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Monster Spotlight: Thin Men
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CR 4
Chaotic Neutral Medium Fey
The Inner Sea Bestiary, pg. 52
These uncanny Fey stalk through the cane fields of the Island of Nuat off the coast of Rahadoum, so good at masking their own presence that they’re widely believed to be myths... up until a farmer goes missing with no explanation. Though capable of subsisting on a diet of root vegetables, insect grubs, and whatever vermin they can catch, Thin Men sometimes hunger for a grander fare, stalking and killing livestock, pets... and even whole humans for sustenance. Despite this horrid habit and their ghoulish appearance, though, they do not perform these acts with any malevolence, and in most cases avoid killing humans unless they’re starving. Many of the fatalities owed to them are because of an unfortunate fairy quirk: Thin Men, like many Fey who’ve grown alongside mankind, seem to have an irresistible compulsion to try and remain hidden and out of sight, though unlike kinder House Spirits and Brownies who simply abandon their homes if acknowledged too much, Thin Men respond to people looking at them for too long with startling hostility.
And, well, when the deed is already done, it’d be a waste to just leave this meat laying around, wouldn’t it?
For most citizens living alongside Thin Men, though, they do not have to worry about accidentally offending their homicidal neighbors. These fey are very, very good at staying hidden, spending hours of their days underground hunting for the bugs, roots, and vermin they normally subsist on, their intimidating claws actually for burrowing rather than attacking, and they can tunnel easily through 20ft of earth a round. They’re actually almost entirely boneless, their skeleton formed of sections of incredibly flexible cartilage and further aided by a surplus of joints throughout their body, allowing them to cram themselves into spaces that would normally only allow rabbits (which are likely rare and prized treats for them). They’re not dedicated subterranean hunters, though, lacking any senses which would allow them to track prey through the soil and instead relying on above-ground evidence of food and then digging downwards.
Even when not slithering underground Thin Men are hard to see. They have a +17 to Stealth and move stealthily at every opportunity, but in their natural habitat among the cane fields, they’re effectively impossible to spot as their Stealth shoots all the way up to +25, their instincts causing them to unconsciously sway their bodies with the cane as it moves and dart into the shadows cast by the plants. Even in cane farms this instinct carries them well, with many farmers unknowingly harboring entire colonies of Thin Men among their crops, never quite realizing why they feel watched every time they’re out and about. Since they were on the isle of Nuat first, most farmers can shrug off the feeling and learn to silently thank the fey for their work in keeping pests from nibbling at their crops, but ‘silently’ is the operative word here. Never acknowledge them, lest you draw their wrath.
An offended or starving Thin Man, or one who was caught out of their stealth, attacks swiftly and violently with a Claw-Claw-Bite. Their bite deals 1d6+4 damage, and their dirt-crusted claws 1d4+4, but those claws leave gaping wounds in their wake which deal 1d4 bleed damage a round every round until the victim receives some healing. Despite being Medium, a Thin Man’s extreme flexibility allows it a 10ft reach with its claw attacks, allowing them to control wider swaths of their home fields and attack viciously without harming the plants they hide among. Though the prospect of them appearing from seemingly nowhere to attack is scary enough, the idea of one simply lashing out with a claw in retribution before returning to hiding is just as bad; a victim might not even realize what they saw, thinking it some sharpened branch or similar which stuck them, stumbling helplessly through endless fields of cane as they slowly succumb to bloodloss, never knowing if they’re going to be found as the wind blows through the cane again and reveals a half-dozen stalks that don’t bend in any direction but towards their body as they slowly lose consciousness.
Spooky stuff! And it’s easy to make players paranoid of these creatures with one simple trick: Their ability to Vanish into thin air once per day. As a move action while benefiting from any level of concealment, a Thin Man can seemingly fade from sight by contorting its body into the blind spots of any creature looking towards them. This isn’t invisibility, it’s better, as the Thin Men gain a flat +20 to Stealth checks (for a total of +37 outside cane fields and +45 within them) and can hide in plain sight for up to seven rounds. Whereas normal invisibility can be thwarted by solutions magical and mundane, the Thin Man’s Vanish cannot be beaten by anything but an astronomical Perception check, the effect only breaking if the fey directly attacks another creature. Otherwise, the Thin Man is essentially gone, an effect which may trick players into believing the creatures can teleport as soon as they’re out of sight.
With their burrowing prowess, high Stealth, and ability to simply choose not to be seen once a day, the Thin Men are excellent tools for instilling paranoia on players venturing out into the wilderness to get rid of what they believe may be a simple quest objective. Though Thin Men go down easily once cornered (their sole immunity is to poison, and their AC and HP are merely okay), just killing one doesn’t mean their threat is over. There is, after all, a non-insignificant chance that the Thin Men presented here represent the least skilled and most reckless of their kind, while the rest sit invisibly in the old cane fields, impossible to ever see. There’s a very real possibility that the Thin Men of Nuat are the only ones that have been conclusively proven to exist, that there may be others adapted to different conditions and imitating different plants--reeds, wheat, corn, even the thin saplings in the forests around every settlement--that have gone undiscovered. 
There’s a chance that Thin Men might be everywhere.
You can read more about them here.
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jaes1lvr · 4 months
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꒰‧ what are we? 📘 ༶ ☆༉ ✼
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꒰‧ @wontree 🍵 ༶ ☆༉ ✼
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xxwillowpotatox · 7 months
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Guess who just got over their sticker anxiety and decorated their computer
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Overworked Blorbo Battle Round 1 Poll: 40
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5ecardaday · 7 months
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Yokaitober, Days 5-8
I know its the 16th and over halfway through the month, but I promise I have been (mostly) keeping up with Yokaitober. My issue is that building habits is hard, and I am definitely out of habit on posting to tumblr.
In the second series of yokai for the month, I covered a pretty wide variety of creatures, including the jubokko, a bloodthirsty tree that was actually created in the 20th century; Keizobo, one of five famous kitsune from Inaba; the yogen no tori, a helpful, pandemic-predicting raven that was "seen" only one time; and the hinoshu, a rock-like yokai the size of a germ who lives in people's spleens.
If you'd rather not wait for me to remember to post these yokai before seeing them, you can always sign up to follow me over on Patreon, where I post new yokai (almost) every day of October. Plus, if you pledge as little as $2/month, you can get access to some other great 5e homebrew, including new magic items, spells, and monsters, every single week.
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keyleth-clay · 7 months
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Happy Birthday to me, and eternal nat 20's to my sister for the best presents!
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She also got me the Vox Machina d20 set. Whenever I get a new set of dice, I do a test roll right away to see how they do, and -
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casukaga · 2 years
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when yasha finds a snake in her and beau’s yard and takes it in as a pet
🌟 Instagram | Twitter | Youtube | Ko-fi 🌟
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kingofdahiphop · 11 months
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Suletta sunday miorine monday ramblings since I'm always late: *screams at top of his lungs until he passes out*
Also thank FUCK for Felsi she's a real one. Was literally on the verge of tears during that fight.
ALSO miorine is a boss bitch she fuckin killed it this episode.
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sparring-spirals · 2 years
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Placing such a hard time limit using the Calamity was exceptionally good and also inherent to the tragedy of it and im thrilled by it. Don't get me wrong, forced time limits in tragedies and doomsday stories are common for a reason. They work, and they work well. but just, within the context of EXU Calamity, its really getting me.
because its always about not having enough time, right? its about expecting that you'll have more. There's complacency with power, and mistakes, and wealth, but maybe what the Ring of Brass were most indulgent with was time.
(you always think you'll have enough time, more time, another replenishment, another deal, another broadcast, another batch of bright children. youll get another time to hash out an argument with your father. you'll get another time to stay home with your kids and get to know them. you'll get another time to apologize and explain and fix your broken relationship. there's just something else, right here, right now, that should get done first.)
The Ring of Brass were rich, in so many ways. They had power, and wealth, and a million responsibilities, and so maybe they would've argued they had ZERO time, actually, and they just needed to sort everything else out first, and they'd have enough time to figure everything else out later.
but that's the point, right? There's never really a good time for this. for the important stuff, or the end of the world.
(Laerryn was, perhaps, the primary person in the Ring Of Brass operating under a time limit from the get-go, trying desperately to get the Leyline working, because if it wasn't now, it would be never. Because Quay wouldn't live that long. But even she assumed that was the extent of the time limit, that for Everything Else, there would still be time.)
(And is that such a ridiculous expectation? Is that so foolish of her? Of all of them? You never expect the world to end. You don't have infinite time, sure, but- you've got tomorrow, or next week, or- just not now.)
And so it is tragic, but it is also weirdly satisfying, to see the way time got shattered and stretched and sped throughout that last episode. The first second lasted forty minutes. They get maybe two hours at the hands of a damned demon, and its the best blessing they've ever had. Rounds are six seconds. A broadcast is maybe thirty. A healing word, a Wish, a Wall of Force, all buying paltry seconds that make all the difference. The dawn is coming, Avalir is landing, there's so much that has to be done, and that won't get done. We watch them make hard decisions, over and over, and over, and we keep saying "there's not enough time". Because of course there isn't. There could never have been.
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brynnmclean · 4 months
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I have been daydreaming recently about getting five of my female friends + maybe my sister (if I can lure her out of her apartment) to play D&D with me. We could play monthly. I could brave running base 5e so people can play spellcasters. We could make the setting together via Ex Novo and/or the Session 0 System. Or, I SWEAR, I'll read and run Ghosts of Saltmarsh. Or... I could enlist them to help me figure out the starter box for The One Ring 2e which I think starts out with hobbit pregen PCs. It could be fun. Trouble is... I HAVE to wrap up AKB first. I have tried to run multiple campaigns at once and it is Too Much for me (not to mention I have other hobbies)! So. I have to sit on my hands until Spring anyway. Alas.
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isagrimorie · 10 months
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“I stopped watching C3 because of the god stuff.” - some redditor.
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the CR reddit is so actively pro-gods that any kind of questioning of gods they’re taking very personally. as if the fictional gods are their friends.
most of bells hells aren’t even anti-gods, they’re not atheists because they know gods exist.
bells hells are skeptical of the gods. they are skeptical if they’re worthy of worship.
the guests have expressed more of a vocal anti-gods sentiment than the bells hells.
and they’re still willing to sacrifice everything to save the world, and the gods because they know it’s the right and necessary thing to do.
also the CR reddit board being actively pro-gods is weirding me out.
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fluffyapplecat · 2 years
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Decided to make a lil clay Trinket to keep me company on my desk! He's about 4" tall and very loosely based on that one scene in EP 2 of LoVM at 5:50 where the guards are petting Trinket and suddenly straighten when VM walk by lol.
More info and pictures in a separate reblog later!
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oscill4te · 8 months
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exaltcd · 9 months
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“What is it? Do I have something on my face?”
The question jerks Imogen out of her stupor. She realizes she’s been staring at Laudna for at least a few seconds too long, and Laudna’s picked up on it. She watches her companion press her fingertips to her cheeks and temples, searching for something that doesn’t exist. Fuck. Imogen panics for a moment, rifling through her brain for an explanation. She lets out a nervous chuckle and shakes her head. “No, no— I mean... Yeah. But it’s nothin’... Just an eyelash. Here.”
An eyelash, Imogen? Really? Laudna doesn’t question her, though. She steps forward when Imogen calls, away from the tea she was preparing, and leans so Imogen can brush the imaginary eyelash away. Imogen’s gaze flits for just a millisecond to Laudna’s lips. She reaches out to get rid of the nonexistent eyelash and hesitates.
When Imogen first met Laudna she knew she was different, but she wasn’t sure how or why. Now, she knows.
Her heart races at their closeness. She briefly imagines taking Laudna’s face in her hands and kissing her. Maybe, she thinks, she wants to kiss me too. As if on cue, Laudna’s thoughts invade her mind.
We need to go to the marketplace soon. I’m running low on Imogen’s favorite tea. We need to make more money soon. Maybe I can sell some of my knick knacks. It won’t do to run out before we get to Jrusar. Or maybe I’ll—
Imogen severs the connection and quickly brushes her thumb against Laudna’s cheek. “There.” She steps away and pretends to rifle through their small pantry. “Y’know what? I’m gonna go to the market and get more tea. Wanna come?”
------
Imogen jerks awake at the sound of a short, sharp cry. When she comes to she realizes she made the sound. Next to her, Laudna stirs. Imogen quietly sits up and places one hand over her racing heart. The other goes to Laudna’s shoulder and she gently shakes it.
“Laudna?”
“Hm?” Laudna wakes to the sound of Imogen’s whisper, gently roused from a peaceful slumber. She glances around, bleary-eyed, and realizes it’s still pitch dark outside. Realizing why Imogen woke her, she comes to a little quicker and pushes herself up to sit next to her friend.
“Another nightmare?” She speaks quietly. Zhudanna’s hearing is a little sharper than most at her age and she doesn’t want to wake her. After all, she’s one of two people seemingly not completely repulsed by Laudna’s presence. The other is beside her. She slides out of bed and quietly goes to fetch a glass of water. She’s back in a flash, glass in hand, and she holds it out to Imogen. “Here.”
Imogen takes it and nods a small ‘thank you’ as she sips a little of it. The dream is the same as always, but Imogen isn’t sure she’ll ever get completely used to it. She sets the glass of water on their small bedside table and lets out a self-soothing sigh.
“I’m sorry to wake you.” That’s a lie. Laudna’s company in the wake of her nightmares is the only thing that brings her solace these days. Sometimes when she wakes she feels lost. Laudna’s like a beacon in the darkness, making sure she can find her way home. She imagines, occasionally, waking from a nightmare and Laudna holding her to soothe her back to sleep. Even though it’s a fantasy, it makes Imogen feel warm.
“Oh, nonsense!” Laudna immediately waves off Imogen’s apology. “I’ve already told you, darling... feel free to wake me anytime that nasty dream rears its head.”
Imogen lets out a shaky sigh and nods. A clammy hand comes to rest on hers and her heart skips a few beats. Laudna offers a small smile and Imogen returns it, holding her gaze. Maybe... Maybe.
The walls around her mind lower a little, and the melodic sound of Laudna’s thoughts flood inside.
Gods, I hope we have better luck with the Starpoint soon. I knew they were famous but I didn’t know they’d be a bunch of snobs. You’d think they would want to foster curious minds. I hate seeing her like this. I just want to fix it. We’ll have to schmooze with some of the upper crusts to see if we can find a connection or—
No. Not now. “You should get back to sleep. I’m feelin’ much better, but I think I’m gonna stay up for a little while.”
“Laudna gives her hand a quick squeeze and lets it go. “Are you sure?”
Imogen nods.
------
“You lied...”
There’s something wrong with this stone. Was. There was something wrong with the stone. It’s obvious because it’s all she can think about despite the fact that she and Laudna are alone on the bow of an airship. It’s nothing short of a dream. The view of the night sky is incredible. It’d be the perfect spot for a first kiss.
For once it isn’t the stream of Laudna’s thoughts that stops her from going for it. This time it’s her inability to think about anything more than the broken stone in Laudna’s hand. She feels heartsick over it.
“No! No! —I didn’t do anything, Imogen.”
Something deep inside of Imogen’s heart stirs at the sound of Laudna’s plea. The tiniest part of her wants to reach out and comfort the woman she loves so much, but she doesn’t. She stands there, tears gathering in her eyes, and wonders at the heartache of this specific betrayal. She wants to lash out, but she can’t bring herself to go that far.
“Have you felt a searing heat from it before?”
The question angers Imogen. Is she trying to make excuses? She brings her hand up and rans her hand across the back of her head in a desperate attempt to self-soothe. It does nothing to ease her mind. “No,” she answers.
“Imogen, I-I— I can fix it, I... I’ll-I’ll, I’ll fix it. We’ll fix it.”
Angry tears finally spill onto her freckled cheeks and she nods her agreement. All she wants to do is get away from Laudna—a sensation she hasn’t felt once since the first time they met.
“Yeah, we’ll fix it. We’ll fix it.” Laudna mentioned Delilah before. Imogen should stop and ask about that. She should try to figure out what happened. She shouldn’t blame Laudna because Laudna would never hurt her. At least Imogen thought she wouldn’t. Her nose crinkles in equal parts pain and disgust. “I’m gonna go to bed, Laudna.”
A few moments pass that seem to stretch out for an eternity. She fights the urge to walk away, wrestles with the look of despair on her best friend’s face. She did that. Imogen. Guilt breaks through and keeps her locked in place. She feels like maybe if Laudna asks her to stay, she might. But she doesn’t.
“...Alright.”
Imogen feels the storm roiling in her chest, whipping and howling like it does in her nightmares. She expels a shaky breath and turns to leave without another word.
------
"What do I tell her?!” Laudna tugs at her hair, in a panic about Dusk asking her out. The ruby set in Laudna’s ring catches Imogen’s eye and she smiles, pleased that she put it on so soon after receiving it.
There’s so much Imogen wants to say. Tell them you’re spoken for. No. I already told them we weren’t a thing. Tell them you’re not interested. Unless you are... Her brow furrows. “What do you wanna tell her?”
“I don’t know,” comes Laudna’s immediate reply.
Imogen holds her breath at even the slightest possibility that Laudna might say that she wants to say yes, to give it a try with Dusk. She’ll support her no matter what, but the thought of her being with someone else stings. She wrings her hands while she waits for a real answer.
A scene plays out in Imogen’s head. “I want to tell her that I can’t be with her because I’m in love with someone else,” followed by Laudna confessing she has feelings for Imogen. That’s one of the dreams she has on nights when the storm leaves her alone.
“I’ve just been so... um... really just, just wanting to make sure that we were okay. And— And just, you know...” Laudna nervously plays with her hair. “I don’t think— I haven’t accessed that part of my brain in like fifty years. So...”
“It would be strange, I know... to access that.” The message isn’t completely devastating, but it does give Imogen pause. So many times she’s wondered if Laudna feels the same way for her as she does for Laudna. The answer is right in front of her. Laudna hasn’t accessed that part of herself since she woke up. Maybe not even for a long time before that. It’s confirmation in the worst way, but not necessarily hopeless. She knows Laudna hasn’t had an easy second shot at life. People are mostly unkind. Selfishly, Imogen feels lucky that no one took the time to get to know her before Imogen came along. Whoever the imagined stranger is would’ve fallen in love with her too.
As the conversation continues, Imogen eyes the ring again. It fits Laudna’s finger like it was custom made.
There’s no question this time whether or not a kiss is appropriate. Imogen knows it isn’t, but that doesn’t stop her from wanting it. One day... if she’s lucky.
------
This feels like a dream, but not at all like the nightmares she’s grown used to. Laudna is back. Finally, Imogen no longer needs to numb herself just to get through a single day. Her love came back to her and Imogen can breathe again.
Imogen can hardly keep her hands off of Laudna. She needs to make contact, to connect and make sure that she’s not dreaming. This is real, she tells herself. She’s here. She’s back.
“It doesn’t seem real,” Imogen hears, and worries for a moment she projected her thoughts to Laudna, but when she focuses, she notices Laudna’s attention is on the Sun Tree. Of course it is. Imogen forces herself to be present. Laudna needs her now more than ever. She gently shakes her head, agreeing with her friend. Laudna takes the small encouragement and continues.
“Like I’m...” Laudna trails off, and Imogen patiently waits, “still in a dream, but this one’s just not a nightmare.” Both their gazes wander to the Sun Tree, but Imogen’s soon wanders back to Laudna. A tiny smile tugs at her lips. “This gets to be real now,” she answers, a similar mantra to the one she’s been repeating since Laudna woke up.
Laudna looks hesitant, and Imogen’s smile falters. “Are you sure?” Laudna asks, her voice shaky as she turns back toward Imogen and makes eye contact.
Imogen feels surer right now than she ever has. This is real, and she wants to show Laudna just how real it is. Words seem inadequate. She steals a quick glance towards Laudna’s lips and nods.
“This isn’t one of her tricks?”
Imogen leans toward Laudna, lips parting slightly, but she stops in her tracks. What are you doin’? She asks herself. This isn’t the time. She’s upset. Her gaze travels down to Laudna’s hands, anxiously wringing as she looks to Imogen for answers. Not now. Another time, maybe. She nods. “I’m sure,” she whispers with, she hopes, enough conviction to erase any traces of doubt in Laudna’s mind.
This seems to do the trick as Laudna visibly loses some of her tension and cracks a small smile. “You promise?” She asks. Her smile is infectious, and Imogen mirrors her expression. “Cross my heart.”
Their locked pinkies seal the promise—heart crossed, and given gladly.
------
Imogen is done waiting. If she waits any longer it feels like the lightning marks along her body will ignite and she’ll go up in flames. The scene plays out in her head: She sees Laudna. They run, embrace, and Imogen kisses her.
What happens instead is... complicated. They’re all still with the new friends they made. Laudna feels threatened by F.R.I.D.A., and she reveals that their time in Issylra was traumatizing. She’s jealous, in fact, that the rest of them seemed to have a much easier time. It all escalates so quickly, and Imogen feels Laudna slipping away from her. What’s worse? Without a window into Laudna’s mind, Imogen doesn’t know what to say to fix it. She allows space for Laudna to vent her frustrations and tries hard not to take anything she says personally. This isn’t the way she pictured it. Not even close.
The smell of freshly baked bread fills the air in the market. They’re on a shopping trip for Zhudanna, just the two of them, and it almost feels like it used to when they first rolled into town. Imogen lifts her fingertips to the circlet on her head. Then again, it feels nothing like before. She can talk to Laudna without the thoughts of everyone around her invading her mind. She can carry a conversation with Laudna without accidentally hearing Laudna’s thoughts. There’s no wall of words to block her advances. She can’t make assumptions about what Laudna wants because she doesn’t know. It’s weird, but mostly it’s exhilarating.
“That’s wonderful,” Laudna says when Imogen establishes that the circlet makes crowds much easier. “You don’t have to listen in to get my thoughts.”
The statement is so simple, but it feels revelatory. Laudna’s right. “Yeah,” she answers as she mulls it over.
“I’ll always share them willingly. You can just ask.”
She can just ask. Of course. Her gaze falls to the ground below her feet for a moment before rising to meet Laudna’s again. Gods, she’ll never get tired of looking at her. She bites down on her lip. Just ask. What have you got to lose? Ask. Ask!
“Can I kiss you?”
Silence. Not a single stray thought. It stretches out into an eternity, into endless anticipation.
“I can’t tell if it’s alright or not anymore.” She can’t hear the endless string of thoughts that always kept her at bay. This time she’s yanking hard on her tether, testing to see if it’ll snap.
The silence shrinks back into a reasonable couple of moments. “Alright,” Laudna answers, shattering the quiet between them.
“Alright.”
She’s pictured this one thousand times and it’s never taken place at the market. It’s always secluded and romantic. It always makes Imogen feel like she’s flying. But this is better than anything she’s ever dreamed up in her head. It’s better than she imagined. As their lips part, she feels like she might cry.
They still need to talk, but even if it never happens again, Imogen knows what it feels like to kiss her. Her feelings are out in the open and she feels infinitely lighter than before. Whether Laudna feels the same way or not, Imogen feels content. She’ll carry this moment with her for the rest of her life.
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hiyaluronic · 1 year
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The three b’s of fast friendship according to Bell’s Hells:
1.) Blackmail
2.) Bribery
3.) Benefits
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I, for one, am very excited for the influx of "mistaken for a couple" fics that will hopefully come out of ep27
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