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crow-n-tell · 1 year

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HELLO AND WELCOOOOME TO!

What kind of jellyfish is sun?

I got some requests about getting a lil layout of what jellyfish types I combined to get him the way I did for moon in this post. It’s not as fun and detailed as moons because, let’s face it: jellyfish are pretty straight forward but!! Here

Phacellophora Camtschatica

aka The Fried Egg Jellyfish.

This is the biggest and most obvious part of Sunny’s design, he‘s an egg boy and I love him for it. But also there’s an interesting bit about the relationship between fried egg jellyfish and larval crabs. See these lil baby crabs?

Yeah so they climb inside fried egg jellyfish and just. RIDE AROUND IN THEIR BELL? Consequences be damned lil dudes chillin in there getting a ride. Which makes this the second time I’ve seen other animals use jellyfish as transportation. Baby octopus, baby crabs, with sun’s size it’s safe to say reader could probably do the same.

Though maybe reader wouldn’t want to do that because the whole reason larval crabs are chilling in their bell is also because jellyfish, while not capable of being infected by parasites cause they… they don’t have the bits that help parasites do the meat suit piloting… are carriers of parasites! They just walk around with em chilling in there. Larval crabs love monchin on em.

Next up is!!

Chrysaora Fuscesscens

aka

Honestly pacific sea nettles don't have many interesting facts about them. What can I say? they are very very long - talking 15 feet long. Other than that there isn't much else to say, I wish I could list something insane off like, OH THEY’VE GOT LAZER EYES. Nope. These guys float around looking like beautiful undersea mushrooms and they need no special skills to do that.

Uh. Yeah it’s not a jellyfish. This specially has to do with Sunny’s electric ability. Maybe you were thinking, oh so he’s like electric eels? (Which actually aren’t eels! They are a type of knife fish) no no, I am a perfectionist! I aim for accuracy and I also aim for the fun of science. While jellyfish cannot actually 🎵 shock you like a electric eel 🎶, jellyfish can SORT OF generate electricity.

Via a green gooey substance in the bells of jellyfish, scientists have discovered that by exposing it to ultraviolet light it produces electrons. Layman's terms? SOLAR POWERED GOO. While jellyfish have not harnessed the solar goo, scientists have actually found a way of using it to make a new form of green electricity!

So while Sun isn't electric the way an electric eel is, he still has a way of using electricity to make him a pretty powerful lil taser. Enough to put something smaller than him in a cardiac arrest, and give something his size or bigger a good reason to scamper off.

SOLAR POWERED SUN!

Which leads to my finishing notes.

While sun uses his zapper stuff quite a bit, he does have a regular sting too. While relatively less lethal than his zapping for bigger creatures, it does function as a paralytic! For smaller creatures it’s Uh…. Its a lil more dangerous. Good thing neoprene is sting proof haha.

And I had something else…

I recently posted a magma with Sunny sleeping.

This is based around the jellyfish that scientist found out sleep, Cassiopeia.

They are usually just chilling like that, bell down. Looking at them like this it really makes you think about how closely related they are to sea anemones huh? Lil freaks.

Sometime soon I’ll post a eclipse version of this, which I’m excited about because I love sharks SO MUCH.

#my art #mermaid au #the daycare attendant #mermaid dca #jellyfish!sun

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escha-evenstar · 6 months

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Sweet Spaghetti

Pairing: Azul Ashengrotto x GN!Reader

Summary: You share a spaghetti with Azul on your date.

Word Count: 900+

Notes:

Tried to keep this as gender neutral as possible (I hope I did it right).

Reader is described to be gorgeous by Azul.

EDIT: Reader also described as pretty and cute by Azul.

A/N:

Inspired from this scene from the Lady and the Tramp! Not the same exactly in this writing but quite similar, I think. Also, as I mentioned in my previous writing, it is my birth month. And I had spaghetti for my birthday soooo hehe~ Of course I'd want to share a spaghetti meal with Azul! 🩷

Also, I'm not sure about the title, but I can't think of anything else haha

Enjoy your Sweet Spaghetti! *wink*

You were sitting inside a fancy restaurant, dressed in fine clothing, as you conversed with the man opposite of you. He was also wearing a formal attire. The suit complemented his silvery hair and matched with his blue eyes.

You didn't realize you were starting to stare. Your hand, which was holding a fork, froze in place as your eyes continued to gaze at him.

He was looking incredibly handsome tonight. Absolutely perfect.

You were suddenly broken out of your daze as Azul called out to you. "Sweetheart?"

"Y-yes?" You stuttered, eyes blinking back to reality.

Azul chuckled at your response. "I was asking for your thoughts."

"Thoughts?" You feel some heat rise to your cheeks as you recalled your most recent ones, where you were just thinking how attractive he was in his new suit.

"What thoughts?" You asked nervously.

"About the food, specifically this pasta dish. You said you were looking forward to this the most," he said.

"Oh! Yes, yes I was," you laughed as you mentally sighed with relief. "I really like how it tastes. The grated cheese blends really well with the sweet tomato sauce and you don't get tired of the pasta because the meat and the mushroom mixed with the sauce brings out a harmonious flavor. It's really, really delicious!"

Your words elicited a smile from Azul. "I'm glad. Maybe I should take note of this and make some recipe changes at Mostro Lounge."

You giggled at his response as you brought your fork to your mouth and continued to eat the spaghetti. There were a few seconds of silence before Azul spoke again.

"Ah! There is something I'd like to ask you, sweetheart." He placed his elbows on top of the table as his chin settled on top of his clasped hands.

"What is it?" You asked after swallowing down your food. As you looked at him, you noticed how his eyes have a mischievous glint in them.

Please don't tell me he noticed.

"I am rather curious as to why you were staring so hard at me earlier." A smirk evident on his face.

He knows.

A blush adorned your cheeks as you averted your eyes away from him.

"Uhm, well.."

"Well?" He hummed teasingly, his signature smirk never leaving his face.

"I know I already said it earlier but," you turned to stare directly into his blue eyes while still blushing. "You look really handsome, Azul."

The way you said it so sincerely with that lovestruck look in your eyes and that shy, but lovely smile of yours had Azul blushing. He couldn't help but adjust his glasses, an attempt to hide the crimson hue dusting his cheeks.

"Ah, that's.." You definitely caught him off guard with your straightforward answer. He coughed into his hand as he composed himself. "I am truly flattered. Thank you for the compliment, my dear." Azul flashed you a smile, a genuine one.

"And I must say again," he continued as he took hold of your hand. "You look gorgeous, sweetheart. Absolutely gorgeous as always." His eyes never left yours as he gently brought your hand to his lips.

Oh, how your heart melted.

"Azul~" You cupped your cheek with your free hand as you looked away from him once more, feeling bashful, as your blush intensified.

Azul felt a swell of pride within him to be able to draw out such a cute reaction from you. All because of him. He chuckled at your pretty and cute self as he squeezed your hand. This caused you to look back at him, and you could see the warm, loving gaze in his eyes as he smiled at you softly. You returned his smile with your own as you squeezed his hand back.

Afterwards, the two of you resumed eating while engaging in pleasant conversations. It was a light hearted moment.

As you brought another fork of spaghetti into your mouth, you noticed how one strand was longer than the rest. You leaned forward against the table, following that one strand of pasta, only to come close to your lover's face. The other end was in his mouth.

The two of you were frozen, eyes staring at each other.

It was like you were in Pocky game, except instead of a Pocky stick, you had a single strand of pasta connecting the two of you.

You still didn't move, but Azul did.

His eyes fluttered down to your lips before closing the distance, biting on the strand, and giving you a soft, tender kiss.

Your eyes flew shut as you savored the sweet moment. It made your heart race and your mind blank except for the feeling of his lips on your own.

The kiss lasted a few seconds before he pulled away from you.

"You were right," said Azul.

"Huh?" Your eyes blinked in confusion.

"I didn't get to say it earlier but the spaghetti is indeed quite.. delicious." He caressed your cheek gently before holding your chin between his fingers, his thumb grazing your lower lip. "Especially from your lips."

You were positive your face was as red as the sweet spaghetti sauce.

"Maybe I should have some more." His voice was low and suggestive, a teasing smile on his face.

You were definitely a blushing mess right now as your heart thumped loudly inside your chest.

His smooth words and suave actions tugged greatly at your heartstrings.

All because of a single strand of sweet spaghetti.

..but that doesn't mean you didn't like it.

#azul ashengrotto x reader #azul ashengrotto #twisted wonderland x reader #twisted wonderland #escha writes🩷

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samwisethewitch · 1 year

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Mushroom Broth Recipe

There's a pretty simple backstory here: I wanted to make soup, but when I went to buy groceries the store was out of both vegetable broth and bouillon, but had mushrooms on sale. I did some Internet searching and learned that making your own broth is pretty simple and easy, so I decided to try making my own mushroom broth to use as a substitute for vegetable broth in my recipes.

In my Internet searching, I also learned the actual difference between a broth and a stock. Although most people use the words interchangeably, stock is traditionally made from bones, while broth is made with meat and/or vegetables. This is kind of fun, because it means that "bone broth" is actually, by definition, bone stock, and "vegetable stock" doesn't exist.

This recipe is my own creation but it's very, very flexible. You can swap out the vegetables and herbs to suit your own tastes. If you wanted to, you could switch the brown mushrooms for a trendier medicinal mushroom, like reishi or chaga, or for whatever your grocery store has. You could also use the same method to make other homemade broths, like vegetable broth or chicken broth.

Ingredients:

One carton of brown mushrooms (these are sometimes labeled baby bella mushrooms or crimini mushrooms)

One onion, roughly chopped

[optional] One cup of dry white wine (I used chardonnay)

8 cups water

Dried thyme, to taste

Salt and pepper, to taste

Garlic powder, to taste

Olive oil or another cooking oil

Recipe:

Saute the mushrooms in olive oil over medium heat for 10 minutes.

While the mushrooms are cooking, go ahead and chop the onion. I like to leave the skin on when I'm making broth (it adds a really nice color), but you can remove it if you want.

Add the onions to the pan, and saute for another 10 minutes (or 20 minutes if you decide to skip the next step).

Add your white wine, stir everything together and let it simmer for (you guessed it!) another 10 minutes to let the alcohol cook off.

Add 8 cups of water to the pot with your mushrooms. Add the thyme, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Turn the heat up to high.

When the water comes to a boil, turn the heat down to low and cover the pot with a lid. Let simmer for at least 2 hours.

When your broth is done simmering, use a sieve to strain out the mushroom and onion chunks and transfer the liquid to a clean container. Store the container in the fridge and use it in the same ways you would use vegetable, chicken, or beef broth when cooking.

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sunflowertherian · 1 year

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Tips for caninekin

These are just things that have worked for me as a wolfdog, so feel free to suggest things or give feedback!

1. Make a nest indoors. Use pillows, plushes, lots of blankets, and maybe some clothes. Make it comfortable, maybe make it like a “fort” so you can crawl inside, or one you can lie on if you’d prefer. If you don’t want others you live with to know of your alterhuman status, I suggest making a nest late at night, and sleeping in it until morning, then undoing it.

2. Make a den outdoors. The den can involve a nest as well! A forest, a park, a field, a riverbank, maybe even a bench. Wherever feels freeing, and feels like home. If your den is in a forest or field- somewhere private and more wild -make small alterations to suit your tastes. Claw in your initials, make a snow- or moss nest, dig a comfortable pit to lie in, or anything else. If it’s in public and, well, public, spend time there doing more discrete activities if you prefer. Maybe journal about your theriotype, draw yourself, or bring things that remind you of yourself to relax.

3. Dog stuff. You knew it was coming. Collars and chew toys, right? Well, sorta. There are also paw warmers, small accessories, trinkets to put on your backpack instead of collar, a shorter leash to make your keys more noticeable in your bag, and you could sew dog booties into clothes for extra storage. Don’t let yourself be limited to collars and toys; there are a lot more options out there- even if collars and toys are great too.

4. Listen to your theriotypes calls, and replicate them. Be it yipping, howling, snarling, barking, or laughing, replicating the sounds while listening to them can be soothing and make you feel included. If you cannot join in, listening to the noises can be soothing in and of itself, as well.

5. Wear affirming clothes. It can be clothes that somehow involve your species (like a graphic t-shirt), clothes that are the same color as your fur or body, or that just feel like the correct clothing. I tend to like looser clothes that are very neutral, but other may prefer clothes that make them look like themselves more. Patches are also wonderful for clothes and accessories. Choose a pair of old jeans and just go to town with patches, sewing, and painting; it feels great. You can also decorate your bag for school with pins, drawings, and similar items.

6. If you can or want to, do quads! Not only can you walk around like your theriotype, it’s also a shockingly good workout. Just make sure your form is good and you don’t go too fast, as to prevent injury!

7. Yarn tail time! Make an accurate one to your body size if possible, or make a smaller tail to hook onto your backpack.

8. Forage stuff to eat, or to decorate. From edible flowers like dandelions, to wood sorrel, to maybe even mushrooms if you have the knowledge, there are a lot of things you can just eat outside. Eating wild grown foraged items, either on their own or in a salad or similar, feels freeing in a way hard to describe in my experience. You can also gather twigs, pine cones, nuts, and similar items to make things out of, or make your room/den more comfortable!

9. Draw paw prints of your specific theriotype. Try to make it as accurate as possible. Draw it on paper, on your pants, on your palms, or on your shoes- anywhere you like. They are your paws, and it can feel safer when you can visibly see your correct paws type, in my experience.

10. Shake after getting wet. This is also something that’s a-ok to do in public, which I really enjoy. Coming in after it has rained, getting out of the shower, or drying off after swimming in a lake- it feels great!

11. Make treats. No, not necessary dog treats. It can be chunks of shaggily cut bell pepper, pieces of meat to gnaw on, and other treats that don’t feel “human”. It can be the classic “seeds and peanut butter shaped as a dog bone”, or a whole cucumber that your tear apart. Use it as a reward for doing good, or just eat it when you want to.

12. If you like gnawing, get a chew stim toy. It’s less harmful than most other things you could be gnawing on, and works quite well for molars!

13. Claim some territory. It can be your house, or a place in the forest, or your room. Allow only those you want to to come in. Chase out creatures you do not want in. Create a marker along the edges of the territory, for example a specific cloth color tied on trees, if needed.

#therian #therian care guide #caninekin #wolfkin #dogkin #puppykin #coyotekin #jackalkin #dingokin #canine therian #therian tips #caninekin tips #alterhuman #therianthropy #wolf therian #dog therian #nonhuman

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harlequinchaos · 11 months

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Tears of the Kingdom tips for surviving the new economy and whatnot, under the cut (in case of spoilers)

Adventuring Tip: STEALTH IS YOUR FRIEND

Once you get to Kakariko Village you can buy the Stealth Suit (Highly recommend doing the connected sidequest to bring the cost of the shop down). This makes it so you can walk up to fish, bugs, and creatures without them running away (if you sprint they'll still run) this is AMAZING for collecting these things as everything seems way more sparse in totk. No more chasing frogs for you my friend.

Food Tip: Critical Meals

Cooking between 11:30pm-12:00pm on the night of a blood moon gives you:

+3 hearts recovered to your dish

+1 level to whatever effect is present in your dish

+5:00 duration to the effect

Rupee Tip: Go Spelunking!

One of the biggest features in totk are the new caves systems that are literally everywhere. Oftentimes you'll find ore deposits and rare ore deposits and find Amber, Opal, Rubies, Sapphires and Topazes. Sell them for cash (I recommend saving sapphires, see below). If you see a wall of breakable rocks, usually it will drop rusty claymores and rocks for you to make more crude hammers. But a bomb flower or zonai time bomb work too (DON'T BLOW YOURSELF UP). Additionally, a cave will be marked with a ✔️ once you kill the bubblfrog inside.

Battle tip: Ice is OP.

Frozen enemies take double damage from your next hit, so try to always have a Magic Rod/Scepter with a sapphire fused to it, fusing a sapphire to a regular weapon works as well, but you're not aiming to hit the enemy with the source of the ice. Freeze > pause and switch to your strongest weapon> hit the enemy > switch back to your ice weapon > repeat to stunlock the enemy, works on everything that isn't a Lynel or Boss. Using Ice Fruit or Blue Chuchu jelly works too, but stuff is more rare in this game.

Relatively Easy Rupees:

You'll need:

-Bow & arrows (the stronger the bow the better)

-Sheild (for sheild surfing)

-Cold Resistance Armor (to survive)

-Speedy Elixir (optional, but it'll REALLY help)

-Access to Snowfield Stable (Hebra Region)

What you're gonna be doing is big game hunting in the snowy field north of the stable. All winter animals are capable of dropping Raw Gourmet Meat which is the best quality, including moose, the bears and the wolves. Sheild surf to get around quicker and then go for headshots with a bow and just hunt the animals for their meat. You'll want the speedy Elixir because you have to be pretty quick between the meat dropping and freezing. Once it's frozen it counts as a meal, but you literally get hundreds of rupees by selling 5 Raw Gourmet Meats cooked together.

Item Management: Brightbloom Mushrooms are the new Apples:

Going off of the previous tip of exploring the cave systems, you'll find Brightbloom Mushrooms almost more than anything else. Eventually you'll want to stop collecting them, but they're the perfect source of quick food fodder. Just cook a bunch together for quick hearts (and the glow effect which is nice in caves).

Advanced Combat Tip: Muddlebuds

If you've been to The Depths, one of the native plants are the Muddlebuds. These make it so enemies will attack each other when thrown (or attached to an arrow). I recommend wearing the stealth gear, sneaking up to a pack or finding a vantage point, and hitting the strongest enemy in the group with a muddlebud arrow. It'll start to attack it's allies, allowing you to sit back and enjoy the show. Note: enemies will still target you if they see you (hence the stealth/vantage point)

These are just a few tips, feel free to add more, and try not to be too spoilery for people who haven't played or haven't gotten far yet!

#totk #tears of the kingdom #zelda totk #zelda tears of the kingdom #zelda #totk tips

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conscydraws · 5 months

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Here's one of my entries for the @mxtxfoodzine done in collaboration with my old friend Aseneth.

And here comes a story how we created it.

The goal was to create a dish that can be a gesture of love and require some dedication to cook. Something that warms you up from within and make you sigh with delight after you are done with the meal. A crispy clay pot rice dish was picked almost randomly. Aseneth saw it and was like yeah, look how wholesome and hearty it looks! It has everything: meat, mushrooms, egg and veggies! Let's make it!

Can't say it was easy tho. Neither of us had clay pots and gas stoves, so it was a quest in itself to find the right pot and an alternative way to cook the dish.

Now I can say with confidence that Asian (Korean) pots for soup or porridge work the best. They are wide and have rounded bottoms which are perfect for fitting the ingredients and forming a crust on rice. And it's nice to eat directly from them.

I've tried a number of crispy clay pot rice recipes. I made my mind that I absolutely must add pork belly there, cause I was confident Wuxian will appreciate it. You have no idea how many ways there are to cook a pork belly in China. I had no idea as well. I've bought and used ingredients which I've never tried before. I've ruined my digestion system in the process of trying variants. And yet everything seemed a bit off. Luckily I've found a recipe of cured pork belly from a 103 old woman, which her granddaughter carefully wrote down and shared with the world. And after several more attempts to squeeze some vegetables into the recipe I finally gave up and took the route of traditional approach with that special cured pork belly. The dish became balanced at last. And marinated veggies served separately turned out to make the best garnish because of their sour taste, which suited the warm meaty, oily and earthy tones of the clay pot rice. Finally I was content. This recipe was designed for Wangji to make. It had to be nothing but perfect. And it should be cooked according to Chinese cuisine traditions.

We also wanted to show how meticulous Wangji can be with cooking. That's why he's looking at the cup like he's up to murder. He's just looking very closely if this is the right amount of broth to add to the rice. The recipe is written in academic style for the same reason.

So yeah, that's the story of our 9-month journey of creating this. Was super fun and exiting, I had perfect excuses to visit my friend more frequently than usual. But at times titiring and frustrating, cause oftentimes things didn't go as planned and were very time consuming. I'm totally up to repeating a similar experience in a year or two tho :D

I'll be very glad if someone will cook this and tell me or show me how it turned out. I hope you'll like it as much as I do! 😁

#conscydraws #mxtxfoodzine #mxtx #mdzs #mo dao zu shi #grandmaster of demonic cultivation #lan wangji #wei wuxian #crispy clay pot rice #chinese cuisine

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novemberhope · 29 days

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Soooo… guess here are my current obsessions One Piece OCs

@auxiliarydetective I did give it a try… not everything is final yet. Lady X and Lady Y don't have a name yet, they just… popped into my brain and never left I guess. I tried to answer their questions as well. Might not be a great introduction like this but it was fun to do and if anyone has different questionaires (or whatever they're called) just tag me.^^

Ideas, criticism, inspiration, all is welcome :) I've never so openly done this tbh

Animal Resemblances Neri: Betta Fish Niara: Emerald Swallowtail Azura: Arctic Fox Cordelia: Bombay Cat Lady X: Splendid Fairy Wren (Not 100% sold on that yet but it will be a beautiful bird) Ginny: Leopard Seal (looks cute but could actually kill you)

Specific Numbers Neri: 5/1/4 (ka – i - yo) (her last name) Niara: 22 (ni - a) Azura: 26 (a - tsu - ra) (eh, close enough^^) Cordelia: 5 10 0 2 (Ko - da - lei - a) (lol again close enough - but the many numbers look weird, this one might definitely change in the future?) Lady X: 3-6-1 (Mirai = future) (it's a vision thing - but might also change if her name happens to fit better when she eventually gets one) Ginny: undefined yet

Specific Colors Neri: turquoise, light blue Niara: pale green, pale pink Azura: white, gold Cordelia: black, red Lady X: white, grey, silver, very pale colors Ginny: a fiercy, angry red

Specific Smells Neri: ocean breeze, salt water Niara: apple & honeysuckle Azura: citron Cordelia: amber Lady X: jasmine Ginny: honey & rose

Favourite Type of Island and Season Neri: summer on a spring island Niara: spring on a summer island Azura: winter on an autumn island Cordelia: autumn on an autumn island Lady X: spring on a winter island Ginny: spring on a spring island

Favourite Food Neri: Seafood Niara: icecream, watermelon, blueberry pancakes, cupcakes Azura: oysters, shellfish, salad, filet mignon Cordelia: sunday roast, fried shrimp, spicy food Lady X: Mushrooms, coffee, asian cuisine Ginny: strawberries, meat, soup

Least Favourite Food Neri: greasy food, meat, alcohol Niara: most vegetables Azura: fast food, cheap food, candy, cake Cordelia: lentils, fish sandwiches, anything with pumpkin Lady X: fried foods, asparagus, ketchup Ginny: rhubarb, olives, brussels sprouts, eggplant

As a Family Neri: the adopted sister that comes from an entirely different culture Niara: cheerful youngest sister, always getting into mieschief Azura: the wine aunt Cordelia: oldest sister, often annoyed at her younger siblings but quick to defend them/come to their rescue Lady X: the mother Ginny: (distant?) cousin

Real-World Nationalities Neri: Danish (as Denmark is associated with the little mermaid) Niara: Dutch (the Netherlands are described as the country of flowers and her devil fruit power is flower-based, so…) Azura: English-Irish (the latter shines through when she's drunk…) Cordelia: Italian Lady X: Japanese Ginny: Scottish

Inner Brain Neri: probably lot's of excitement over various things that are happening around her or that she wants to give a try Niara: having fun with her friends, pretty things she likes, crushes (well one crush in particular) Azura: is annoyed at stuff and/or people half of the time so that's in her head a lot. Also, training. Cordelia: work hard, party harder, looking hot while doing both Lady X: the fate of the world, secrets Ginny: training, anger, distrust, more anger

Suited Flower Neri: water iris Niara: sunflower Azura: white lily Cordelia: amaryllis Lady X: tall garden larkspur Ginny:

Are they Strawhats? Neri: yes Niara: joins after the timeskip The others: no Azura: is a warlord of the sea Cordelia: works at a bar - it would be a different bar in cannon but she could keep her overall story I guess - might have to join a crew at some point though otherwise the characters would move on without her Lady X: is with the revolutinary army (at least for some part of her story) Ginny: is with the revolutinary army

Ideas that first popped into my mind when certain OCs came to exist… Neri: it's a show about pirates, there's GOT to be a mermaid Niara: I want a character that uses a devil fruit mmmh what about plants/flowers (strangely enough, none of my pokemon oc's ever cared much about the grass type lol) Azura: I want a cool sword fighting lady Cordelia: I want a hot fierce type of character that looks good in black and that doesn't take anyone's crap Lady X: came into the picture much later, still hasn't gotten a name, i only recently decided somewhat on her looks, only things I know for sure is pale green eyes and can sort of see the future. Might never make it into any kind of story but she popped into my mind so here we go. Ginny: falls into the category "looks cute but can probably kill you".

Made some Picrew of them coz I saw other creators doing that

Neri:

Niara: (fun fact, she's currently one of my favorites)

Azura:

Cordelia:

Lady Y: (I'm almost certain I'm gonna keep the color palette and probably the hair...)

Ginny: (not her final look probably but I kinda want to keep the scars idk)

I took her pictures out because I decided on a different look for her. She will be a redhead now. She definitely has a scar or two on her face.

Bonus: A picture drawn by @indig0pearl featuring Neri and her own OC, Sora, as well as Nami, Robin, Chopper, and three of our friends (here also draw as OCs - yes the alpaka is one of them, she ate a devil fruit^^)

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sachyriel · 6 months

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Party

Light appetizers, little bits of hard and soft cheese, pickles, meat or fish, onions green and red, apples and pears, jams and nut butters on crackers on plates prepared for guests on side tables lined up North and South walls.

Bit of drink in every cup. From virgin fruit punch to gin and tonics, help yourself to the bar at the East and West corners of the room. The bars are well stocked and besides them is the mix table with non alcoholic drinks if you like. The bars are East and West as the sun rises and sets, to remind you to pace yourself if you don't want a hangover.

The refreshments ring is the outside, next comes the art. Arranged according to the Seasons we have Autumn at the West, where the sun sets and the twilight transitions is best suited. I'm an Autumn baby so this is probably where you find me by default, sitting in a dark red easy chair drinking a craft beer talking about the history of the weather in influencing military campaigns. I forgot to use a coaster, so there's a ring of condensation on the coffee table. It'll leave a mark, small reminder of our times here.

North is where you find the Winter Motif, cool colours like blue snow and Evergreen pines. Air conditioning is the strongest here, but the chairs come with blankets. Hot coffee, tea, and coffee liqueur is found here, hot drinks and the faux fireplace coffee table. Talk is light and breezy, plans for the future are common and easy, now is the time to collaborate our intents and conquer the world. Seize the day, cozy and warm under woolen comfort.

To the East is Springtime, you know it and I know it. Bright colours bursting with life, earthen tones await them all the same. A balance of new life built on the decay of old. Mushrooms show signs of a life after death, their fruiting forms a peek of something hidden under the veil of the surface of the dirt. Flowers attract insects, insects attract birds and at night bats. The new buds of trees show the vulnerability of the eldest trees, and the vigor of the saplings. Drinks here are fruity and bubbly, but to be honest I might spike a peppermint tea with something stronger. The beanbag chairs lounge around a big flat leaf table, with a spilled drink dripping off the side. It's okay it's only water.

.At the South there's the biggest windows, I live in the North so that's where they go to get the best light. The spiciest snacks are here, but also the freshest fruits. A BLT is a tomato sandwich that brought friends. Is the cheese spicy or are the spices cheesy? Yes, that line always gets a laugh like "is it hot enough for ya?". Art here is focused on motion and it's shadow, fulfilling dreams and living life. What are dreams but life's shadow? I've never been one for Caesars or bloody Marys, not a tomato juice guy myself but they're popular here. I'll have a vodka and cucumber water, need something light in the direct sun. Topics of conversation are about immediacy, what we did before the party, how much we swam last week, what cliff we're taking on tomorrow. I swear on the Gods if you touch my Apollo statue again I will curse you with psychic powers, and please stop jumping over the camp fire, it's sacred. The chairs here are Muskoka chairs, Americans call them Airondraks I believe. Besides each is a cooler you can put drinks in and rest your can on the top of, no shared table here we have the fire.

In the middle of the room a spiral staircase, entrance and exit with grace.

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angeryvoidchild · 7 months

Text

Someone might have think that the fic I worked on the longest would be something nice, something well-writen with good themes.

Wrong.

Dark elves becoming high elves.

Act 1 spoilers

Mead

'I wanna get drunk' Vierna exclaimed, looking around the shadow curse-touched lands ahead. The camp snickered. That was becoming a normal way of their favourite drow saying 'this shit sucks' and a bit of an inside joke. Ironically, Vierna got drunk only once since they've begun their journey a couple of weeks ago, when they first entered the Underdark. 'One drink for courage' turned into eight and frankly, no-one blamed them. Trauma was something they all were too familiar with.

But there was one person that wasn't part of the camp long enough to know all of this. Halsin, an archdruid who joined on on their journey just a week before. And most of the week was compareably peaceful: grand theft child, constant bickering between Lae'zel and... Everyone, graverobbing and Gale getting a suicide mission from Mystra. Nothing too bad, so Vierna had no reason to complain about being 'too sober to deal with this shit'.

'I'd fancy a drink as well before putting my feet into the cursed land. Or at least a nice, long rest...' Kay joined in, surprisingly. She was almost like a rock and very goal-oriented. The sorceress rarely let herself indulge in anything. And now, both of their leaders indirectly exclaimed that they needed to prepare themselves before entering the cursed land. Rest welcomed the idea and started preparing camp.

As always, Kay was overseeing it and Vierna started preparing meal. The cooking was mostly between them or Gale, as they were the best at this, but today the wizard was too tired. Life on the road and constant battles were not easy on the man, who was used to comfort. Wyll was on the laundry duty. Astarion was repairing any broken garments. Lae'zel was caring for everyone's blades. Rest was setting up the tents. When everyone was done with their duty, they sat next to the fire and enjoyed Underdark mushrooms and roth meat stew. Comfort food for the drows. That's another thing they all knew, this time even Halsin caught up on it. So when everyone, besides the drows who enjoyed nightly darkness, retired to their tents, he reached info his bag and took out a bottle spiced mead he himself brewed.

'You two complained about needing a good drink. I hope this will suit your tastes' warm smile on druid's face was quite mesmerizing to Vierna. But for Kay, she was only curious about the mead, as she has never drunk it. In any case, both drows let Halsin pour mead into their cup.

'Does this truly has any alcohol in it? It's... Sweet...' wondered Kay. Vierna smiled like the fey-raised bastard they are and nudged Halsin a little. The message was clear. *Don't tell her*. Then warlock started drinking themselves, cheering their best friend as they drank.

In two hours time, everyone wished that Halsin never gave them the mead or at least didn't listen to Vierna and hide it after one cup. Turns out, the spices and herbs in the mead had... Interesting effects on drows. The kind of interesting you'd want to see in lab, with a couple of nice, sturdy layers between you and them.

'I AM DWAGON, HEAR ME WOAR!' Screamed Kay, standing on a big rock and... Breathing fire?! Everyone hoped that it was just a funny manifestation of a cantrip. There were numerous, multi-colored dancing lights everywhere. Wyll was convinced that Lae'zel was on Kay's back for a moment, Kay calling her 'esteemed dwagon knight' before weak drow fell from the rock from githyanki's body and armour throwing off her sense of balance. Forest around was on fire. Some of the tents as well.

'I CAN FLYYYYY!' Kay started to flap her hands, lying in the grass, angry Lae'zel pinned under her body.

On the other end of the camp, thing were only a little bit better. Only about ten summoned sprites, two feywild sparks, and a white harengon that ran off almost immediately, screaming something about being late for the tea. Vierna was puking their guts off, while Astarion was holding their hair and thinking about how in the nine hells can drow barf a rainbow. At least there was no fire over there. But this whole Feywild magic did attract a blight that probably resided in the nearby Shadowlands.

'I'm gonna die, my star...' - Vierna wept, tired from throwing up and using so much of their energy. Astarion swiftly dealed with the blight before returning to the drow's side. He stroked their back, trying to comfort his clearly in-pain lover.

'You won't die, I won't let you die, gods damn you!' snickered vampire, but in his voice was a note of panic. This is bad. So bad on so many levels.

'Awww... You care...' Vierna tried to sound sarcastic, but the results were pitiful. Like a wet kitten. They almost lost consciousness, but loud whistle startled them awake.

'KARLACH, GET YOURSELF TOGETHER WE DON'T NEED SECOND SOURCE OF FIRE HERE!' Shadowheart was tirelessly putting off fires with her "create water" ability. The barbarian with the whistle source in place of her heart was nervously trying to get Kay off Lae'zel without burning any of them.

'It's easier said than done, soldier!'

'Vlaakith damn all of you, she has golden dragon blood, you won't hurt her, Karlach! Now get her off of me! How is she weighting this much?" Githyanki was getting impatient. Finally they got Kay up, even if this"up" was wobbly at best. Halsin and Shadowheart finally put out all of the fire. Wyll started to look for the guilty of this whole madness.

Astarion and Gale were supporting unconscious Vierna, shooting glances between each other. The vampire may act frivolous most of the time, but he saw the way Gale was looking at the drow. This filled with love gaze. Astarion needed to admit - he felt threatened. On the other hand, the wizard was jealous, because the charming warlock gave little thoughts to the way they stole poor man's heart, showering nim with care and undersranding and yet... He felt that Vierna's affection lies elsewhere, with the untrusthworthy spawn.

On the girl's side athmosphere was barely better, but from different reasons. Kay was, on contrast to Vierna, very much conscious and overly animated. Screaming about something in drowish, or maybe undercommon, in any case, from context clues (fire) everyone knew it was continuation of her dragon... Well, not exacly delushions, she WAS dragon-blood sorceress after all. They've made a quick decision that putting her to sleep would be best. They had one singular potion of angelic slumber and that was the only thing able to do the trick. The spiced mead may have put one of the drows to sleep, but risking fuelling Kay's trip wasn't worth using that method.

When both the drows were deeply unconscious, everyone was exhausted.

'Can we all agree to NOT give them any drugs ever again?' asked Shadowheart, making sure that if anything happens, the drows won't hurt themselves.

'Absolutely.'

'Without a doubt.'

'I'd sooner become a vegetarian.'

'Not even Vlaakith could make me do it.'

'Avernus is preferable to dealing with this.'

'The currents of fate will be smoother if today's events won't reaccur.'

'Today events were a mistake.'

#bg3 #baldur's gate 3 #bg3 tav #tav #astarion #drow oc #baldurs gate astarion #halsin #karlach #wyll ravengard #lae'zel #gale dekarios #hot mess #vierna vorpalblade #shadowheart #halsin's weed is too strong

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hylianmewmew · 14 days

Text

b&b au - flesh & thorn: ch 3 - crystalline

teehee heres this weeks update! im zooming through these chapters so ive got a bit of a back log cant wait to share the other chapters with yall

Almost immediately after Keeper and Ravio had left the room Spirit had grabbed a gold headpiece off a stack of books to inspect. The metal burned Spirit’s hand, making him hiss in pain but tried to keep quiet. He quickly drew water using his magic from a basin in the kitchen and applied it to his hand, muttering swears under his breath.

“WHO. FUCKING. TOUCHED. MY. SHIT?” Keeper stormed back into the living room, eyes ablaze with an unnecessary amount of rage for the situation. “OUT. GET OUT. OFF WITH YOU ALL! I DON’T WANT TO SEE YOU AGAIN UNTIL I’M DONE WITH YOUR GEAR!”

Ravio leaned against a wall, admiring his partner go off on Spirit. “She told you not to touch anything.” He huffed amusedly.

Spirit’s eyes watered, giving Keeper puppy eyes as he clutched his injured hand. “Ok, well you didn’t mention; one, that you have super skills to detect whenever your shit’s being touched and two, that you just keep magical items just laying about. Warn a guy!”

Keeper rolled its eyes. “I shouldn’t have to warn you, I said don’t touch my shit! Now get out!! Spirit has ruined it for the group.” She spun on her heel, leaving the room once more.

Spirit stomped off, slamming the front door behind him. Hare shrugged and followed suit, they didn’t want to get yelled at too.

Sky hovered for a moment as they all filed out the door. “Great first impression there. We just started this quest, please don’t make enemies with our comrades already. You should probably apologize, Keeper seemed pretty pissed.”

Shaking his head, Spirit just walked off in the direction of Kakariko. “Yeah, whatever.”

Walking through Kakariko proved to be more entertaining than watching Keeper yell at Spirit. Wanderer was admiring all the different colors of fabric and spices as they all followed Sky through the vendor streets. The smells of spices and grilled food drew Wanderer in next to a booth, grabbing Hare’s arm to come closer. Hare’s eyes grew wide, spotting a skewer with meat and mushrooms.

“Oh! I need to eat that right now.” Hare became bug-eyed, staring at the skewer until they finally decided to buy one. It immediately devoured the entire thing with a feral energy Wanderer was intimidated by. With a mouthful of food, “You NEED to try this Wanderer, it’s so good.”

“Hare, I can barely understand you, chew first talk later. Also, by the Goddesses slow down!” Wanderer snorted before also ordering a skewer. He was equally as delighted by the food as Hare, but less expressive about it.

previous chapter ♡ next chapter

#loz #legend of zelda #tloz #the legend of zelda #blood and bramble au #mew au #mew fics #b&b au #links meet au

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shapeshifterrr · 4 months

Text

TV.

. CHAPTER 1 / 2

Content: T rating / Shin x Noi / mess and headache / light angst / This fic takes place after chapter167, the final one. Unquestionably, spoiler alert / Enjoy the light reading / too much thinking

Summary: ▓░▓░▓░▓▓▓▓░▓░░░▓▓▓▓▓░░▓▓▓░▓▓░▓▓▓▓ ▓▓▓▓▓▓▓░▓░▓░▓▓░░▓▓▓▓▓▓░▓▓▓▓░▓░▓░▓▓▓▓░▓░░░▓▓▓▓▓░░▓▓▓░▓▓░▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓░▓░▓░▓▓░░▓▓▓▓▓▓░▓▓▓▓░▓░▓░▓▓▓▓░▓░░░▓▓▓▓▓░░▓▓▓░▓▓░▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓░▓░▓░▓▓░░▓▓▓▓▓▓░▓▓▓... too much thinking

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. ThereboutsVanished

Ordinary night, quiet and dark enough to merge within, Shin likes it that way. Taking off his black suit and his mask, both are submerged in blood of those he murdered. In his apartment, there’s only him alone after he’s done with his job, he’d want nothing to do with anyone.

“Is this it?” he looks outside the window “This is my life?” he shakes off his head to forget. Those weird new thoughts going through his mind, where did those weird questions came from anyway? In the bathroom, the water runs on his blood filled hands but it takes some time till he can see his hands without blood again. The mirror reflects a tired face with some scars around, he has not even sensed something injuring his face “tsk, I’d tell Noi to fix it later” he mutters to himself— he stopped for a second then continued to wash his clothes.

On the bed he rest under a warm blanket, his head is drowned in insoluble noise “What’s wrong with me?” it is starting to irritate him, this state of unknown agitation have been a constant occurrence since they’ve ended everything in Hole. That massive ‘hole’ monster, whatever it was, it got purged and with that many new things has branched. He press on the bridge of his nose, press his palms against his forehead, and take a big sigh out. Maybe the overwhelming pressure of that time still got him, but he’s fine. Shin is fine, it’s whatever.

Shin blames every inconvenience on his human genes, would he be feeling stable if he were fully a sorcerer? But if he were not half human he would’ve lived a very different life back then, an ordinary hole civilian— “stop, this is dumb” – what if he were a full sorcerer?! Would En, his boss, raise his wage? And what about En’s cousin, Noi? Would he have had a chance with— “AAGh!” Shin sits up on the bed “am I hungry?” He went on to the fridge to get something to eat, he turned the TV on and adjusted the volume high enough to not hear himself thinking “Why am I acting weird? I’m fine!? Did something hit my head- no”

There was meat pie leftover, taste fantastic, thick seasoned gravy that oozes out of the pie’s shortcrust pastry and the minced meat— with mushroom… (of course, it’s from En’s chosen pie shop inside his massive ‘city’ inside the palace) It tastes rich and filling, something he’d have never knew the taste of had he not found this job a—-- Shin picks the phone to order some more, that pie is so well made he could chomp 10 at the same time, right now, instead of sleeping. Anything, just get the unbearable noise out of his head.

A sunny morning

Shin wakes up with a severe headache; he lingers on bed for an hour waiting for it to get better. Maybe the meat pies were a bad idea. The atmosphere in En’s mansion is still in shambles, after all the theft, wreckage and absolute desolation happened on the hands of the crosseye gang. It might be fine for him to just stay in bed and rest, since his boss’s entire focus is solely fixed on the restoration of his mansion lately, which would require at least a full year to finish. Shin those days has to deal with the few sorcerers left causing tension beside the ones left making threats opposing his boss.

Very still and reposed, Shin’s eyes looks up at the ceiling, his apartment is filled with quiet static sounds. The little rays of sunlight snuck above and through the curtains, reaching the blanket he rests comfortably beneath. The rays were nice and warm resting on his hand, as if the sun is propelling him to wake up. In his head he repeats “I have to wake up” His headache seems to only get worse, he close his eyes inevitably, gradually falling asleep again. Overthinking is not his speciality.

A grand change just happened before everyone’s eyes recently, the world has shifted up and down with no remorse, perplexing all of what was known the norm. Sorcerers and humans today are considered allies, what does that even look like. Shin in the back of his mind; sensing something peculiar, this new headache that lasted longer than his ability to ignore it.

Outside Shin’s apartment, Noi stood. Confused of what could have happened to Shin, she knocks on the door very loud “SENPAI!” “Something happened to you?!”

“…”

Noi warns “I’m going to break the door, excuse me-” the door opened and left half open, Noi gently pushes the door in to see Shin sitting on the edge of the bed. Being super quiet, well he is a cool guy but this is dead silence. Noi stands before him, looking around “Nothing… I thought someone attacked you, it’s not usual for you to wake up this late.” “…”

Noi crouches then look at him “Are you ok? You need some… uh, coffee? You love coffee”

“I’m fine, you go and I’ll come in 5 minutes”

She notice the scars on his face from last night “Wait, your face, let me heal that” Shin refuses saying “It’s just some scratches, don’t bother now” backing a little knowing she’s not going to listen, he’s not in the mood. She grip his face with her large strong hand as he try to escape “Hold on!” she said irritated, clenching his wrist while he’s pulling his arm away to release it. All the tussling led Noi to trip and fall on top of him on the bed. Instantly she put her forearms to lift herself off him “Sorry, Senpai!”

Few seconds of silence down on the soft bed and her fluffy longhair falls on his face. Embarrassed, he looks away; she’s so strong and huge while he’s too tired to quarrel. Letting her use her black smoke to heal him or whatever, just be done with this – “Ok, I’ll do it now” Noi says nonchalant on top of him, she blows some black smoke out of her lips and cure those scars.

After, as soon as she’s done, his hands on both her shoulders pushing her off him. Noi falls to the other side of the bed saying, “If you weren’t so stubborn”

Shin sigh, standing up to grab his suit, his back to her “Now let me get done, I’m coming in 5 minutes” He said in his typical cool tone.

“YOU HAD MEAT PIES AND DIDN’T EVEN TELL ME?!” Noi suddenly says after seeing the multiple boxes on his bedside

“Why would I tell you?” He ask

“I really love meat pies”

“… The shop is nearby go get pies on your own, idiot—” “Now get out”

Noi have no idea what’s wrong with him. Outside, she wonders if that’s just another one of those days when he becomes… more distant than before? Going around the wrecked halls of the mansion, thinking: ‘Shin is acting weird today 1. He overslept 2. He ate millions of meat pies IN THE MIDDLE OF NIGHT 3. He didn’t tell me about his late night feast 4. He didn’t tell me to fix his injuries 5. He doesn’t want coffee? 6. He did NOT have coffee this morning?!’ – Strange enough, but when Noi thinks about it, he’s been definitely acting strange these days, he’s her partner and so she believes her instinct when she sense something is wrong with him. She can’t point out what is it though; maybe the state of the destroyed mansion got him upset? Maybe something important was stolen from his room during all that mess. Noi stops at some room that’s cluttered with dust, garbage and ruined furniture

“Ugh, the vibes are off after all what the crosseyed did, that Hole thing, whatever it was” She looks at the broken ceiling where the big glistening chandeliers used to be “How long will this take to fix?”

Behind her stood little Ebisu calling “Noi”, Noi turns and pet her head “What’s up?”

“I want to play video games but no one wants to play with me” Noi looks around “I guess, there’s nothing to do- let’s go”

They both went to Ebisu’s room that’s still covered in broken glass, yanked door, flipped bed and table

Noi says “Damn, En didn’t tell his workers to clean your room yet??”

Ebisu near her console clicking buttons, getting the second controller. They both sit on a boulder near the TV, which its screen is nearly giving up.

Noi wasn’t super into the game that Ebisu plays but somehow she was good at the game and kept beating Ebisu. Cheering, screaming, laughing, sometimes having little argue while gaming for a while. Noi turned her head a little off the screen and the sun is already setting, time went by so fast “Ooah!” “I got to go”

“WHyyy!?” Ebisu started crying “NOOOooooo”

“I have to go check on Senpai”

“Why? Is he sick???”

“… hm” Noi thinks for a second “He might be sick!” Then Noi swiftly stands up and leaves while Ebisu is crying for attention.

“Where is he?” Noi walks around the wreckage, “Ugh he surly is wondering where I went” she can’t find him anywhere in this huge mansion and she only searched 5% of it. Shin usually hangs outside when he’s waiting for something so Noi went to that area but to no avail, it was empty. Maybe En sent him on a mission without telling her, that idea alone boiled her blood, she went to En’s office “EN!!!”

En is sitting comfortably on a cozy chair by the huge desk “Hm? Noi why are you here? Did you two forget to keep guarding t-” Noi cuts his slow talking “Where’s senpai????”

He raises an eyebrow “what do you mean? He disappeared?”

“No, your stupid big cluttered mansion makes it hard to find anyone”

“humph” he sighs “We’re working on that, it’d take sometime to clear and restore my precious mansion. In the meantime you two make sure to keep the—” She cuts him off again

“You talk too slow for me, just say did you send him on a mission alone?!”

“No”

“ugh” Noi sighs

En grabs his warm cup of coffee saying “If he’s not outside protecting the—” Noi cuts him off for the third time “Stop repeating stuff, we’re on it”

En gets irritated of the constant interruption, how rude “Noi, if you need to find your partner, you can sense where they’re at. It’s easy. The contract signed inside both of you should be the key to figuring out the destination you need to be. Just calm down and take a deep breath (slow inhale, slow exhale) like that, do it with me (inhale, exhale). It’s necessary to control your anger, I personally, find it hard to sense my partner when I’m not stable. You’re so mad for some reason you need to regain your focus and try to sense y—”

Noi leaves saying “You’re annoying me, I can’t sense SH*T” slamming the door behind her

……………………

………..…………. En “Did she just-”

▓░▓░▓░▓▓▓▓░▓░░░▓▓▓▓▓░░▓▓▓░▓▓░▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓░▓░▓░▓▓░░▓▓▓▓▓▓░▓▓▓

#dorohedoro #fic #Shin x Noi #fanfiction #writing #Shin #Noi

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12timetraveler · 1 year

Note

Okay this is the same anon who loves angst 😭 idk if you’re taking asks rd so feel free to ignore this but how do u think Charles would react to his wife dying? I saw a headcanon that he’d never remarry and I wanted to know your thoughts bc you’re my fav writer!

The Other Shoe Drops

Short sprint

Summary:

Once he sees the Marston's settled in, Charles heads North to find his own peace.

This piece can be read in it's entirety below or on AO3

"Life's always confused me. I don't feel I understand it very much. Other human beings seem to understand why they were born but, for me… it seems like I was born to hurt and suffer myself. That doesn't always seem like a really good reason. I wish there was another way."

~~~~~~~~~

Every time Charles thought maybe, just maybe he was past the hurt, that he finally found something good, life always seemed to wait until he was happiest before pulling the rug out from under him.

At first he'd found some semblance of happiness with Arthur. The two of them never really defined their relationship, or went very far with it. Mostly it was just moments outside of camp or behind wagons, occasional hunting trips to worship each other. But that suited them both just fine.

Then Arthur had started coughing, and within a month he was gone and Charles was alone.

After that he returned to the kind of life he’d lived before the Van der Linde gang. Living as a lone wolf, floating from place to place, doing what he had to in order to survive. Always he carried that hurt with him, added it onto the hurt of losing his parents, of being alone, all those scars.

Nearly a decade passed before he found someone again. He'd always liked both men and women, and after he'd seen the Marston's settled, he wanted to find a home of his own. Somewhere to lay down roots. Someone to lay roots with. He headed north to Canada, hoping maybe there would be someone waiting there.

Chief Rains Fall had welcomed him to stay with the tribe any time he wanted. Some days he’d take him up on that offer; put up his tent on the edge of the tribe's teepees and cabins and settle down for a day or two at most. But usually he just wandered the wilderness, hunting meat to survive and pelts to sell.

And then he'd found you. You were more than he could ever have imagined. So bright and kind, so strong and fierce. You’d caught his eye the moment he saw you in town, not too far from where the Wapiti tribe had settled. He came into town looking to sell some pelts to the local butcher, and there you were outside the general store, looking at pumpkins.

He’d been frozen in place as he looked at you, and he swore his heart started beating for the first time in nearly ten years.

The butcher followed his gaze down the road and gave Charles a knowing smile.

“She’s a perdy one, huh mister?” the butcher chuckled. “Good luck winning her over, though. She’s a local spinster. Refuses to take a husband. Just tends her little farm and gathers local mushrooms or plants to sell.”

You were in your early thirties, just a couple years younger than Charles. For a lady that certainly did make you an old maid. But you liked it just fine that way. You were friendly, kind, but had long given up on finding anyone who would simply let you be you. No if you were to marry you’d be expected to keep a house and rely on your man. And why would you want to do that, when you were a financially independent, self-sufficient woman?

You’d noticed the man around the area the last few weeks. Spotted him riding on the road by your house, even noticed his beautiful appaloosa horse out in the forest once while looking for some local mushrooms, though the rider seemed to be away tracking something on foot. You’d given the stallion a carrot and continued about your own business. Never had you had a moment to talk to the man himself.

So when you spotted the mysterious stranger staring at you down the road, you decided to take it upon yourself to make the introductions. The butcher, an old family friend, was all too happy to help with that.

“This is Charles Smith,” He said after you’d approached and said your hellos. “He’s a new trapper ‘round here,”

“It’s a pleasure,” you said, introducing yourself and shaking the man’s hand. “It’s a dying art, trapping game and using the pelts,” you remarked. “I’m glad to see someone keeping up with it,”

“Nature provides everything we could want, so long as we only take what we need,” The man said. Oooo his voice sent shivers up your spine, so deep and beautiful.

“I couldn’t agree more,” You said, reaching into your basket and pulling out a jar of honey, “Here. It’s from my beehives. Think of it as a welcoming gift,” You said, pushing the honey into the man’s hands before he could protest. “I hope I’ll see you around, Mr. Smith,” With a friendly nod and a wave to the butcher, you turned and walked back up the road to your little cart, setting your basket beside you and setting off for home.

The next time Charles saw you, you were visiting the reservation, trading some honey and preserves and late-season vegetables for some furs. Apparently you and Chief Rain’s Fall were good friends, and you would often trade with them. IT was mutually beneficial. The pelts from the tribe were often far superior than any you’d buy in town, and the items you grew on your farm or found in the areas around often helped them through the winter.

Chief Rain’s Fall was eager to make sure the two of you knew each other. Charles didn’t miss the twinkle in the old man’s eye. Who would have thought the great Chief would enjoy playing matchmaker? But he seemed determined that you two know each other. Perhaps he knew long before either of you how it would end up.

“It is getting late. You can spend the night if you wish,” Rain’s fall said as you turned to mount your horse and leave.

“I’ll be fine,” You assured him.

“At least allow Mr. Smith to see you home safe,” he said, looking over at Charles.

“I’d be happy to,” Charles said with a small nod. “Roads can get dangerous at night. No one should be traveling alone,”

Normally you’d decline such an offer but you couldn’t deny you wanted to spend more time with Charles.

“Alright. Thank you,”

It was quite a pleasant ride home, the two of you talking a little, though the conversation was never forced.

Two days later Charles showed up on your porch with a beautiful fox pelt.

“I, erm... I wanted to thank you for the honey and uh... Chief’s Rain’s Fall told me you use the furs to make things to get through the winter. So um... here,” He bashfully held out the pelt, all tanned and ready to be used. He looked almost embarrassed, but you just smiled and invited him in for supper.

Over the winter the two of you became fast friends. You’d go out together hunting and gathering. On the stormy days you’d stay indoors and craft items and swap stories. By spring you’d told him if he fixed up the old cabin on the edge of your property, he could live there.

Summer came and the whole town was watching as the two of you spent more and more time together. They all expected you two to jump at any chance to get together. It was obvious you were made for each other. But to the local gossips’ dismay, you remained fast friends and nothing more.

It wasn’t until a late summer storm that either of you acted on your feelings. The rain was beating down on your roof. Charles was sitting with you by the fire, crafting arrows while you sorted the berries you’d gathered.

They do say that it happens more often during big storms like this. You weren’t sure what kickstarted it all. But suddenly you were crossing the room, sitting yourself on Charles’ lap, and kissing him fiercely. Without missing a beat he kissed you back. Once he swept his freshly crafted arrows aside, he lay you down on the couch and the two of you made love.

You spent the next year courting, neither of you in any huge rush to make it official. You spent another winter, spring and summer by each other’s sides, more than friends now, but not yet married.

With fall came a surprise, and, well small towns are not very friendly to women who have children out of wedlock. It wouldn’t be the first thing you did to upset the town, but why deal with the stress when the father was the man you loved beyond reason, and he was ready to marry you in a moment?

You knew with Charles you wouldn’t be confined to the house. You and he would share all the load. He promised it. Even without his word, you knew he was different from the other men around. He respected you, loved you beyond anything you’d ever thought was real. And so you were married before the first snowfall.

With summer came your first child, a daughter. Charles was completely wrapped around her finger from her first breath. Many nights you found him sitting by the window just holding her, telling her all the things of the world until long after she fell asleep.

Once you were feeling up to it, you returned to your routine of gathering plants and mushrooms from the woods while Charles checked his snares. Your daughter was always strapped to one of your backs, just watching her parents work or dozing in her sling.

Two years later a son joined your little family. A small part of you feared Charles may love the son more than his daughter, as many men would. But he loved them both equally. Often he’d be wandering the house with your son swaddled and sleeping in the crook of one arm while your daughter sat on his waist, arms wrapped around her Pa’s neck. He’d try to do chores or whatnot like that, with only one hand somewhat free. But if you ever asked him to hand you one of the kids to help free up his hands he'd just hold them both closer and shake his head. He'd rather be useless than let one of his babies go.

You claimed that your two children were the best gifts he'd ever given you, but he was fairly certain it was the other way around. He'd done so little in their creation but they, along with you, were his whole world.

For years you were all happy. You and Charles watched your children grow, taught them how to get what they needed from nature. Charles told them watered down versions of his adventures with Arthur and his old friends. You laughed, played, worked, toiled, and lived, all together as a family.

When your daughter was 16 and your son 14, the unthinkable happened.

You developed a cough. A horrible cough that would shake your entire body. At first you shrugged it off as just a cold, but soon it became apparent that it was not just something you could shake off with rest.

You’d never seen Charles look more upset than when the local doctor gave you his diagnosis.

Tuberculosis.

There were treatments nowadays. Not even a year after Arthur's passing a cure for TB had been found. The moment you'd been diagnosed you started treatments. Followed every doctor's order to a T. But for one reason or another, it didn't work. You just got weaker and weaker.

You fought for a year, but never could quite shake the illness. You grew thin, almost skeleton-like. Charles was as devoted as ever, doing his best to take care of you while still going out and hunting and parenting the two children.

One night, your body seemed it couldn’t fight it anymore, and you slipped away, your children kneeling on one side of your bed, your husband on the other.

Charles knelt by your grave long after all others had left. Your neighbor, a kindly older lady who knew you since you were a teenager, took the kids home with her after the funeral, knowing Charles would come for them later, but also knowing he needed some time alone at your grave. It was obvious to anyone who looked at him that he was absolutely shattered.

He knelt in the grass near your grave in silence, just staring down at the mound of dirt trying to process it all. Why you? Why were you being punished for his misdeeds? If the universe wanted to punish him for his rough past, it should have taken him. Him. Not you, who had done nothing but love him.

He'd spent so many years waiting for the other shoe to drop. For his misdeeds to come back and bite him. But after so long he began to get comfortable and think maybe things would be fine. Maybe life was done tormenting him. But no. As he'd said all those years ago he was born to suffer.

Fingers clutching at the fresh turned dirt of your grave, Charles let out a scream unlike any sound he'd ever made. It was a horrible, wounded howl that no-doubt echoed around the valley. But if anyone in town heard it, they did nothing. They knew what that sound was. It was the sound of their neighbor’s heart being torn in two.

Charles dug his palms into his eyes, trying to contain his feelings, ease the hurt, anything. He’d known so much loss, but none had hit him like this. He had carried on as he lost everyone he cared for. But he felt like he could just dissolve into the grass and join you underground.

He'd been heartbroken when Arthur died, of course, but it wasn't quite this pain he felt now. He'd built a life with you, started a family with you. You were meant to define the rest of his life. But now you were gone and he was left to carry on. To raise your children alone. For the rest of his life to be Charles Smith the widower.

Suddenly he understood old Hosea Matthews much better. The man had often said how he thought of his dear wife every day when he woke up, and went to sleep. Charles knew he’d be mourning the loss of you for the rest of his life.

He wasn’t sure how long he sat there at your grave, weeping. Long enough for his legs to go numb and his knees to dig divots into the earth below.

He sat back on his feet and wiped his eyes, looking upwards to the sky. He needed to pull it together. He wasn’t the only one who was grieving. There were two children waiting for him who’d also lost you. As deeply as he felt the loss, how hard must this be on them? To lose their mother while still teenagers.

Your poor daughter, who would have no mother to see her through all those stages in a young woman’s life. No mother to help her should she decide to become a mother herself. What advice would she miss out on from losing you?

Your sweet young boy, whose voice still cracked when he spoke, and was still shorter than his sister. He wouldn’t have his mother to fuss over him as he grew. If he found someone, he’d never get to sit at the breakfast table and tell you all about them excitedly.

The house was already so empty without you. No laughter as you took down the dry laundry that Charles had washed. No races around the house with your son. No dancing in the living room with your daughter, singing all those silly songs that were on the radio.

There were already so many horrid things happening in the world, with the Great War having just ended. You’d been paramount in keeping the children calm as all the horrors of that terrible war hit the local gossip chain. He was never quite as good at it as you were.

He’d spent so many nights imagining the two of you sitting on that front porch, old and gray, watching grandchildren play amongst the chickens. You were supposed to grow old together, grow senile and gather aches and pains until you couldn’t do much more than just sit out and watch the sunset together.

He knew some expected he'd remarry. To them a wife was just someone to look after the children, and he'd likely want to replace you quickly. But the very thought made him sick to his stomach. You were irreplaceable. He knew he'd never find someone to love the way he loved you. And to love anyone less was doing that person a disservice. He knew he'd be alone for the rest of his days.

Well not completely alone. He still had the kids. Two amalgamations of you and him. Two beings he loved very much. He knew the family would stick together. That gave him some comfort.

He took a deep, steadying breath, and pushed himself to his feet with a low groan. He could no longer just sit here and weep. Those sweet teenage terrors that reminded him so much of you were waiting for him. They needed their father on this day. He needed to get back to them, take them home and... and...

Well he wasn’t sure what he’d do when he got them home. They’d likely all end up in the living room around the fire. Maybe he’d try to lighten things with stories of the good times. Perhaps the three of them could spend the night celebrating your life instead of mourning your death. It’s what you’d want.

“I love you,” he murmured. With one last sorrowful glance at where you lay buried under the dirt, he turned for home.

#charles smith/reader #female reader #whump #requests #ow

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subiysu-chan · 7 months

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Do you have any more elven lore I don't know about?

A lot !

Here is my anvil page:

My elves are slender, graceful and androgynous (on human standards) creatures, with hallow bones, well adapted to both flight and cursoriality. They look like the typical elves. They have races, in a way similar to humans...Kind of. They live around 250 years, but the Drow have a significantly shorter, more human life-span due to the frequent eating of chronic-pain causing organisms as the only source of quick sugar, salt and vitamin C. They are extremely pale, black-haired with big eyes and ears. The ice elves have a darker skin tone and are usually blond with brown, narrow eyes and smaller ears.

They reproduce sexually.

My elves are...They reach puberty around age 20, and only the eldest son and the eldest son of a couple are fertile, and they tend to be monogamous. The wings painfully pop out during this time, and the process is nightmarish. At a certain stage, the youth becomes blind and insane as the pre-frontal cortex and parts of the brain responsable for processing visual information are put to sleep as to conserve energy, but they constantly want to eat, and there stomach adjust to being able to process more meat. Once the wings have popped out, they return to their intelligent, fungivorous selves, but now with wings that need sun or moonlight to develop properly. They look a bit like insect wings, but there is a single pair and there very mammalian cartilage (that would eventually ossify) and veins are visible. The pain is extremely intense, and they need a lot of food and water during this time, and some may not survive the process, mostly due to dehydration. Wings are not only a mode of reproduction for elves, but also a secondary sexual characteristic, with males having long narrow wings for endurent flying and females having rounder, slightly concave wings for powerful sore, making them better suited to fly with their potencial future children. My elves are immune to several alcoloids (but not all of them) and mycotoxins, but cafeine is to them a deadly poison. A few sips of coffee is enough to kill a grown elf. They cannot digest starch and can only process small quantities of fat. To them, mushrooms, berries and arthropods are the most bio-available sources of food.

#elves #worldbuilding

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bleachbleachbleach · 1 year

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1/1/23-1/7/23

I finished another chapter! Chapter 6, which is the chapter around which the entire fanfic was formed--and the first one I started writing, approximately 1 million years ago. It’s 7000 words, which is still 25% longer than I imagined these being, and I want to jump to revision mode, but I don’t think that really makes sense until I’ve completed more of the chapters and I can revise in an actual direction.

I think the chapter works at the macro level, in the way that it speaks to he overall story/themes; and at the micro level, in the sense that I enjoy individual scenes. But at the actual, like, “this is a coherent and interesting chapter-length reading experience” level… I’m not sure. I think I know that I should probably cut things liberally, but I also want to convince myself that everything should stay. Does the chapter need to open with 1000+ words of Akon and Rose discussing one (1) kekkai and their opinions on… American Modernism…? Does the answer change if the next 400 words are Akon, the narrating POV, listening to Hitsugaya and Kensei completely ignore him while they argue about mushrooms? If the 2000 after that are "3 Public Health Violations the Gotei Committed and 1 They Didn’t"? The answer is both "clearly no" and "obviously yes."

In any case, here is the scene for which the whole rest of this fic will have been written just to give this scene a home:

Using his machete and Hisagi’s, Muguruma transfers one of his rocks from the flames to pool, steam spitting violently as he transfers another, and another.

Within minutes, the water boils, and in another ten Hitsugaya’s nettles are giving off a pleasantly piquant aroma, mushrooms bobbling like jellyfish between the rocks. At home, Akon is a grazer, taking most of his meals cold and scattered both throughout his lab and his day, but he finds himself staring wolfishly at the soup.

"We don’t have to wait for Kuchiki, do we?" Akon asks. "There’s plenty of nettles for a second pot. She doesn’t need to know there were mushrooms."

"Where the hell is she, anyway?" Muguruma mutters.

"I can guess," says Abarai. "It could be a while. She gets stubborn about it."

"We’d feel it if anything happened to her," Matsumoto reasons. "She can’t have gone too far."

"Wait. Not in here," Hisagi realizes. "We wouldn’t feel it in here. Outoribashi-taichou’s kekkai—"

"No one said anything about any kekkai!" someone shouts out of the darkness.

Like the others, Kuchiki emerges in sound before sight, snapping branches as she muddles through the woods. "Tell people if you’re planning to put something like that up!" she pants.

"Didn’t stop any of you!" Muguruma shouts in Kuchiki’s direction. "Though I don’t know if that’s a compliment to your tracking skills or a burn on Rose’s kekkai."

"My tracking skills are excellent," Kuchiki declares as she stumbles into the firelight. She has more forest on her head than hair and looks substantially wetter than she had several hours ago. "I am a hunting genius."

She holds up two hares by their broken necks, one in each hand.

There’s a palpable tremor as everyone’s attention rushes Kuchiki and this new development. Hisagi gasps audibly. Matsumoto claps. Kuchiki beams, still breathless.

"Good work. Hope you’re a cooking genius, too. Get over here, Kuchiki. Quickly!" Muguruma barks at her.

"They’re still warm. I ran back as fast as I could," she assures him.

Kuchiki flings one of the hares at Abarai’s head as she makes her way toward the fire. Before it’s even found its mark she drops to one knee and drapes the remaining hare over her thigh. One quick motion and the guts push out its rear into the dirt. There’s another wet plop—Abarai’s hare following suit. It’s not much longer before the heads are severed and Kuchiki is peeling the skin from her hare center-out, like a coat. Eight satisfying pops as the feet come off.

Akon can’t remember the last time he ate meat. Not since the war began, surely, but it’s not served in the Gotei messes, either. It would have had to have been at some Event, and Akon does not make a habit of attending those. The Men’s Association had had a barbecue some years back, but it had ended up being mostly sweet potatoes.

Nevertheless, Akon can imagine the crisp black edges, glazed hard and shiny by flame, locking in the juices within. He can taste the soft jelly of the liver as it slides over his tongue, gamey and rich.

"Aw, shit."

Akon peers through the flames. Muguruma is poking at the long slab of liver that had come from Kuchiki’s hare, its color mottled with white.

Kuchiki bites her lip.

The rest of the group stays silent. The campfire pops and hisses.

"This one’s clean," Abarai says quietly, holding up the liver. The rest of his hare is in five neat pieces. "Heart and liver, throw in a kidney if anyone’s real hungry. It’ll be enough."

The look in Kuchiki’s eyes suggests it is not, in fact, enough. She looks like she could eat several rabbits on her own.

"That’s new-dead, isn’t it?" Akon asks. "I wouldn’t worry about it. The heat will kill—"

"No!" It’s Abarai, forceful, almost a snarl. The same tremor that awoke when Kuchiki first displayed the hares rushes through the group again, this time in reverse. An outgoing tide, leeching warmth from eyes and color from cheeks.

"It’s not worth the risk," Muguruma agrees. "This mission is get in, get out. We don’t have time for anyone to be getting sick."

Akon holds his hands up defeat. As usual, opinion trumps data. It’s how these things usually go. Akon has watched a lot of things die from a lot of different bugs, painstakingly recording symptoms and physiological responses T + x days, sometimes weeks later. It can take a lot of work to kill a shinigami like that, even controlling for prime conditions, where the bacteria are able to repopulate themselves unencumbered, and don’t get burned out by reiatsu punching out of the body. But Akon gathers that at least one in this group has watched at least one friend die like this, and one is always enough. They don’t have the comfort of the thousand test subjects this bug couldn’t kill. They only see the death.

So, quietly, Rukia disposes of her hare—its mottled liver, its still heart, the promise of its meat—somewhere in the shadows beyond the campfire, to be dealt with later.

As the skewered pieces of hare cook, kidneys bobbing in the soup as Muguruma replaces the now-cool rocks with fresh ones from the fire and the water boils anew, they pass a shallow drinking bowl around, taking hot soup into cold bodies. They try to drown the pangs of hunger in their stomachs. They pass liquor in the other direction. And when the meat is ready, they enjoy it while it lasts.

#stories for the sea

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a-mole-of-iron · 11 months

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Duchowiesen stories: Liftoff

Alright, so, update. Due to diminishing resources and abilities, I was unable to post anything for a while - and now, I’ll be starting to publish a series of very unpretentious short stories in the urban fantasy genre. And I don’t mean modern-day real-world with fantasy trappings; I mean a fantasy world with big cities and elaborate technology. There will be train journeys through magic forests, and visits to taverns with televisions and telephones placed therein; bureaucrats cataloguing ancient relics, and dragons doing aerial photography; elaborate underground cities lit by electric lanterns and overgrown by moss and mushrooms, and mystical deserts with towns raised on concrete pillars above the shifting dunes; welfare provisions for werebeasts and changelings, and vast industries supplying the people with affordable goods; and more besides, all in the setting that me and my friends have developed together.

Without further ado, I present to you: the fantasy world of Duchowiesen, and all of its many unusual and wonderful things, places, and people.

Story genre: comfy urban fantasy

Liftoff

At the Electric Lamplight Inn, it was an hour past lunchtime. The sun crept across the wooden tables covered with checkered tablecloth, with colorful mass-manufacture metal-and-cloth dining chairs around them and salt and pepper shakers with folded-up napkins close by on every table, along the bar and its selection of bottles of varying colors, shapes, and sizes that held alcohol as well as soft drinks, up the wooden beams that helped hold up the second floor, over the walls covered by vanilla-colored plaster and decorated with landscape photographs of meadows, mountains, boreal woods, and glaciers, and towards the clock and the nearby refrigerator with its curved outer surfaces and a glass door displaying cold foods and drinks. The barkeep was absent, and only a couple of people were there, eating their mid-day meal a little late. A big beast-folk guy with striped grey fur, wearing a jacket loaded up with carpentry tools and overalls that seemed sturdy as a cliff face, was treating himself to a good serving of meat and potatoes the inn sourced from the local farmer's market; two businesswomen in rumpled suits discussed trade as they helped themselves to fish with rice that they've systematically drowned in lots and lots of tartar sauce, and an occultist professional from the Southern Lands, with his hawk-like features alongside a fancy coat and pants covered in rune embroidery, was eating alone - or so it seemed if you didn't notice him having a one-sided conversation while looking into a mirror he had standing on his dinner table. The television standing next to one of the walls was set on mute, and even if it wasn't, at the moment it was displaying "The Wondrous World of Duchowiesen Dragons" - one of the most boring offerings among all the niche-subject documentary shows available on TV across the entire Federation, which was saying a lot. The time dragged out a little, flowing like a calm river - but then, another prospective patron walked through the door, a diminutive kobold engineer with their bright green scales and hemispheric sunglasses on their wide, gecko-like face, who was for some reason also wearing a labcoat far outside of any lab.

The kobold walked up to the bar, perched the sunglasses on their forehead, and said: "Excuse me, innkeeper? INNKEEPER?" in their high-pitched voice.

The innkeeper, a middle-aged woman wearing somewhat outdated and yet eternally cool clothing from the jazz era - a flapper look adapted for the everydays of the modern age - walked out to the bar to meet them. "Hello there. Would you like to order a full lunch, or book lodgings?" she asked.

"Neither, actually." the kobold answered. "I just want two deli sandwiches, a glass of mineral water, and a TV broadcast."

"Broadcast...?" the innkeeper asked, somewhat confused.

"Yes!" the kobold squeaked. "Could you tune your particle accelerator... sorry, TV set, to Science Channel One? Yours was the only place in town with a TV I could find on short notice!"

"Alright then." the innkeeper said.

She turned the dial on the wired TV controller, and the picture changed to show a sunlit desert, and in the midst of its sands, the Cosmodrome launch site with a rocket set up on the launch pad. The sound went back on, and the people eating dinner turned their heads to the TV, as they heard the ever so slightly portentous announcer read the text. The announcer went: "...seems that all of the pre-launch checks have been cleared, and the computers monitoring the site all read green. And now we're being told, the Cosmodrome is ready for launch, T-minus five minutes."

"Hey, what's with the broadcast? Is this live?" one of the businesswomen asked the kobold.

"Yes, it is live!" the kobold said. "They're putting the first-ever photo camera into orbit with this rocket! To think we're going to have all-encompassing pictures of the World at last!"

"Now I'm interested." the occultist said, still looking into the mirror on his table. "Sorry, my friend, we'll have to continue another time. What? Okay, that's good in my books. Bye." He folded the mirror's stand, closed up the small decorated shutters over it, and turned around to look at the television as well.

The voice behind the broadcast kept on talking. In the deadpan shared only by the most composed of Railway Commanders and emergency broadcasters, she said: "I am being informed the rocket's fuel pumps are completing their warm-up cycle, and the Skyguard shields with their EM plus Flux ward properties are ready to go. In a minute, we should have the hand-over of controls and telemetry to the radio channels..."

The people in the inn were interested but slightly flabbergasted; none of them really understood the technical terms involved, even as the announcer explained the rocket's systems in more detail. The kobold engineer was geeking out, however, their eyes transfixed by the picture on the screen. Minutes tensed like the strings of a violin as the launch approached, and finally, the announcer has proclaimed: "And now, we have the clearance for launch. T-minus ten... nine... eight... seven... main engines ignition... five... four... three... two... one!"

The broadcast picture showed plumes of steam, and then fire, blast from the lowest stage of the rocket, and just like that, it started ascending, leaving behind the launch tower with its cabling and pipes. "We have liftoff!" the announcer called, the broadcast switching to another camera that showed the rocket blast off into the sky, and disappear into the clear blue above the desert lands surrounding the Cosmodrome.

The kobold engineer looked at the broadcast as the announcer started describing the photography satellite the rocket was loaded with, then slammed their cutesy hands on the table and yelled: "That... WAS SO COOL!" Everyone else around them was in agreement, even though they weren't the same level of enthusiastic. The occultist looked at the screen with an unspoken wisdom, thinking about the sheer possibilities for new esoteric understanding that a view perch to see the entire world could open. The businesswomen wondered just how the world would change once the satellites get flying in earnest. The beast-folk carpenter was impressed by the engineering involved; many orders of complexity above what he did, but hey, he knew an impressive build when he saw one. Even the innkeeper was interested; the whole scene was dramatic and inspiring, and stirred emotions in all who were there to see it. Finally, the kobold picked up their deli sandwich and started chewing on it. One of the businesswomen asked them:

"Hey, you said you were looking for a TV. Are you just passing through like we are?"

"Yes, but I might become a regular commuter here, it seems!" the kobold replied. "I'm doing engineer consulting around the region."

"Odd! We're kind of in the same boat; our firm sells machinery parts all around the Four Cities area!" the other businesswoman said. "Mechanismus-Magiker GmbH, at your service."

"What about you, friend?" the kobold asked the beast-folk carpenter.

"Well, I'm on my way to the Inland Sea for the weekend." he said. "Funny you are from Mechanismus-Magiker." he said to the businesswomen. "I did renovations in one of your company's trade offices just a month ago."

"Oooh..." the occultist said, turning towards the others with an enigmatic smile. "Serendipity."

"Very much serendipity!" the kobold engineer noted with a goofy grin. "Who knows, maybe this is a sign that we should be here for the next rocket launch!"

"When is that?" the occultist asked, laying a pocketbook of solar and lunar calendars on the table.

"In 16 days, 8 PM for our current timezone." the kobold replied. "They're going to launch a radio amplifier satellite next!"

The occultist looked through the book, then smiled enigmatically again and said: "I have not found anything major, but... perhaps something interesting will happen if we join again at that day and hour. Who's with me to try and test this... small hypothesis?" There were a few seconds of indecisive silence, and then, one after the other, everyone else present responded with a variation of "I'm in!"

#duchowiesen #short story #urban fantasy #dieselpunk #you all meet in an inn #space program #kobold #tavern #science!#really comfy afternoon #seriously why is cheerful urban fantasy so rare when it's so enjoyable

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