Previous / First

Writer's note: No, I am not gonna elaborate on Sigbert's Horse AT ALL!

Also: MORE INTRIGUE!!!

Enjoy.

PS: Yes. James does get into a drake measuring contest lol.

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The trip back to Jadesport was relatively easy.

There'd been a bit of a hassle at the outset. Several of the soldiers set to accompany them had developed some stomach issues after having breakfast. Replacements had to be pulled from a different section of the camp forces and the guard rotations had to be adjusted as a result. General Sigbert had ordered that all the food stores be checked and that the cooks would be the ones responsible for the proper disposal of anything that had gone bad, and that he'd be punishing them further when he returned.

After that small hiccup had been sorted the band of travelers took off. There were ten soldiers running escort. Two per carriage, with the remaining four acting as rotating perimeter scouts on their horses. Veliry's carriage took up position in the front of the small caravan, and James and Artair brought up the rear. Their drakes acted as a sort of "motivating" factor for the horses ahead of them.

Sigbert rode on a massive Clydesdale horse, or at least James thought it was a Clydesdale (it had sharpened predatory teeth that scared him a little), in between the two drakes. His "horse", as James began to think of it, seemed completely undisturbed by the two massive lizards. If anything Xhalya seemed to want to stay away from it. But the creature payed her no heed, simply trotting along with the massive General atop it.

James hadn't had much interaction with Sigbert at the camp. His longest conversation with the massive General had been when he'd told him that he couldn't do anything about the blight. So he had very little frame of reference for the man, other than that he was Amina and Artair's uncle on their mother's side.

Sigbert was boisterously loud, often guffawing at his own jokes or yelling out loud exclamations about anything and everything. James got the sense that he was likely the "Crazy Uncle" of the family. He also got the notion that two days would be about all he could handle of the General. Any more than that and he might have to stuff some cotton balls in his ears. He liked Sigbert, but the man was a bit much f

Chapter Two

Aaron groaned, glad to be in the silken sheets of his cushioned cot back on base. He was especially glad that the events of last night were just a dream.

‘Wait. That’s wrong.’ he thought, realizing that the sheets now wrapped around him were decidedly not the rough wool blankets and stiff canvas of his cot back on the FOB.

He opened his eyes to the dimly lit room; the walls were an iridescent black color, and looked almost like case-hardened steel.

A small lamp glowed softly in the far wall, bathing the room in an orange light. He could hear arguing outside what appeared to be some kind of sliding doorway. He twisted his legs off the side of the elongated, roughly queen sized bed and silently rose to his feet. He listened intently to the conversation outside, only to be disappointed that he couldn’t understand the voices.

“Tierad vash’dal na’al liana, Erdni! Eda makal tra’ vieni!” one said in an exasperated, loud tone.

“Makal?” the other voice askedindignantly, “Makal vash’dal eda vi ‘kro tyr pizhdhanec, Kryn’ana!”

Because of the angry tone, Aaron immediately got the impression they were talking about him just outside his door. He peered around the door. He hoped to find a handle or a button or anything to open it - and found none.

“Hey!” he banged his fist on the door several times, “Anyone wanna tell me what the fuck is going on?”

He stepped back from the door, knowing damn well they could hear him. The door opened slowly. The woman from before stepped into the room, another, somehow taller, woman of the same species flanked her.

‘I think they’re women…their tone seems like they are…maybe it’s their long hair and curved physique? Is that normal for women of this kind?’ Aaron ponders.

“Orchrani? Na’al trey’mani?” asked the woman from before.

“Sorry, still don’t know your language,” Aaron said.

The woman blinked, canting her head before seeming to freeze. She then smacked a large hand across her face and dragged it slowly down as she obviously came to the realization that he didn’t have his translator glasses anymore. She walked over to the bedside table and pulled a pair from the top compartment.

Returning to Aaron, she handed the glasses to him and affixed her own from her pocket. The imperious looking woman behind her eyed Aaron before donning her own.

“Hey, it's good to see you’re already awake!” said the woman who rescued and tazed him.

“A little sore, but no worse for the wear, no thanks to you.” here

With all this news involving the semester online, Pres. Andy stepping down, I decided to take a look at the to-go container situation.

A quick google search shows a similar looking container that costs $0.285. There are 10,557 residential students according to the covid dashboard. Lets assume that every student living on campus uses 1 to-go box every day.

The QUICK Math

$0.285x 1 box per day = $0.285

$0.285 x 7 days in a week = $1.995

$1.995 x 13 weeks in this semester = $25.935

$25.935 x 10,557 students = $273,795.795

How can the University pay for this? Some thoughts.

Almost $300,000 is not a lot of money to UConn. Lets not forget that Randy Edsall was able to make up $150,000 a game in incentives back in 2018. The Dean of Students, Eleanor Daugherty, promised to-go containers and it seems that this was just a lie. (Thanks u/Westporter for that town-hall summary) Using the State of Connecticut's own information we can see how much UConn employees were paid for the 2021 fiscal year.

• Dr. Andrew Agwunobi, President - $812,790 - really got that bag and dipped
• Eleanor Daugherty, Dean of Students - $236,649 - sends emails written like a 5yr old
• Tracey Roy, Interim Executive Director of Dining - $121,639
• Michael White, Senior Associate Director of Dining - $112,032
• Robert Landolphi, Associate Director - $103,874

Cutting the above dining staff's salaries to $100,000, the DOS to $200,000, and the Pres. to $800,000 brings a total savings of $86,335. Of course, this is all hypothetical and it is not reasonable to take working people's wages just because they promised something and claim it's now impossible. The argument that the University does not have the money to afford these take-out containers is just wrong. UConn can afford to pay the Dean of Students $236,649 to send a mass email once a week with information that she later contradicts and an interim president who did nothing and made more money than most people do in their entire lives. Likely the most important thing is that the actual numbers are likely much less than project above. Not all students on campus have meal plans. Not all students use take-out containers. It is entirely likely that the University spends more on paper than it does these boxes. In fact, someone can likely find out exactly how much the University spent o

Chapter Nineteen

“Oh, and just how many would a ‘small army’ be, then?” The Colonel asked, now intrigued. Adam decided he would do some posturing of his own, despite his better judgment screaming for himself to appear as wallpaper.

“That depends, ma’am. Are you asking about the first operation, second, or both combined?” He said before the Captain could answer.

“You’ve been on two then?” She waved a hand in a show of mock civility. “Do tell!”

Adam counted on his fingers humorously, taking way too long to answer; a brief flash of anger crossing the officer's face before he decided to tone down the bullshit.

“Well, if I’m being honest, I lost count after a dozen, but it’s not more than fifty. Drop in the bucket, really, once you add my pre and post occupation activities.”

“So you were a soldier before we arrived, then?” She said, clearly allowing a modicum of respect in her voice for the, as she now realized, experienced male soldier.

“Yeah. I left the service before you guys got there, but got involved with the resistance for a while before I saw the Empress's light. Can you blame a guy?”

“No, I suppose not,” she said with a smile. “It’s expected for a male to react emotionally and illogically at something like that.”

Thankfully, before the conversation could devolve any further Grim grabbed his arm and pulled him towards the door.

“I apologize, Colonel, but I have to get my pod to chow, and afternoon exercise after that. It was decidedly lovely running into you again!” Grim exclaimed, clearly trying to get the fuck out before the conversation went anywhere she didn’t like.

“You as well, Captain! Enjoy your… ahem… exercise!” The other team's officer said, her grin turning predatory, “I hope you pass selection, recruit!”

With that, the door closed behind them, leaving Grim and Adam a few meters behind the rest of the pod.

“That was dangerous, Adam.”

“I know, but I wasn’t going to just sit there and let her start shit without a response.” He replied.

“Listen… just, don’t talk to officers without being prompted from now on, okay? A lot of them are nobility, and will certainly not be as understanding as I try to be.”

“Yes ma’am.” Adam replied, abashed.

In short order they all filed into a nearby building and fell into the line leading to a small bar, where Shil’vati male and female workers were dutifully handing out food to the marines and special operators. As the group hurriedly ate, Adam did his best to ignore the stares from the patro

To those watching, the combination of shrieks, both gleeful and terrified, served as an excellent demonstration of the Doppler effect, as the occupants of the toboggan flew down the pristine white hillside, kicking up a cloud of powdered snow behind them. The passengers of the admittedly ancient and fragile looking wooden contraption clung to each other, and to the sled, with a tenacity that was seldom seen, save for when one finds themselves dangling over a precipice, or perhaps upon acquisition of the last piece of pie.

“Are you sure that’s supposed to be fun?" Brelak asked as the wailing shifted down in pitch. “Most people don’t make that noise when they’re having fun…”

“Screamin’s a time-honored tradition, where sleddin’s concerned!” Zachariah chuckled. “I wouldn’t worry ‘bout it too much. They’re perfectly safe. Th’ powder’s thick, there’s nothing to hit, and once they’ve survived the first ride, I ain’t never met a kid who didn't wanna go again!”

“Daddy pleeeeease!” Yumina’s voice issued from the small, vaguely humanoid cocoon of winter wear at Brelak’s side. She tried to tug on his coat sleeve, but the mittens refused to cooperate and she settled with batting at his arm. "Pleeeeeeeease! I wanna try too!”

Brelak’s brow furrowed as he watched the crowded sled come to a halt. The figures began to dismount, Eli standing first from the back, Solanna then crawling away slowly, and Hannah moving to help the smallest passenger, who remained curled up in a ball.

“Oh dear,” Brelak took a step forward towards the knee deep snow. “I don’t think Jacarin enjoyed that.”

Before anything further could be done, another large figure went whizzing past, this time on an enormous black torus.

“-fuuuuuuuuuUUUUUUUUUUUuuuuuuuuuuuu-!!!” Rhe’alla’s voice could be heard as she shot past, her pitch jumping an octave as she hit a snowdrift and briefly came off the surface of the snow. She landed in an explosion of white powder, before bursting out the far side of the cloud and drifting to a stop, not far from the others by the wooden sled. She stood up from the tube, gave herself a shake, and then hastened through the snow to bend down in front of the figure of Jacarin.

“That’s not a good sign…” Zachariah frowned as Rhe’alla scooped Jacarin up in her arms and began tromping through the snow in their direction. Once she had broken out of the fresh powder, she set him on his feet, where he promptly threw himself into his father’s waiting arms.

“I thought I was going t

Barovia, Kretz, or Death House? The question of where to start the Curse of Strahd campaign remains a prevalent debate between DMs within the community.

Due to its popularity, MidlifeDices brought up this discussion during one It's About DM Time livestream featuring Curse of Strahd DMs and content creators. While discussing the starting point, CasualCreativity made the joke of starting right away in Castle Ravenloft. DragnaCarta pointed out that this idea was similar to the choose-your-own-adventure book Escape From Castle Ravenloft, in which you are a cleric attempting to escape Castle Ravenloft without weapons or armor.

Since the livestream, I have been obsessed with developing this idea. Below are the notes that I have come up with on effectively making Castle Ravenloft your new Death House. I want to personally thank CasualCreativity for the beautiful idea, u/DragnaCarta for putting it into light, u/kenraro for being my Castle Ravenloft expert, and the many members of the DragnaCarta discord for helping me solve some of the issues. I hope that this provides enough inspiration for running this unique idea in your campaign!

So Why Even Do This Thing?

If done correctly, starting in Castle Ravenloft can be the best option for most CoS games. This starting location provides the following benefits.

1. Proper Parallelism: In starting within Castle Ravenloft, you are allowed to have a bit of parallelism. Parallelism, (AKA Circular Narrative) is a literary device in which the beginning and end of something directly mirror each other in a way that presents both similarities and dramatic differences (think "The man in black fled across the desert, and the gunslinger followed" from The Dark Tower). The resemblance is obvious: your party will begin within the walls of Castle Ravenloft, and, if all goes well, they will end within the walls of Castle Ravenloft. That being said, in both instances of their tour of the Castle, they are different people.
2. Skin In The Game: I have heard many DMs struggle with running a game of Curse of Strahd in which players engage in the main plot. This is a reasonable struggle. Unless your party is very altruistic or likes Irena, it's hard for them to care for her safety. Though Madam Eva is a persuasive individual, her call to action is often not enough to get the party to care about Strahd either. Even witnessing the miserable treatment of most Barovians doesn't resonate w

Do your worst!

Map for reference.

First Previous Next

----

Chris hadn’t noticed before, but the old city rose above the bay by a considerable margin. The old wall surrounding it, butted directly up against a cliff that overlooked the bay. As such, when they left the city through one of the southern gates, the bridge leading out was more a massive ramp than anything. The underside had no supports, instead was arched, giving it a lopsided view from the sides, as one side was thicker than the other to compensate for the height difference.

“So, what’s out here worth seeing, eh points?”, Grudge asked, as he looked over the bridge’s stone railing.

“There are several places more…lecherous…individuals indulge in. But we will not be going near there, instead we will be traveling along the main road that runs parallel to the shore, and end at the docks. The port district on the southern side receives more goods and passengers, while the northern one operates in much the same way it is more a fishing port. As such, if you should ever arrive in Loridan it will most likely be via the southern docks. And being so close to the docks, there are many specialty stores that sell exotic items, as well as stores that sell normal items cheaper than elsewhere. So it’s also a great place to sell those shade eyes you have, among the other items I’m sure you’ve stashed away.”

“So, you’re telling me we are going to go around the fun and exciting red-light district, for a boring smelly port? Meh, I’m okay with that.”, Chris said. ‘One thirsty elf is enough for me. I don’t’ need an entire district full of them.’

“Yes, we are, and I better not learn you decided to pay it a visit.”, she said, scowling at them

“Yeah, yeah, whatever you say.”, Chris shrugged, continuing down the bridge without them. “When you two are done looking at the water, I’ll be at the base of the bridge waiting.”, he called

After Chris had walked far enough away, Grudge asked, “Why ya threatening him Ayla? Ya staking a claim on him or something?” He roared with laughter. Ayla was tempted to hit Grudge in the face with a wind spell, but she refrained from doing so. Ha

It really does, I swear!

For context I'm a Refuse Driver (Garbage man) & today I was on food waste. After I'd tipped I was checking the wagon for any defects when I spotted a lone pea balanced on the lifts.

I said "hey look, an escaPEA"

No one near me but it didn't half make me laugh for a good hour or so!

Edit: I can't believe how much this has blown up. Thank you everyone I've had a blast reading through the replies 😂

I'm surprised it hasn't decade.

They’re on standbi

Buenosdillas

Read Chapter 1 Here

Previous Chapter Here

Everybody's excited for the pancakes chapter for the cabin crew, so I figured this was a perfect time to check in on the Sams and company. As always, thanks for reading and I'd love to read your comments below.

****

Jem’si, beloved son of House Chel'xa, folded over in pain as the kick connected with his abdomen. Wind knocked out of him, he couldn’t do anything when a hand grabbed the back of his shirt collar and pulled. The young man found himself sprawled on his face on the padded floor, his sword landing next to him with a heavy thud.

“You’re fighting angry again.”

Sigh. “Yes, instructor.”

“Have you been trying those meditation exercises I taught you?”

“Yes, instructor.”

“We had a bad meeting today," Keller remarked from the sidelines. Jem'si noticed with pride that her English was getting much better.

“Always an excuse.” The instructor was grinning, at least. Jem’si pulled himself to his feet and dusted himself off before reaching for his sword again. “I really wish you would choose a weapon that fit your size better. An arming sword, backsword, rapier, all would be better options.”

“William Wallace didn’t use an arming sword.”

“He did, actually. That movie isn’t historically accurate.”

“Oh.” Jem’si was going to have to reevaluate some things.

“I will bring some options for you next week. We can see what fits you a little better.”

“Thank you, instructor.”

“Now then, I think I should call it a day. Keller is giving me eyes again. I don’t think she appreciates me leaving boot prints on her husband.” Jem’si grinned to himself. All three of them knew what sort of eyes Keller was giving, but it was fun to play along. Truth was, Keller had picked Instructor Kaytlin personally and the older human was tough, knowledgeable, and had absolutely no interest in men. Pretty much exactly Keller’s type.

Jem’si waited for the two women to leave, arm in arm, before he peeled off his padded jacket. Sure enough, there was a human boot-sized bruise forming right across his abdomen.

“You’re going to the medical center.”

“It will be fine, dad.” Torel had apparently slipped in without him noticing. While Keller was a huge woman, broad and muscular, Torel was small and slender for a shil'vati female, not much larger than Jem’si was. Torel's hair was

Pilot on me!!

Good evening all.

Just sending through this small contribution to the Holiday Contest.

Like Halloween, this is a two-parter despite coming in under the word count!

Wishing all of you a peaceful and loving time and true contentment this holiday season.

Lots of love

Moi

David’s eyes tracked the trees and buildings rolling past the window of the car, the once familiar view of Auckland city looking so different since he left. The rolling hills with tree-lined roads were still there, but now clearly interspersed with the squat purple bricks the Shil called “architecture”. While he supposed the building’s looked alright, having got used to them during his tenure in Shil space, they were certainly at odds with the wooden colonial villas and 1930’s art deco townhouses he was achingly familiar with seeing as they rolled through the area of Mount Eden.

The reason that the car wasn’t taking the usual motorway route was twofold, firstly, it ensured David and his… family… (definitely not a harem!) could avoid the heavy traffic as the city rushed to buy last second Christmas oddities. The second reason was so David could show his wives and children (and wasn’t that something he never saw coming? Three wives and four adopted children… Jesus Christ), could see the city which he’d grown up in.

The Shil military presence wasn’t nearly as visible as he’d thought, just the odd pair of militiawomen walking their beats, and of course the security at the spaceport. Other than that it seemed that a decade was all it had taken for Aucklanders to settle into the life of an occupied species.

A small hand tugged at the short sleeve of his collared shirt, drawing David from his musing as he turned his attention back to the occupants of the car, namely the young Shil male looking up at him with wide eyes.

“Dav… Dad, are we nearly there?”

The corners of David’s mouth curved upwards as he gently held his adopted son’s hand in his, “Not quite J’aal, maybe another half hour or so.”

J’aal pouted slightly, though whether this was at the idea of waiting or more so at having to practice his English and human time measurements it was hard to say.

“But I want to see Oma and Opa!”

Though he would only admit it to himself, David’s heart sung for joy at hearing those words coming out of J’aal’s mouth. He’d made sure that he didn’t try and enforce any of his human culture on his family, but he had managed to slip small things into the famil

AN : Made a general MAP for this chapter, just an overview of the territories for the major races, hope it looks good.

WIKI

First

_________________________________________

Allis

Allis woke up to find herself coiled around her sheets, which made her let out an irritated huff when she wished it was Leo. She knew that she was drawing out her anger with what he did a little too much, especially after he apologized, but she wasn't going to let him off the hook as easily as Elaria did.

Allis frowned as she coiled a little tighter around the sheets. "Even if I do miss cuddling…" She muttered a little dejectedly.

After getting ready, Allis left her room and saw that Leo was waiting in front of her door. He was floating hundreds of beautifully colored flowers, while holding two trays of food. The flowers were flowing around in a hypnotic rainbow above his head while he balanced both very large trays on each hand.

The gesture set Allis's heart into a flutter, but she wasn't going to make it that easy for him. She tilted her head up and slithered a few feet down the hall, before stopping to glance back at the crestfallen man.

She smirked at the sight, but felt just a tad bit of pity. "Are you coming?" She called expectantly, and he immediately perked up to follow her to the dining hall.

'Oh yes, I'm definitely going to make him work for it.' She thought a little smugly.

Walking into the hall, they saw that everyone was already enjoying a meal at the table. Allis took a seat as Leo placed her tray in front of her, a simple egg and cheese sausage platter with hash browns on the side, and a tall glass of orange juice.

Allis turned to Leo with a questioning stare, because eggs were definitely not in Kesl's provisions. "Leo, what about the food on the ship?" She asked with a tinge of concern, not wanting to be poisoned if she could help it.

Leo shrugged as he sat down to begin eating. "Got up very early, went to the kitchen and cooked it all myself. Plus, even if I didn't, I don't think her majesty would like a very pissed off dragon showing up to find all three of her loved ones dead." He ended as he casually took a bite of his food.

Turning to the queen, Allis saw her eating the same breakfast. "Your grace, aren't you concerned that ‘we’ may have poisone

Out of the dozen or so properties I help inspect, there wasn’t a single building I dreaded more than this place. It had been well over two years since I’d been called to the Holly Way Apartments. It was an old sort-of refurbished three story building deep in western down town, among the other derelict, half abandoned high-rises.

It was a somewhat urgent call from the manager of that property. A tenet had skipped out on rent for the month and refused to answer his phone, email, or just the door. Apparently he’d changed the lock at some point or added a new one on, either way the manager couldn’t get in and the neighbors have filed complaints. Smell complaints, noise complaints, even from the tenets above and below him on the first and third floor had something to say.

Like always the manager didn’t want to get the police involved yet, so me and another inspector got called in to deal with it and to see if the police were necessary.

I’ve worked with the guy before, George was his name. I could already make out his distinguishable blue Camry parked beside the towering building. This building was old, one of our oldest. Light tan brick work covered most of the building, coated in decades of dark water stains emanating from each window or gutter. Barely six o clock and already the sun was well behind the horizon. In the looming darkness I could see each window above, the interior lights silhouetting whatever unique makeshift curtains the tenets had put up. Mostly the easily recognizable dip-shape of a thin bed sheet held up with thumb-tacks.

I had parked across from George. The stocky balding man was waiting in the drivers seat, leaning deep into his phone before realizing I’d shown up.

“About time you showed up.” He said in his usual agitated nervousness.

“Six o clock traffic, terrible this side of town”

“Yeah well at least we won’t have to deal with it after we get this over with.”

He finished typing something on his phone before pocketing it.

“Why are we even down here? Don’t they call the police for these kinds of things?” George said as we made our way to the buildings main entrance. The original coloring on the surface level walls was hardly discernible anymore, caked in a dark brown soot.

“I already asked about it and the manager is clear, he doesn’t want police involved if he can help it.” I said.

“Oh so we work for this guy now?”

“Look we just gotta ask a few questions, crack open the door, figure out what happened. Guy probably just

Dad jokes are supposed to be jokes you can tell a kid and they will understand it and find it funny.

This sub is mostly just NSFW puns now.

If it needs a NSFW tag it's not a dad joke. There should just be a NSFW puns subreddit for that.

Edit* I'm not replying any longer and turning off notifications but to all those that say "no one cares", there sure are a lot of you arguing about it. Maybe I'm wrong but you people don't need to be rude about it. If you really don't care, don't comment.

On aug 30 2021, my soul mate of 12 years was taken from me. I came home from work around 7 to find her on the floor of our dining room. Whatever it was that took her tried to take my children too. My son (6) was dangling off his loft bed by his foot and developed compartment syndrome, a swelling of the muscle tissue due to a lack of bloodflow, and my daughter (19mo) was non-responsive in her crib.

Due to the kids being in the hospital, my son has had 8 surgeries on his leg and is currently wheelchair bound. We were unable to have her memorial until recently. With the vast majority of her family living in Arizona, I felt it would be easiest if I went there (ever try putting 9 kids on a plane?) Cue the 3200 mile round trip from Nashville to Phoenix.

The drive out wasn't that bad, my mind was preoccupied with thoughts of the service, but coming back... coming back I was constantly thinking about her, how she isn't going to be able to watch our kids grow up, how she is going to miss all the memories we never got to have, how im not going to have her as I grow old and grey.

26 hours I was stuck in this dark maelstrom of thought, so when I got back to my parents house, I decided to have a drink, then a few more. By the time I was half through my second bottle of jack I had my 9mm on the table. Rubbing the tip or the barrel against the side of my head, I had decided that I wanted nothing more than to be with her again. At that exact moment, my daughter started fussing in her crib, and I instinctively got up to soothe her. Sitting there in my dark room, holding that little thing, I knew I had to live for her, I had to see her grow up. I had to be there for the rest of her life.

She saved me.

What did 0 say to 8 ?

" Nice Belt "

So What did 3 say to 8 ?

" Hey, you two stop making out "

I won't be doing that today!

Dear Emily, I didn't  want to frighten you with this letter. I promised Mr Dyer not to tell anyone, but I just can't take it anymore. Going there was a mistake. The voice...it won't stop screaming. Professor Armitage thinks I'm mad, but I know it’s not true! I have seen it with my own eyes! The horrors which those mountains hide. He already sent a request to be sent into a mental health institution. I don't want to go there, I can't. I needed to break my promise, and tell someone, anyone, what truly happened during the Miskatonic expedition of 20 December 1930.

We took off at 22:30, together with Dylan, Professor Walker, two men to help carry the fossils safely, William Duncan, our pilot and the supply necessary to transport the fossils and furnish the planes, enough food for three weeks, three sleds with six dogs each, and a few guns, in case anything bad happened. It was 2:38, around 4 hours since we have taken off, when the weather started to deteriorate.

At first there were minor turbulences. Most of us were calm, since it was nothing out of the usual, but William was worried, claiming that something way more menacing was approaching us. Then, sure as hell, it started getting worse. A blizzard hit us, causing massive damage to the engine, freezing one wing, and slowing down the propellers. The plane started loosing more and more altitude, obligating William to perform a forced landing around 5 kilometers away from Dyer’s camp.

During the landing, one of the wheels got stuck, causing the plane to drift on the slippery ice, ramming head first into a mountain, injuring the quarters and covering the wings in snow.

Thankfully, we crashed at a relatively low speed, so the damage was mostly mendable, and none of the crew was wounded. However, Dylan was in complete shock, shaking and crying the whole time. Hopefully, some rudimentary tools might have been competent to fix it. Unfortunately, we weren't able to find some in the luggage compartment, nor the cockpit.

Mr Walker strived to contact Dyer or Lake’s camp on the radio, but to no ensue. With the wind growing stronger and stronger, and the temperature below -50 degrees Celsius, we were left with no option but to venture into the Antarctic night in hopes of finding Dyer’s camp and bringing the necessary equipment to repair the plane.

Unfortunately, during the landing, one of the sleds broke, and the two remaining couldn't hold us all, so some had to remain overnight and watch over the plane. A ri

WIKI

First

_________________________________________

Elaria

Elaria felt a little lonely when she woke up this morning, as Leo wasn't in her bed with her, but she knew that was just the small selfish part of her that grew to want him all to herself, a part that she was starting to get increasingly annoyed with.

Elaria ran a hand across the empty space beside her on the bed and sighed. 'At least I'm completely sure of my feelings for him, now if only we could have a moment alone…' The thought trailed as she got out of bed and readied herself for the trip.

After a refreshing shower, Elaria made her way down stairs to have breakfast. As she walked through the large halls she couldn't help but drag a hand across the ornate walls, just to make sure that her life up to this point wasn't some kind of fever dream, and she smiled as her fingers traced along the smooth wooden grooves.

When Elaria reached the dining area she saw Fel, Glia, and Sciesch all having breakfast, but Leo was nowhere to be seen. She eyed the trio suspiciously as she took a seat, because there was no way that they managed to walk down stairs on their own. "So where's Leo." She asked curiously.

Fel rested her head on a propped up arm, while forking some fluffy pancakes into her mouth. "He went to pick up Allis and the provisions for your stay at the capital." She answered before chewing some of the deliciously golden food.

"After breaking in the manors patrolling guard." Glia supplemented while snickering, causing everyone else to start giggling as well.

A staff servant brought out a plate of food for Elaria before heading back to the kitchen. "It was only a few months ago that he was still acting a little awkward from having sex with other people. I'm glad he finally shook off that crap from his world." Elaria remarked before she started eating.

Sciesch cocked her head as she brushed a strand of hair back behind her horn. "Was it really that bad? I mean I didn't notice anything." She inquired a little skeptically.

Fel let out an irritated groan as she pinched the bridge of her nose. "You were still just getting railed for the sake of it, not even a close friend yet if I remember correctly, but around us he acted like he just committed a serious crime after he had a little fun with someone else, and I had to ca

You take away their little brooms

[Removed]

Why

It’s pronounced “Noel.”

To those watching, the combination of shrieks, both gleeful and terrified, served as an excellent demonstration of the Doppler effect, as the occupants of the toboggan flew down the pristine white hillside, kicking up a cloud of powdered snow behind them. The passengers of the admittedly ancient and fragile looking wooden contraption clung to each other, and to the sled, with a tenacity that was seldom seen, save for when one finds themselves dangling over a precipice, or perhaps upon acquisition of the last piece of pie.

“Are you sure that’s supposed to be fun?" Brelak asked as the wailing shifted down in pitch. “Most people don’t make that noise when they’re having fun…”

“Screamin’s a time-honored tradition, where sleddin’s concerned!” Zachariah chuckled. “I wouldn’t worry ‘bout it too much. They’re perfectly safe. Th’ powder’s thick, there’s nothing to hit, and once they’ve survived the first ride, I ain’t never met a kid who didn't wanna go again!”

“Daddy pleeeeease!” Yumina’s voice issued from the small, vaguely humanoid cocoon of winter wear at Brelak’s side. She tried to tug on his coat sleeve, but the mittens refused to cooperate and she settled with batting at his arm. "Pleeeeeeeease! I wanna try too!”

Brelak’s brow furrowed as he watched the crowded sled come to a halt. The figures began to dismount, Eli standing first from the back, Solanna then crawling away slowly, and Hannah moving to help the smallest passenger, who remained curled up in a ball.

“Oh dear,” Brelak took a step forward towards the knee deep snow. “I don’t think Jacarin enjoyed that.”

Before anything further could be done, another large figure went whizzing past, this time on an enormous black torus.

“-fuuuuuuuuuUUUUUUUUUUUuuuuuuuuuuuu-!!!” Rhe’alla’s voice could be heard as she shot past, her pitch jumping an octave as she hit a snowdrift and briefly came off the surface of the snow. She landed in an explosion of white powder, before bursting out the far side of the cloud and drifting to a stop, not far from the others by the wooden sled. She stood up from the tube, gave herself a shake, and then hastened through the snow to bend down in front of the figure of Jacarin.

“That’s not a good sign…” Zachariah frowned as Rhe’alla scooped Jacarin up in her arms and began tromping through the snow in their direction. Once she had broken out of the fresh powder, she set him on his feet, where he promptly threw himself into his father’s waiting arms.

“I thought I was going t

When I got home, they were still there.

This morning, my 4 year old daughter.

Daughter: I'm hungry

Me: nerves building, smile widening

Me: Hi hungry, I'm dad.

She had no idea what was going on but I finally did it.

Thank you all for listening.

There hasn't been a post all year!