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wandsandlightsabers · 8 months

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I Need You

MANDALORIAN X READER

(daddy issues edition)

18+ WARNING DO NOT INTERACT IF YOU'RE A MINOR. THIS IS SMUT.

You are a small tavern owner, on a small planet on the outskirts of the galaxy, called "y/n's tavern". It was left to you after your parents died in the war between the Rebels and the Empire, so now you've just been operating it alone. Even though you're far away from where most of the action is, you still get quite a lot of interesting customers. This helps you get a lot of information that can be useful for all types of creatures. Which is great cause since you've been tight on money with all the republic taxes, you could definitely use the extra income for your intel.

Out of all your customers though, there's a certain Mandalorian who often stops by for said information, or even just to cool off from his job. You've wondered if he feels as though this place is comforting to him. Nonetheless, he is always the best customer and he leaves you a good tip. Now if you're being honest with yourself, you've always had a huge crush on him ever since he came in through your doors. There's always been flirting between the both of you, especially since he keeps coming back here. But most of the times, he doesn't let it get too far. From what you can gather, you deduce that he might have some abandonment issues, or something like that. You think about how you wish you could help him feel safe and comforted all the time, you try to avoid thinking that though. He's just a customer after all, and he has a very busy job.

On a certain Monday night though, the tavern was practically empty. This is always one of the slow shifts. Especially since you can hear the low drizzle of rain outside, everyone tends to stay inside with that weather but there is still some foot traffic sometimes. As you fight to keep your eyes open while washing some cups, you hear the jingle of the bell on top of the door open. Finally, a customer, you think to yourself. "Welcome in" you say as you turn around, when your eyes meet your favorite man. The Mandalorian. "I came all the way from across the galaxy to see you" he says tiredly. "Did you?" You reply. "Yes, this isn't for business though. Look if I'm being honest I just need some comfort and you haven't left my mind." You stand there shocked, is this really happening? Is the Mandalorian really opening up to you right now? Something must seriously be wrong. You walk to the door of the tavern and lock it, so that it's just the two of you. There wasn't going to be anymore customers anyways. You feel his tall strong body towering behind you as you lock the door and when he turns around he's leaning on the doorframe over you. "Y/n" he says, "throughout all my visits here you've never left my mind, and after all this time, with everything I've been through... I've realized that... I want... No... I need things to go further with you. I want you to be my partner." You stand there speechless, of course you've always dreamed of this but now that it's actually happening it doesn't feel real. "Mando, I'm obviously flattered. But what are you saying? What has gotten into you? Every other time you've come by you've always made sure not to cross the line. Even when I felt like that line were chains to avoid me getting close to you." You reply. "I can't talk about it now, but I've had to do some things that really made me change my perspective on my life and now I just need you in it y/n, please." He says as gets down on his knees and hugs your waist. "I will do anything to protect you so long as you want me to stay by your side." You suck in a breath and tell him, "Of course I would love that Mando, it's all I've been thinking about since you came through to this tavern years ago." He stands up, lifting you up in the process. This all feels so insanely natural. All of the sudden it feels like you've been a couple for centuries. "Okay then, my beautiful girl. No one in this galaxy can ever put a finger on you again do you hear me?" You chuckle and say, "I have needs though, who's gonna fill them when you're off again?" You joke. "You're mine now princess, I'm not going to leave your side and after we're done your needs will be more than well met, on that I can give you my word. I want to give you a taste of what life would be like if we were together. I want to show you just how much I need you. Do I have your consent?" He asks.

"Of course you do Mando, with all of the flirting you've been doing these past few years we gotta do something about it don't you think?" You joke. "Perfect my pretty little girl, here are the rules: I can't show you my face just yet because we'd need to make our relationship official by marriage before I can do that. However, I want to give you a taste of what it would be like..." he reaches for a rag that was laying on the bar table and uses it cover your eyes as he ties it around your head, leaving you blindfolded. This heightens your senses by a million and each touch he places on your feel like electric shocks. You gladly comply to all of his demands, he's a great dom and you feel safe with him. Not to mention that you have a burning need for a taste. You feel his hot breath on your body as he lowers to remove all of his armor, then moving his attention to you as he roughly takes off your work dress. "Fuck, you're more beautiful than I could have ever imagined, princess" He whispers in your ear. You feel him move up slowly, then he meets his lips to yours all at once passionately and roughly working his tongue around yours. This kiss feels like one of those moments you wait your whole life for, both of you feeling such great need for one another and finally being able to satisfy it.

He reaches his strong, rough hands to your hair and breasts cupping them firmly then teasing your sensitive nipples. Hell, you could probably orgasm with him just doing that. You let out a moan, unable to hold it in much longer. "Shh my little slut, if you keep being that loud, people outside are going to get wrong ideas about you... we don't want that to happen do we? Be a good girl and stay quiet for me, won't you?" He commands. God, he's so hot you think to yourself. He keeps touching your whole body then finally, finally traces his hand down from your breast all the way down to your practically throbbing clit. The moment you feel him put pressure as he starts rubbing it in slow circles you feel another moan escape your mouth. "Bad girl," he says "wait did I tell you about being loud?" "I'm sorry Mando you're just making me feel so fucking good," you tell him. He yanks you off the table onto his lap, lying you onto your stomach so your bare ass is facing him. "Well princess, you're going to need to face the consequences of not following the rules. Do you understand?" He asks. You nod your head in compliance as he says "Now, I'm going to finger your brains out since you're being a needy little girl and I want you to take it without getting the attention of the people outside. If you are unable to contain yourself, I'm gonna have to spank you." With that you feel his rough, thick fingers shove into your dripping wet vagina filling you in a way that makes you feel simply euphoric. "Look how needy you are, princess." He picks up the pace, and you bit your lip as you try to contain your moans. You feel him hitting your g-spot over and over. "Please, daddy you're making me feel so good can I please take your cock. I need to feel you." you beg him. "Daddy?" he questions "you really are just a dirty slut, now aren't you?" You feel him slap your ass firmly. There goes another electric shock racing through your body... the effect this man has on you is like an addiction you'll never be able to recover from. "How about this... I'll give your needy pussy what it wants, but only because I'm starving for a feel of you. Would you be a good girl and suck daddy's dick for him so that it's all wet for you, princess?" You moan quietly at his words and shift your position while opening your mouth ready for him to stick it in. You feel the tip of it around your lips, waiting for his full length. You give him a tease by swirling your tongue around his throbbing tip, he moans and you decide that his moan is more beautiful than angels singing. You will do anything to hear it again, knowing that you have just as much as an effect on him as he does to you. You guide your way to surround his entire hard cock in your mouth. But god, you did not imagine him to be that big. You try your best to put it all in, but it's just too much for your little mouth; you feel your gag reflex. "We're gonna need to work on that huh pretty girl?" he asks. You nod as you move up and down his length, still blindfolded. You feel him gripping your hair as you swirl and messily wet his dick as best you can. When he decided it was enough he gently took it out to lower himself and kiss you, licking off all his precum from around your mouth. "You're messy," he chuckles in a low and heated voice. He lays you completely flat, back on the table and spreads your legs wide open, leaving you utterly and completely exposed to him. "Are you ready?" He questions. "More than ready, quit wasting time, Mando" you tell him. He rubs his wet, hard, and throbbing cock on your clit; pressing it on you to give you even more satisfaction, then he rubs it all around your pussy's lips. He hasn't even put it in yet and you're already seeing all the stars in this galaxy. You moan loudly and both of you have stopped caring about the noises you two are making as he finally slides it in, filling your vagina and it feels like you were built for each other. He fits so well inside of you.. the overwhelming feeling of him completely inside you, hugging all sides of your hole is intoxicating.

He's hitting all the right spots and you feel your legs starting to shake. You've had sex once before, but never, ever has it been or felt like this. This man is more than you could have dreamed of. "Fuck... you feel so good y/n... you're so tight" he mutters as best he can between moans. He reaches down his hand and rubs your clit at the same time as he is slipping in and out of you. This sends you over the edge, "Daddy... I... I'm going to cum... please... don't stop" you whisper. "Come on pretty girl, cum for me, show me just how good I'm making you feel right now." He replies. He dives and flicks your nipple with his tongue, at the same time he's paying all the special attention to your pussy. If there's one thing you were more than happy to discover, is how fucking good he is at multitasking. Your oragsm explodes over you as he touches and thrusts into you, screaming his name. "Good girl" he manages to say as your clenching pussy makes him cum at the same time. You both go blind with the fireworks you gave each other. As you both go limp with pleasure, you feel such an intense knowing of belonging and love towards one another that you had never felt in your entire life. Like you were meant to be, you are his and he is yours.

"Mando.." you whisper. He sinks onto a chair and pulls your naked body onto his, holding you tightly. "I want to take off this blindfold and see the real you. I want to see the real man I've fallen in love with." you tell him. You feel him suck in a breath, he tucks your hair behind your ear and tells you "I need to confess something first, y/n. Ever since I met you that first day in the tavern, I have fallen utterly and irrevocably in love with you. It's made me question everything. Like what I want out of my life as a Mandalorian. And princess, after my last mission it made me come to a realization. This last bounty was on a woman who had made some bad choices, and the man I had searched for to get information from was a man who was so in love with this woman; but he had never confessed his feelings for her. He ended up telling me the entire story of how it was love at first sight, but he always felt like he could never deserve her because of his job, who he was, etc.. This story completely captivated me in a way that woke me up to the fact that: y/n, I can't continue living a life without you by my side. I want you. I need you." He unties your blindfold and turns your head to face his. Your eyes meet the most beautiful man you've ever seen in your life, your Mandalorian. "I know this isn't the Way of the Mandalore, but you're my new way. I want to follow you to the ends of the galaxy and do anything that needs to be done to provide and care for you. Nothing could ever compare to you. I love you so much, I always have. You're my way" He explains. Speechless, you reach your hand to him and cup his face as you both lovingly stare into the new look of each other's eyes. "You're my way too, Din." you tell him. "You know my real name?" He asks with subtle tears forming in his eyes> You can tell he's never been this exposed and accepted by someone for the real him. "Remember, I'm great at gathering information. After all, that is way you came to me in the first place." You joke. You both let out a soft laugh and lean in for a pure, sincere and finally fully exposed: kiss.

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liviavanrouge · 22 days

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Cheshire Union Birthday Vignette(Early Release)

Cheshire: Yippee, I can't wait for the interviewer to arrive! Birthday, birthday, birthday time~~

Cheshire: I wonder what this "Magical Birthday Dice" is and who it chose for me

???: Don't be too disappointed alright!?

Cheshire: Huh?

Livia: HII!

Cheshire: *Beams jumping around Livia* Livy! Livy, Livy, Livy!!

Cheshire: Livia, it's you, you interview me! Yayyy!

Livia: *Laughs* I brought you a gift too! I hope you like it!

Cheshire: *Perks up as Livia pulled something out of the bag she had*

Livia: Here you go!

----

Cheshire: *Takes the gift, looking at the small creature moving around inside* Woah..

Livia: Your first pet!

Cheshire: A-A pet!? For me!

Cheshire: W-Wow! A pet for me, I've been reading books on pet care! I've even been given a few by Mama Aolani!!

Cheshire: I'll take food care of them, I'll give them my entire life!

Livia: Haha, no need to go that far you know..

Livia: Besides if you ever need advice don't be afraid to ask me, I have lots of pets

Livia: Even though my servants Gran Gran gave me takes care of them, I still take care of them as well you know!

Livia: Don't be afraid to come drown me in questions, Cheshire

Cheshire: I will, I will!

Cheshire: Besides, you've taken care of me so you must know a lot

Livia: Not rea-

Cheshire: Besides I trust you immensely! You've never steered me wrong before you know! So whatever you tell me to do, I shall do it with ease!

Livia: *Giggles in amusement* I-I see~

Cheshire: We begin now? Yes?

Livia: *Giggles* Of course...

~~~~~

--Part 2--

Livia: Shall we begin the interview?

Cheshire: Okay!

Livia: If you could pick any student from Night Raven College to be your sibling, who would you choose?

Livia: You cannot choose anyone from your dorm either!

Cheshire: Hm, a sibling, then-

Livia: Not me either.

Cheshire: *Pouts* Alright...

Cheshire: If I have to pick someone, I would have to...hmm...someone as a sibling, who to choose.....

Cheshire: I'd have to pick...actually this is kinda hard, I like everyone in this school..

Livia: Take your time, no need to rush

Livia: It is hard to pick someone~

Cheshire: I'd pick....Azul

Livia: Nice- AZUL!?

Cheshire: Yeah, Azul!! He's a really cool guy, and I like Jade and Floyd as well! Everyone from Octavinelle is really cool people~

Cheshire: I'd like to get to know Azul better to, it must be fun running a restaurant~

Cheshire: Besides I get along with Azul, he teaches me how to write at times and I find the way he runs the restaurant interesting, he could honestly teach me a thing or two

Cheshire: I haven't eaten much food back in the lab, it was the same thing every single day only on holidays or workers birthday did we get something different

Cheshire: The food was so boring so it feels great to see and try new foods you know!

Cheshire: Azul would probably be suspicious of my interest at first but I know I can convince him

Livia: Wow

Cheshire: Yeppers! Hehehe! I might also get to sample any new dishes for the lounge~

Livia: *Laughs* You are such a foodie!

Cheshire: It's the way I am~

~~~~~

--Part 3--

Livia: Next question!

Livia: If you were to join any dorm other than Pomefiore, which dorm would you choose?

Cheshire: Other than Pomefiore, hm, I never thought of that before you know

Cheshire: A different dorm, let's see...

Cheshire: I'd probably go for Heartslabyul!

Livia: Why's that?

Cheshire: Trey of course! Hehehe, he gives me lots of sweets to try out if he can't find you or Riddle to taste test them

Livia: Ugh, if they don't have fruit I wouldn't have been able to eat them in the first place you know...

Cheshire: I know but they were topped with fruit, they looked so delicious!

Cheshire: I mainly ate the strawberry and mango tarts, they were really delicious, and I asked for more but he said the rest were for the Unbirthday Party being held in the dorm

Cheshire: But if I move to Heartslabyul, I can eat all the sweets I want at the Unbirthday Party when it comes around, hehehe~

Livia: You're such a glutton, hahaha!!

Cheshire: *Laughs beaming* I know~

Cheshire: I don't mind being a glutton if it means getting to eat lots of new food combinations

Cheshire: Food is life you know, you know!

Livia: *Chuckles* I guess so, Chi!

~~~~~

Livia: Welp, that's the end of our interview!

Cheshire: Awww boo, how disappointing...

Livia: Hahaha! Don't worry about it, ready for your "Good Fortune"?

Cheshire: Yeah, yeah!

Livia: Then...HAPPY BIRTHDAY CHESHIRE!!!

~~~~~

---SSR Groovy---

Cheshire: *Laughs, kneeling down as he wiped some of the cream from his cheek, one eye closed as he gazed up at a smiling Livia offering him a napkin*

@anxious-twisted-vampire @yukii0nna @writing-heiress @zexal-club @marrondrawsalot @abyssthing198 @teddymochi

#disney twisted wonderland #livia vanrouge #twst livia #twisted wonderland #twst #twisted wonderland disney #twst disney #disney twst #twst oc #twst wonderland #twst ocs #twistedwonderland #twisted wonderland oc #twst vignettes #twst birthday #twisted oc #twst cheshire

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orlissa · 3 months

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January Reading Summary

I asked yesterday if people were interested in what I read this year so far, and they seemingly were, so... here we go. You only have yourselves to blame.

Agatha Christie: Cat Among the Pigeons I actually started this one last year--I read Christmas Puding around Christmas, finished it sooner than I thought I would, but enjoyed it (I generally like Christie), so I just picked up another Christie I found at home. Oh, boy. Bad idea. Yep, it didn't do it for me. The beginning was all over the place, because Christie was introducing all these POVs all over the place with a (technically) non-chronological storytelling, then we were almost halfway through the novel by the time the first murder happened, then in the conclusion there were elements so misguided and nigh-distasteful (and stupid) that it actually made me mad. Nope, do not recommend.

James Herriot: All Creatures Great and Small Ah, an old friend. For those who are unfamiliar with Herriot's work: he was a vetenarian working in rural Yorkshire who started practicing in the early forties (changed to 1937 in his books), who then wrote several (slightly fictional) memoirs/collections of short stories about his life in the 1970s. ACGaS covers the period from the time he arrives at Yorkshire until he marries his wife. It's like a big mug of hot cocoa in a book form (that will sometimes make you cry). Everyone should read Herriot at least once.

James Herriot: Vets Might Fly Another one of Herriot's works, this one *technically* covers his time spent in the RAF--I say *technically* because many of the chapters are like "so this thing happened during training that reminded me of one of my patients at home." Also lovely, but sadly my copy is fully of typos (I have his books in Hungarian, and my copy of ACGaS was published in 1980s, while this one in the 2010s).

R.F. Kuang: Yellowface I've talked about this one here before. Brillant (I'd call it) pschyo-thriller and satire about the current state of the publishing industry.

Soman Chainani: Beasts and Beauty Collection of retold fairytales which I DNF'd after three stories. In my defense, I went into enthusiastically, but the first story was... okay, the second was kinda eyeroll-worthy, and the third I couldn't make much sense of, so I just gave up.

Hannah Grace: Wildfire Pretty much the same as Icrebreaker. Grace is really good at writing engaging characters and cammaderie, and I'm grateful for how she handles serious issues, but she still has much to work on her plots--some parts of the novel felt really episodic, like it had nothing to add to the overall narrative, while she stressed several times how important this end-of-the-camp talent show is for the female lead, only then to skim over the event in like two pages, without showing her thoughts about.

Mark Lawrence: The Girl and the Moon ...Sigh. This was a translation project, and I really can't say anything nice about this. It might be just me, because the author is apparently pretty much renowed, but I couldn't find a single element in it that I liked. Also the female lead's ending pretty much rivalled Alina's in the books in how unfulfilling and disappointing it was. Not to mention that the male author, who until that point handled the female character pretty well IMHO, had her say/decide on something that was downright disturbing, especially from a woman.

I also started reading Jennifer Saint's Ariadne and Katharine and Elizabeth Corr's Queen of the Gods in January, but I haven't finished those yet.

#orlissa reads #books

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zecroswe · 1 year

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Long Post: A theory about the Paldea Region; Part 2. Scarlet and Violet DLC

(All gameplay footage isn't my own and have been taken from other peoples playthroughs)

TURTLE! TURTLE! I LOVE IT!

Well it seems parts of my theory had some basis tho other things are up in the air. I was correct about the fact that the Imaginary Pokemon in the Scarlet and Violet book was probably gonna be released. But they look quite different than the books describes them

Still, Its fascinating that these Pokemon even exist, especially Walking Wake. From the lore in the Johto reigon, Suicune was created by the blessings of Ho Oh when it revived a pokemon. So how does a Suicune from the past even exist? How is it a dinosaur looking creature? (By the way, I LOVE WALKING WAKE, IT IS SO FUNKY AND CUTE!) Well we don't have any clear answers, but I think it supports the Imagination theory more than the time travel one. Considering the entries in the book being made from the artists imagination and the fact that Walking wake and Iron leaves exist as they do. It is likely that they are created by the Disk as artificial dream Pokemon, peoples imagination come to life. It could also explain the reason they aren't a one to one recreation form the book. The disc Pokemon clearly gets influence from a lot of sources so It's quite likely it just mashed things it sensed together into these two Paradox Pokemon.

Another thing that could support that is this.

The image from the scarlet book depicting Great Tusk isn't fully accurate to the real thing. It lacks some spikes, Its tails seems longer and It seems to lack certain details. So If the imagination than the Great tusk we see could be partially influenced by how Sada imagined them. I haven't compared to see if the same can be said for Iron Threads and the Violet book depiction, but if its similar there, than It could be the same phenomenon with Turo.

Though this is wild speculation and could easily be because the artist of the scarlet and violet books didn't get a good enough look to make a fully accurate depiction.

But to the main course, The DLC announcement.

I'm honestly unsure on how the Teal Mask fits in the grand scheme of things. Its clearly connected to Area Zero in some way based on the title of the DLC, but I'm unsure how.

From what we have gotten so far, the new Pokemon seems to be based on a old Japanese folktale and the main legendary Pokemon, Ogerpon has crystals in It's design that reminds me of Tera crystals. So It could be possible that these pokemon was only a legend until the Tera crystals brought them into existence, If the dream theory is true. Otherwise It could be that the Tera crystals brought them into the future! We can only wait and see!

Now, It is the Indigo Disk that really caught my attention. Especially this guy!

THE DISK POKEMON IS ADORABLE! *Cough* anyway...

Terapagos is the Pokemon name and It sure is a turtle. Now the real thing I need to know is how big this thing is. Becuase the picture makes it look small to me. But if It's huge in game, like as huge as a island or a entire region perhaps, then my theory has some basis too It. Right now though we can only speculate. Even if that theory isn't true, I still think the turtle shape of the Paldea region itself could be very clever foreshadowing either way.

Though Its design makes me wonder If it's doing all It does on purpose or If It's accidentally causing paradoxes by existing. It looks really Innocent and cute, but maybe It's really menacing on the inside! It also seems my crown speculation form my previous post isn't unintentional on the developers part, considering the hexagon in the middle of the shell that is sticking out!

I also just want to say that I really love how It's crystal shell has the symbols of the 18 types, It's just perfect.

Well that's all I have! I really look forward to the DLC later this fall!

Thanks for reading!

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your-turn-to-role · 1 year

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An Interlude.

[Takes place just after the Thordak battle - in the campaign, Vax and Gilmore both arrive to search his lair about 20 minutes after the rest of the group, and I wanted to see what that time may have looked like]

If there's one thing Shaun Gilmore knows for certain, it's that he's never doing this again. Never. He's gained a new respect for the fact that Vox Machina throws themself into situations like this regularly.

Everything hurts.

He's been up against Thordak before, briefly, and while that wasn't exactly a walk in the park either, it was relatively quick. He got in, absolutely failed at doing any damage to the creature, and got the fuck back out again, nearly dying in the process.

And to think he'd just managed to heal from that time. Now he's thrown himself into it again.

One dragon's dead, at least. No matter what the future holds, they killed Thordak, and no one's permanently dead. They couldn't have asked for much better.

He would, however, like to not feel like half his body's on fire constantly from the sheer amount of burns that haven't healed yet. He's not in danger of dying, but magic only goes so far, and they've used most of theirs already. Even the great Vox Machina has their limits.

It's strange, almost, to see them like this. He's seen them swagger into his shop with all the confidence in the world, seen them drunk in a speakeasy celebrating his arrival. He thought he came close, that night with the assassins, to seeing them at their most vulnerable, but even then, by the time he arrived, the problem had mostly been dealt with, and the majority of them were back to joking, barely fazed by it.

No one's come out of this with that bravado intact. Sure, they survived, but they're shaken, exhausted. Tending to each other's wounds with a strange quiet he's not used to seeing from them.

They share bandages, and food, taking a moment to rest and process. Grog's run off somewhere, but Pike is going around treating minor injuries the old fashioned way. Vex is just leaning against the cavern wall with her eyes closed, Percy has his head rested on his knees, not looking at anyone. Keyleth is in the corner with the man Shaun hasn't met, but he seems to be comforting her. Even Scanlan seems to have more on his mind than usual.

Vax is asleep on his sister's shoulder, stirring only barely when Vex or Pike need him to move to check on his injuries. They don't seem worried, so he should be alright, but Shaun would be lying if there weren't a few moments in that fight where he'd assumed the worst. He'd heard the sickening crunch of bone when Vax was thrown to the ground, and between the poison gas, the lava, the cold spell... They're all lucky to be alive. As it is, there's still blood down Vax's face from a cut across his cheekbone, several scrapes and bite marks along his arms, and a particularly nasty looking claw mark on his side. The broken bones, at least, appear fixed, so that's something.

Despite himself, Shaun can't help but think that even like this, Vax is the most handsome man he's ever seen. Fate never had the two of them in the cards, it would seem, but he'll never stop appreciating this beautiful, reckless, dangerous half elf. Selfish and selfless in the same breath, the most painful deeds with only the best of intentions, his joy and grief wrapped up in one.

Vox Machina are his friends, all of them, he loves each and every one. But he'll never meet anyone else who can twist his heart in knots like this.

After they've gathered themselves, when all wounds seem to be healed to the best of their ability and they've had their breather, the group starts to wander in small clusters back to the treasure pile. Grog's been there for a while already, so it seems they're not wanting him to have all the fun.

Vex gently lays her brother down on the ground beside her as she gets up. It speaks to the really rough day they've all had that he doesn't even stir.

Shaun should probably go look with them. In all likelihood there's plenty of his own belongings somewhere in that treasure pile, things he put a lot of time and care into that he definitely wants back. Thordak's been sitting on all of Emon's goods for far too long.

Instead, he stays.

Without a word, he stays, and counts Vax's laboured breaths until they sync up with his own.

He can tell when Vax starts to wake up by the way those breaths get quicker and shallower, and, when Shaun opens his eyes, by the way Vax's face is twisting with pain.

Vax groans, carefully pressing a hand to the wound on his side, then withdrawing it and letting it hover slightly above. He still isn't fully awake yet, but he's getting there, twisting himself around on the dirt floor of the tunnel.

"...Shaun?" is the first thing Vax asks, as he blinks groggily, looking around the mostly empty space, eyes finally landing on where he's sitting.

"Sleep well?" Shaun asks wryly.

Vax just lets out another groan, rolling back onto his back. "Not really," he says, rubbing his eyes with his palm. "Everything hurts."

"Hah, tell me about it," Shaun replies, with genuine humor.

Another minute passes as Vax slowly drags himself to full consciousness, sitting up against the tunnel wall. After a moment, he looks around, seeming to just now realise they're alone.

"Where'd everyone go?"

"Oh, off to loot the dragon's treasure, I suspect. We may have let one dragon go, but the other is very, very dead, and therefore no longer sitting on all of Emon's belongings."

"You didn't go with them?" Vax asks, confused.

"I'll join them in a bit. For now I think I could do with the quiet, just for a moment. It's been one hell of a day," he says, stretching his arms out with a bit of a yawn.

"Did you want me to leave?"

"Oh, no, never, you're fine. Stay as long as you like. God knows you deserve the rest far more than I do."

"I wouldn't say that," Vax says quickly but surely, staring intently at the floor.

"You didn't, I did," Shaun counters. "But seriously, look at you! Killed a dragon, saved a city - you're living up to your hero name, and it just keeps getting more impressive."

"This isn't over yet."

"No, but it's four of five down. Take some credit for that! And considering how convinced you were Thordak was gonna kill you, I think you've done very well. I have complete faith in you, all of you, to see this through."

"You're not coming with us?" Vax asks, finally raising his head again.

"Oh nooo, no I don't think so," Shaun says immediately. "I have had, more than enough dragon to last a lifetime. How you lot do this every day is beyond me."

That gets a small laugh from Vax, and he looks down again, rubbing the back of his neck with a hand.

"Hah, yeah, you get used to it, I suppose. You know, you run your face into the wall enough times, you kinda stop flinching at it."

"That's, concerning, but I'll thank the gods every day Vox Machina's out there doing that so the rest of us don't have to," he replies with a smile.

There's another lull in the conversation for a while, as they collect their thoughts. The awkwardness and tension that's filled so many of their conversations since Vax broke up with him seems to have mostly dissipated, and Shaun couldn't be gladder for it. Even if they're not together, and probably never will be, they still know each other extremely well, and there's a trust there that takes more than a breakup, a pact with a mysterious god, and four ancient dragons to shake.

"How are you doing?" Vax asks, after a moment.

"I feel like I should be asking you that," Shaun says wryly. "I mean, could do with fewer burns, will not be jumping into any more fires in the near future, but I'll heal. And Thordak's dead, thank you again for that. So I think we've both got all the vengeance we needed to."

"It doesn't bring back what we lost."

"No, it doesn't," he agrees, simply. "But he won't be doing it to anyone else."

Vax sits in quiet agreement another moment, then gets a curious smile on his face.

"What are you thinking?" Shaun asks.

"It doesn't bring back all that we lost. But I seem to recall a lot of your shop making its way into Thordak's gold pile. Care to find out how much is left?"

Shaun had said no to the same question when he himself asked it, fifteen minutes ago. But he's feeling so much more renewed suddenly, now that they're all awake and alive.

"Before Grog or, gods forbid, your sister, get their hands all over it? By all means," he says with a grin.

"She's not that bad," Vax protests, but there's just laughter in his voice.

"Oh I adore her, don't get me wrong, but when it comes to my business dealings, I'll take a rematch with the dragon. She will come out of this with more of my belongings than me, just you watch."

Shaun's entire body rebels again when he tries to get up, reminding him just how many burns he sustained in that last fight - but eventually he manages it, with minimal embarrassment.

"Give yourself some credit," Vax says, leaning back against the wall and looking up at him. "I mean, not even I managed to seduce you into giving us stuff for free."

"Yes, because I run a fine boutique of magical items, not a charity for down on their luck adventurers." Shaun holds out a hand, and helps Vax to his feet. "No matter how good looking they may be."

"Hey, the way things are going, we might end up with more gold than you. Four dragon hoards and counting, it's no joke."

"Oh, really? And remind me, how much of that did you make yourself?"

"Hey, you get paid to make magical items, we get paid to fight dragons. It's not stealing if it was already stolen by a dragon and won't be missed."

"I will find the last remaining functional postal service on the continent and I will mail your sister a full inventory, don't test me."

"Yeah, funny thing, she tends to just rip those up."

"I am so very unsurprised by this."

And they walk away.

#starting my posting of old fic!#with this oneshot bc quite frankly gilmore is ridiculously easy to nail down character voice wise and it's very fun #also im a vaxilmore shipper at heart #cr1 #shaun gilmore #vax'ildan #my art #fic

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usagi-zakura · 4 months

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Drawing a bunch of my DnD oneshot characters.

They all exist in the same universe, and sometimes pop up in the main campaign (the one with Remus the foxfolk wizbard, and now Moriko the ranger) but whenever someone can't make it to a session we like to do a oneshot in the same world. Its a lot of fun and is great for worldbuilding... and its also fun when we run into these characters later.

There are more... The kobolds Hugs and Kisses also exist in this world, but I've already drawn those a lot.

The characters are:

Nyx Duskrynn: Drow Druid (Circle of the Stars) She's one of three drow siblings with a dark past (though her's is the less dark.. my friend made a set of twins and gave them a really tragic backstory of being kidnapped and used for experimentation... and since I made a drow for the same oneshot we decided to make her the younger sister who got away.) She has since been reunited with her siblings and went on to explore a spooky house that turns out to have held a coven of hags... her oneshot ended up inconclusive but the DM later revealed that Nyx, her siblings and their guardian got captured by the hags... So that may be something our main party will have to deal with at some point (probably in another oneshot because their adventure is technically over). We've been told one of the twins has been freed, but we don't know exactly what that entails yet, nor what happened to Nyx and her sister.

Shadow in the Wind: Tabaxi Monk (Way of Shadow because of course he is) A small time criminal and best friend/boyfriend to Remus' older brother Romulus (its complicated). I've played him in two oneshots so far, one he was exploring another spooky house (there's a lot of those...) and another he was searching for a creature that could grant wishes living in a cave.

Alexis: Centaur ranger (Beastmaster conclave Tasha edition) Nicknamed the "All Terrain centaur" because thanks to class abilities and a magical item (winged boots re-flavored as magic horseshoes) she has every type of movement available in DnD, except burrowing. (I did consider giving her an item that would give her that too just for the hell of it) She's also really fast... being a centuar. So she can fly/run/swim/climb at 45 feet per turn. (Well maybe not climb since Centaurs have their own handicap when it comes to climbing...she could technically just walk right up the mountain wall though thanks to her magic horseshoes). Despite being a ranger she's part of a druid organization that's a pretty big deal in our world. She also gets visions of the future sometimes. She has no special feats for it or anything...she just does.

Her animal companion is named Hermes. He's a bird. He's not designed to be any specific type of bird or anything he's just bird. (He uses the "Beast of the Sky" statblock from the updated BM Ranger in Tasha's Cauldron of everything).

Sapphire Twinkletoes: Fairy Barbarian (Path of Wild Magic) Yeah that's right. Barbarian. (For some reason all my Barbarians are small races...I didn't even try for that it just happened.) I had an idea to make an anxious fairy but wasn't sure what class to make her...the DM suggested Barbarian with the rage reflavored as Panic. I went for wild magic because she's a magical creature but not a magic class...so her magic just goes haywire when she's afraid. She's a lot of fun. Yes her last name was inspired by Avatar the Last Airbender.

Jasmine Greenjoy: Gnome Wizard Played in Pathfinder 2e instead of DnD. Second cousin once removed on her mother's side to the main party's rogue Jade, as the second time I made my character related to one a character made by that player specifically (Jade's player is the same person who made the traumatized drow twins who became Nyx's older siblings). Mainly because they're the same race and I thought it'd be neat to tie them to the main party, even though in the campaign they haven't interacted. They have met...in fact the DM implied that Jasmine's mother was a midwife for Jade's mother when Jade was born, as a reason to explain why Jasmine is a magical misfit. Jade's mother did some suspect magical things on her unborn daughter... I don't know what they did, but as a result Jade was born with bright pink hair and Jasmine... well her hair changes color every day. She likes to have it match her familiar, a fluffy pipefox named Mr. Noodles.

#dnd #pathfinder #ttrpg #nyx duskrynn #drow #shadow in the wind #tabaxi #alexis #centaur #alexis doesn't get a last name #because she's too fast #sapphire twinkletoes #jasmine greenjoy #gnome #fairy

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thedovahcat · 5 months

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Gorillas and Turkeys

Been a while since the last update but a lot's happened since then.

I finally got my college stuff straightened out, so no more hassle on that end. I'll be paying a lower price and my classes (all online) are ready for me. Just gotta pay up come December.

This year (and the second half of last year) have been the most successful for me commissions wise and I'm so, so thankful for that, and for my regulars constant support. Ya'll are really great people and I don't say so enough. I try to when I remember though! Really, thank you.

Commissions and arting is not a job I want forever. The idea of a gig job with no consistency scares me substantially, but while I am doing it for now, I've had a lot of fun and met some really nice people.

That's the other thing, this year I've made more connections with people both new and old. Ones that are more positive and more supportive. Ones who are happy to hear about my accomplishments and share in theirs, and both parties will gladly pump each other up with encouragement when things feel bleak. It's been such a long time since I've known an array of people who are positive like that (aside from my usual small ring of friends, ya'll are lovely too, I haven't forgotten!) and I really think it's helping me recover from a lot of years of suffering nonsense and negativity. Yes I'm still rusty and I haven't trained my brain yet to focus on the good things (anxiety's a bitch), but I'm doing much better with recognizing things that are harmful to me now, and choosing to not engage. I don't always win, but a good number of times I do!

That aside, there's still so much I want to do. I'm sad the archery stuff isn't working out right now, as I don't have the time and drive to dedicate myself to it like I did when it was a new thing, but that's all right. My brain operates that way and there's nothing to be done about it, I just need to put my all into what it IS focused on -now-, and that's school. I would like a hobby that's so far removed from academics to blow off steam, yes, but that's secondary to all this.

Technically this is my third time going into college (sorry if that seemed like a cut off thought.) I don't know why I'm feeling...I don't know....impatiently nervous. In a 'jump into the cold pool to get it over with' sort of way. I'm 100% sure that everything will be fine when I fall into a schedule. I won't -have- time to think about silly things that trouble me. Which has been a lot of things this year and last. Ever since moving to a whole new state, I still want my usual creature comforts I'm used to having yes. But circumstances haven't allowed for that for a long time now, and while I still am greatly sad about it, I'm trying to see it as such: With school looming on the horizon, I'll be so preoccupied with doing well, that I won't really notice time continuing to march on. It was like that when I was at work, I'm sure I will, or might be, in a similar state now. I really wish I wouldn't doubt myself as much as I do. I know how I operate (and some friends know how I operate.) I'm predictable if you know what to look out for. I don't really change much. So I need to stop being timid about it all.

In a way though I feel like if I keep going, I'm going to keep losing a lot more things I'm used to, almost like a trade. Video games and fun times, for school times and financial stability (in the long run.) I mean, isn't that what being an adult is about? I'm almost 30 and this feels kind of embarrassing to be just going through now of all times... but I've also always been a late bloomer to everything, so this really isn't shocking. I'm doing the best I can and the best I know how, and that has to be good enough. I never feel like it is, but I would say others tell me that I try harder than a lot of people might in some things, so I have to take that as truth. I want to feel good about that. One day I will.

So yes, I don't know. I just have a lot of feelings about things. Setting boundaries with people or outright cutting them out, getting back into school, meeting new friends who will help me grow and are supportive, finding new and exciting things that wrench me off this computer at least for a little while, going to school and freaking out about doing well because boy I can't pay for this! So, so many things. I'm running out of thoughts to ramble about so let's wrap up.

Really looking forward to Thanksgiving turkey, it's sitting in the fridge right now thawing but it'll be good by then. I know it's not everyone's favorite holiday for various reasons, but it sure is mine for the eats haha. But it does help that we don't visit family or go anywhere either! It's just all of us at home and that's it. Eat dinner and scatter.

Anyway, hopefully I have at least one more update before the end of the year and nothing disastrous happens between then and now. I'm tired of being Apollo and throwing dodge balls everywhere.

That's just the tism' pattern recognition hah.

#math and gorillas #a life update 5 or 4 months later

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apocalypticavolition · 11 months

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Let's re(Read) the Hobbit! Chapters 15 & 16

We're entering the last stretches of the Hobbit. The dragon's dead, but the table of contents says we've got quite a ways to go. So what's going to go down and who won't be surprised? (*raises hand*)

“There is that old thrush again!” he cried. “He seems to have escaped, when Smaug smashed the mountain-side, but I don’t suppose the snails have!”

RIP snails. Tolkien is probably one of the very few fantasy writers who would pay you enough attention to acknowledge that you - and a wide variety of other small, poorly mobile living things - must have suffered terribly due to Smaug's temper tantrum.

“Those were crows! And nasty suspicious-looking creatures at that, and rude as well. You must have heard the ugly names they were calling after us. But the ravens are different. There used to be great friendship between them and the people of Thror; and they often brought us secret news, and were rewarded with such bright things as they coveted to hide in their dwellings.

As a corvid lover who has to watch so many great authors write off such an awesome group of animals as "literal servants of evil", I'll take what I can get!

“I am Roäc son of Carc. Carc is dead, but he was well known to you once. It is a hundred years and three and fifty since I came out of the egg, but I do not forget what my father told me.

I'm an enthusiast, not an expert, and so I can't tell you how long you can expect ravens to live off the top of my head, but I can damn well tell you it's not anywhere near this long. Guess even the ravens had a rough time of the slow decay of Arda. Poor guys.

By the lake men murmur that their sorrows are due to the dwarves; for they are homeless and many have died, and Smaug has destroyed their town.

Well he wouldn't have done it if the dwarves and Bilbo hadn't shown up, so they're really not remotely wrong. The elves are complete opportunists though; no wonder the dwarves hate them.

“And little food to use!” cried Bilbo, always practical on such points.

I did say we'd find out how many breakfasts he'd missed. So far we're at one, but let's see what happens!

Tools were to be found in plenty that the miners and quarriers and builders of old had used; and at such work the dwarves were still very skilled.

Haven't pointed out much dwarf magic lately but we can infer that this must be on the grounds that real tools left in such conditions would have rusted or decayed in some way.

But now their hopes were higher; for they had food for some weeks with care—chiefly cram, of course, and they were very tired of it; but cram is much better than nothing

Guess Bilbo didn't miss any other breakfasts after all! What a lucky guy.

The ponies they had brought only to the head of the steps above the old bridge, and unloading them there had bidden them return to their masters and sent them back riderless to the South.

I think if the ponies knew how to get home they would have done it in the week they were free to do so, not only once they were given permission. They're not Shadowfax or anything!

But they answered nothing.

I'm also not an expert in diplomacy, but that feels like both a really bad sign and also hella rude. The Laketown folks genuinely have a point that they're owed some kind of reparations after what happened, but refusing to say at this point makes it pretty clear they're about greed as much as anything.

Then the dwarves themselves brought forth harps and instruments regained from the hoard, and made music to soften his mood; but their song was not as elvish song, and was much like the song they had sung long before in Bilbo’s little hobbit-hole.

It's much like it in form and I'm sure melody, but in tone it's quite different isn't it? Way back when it was all about longing and righting a horrible wrong against a terrible beast, but now it's all empty celebration and dreadful anticipation.

But Bilbo’s heart fell, both at the song and the talk: they sounded much too warlike.

Oh that's another similarity: Bilbo doesn't like the song.

We are not yet foes, and we rejoice that you are alive beyond our hope. We came expecting to find none living here; yet now that we are met there is matter for a parley and a council.”

Yes, that's why you ducked out the first time. You were overcome with joy at Thorin's survival.

But also he did not reckon with the power that gold has upon which a dragon has long brooded, nor with dwarvish hearts.

Considering the behavior of the men of Laketown and Thranduil's elves, it has this power over most everyone.

Though he had hunted chiefly for the Arkenstone, yet he had an eye for many another wonderful thing that was lying there, about which were wound old memories of the labours and the sorrows of his race.

Oh yeah and it's fucking with Bilbo too! Stop trying to paint the Semites as uniquely greedy, Tolkien. It's a plague on all y'all!

Moreover the wealthy may have pity beyond right on the needy that befriended them when they were in want.

Bard's never met a rich person has he?

Then Thorin seized a bow of horn and shot an arrow at the speaker. It smote into his shield and stuck there quivering.

Okay that's even worse diplomacy by a large measure. Thorin's dickishness knows no bounds and no I'm not giving him the out of the dragon horde because none of the others act remotely like this.

So grim had Thorin become, that even if they had wished, the others would not have dared to find fault with him; but indeed most of them seemed to share his mind—except perhaps old fat Bombur and Fili and Kili.

Well I guess Balin just lost best dwarf status. Bombur gets it on the grounds that Tolkien keeps talking about his size and anyway the other two are just gonna die so it's not like they'd get the title for long.

Bilbo heard these words and he grew afraid, wondering what would happen, if the stone was found—wrapped in an old bundle of tattered oddments that he used as a pillow.

Well Bilbo, he's probably going to kill you, so you should hurry and get it in the Shire museum alongside all the Numenorean, Angmarian, and Elvish artifacts other hobbits Gandalf messed with stole.

"Winter and snow is hastening behind them. How shall you be fed without the friendship and goodwill of the lands about you? The treasure is likely to be your death, though the dragon is no more!”

So GRRM was pretty clearly inspired by this, wasn't he?

He had about five hours before him.

Considering how many dwarves there are and how few hours in a night, it's odd that Bombur's got such a long shift. Seems like it would be easier for everyone to break it into three hour shifts.

They will help him more than us, if it is that queer little creature that is said to be their servant.

Honestly it's a small miracle they didn't just assume he was a particularly ugly dwarf.

“Whatever it is, it’s my own, my good elves.

Bilbo, your employer pulled the "shoot the messenger" card and you're still in the running for worst at diplomacy in your party. It's another small miracle they didn't just decide to shoot you!

which fortunately I believe I have kept

That is fortunate considering all of the handkerchiefs you've lost along the way!

Dain, I may tell you, is now less than two days’ march off

I can't help but wonder if literally betraying the cause after stealing the most valuable item in the mountain was something they included a clause for invalidating your entitlement to the profits. If not, they really should have put it in there. That or maybe Gandalf trained them long ago not to do that for his own amusement.

Then Bilbo, not without a shudder, not without a glance of longing, handed the marvellous stone to Bard, and he held it in his hand, as though dazed.

Again: did Sauron make this stone? Should they be tossing it into a volcano for the good of all free people of Middle-Earth? Is everyone in this story part-corvid themselves?

“You are more worthy to wear the armour of elf-princes than many that have looked more comely in it. But I wonder if Thorin Oakenshield will see it so.

"Thanks for handing us the most valuable part of the loot! We'll just be going now, Thorin can starve up here with all his dumb, way less valuable gold."

“Well done! Mr. Baggins!” he said, clapping Bilbo on the back. “There is always more about you than anyone expects!” It was Gandalf.

"I thought I was the guy fucking these people over the hardest, but you've outdone me. You're lucky I see you as a dog walking on hind legs instead of a real threat or I'd turn you to stone for this."

As a matter of fact he was dreaming of eggs and bacon.

And there you have it folks, two breakfasts missed. One literally, having to walk to the Ravenhill, the other figuratively, a particular menu item that he dreams about.

Next time: Everything goes to shit in ways that really make a fella miss Smaug.

#let's read #the hobbit #j r r tolkien #bilbo baggins #thorin oakenshield #gandalf

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nikomedes · 2 years

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i wanted to wait till i got my skins to post but. i have acquired a Deck. i have named her the Creature (my gaming desktop is the Beast) and i love her very much so far

specs on the deck, screen protector, skins, etc under the cut, and a little on my experience so far

so i placed my reservation day one for the most basic model of the steam deck, the 64gb w/o the ~special glass~, and was projected to receive in q2. i got my order confirmation email on 5/20, purchased that day, and received fedex tracking info the next day. i received my deck on 5/27. in anticipation of its arrival i ordered a set of 4 tempered glass screen protectors from amazon for $8 (lit just search "steam deck tempered glass" and you'll find what i got), and a 512gb uhs-i micro sd card to expand that pitiful 64gb. after playing with the deck for about a week i put in an order for skins: i got the dbrand steam deck skin in Kind of Purple on the front and black Swarm on the back/touchpads.

(a note on the skins: i find the cuts were of EXCELLENT quality and getting a good result, with minimal wrinkles/warping, is a matter of going very slow, using a lot of heat, and trying to pull the skin off and on during application as little as possible. i really like the feel of both the matte Purple front and the textured hexagonal pattern on the back. idk how much i'm going to like it on the touchpads, but i can always peel the Swarm squares off and put on the Purple that came with the front piece. i think they're a good value for the money, but i wouldn't buy their ultra special tempered glass at $25 for a 2 pack. at the end of the day it's just sticky tempered glass rectangles...)

the steam deck itself-- i REALLY like it. i'm an ideal user for this device, tho: i have a large steam library, i built my own pc so i appreciate the hardware and design work on this, and have become a primarily switch gamer this last year bc my gaming time has gradually shifted more towards an hour or two before bed or work than the 4-8 hour gaming marathons of college. the steam deck fills that niche well. i've picked up and played 3 different games so far (aperture desk job to learn the controls, tacoma, then night in the woods as pictured above) and had a great experience in all of them. even if a game is listed as iffy on the deck, it's worth giving it a shot-- often the biggest issue you'll run into is text size. the deck lets me particularly play smaller indie games i really want to play, but haven't felt up to booting my whole ass pc and sitting down at a desk for since i bought them. i bought tacoma the year it came out and JUST NOW got to it, and loved it! im very excited for how many more small projects the deck will let me finally spend time with because of its portability.

urgh okay switching to bullets to try to better organize my thoughts:

i got the good fan! i haven't found it to be loud at all, but i HAVE found the deck gets hot fast even running non-AAA titles. i actually went and toggled off their new fan settings that minimized when it ran in favor of the old BIOS-based ones. i would rather hear the soft sound of my fan all the time and know the unit's temp is well-regulated, rather than possibly degrade my hardware faster for Silence. glad i have the option to opt in or out of integral device updates, too!

i tried using the deck in desktop mode to install some of my itch.io library with mixed results. the linux desktop is intuitive, if small, and as a firefox user on all devices it was very easy to log in to firefox pre-installed on the device and get all my bookmarks/logins. i was able to download and extract game files from itch. i was even able to run a couple games! unfortunately the input scheme translation issue between the deck and a game running in desktop mode is rough, and the onscreen keyboard can't bridge the gap. i'm going to keep futzing with this, though! i want to play those games and it's definitely (theoretically) possible

the steam deck os is DEFINITELY in beta, and is missing some features big picture mode has. the onscreen keyboard is... bad. but software is a comparatively easy fix, and it's by no means unusable

the ergonomics work well for me! granted, i have big hands, but the button/trigger placements feel very natural, and switching to using the touchpad vs the right analog stick is nothing. for how many buttons they stuck on this thing, i'm impressed they all feel pretty good! it's definitely heavier than the switch and i haven't felt comfortable commuting with it yet. but in my experience so far, preventing wrist strain is as easy as curling up in bed or in a chair and naturally resting some point of the deck on a pillow/arm/side table, which was my same strat with the switch.

i haven't used any bluetooth peripherals yet, so nothing to say there. but it still has a headphone jack. THANK YOU. my god, i missed being able to use some of my best headphones. not to mention p much any gamer headset with headphones and mic routed through one jack.

the case is nice? no room for other items (sd card case, stylus, cable, etc) but it's very solidly built. but again, haven't travelled with the deck yet

right now there's an issue with where shader caches and other supporting data files for games get stored. i've loaded about 300gb of games on my sd so far with no problem, but my deck's default 64gb storage is almost full just from files supporting those games being saved there instead of on the card. as more people get decks, i expect a patch to make sure all files get saved one place or another will come down, though rumor has it there's a linux thing you can run to fix this... but ive been too chickenshit to try running too much on the desktop side that could alter the device's os

whew thats a lot!!! to distill, ive been enjoying this device for what it is: a new piece of tech with some flaws to be addressed, that gives me another way to interact with games i already own, and feels much more transparent in its development (and reparable! i didnt even get into the replacement parts!) than the switch. i really like it, and if you're expecting one or thinking about reserving, i hope this gave you some more info about the experience!

#don't @ me i can see the tee tiny creases #if they bother u know that they make me insane. but i rly like how the skins went on overall #wow i wrote TOO MUCH ABOUT THE STEAM DECK lmao #dot txt #steam deck #dbrand #dbrand steam deck #picspam

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littlebittyhollowbugs · 9 days

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The adventures of Dragon and Unicorn: Chapter two

Two pure blasts erupt from the creatures tiny hands, they swirl around each other until they crash into their target knocking it to the ground. Dealing great damage. The little one is knocked back a bit by the force of his own power.

"Very well." Brashes says in a tone more calm then than the one swarming his mind. In truth it was exceptionally well. Better than he had ever seen an apprentice perform their very first try. He helps the child back on his feet. Boldo claps from behind the wizard where he and the other child sit and watch. She stares up at Boldo, watches as he claps his hands together and then copies, clapping a little hesitantly, as if the action is new to her, but she is eager to join in.

The group is gathered in a round room specifically designed to practice magic within. There are cushions along one side, for spectators. Spell targets on the opposite end, crafted from stone, and soul containers hang like chimes from the ceiling all around the wall, Filled with essence to strengthen the magicians.

The sister had performed excellently as well. She had been more eager to showcase her new power, and though her blasts were smaller and weaker, she cast the spell repeatedly out of what seemed to be excitement. This one seems more timid about using magic, or really, he seems more timid in general. Brashes thinks it odd how one so small and shy could cast such powerful magic, perhaps it wasn't his first time?

"Are you quite sure you haven't practiced spells before, child? Your power is greatly impressive."

The boy glances up at the wizard with his curiously empty eyes. He quickly looks away and scurries back to his sister whom he attempts to hide himself behind. Brashes stifles a chuckle. The two of them are quite amusing. So far he has been unable to get either child to speak. Even the more outgoing sister, though willing to communicate, has yet to use her voice. He looks at the little creature burying himself safely behind his sister. "I take it you're finished with your performance then?" Brashes assumes. "Spellcasting can be draining. You should replenish yourselves. I will lend you more soul. Boldo-" he turns to face his assistant. "Would you prepare them something to eat."

Boldo stands at attention. "Of course." He turns to the children. "Neither of them seemed to want any of the scrambled wild berries or the moss stew. Do you think they eat meat?"

"Perhaps. Maybe go to the hunters market in Sandshell?"

"I'll try to be back before long." He agrees.

"Thank you Boldo." And his assistant throws his bag over his shoulder, waves goodbye to the children and walks out the door.

"You two may not be used to the food we consume around here. But you really must try something. How long has it been since you've last eaten?"

The girl looks up at the wizard not knowing how to answer, or not wanting to. The boy still hiding. "Have you eaten anything recently? before I discovered you?" He rewords his sentence. The girl shakes her head.

"No. That's what I thought." He knows some bugs can go long periods of time without need to sustain themselves. But these two are clearly very young. at such an age it can't be healthy.

He helps them to replenish their soul. Offers them water which they also refuse to drink despite his insisting. Shares with them some tips on how to maintain a steady form while practicing magic. Has them rest until Boldo returns with two rock hoppers he'd managed pick up at the market, Freshly cooked, And has them ready at the supper table.

Supper does not go well.. As far as actually eating goes. Once again neither child is willing to consume any food or drink that is prepared. And after an hour of pressuring them into doing so Brashes and Boldo finally concede. They have some saved aside for tomorrow's breakfast hopeful that they might change their minds in the morning or at least after their morning magic practice...

Brashes studies his notes..

the children's behavior did not change. in fact the more time Brashes spent with them, the more strange he discovered them to be. They had now been under his tutelage for nearly two weeks. And Brashes made several important observations.

• These strange beings do not eat or drink and don't seem to need to. They maintain their strength and energy on purely soul alone. He has never met a bug like that before

• They do not speak, after so many days he had come to the conclusion that they simply are unable to do so. For whatever reason both are completely mute.

• however it seems they have some, unexplainable method of communicating clearly with one another. They rely on each other completely, and have a powerful bond. It seems that one always knows what the other is feeling and needing.

• and most notable to Brashes himself. These creatures are naturally gifted with magic. He had not trained them long. only a matter of days and they had already surpassed previous apprentices he had trained with for months. If they had been taught anything previously they seemed to have forgotten their instruction. For he had to guide them still on what to do. But the power they exhibited was unlike any he'd ever seen!

It was a shame. Of course the very apprentices with magic practically seeping out of their shells are the only ones who seemed to have lost all recollection of who they are and from where they come. They even seemed to have forgotten their very own names. They could understand some writing. Brashes had tried to get them to write their names or communicate them in some non-verbal way. But they claimed not to have any. When Brashes asked if it would be alright to bestow upon them names himself they both quickly agreed. Even seemed excited about the prospect. The brother even seemed excited, which Brashes observed did not happen easily. Because of this he knew he had to give them exceptional titles, he could not disappoint them. (In truth he too found it exciting. He had tutored many apprentices in his past. And had come to see them as his own children, but he had never named a child before. Never imagined he would get the chance.)

After hours of contemplation and going over many options with Boldo, he had determined the ones he deemed most worthy. (Though Boldo thought they were a bit odd and did not agree entirely. Still preferring his ideas "Brashley" and "Brashes the second" not at all doable.)

"You will be named Dragonfly" he bows, placing the end of his staff on one of the girls shoulders. Then to other. Bestowing a regal name upon her. "And you-" he turns and repeats the gesture to her brother. "-Will be Unicorn beetle"

The girl claps her hands to show her approval. And its hard to read the feeling of her brother. He stays still but looks up at his mentor, without shyly looking away. Perhaps that is a good sign. Dragonfly then moves her shoulders and forearms up in a questioning gesture. "Ah of course. You would like to know why I have chosen to give you these titles. Well I can assure you they are very special. You are both named after some of the most magically gifted bugs ever created. Both species long extinct. But their memory lives on through myth and legend and now through the both of you..

..I chose dragonfly for you child, because they were known, not only for their great power, but their protective nature. Many hundred years ago the dragonflies ruled over the nearby land hidden meadow, they watched over their people using their magic to hide them from enemies and keep them safe. Or so the legends go. That protectiveness is something you also exhibit. You look after your brother well."

Dragonfly claps again bouncing up with glee. He beams at her before turning to the other child.

"And as for you, unicorn beetle, I named you after the ancient being that blessed my great ancestor. The reason I and my lineage wield any magic at all. The being was known to be mysterious and showed itself to very few. My family is greatly honored to have known it. As am I, to know you. I'm glad you're opening up to me." He says warmly. Unicorn beetle shows no expression in that moment..

However later that evening once Brashes has finished organizing his soul vials and spell tablets he goes to his room to find a picture drawn on a petal, waiting for him, on his desk. Though clearly a child's drawing it is easy to see that It depicts Brashes with his two apprentices on either side of him. It is signed "yunacorn betel." He chuckles to himself.

~~~~~~~~~~

"Dragonfly. Dragonfly. Dragonfly."

"Why do you keep saying that?"

"It's my name!"

"Why do you have to keep saying it?"

"I don't ever want to forget it!... or yours! Unicorn beetle unicorn beetle Unicorn-"

"your being too loud! I'm trying to sleep." He pulls the blanket tighter around him.

"Sorry." She tries to calm her excited mind. "You must be exhausted .You do the hardest spells!"

"They aren't that hard. I'm just tired."

They both lay still in their bed for a long moment. A cozy little room Brashes and Boldo had made them. A big circular cushiony bed lay centered at the far wall. Shelves full of stone spell tablets and petal books line the others. A big lumafly lamp hangs above their bed. And they each have a soul canister at their bedside. Unicorn has some petals pens and ink lying on his bedstand beside his soul reserves. He shifts back a little toward dragon. "Why do you think you could forget your name?" She shuffles around in her side of the blanket to face him. "Well we forgot our old names"

"How do you know we had old names?"

"All bugs have names!"

Unicorn ponders that for only a moment. "Yes, but Brashes says all bugs need to eat and drink. But we don't." He ponders some more. "Regular bugs have voices and memories. We are different. Maybe we never had names." He continues.

"Only if we never had parents." She assures him. "Maybe we never did."

"Even irregular bugs have to have parents Unicorn! Where do you think we came from!?"

"I don't know. If you think we have parents why don't you want to go back to them?" He responds as he turns away from her again. She is still for a while, then she turns to her side as well.

"I don't know. I just know that wherever we came from we meant to leave that place. I don't know why. Maybe we weren't wanted there anymore. Maybe it was dangerous, like Brashes says. Our old parents probably wanted us to leave. Now we have Brashes and Boldo, and new names. I don't want to leave any of that. We are safe here."

"You think we had a life before, somewhere beyond the winds. But you aren't curious about what that life was like?"

"I know I always had you, and I have you still. That is good enough for me."

"It's good that we're together Dragon." He agrees. And bundles tighter his blanket ready for sleep. "It's good enough for me too." Unicorn says to her, though both of them can tell he is a little unsure.

He does care for his sister more than anything. And he now cares for Brashes and Boldo too. But Brashes is right. No bug he'd ever seen was quite like him and his sister. Magically and otherwise. What does that mean? What are they? Where do they come from? These questions might plague him forever. And even if he was brave enough to ask Brashes to help him find out, it would be hard. Brashes cannot understand the language he and his sister speak with each other. No one can. No one can hear them at all. Unicorn is usually grateful for that. He has the feeling that even if he had a voice. He wouldn't use it very much. Only for important things...

#The adventures of Dragon and Unicorn #Hollow knight #hollow knight fanfic #hollow knight oc

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frogsandfries · 2 years

Text

I'm feeling a lot better

I got the bookshelf organized and made a small meal yesterday.

I don't know if I mentioned, but issue one is running over on WebToon and Tapas (linktr.ee) till the beginning of June. I'm taking a six week hiatus to give me a bit of time to build my issue two buffer. After the last couple months of just having an awful cold and depression, I really need that time. I know it's going to fuck whatever edge I've given myself by updating weekly, but I'm only one person, and I don't know if something like this, or worse, is going to happen again. It seems to happen way too often, between the massive, mystery illness I had in early 2020, and then covid last year, which put me down for a month, and then this just really resistant depression I've had most of this year so far.

Anyway, I'm really happy to say, I think I'm getting faster at doing linework, which is great, because lately doing linework has been exhausting. And coloring. And going to work. And getting out of bed. Just overall, life has been exhausting. There don't seem to be an equal proportion of behavioral care workers to what seems to be needed by the population in this city, so I'm on a wait-list until......... hell freezes over?

I'm slowly working back up to working on the graphic novel. It feels a bit like when I had covid and I'd get these bursts of energy so I could like, clean the house or make myself a meal, and then I'd just need to go back to sleep. The other thing, the thing that bothered me, was wanting to do something, anything, but only having the energy to doomscroll Instagram. I hate that. I hate being too tired to do anything else. But that's basically all I did all April.

I was really excited about something yesterday, but now I don't remember what. I think it had to do with the graphic novel.

Since this is just turning out to be a random, like semi-frustated, trying-to-remember-what-I-was-so-excited-about ramble, I was watching Shining Girls with my partner last night and it kind of sparked back up in my mind these two stories I have in the back of my mind. I was thinking I should buy an 8×11 sketchbook as a production bible so I can do mind maps and sketch down like, character, setting and creature ideas.

Which puts me in mind of how JRR Tolkien's son "had" to complete his father's work. Like, I have basically a non-relationship with both of my genetic contributors. One outright verbally and psychologically abused me, and each of my siblings, with y'know, an obligatory bit of physical abuse for good measure. The other one was just straight neglectful under the guise of not having enough money. I can't imagine having the esteem for my parents to complete their life's work for them. I almost can't imagine, no matter how hard I try, how much guidance I get, my own kid having that much esteem for me.

Anyway, whatever the hell it was, I've been trying to remember all day and I still haven't managed it, so I guess it's time to color this frame that I've been balking at.

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sessrin-eternity2 · 3 years

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Yashahime Second Act New PV

Yashahime Second Act, has a new mini PV and I think they are only showing some tiny clips from episodes 1 to 2 or 3.

Here we have Towa welding her new blade, Zanseiken. The design is extremely unique and beautiful, I love the details for the hilt. I think this blade really suits Towa's character but I also love her knock off of the Kikujūmonji because she literally made that into a sword of her own by using demon energy. I wonder if Towa's Zanseiken will have more abilities than her other blade. She seems to be looking at it curiously and uneasy, could this be the first scene of her putting it into use? I believe she's going to do more extraordinary things using this one.

This scene here seems to be a spirit of Kirinmaru, it reminds me of the battle scene of Episode 24 between Kirinmaru versing Towa and Moroha. They both had spirits above them, for Towa it was Sesshomaru's demon dog form and for Moroha it was the great dog demon general Inu no Taisho aka Toga. This is an interesting one too because not only we seen this form of Kirinmaru in this scene but also in the Second Acts poster, he is in the middle and standing in front of the windmill of time, so this is not the first time seeing this form of his and I do wonder what this is indicating... The second image down below, we see Kirinmaru's face up close and it is only showing one eye along with two scars on his cheek, both done by Towa and Setsuna. Is he reflecting from the battle with the 3 princesses? Thinking about how he accidentally killed Sesshomaru's and Rin's daughter, Setsuna out of anger after she landed a cut on his cheek? His past? His battle with Toga? or his beloved daughter, Rion? There's still so much we need to discover about their relationship and how did it become such a conflict to drive the two away from each other.

Riku? Riku?! What is this all about? Is this... demons in the shadows? Are you planning an attack on someone? Or is he going to strike these hidden creatures? He does have his blade out, and if I'm not mistaken, it kinda looks like his new earring accessory, that's intriguing. He really looks great in his new attire and I can see his sleeves are not torn anymore like his first attire was shown. I think this upcoming episode could be The Demon Ghost Of The Ocean, it just gives off a vibe this could be the episode but it's only a guess. Riku looks quite serious in this, I don't see any smirking from him than usual so what could this situation be about?

I about screamed when I seen this, I'm so happy to see Sesshomaru again, Ah-Un and the rest as well. Lol, look at poor Jaken holding onto the end of Sesshomaru's Mokomoko. And yes, there are so many theories flowing around about this scenes situation. We haven't seen Sesshomaru ride Ah-Un in awhile... Normally when he rides him it is to make a great entrance but this is looking more like an emergency because...

We see that Sesshomaru is holding Rin! We finally get our first Sessrin scene! Wooo! Yes! Sweet Mokomoko! I love how he's holding his wife so tenderly, not only that he is also steering Ah-Un while holding her, you can see the dark brown strap between Sesshomaru's hands and thumb. But what the heck happened to Rin... Zero tied her? Is she truly in labor? Someone is either having a flashback or telling the story to the twins or someone else. Now, I have some backup for the Rin is in labor theory that is by other fans and I have one of my own so I hope there's some people that are thinking the same on it as well but first the labor theory.

It is extremely rare for Sesshomaru to be flying Ah-Un, especially when he can fly himself without an issue and he's always been strong enough to carry Rin. Why does he need Ah-Un to fly with Rin? And the theory is, Sesshomaru is using Ah-Un to travel safely with Rin Lady Kaede's because she is in labor. In the image we can definitely see there is some discomfort in Rin's expression, possibly labor pains and her hand is resting on her stomach but we see no pregnant belly because it is only viewing half of Rin's body which is probably the reason why we cannot see the baby bump on her but also remember this... in episode 15 between a conversation with Sango and Kagome, Sango's dialogue "How are you feeling Kagome? You're far along now, I can't wait." Kagome's dialogue "Thanks Sango! I feel fine, you can barely see my bump." And with that Sango agreed. It even shows Kagome holding her stomach when Riku tells Kagome Kirinmaru will kill her child as well if Kirinmaru's slumber has been disturbed because he hates humans and hanyos.

In a panic and fear, Kagome places her hands on her stomach, and we can barely see her bump like Sango said, so Rin's baby bump was possibly like Kagome's while she was in labor with Towa and Setsuna.

Here's my theory of what possibly happened that caused this scene with Sesshomaru carrying Rin while flying on Ah-Un. And Nooope, not believing that Zero tied herself to Rin on this night, she may had tried to but failed at it and here's how. Zero may had tried another type of spell to tie Rin to her soul and in the spell process before she could finish, Sesshomaru interrupted her and saved Rin but a small portion of Zero's spell took over her and somehow Sesshomaru managed to break it (Possibly from cutting that green dream butterfly) and Rin fainted afterwards due to her energy being drained from Zero's spell or Zero may had wounded Rin and Sesshomaru is using Ah-Un to carefully fly her to the barrier so he and Jaken can patch her up there while with the twins. Also, we need to remember Episode 23, here's a small reminder. When Zero tied herself to Towa, Towa did not pass out when she was first tied, she was only used as a puppet for Zero to control and she used Towa to hold Setsuna and her weapon still while Zero came over to break the seal that Miroku placed on her. After she was finished with Towa, she let her go and that's when Towa fainted but it was only for a brief moment, so that's why I don't think Zero already tied Rin in that new clip and she may wake up. I still believe she was with the twins when the forest fire happened and that's when Zero finally tied Rin's soul to hers fully. I have more about this theory why Rin was in the forest with the twins but I'll save that for another blog. (｡･ω･｡)ﾉ♡

How did Zero get those rainbow pearls again?! I know she confirmed she can easily find them but this fast? And what will she use them for this time? Is she going to use them to kill the Towa, Setsuna and Moroha? This woman is a nightmare. (つ﹏<。) I really don't want to know what's her next plan.

#sessrin #sesshomaru #rin #Yashahime thoughts and theories #towa #setsuna #moroha #kirinmaru #yashahime #inuyasha

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dalishious · 3 years

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Sry to bother, but I had a question about Briala. What exactly is her opinion of the Dalish? I haven't read the Masked Empire yet so maybe it's explained there but in WEWH she greets a Lavellan inquisitor coldly (as expected of a potential political rival) and says that they're slumming with the rest of their people for once? I don't expect that this encompasses the entirety of her views, but I was wondering if there was canon content explaining more.

The way Briala reacts coldly to Lavellan at first, but then warms up if Lavellan is friendly to her, does make sense given her experience with Clan Virnehn in The Masked Empire.

Briala believes that all elves are kin, and should work together. But Keeper Thelhen tells her the elves of the city are not his people, and that the clan doesn’t care about them. This is an extremely depressing moment for her, obviously.

Thelhen shut his eyes and looked away from her. “Abelas, da’len,” he said quietly, “but I have no people in the alienages of Orlais.” Briala sat quietly then, and listened to the argument while she looked around the camp. The great wagons, the aravels, were arranged in a circle like the buildings of a small town. She could pick out the purpose of some of them. One held bows and a fletcher’s tools; not far from it, Dalish children practiced shooting arrows at stump-targets painted like men. Near another aravel, crates were filled with vegetables, while smoked meat hung nearby, and behind a third wagon, Dalish warriors swung wooden blades at target dummies. Briala tracked their motions and saw that the drills were the same as she had seen a hundred times at Celene’s family estate or in Val Royeaux. They were not her people. The words should have hurt, but Briala felt empty instead.

At the end of the book, Mihris is freed from Imshael’s possession and saves Briala from Celene. When it’s just Briala, Mihris and Felassan left in the Crossroads, Briala tells Mihris that she will only work with Dalish elves to help all their people.

“I am very concerned for my people, Mihris. And for the first time, I have a way to help them.” “If you gave the secret of the eluvians to the Dalish,” Mihris said, “we could—” Briala laughed in her face, and the Dalish woman went silent. “Every elf in those alienages thinks of you as creatures of legend,” she said to Mihris, “the elves who never surrendered when Halamshiral fell. They’re either terrified of you or inspired by you—you’re the elves who keep fighting, who have the old magic. They think you’re helping them out here, that you’re doing more than playing with demons and hunting for old relics, and if you had actually helped them, you’d have had an army of loyal elves ready to bring back Arlathan for you.” She smiled. “But you didn’t. You said that they weren’t really your people, and you left them to die. So I will help them. I will keep fighting.” She gestured at the entrance to the tunnel. “And I have the old magic.” “I am not your enemy, Briala.” Mihris lowered her gaze. “I helped you.” “I had something you wanted.” Briala kept smiling. “And your people are my people, even if they’ve forgotten it. I will work with the Dalish, but only if they help all our people. Pass that on to the next clan you meet.”

And we know that she does, because in Wicked Eyes and Wicked Hearts you can overhear her agents talking about Dalish clans they’re working with. [Link]

TL;DR: Briala’s been burned by the Dalish before, and expects Lavellan to see her as a lesser “flat-ear”. She does not have anything against the Dalish, but is on guard of them being against her.

#briala #the masked empire #wicked eyes and wicked hearts #Anonymous #ask

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fictionwordcounts · 3 years

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Home [Anakin x Reader]

Word Count: 2000+

Summary: You're on the desolate planet of Dagobah, and things are a far less than exciting. However, someone crashing close to your home changes everything.

Requested on Wattpad.com at StarkWars084

You were whittling away at a stubborn piece of wood when you saw a ship of some sort fall from the sky not far away. You jumped up from the small chair you had made and examined the smoke trail in awe. Nothing exciting ever happened on this disgusting swamp planet and you absolutely had to go to the crash sight.

Smiling to yourself, you climbed down your tree house and headed off in the direction of the crashed, mysterious object. Wading through the thick mud was easy and you started walking a ways off, but stopped suddenly. You reached toward your back only to grasp empty air-- you'd left your weapon at home. You were furious with yourself for forgetting such an important tool. The planet you were on was nowhere shy of dangerous creatures. Looking over at a large stick on the ground, you decided it would have to do. You grasped it tightly and continued on until you found a broken ship submerged in quick sand. If anyone was alive in there, they certainly weren't now. It was a shame too. You were hoping to find someone (You didn't care who) to make life more interesting. You would have settled for anything in fact.

The sand prevented you from investigating closer, but it was just as amazing from where you were. Sure you had seen ships before, but that was a long time ago, before you came here. The ship was swallowed up quickly by the hungry sand and you strained to see the last bit of the tail disappear. You were about to leave when you noticed footprints leading off from where the plain had been. A sound from behind you made you jump, and you spun around with your makeshift weapon in hand. A man with shoulder-length dark hair and clothes caked in sand stood there. His eyes were kind and calm despite the large stick only inches from his face.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you," he stated. Even if it wasn't his intention, he had scared you a great deal, and you found yourself unable to lower the stick. He slowly raised his hands and started pushing the weapon down, and you let him since you couldn't do it yourself.

"Who are you?" You asked him once you had found your voice.

"It's alright, I'm Anakin Skywalker. I'm a Jedi, and I can help you off this planet," he answered. "I could take you as far as Coruscant, if you like."

You bit your tongue and changed your mind. I'm not okay with anything! you decided, I wanted anything but a Jedi. The Jedi were the people you had tried to escape in coming here. You had thought you wanted to be one at one time, but they had rejected you when you had failed their ridiculous trials. Now there was one here, though you had chosen to live on one of the most remote planets you could find. You were angry with him though you knew it was not him alone that had denied you the position.

"Well, I'm very glad you've found a way to get home," you said, trying to maintain a steady voice. "You can do so alone. I wish you luck." With that, you spun around and headed back to the home you had made. Sloshing footsteps and swinging branches told you that he was stumbling right behind.

"Hold on!" He called after you. You were nearly running, and you would've kept going, but this was the only social interaction you would get for who knew how long. You rolled your eyes and slowed so he could catch up. "It's dangerous out here alone," he warned.

You slowly turned around and rolled your eyes. "Is it?" you scoffed and took in a deep breath while you tried to get your thoughts together. "Listen, I do appreciate the offer, but I have no interest in heading back to anywhere the Jedi Council is."

"What do you mean back?" he questioned. "You mean you've been there before?"

You glared at him. "Do the Jedi now find things easy to forget?" you felt yourself shaking and tried desperately to stand completely still. You're not mad at him, you told yourself. You knew you shouldn't be mad at all, but it grew more difficult the more he spoke.

"I'm sorry, I don't know what you're talking about," Anakin apologized. "But at least let me take you to a safer, more populated planet." You almost laughed now.

Gesturing to land around, you responded, "Even if I wanted to leave, how would we?" Anakin looked around.

"I'd find a way," He insisted. You knew there was really nothing he could do, but you liked his determination.

Still, you weren't sold on the idea of returning. "Well," you started hesitantly. "If you're going to find a way back, you'll need a place to stay." You gestured for him to follow you. He was surprisingly good at navigating through the mud. He knew exactly where to step and where not to. You guessed it was the Force showing him the way. It had for you, too, before you memorized the land. When you got to the lake that was not far from your tree house, you made Anakin scrub off all the sand off his arms and neck.

When you made it back to your home you showed Anakin the way up the tree. "You built this?" He asked you once he was at the top.

You nodded proudly. "It took me a while, but it finally came together." You ran your hand across the railing you had put up. You were rather proud of your work and had a right to be. It was sturdy and homely which was perfect for where you lived. "You could probably stay just outside my kitchen for now. Tomorrow I'll have to make a proper bed for you."

Anakin nodded to show he understood then looked questioningly at you. "If I'm going to stay here, I need to know your name."

You had completely forgotten to introduce yourself! You scolded yourself inwardly. "Y/N," you told him.

He smiled "Thank you for offering your home to me, Y/N" You knew he was just being polite. He wouldn't have the comfort of a bed like the one you had made, and you couldn't make one now. You didn't have the items you would need, and it was getting too dark to gather any.

"I recommend you don't leave the house until dawn," you suggested. "The creatures here love the dark."

"I wont," he assured you. Even though he was a Jedi, you knew you couldn't leave him to figure that out on his own.

You would help him the best you could. You didn't hate him. In fact, you found it hard to dislike him. But it was impossible to ignore his title: Jedi. Just thinking the name made you shudder. You wished him a good night, and Anakin took his robe off and lay down on one of your pillows. He pulled the robe over himself to stay warm and you went to your moss bed. It was actually a nice, comfortable bed that took you a while to complete. You looked over at Anakin who was still awake, staring up at the sky, and your stomach twisted. He wanted to go home, but you couldn't help him do that. The best you could do was make sure he didn't freeze, starve, or get killed by ravenous animals, so that's what you would do. You would keep him alive until he could get back home.

________________________________________________________________________________

You woke up earlier than usual and dressed quickly. You decided to go hunting in hopes of finding some meat to balance out the root stew you would make. As you slipped the cotton shirt over your head, you realized that you didn't have any extra clothes for Anakin to change into, and his clothes were still covered in mud that had dried over. Surely, it wasn't a comfortable way to live. You walked over to Anakin who was fidgeting and stirring in his sleep. You would have to make him a change of clothes as soon as possible.

You grabbed your spear and knife and climbed down the tree easily. You wanted to do this quickly so you could start working on the other projects Anakin's arrival had made for you. You waited at some rocks near the lake with your knife in hand. Nudj, you knew, were lizard-like creatures that stayed around this area. You had only killed a few before, but they weren't bad. When a brave nudj climbed the rocks you quickly threw your knife and pierced it's skin. It thrashed for a second before falling still. You knew the alarm it let out would warn the others and keep you from getting anymore from there. You retrieved the knife and nudj and headed to a different patch of rocks. You repeated this pattern four more times until you had three of the lizards to take back. You jogged back to the tree and climbed up. Anakin was awake.

"Good morning," you called to him. His face was pale and there were beads of sweat on his forehead. "Are you okay?"

He nodded. "Yes, I'm fine." You looked him over worriedly. Treating disease was not something you could cram into today. Deciding to leave him be, you started preparing a stew from roots herbs and the nudj you caught earlier. Anakin came up to you and watched for a little bit.

You turned to him while the stew cooked. "Have you figured out how you'll be getting back?" you questioned.

He shook his head. "No, I haven't, but I'll find a way," he answered confidently. Surely he knew he wouldn't be able to. The only thing that flew on the planet were the bogwings, and you didn't want to mess with them.

"I'll have to make you a change of clothes," you told him. "I'll do that after we eat." You turned back to the food and stirred it.

"Thank you," Anakin said. You pointed to a small pot you had sitting by.

"If you're going to stay here though," you announced. "You'll have to help and boil some of that water."

He smiled and took the full pot to a small fire you had going.

After you and Anakin had finished eating, you walked over to a bin where you kept thread and fabric. You hadn't expected to use it really so you were happy you found a use for it. You sent Anakin to wash the dishes, but it didn't keep him busy for long. He came to where you were working.

"Tell me about the time you were with the Jedi council," he requested.

You stiffened. Of course, he would be curious, but you didn't want to talk about it. You just wanted him to have a magical solution to leave and do so. You hesitated, trying to play out the conversation in your head.

"When I was younger," you started. "All I wanted to be was a Jedi. I looked up to them and my parents did too." A lump formed in your throat. "They noticed me, finally, and I trained for a long time until I became a Padawan. I wasn't long after that my parents were killed. I couldn't preform as well as they wanted me to. I could only think about them, hoping they would come back. It devastated me, and at times, I even felt resentment--hatred. You know that's not acceptable for Jedi." You inhaled deeply and wiped a tear from your cheek with your fingertips. "They expelled me, and I left. I was angry with the council." You gritted your teeth. "I was angry with Master Yoda."

Anakin looked puzzled. "Master Yoda is very wise," he defended. "I'm sure he had a good reason."

You wiped your face and looked at him reasonably. "Master Yoda has it all wrong," you argued. "There has never once been a Jedi who has kept to the code completely. Our emotions make us human, and those that embrace that are the ones he wants to get rid of. He can't turn us into his mindless, emotionless robots to fight his battles for him."

Anakin was silent. The whole time you were talking your hands were working on the outfit for him.

"But never mind," you attempted a smile. "I finished your outfit." You turned around while Anakin switched his clothes. When he was finished you turned back to see your work. You laughed out loud. The clothes looked absolutely ridiculous. They were baggy and blended into each other making it look like one piece.

"Well, it's a start," he teased, smiling. "At least now I'm not covered in sand from head to toe."

You made a note to yourself to practice your seamstress skills later.

You had just finished the bed for Anakin when the sun sank behind the trees. He slept on it well the first night, but he grew restless from nightmares that not even the most comfortable of beds could fix. You often had to sit by his bed with a cold cloth to calm him. He told you they were of his mother. He had to watch her die over and over again every night and it made him miserable. You did the best you could, but that wasn't much. There were nights when he would wake up suddenly, and you would have to speak quietly and soothingly to him until he could fall asleep again. At first it bothered you, but it troubled you more now.

Anakin had stayed with you for two weeks before a ship landed right next to the lake where you were gathering water one day. You dropped the bucket and ran to the ship. The door opened and a light-haired, bearded man emerged confidently. His eyes were tired but that didn't change how he acted.

"Hello there!" he called to you. "Allow me to introduce myself: I'm Obi-Wan Kenobi. Could you give me a hand with something?" Stunned you nodded and beckoned him forward. "I'm sorry about landing here without permission. I didn't think this planet was populated. I'll leave soon, but I seem to have lost something and I need help finding it," he explained.

"What did you loose?" you asked him, though you could already guess. Obi-Wan looked at you warily.

"His name is Anakin Skywalker."

You froze. When Anakin arrived, the thought that he might have someone looking for him hadn't even occurred to you. He was back at the tree house preparing food for the both of you. You weren't sure if you should get him or not. As if he heard his name called Anakin came running up from behind you.

Obi-Wan perked up. "Anakin!" He called cheerfully. "I'm glad you're alive, Anakin. You had us all worried." Despite the fact that this man had brought Anakin a way home, he didn't look all that happy.

"You shouldn't have come for me, Master." Anakin said. "You could've saved supplies and time going on without me."

"Anakin don't talk like that," Obi-Wan commanded. "You are my friend, and I will not leave you like that."

Obi-Wan looked at you. "I thank you for any help you have given my young apprentice. You will be paid in whatever currency you find acceptable." He turned back to Anakin. "Let's go, Anakin. Master Yoda will be happy to know you're alright."

Your heart sank. Anakin had found a way to leave after all. This is what you wanted. You reminded yourself. Once he's gone, life will be normal again. Boring and normal. You didn't want him to go now, but what could you do? It was Anakin's decision, and he was already following his master. You stood there waiting for the ship to take off, but it never did. In fact the door opened once again and both of them walked out.

"Is everything okay?" You questioned with a small glimmer of hope that the ship might not start. Anakin was looking much happier now and Obi-Wan more upset.

"It appears," Obi-Wan spoke first. "That Anakin will be staying with you," he explained.

You looked at Anakin who was next to you now.

"Are you serious?" you asked quietly, though your heart was beating rapidly.

He looked up at Obi-Wan. "Thank you for your training, Master," he said respectfully. Obi-Wan nodded blankly.

"I don't know what I'll tell the council," he said almost talking to himself.

Anakin smiled. "I'm sure you'll think of something," he assured. Obi-Wan looked up and smiled.

"Yes, well, I'll still have to pay you, Y/N," he said. "I'll go and get whatever supplies you'll need." He looked at Anakin again and laughed. "And good heavens hopefully some proper clothes." You both laughed merrily. You felt wonderful and couldn't stop smiling.

Obi-Wan left and Anakin hugged you tightly.

"You're really staying," you whispered.

He chuckled. "Yes, I am." He pulled away and looked into your eyes. "You were right, Y/N. I shouldn't try to push any emotions aside anymore." He rested his hand on your cheek. "I love you, Y/N." He grabbed your hand. "Let's go home."

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raven-at-the-writing-desk · 3 years

Note

"Oya, Miss Raven, I do hope you haven't forgotten what today is."

Jade allows himself a moment to orient himself in your otherwise busy attic. Once again you were playing host to yet another student of NRC, once again your feathers were ruffled by the commotion and energy.

It was quite enjoyable to see you flustered as you are when your attentions were pulled all which ways. Perhaps those distractions will allow him to slip past your high defenses.

"I seem to recall about a month ago you provided me with a gift, citing land customs. I too had researched about that same custom as well, and have come prepared for the accompanying day of returning the sentiment."

He holds out a tome, one with a brilliant sea-green cover. Whatever title that was written on the leather-bound book was in mermish, untranslateable to the non-mer layman. He chuckled at your stares.

"This is a first edition volume of a fairy tale from the Coral Sea. It is quite enchanting, the story of how the great Sea Witch, in all her compassion, gave the mermaid princess exactly what she wanted. I do hope you like it, Miss Raven. The Sea Witch's tales are all filled with heartbreak and heartmend. Romance from the ashes of tragedy. A happy ending as all creatures of both land and sea deserve."

His eyes twinkle in enjoyment as he places it in your palms.

"Oya, but I wonder about creatures of the sky? Fufufu... Happy White Day, Miss Raven."

I’M SORRY, SEBEK 😭 I’M SO, SO SORRY THAT MY J LEECH ROT THIS SLIMY EEL HAD TO COME AND DISRUPT YOUR BIRTHDAY TAKEOVER

This is a little late because I prioritized drafting my thesis and Sebek birthday takeover asks, but let’s just all pretend it’s still White Day, okay? Okay~

“H-Huh?” Raven scarcely had any time to react between Jade’s sudden appearance and the green leather-bound tome being dumped into her hands. The most she could manage was stuttering, “What... What are you doing here? D-Don’t tell me that you’re one of Sebek’s guests!”

“Need I remind you that I am a student of Night Raven College, Miss Raven? Thus, I am free to roam its campus as I please.”

“This is a private residence, entry granted upon invitation only!” Raven squawked, waving a hand around the attic. “Breaking and entering is considered a crime, you know.”

“Oya, is it? The front door was wide open, so I invited myself in.” Jade’s brows furrowed, and he pulled a sympathetic smile. “I did not think I needed an occupant’s invitation rather than my own. Silly me. It must have slipped my mind.”

“Don’t play dumb! You definitely, definitely know it’s a crime!”

The eel only laughed, tapping a finger teasingly against his lips. “If returning a Valentine’s Day gift is considered to be an act of criminal activity, then yes, I am guilty as charged.”

“Very romantic of you to say, Mister J Leech,” Raven replied dryly.

She avoided his eyes, allowing her gaze to instead fall upon the cover of the book she had been gifted. There were letters proclaiming the title--but they were unlike anything she had seen before. Strange points and elaborate curls adorned each character, forming small images that closely resembled symbols of the sea rather than letters.

Mermish.

“You said that this is... a first edition of a fairy tale from the Coral Sea?” The bird rand a curious finger along the cover, tracing each intricate component of the title. “How in the world did you manage to afford such an item?”

“I have my ways.”

“Please tell me it didn’t involve some other crime.”

“Fufufu. I have no idea what you may be referring to, Miss Raven.”

“Sure you don’t.” She snorted and returned her attention to the volume.

Her curiosity piqued, she flipped open to the first page to sample a bit of the writing. Raven’s heart sank upon spotting the prologue--also written entirely in Mermish. Of course. Why had she expected a book by and for merfolk to be in a language that creatures of the land could understand?

“I’m sure the Sea Witch’s story is enthralling, but unfortunately, I’m incapable of reading this.” Raven holding the tome out to Jade. “I’m afraid this may be more useful to you than it would be to me.”

“I insist that you keep it, as it is a gift from me to you,” he said with a gentle smile, pushing the book back to its intended recipient. “If you struggle to understand its contents, I would have no qualms with arranging a time for us sit down somewhere quiet and read it together. Say, over a cup of tea and a platter of snacks?”

... Ah.

Raven’s cheeks erupted into a bright pink.

I get it. So that was his goal all along.

Perhaps the party had already worn her down emotionally, or perhaps she was feeling particularly soft that day--but whatever the reason, she didn’t push him away. Not this time, at least. Instead, she just stood there, wide-eyed and stiff, hugging the book to her chest.

“Fufu. I take it that you are a fan of my proposal?”

“D-Don’t... Don’t be so presumptuous! I could just as easily ask for another translator! That would be a far smarter alternative to being indebted to you.”

“Is that your concern? Being indebted to me?” Jade chuckled into a hand. “If that is the case, I am sure we can work out some sort of equivalent exchange. For example, are there stories from the sky that you wish to share?”

“Well...” Raven chewed on her lower lip as she considered the idea. “Creatures of the sky tend to lack appendages for formally recording stories. We usually tell tales through strictly speech, not writing. In fact, writing is a relatively... new experience for me.”

“My, is that so? How fascinating. You really must tell me more over tea, then. In this manner, you would not ‘owe’ me anything, correct? We would be even.”

“... Fine.”

“Very well.” Jade nodded. “It’s a date.”

“... Don’t you mean deal? It’s a deal.”

“That is Azul’s phrase of choice,” he corrected with a polite smile. “I did not stutter in my phrasing whatsoever.”

“You...!!” Raven’s cheeks flared once more as her temper surged. “You’re... insufferable...!!”

“Fufu. So I have been told.”

But in the end, it did not matter—for the date had been set, just as he had intended all along.

#twst oc #twisted wonderland oc #Jade Leech thirst #Jade Leech #Raven Crowley #RIP Sebek #having to compete with TWST anni for attention #and now having to compete with J Leech for attention too

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