I hope the person reading this dreams about their favorite ship(s) tonight.

Day 19 - Broken Hearts

Franky takes the time to mourn.

~

Franky had missed the funeral. Which-- of course he had. He had been lost at sea, on an abandoned ship, turning himself into a cyborg so he wouldn’t die. And he only ended up there because he had been trying to stop them from taking Mr. Tom, and he definitely didn’t regret that. He regretted a lot from that day, but not that. Still. He felt bad for missing it.

Kokoro had told him what they had done, she and Iceburg. It had been a small thing, of course, the traditional funeral by boat, but still. Iceburg hadn’t mentioned it, but then, Franky hadn’t even seen him since their only talk o his first night back. Which, was for the best, he knew - they both had to be careful, with the blueprints at stake. Kokoro, at least, told him where the memorial was. It was on Scrap Island, of course. The company building had been their home, but they all had spent most of their time on that island. Collecting material, building ships - Franky’s fondest memories were on that island. He meandered his way through, taking a look around. It was different, of course -- that was the nature of Scrap Island -- but it feels familiar regardless. It was almost nostalgic, and he had to swallow down a thick well of emotions. He pushed on, making his way to the coast, where Kokoro had said the memorial was. It didn’t take him long to find it -- a model of the sea train, a-fixed with a plaque. It stuck out like a sore thumb, refined and polished amongst the trash. The wood was high quality, and Franky worried, for a moment, that someone would want to take it. But then he laughed - that was exactly what Mr. Tom would want. He made his way over, and that was when he noticed the other memorial, right next to it and-- it was for him. He came to a grinding halt when he read his name, surprise socking a gasp right out of him. He supposed, numbly, that it shouldn’t be surprising -- everyone thought he had died, after all -- but he didn’t think that anyone would-- no, he didn’t want to finish that thought. Kokoro hadn’t mentioned it, in any case. It was a model of his first Battle Franky, expertly carved and detailed, with a plaque that said ‘Cutty Flam’. Beneath his name was ‘Tom’s Workers’ and beneath that, in precise and neat letters, ‘Beloved Brother and Son.’ Franky had to clench his fists to stop himself from destroying it. He ignored it, instead, trying to get a grip on his twisting emotions, and turned to Tom’s memorial. The sea train was just as expertly carved. He reached out a hand, and ran his finger along its wheels, taking in the decorations on the windows, the detailed cogs and gears. Each detail brought back the memory of building it, the blood, sweats, and laughs -- the way Tom looked so happy, even after failure after failure, because he was building his dream. His dream ship... Franky snapped his hand back, and looked down to the plaque, feeling shaken. The plaque has Tom written on it, of course, and the company name, but it also had a lengthy description -- who Tom was, and how he and his workers built the train that saved Water 7. It made no mention of the last trial, or that he built Roger’s ship. Franky frowned when he noticed that -- Tom had been damn proud of that! His memorial should absolutely mention that! But he, reluctantly, understood -- better to be safe than sorry. Man, he hated being cautious. And there was nothing he could do about it, unless he wanted to vandalize the thing, which felt-- wrong. He couldn’t do that. Instead, he sat down in front of it, legs crossed. He sighed. “Hey...Mr. Tom.” Franky scratched his chin awkwardly. It felt weird, but this was why people visit graves, right? To talk, get some closure, or whatever. It was why he came down here. So, he powered through. “Sorry it took me so long to get here. Becoming a cyborg, ain’t easy, I’ll tell ya that. Wish I could show ya what I’ve done, I bet you’d be real impressed.” He picked at the metal beneath, easily making small grooves with his enhanced strength. “I’m...sorry for a lot of things, actually. I’m sure you don’t need me to list everything, but...yeah.” Franky shook his head, scowling. “Man, that’s depressing. Focus on the happy. Uh, I’m thinkin’ about starting a gang, or something. There’re still a lotta down-trodden folks around here. Figured I could help ‘em out, maybe give ‘em a job, get ‘em on their feet. Haven’t thought out what, yet, exactly, but I figured that’s what you’d want me to do. Make this a better place, and whatnot.” Franky looked up at the sky. “I’m thinkin’...dismantlers, maybe. I’m good at that and it’s not build-“ Franky cut himself, and frowned. Tom wouldn’t want to hear him say that. “It’s easy to teach,” he said instead, swallowing. “Or maybe even bounty hunting. There’re still loads of pirates around here, causing trouble. And I’m super strong now, too. Not as strong as you were, of course, but...” Franky trailed off, gazing up at the sky. He closed his eyes, and sighed, drawing up his legs to rest his chin on his knees. “I’m just...tryin’ to be like you, I guess. It’d be better if it was you. You did so much for this town, and for m-me,” his voices stuttered and he had to take a deep breath. He buried his head in his arms. “I’m such a fraud. I’m no good at this fixin’ stuff. I’ll just destroy everything, like always.” He was silent for a moment. Then, “I jus’...wanna carry on your dream a-and,” his voice wavered again, and this time, he let it break. “I- I can’t jus’ let it die with you...” He was crying, now, tears and snot running down his face as his breathing shuddered in his chest. He couldn’t stop it either - he tried but it’ was just too much, and he had to let it run its course. He felt pathetic, curled up and sobbing like this in broad day-light, but...Tom never judged him for it, not like his no-good parents had. He never shouted or told him to be a man - Tom had only ever been gentle and understanding. And Franky did feel better, by the time his tears finally dried. Huh. Maybe there was something to this whole crying thing. He wiped at his eyes and cleaned off his sunglasses, and then stood up. He faced the memorial one last time. It shined in the sun, almost gleaming, like a treasure. Behind it, the ocean lapped against the metal shore, and in the distance, the sea train chugged on, doing what it had been built to do. “I’m...I’m gonna do my best for this place. Make sure your dream comes true,” Franky said to the model train. “And hopefully...that’ll be enough. I’ll talk to you later, I guess.” And then, he turned, and left.

A Lalafell’s Tale, Part 3: A True Samurai

[Part 1] [Part 2]

((An apology for anyone actually following this. The tale is growing longer with the telling, and whatnot. One more chapter left after this, I swear.))

After scouring the surrounding areas of the Goblet, Kip realized that more time had passed during his little fever dream than he initially anticipated. There was no sign of Sasajiri anywhere, it would seem, and the the moon had started to move closer towards the horizon upon further inspection. He would need to set out on the road if he was going to have any hope of catching up to the little old samurai. After making a quick stop at the stables to hop on his chocobo, the Lalafell was off to the races as the pair blasted through the chilly dunes under the starlight.

Despite how late it was, Thanalan was always home to traveling merchants making their way to and from Ul’dah. That, combined with how distinct Sasajiri’s clothes and weapon were, made it a simple matter for Kip to follow the trail of merchants that the man had left in his wake to get directions as to where he had gone. This would inevitably culminate in Kip narrowly arriving in Vesper Bay just as the silver-haired samurai was boarding the last ferry of the night. With a skip, hop, and narrow toss of gil towards the man in charge of the ferry, Kip and his chocobo would only barely make the boat as it left port.

“Sasajiri!” Kip called out to the man, who was just about to descend into the lower levels of the ship. The elder twisted his neck swiftly after being called, his hand falling to the hilt of his blade until he saw the blonde Lalafell hop off his chocobo to approach him. “Sasajiri.” Kip began. “I’m sorry for...er...sneaking up on you like this, but we can’t part ways yet! You know what happened to my grandfather. I need you to tell me. I need to know if he’s still alive. Please.”

Sasajiri’s hardened gaze would squint at Kip pleaded, his thoughts unknowable even as his hand dropped from the hilt of his blade. After a few moments of silence, the man would let a grunt of displeasure escape his lips. “You know not what you ask, Skyskip.”

“Can we please talk without the cryptic speak?” Kip asked as nicely as he could, trying to disguise how frustrated he was getting with all these old samurai. “I’m not a child, you know? I’m turning 27 years old for gods sake!” He’d protest, which seemed to be enough to cause Sasajiri to sigh and turn his eyes upwards to the starry night sky. He would leave Kip in suspense for almost a full minute before responding.

“Very well.” The elder relented. “I will take you to him.”

“Truly?” Kip asked, stars in his hopeful eyes as a smile appeared on his lips.

“Yes. I do not think it wise, but you are an adult, as you said. If this is truly what you wish, I will oblige you. But do not forget that this was the path you chose on your own.”

“Gah...again with the cryptic stuff…” Kip muttered, but did not press the topic, shoving his hands in his pockets a little indignantly.

“Heh…” Sasajiri snickered for a moment, before returning to his previous stoic expression. “When the ferry lands in Limsa we will begin our journey. We should arrive before dawn. Steel yourself.”

Steel yourself. Kip wasn’t exactly sure how to go about doing that, and he pondered it the entire journey as Sasajiri lead him through what felt like all of La Noscea, staying close to the roads all the while to avoid any wild creatures or bandits that might have been stalking the area. The two Lalafell were pretty safe, if only due to the rather unnerving aura that surrounded the elder man. Short as he was, he was not someone to be trifled with, and even Kip knew that despite being able to lock down his katana swipes earlier. In retrospect, perhaps he shouldn’t be putting as much faith and trust into this man he just met. There was no telling what his true motives were, but Kip had to assume he really knew his grandfather, or at least met him once. How else would he have been able to get his hands on his soul crystal?

“We’re here.”

Just as the blonde was having second thoughts his mind would be broken from it’s contemplative stupor when Sasajiri announced their arrival. Kip blinked a few times, before looking about. It would appear that the elder had lead the younger Lalafell to what appeared to be a waterfall that rolled off into a small stream that fell into the ocean below. Even in the darkness Kip could recognize that this place was near the old fisher village that he called home as a child. As a matter of fact, he distinctly recalled his grandfather forbidding him from going out this far, yet he was never told why.

“I know this place.”

“Hm. I imagine you would.” Sasajiri mused as he took a few steps towards the waterfall, gazing into the steam of water that fell from above for a few moments before speaking softly. “Beyond this wall of water is a small cave. There you will find what you seek.”

“...you’re not going to come with me?” Kip tilted his head, feeling a little concerned at this point. He just couldn’t get a read on this guy.

Sasajiri sucked in a breath as he shook his head. “No...my path sent me here long ago. I dare not return again. If you are so determined to continue down this path, you will do it alone.”

Kip’s fists clenched as his nerves were acting up. He stepped into the rushing stream that came up to his knees, staring straight into the wall of water separating him from the cave. Now more than ever did he feel a sense of existential dread that he could not place. It was almost as though a presence lingered beyond the falls, attempting to dissuade him from entering beyond the threshold. Yet, despite how desperately he might have wanted to run from the terror building in his belly he knew he could not turn his back here. After inhaling a breath, Kip closed his eyes while taking a few steps forward to finally cross the threshold into the cave.

The water drenched him, taking his breath away with it’s frigid chill as a shiver ran down the Lalafell’s spine. His eyes closed tight until he took enough steps into the cave for the water to fall away, leaving him damp and alone within the cave. The only illumination provided was the moonlight piercing the veil of water, casting Kip’s shadow forward over a figure slumped over in the darkness, away from the moon’s embrace. “G-grandfather?” Kip’s voice came out in a whisper, one laced in fear of the unknown. No answer. Kip took another step forward and repeated the name again with slightly more confidence. “Grandfather?”

No answer once more. Kip continued to approach until he could recognize that the slumped forward figure was wearing a familiar haori that his grandfather always wore. Something was odd about it though. From what he could tell something was poking against the back of it from the inside. “Grandfather? It’s me, Ki- ow!” He had reached forward to pat what he assumed was the man on his back, only to be rewarded with a sharp pain stabbing into his palm. Kip quickly recoiled, nearly slipping on the damp rock floors as he knocked the slumped over figure into the beam of moonlight to reveal it’s form.

What lay before Kip was a skeleton clad in his grandfather’s battered haori, his skull clearly detached from the space between his shoulders and his bloodstained katana falling from the space between his ribs and hips and clattering on the ground beneath him. With the skeleton having fallen to the wayside, Kip was able to glance down towards the rounded jingasa laying upside down on the stone. Inside was a similarly upside down skull seemingly gazing back up at Kip’s shaken form, absolutely paralyzing the Lalafell before the realization of what had come to pass had overwhelmed him. His legs gave out and he fell to his knees as his hands shook as his stomach coiled into knots. He could not form words or any coherent thoughts. All he could do now was scoop up the jingasa and hold it to his chest as he cried his eyes out for a man who didn’t deserve his tears. But he could not help it. He was family, and Kip loved him.

9/15/19 11:35pm - Never Forget Your First lol

Ah another week of work almost done. This one felt pretty fucking nice since I only had the two days from switching. After that post on sunday night at work, I had a pretty stellar week.

Monday I played a DnD one shot where I rp’d Finn the Human in an investigative mystery story. Tuesday I hung out with the gang and played waifus and melee. My Supreme jacket came in and unfortunately it was just a little too big to be comfy. The sleeves came down a little low and they were really stretchy, so I had to return it. By the time I got credit for it being returned (today) size Small is the only one out of stock, so I had to buy the jacket Again from a private seller, so I had to buy for $100 over retail, plus mailing mine back for 20 and the original shipping cost being lost means I’m basically taking a $150 bath on buying a small instead of a medium. Sucks, but whatever. Fine. It’s fine. It makes me a little salty that now I’m committed to spending Another $500 on supreme shit since I could only get store credit lol. But I’ll get the hat I was planning on buying, and maybe get some gifts for maya and manu or save it for stuff coming out this year or maybe get a tracksuit or something. All good ideas. I’ll be content with getting more cool stuff eventually lol. It’s just initial salt. AND on the plus side the fucking weird lewd Rita Ackermann Supreme dress shirt I got looks brillllliant. I love it to death. It’s so funky and fits great. So not all is terrible. Whatevz.

I’m feeling kinda broke because I paid for another 2 grand in stocks too. So I’m at about $500 in the bank. LMAO. What a dream. I’m so happy that I can be so fucking wild and have a cushion. I’ve gotta...pay rent and shit next month. But that’s a paycheck away lol. Idk I’ve still gotta go buy pants for the wedding, and I saw this vinyl copy of rocky horror at a thrift shop that I went to with Jill last week. And I bought a spare laptop charger and some cds for my car and I got a bunch of snow leopard print stuff for reasons and idk maybe NOW i’ll stop spending a bunch of money and shit and chill for a sec lmao.

Or maybe i’ll just buy more kink shit. Who knows.

But anyway back to Tuesday, got to chill with Jimmy for a while too, we were watching Konosuba and I love it. Gotta watch more. 

Went to karaoke and hung out with that girl! It went pretty well I thought, she was laughing her ass off at like everything I had to say. We drank and I sang and I introduced her to all my karaoke peeps and Skylar came to hang, and we popped over to circa to chill for a sec. It was a nice night. When we said goodbye I kissed her and then we got cheered on by a homeless dude. But she wouldn’t come home with me. :/ She said she had to study and shit.

But wednesday.

Oh, wednesday. 

Man first off I mailed that jacket back and UPS worker cracks some jokes about 9/11 to me and that was a fucking riotttt. It wasn’t anything bad but like I was like “goddamn air fare is too much” and he’s like “yeah but it’s not a good day to complain about the inferiority of air travel.” then he looks at my package “especially when you’re mailing something to New York.” lmfao.

But I was super happy. My supreme boxers came in that afternoon, which gave me plenty of time to cut a slit just big enough for my tail to get through. And I went running, because I needed to feel as fit as possible for that night lmfao.

I went to Spice at Legends, and it really was my first time going in. It felt like a wonderland, I swear to god lmfao. People on crosses getting flogged, people wearing next to nothing at all. Beautiful women and people dressed up as kids and cats and leather and oh my GODDDDDD. I drank a beer and watched a girl cum on stage to some impact play she was receiving. I stepped outside to smoke and watched a girl get whipped with flames for a half hour.

I actually ran into one of the other girls I met from Night Rider, Brie, and she was so happy to see me. She apologized for being standoffish which I thought was cute, but she was crazy impressed that I came out in my getup not knowing that it was a pet play night. Everyone made me feel so happy and welcomed and they were all so pleasant to talk to.

Terri showed up and after a while she encouraged me to go in the pet play area. I got to hang out with these two other kittens Neko (m) and Lux (f) and we had a bunch of people like my new furry friend Wolfy tossing strings and whatnot at us, and I got REALLY into it. We’d like rub up on each other and purr once in a while. We just played with people and would giggle at EVERYTHING and it felt so. fucking. good. I don’t even know how to describe it. It was like... Acting? but like... Relaxing. If I got bored of playing with people I’d ignore them on purpose and watch the shibari going on in the background because it was more interesting and that’s my fucking right as a cat lmao. I knocked over an empty cup with some used up limes off the counter onto the ground and everyone thought it was hilarious. Everything WAS hilarious. I don’t even know how to describe it but it was like... very not sexual but had the potential to be, but it just felt like a fun acting exercise that you were a little more committed to the bit. But it felt so naturallll and freeing kind of too. I hung out in there for like an hour with them, and got compliments from people all night for it. Not just for how I looked playing, but people liked my look, my tail, my ears, everything about me. Except I got dissed on by this 18yo who said I needed to do my eye makeup better lmfao. True though, I was like scribbling on myself with this new eyeliner that I couldn’t get right.

Anyway, Terri and I hung out with this married couple and talked for a while, we watched some more scenes. Eventually Terri dipped out though because she had to study. I implored her to come home with me instead but she wasn’t about it. So Idk where I stand with her, but I’m not too concerned. She’s fun to chill with, and I’m not really trying to force anything and hooking up is cool and all but I’m not really prioritizing it or anything lol.

So she left, and I went around trying to meet more people, and my eye got caught to where these two cute girls were giving a few guys lap dances and rotating around. One guy got up after his was done, so I asked if I could take his seat and everyone was like yeah of course.

The cuter of the two girls, skinny, short, very young looking, said she loved my ears and asked if I wanted a lap dance. I said of course, I just need to sit weird for my tail plug if that’s okay. She said oh man I love those, I had one in last week it’s so much fun swooshing them around lol. Got a lap dance, asked her if I could touch during it, everyone laughed their ass off at me. This gay guy I met later named Robin said “do you know where we are?” and I’m like Idk better safe than sorry and they’re all like yeah true but lol. So I started rubbing her back, and her tits, and kissed her a little, and sucked on her tits (all nips have to be covered, but she had just a bit of tape over hers) and motor boated her while I’m getting a lap dance with my tail plug in and I have to say it was exhilarating lmao. She hopped up and danced with some other guys.  I started sucking on the other girls neck while she was dancing on another guy. The place was fucking crazy. I feel like I’ve literally entered a whole new world. It was incredible. I’m in love with it. When the girl who danced with me started putting on clothes to leave, and I asked if I could get another lap dance with her in sweat pants which she obliged too. Idk why I wanted a sweat pants lapdance I just thought it looked great. She was SO hot. She kissed me goodbye and gave me her fet name and said I was fun.

I’m not gonna lie I kinda creeped overhearing that they were going to boxcar afterward, and I wanted another drink before I went home. So I took my tail out in the bathroom and got changed and headed out. As an aside, Kinda funny, my first experience of the night was trying to put my tail in in the bathroom and getting walked in on by this ~40 y.o blonde woman, luckily I was in the process of pulling my pants up by that point. Ended up seeing her getting fingered on the porch by her girlfriend while she made out with an older guy. I was never really embarrassed but I’m glad I had no reason to be, either. Everything is just like.. .right lol. Anyway so i got to boxcar, ran into the girl who danced with me and the guy and another guy who was complimenting my shoes and clothes, and he wanted to play some guitar hero. I wasn’t as good as the guy which was kind of a bummer, but I played it up and powerslid and shit instead of tryharding lmfao. Roan thought it was hilarious, and she had to leave during our second song and kissed me a few times goodbye. like 4 or 5? idk. We talked BRIEFLY on fet since but maybe one day I’ll get to have some group sex with her or something. She’s got a lot of content on there I love it. Deffffinitely fapped to her later -_- hahahhaha.

So I’m sitting there at boxcar, and I go outside to smoke and start talking to this girl Jessica who had complimented the cat ears I was still wearing. We’re talking about breath of the wild and this other girl slides over to us to join in on the conversation. Jessica dips and I end up talking to this girl Alexandra until the bar closes about how she’s got a lvl 120 wow character and is into star trek and we’re just nerding out about shit and ragging on furries (LOL, I’m Furry Adjacent, thank you very much). She walks me back to my car and we didn’t kiss or anything but I added her on FB and we’re gonna talk about hanging out sometime. She seems a little shut-in-ey, and she doesn’t like karaoke so Idk how compatible we are, but idk I’ll hit her up to do Something.

And then I went home and got a lettuce wrap burger from cookout and fapped and passed out.

The next day I went running Again (twice in one week even in WoW season POGGERS), and I hit a new benchmark of 165.6.

Unfortunately Immediately after I went out to dinner with Skylar to where he works, and it was so fucking fancy and beautiful that I had to just devour everything. I had foie gras, and crabcake, and split a little bit of key lime pie with him. and it was some of the best food I’ve ever had in my life. I honestly can’t think of anything that compares except for the MGM casino food I got with dad and tessa. It was so fucking incredible.

And then I headed into work after having one of the best 24 hour stretches of my life. Everything start to finish was just... so. amazing. I don’t know. I got invited to start doing dinners with some of these Littles and so I want to meet a bunch more kink people. I even got invited to her birthday party, but unfortunately it’s on a friday so I’ll be working. 

I know it was recent, but I just had to write about all this. I loved it so much. Asked my coworker to trade shifts next week, and if she doesn’t want to I’m gonna use PTO. I feel like I’ve gotten a taste of something beautiful and I can’t wait to have another bite lmao

Love ya <3