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#the star seal
hyba · 4 months
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The Star Seal, drafting
I haven't worked on my Scareuary stories much this past week, as I'm a bit sick. Something about the creative thinking work involved in the writing of a story was a little too much; but now I'm starting to feel a bit more up to it, and I decided I would also start sharing the drafting of my short story wip "The Star Seal".
"The Star Seal" is about an archaeologist who, late one night while working in a museum, removes a star seal from a life-sized ancient statue, unleashing a monster...
This short story is the one that I've been sharing as a Write-With-Me type of thing, so I've been drafting directly on my blog, and now I'm going to be sharing that draft here. It hasn't been edited, and is a very first draft. I'll reblog with any additions, but to get the full process and behind-the-scenes, you'll want to follow it on the blog.
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So, without further ado, I present to you my horror story in the works, The Star Seal.
The statue was an oddity, as far as statues from the region went. Perhaps of Akkadian origins, it depicted what seemed to be an anthropomorphic creature, with the head of a woman, and the clawed legs of some kind of raptor - perhaps a vulture. The figure wore a robe, but there was something about it that seemed stiff, thick, not quite... fabric-like. There was what seemed to be a headdress, though the sculptor hadn't been particularly detailed, and it might have also been a pair of wings. While the position of the wings was strange, it was not unknown for the Akkadians to present Ishtar as a winged creature. For that reason alone, and the fact that the figure seemed evidently female, and that it had been dated to the Akkadian period, many scholars believed this to be a statue of Ishtar.
He wasn't so certain. Something about this statue was... off. He ran his fingers over its stone surface, taking note of every single ridge, bump, indent, and abnormality. In fact, the whole thing was rather a strange abnormality, when taking into consideration contemporary pieces of art which held a realism to them that this could not begin to replicate. 
Certainly, it was an unsettling piece, with its sunken eyes, staring darkly out at him, and its life-sized proportions, but so were many depictions of Ishtar. It was entirely possible that this was a nuanced and unique representation, but he simply couldn't shake the feeling that there was something else to it. 
The carriers had helped him move the statue, such that it lay upon a table, tilted slightly onto one side, so that he could investigate and study it more thoroughly. Were it not for them, the small, peculiar, circular figure at the bottom of the pedestal upon which the statue's clawed feet were clenched might have gone completely unnoticed.  
It was perhaps five inches in diameter, and seemed to jut out ever so slightly from the rest of the statue's base. The circular piece depicted a nine-pointed star with a circle around it. At first glance, he almost conceded. Clearly, if the very symbol of Ishtar was engraved in the bottom of the statue, his previous suppositions of false identity were wrong. But Ishtar's symbol was an eight-pointed star, not a nine-pointed star, and he generally speaking, people didn't make such mistakes when it came to these things. 
What did a nine-pointed star symbolize? He wracked his mind, but found nothing. Deep in thought, he reached out and traced the edges of the stone seal with his fingers. As he did, he felt it give slightly. To his astonishment, the seal turned in its place. Fascinated, he turned it little by little until he felt a significant cluck, and out the seal came, a cylindrical thing of perhaps seven inches in height. 
For a moment, it was all he could do to stare blankly at the stone cylinder in his hand, and stare again at the gaping hole where it had been hidden. A chill rushed up and down his spine, and he shook himself slightly, trying to regain his composure. This was new. This was a new discovery - nobody else knew of this, or it would have been in the notes! 
He glanced around, half-expecting his supervisor to step into the room and take the star seal from him, but of course that was nonsense. He was working late - that was the deal. If he wanted to do any research of his own, he'd have to stay after hours and do it. But, during work hours, all he worked on was his supervisor's research, his papers, even his darned blog posts. Any discoveries made during that time were his supervisor's discoveries, and any mention of his hard work or contributions almost never happened.  
He was thankful, of course, to have even that opportunity. It was like the old man to deny him all chances completely, but he'd been in a rather good mood of late, due to a terrible book of his getting a feature in some magazine or other, and of course he'd taken advantage of the situation immediately. 
So, this was his time. And this was his discovery - he was going to make sure of it. Nobody was going to take this away from him.
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plusie · 6 months
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burr-ell · 9 months
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i haven't seen nearly enough people talking about how among vex's duties as grand mistress of the grey hunt is the leadership of an elite black ops unit
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hismourningflower · 3 months
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「 scary dog privileges | kiss (don't tell!) event 」 blade & cyno x gn!reader | fluff, established relationships | event entry. ↳ ohhh zenith~ (@lovingluxury), i'm your secret admirer for this year's kiss (don't tell!) event !! you get my very first attempt at blade, i'm so sorry but i'm so glad i got to practise him !! happy valentines my lovely, i hope this year treats you how you deserve it !! ↳ shoutout to my oc chrysalis for being on my mind for the entirety of blade’s part
the jade's guidelines | genshin m.list | honkai m.list | kiss (don't tell!) m.list
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BLADE calls falling for you "a mistake," one that he made quite boldly. nonetheless, he only ever grumbles this under his breath and never actually aloud - he can't bear to see that faint grimace of hurt on your face. no matter how many times he says he doesn't care, he quite clearly does.
it's a well known fact that's not into all of the lovey dovey romance stuff you rope him into with a wide smile on your face, tugging his calloused hands in the direction of another pretty scenic backdrop for a couple selfie or when you place matching items into his rough palms. behind closed doors, he finds the pads of his fingertips tracing over the photo or item with some 'annoying' sense of longing.
blade is scary to a lot of people. he knows he is, it's unmistakeable when people cower at the sight of him. their eyes shrink in fear, lips trembling when they can barely stutter out words in his presence. this is precisely why he loves to loom behind you, even when you're unaware of him being there - in his defence, he's quite quiet when he tries - because the mere sight of him scares people off. you want to scold him but you're thankful for this newfound privilege when you're stuck in uncomfortable situations, regardless you know that blade wouldn't bat an eyelid and would simply ignore you.
he undeniably has a soft spot for you - this "mistake" of his. the other stellaron hunters pick up on it fairly quick, smug looks on their faces as they share glances every time the two of you are together around them. blade wasn't sure you'd get along with the stellaron hunters at all, can you blame him? they're an organisation that isn't exactly in anyone's good books. yet you seem to bond well with kafka and silver wolf... what a shame for him. unfortunately, this means he's prone to hearing silver wolf and kafka taunt him about this little soft spot of his; "what's wrong bladie? you're going soft," kafka chides with a sly grin, only to hear a disapproving grunt from the tall man.
in private, blade's personality doesn't change all that much. he's still grumbly, his scary demeanour hanging over his head like a guillotine thanks to his mara but there's a slight shift in his behaviour. he likes to lay with you, not that he'd ever admit that (aeons forbid if he did, he'd never hear the end of it.) in fact, it's his favourite thing to do, especially after a stressful mission.
when things get tough and the mara hurts just a tad too much, blade will always find a comfort in laying his head gently on your chest or your lap, regardless of what you're doing just so that you run your hands through his dark hair. just so he can feel the tips of your fingers rub against his scalp, feel the way you braid little - or big - braids into his long hair. he stays silent as you comb through his black locks, brushing out every tangle so gently he barely feels it.
he may claim that getting too close to you was "a mistake" but by the aeons, he knows damn well that he's lying to himself.
CYNO didn't intend to fall for you. it had been a mere accident but he'd never let the words 'mistake' fall from his lips, celestia forbid he even uttered 'accident' either. tighnari unfortunately had heard him say 'blessing' a tad too many times, however.
the general mahamatra... plenty of people in sumeru are relatively scared of him. why wouldn't they be? he's obsessed with his work, heavily devoted to his job of chasing down criminals and enforcing justice. even if they don't fear him, people most certainly know cyno - whether it be his name, his looks, his accomplishments or merely his rank title. despite this scary demeanour everyone sees when he's working, cyno really isn't as scary as people make out him to be.
cyno is incredibly self aware of people's thoughts and words about him. he knows damn well that people find him scary - that's the whole point of his comedy act and awful jokes he throws out without a second thought, his facial expression still as stern as ever as if he doesn't even find his own jokes funny. he tries not to let it affect him, in fact he's adapted; he'll use it to protect you.
don't get him wrong, he's perfectly capable at protecting you without instilling fear into the people bothering you but combat is tedious and you've scolded him many times for attempting to use hermanubis on some poor soul who rubbed him the wrong way. what's more better than looming like a threat, red eyes piercing into their very soul until they take the hint? sometimes he doesn't even need to go that far - the sight of him sends people running, they're not particularly looking for trouble with the general mahamatra after all.
despite trying to figure out how people work so he can soften the aura around him when people get too tense in his presence, cyno doesn't completely understand the lovey dovey things you rope him into. he understands to an extent, picking up the things you love the most so that he can do when you least expect it; he understands that it means a lot to you and that's all he cares about. you.
and undeniably so, he's ten times less 'scary' in private. kaveh and tighnari can't help but taunt him when he's brushing his tanned thumb over your knuckles, pressing slightly chapped lips to your skin in delicate kisses - what do you mean that's the general mahamatra? they'll grin but secretly, they're happy that cyno has someone that brings this side of him out.
one of cyno's favourite things to do outside of catching criminals so that they may face their judgement for their crimes (other than tcg...) is cook for you. when i say cook, i mean actual meals and not the rations he eats while he's out in the scorching desert or deep in the apam woods on dirt paths that have been worn into the grass from centuries of people walking through. he loves it, the idea of being able to provide something to you that he knows you enjoy and honestly, he's not a bad cook. however, you regret introducing him to non-native sumeru recipes when he mutters "wanna hear a joke about pizza?" oh no. even if you say no, he'll be quick to add "nevermind, it's too cheesy."
you're quite literally the most important thing to him other than work and if he has to use means he's not fond of just to protect that loving comfort you shelter his cracked heart with, then so be it.
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© thexianzhoujade 2024. | do not re-upload, copy, translate, etc. my works on any form of media.
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mugwot · 3 months
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the girl the myth the legend
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spockvarietyhour · 7 months
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Star Trek: Lower Decks "Room for Growth" & "Parth Ferengi's Heart Place"
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garoujo · 1 year
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✩ ˛˚ . GEPARD LANDAU ; — secret makeout sessions with the silvermane captain are a good way to pass the time when you miss him.
warnings: f!reader, rly just makeout sessions. note: don’t mind the characterisation rn i just wanted to write something short to give it a try ! i wanna write more for star rail tho snifle <3 maybe some dan heng / blade / jing yuan next :<
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“i’m..” gepard begins before its cut off again as he swallows your next dreamy exhale, his brows furrow and he can feel the sting of his own deep blush — the impact you have on him far too severe for him to even consider trying to swallow it down. “..i’m on duty.”
his words are fumbled when he finally manages to push them out but they’re barely audible with the way his mouth still moves messily with yours, pushed into some darkened alley after he’d coincidentally came across you shopping in the city.
“but you said you’d walk me home, captain~” the title is a slow drawl that makes gepard almost whimper when it’s accompanied with the saccharine press of your chest against his broad one. as much as he can’t feel the press of your skin against his own, he remembers it — and that makes him yearn for it even more as his hands wrap around your waist with the next languid lav of his tongue along your own.
“it is my responsibility when you’re looking so..” breathtaking, is what he means to say but the clouded, starry-eyed look you send him as you pull away to breathe only has him pulling you back in for more. so he lets his hands, his movements — say what he needs and he knows you understand when he feels your arms wrap around his armoured shoulders, caging him against the brick wall behind you both as he grabs steadily at your hips.
you’re intoxicating, embarrassingly so that the silvermane captain can’t focus on anything else except the way you kiss him. your fingers smooth just under the hem of gepard’s jacket, enough to graze teasingly along the skin of his abdomen and he wants nothing more than to chase more of your touch as he exhales against your lips.
he did have a small break before his next assignment, one that he knows he’d love to spend wrapped in you when he feels you lick into his mouth needily — pushing your name between his lips even though it’s always on his mind and suddenly he feels too warm underneath his armour, even in the eternal freeze he’s sure you’d have him overheating.
gepard’s hand squeezes at your waist, making you pull away to blink up at him and your gaze is hypnotising despite the way it makes him want to look away — flushed to his chest with his usual pristine uniform mused by your hands. but he can’t help the way his lips part to growl immediately when he feels you lean back into press cute kisses along his jawline, trailing down the sensitive spots you’ve mapped out on his neck as he tries so hard to retain his self control that seems to drain away with every press of your lips.
the city is just to his left but you’re in his arms and he can’t find it in himself to care despite the position he’s in right now, the captain of the silvermane guards turning to putty for his sweet little girlfriend in some random ally. but it’s too tempting when your kisses trail back to his lips and it’s almost instinct the way he so easily switches your positions, his need making his ears ring as he presses you into the hard surface he occupied a few moments ago — kissing you so deeply you have to rely on his to keep you upright, because you know he always will.
“it—uggh, it shouldn’t be too much trouble for me to pick up my duties later.. i have something else to see through first.”
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© 2023 GAROUJO. please do not copy any of my layouts or writing and translate or repost onto any other sites.
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Yeah yeah, stem bolts reference, sure - are they intentionally making a battered-looking rustbucket shuttle for fun? These nerds.
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justvulcanaround · 1 year
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Who taught him to get silly like that
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llumimoon · 8 months
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pssst. come closer
.
a little closer...
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.
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SEAL ATTACK !!!!!!!
🦭🦭🦭
MWAH MWAH MWAH MWAH MWAH MWAH !!!!!!!!
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GET SEALED IDIOT
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plusie · 8 months
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blistexenthusiast · 3 months
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tarot card wax seals
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bobapril · 4 months
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hismourningflower · 2 months
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「 just breathe | kai's 2024 birthday special! 」 jing yuan & blade x gn!reader | hurt/comfort, nightmares | birthday fanfiction. ↳ additional tags. reader with ptsd (yet again, self indulgent for my bday!) but you can read it as reader with just nightmares in general!! ooc jing yuan & blade, kinda soppy/fluff with angsty themes. ↳ happy birthday to me part one! this is the honkai edition, there's a genshin special scheduled for later today!
data has been uploaded! - send an ask to join the taglist; specify genshin, honkai or both! @lovingluxury, @dumbificat, @starryshinyskies, @ryuryuryuyurboat, @ainescribe
the jade's guidelines | honkai masterlist | bday m.list | previous work
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you could never forget the silk sheets that line your shared bed with JING YUAN, an aspect of the luxuries that the xianzhou alliance bathe themselves quite fondly over the years of their long-life species' existence. you would tease jing yuan that perhaps it was the xianzhou natives' way of comforting themselves after what happened regarding their ancestors but the more you considered it, the more highly likely it felt to be true.
every night you'd fall asleep in these sheets without fail, drowning amongst their soft touch that brushes against your skin. it slides against your every limb, wrapping itself around your body for comfort whenever you're forced to go to bed without jing yuan at your side; there'd be numerous occasions, ones that he was always forced to deal with. you'd always see the way his eyes soften and shift away from you when he admits that he'd be late to bed. it was always work related, of course it was, he was the esteemed general of the cloud knights, the luofu's very own divine foresight.
you could never be mad at him, you were lucky enough to even be on the arm of the general. in your eyes, there was no way you could complain about his workload interrupting things except when it weighs down on him, dragging on his ankles and his shoulders to the point where all he can do is smile and keep napping - this is normal behaviour you've adjusted to but where's that small smirk that you love so much?
unfortunately, there's a nagging that weighs you down too. even though you don't explicitly mention it to jing yuan, he's more than aware. he's by no means stupid and he's actually incredibly observant, especially for you, his dearest partner. he's been awake on more than one occasion when your peaceful sleep is disrupted, your brows furrowed as you clutch at the sheets - naively unaware of his presence in the first place.
the silence will fill with struggled whimpers and gasps for breath, evolving into tears you might not even know slip from your closed eyes, squeezed shut as if trying to wake yourself up. these things haunt you, remind you of your struggles and where life has taken you. jing yuan has never been one for interrupting your rest, after all you've never once disturbed him but he knows he can't let you lay there, thrashing as you cry. not only for your sake but his own, when it breaks his heart to even witness it.
jing yuan will force himself to disturb you, strong arms wrapping around you and fighting against every thrash and struggle your emotionally weak body fights with until you calm against the comfort of his chest, breaking out into muffled sobs as your knuckles go white clutching onto him. he'll let out a breath, noting that you're awake when you choke out his name between gasps for breath.
"just breathe," he coos, a large hand smoothing down your back as his face buries into your hair. long, white hair drapes over his shoulders, tickling at your nose now that it's not tied up with a red ribbon, "it's okay, i'm here."
never once has jing yuan pressed into what your nightmare was about, simply listening as you follow his instructions and take a deep breath, trying to regulate as your body calms. there's a soft sniffle every now and then, his chest damp from where you've been sobbing but he'd rather it be like this instead of the bedsheets from where you've struggled alone.
every time it'll break his heart but he'll do it over and over again, knowing that his mere presence is what soothes you and keeps the tormenting demons at bay. maybe you'll never say it to him but all you need in those moments is him and he's more than happy to hold your shaking body until you fall back asleep.
BLADE isn't a fool, in fact he has his own fair share of nightmares from the mara within him and his past deeds. even if he denies it, you're no fool too and you've been present many times when it comes to blade panicking in his sleep. you do know however not to wake him, aware of his violent tendencies - you could be anyone to him when he wakes up and despite putting every inch of your trust into him, you know that's something you can't risk with him.
the next morning, he'll always avoid your gaze. dark hair will hang over ruby red eyes, concealing them from your view as he goes about his business, still closely knit to your side. he's aware that you know, that you was there and you witnessed it. there's no convincing him for a moment that he can trust you enough just to receive some form of comfort, even if it's hours later when dawn is breaking and in his eyes, just another day begins.
despite his avoidance of the topic when it revolves around him, blade doesn't shy away from your nightmares at all. in fact, considering how well acquainted he is with them - and dealing with them alone, - blade is way more comforting than many may suspect when it comes to your nightmares. it can be a surprising addition to the relationship at first when you experience the first night of having a harsh nightmare while the two of you share a bed.
blade isn't afraid to give you a snap back to reality in the moments you need it the most. in his eyes it's better than letting you lay there and struggle, your body thrashing on woven sheets that are soft from the fabric detergent you'd recently swapped to. when your relationship had started, he'd been against the idea of you staying with him at the stellaron hunters' headquarters but blade was observant enough to notice how often you had nightmares when he'd come to visit your home outside of work. he'll never admit it out loud but that's what changed his mind about where you slept at night.
there's a cold exterior that your boyfriend wears but deep inside, he can't bear the sight of seeing you go through it. he can't bear to hear the way you cry out his name, wrapping your arms around his neck as he gently shakes you awake to wake you up from the horrors you were witnessing. that's why he'll clutch your body into his, never letting go even after you've calmed down. his fingers dig slightly into your soft flesh, his face buried into your neck as he takes a moment for him too to calm down.
"blade? you can let go..." you mumble against his scarred shoulder, bandages decorating the flesh of his upper arm. he'll grunt in response, the cold tip of his nose pressing harder against your skin.
"just a little longer," he mutters in response, albeit a little stubbornly as his hug tightens for a moment, squeezing you reassuringly, "just... keep breathing for me."
you're okay, you're awake, your breathing is slowing down. he repeats these things to himself like a mantra, ruby eyes fluttering shut behind long, dark eyelashes as he presses chaste kisses to your shoulder. you personally never understood why he seemed so affected by your nightmares as the two of you curl back up, pressed together so intimately with the sheets draped over your bodies but blade knows he can't cope with the idea of seeing you in any form of pain, whether physical or mental.
if he could, he would take every inch and sliver of your pain for you. he'd carry the weight of your past and struggles, just to never see you sob from another nightmare ever again.
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© thexianzhoujade 2024. | do not re-upload, copy, translate, etc. my works on any form of media.
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Hey, I'm the one who requested https://www.tumblr.com/yanderecookierunkingdom/740229855302565888/justhad-an-ideaabout-a-sweet-but-kinda-shy?source=share and...forgot if I had an anon name or not. I'm usually snow or seal anon so if you have an anon with either one of those names there's a high chance that's me...
Anyway I loved what you wrote...it's so adorable including that other ask you did with the anxious reader! Both were amazing!!!
It kinda inspired this idea: imagine an anxious y/n accidently doing that...to all the beasts...like the cookies walk in expecting a fight and expected to leave with bruises and stuff but instead they leave with 5 beasts soothing y/n, showing them tricks and giving them treats and just genuinely making them happy lmao! Y/n, the accidental beast tamer! Got 5 bodyguards now who love em dearly while y/n subtly keeps em in line via reacting badly or with fear when they do bad things and y/n feeling bad or scared makes em unhappy so it's enough to keep em in some sort of line lmao!
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One by one, the rest of the Beasts were freed, and while initially, they were all fully contented to reign chaos on the world for locking them away, Shadow Milk Cookie was swift to stop them.
None of them really understood what he was getting at.. until you began reaching the same way you did with Shadow Milk Cookie and it clicks immediately.
They all become infatuated with you, genuinely wanting to keep you happy. Your smile and laughter are like beautiful melodies to them, and they can't get enough of it.
Shadow Milk Cookie claims to be your favorite because you always laugh at his jokes the loudest. Burning Spice Cookie nearly threw hands.
Eternal Sugar Cookie gives you a small mini cloud for whenever you're tired, and Mystic Flour Cookie tends to give gentle breezes with their little wings.
Silent Salt Cookie is always willing to get you a shoulder to rest on whenever you just need comforting silence.
Elder Faeire Cookie is the one to suggest you subtly keep the Beasts in line, and you're more than willing to agree. It's typically a small pout or teary eyes, and the Beast you've targeted quickly abandons all thoughts of violence.
This works most effectively on Shadow Milk Cookie. He is definitely the softest for you, with Eternal Sugar Cookie right behind him.
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crepegosette · 1 year
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okay okay, but listen me out, NedCan selkie/fisherman au. Matt’s a selkie that gets injured after swimming away from hunters, and Jan’s a fisherman who finds him and treats him, and Matt gets feels for him, know what i’m sayin
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