here was the initial sketch. It’s small so I just put it with the rest of the drawing so you’re not looking at a largely blank canvas

#cookie run #cookie run kingdom #captain caviar cookie #goat milk cookie #I forgot to look up the ship name #sorry #cookie run oc #chowder cookie #my art #my ocs #requests #I feel like I should have more to tag #oc x canon #not my oc #I’m referring to Goat Milk here #but biscy you’re free to use Chowder if you want to

[chasingmidnights]

13 Nights of Halloween: Campfire Stories; Story Ten

Title: Legends of Devil’s Bridge

Storyteller: Wanda Maximoff

Summary: A bridge with a long, nefarious history and maybe a portal?

Warnings: First, this is 18+, minors DNI!! The following warnings included but not limited to: angst; mentions of sacrificial rituals; murder; witch hunt; hangings; drownings; mentions of spiritual realms and ghosts/ghost apparitions; mentions of drinking; and minor cursing. I believe that’s everything and I apologize if I missed anything but you are responsible for what you read. By clicking keep reading, you accept these warnings and that you’re above the age of 18. I do not claim to be a professional writer, nothing is beta read, any and all mistakes are my own. 

Wordcount: 1,034

The following night everyone gathered around the campfire once again. You couldn’t help but feel a little sad that in a few days this little camping trip would be over and it would be back to the real world. You loved these little camping trips and being able to spend time like this with your friends. You sipped on your hot chocolate as you waited for tonight’s story. The fire crackled and provided warmth on this chilly night. 

“So, are we ready for tonight’s story?” Wanda asked as she finished off a s’more. 

“Yeah, I’m down for another story.” Bucky said, taking a drink from his beer. 

Johnny nodded along as he wrapped an arm around Wanda’s waist, pulling her close. “Of course we’re ready babe.” 

“Great! So, I always heard this story growing up and was warned not to go near the Devil’s Bridge. It had a horrible history and even supposedly had a portal beneath it. The bridge was older than the town itself and made of stone and it went over a small river. With the way the arch of the bridge was made, it made a perfect circle with its reflection in the water. One of the oldest legends of the bridge is that it was used for several cult rituals. Some of the cults in the town that I grew up in truly believed that if they sacrificed something innocent at a certain time, a portal would open and they believed that they could travel through lands. Not just through lands, but also time itself. However, the only outcome that came from that was a strand of murders that lasted decades. 

“Over the years, as the acts of the various cults died down, new forms of violence popped up. Several hangings happened at the bridge as well. One of the hangings that happened was because of a trade that went south. The trade was between two farmers and they were in the process of trading goods with each other. One of the farmers was supposed to receive good, high quality goats from the other farmer and in return, he was supposed to trade two of his horses. Instead though, he claimed that the goats were of poor quality and decided to hang the man for dishonoring their trade agreement. Once he hung the man, he kept the goats anyway and took over his land well. This horrible farmer did this to several others, his greed taking over him. It’s said that each spirit of the person that was hung at the bridge haunts it to this very day and are very angry spirits. 

“Just as it seemed like the bridge was starting to see some peace, a new series of unfortunate events started to happen. The town that I grew up in had their own series of witch trials and went on a massive witch hunt. The townspeople would use the river beneath to determine if an accused person was a witch or not. Even though the river was small in width, it was quite deep. The townspeople and their leaders would bound the accused and strip them down to their undergarments. If the accused was innocent, the person would sink and drown, the river claiming them. If the person was a witch, it was believed that the river would reject them and cause the accused to float or bob in the water. Many innocent people died because of this, because of fear. After these so-called witch trials, the bridge became known as the Devil’s Bridge. 

“Throughout the years, the bridge has been a hot spot for evil. Some people wondered if the portal theory was correct and wondered what was on the other side. Some people truly believed that hell itself was on the other side of the portal. People have tried and tried to test this theory out and through various methods. Some tried through sacrificial rituals, much like the cults. While others believed that the portal only opened at certain times of the day, at sunrise and sunset. People would wait for hours to try and see if they could cross through the portals on their boats. Of course, there are some that claim that the portal truly exists and have crossed over and back again. While others have left the Devil’s Bridge disappointed or finding something else entirely. Some, while exploring the bridge and trying to find the portal, have discovered that the bridge is haunted. People have claimed sightings of full body apparitions or small ghostly orbs floating through the darkness. On separate different occasions, people have reported that they went into a trance-like state and ended up losing hours of time. The Devil’s Bridge is filled with mysteries and lore and it’s hard to decipher what is true and what is made up. Or maybe, it’s all made up.” 

A chill went through your body as Wanda finished her story. You forgot that things such as bridges and houses have a history of their own and have stories that go far into the past. 

“Jesus, did we all grow up in fucked up places?” Jake asked as he shook his head, taking a long drink of his beer. 

“Apparently.” Ari said, still trying to wrap his mind around Wanda’s story. He considered himself a skeptic when it came to rituals, the spiritual realm and ghosts. 

“Wanda, did you ever explore this Devil's Bridge?” Natasha asked, her curiosity piqued. 

“Of course I have. It’s almost like a rite of passage growing up in my town.” Wanda said, almost nonchalantly. 

“Did anything happen?” You asked, curious to know if anything happened to your friend. 

Wanda thought back to her own experience. “Nothing that I can remember. My brother though, that’s who I went with, he claimed that I started to act like a different person. But honestly, I don’t remember a thing.” 

“Sounds like possession.” Andy commented, scratching the back of his neck. 

Wanda shrugged her shoulders. “Maybe. But alright, enough about my story. Who’s next?” 

The group went silent for a brief moment as everyone glanced around at each other. 

“I’ve got one.” Steve said and you couldn’t help but smile up at him.

#13 nights of halloween #campfire stories #story ten #wanda maximoff #wanda maximoff fandom #wanda maximoff fanfiction #wanda maximoff drabble #wanda maximoff storyteller #wanda maximoff au #elizabeth olsen #elizabeth olsen characters #multifandom event #multifandom

[adrift-in-thyme]

If you still would like some prompts to banish boredom:

Chained fetch quests / trading sequence

Thanks for the prompt! <3 I always love the loz trading sequences and writing about one was a lot of fun!

Fic beneath the cut

Time supresses a sigh as he stares down at the little white object in his hands. The woman who had “gifted” it to him is already gone, fading into the crowd of Castle Town.

Eggs and chickens. Why does it always start with poultry?  

“Umm, that doesn’t look like a map to me,” Wild says, peering at the egg. “Did we talk to the wrong person?”

“Not likely.”

“Oh, no, we didn’t.” Legend holds out a hand and Time drops the egg into it. He holds it up with a grin. “A random person gifting us a random object? Classic start to a trading sequence.”

Warriors frowns. “Trading sequence?”

“Yes.” Time nods. “You trade one object for another and then give that object away as well. Usually, you continue until you have the item of value you had wanted in the first place.”

“Which, in our case,” Twilight says, “is the map to the treasure.”

“I see.” Warriors scans the crowds of people mulling about the street. “So, I’m guessing we have to find someone who wants a chicken egg.”

Wind puts a hand to his chin, thinking for a moment. Then, his eyes go wide with excitement. “Ooh, ooh, I know who needs an egg!”

“Then, let’s be on our way,” Time says. “The sooner, the better. These kinds of quests don’t go quickly.”

Sure enough, the man Wind leads them to is in the market for an egg. Overjoyed about gaining a new cuckoo, he gives them…

“A broom?” 

Wind wrinkles his nose. “That’s a weird gift.”

Sky tilts his head, regarding it. “Huh, I know someone back home who could use one of these.”

“Yeah, but is there anyone here who wants one?” Four asks.

This time it's Warriors who speaks up. “I don’t know what the owner would say, but on the way here I saw a house in dire need of cleaning.”

Chuckling, Legend starts forward. “Nice job, pretty boy. I’m sure they’ll be so flattered when we show up at their doorstep with a broom.”

The owner is surprisingly more ecstatic than any of them expect. 

“Oh, how wonderful!” she exclaims. “My last broom broke months ago and I’ve been meaning to buy a new one. Wait a moment, kind lads. I must give you something in return!”

This time they walk away with a large hunk of odoriferous cheese.

“Guess she took us for people who like cheese,” Warriors says, holding his nose. “Who on earth would want this thing?”

“A cook would covet it,” Twilight points out. “Goat cheese is one of the key ingredients of Yeto’s soup.”

Wild’s eyes light up. “I saw a restaurant on the way here! But it didn’t look like many people were eating there. Maybe they need a new recipe.”

A short walk through Castle Town and a conversation with one very despondent chef later, the heroes find themselves the proud owners of a “lucky” cooking pot.

(The chef, apparently, no longer needs to rely on superstition now that his creativity has been rejuvenated by the wondrous cheese.)

No sooner have they stepped out of the restaurant than Legend holds up a hand.

“I know who to give this one to.”

The recipient ends up being a small child in need of a drum set. The veteran plops the pot on the ground upside down, accepts the necklace the child offers him in return, and walks away, all while ignoring the looks his fellow heroes are giving him.

“I knew it,” Sky says, beaming, and Twilight can’t help but chuckle. 

The necklace, it seems, is the final piece to the puzzle. Hyrule holds it gently, studying the delicate pendant. 

“This contains powerful magic,” he says. “This necklace likely belongs to a sage or wizard.”

“Strange that a child had it,” Time remarks. 

Beside him Warriors smirks and mumbles, “You can’t say much, Sprite.”

Time glares at him.

Four is reaching out to touch the necklace now, brows creased in a frown. 

“We should be able to trace this back to its owner easily,” he says. “Magic always leaves a trail.”

Hyrule nods. “A simple location spell should be enough.”

He weaves it in seconds, and then they’re off again, following the invisible path the necklace has set before them.

In the end, it leads them to a cat.

They stare down at the little, white ball of floof, and it stares back at them.

“A…cat owns a magical pendant,” Warriors says, eyebrows raised. “That’s unusual.”

“Maybe the cat’s…not a cat?” Sky suggests, with a small shrug.

Legend shakes his head. “Usually, this kind of thing happens in dark worlds – dimensions that mirror our own.”

“But,” Twilight speaks up, “it’s not unheard of in the light world.”

He takes the necklace from Hyrule’s hands and steps forward. Dropping to one knee, he holds it out.

“Does this belong to you?”

The cat’s eyes flick from the necklace to him and back again. Then, it stretches out a tentative paw. 

There’s a flash of light and in the next moment, a woman stands before them, looking a bit frazzled and very relieved.

“Thank you,” she breathes, fastening the necklace. “When this was stolen from me I despaired of ever returning to my human form. I suppose, however, all I needed was the help of some dashing heroes.”

She lifts an eyebrow. “You seek the map to the treasure, do you not? Well, you have proven yourselves worthy of it.”

A flick of her finger and the worn parchment appears, floating down to rest in Twilight’s hands. No sooner has it touched his fingertips than the woman is gone in a puff of smoke. 

“Wow….” Wild says. “That was weird.”

Time smirks. “Trading sequences will bring you into contact with all manner of oddities.” 

“Come on.” Legend turns, away. “Now that that's over we can get out of here.”

“Yeah,” Wind exclaims, “we’ve got treasure to find!” 

Eagerly, he rushes ahead and his companions don’t spare a moment in following.

#trin writes #linkeduniverse #lu chain

[luddlestons]

... do you think tiefling clothing needs to be custom-made? Considering the amount of variations of anatomy they can have?

We got:

Variations on Horn size and Shape. How would they get anything on over their heads?

Some tieflings get wings, I'm pretty sure. Back cutouts? Just straight-up backless shirt?

Some tieflings have goat legs, like a satyr or depiction of the devil.

Clothing probably gets expensive, I'm just saying!

If we’re talking about your standard medieval-era fantasy d&d world, most clothing was custom made in the analogous earth time periods, either by tailors or by family members who knew how to sew garments. (Usually women but if we’re doing fantasy, fuck gender!) Some basics were ready-made, but the wide array of ready-made garments we see in stores nowadays are more of a post-industrial revolution thing afaik. (I’m not a fashion historian or medievalist by any means, just a fantasy writer/artist who likes to sew, so more info is welcome here!)

In more specific fantasy world dynamic thoughts: I imagine some tailors would specialize more so in tiefling clothing than others, so you’d want to go to one who knew what they were doing, but I don’t know that it would be much different to an average person’s clothing budget unless you’re in an area where tieflings are particularly rare, the tailor is upcharging you for modifications to basic patterns, and you don’t have any time or resources to sew your own garments or modify one you already have.

I imagine that in a fantasy world like d&d in particular, tailoring would have to be more varied based on the sheer number of different common body types! While in our world, a 7ft tall person is uncommon enough that most tailors would never have one as a client, d&d has half-giants, orcs, and firbolgs, all of whom are regularly over 7ft tall. I would say same difference for gnomes and halflings being so short, but probably you could just use the same sort of scaling you would for children’s garments so that wouldn’t be too out of the ordinary.

Tieflings, of course, land in the category of Extra Bits, like dragonborn, fauns, aasimar, and maybe others? I don’t know much about tabaxi, do they have tails? They ought to, right? (And depending on your lore I see people draw firbolgs and halflings with tails too!) And then you have tortles and aarakokra which are just different shapes ENTIRELY. Sartorial trades in fantasy universes would have to be WAAAY more varied, and that’s pretty cool to think about!

Oh but specifically for tieflings: for wings—I’ve seen designs that basically have slits with buttons or other fastenings that go above the wing so you sort of slide them on and then close them. I imagine you’d need a buddy to help you get dressed though, those seem like even more of a nightmare to do up unassisted than zipping up your own dress. Tails could function in basically the same way, just having a fastening above where they sit, but it would have to be very fitted to your individual tail, cuz if someone else’s is thicker or thinner and you’re borrowing their clothes, that looks like a Problem to Me.

Horns are probably the easiest to get around! You’d just need something that either buttons or laces up the front, has a very wide neckline, or that you can pull up from the bottom like a lot of dresses with fastenings up the back!

**forgot: faun-like legs/hooves would probably require either wide leg pants or SKIRTS! This is also what I use for my dragonborn who has legs shaped more like if a horse had claws and scales.

….this got very long. I think about these things OFTEN.

#and also I’m waiting for bg3 to be released to my console so my brain is in d&d zone #d&d #critical role #(as I have to think about this often whenever I’m designing Molly outfits)

[chatonarya]

I was having Goat Feelings.

(Written post "Blade Catcher" release)

It truly astounds me how much emphasis HG has placed on the Karlan Trio with the release of Degenbrecher. I won't have the full scope until RS releases on global as I prefer to read the official translation (story and Degenbrecher's op file and voice lines), but with each new tidbit I coincidentally learn despite largely attempting to avoid big spoilers, I'm simply bowled over by it.

Ever since BI, it's been implied that the reason Degenbrecher sticks around Kjerag is not money, but rather because she approves and supports Karlan Trade's endeavors. She talks a bit about how she didn't like Kazimierz, and she thought she wouldn't like Kjerag, but she does, and it's quiet. My guess was that she stayed there because she liked the peace after nine years of arena fighting and being hunted down, and she possibly even felt she owed Enciodes for saving her life, and maybe she found it (and them) entertaining. This was given further fuel by Enciodes's second oprec where he states "Degenbrecher keeps herself deliberately uninvolved," doesn't care, and views much of what he does as simply inviting trouble for himself.

But what's abundantly clear now is that Degenbrecher cares a lot about Enciodes and Gnosis on a personal level. Parts of her EP are clearly addressed to them as they appear in the background of it, emphasizing their bond, and through the lyrics she's swearing to protect them with her life no matter what. "I will be your wall, I'll take it all;" "It's a blizzard of fear, but you're safe here;" "Won't let you drown." Even the name of the song "Blade Catcher," aside from being another reference to her name, implies that she will catch the blades that come towards them. She is the blade catcher; the swordbreaker. She speaks of the "blade, heaven made" deep inside of her, and how she is "the creature born to fight" but she fights for them. (Deeper reasons I presume will be elaborated on in her file/RS, but if I were to guess, it's because they "melted the snow" and saw that "blade" inside of her and didn't try to use her or judge her. "Don't ask who would I be," she says, refusing to allow "the shadow" of her past to shake her, instead making it "the key to the fortress"; perhaps it's that sentiment that links all three of them together.)

What amazes me is not the fact that she cares, because that was hinted at (one of the first things I noticed was that she addresses Enciodes by his first name), but by how much she cares and how boldly and openly it's stated. It's not just a mere fondness, just an amusement: they're her friends, and she would kill for them. Oh, she might complain about them being annoying, or comment about wanting to smack them around a bit, but that doesn't change the fact that she still has their backs and she's not shy about it. She's not just a bodyguard, she's never been just a bodyguard, but she's so much more than I expected. I anticipated her to be cool and standoffish, speaking of Enciodes (and Gnosis to a much lesser extent) with some detached fondness about how good he's been to her; I expected her EP to speak of her pain-filled childhood and how she found herself in battle to make herself from something defective into something exceptional; I did not expect her EP to wholeheartedly declare her loyalty and dedication.

#degenbrecher #arknights #arknights lore ramble #karlan trio

[ichayalovesyou]

You know what I don’t normally get into Trek technobabble stuff but I gotta say this. I would absolutely use a transporter and I don’t really get people who are like, scared of it?

Like, does it really kill you if it’s like for a few seconds and you come back in one piece afterward? Are people who were resuscitated after being killed/declared dead considered a new person or a clone of themselves after they died but came back? Is it death if your heart and lungs stops for 5 seconds in a way that leaves you perfectly intact moments later? It’s shorter and less dire than having a stroke!

Like YEAH transporter accidents happen! But you know what also happens that kills people more than transporters do? Shuttlecraft/small spacecraft accidents!

Car crashes and accidents happen all the time today, they kill and injure thousands of people almost every day.

The usual consequences with the transporter are usually weird and repairable as opposed to a car/shuttle crash being deadly and/or damaging!

If there’s a foreign element that wasn’t accounted for in a transporter like, a goat, maybe I’d come out of the transporter as a weird goat Tuvix situation that like in that episode, but you know what it’s established to be reversible.

If there’s an unsecured goat in my car wreaking havoc I’m gonna fucking crash and maybe die. In no circumstance is a car crash going to result in more than one of me, like, none. If I had to trade potentially getting cloned on accident in exchange for like, there being none of me, I’m picking the former!

Transporter accidents are for the most part inconvenient headaches that lead to shenanigans. Whereas a crash doesn’t have a lot of shenanigans unless you count a concussion as hijinks

Transporters are legitimately safer than most vehicles I don’t care what anybody says 😂

#this post brought to you by: #I am afraid of cars and by extension shuttle craft #and legitimately don’t understand why people would choose THAT over being blinked from one place to another #with only a minor chance of hijinks and death even smaller if a margin #star trek #Star trek technobabble #technobabble #transporters #Star trek meta #lar trek