#julius acorn

[sonicroyalrumble]

Sonic Royal Rumble: Preliminary #5 (Oops, all Acorns pt. 2)

Left: Alexander Acorn

Right: Abraham Acorn, George Acorn, Julius Acorn, Raphael Acorn, Reginald Acorn, Romulus Acorn, Sebastian Acorn (None of them have images)

[thesentinelzine]

2.1 OUR STANDARD.

With the election of His Holiness INNOCENT XIV as the new Bishop of Rome, the Commander has commissioned a new FLAG as the STANDARD of our regiment.

2.2 The FLAG of the PONTIFICAL SWISS GUARD

is divided by a white cross into four fields, the first of which bears the coat of arms of the reigning pontiff—INNOCENT XIV, white field blue cross ordinary; peace dove charge on the ordinary, with five loaves and two fish in the quadrants; keys in saltire surmounted by a mitre)—and the fourth that of JULIUS II, the founding Pope—azure, a golden oak uprooted, bearing acorns and with branches crossed in a double cross of St. Andrew; keys in saltire surmounted by the papal tiara on a red field)—both on a red background; the second and third fields bear the colours of the CORPS and the House of MEDICI (red, yellow and blue).

At the intersection of the cross is the coat of arms of the Commander, HANS MAURITZ LEUTZINGER—Gules, a black house emblem (a cross-headed shaft with a declining moon base, a raised, pointedly downward-angled half-crutch cross bar pointing upwards above a four crossed with a bevel to the left, enclosing a silver crosslet flanked below by two golden stars), surmounted by a helmet with white plume, and surrounded by a laurel wearth.

Embroidered and sewn on the Julius damask of pomegranates and thistles.

2.3 The STANDARD

remains under the care of the Commander, and is carried on parade by the SERGEANT MAJOR and flanked by TWO SERGEANTS bearing flame-bladed swords on solemn occasions:

2.3.1 In procession in ST. PETER'S SQUARE during the URBI ET ORBI (Easter, Christmas, and the announcement of a new pontiff).

2.3.2 The SWEARING IN of new guards, every 6 May, when recruits grasp the STANDARD with their left hand and recite the OATH, their right hand raised with their first three fingers extended as a symbol of the HOLY TRINITY.

2.3.3. At discretion of the Commander or the Holy Father.

2.4 SOURCES

Della Rovere coat of arms Leutzinger coat of arms Design of the flag Use of the flag Innocent XIV arms designed by Braigwen Banner designed by Emma

[pikabysss]

Okay, this is gonna be a long post, so bear with me: Old Doodles of a crack AU concept of the cast of Sonic playing Castlevania character (Castlevania x Sonic fusion, I guess) This is a doodle dump, I'll put the first one before the read more, the rest is going to be hidden so the post doesn't get too long.

So I did them almost in order of my fav characters.

From right to left:

Silver as Soma Cruz

Shadow as Alucard

I think Remington (echidna from old Sonic comics) as Julius

Sonic as Jonathan

Elias as Richter (purely because of appearance)

Rouge as Shanoa

Next we have:

Sally Acorn as Charlotte

Vanilla as Yoko Belnades

Cream as Maria Renard (I should have picked Maria, lol)

Pachacamac as Simon Belmont

Espio as Getsu Fuma (I know he's not a Castlevania character, let me explain: those 11 first characters are all the playables characters in Castlevania Symphony of Despair and I used to play this game a lot with my brother so I started with those characters since they became my favorites over time)

Next we have:

Rough the Skunk as Grant Dynasty

Storm as Trevor

Wave as Sypha Belnades

Grown up Cream for grown up Maria

Antoine as Leon Belmont (base on appearance only again)

Next we have villains!:

Dave the Intern as Joachim (I hate Joachim, and it's an inside joke)

Zavok as Dracula (featuring Sonic Adventure 2 bat)

Scourge as ??? (MOST LIKELY WALTER Bernhard)

Finally: Mephiles as Death (still proud of this one)

So that was all of them. I wonder if I should make full drawings of them in the future. For now, it'll be only those doodles. :3

BONUS:

The witch from Tails' sky patrol as Astarte and Walter Naugus as ???. (I really don't remember)

[jennrypan]

Scourge family lore!! Cuz I don't talk abt them enough (jumbled)

Birth parents: Lucifer and Rena: Lucifers parents were cultists who worshipped the Devil (they were WEIRDOS.) Which is why he's named that, and Rena is legit just evil. She loves power and being queen more than anything. She only 'dated' Lucifer to piss off her mother and stop her from setting her up with useless men. When Rena found out she was pregnant, she tweaked the hell out and lashed out at Lucifer. Going as far as to banish him from the city and threaten him if he came back (he didn't even know she was pregnant 💀)

She had triplets but instead of giving all three of them up for any geniune reason, she chose one child (the one that didn't look like her, the one she could pawn off easily; Scourge or..Seth.) she decided it'd be easier to give him up cuz he was blue and he could pass as Julius and Barbara's son (Julius owes her a favor at this point in time cuz she got him to be mayor) Rena knows who Scourge is and she takes great joy in what he grew up to be and when they meet, she shows no remorse for giving him up and even finds amusement in the fact that Julius is the reason he grew up to be like this.

(Lucifer doesn't know he has kids)

Adoptive Parents: Julius and Barbara (+ Charlie.)

Julius never wanted children, he doesn't care for them and only took Seth in because Rena threatened to strip him of his title (as the queen she has this authority), he didn't like that Barbara cared so much for this child that came from two of the most fucked up people he knows (Rena and Lucifer ) Julius didn't care for Seth and preferred to ignore him or push him off to his brother or Barbara but Seth noticed this and kept trying to get his attention so he started acting out which is when Julius started getting violent, he considered Seth ungrateful. He strongly believes in the strong survive and the weak won't, he loves gambling and he's a shady ass mayor. He's cheated on his wife several times and has made Seth swear to never tell her (via violence) and has even gotten his brother arrested when Charlie witnessed him hurt Seth. Julius is a shitty man and takes pride in it.

Barbara is a woman that cares very much about her community and she immediately took to Seth as soon as Rena dropped him off on them. She knew Julius wasn't a child person but she always assumed he had gotten use to it, she wasn't around to see the extent of his hate for their son as she was always working. On some level she knew he wasn't a great dad but tried to be there for Seth regardless, she loved him as if he was her own and because she knew his birth family wasn't..well she tried so hard to make their family whole (Which meant..ignoring her husband's infidelity and choosing to drink instead.) Barbara was a good mother, she just wasn't there a lot and the last time she saw Seth was before he took over Rena and the Acorns kingdom (She hasn't seen or heard from him since.)

Now with Charlie, he's the most like Chuck as he cared for and loved Seth, he bought Seth back artifacts whenever he went adventuring- he got him a kamodo dragon egg (He stole it) and now Seth has Iggy. He was the first person to see how Julius treats him and he would've told Barbara but Julius got him arrested blaming HIM for it. (Charlie eventually got out due to Barbara, and he was devasted to see his nephew on the news going by 'Scourge' and being labeled as a criminal)

[chloe-caulfield94]

alt Chloe has a gift for alt Max

Max and Chloe went to the bow of the cruise ship, to enjoy the setting sun. Max noticed that there was a small present box resting on Chloe’s lap, wrapped up in a bow.

         “I have something for you, Max. Open it!”

         Max untied the bow and removed the lid. Inside there was a wreath made out of dark green oak leaves, with a few acorns still attached.

         For an obvious reason, Max watched a lot of movies with Chloe. Some weeks after moving to Seattle, they started watching “Rome”, an HBO series taking place in the ancient days of the Eternal City. There had already been multiple seasons made and more were on their way. Max and Chloe liked the series very much and they steadily devoured episode after episode, season after season.

         In one of the early episodes, young Julius Caesar, still a mere footsoldier, saved the life of a comrade-in-arms. For that he was presented with a “civic crown” - a wreath of oak leaves. That prized award was handed out as a symbol of ultimate achievement - saving a fellow Roman’s life. It was made out of leaves, not out of gold or silver, because saving a life was considered to be an award in its own right. Max remembered that she geeked out hard after watching that episode, because the battle in which Caesar earned his civic crown took place at the city of Mitylene on the island of Lesbos, which was the home to the famed poet Sappho. The island is also the place where the novel “Daphnis and Chloe” by Longus is set, which is a story of two young souls who were raised together, but just as they were about to understand that they loved each other, were separated by cruel fate. But in the end, after many, many hardships, including an abduction by pirates, they were reunited and married.

         At Chloe’s side Max quickly learnt that geeking out was okay. In her Vortex Club days Max mistakenly believed that one should be blase about everything to come off as cool. Now she knew that caring about things and especially about other people was not only cool, but it was the only way to gain meaning in life.

         Listening to Max’s geekout about Lesbos, Sappho and ancient romance novels, Chloe smiled and nodded. But Max noticed that she wasn’t smiling with her eyes. At the time, she thought that Chloe was simply tired or that she had another one of her headaches. But now she knew what was the reason. Seeing young Caesar carrying his friend’s limp body, a rain of arrows falling all around them, must’ve reminded Chloe of the Storm.

         Chloe explained the contents of the box: “It’s an award for saving a life. Like you saved mine. In more ways than one”.

         Max touched the wreath with her fingertips.

         Chloe continued: “Obviously, I didn’t pick them myself. Remember how a few weeks ago Kristen and Fernando took me to the park when you had to stay late at work? They helped me pick the leaves. And make them into a wreath. And tie a bow on the box. While it was customary to use leaves from the place where the deed took place, you don’t have to worry. I know you don’t want anything to do with Arcadia Bay, not after the revelations about Jefferson and Nathan. These are decent Seattle leaves”.

         Max gazed at the wreath, as if mesmerized.

         Chloe fretted: “I’m sorry, I know it’s silly …”

         “No! It’s not silly”.

Looking her wife deep in the eyes, Max placed the wreath on her own brow. “I feel like a triumphing emperor. Your life, our love - those are the only things worth fighting for to me. Thank you for this gift, Chloe. I will never stop fighting for us”.

Chloe smiled and said: “During a triumph, an emperor always had a servant at their side, telling them that they were only human. That was to remind them that even in their moment of triumph they were merely mortal. Now, in your moment of triumph, I’m telling you - you are more than a human. You are my angel”.

         “Chloe, I don’t know what to say”.

         “Kiss me, then”.

         After their lips parted, Max kept gazing at her wife. Chloe’s head was crowned with a golden halo placed on it by the light of the setting sun. On the day of her wedding reception, Max should feel joyous and hopeful. She should dream about the future. She should feel like it was the first day of the rest of her life. And she did feel that way. She was full of joy and hope. She imagined all the beautiful moments of love ahead of them. But she also felt fear and unease. She knew they were living on borrowed time.

         She grabbed Chloe’s hand and placed her other hand on her wife’s cheek. Chloe, who had been looking over at the sea, smiled, finding Max’s face to be an even more pleasant view than the sun rays dancing on water.

         Max spoke, utmost determination on her face, honesty and power in her voice: “Chloe, we already swore to be with each other until death parts us. Now I’m taking another oath. I swear to be with you always. I won’t allow anything to part us. I won’t let our love be broken by death. I won’t let it take you. I don’t know how, but …”

         Chloe wished she could touch her wife. To reassure her. But she couldn’t. She could only use her words.

“Max, you have already saved me from death. You have saved both my body and my soul. Before you came back, I wished only for death. Now I only wish for life and love. Life with you. Your love. You’re right, what we have is too strong to be broken, even by death. So I swear to be with you, always, too”.

         They kissed again, two silhouettes against the setting sun, their dresses blue as the sea.

Continue reading: https://archiveofourown.org/works/51515176/chapters/130195735

[moved-to-civic-hub]

I know I posted a link to my DeviantArt submission, but here's a full picture of my Sally and Elias' family tree.

1st line:

Alexander is the first king of the modern royal Acorn family. After uniting the separate mobian tribes all over the Acorn Archipelago to form the Kingdom of Acorn, Alexander was named king of his new kingdom and his wife, Angelica, was named queen.

2nd line:

Alexander and Angelica had three children: Theodore, Edith and Cornelius. As his eldest son, Theodore was named the next king of the Kingdom of Acorn. He was betrothed to Alice, who he was wed to shortly after his 18th birthday. As king, he continued to manage the Kingdom of Acorn's grow in it's power.

3rd line:

Theodore and Alice had two children: Emerson and Diana. While Emerson was initially named the next king, he was tragically shot dead by a human. It was an accident, really: Emerson and that human (a teen boy named Paladin) were messing around with a gun and when Paladin aimed at a nearby Flicky, Emerson took the bullet and bled out. In his grief, Theodore banned contact with the United Federation and banned firearms (until it was overruled during the Great War). Diana was born later in Theodore's life. And despite being a female, she was made queen of the Kingdom of Acorn shortly after her father's death. She was married to William.

4th line:

Diana and William only had one son: Julius. Due to being so unprepared for being queen, Diane spent most of her time preparing her son for his role as king. Following a near death experience as a young man, Julius became very religious and introduced a number of religions into the kingdom. He was betrothed to Julia.

5th line:

Julius and Julia had two children: Romulus and Aelia. As king, Romulus spent his time, building up the kingdom's power and authority. He made very well sure that he was viewed as a good ruler. He was betrothed to Rhea.

6th & 7th lines:

Romulus and Rhea had one son: George. George was spoiled rotten by both of his parents. So much so that he deemed himself perfect. Under this delusion, he started a war with the United Nations (King George's Folly). Due to losing war and a variety of other bad decisions, the court deemed him unfit to rule and rendered him powerless until his passing. He went to the grave thinking he had no faults.

George has 6 ex-wives (yes, this is a reference to King Henry's 6 ex-wives). The first was Catherine (chipmunk), a noble from a colony in Efrika, who he was initially betrothed to before he began seeing Anne (the Skunk), a noble from Eurish (in the Sonic equivalent of France), who became his 2nd wife. He then began seeing Jane, a noble from Avalon, who died shortly after giving birth. Then, he married Maria, a noble from the Sonic equivalent of Germany, before he began seeing Joyce, another noble from Avalon, before he ended up with Maud. Maud was his wife until the day he died.

8th line:

George only managed to have 3 kids: Elizabeth, Margaret and George I. George I, his only son via Jane, was killed during the war. Margaret, his youngest daughter via Anne, mysteriously disappeared during the war. With no other heir, Elizabeth, his eldest daughter via Catherine, was made queen. Disgusted by her father's actions, she spent most of her time mending the relationship between the Kingdom of Acorn and it's citizens and rebuilding the kingdom from the war. She was betrothed to Walter.

9th line:

Elizabeth and Walter had one son: Reginald. Reginald was a romantic at heart who loved to write poetry. He ushred in a new wave of arts exploration in the kingdom. He was a bad poet. Instead of being bethrothed, he married his wife, Caroyln, after meeting her during a trip to a colony in Tralius.

10th line:

Reginald and Carolyn had three children: twins Silvanus & Silas and Christina. The older of the twins, Silvanus, was made the next king. Not feeling like the kingdom was doing enough, he made a lot of questionable decisions in order to strengthen the kingdom's authority and control. He was betrothed to Loida.

11th line:

Silvanus had two daughters: Charlotte and Katharine. Due to having no male heirs, Charlotte was named the next queen. As queen, she tried to quickly broker peace with the United Nations. It was often speculated that she only did this just so she could travel the world. During her travels, she met and married Charles.

12th line:

Charlotte and Charles has two children: Frederick and Rosetta. As king, Frederick endured the Great War with the United Nations. Despite the conflict, he was extremely open and welcoming during his reign. Following Alexander’s example, he tried to open his kingdom to new people and ideas. He was betrothed to Helen.

13th line:

Frederick and Helen had three children: Nigel, Max and Julayla. Nigel is the current king. Following his father’s example, he welcomed individuals like Dr. Robotnik and Naugus into his kingdom…only to be betrayed by them. Spent time in the Special Zone until he was rescued and returned to his throne, where he rules to this day. He was betrothed to Alicia. Max, meanwhile, choose to travel the world where he met Bianca. Julayla, meanwhile, dedicated herself to becoming a mentor to her niece prior to her passing. She was extremely close to Rosie, her cousin via her mother.

14th line:

Nigel and Alicia had two children: Sally and Elias. Once forced into hiding by Dr. Robotnik, Sally and Elias came to form the Freedom Fighters who continue to protect the Kingdom of Acorn to this day. Max and Bianca, meanwhile, had two children: Richelle and Tuftee. Shortly after Tuftee was born, Bianca disappeared, leaving Max with their two kids. It wasn't long until they lost Max as well. They are now under the care of their uncle.

[trans-lykanthropie]

@pestisly @heytherewerewolvesitsmeyagirl @technicoloryuri Ok so I fell asleep about ten seconds after making that post, but now I'm awake and slacking off at work, so....

Let's talk playing cards!

I wager the majority of us are familiar with what's known as the Anglo-American pattern of cards, which are a derivative of French standard pattern (kind of, it's complicated). But the origin of the kind of playing cards that we would recognise are all based cards made in Mamluk Egypt, which in turn were based on Chinese playing cards. Playing cards would enter European material culture around the late 14th century, and immediately split into regional derivatives as examples from Egypt arrived in Italy, Spain, the Low Countries, and France.

The French pattern first appeared based on Spanish pattern cards around 1377, but the suits (diamonds, clubs, spades, and hearts) are based on German suits (bells, acorns, leaves, and hearts). Spanish suits are more familiar to those who know those of the tarot deck (coins, cups, batons, and swords), with Italian cards being similar.

The court cards of today (king, queen, jack) have also changed a lot over time. Sometimes Queens have been entirely absent, with the court cards instead being King-Knight-Page (as based on Spanish patterns), whereas other decks from the late mediaeval and early modern era replaced two kings with queens. Interestingly enough, the court cards of the French pattern to this day are meant to represent historical and biblical figures: the king of hearts is Charlemagne, of clubs Alexander the Great, of spades King David, and of diamonds Julius Caesar. The king of diamonds in the Anglo-American pattern is the only king to appear standing in profile, and it is thought that this came about because Caesar appears in profile on old Roman coins.

In German patterns, the court cards are usually King-Lady-Baron when emulating the French pattern, but the older Germanic playing card patterns have the court cards as King-Ober-Unter (for the Over Knave and Under Knave, old military ranks).

Here are some examples:

Franconian Pattern - Exhibiting the Germanic suits of bells, acorns, leaves, and hearts, and court cards of King-Ober-Unter

The evolution of the King of Hearts from the Rouennais pattern to the more recognisable Anglo-American pattern

The evolution of the King of Hearts in the Paris pattern: note the named historical figure of Charlemagne

Spanish National / Old Catalan pattern - Exhibiting the Italiano-Spanish suits of coins, cups, swords, and batons, and the court cards of King-Knight-Page

Even with this limited sample you can see connections between the different patterns, particularly between the Old Catalan King of Swords and the Maréchal 1567 King of Hearts, which would ultimately become the Anglo-American pattern King of Hearts AND the Paris pattern King of Hearts

This has all been kind of disjointed and I want to make a proper post linking all the European card patterns but that's going to take forever as each country has so many regional derivatives and I haven't even tackled Tarocco/Tarock/Scarto decks which contain the trumps that will later be called the Major Arcana in tarot reading circles and I have to get dressed for work now so I'm not done yet.

[voicearth]

Portsmouth Nostalgia

Things we remember from the past and present near Portsmouth, NH...but off the top of our head

Past: Yokens, Rye Circus, Jokers, Chuck E Cheese, Friendlies, Kodak, Hawk Shop, Woolworths, Dream Machine, Happy Wheels, Water Monkey, Orange Julius, TCBY, Pretzel Time, Newberry Comics, Toys R Us, KB Toys, Straudwater Books, K Mart, Shaws (Lafayette Road), Riches, Breaking New Grounds

Present: Water Country, Bowl O Rama, Fox Run Mall, Salvation Army, Crossroads, The Music Hall, Seacoast Repertory Theater, Marco Polo, Gaslight, The Friendly Toast, The Hammer Pub and Grille, The Rosa Restaurant, Market Square Jewelers, North Church, Prescott Park, Strawberry Banke, Ceres Bakery, Daniel Street Tavern, Bournavil Jeep, Port City Tocuhless Car Wash

A lot of businesses have shuttered they're doors but an impressive amount of places are still operational. Honestly we thought the past would far outweigh the present list when the idea to write this came up. It's a little sad that 7/21 companies that no longer exist were specifically for the kiddos back then. Children may never know how good us 80's to 90's babies had it growing up in and around Portsmouth!

Not only did we have plenty of fun places to run around together and blow our parents money at but most importantly we have stories of when us human children still played outdoors! We played all sorts of games, built forts and toughed out minor injuries. Cops and robbers, acorn fights, tackle football, capture the flag, manhunt, tree climbing, you name it!

Honorable Mentions: Pogs, trading cards, Giga Pets, Lawn Darts, Yo-Yo's, Whoopie Cushion, Slinky, Comic Books, Original Nintendo, BMX Riding, Inline Skating, Bowling, Jyncos, Battleship, Parcheesi, Power Rangers, Wonder Years!

The Rye Circus: That's our go to past event to check people's Portsmouthness

Market Square: We used to hackysack in Market Square sometimes from dusk until dawn

To The Pre-Development People Still Around:

You are not alone!

[suizokukans]

Edalina is looking at Julius, sad. it wasn't often that she met a unicorn, for they were just so rare. the faerie queen is gentle, her voice hushed. he looked rather young, and it was raining outside. she moves her umbrella to cover his head. "oh, darlin', what's goin' on? are ya okay?"

"Huh?"

Honestly, he hadn't even noticed it had started to rain just yet. The blonde had been working in the forest that day, helping some stray squirrels out with finding the dens in which they had lost. In the midst of that, he'd ended up crouched beneath a tree, slumped forward as he carefully worked on picking acorns out of a hole in the ground. So, of course to an outsider, it would look like he were in quite a situation.

So the odd moment of kindness simply made him confused for a brief second, the man adjusting his posture to reveal an armful of acorns, with a squirrel chittering somewhere in the trees above.

"I'm quite fine - thank you for asking! I was simply helping a wonderful, wonderful little friend of mine! I didn't realize the skies above had opened though, so I do also thank you for offering some shelter, but it's quite alright, the rain doesn't bother me so badly."

[warpriest-writings]

Chaos Council/ or the Eggman Triumvirate

The Three Zoned World of Mobius

Mobius Prime - Originally governed primarily by the Acorn Kingdom, usurped by Dr. Julius Kintobor (Later Dr. Robotnik)

Mobius Chaos - originally governed by the Hedgehog Kingdom, usurped by Dr. Ivo Robotnik (Later Dr. Eggman)

Mobius Sol - originally governed by the Cat Kingdom/Sol Empire, usurped by Dr. Eggman Nega (real name unknown)

The Three Worlds of Mobius thrived in a great peace, each world balanced in its blending of natural forces and advanced but limited technologies.

Regarding the Chaos Council

Dr. Julius Kintobor is the active Governor of Robotropolis and the Inventor of Roboticization technology, and is the primary mechanical mind of the Chaos Council, Eggman Nega is far more programming and coding minded, and developed the S Virus (Sol virus). A techno-organic parasite which brings technology under the control of the Eggman Empire, it is also used in conjunction with Roboticization to make Roboticized Mobians seemingly mindless and utterly loyal to the Eggman Empire. Without the S Virus victims of Roboticization maintain their original personalities and free will.

Doctor Ivo Robotnik, Doctor Eggman, as versed in mechanical engineering and programming as his peers, but vastly more capable than either in the fields of manipulating the Energy forces of the Master Emerald, and Chaos and Sol Emeralds. Without his Chaos and Sol engines, the development of the transmutation of Roboticization, and the techno-organic Sol Virus would have been impossible. Doctor Eggman is also responsible for the Flicky Drive and the following Badnik, various E-Series, and the Metal Fighter series androids.

[ofstarsandskies]

"I'm sure he won't mind thinking of a Squirrelcarena, but training squirrels to dance... give me a second..." Julius lures a few squirrels to him using some nice, shiny acorns and then accelerates time around him to cram the training in a fraction of the time.

"Ludger! Performance time! Extra fluffy and squirrel themed!"

'Got it! Let's go!' And with a sudden costume change into a squirrel costume, Ludger and his two squirrel back up dancers perform the dance of his new people's, except it's the 2 minute dance mix.

She is sulking immensely. ❛  He's got to be the biggest dork that has ever dorked if he's that excited to show you off. You're not even worth the effort for me to make fun of.  ❜ Sulking intensifies. ❛  I'll let it slide if he does the squirrelcarena, fluffy version. Complete with squirrels as his backup dancers.  ❜ Petty? Yes, but squirrels do make her feel a little better.

[checkoutmybookshelf]

When the Russian Mafia Learned Not to Mess With Artemis Fowl II

I've been an Artemis Fowl girl (not the movie) for a long time, and while I think the first book in the series is literally a perfect first book, it's not my favorite in the series. That honor goes to book two, Artemis Fowl: The Arctic Incident. And I think that the key points that really make this my favorite book are the shift from brilliantly executed archetypes to genuine characters, the fact that a 12-year-old absolutely OWNS the mafia, and the expansion of the worldbuilding in Haven and the Lower Elements generally. Oh also, this is where we get Opal Koboi for the first time. *Screes in best villainess ever* Let's Talk Artemis Fowl: The Arctic Incident.

There will be light spoilers below the break, as is pretty standard for all books second and later on this blog, so be warned.

First of all, in the first Artemis Fowl book, the characters are--with the exception of Artemis and Holly--largely archetypal. That falls apart here, because the story isn't trying to be a fairy tale or a heist so much as it is Opal Koboi and Briar Cudegon trying to start a war that Artemis has to stop in order to get fairy help to rescue his father from captivity by the Russian Mafia. Book 1 Butler is your standard bodyguard with a heart of gold, Commander Root is a standard grouchy police chief, and Trouble Kelp is basically ye olde marine. Briar Cudgeon is power hungry, and that's about it.

By book 2, Bulter is getting more personality and a low-key understanding with Holly and Root because they're all "old soldiers" in his book. Root gets to actually have some personality and is a damn good field commander--can we just take a sec to appreciate how much he cares (gruffness notwithstanding) about Holly and the fact that he super did not care that the sealed acorn was blasphemy because it worked!? He becomes more than just a hardass vaguely sexist archetype, and I have SUCH a soft spot for Julius Root. We also get some more of Trouble and Grub Kelp. Briar Cudgeon stays pretty simple, but that's fine because we have Opal goddamn Koboi for a more complex and also very classical villainess--she is LOVING being evil and frankly she is never not a joy to watch. Opal knows how to lean in to sheer joyous villainy.

I'm also just a fan of Artemis actually running into the real world with his planning. Our boy can absolutely sketch out an on-paper plan that is brilliant, but then you get things like gaps in train tracks, fairy politics, dwarf reflexology, and humans reacting in weirdass ways and suddenly Artemis has to get his hands a bit dirty and he has to improvise. Our boy grows and STILL hands the Russian Mafia its collective ass on a radioactive submarine hatch. Artemis Fowl's character growth in this book is great.

Book 1 was very limited to Fowl Manor and its grounds. We got a bit of Haven and the Lower Elements in book 1, but book 2 is mostly in the Lower Elements and Russia, and the expansion of what Haven is like, what shuttleports are like, what Koboi Labs is like, what Howler's Peak is like, is incredible. We get more fairy lore, fairy life, and more LEP. This keeps expanding in later books, but this is our first really close look at the world beyond what was strictly necessary for the kidnapping and rescue plot of the first book, and that's very fun.

I know I've already mentioned Opal Koboi and her gleefully unhinged joy at her seemingly imminent rise to Empress, but honestly I love her to little tiny peices. She is too samrt for her own good, she girlbossed her own father into literally insanity, and her college-era feud with Foaly is just peak "the smartest kids in class have extremely different skillsets and they hate each other for it". Opal starts off very evil kitten, but kitty has claws and she's just waiting for a chance to unsheath them.

The Artemis Fowl series is improbably good, and I cannot recommend it enough. Especially this fozen, slightly radioactive entry in the series that is very much my favorite book.

[windstarosprey]

Julian Kintobor (Young Dr. Robotnik)

Left: Julian Kintobor (age 17); casual clothes. Right: Julian Kintobor (age 19); Warlord of Acorn uniform.

My interpretation of the "young Robotnik/Eggman (late teens to early-mid 20s), before he turned evil" concept. Inspired by the Archie Comics and Tales of Sonic the Hedgehog.

Julian Kintobor was a mechanical prodigy and lab assistant to Dr. Nate Morgan from the human city of Megapolis in the United Federation. When his mentor was framed for treason by GUN after refusing to build weapons of mass destruction to use against the Mobians, he fled the city and wound up in the Kingdom of Acorn; where was found by Julius "Jules" Hedgehog and his older brother, Sir Charles, aka Uncle Chuck, and taken to Mobotropolis. After convincing King Frederick that he meant no harm and being reunited with Dr. Morgan, Julian became one of the kingdom's royal scientists.

When the Great War broke out, Julian's older brother, General Colin Kintobor, led an attack on Mobotropolis. Refusing to let his new home be destroyed, Julian used his knowledge to improve Acorn's arsenal and form battle plans to defend the city. After a month long siege, they drove Colin and his forces back.

For his bravery and cunning, Julian was appointed Warlord of Acorn, becoming the first human to hold the title, as well as the youngest at the age of 19. He would hold the office until the end of Great War over 10 years later, eventually becoming an independent researcher.

Julian's appearance is partly modeled after Chris Thorndyke, while his Warlord uniform is inspired by Robotnik’s modern Sonic and movie designs.

All characters are owned by Sega, Archie, IDW, Paramount, Fleetway, and Yuji Naka. Please support the official release and all official Sonic materials.

Original artwork by RisziArts.

[isolaradiale]

Lost in Space #48

Howdy, Isolans! We have conducted an activity check for the month of January!

If your character isn’t on this list, make sure to check this page to see how many stars that character has earned this month! Stars can be used for purchases at the marketplace.

The blogs that were removed from the Isola Radiale masterlist are under the cut. Note that both blogs with broken links and deactivated accounts will be included both at the top of this list and in their proper categories.

If you were removed in error, please simply send a re-application message. Several different people work on the activity checks, so it’s possible there are mistakes! If this happens to you, you will be able to keep everything you previously had, you just may be placed in a different residence.

Our general activity rules regarding checks are as follows:

Make at least two in-character posts during a calendar month (for instance, if the activity check is for January, have two in-character posts between the 1st and 31st of January).

Only one meme response of 300+ words counts as activity.

Only one drabble of 500+ words counts as activity.

One-liners or minis not tagged #isola mini also do not count.

Please Note: If you are removed during two consecutive activity checks, you will not be allowed to re-apply as that character for one calendar month.

Additionally, anyone removed during the activity check will have a 12-hour window from the time of posting to re-claim their character. Any character not reclaimed during that period will be open to the community at large.

Please send in your reapplications from the account of the character that was removed.

BROKEN URLs Tony Tony Chopper (broken link) (APARTMENT 306) Rocksteady (broken link) (HOUSE 105)

THE ADVENTURE ZONE

Barry Bluejeans (The Jastle, Golden)

Indrid Cold (New Sylvain, Sky-Strewn Isles)

AI: THE SOMNIUM FILES

Kaname Date (HOUSE 131)

BALDUR’S GATE

Lae’zel (TOWNHOUSE 204)

BLEACH

Nanao Ise (HOUSE 111)

Orihime Inoue (HOUSE 106)

BORDERLANDS

Gaige the Mechromancer (TOWNHOUSE 214)

CELLS AT WORK!

AE-3803 (TOWNHOUSE 223)

CHAINSAW MAN

Angel Devil (APARTMENT 325)

CRASH BANDICOOT

Crash Bandicoot (TOWNHOUSE 208)

CUCUMBER QUEST

Steve (CONDO 415)

DARK SOULS

Sif the Great Grey Wolf (Sif’s Den, Mistwood)

DEAD BY DAYLIGHT

Dwight Fairfield (TOWNHOUSE 201)

Ghost Face (Danny Johnson) (CONDO 418)

FALLOUT

Piper Wright (TOWNHOUSE 205)

FATE

Caster (Arturia Pendragon) (Sky-Strewn Isles - Winter’s Memory)

Caster (Nursery Rhyme) (HOUSE 102)

Illyasviel von Einzbern (HOUSE 128)

Irisviel von Einzbern (APARTMENT 323)

Ritsuka Fujimaru (M) (APARTMENT 303)

Sakura Matou (HOUSE 113)

FINAL FANTASY

Fandaniel (TOWNHOUSE 221)

Warrior of Light (Dancer - Diana Enfield) (HOUSE 133)

FIRE EMBLEM

Julius (TOWNHOUSE 225)

HOTLINE MIAMI

Jacket (CONDO 423)

IDENTITY V

Andrew Kreiss (Grave Keeper) (CONDO 413)

Joseph Desaulniers (Photographer) (Aesop's cottage - Mistwood)

Luca Balsa (Prisoner) (CONDO 407)

JUJUTSU KAISEN

Inumaki Toge (APARTMENT 325)

KAMEN RIDER

Dan Kuroto (CONDO 415)

KEKKAI SENSEN

Leonardo Watch (HOUSE 107)

LEGO MONKIE KID

MK (Condo 417)

MAGI: THE LABYRINTH OF MAGIC

Sinbad (TOWNHOUSE 221)

MARS RED

Shuutarou Kurusu (CONDO 410)

MASS EFFECT

Ghost (OC) (CONDO 421)

MEGAMAN

Bass (HOUSE 109)

THE MURDERBOT DIARIES

SecUnit (Murderbot) (Preservation (4BR) - Sunset Circuit)

ONE PIECE

Tony Tony Chopper (BROKEN URL) (APARTMENT 306)

OPERATION: TRUE LOVE!

Go Eunhyeok (APARTMENT 323)

ORIGINAL CHARACTER

Relic (HOUSE 101)

Rosa Cervantes (Rosa Cervantes’ Penthouse (4BR) - Archimedes)

THE OWL HOUSE

The Collector (APARTMENT 320)

Eberwolf (CONDO 412)

PERSONA

Akira Kurusu (HOUSE 114)

POKEMON

Mewtwo (Respite (6BR)) (The City of Glass)

THE ROCK-AFIRE EXPLOSION

Looney Bird (APARTMENT 308)

THE SANDMAN

Death of the Endless (APARTMENT 320)

SHOVEL KNIGHT

Specter Knight (HOUSE 105)

SONIC THE HEDGEHOG

Doctor Starline (HOUSE 115)

Sally Acorn (CONDO 419)

Sonic the Hedgehog (APARTMENT 315)

TALES OF

Mithos Yggdrasill (HOUSE 114)

Shionne Imeris (broken link) (CONDO 421)

TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES

Rocksteady (broken link) (HOUSE 105)

TOUHOU

Marisa Kirisame (TOWNHOUSE 216)

TRANSFORMERS

Bumblebee (HOUSE 117)

TWISTED WONDERLAND

Floyd Leech (CONDO 406)

Malleus Draconia (HOUSE 109)

Riddle Rosehearts (CONDO 404)

UNDERTALE (DELTARUNE)

Asgore Dreemurr (APARTMENT 311)

[vvictuss]

if Lucius is a potato, what are the other Emperors Children?

Marius gives me acorn squash vibes. but the one you forgot about in the back of the fridge and it’s squishy now. can’t explain.

Julius is a conveniently shaped cucumber.

Saul is a Brussels Sprout. Really good .. when.. uh, roasted.

You know, I really want to enjoy your Lucius art. It's always great looking except a minor flaw that ruins my enjoyment of it every time.

These things.

Whenever I see them, they remind me of those root like things that grow on potatoes when left unused for too long. This similarity makes me mildly disgusted and it shows up whenever I see them.

I love your art (if you hadn't noticed by my pfp) but I can't enjoy your Lucius, sadly.

I'm not saying you should draw him without them, you can do whatever you want forever. I just wanted to share this thing that bugs me.

It's unclear how the whip is attached, canonically. It may be on the armour, it may be on his shoulder. I went with forearm, so he can grab the tentacles for effective whipping and poisoning.

I drew the whip in its full length for years and it was such a chore, so I decided on making the tentacles retractable. Very slaaneshi kind of humour and more practical.

Personally I love the idea of potatoe-Lucius, because he shares the IQ with that vegetable and that's funny to me (sorry, Lucius my beloved Chaosgremlin, I adore you, but you are dumb as a rock. Adorable, deadly, fuckin' best swordsman in the whole galaxy - but dense AF!). 😁

[fowlblue]

Artemis Fowl: Episode Listings (if it was an animated series)

————————————

Season 1:

1. “The Book”- A young criminal mastermind travels in search of a mystical book. Captain Holly Short goes to the surface.

2. “Lost In Translation”- Artemis Fowl begins decoding the Book, and speaks with his mother- Holly Short’s mission goes awry.

3. “Abduction”- Holly Short travels to the old country to complete the Ritual. Artemis Fowl sets his schemes into motion.

4. “Cat and Mouse”- Julius Root begins the search for his officer. Artemis Fowl sends a message.

5. “Plans Best Laid”- Holly learns of Artemis Fowl’s schemes. The LEP begin their siege on Fowl Manor.

6. “Negotiation”- Root enters the Manor to meet with Artemis Fowl. Holly discovers an acorn.

7. “The Time Stop”- The LEP attempt to decipher Artemis Fowl’s words. An unconventional solution is found.

8. “Breakthrough”- A thief breaches the Manor’s defenses. Holly Short completes the Ritual.

9. “Scare Tactics”- The LEP settles on a dangerous course of action. Artemis Fowl’s plans begins to fall apart. Holly Short escapes into the Manor.

10. “Rampage”- Butler meets a troll. Holly Short makes a decision.

11. “Countdown”- Both sides are running out of time as dawn approaches. The LEP prepare their last resort.

12. “At Dawn”- The siege ends. Artemis Fowl buys a wish.

———————————————

(Please don’t take this too seriously- I just like coming up with stuff like this.)