I rise. I Rise. I RISE.

A monster is not such a terrible thing to be. From the Latin root monstrum, a divine messenger of catastrophe, then adapted by the Old French to mean an animal of myriad origins: centaur, griffin, satyr. To be a monster is to be a hybrid signal, a lighthouse: both shelter and warning at once. --Ocean Vuong, from "A Letter To My Mother That She Will Never Read", published in The New Yorker

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jeezperseus‌:

percy raised his eyebrows emphatically. ❝ really ?i thought it was, like, kinda obvious, y’know. ❞ he felt suddenly proud in himself. ❝ no ; how would i be lost if i did ? and i haven’t seen my phone in a while. i’m super duper lost. ❞

“Totally fooled me. Nope, couldn’t tell at all.“ Alt’s head tilted towards the sky with a snort. Couldn’t walk away now -- well, that was a lie, but the least that they could do was help the guy find his phone. “Where’ve you been recently?”

[jeezperseus]

percy gesticulated enthusiastically with a bottle covered by a paper bag. ❝ don’t tell anyone, but, like, i’m really fucked up right now, ❞ he ‘ whispered ‘ to them. ❝ and i lost my dd. and my will. and, like, all of my friends. i’m lost. ❞

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“I couldn’t have guessed. Thanks for your honesty,” Alt’s eyes narrowed slightly, and moved pointedly from the bag to the stranger and back to the bag before they sighed in slight irritation. “Where do you remember losing them last? Did you have like a meet up point, or...?” 

[lilbucharoo]

“I can’t believe there’s going to be a latke eating contest on Saturday. Like…. I’m pretty sure I was born ready for this moment.” He couldn’t help the grin that was expressed freely as he turned to someone, anyone. “You’re looking at the soon-to-be winner of that food eating contest, mark my words. I’ve already started watching videos to train myself mentally for the contest yet to come.” He frowns for a moment, eyebrows furrowing. “Do you think they have applesauce? Latkes are the absolute bomb when combined with that shit.”  

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“Oh? Been so busy helping set up some booths that I didn’t even know that was gonna be a thing here. That’s pretty cool...” They huffed out of a sigh at the mention of training for it, and shrugged. “Think you’ll need more than just watching videos to actually to actually win an eating contest, but I’ll be rooting for you.” Alt hummed as he thought the question over for a moment or two, “It’s possible about the applesauce, if it’s a common thing? Could always ask whoever’s in charge of it if they’ll have that with them.”

[madmissalice]

“Dreaming of apples on a wall, and dreaming often dear, I dreamt that if I counted all, how many would appear?” A favorite riddle of the blonde’s, straight from the mind of her most favorite author. “Well, go on now and give it a try. Not like a wrong answer means you’ll die.”

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“That’s not cryptic, but I’ll give it a shot.” Alt became silent as they mulled the riddle over, mouthing the lines before a grin formed on their lips as they paused, “Often. Of ten.” That would be a good little puzzle for a sphynx... They thought idly.

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ofdisbelief‌:

“Moms normally know what they are talking about.” Rhea said with a shrug. “Not expensive is the more important thing.” Dropping out of college hadn’t been the best descision they ever made- considering they had most of the debt and nothing to show for it. “Thanks.”

“Ain’t that the truth for both of ‘em.” A smile crossed their face for a moment before they nodded in agreement with what Rhea had said. “No problem; I’m happy to help you narrow it down out of so many choices.”

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faeoflight‌:

Riordan was glad that they laughed at his lame joke, it made him feel better about it. “I’ve wanted to play Curse of Strahd but I think I should just do a oneshot for now.” He sighed, trying to be realistic with himself. “Between the jetlag and adjusting to working at night, something a little easy would be better.”

“If you ever change your mind, you’re more than welcome to start or join a game of Strahd. Just let one of us know. I’m sure that we’ll still have a couple of ‘em going, if you’re still interested,” They clarified further. “I understand that. You’ve got a point there... What days are you free, and do you prefer modules or original settings?”

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ofdisbelief‌:

“Liquid, got it.” Rhea said. Not that it had helped much, there were still a more options than they cared to count. They shrugged. “Never really paid much mind to the scent. I just used whatever my dads used.” And after they’d moved out, they’d used whatever was cheapest wherever they were when they ran out. “Any recommendations?”

“Or so my mother told me. I don’t know if that’s correct or not...” Alt thought for a couple of moments before they shrugged. “Well, I’m a little partial to lavender or ocean-ish smells, myself. I particularly like this one --” they picked up a relatively plain bottle and continued, "-- because it’s not expensive, and not too strong.”

[ofdisbelief]

“There are so many fucking kinds of detergent.” Rhea whined, looking up and down and left and right at the shelves filled with detergent. “I just need something that works and doesn’t smell gross. I don’t need a thousand options.” They said with a groan.

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“There are a lot of choices... personally, I’d suggest looking a liquid one. Powder types can leave residue stuff on your clothes if they don’t dissolve well.” Alt further explained as they took a lavender scented detergent off the shelf and put it in their own basket. “What kind of smells do you like? Or do you prefer unscented?”

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faeoflight‌:

Most of the campaigns Riordan had been playing since he left home had been based online since he never spent long in a specific place. Though now that he had settled into Paragon for the long run, finding a group to play with was his next task on the list of minor things he had to do. When he entered the shop he was surprised with the enthusiasm with which he was greeted.  “You’re not a telepath are you? That’s the whole reason i’m here, finding a DND campaign to join.” He smiled, trying to make a joke but instantly felt lame about it. 

Alt enjoyed their job. No, that was an understatement. They legitimately enjoyed building and creating worlds for their players, building stories (and inevitable derailments) and memories that would last for years to come. “No, unfortunately..." They laughed at the joke regardless. “We are getting a couple of 5e Curse of Strahd campaigns that have some spots for that game in particular; it is spooky month, in case you want a horror based campaign. We do have some normal campaigns and one shots that should still have some spots open.”

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abloodyripper‌:

“sorry t’ bother you.” the australian said softly, before handing over the phone. he didn’t care too much to know if it was an android or an iphone, and so the question went over his head – but it was indeed an iphone, even if he didn’t know it. “it’s just, uh, a bit too high tech for me. it was a gift and i dunno what to do with it.”

“It’s fine; I don’t mind helpin’ somebody out. We were all there before, y’know?” Alt shrugged as they took the phone and looked it over. They straightened and positioned themselves to better help the stranger see what they were doing “I see. ‘s an iPhone; would you like me to go over the basics with you? Gestures, what have you?”

[abloodyripper]

“lemme ask you somethin’.” jasper asked, shifting in his seat. it wasn’t necessarily a dumb question, but he felt stupid asking it. he wasn’t great with technology, and his phone was highly confusing. “what, uh– how do i use this fuckin’ thing?”

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“Hm? Sure, I guess. One sec,” Alt replied, and finished the sentence they were on before turning to look at Jasper. They turned to better get an idea of what the stranger was holding “Is it an android, or iPhone... some other kind of operating system? That’d be a good place to start. Or if you still have the manual handy.”

[jmdragunas]

A fun Dark Souls inspired piece I finished up today. 

[lilleota]

Grace had never been overly fond of Halloween. The jump scares, the requirement of costumes…she’d simply never understood the appeal of it. Yet here she was at the carnival, a pair of white wings and a matching halo accessorizing the otherwise mundane white lace dress. “I feel ridiculous.”

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Alt liked to cosplay, especially for conventions. This particular costume was nearly done before they came to Paragon, and Halloween was a fine enough excuse to finish it. The holiday would have to do since they doubted they were ever going to leave town at all in the near future.

“There’s nothing wrong with something simple, y’know? It looks nice on you.”

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Alton “Alt” Donovan --- Guts (Black Swordsman Arc)

"A beast, a monster? Heh... Don't make me laugh. I... am me. And nothing on earth. Can change me.“ --Guts (Berserk)

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[ @faeoflight ]

It’s a fairly quiet day at the store Alt has been working at for a while now, and they are a little grateful for it. The chance to catch up on campaigns and building playlists were a nice reprieve, though the silence was broken when they heard the sound of the door opening. “Hey.” They asked their new customeras they put their pencil down, “How can I help you? I’d be happy to break down any sales or any table top game you’ve got a question about, or if you’re interested in joining any games we’ve got running this weekend.”

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midnighttigerluna‌:

“I can’t say that I have,” Luna’s eyes locked on the plate as Alt brought it in range. “But I am equally excited to try them!” She exclaimed as they set the plate down. “Oh! And before I forget,” She reached in her bag and produced a medium sized clear container with a few muffins in it. “Pumpkin chocolate chip muffins, as promised.~” As she set the tupperware aside, Luna brought her attention back to the slice of bread in front of her. When she took a bite, her eyes fell shut and she savoured the spicy sweet taste of the bread. “It’s good.” She mumbled with a full mouth, dragging out the ‘o’ as best as she could.

“I am too. Definitely hoping it’s a keeper.” Alt held their hands up and crossed their index and middle fingers and continued, “If nothing else I could use it to make the kitchen smell nice, so it’s still a plus.” They shrugged slightly and asked, “Did you want some water or anything? It’d be no trouble at all.”

At the mention of the muffins, their eyes lit up with hard to miss excitement, “Not gonna lie, I was really lookin forward to trying these out. Thanks.” It was good to have someone to swap recipes with; it gave them an excuse to try out new things that they might not have ever tried before.They couldn’t stop a grin from forming as Luna “’S good to hear! If you want to take some with you, feel free.” 

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🥪 our muses have a snack | @midnighttigerluna

“You came at the right time; just got done backing some pumpkin bread. Have you tried this recipe before?” Alt asked curiously as they brought a slice of the fresh bread over to Luna on a plate, “I found the recipe online. It smelled really good coming out of the oven so I’m a bit excited to see how it turns out.”