#oddball the ruby

[au-mashup-party]

How the Ruby Trio met one another.

(By the way I don't know how the gem code name works so we're just going to call them by nicknames.)

Oddball- Left End

Dark-Middle

Divine- Right End

[richincolor]

New Releases - March 4, 2025

I cannot quite believe it, but there are a dozen new books that we are watching for this week. It's a phenomenal week for YA.

Love Points to You by Alice Lin Delacorte Romance

Sixteen-year-old Lynda Fan has the skills and the drive to get into the Rhode Island School of Design—but not the money. Her parents are too busy paying for her stepsister’s violin lessons to help Lynda get into art school.

So when her rich and arrogant classmate, Angela Wu, offers to hire Lynda as a character designer for an otome game—a love story-based video game—she jumps at the opportunity.

Lynda isn’t exactly a romantic, but in pursuit of her dreams, she discovers things she never knew about herself while also finding love with every heart she draws.

Solving for the Unknown by Loan Le Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers

In this sweet, incredibly heartfelt companion to A Pho Love Story, Vietnamese Americans Viet and Evie juggle family expectations with their desire to forge their own path in between college classes and falling in love.

To his friends back home, Viet Ho is calm and collected and a lovable oddball who nurses an obsession with forensic science. He’s relieved to head off to UC Davis and escape from being in the middle of his bickering immigrant parents. Yet, on campus and with the school year unfolding at an overwhelming pace, Viet struggles to belong and to keep his depression hidden.

Evie Mai is a junior biology major and the eldest daughter who has never trod far off the beaten path. She has everything: good grades, a solid group of friends, and a smart, ambitious boyfriend, who’s the son of a well-connected university board member. But their busy schedules, as well as their interests, no longer align. Determined to close the distance, she and her boyfriend both apply to a student-run clinic for underserved communities. But will that save or expose the gaps in their relationship?

When a clumsy accident brings Viet and Evie together, they bond over their shared hometown and similar history—and their orbits grow smaller as their friends collide. The more time they spend with each other and support each other, mentally and emotionally, the more their friendship shifts into something else.

A sweet, emotional slice-of-life story, Solving for the Unknown is about characters questioning the paths they have taken and finding a new path that will lead them to their happiest selves.

Encanto’s Curse (The Encanto’s Daughter, #2) by Melissa de la Cruz G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers

A curse has befallen Biringan. Stalking the night sky and sinking sharp teeth in its prey, a vampire-like creature—a manananggal—is terrorizing the kingdom. Now MJ Robertson-Rodriguez must fulfill her duties as the newly crowned queen and restore peace. Except . . . when MJ wakes up in tattered clothes stained with blood, she quickly realizes the monster lives within her.

To prevent more destruction, MJ flees to Mount Makiling with select members of her court, all while keeping her curse secret. By her side is Lucas, the talented knight who broke her heart by giving his own to another. And there’s Prince Qian, the devilishly handsome monster hunter from the Jade Empire who’s visiting on a diplomatic mission.

In the mountains, MJ is charmed by Qian’s valiant spirit. Could he be the one to finally mend her broken heart, which still beats for Lucas? But as the manananggal fills MJ with bloodthirst, she must set love aside and break the curse before it consumes her forever.

When a neighboring kingdom threatens to wage war on Biringan, can the young queen regain control of herself before she loses control of the crown?

The Red Car to Hollywood by Jennie Liu Carolrhoda Lab

Los Angeles, 1924

Sixteen-year-old Ruby Chan considers herself a modern, independent American girl. But when her secret relationship with a white boy implodes―and then is revealed to her very traditional Chinese parents―she’s in a tough spot. Horrified that Ruby’s reputation is at risk, her parents hire a matchmaker to find her a Chinese husband. Ruby is determined to foil their plans. But how?

Meanwhile, Ruby meets the nineteen-year-old film star Anna May Wong, one of her neighbors in LA’s Chinatown. The girls quickly strike up a friendship. Anna May defies Chinese convention by working as an actress on the silver screen, and she scoffs at white people’s assumptions about her. If she can forge her own path, surely Ruby can too.

Not everything is as it seems, though. Danger and betrayal lurk amidst the new possibilities. To build the life she wants, Ruby will have to contend with how others see her―and decide if she’s ready to truly see herself.

Oathbound (Legendborn Cycle, #3) by Deonn Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers

Severed from the Legendborn. Oathbound to a monster.

Bree Matthews is alone. She exiled herself from the Legendborn Order, cut her ancestral connections, and turned away from the friends who can’t understand the impossible cost of her powers. This is the only way to keep herself—and those she loves—safe.

But Bree’s decision has come with a terrible price: an unbreakable bargain with the Shadow King himself, a shapeshifter who can move between humanity, the demon underworld, and the Legendborn secret society. In exchange for training to wield her unprecedented abilities, Bree has put her future in the Shadow King’s hands—and unwittingly bound herself to do his bidding as his new protégé.

Meanwhile, the other Scions must face war with their Round Table fractured, leaderless, and missing its Kingsmage, as Selwyn has also disappeared. When Nick is detained by the Order’s Merlins, he invokes an ancient law that requires the High Council of Regents to convene at the Northern Keep and grant him an audience. No one knows what he will demand of them…or what secrets he has kept hidden from the Table.

As a string of mysterious kidnappings escalates and Merlins are found dead, it becomes clear that no matter how hard Bree runs from who she is, the past will always find her.

Divining the Leaves by Shveta Thakrar HarperTeen

Plant-loving Ridhi Kapadia and popular Nilesh Batra were friends once.

Now, seventeen and alone, Ridhi blends natural perfumes, wears flower crowns, and wanders her local woods, listening for the leafy whispers of her beloved trees. Pleading for the yakshas to admit her into their enchanted forest kingdom, where she knows she truly belongs.

After learning his parents’ perfect marriage is a sham and getting suspended from school, a heartsick Nilesh lands at Ridhi’s doorstep—the last thing either of them wants. So when a pretty yakshini offers him the distraction of magic, the same magic he mocked Ridhi for believing in, he jumps at it.

Furious, Ridhi strikes a bargain with a noblewoman named Sulochana. In return for helping restore her reputation, Sulochana will turn Ridhi into the yakshini she yearns to be—and teach her to divine the trees’ murmurs.

But when Nilesh ends up trapped in the yakshas’ realm, Ridhi realizes the leaves might be telling a disturbing story about the forest her heart is rooted in—one that, even if the two of them band together, threatens to shred the future like so many thorns.

The Scorpion and the Night Blossom (The Three Realms, #1) by Amélie Wen Zhao Penguin Random House

Nine years ago, the war between the Kingdom of Night and the Kingdom of Rivers tore Àn’yīng’s family apart, leaving her mother barely alive and a baby sister to fend for. Now the mortal realm is falling into eternal night, and mó—beautiful, ravenous demons—roam the land, feasting on the flesh of humans and drinking their souls.

Àn’yīng is no longer a helpless child, though. Armed with her crescent blades and trained in the ancient art of practitioning, she has decided to enter the Immortality Trials, which are open to any mortal who can survive the journey to the immortal realm. Those who complete the Trials are granted a pill of eternal life—the one thing Àn’yīng knows can heal her dying mother. But to attain the prize, she must survive the competition.

Death is common in the Trials. Yet oddly, Àn’yīng finds that someone is helping her stay alive. A rival contestant. Powerful and handsome, Yù’chén is as secretive about his past as he is about his motives for protecting Àn’yīng.

The longer she survives the Trials, the clearer it becomes that all is not right in the immortal realm. To save her mother and herself, Àn’yīng will need to figure out whether she can truly trust the stranger she’s falling for or if he’s the most dangerous player of all . . . for herself and for all the realms.

They Bloom at Night by Trang Thanh Tran Bloomsbury YA

A red algae bloom has taken over Mercy, Louisiana. Ever since a devastating hurricane, mutated wildlife lurks in the water that rises by the day. But Mercy has always been a place where monsters walk in plain sight. Especially at its heart: The Cove, where Noon’s life was upended long before the storm at a party her older boyfriend insisted on.

Now, Noon is stuck navigating the submerged town with her mom, who believes their dead family has reincarnated as sea creatures. Alone with the pain of what happened that night at the cove, Noon buries the truth: she is not the right shape.

When Mercy’s predatory leader demands Noon and her mom capture the creature drowning residents, she reluctantly finds an ally in his deadly hunter of a daughter and friends old and new. As the next storm approaches, Noon must confront the past and decide if it’s time to answer the monster itching at her skin.

Strange Bedfellows by Ariel Slamet Ries HarperAlley

In the not-too-distant future, most of humanity resides on its last-ditch effort at Meridian, a remote alien planet where you’re more likely to be born superhuman than left-handed.

None of that is important to Oberon Afolayan. Since his mildly public breakdown, his whole life seems to be spiraling out of control—from dropping out of university to breaking up with his boyfriend, it seems like only a karmic inevitability when he wakes up one day with the ability to conjure his dreams in the real world.

Oberon’s newfound powers come with a facsimile of his high school crush, Kon, who mysteriously dropped off the face of the planet almost three years ago and who is a little more infuriating (if not also infuriatingly hot) than Oberon remembers.

Kon makes it his mission to turn Oberon’s life around, and while they struggle to get a handle on his powers and his disastrous personal life (not to mention the appearance of strange nightmare creatures), it turns out this dream version of Kon has secrets of his own—dangerous ones.

Oberon might have more on his plate than he originally thought, but is giving up his dreams—even the one he might have accidentally fallen in love with—the only way to find happiness in reality?

Dear Manny by Nic Stone Crown Books for Young Readers

Jared Peter Christensen is running for junior class president at his university.

Based on early polls, Jared’s pretty sure he’s got a good shot at beating the right-wing business major he’s running against. After all, his platform built on increased equity and inclusion on campus makes him the popular choice.

A new candidate enters the Dylan, transfer student from a HBCU and the most beautiful girl Jared has ever seen. She calls him out for his Woke White Boy mentality.

Jared starts writing letters to his deceased best friend Manny to make sense of his confusion.

What’s a white boy to do when love and privilege collide?

Kirby’s Lessons for Falling (in Love) by Laura Gao HarperAlley

Once dubbed the Queen of Balance as her school’s top rock climber, Kirby Tan suffers an injury that sidelines her for the rest of the season. Now she’s forced to join the newspaper club for some desperately needed extra credit. Worse, she’s recruited by crystal-wearing, tarot-reading Bex Santos for her astrology-based love advice column. As Kirby reluctantly agrees to orchestrate “matches made in heaven” with Bex, she begins to wonder if their own stars could be aligned. But loving who she wants isn’t so easy when her family and church community are on the line. Can Kirby pull off her greatest balancing act yet?

From Laura Gao, the acclaimed creator of Messy Roots, comes an authentic slow-burn romance and coming-of-age story perfect for fans of Heartstopper, lovers of astrology and tarot, and anyone looking for answers on the right way to fall (in love).

Banned Together: Our Fight for Readers Rights edited by Ashley Hope Pérez Holiday House

A dazzling YA anthology that spotlights the transformative power of books while equipping teens to fight for the freedom to read, featuring the voices of 15 diverse, award-winning authors and illustrators.

Books are disappearing from shelves across the country.

What does this mean for authors, illustrators, and—most crucially—for young readers?

This bold collection of fiction, memoir, poetry, graphic narratives, essays, and other genres explores book bans through various lenses, and empowers teens to fight back. From moving personal accounts to clever comebacks aimed at censorship, fifteen legendary YA authors and illustrators confront the high-stakes question of what is lost when books are kept from teens.

Contributors include Elana K. Arnold, Nikki Grimes, Ellen Hopkins, Kelly Jensen, Brendan Kiely, Maia Kobabe, Bill Konigsberg, Kyle Lukoff, MariNaomi, Trung Lê Nguyễn, Ashley Hope Pérez, Isabel Quintero, Traci Sorell, Robin Stevenson, and Padma Venkatraman; the collection is a star-studded must-read that packs strength and power into every last word.

Striking illustrations from Ignatz-nominated artist Debbie Fong pair perfectly with the searing, impactful narrative. Resources include tips from the Vandegrift Banned Book Club and other teen activists, as well as extensive recommended book lists, a How to Start Your Own Little Free Library flier, and more.

[cosmicbeancat]

also have acorn and 2 other students (not gonna include Max and Echo because no)

HEY ODDBALLS COMMUNITY!

This but Declan is Four (aka the number possessing the sun in this image) and James, Stuart, Mr. Mcfly, Bryon Sellers and Maz standing on him

it would be hilarious

[tgrailwar-zero]

Ah you know Yin too..? What was he like back then, if you don’t mind us asking?

TIANJUE: "…It wasn't as if we were playmates. I did not know His Majesty as well as my Father did. However, I understood that he was well-loved and revered even at such a young age- alongside his brother, Prince Yin Hong."

TIANJUE: "I heard more tale of his battle exploits, after he had returned from being spirited away for almost a decade to train with the Xian. He was a person driven by strong emotions… he knew that his father was failing the Shang Dynasty and of Daji's evil, but he also felt as if King Wu and Prime Minister Jiang Ziya would not have been good leaders for the country as well, despite the latter two being blessed by heaven's will."

TIANJUE: "So he fought for the Shang, but he fought for his Shang, not Daji's or King Zhou's or King Wu's. Still, with the destruction he wrought upon his enemies, it's understandable that the Prime Minister consecrated him into a calamitous god. Not many people could go toe to toe with Prince Nezha and Tianhua."

TIANJUE: "But… he did free Tianhua and Father from Shang capture out of gratitude. And even when he was our enemy, he was a person that shone with virtue and might. He loved his people and his country, undoubtedly. It was a loss for everyone when the he was slain by the rebel army. Like so many of us... we spent our youths learning nothing but conflict, and only some of us emerged whole..."

He smiled, a bit ruefully.

TIANJUE: "…Sorry. I don't want to bring the mood down. We can start playing now."

LITTLE GIRL: "Are you... okay?"

TIANJUE: "I'm fine. If you don't mind..."

'RATHOTIS': "...Right, let's get playing!"

You watched as he began excitedly splayed out six cards for you to look over.

…You were getting the feeling, looking over the materials, that you were in for the long haul.

LITTLE GIRL: "…Role…?"

'RATHOTIS': "Mm. You draw two cards. The first one is your 'character role', and your second one is whether you're part of the crew or a spy. The character roles do have some perks, but I believe it mostly exists for the sake of immersion. Now, for the character roles, let's see…"

'RATHOTIS': "…'Any resemblances to persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental', it says…"

TIANJUE: "…That seems like an odd disclaimer to have on a game about futuristic space travel."

'RATHOTIS': "It does, doesn't it? So, let's see. So, each round a player does a 'public action' that they have to tell everyone about and a 'private action' that they keep to themselves. And the character roles are..."

RUBY RYN, the headstrong yet reliable captain of the freighter, charged with making sure it delivers its wares efficiently. Once per game, she can make two 'public actions' instead of one.

CATASTROPHE JANET, one of the best scouts within the Seiber Star System, despite her seemingly careless attitude. Once per game, she could guarantee that a sabotage was fixed.

DOCTOR FUUKU, the resident medic on the ship armed with a dry wit, tasked with making sure everyone arrives safe and unharmed. It seemed like she could can revive one player per game if she found them quick enough, if they were attacked by the spy or harmed by ship sabotage.

ALTRIA, the ship's engineer. A bit of an oddball, but well-meaning despite her quirks. Someone who keeps things fixed-up and in tip-top shape around the ship. Once per game, she could guarantee that a sabotage was fixed.

TRIPLE_EX, a 'combat drone-turned-chef' on the ship. Lazy, but effective when it counts. Once per game, she can waive a 'disaster event' from occurring.

PRINCESS TSUKI, a renowned entertainer from the outer systems. A little bit self-centered, and more than a little eccentric. Once per game, she can make two 'private actions' instead of one.

TOSHINARI, a mercenary hired to protect the goods on the freighter. Extreme yet incredibly efficient. Once per game, if attacked by a spy, she could avoid being killed.

TIANJUE: "...Now, I don't want to comment on how every character in this game is a flashily-dressed girl, however--"

'RATHOTIS': "I-I did not have any hand in this game's construction, nor did I know how the characters appeared beforehand… I simply thought the premise seemed fun!"

Well, while they were chatting, you could probably pick your character card first.

[robbysgop]

MIGHTY MIGHTY MONSTERS OC!!!! brainrot…..

IRIS!! She is a silly human student at J.A.M school and is a monster loving FANATIC. She will geek over anything monster related and probably has every monster history books in the world (autism,,) But is mostly fixated on vampires and their history. She doesn’t really have any friends because of her being an oddball and mostly just being known as the weird girl, so kids try to not associate with her. But she has her best friends Gwen and Monah!!! (@spacegutzz and @rebelgubble ocs)

MIGHTY MIGHTY MONSTERS FANS PLEASE INTERACT I LOVE YOU!!!!!!

[legobiwan]

“Please don’t let me be alone.”

“I’m right here, okay?”

“You’ve shown me what love can feel like.” Mario and Luigi.

(Completely 100% platonic. That last one can be them talking about things changing for them in the romance department, and worrying that's going to pull them away from each other. Just as an example. )

I decided to take this in a slightly different direction, anon :)

So, a bit of context. This takes place pre-SPM, but there's some foreshadowing in there, so probably a month or two before that whole series of events goes down.

While I know Luigi and Mario talk, we have evidence that Luigi keeps some things from his brother, mostly related to his more negative emotions, as shown in the diary scenes of Paper Mario 64. I kind of run a little bit with this idea here.

As to what Luigi is looking for in terms of love...I'll let you all decide. I'll say upfront that this is written as a purely platonic relationship between Luigi and Mario, and I know exactly who I am thinking of in those last lines, but that's - literally - another story.

Very little editing has been done here, caveat lector and all that jazz.

Also, poor Morel. He's trying. Probably too hard. You'll meet him soon.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Hey, Mario!”

The owner of the squeaky voice toddled up the path towards them, his small stature unbalanced by the large guitar strapped to his back, the neck of which seesawed with every step.

“Hi, there!” Mario greeted, the Toad letting out a small oomph as he half-collapsed against Mario’s side, hands on his knees, his ruby-red vest soaked with sweat.

Luigi really hoped the kid wouldn’t keel over this time. 

“Do - “ Morel panted, taking a large swallow before trying again. “Do you have a minute?”

At this point, it was part of their routine. He and his brother would decide to run an errand in the town, maybe check out one of their favorite spots. Let’s pick up some cherry juice from that cafe or Hey, how about we go to that market and see if the new sports equipment is in, his brother would say airily, as if it was going to be a quick thing, an easy jaunt into Mushroom Square and back home before the mail came.

These days, it was never a quick thing. Not with his brother around, at least. What had been maybe a weekly occurrence had exploded into a near-daily even, the denizens of the Mushroom Kingdom stopping to ask his brother for a picture, or an autograph, or even a piece of advice in relation to plumbing, mechanics, or even relationships. 

As if being the hero of the Mushroom Kingdom made Mario some kind of expert in psychology.

Of course, this meant everyday chores that would have taken no more than ten minutes in Brooklyn bloated into an all-day activity, his brother unable to turn down the beaming faces and adulation of the Mushroom citizenry. In the end, Luigi had taken full control over the majority of the domestic duties in their shared house, if for no other reason than the fact he could get to the market and back in a reasonable amount of time.

No one ever stopped Luigi to ask for advice. Not usually, and if they did, it was quick and usually in relation to either his brother or, oddly enough, King Boo, whose name had become as synonymous with Luigi’s as the whispered commentary of “coward” and “oddball” that trailed him like toilet paper stuck on a shoe.

Most of the time, the Toads wanted to know what it was like being trapped in the painting, what horrors he saw there, if it was the afterlife, or something similar. Luigi had given up on trying to correct them after the first few times, giving out uninspired answers like “dark and scary,” which seemed to both placate the Mushroom Kingdom residents’ thirst for grisly gossip and align with their internal schema for who they thought Luigi was. 

It didn’t matter, in the end. He had saved his brother. Twice. The health and safety of everyone involved was more important than his ego.

Of course, that didn’t stop him from occasionally daydreaming about King Boo attacking the Mushroom Kingdom, just so Luigi could prove a point

“You know, Morel,” Luigi said, shaking thoughts of Toads screaming for his help from his mind, “we were on our way to pick up some - “

“It’s okay, Lou,” Mario interrupted with a brisk wave. “Shop doesn’t close for another hour and I’m sure Morel won’t take too much of our time.

Luigi was sure the opposite would be true, but far be it from him to be the bad guy and tell Morel to come back later. His reputation in the Mushroom Kingdom was dicey enough as it was - he wasn’t to exacerbate things by being mean to a teen Toad.

As Morel and his brother talked, Luigi let his thoughts wander. He nixed their shopping list, weighing the pros and cons of raiding the back of the cupboard for whatever dregs of food they had left. He wondered if Mario even remembered who Morel was, watching his brother make the appropriate gestures and smiling widely, that glimmer of recognition absent in his brother’s expression. He couldn’t really blame Mario, not for that. How many times can you be asked for an autograph or advice before all those faces blurred together? Even Luigi couldn’t always keep them straight, and he had a lot more time to quietly observe and register his brother’s admirers. 

Morel, however, was not to be forgotten. The last time he had accosted them, he had wanted to show off one of his many creative endeavors, this time an hour-long, abstruse interpretative dance performance that was somehow supposed to help with diplomatic relations at an upcoming summit between the Mushroom Kingdom and the Yoshis. 

Five minutes in, Mario’s eyes had glazed over. Ten minutes in and three pirouetting Piranhas later, Luigi found himself mentally running over a table for standard thermodynamic values in select substances. Carbon was always the hard one. Way too many possibilities.

Luigi bit the inside of his cheek, bringing his attention back to the conversation.

“So Mario,” Morel unsheathed his guitar from his back, pulling a crumpled piece of paper with multiple strikeouts from his pocket. “Have you ever liked a girl? Like, liked like?”

Luigi choked down a laugh. The Romeo of Room 312. That’s what he had called his brother back in middle school, who pined after a different girl every week. Vanessa Tuccio, Jackie Galagio, Stephanie Rizzo. None of them gave his brother the time of day, Mario still being in that awkward stage where he hadn’t made up for his lack of height with an abundance of muscle, his voice teetering somewhere between squeaky laryngitis and the hoarse, nasal tenor of a common cold.

By the time they hit high school (and Mario’s voice had finally dropped), that all changed, his brother doing pretty well himself in the dating department, at least as far as Luigi could tell. They weren’t as close those years, with he and Mario at different schools, Luigi buried in a mountain of chemistry and physics textbooks while his brother hung out with his jock friends at a ratty gym on 86th Street. 

But he had taken a nice girl to prom. Had had a few breakups, some of them Mario’s fault. All what Luigi assumed was normal teenage stuff.

Not that he really knew.

Luigi had tried dating a few girls in high school, girls with long hair, glasses, and a religious devotion to the periodic table. Nothing ever went past the clammy hand-holding stage and one very awkward kiss over a smuggled bottle of cheap wine on the Coney Island boardwalk, each girl in question giving him a polite brush-off after a week or two, only to attach themselves to some other guy who somehow seemed to know how to put the pieces of the puzzle together. 

Frankly, it was a miracle Luigi had lost his virginity at all by the time he graduated, his new-found, reckless courage bolstered by the death of his father and the whole shitstorm with the family business being ripped out from under their noses. He had barely finished senior year, whatever motivation he had once had to claw himself out of Bensonhurst and into Cooper Union whisked away once he was faced with the reality of being a seventeen year old orphan staring down a mountain of unpaid bills and a deceased father who may or may not have owed favors to the mob.

From that point onwards, he and Mario were focused on survival, on running a third-rate plumbing business out of a second-rate studio, Luigi elbows-deep in the guts of their father’s van more often than not, neither he nor Mario willing or able to shell out the cash for an actual mechanic. It was tenuous and relentless, and there was no way either of them had the energy or capacity to think about something as banal as dating when creditors and loan sharks were breathing down their neck every five days.

And then - their lives had been turned upside-down once again.

The concept of dating in the Mushroom Kingdom was laughable, and Luigi had resigned himself to a monastic existence while they figured out a way back to Brooklyn. There were so few humans around and it was clear from the outset that there something was going on between his brother and Peach, even if it had never advanced beyond hugs that lasted a few seconds too long to be called friendly and doe-eyed glances cast across the long tables of the the palace dining room.

Which left Luigi the odd man out, a situation he was overly-familiar with in this new world, his brother the famous hero of the Kingdom and Luigi himself an afterthought, at best. And sure, he had met a few other human women - smart, funny, beautiful human women who seemed to like talking with him, who, against all odds, found him genuinely interesting. 

But despite his brother egging him on, Luigi couldn’t quite find the motivation to try and turn that friendly flirting into anything more. Sure, Daisy was amazing and a force of nature. And Princess Eclair had been utterly captivating, to the point where Luigi wondered if she was some kind of enchantress. But for all of that, there was something missing, something he couldn’t quite make fit, a niggle in the back of his brain with his father’s voice, telling him to hit the gym, to put down his books and stop wearing those colorful socks or else he was going to get a reputation - the kind of reputation that ended with a fist in your face in a Brooklyn Heights Promenade bathroom.

There was something else, something more he wanted. But he was damned if was going to find it in the Mushroom Kingdom, and with the likelihood of them ever getting back to Brooklyn diminishing with each passing year - well, those monks didn’t have too bad a life, right?

“Okay, okay, are you guys ready?” Morel had sat himself on a small boulder, motioning for Luigi and Mario to follow suit. With his audience in place, the teen Toad strummed a few chords on his guitar, reaching up to adjust the tuning, then strumming again, then tuning, a process which took at least five minutes. Luigi was no musician, but even he was pretty sure Morel was just stalling at this point.

“Alright,” Morel sighed, breathy. “So, there’s this girl, right? And she’s really pretty. And I want to impress her, like, really impress her. She’s all into this band,” Morel’s face twisted, “Lion’s Mane and their front Toad is super cool and good-looking. I figure I can win her over if I show I can sing just as good as him, if I can write my own songs and everything! So here we go.”

Morel straightened, his small fingers digging into spaces above and below the frets. He took a large breath from his nose, held it, and then began play.

“Please don’t let me be alone.

I’ll talk to you on the phone.

I lose my spores,

When you walk on through those doors.

I’m right here, okay?

Right on the Mushroom Way.

It’s my time to say,

Chanterelle, you’re so swell!”

With a florid movement, Morel ran his thumb over the strings for the final chord, a broken set of notes that reminded Luigi of a dying carburetor he once tried to fix in his racing kart. Next to him, his brother’s smile was plastered on so tight Luigi thought his face might break in two if he tried any harder. 

“So what do you think, Mario? Do you think Chanterelle will date me?”

His brother’s eyes went wide, Mario’s smile growing even larger as he drummed his fingers on the knee of his pants. 

“I think,” Luigi offered, taking pity on his brother, “you put a lot of effort into this and Chanterelle will certainly be…surprised.”

Morel bounced up and down on his heels. “Do you think she’ll feel the love in this song?”

Luigi side-eyed his brother, who looked about one misplaced word away from bursting out in laughter. A small, vindictive part of Luigi wanted to pop the perfect persona his brother had cultivated, wanted the image of the hero be brought down to the level of the man he knew his brother was.

But looking at Morel’s shimmering eyes, the open admiration glowing from his small body - Luigi knew wasn’t going to do that to him. 

“You’ve certainly shown us what love can look like,” Luigi said, diplomatic. “And sound like.” Like you need a mechanic, he thought.

Morel punched the air. “Yes! Oh boy! Thank you! Thank you, Mario, you’re the best! I’m gonna go find Chanterelle right now!” The teen toad scrambled to get his guitar on his back, setting off in the direction of the Town Center, looking back every few seconds to give enthusiastic waves.

Mario let out a small laugh. “Thanks for the save, bro.”

“Eh,” Luigi shrugged. “I didn’t say anything untrue. He certainly demonstrated what love could be.”

“I just hope she lets him down easy. It’s a rough age for that stuff, human or Toad.”

Luigi hummed in response, looking out over the emerald-green hills that dotted the path to the Town Center. It was probably a rough age for that stuff at any age, trying to navigate love - to know another person and let them know you. 

“Hey Mario. While we’re on the topic, what about you and - “

“Still want to go to the market, Lou?” Mario asked, the slightest tremor of panic in his voice. Luigi had been trying, without success, to get his brother to open up about the whole situation with him and Peach had been trying to get him to shed the persona that was slowly taking over his everyday existence. Not that Mario was being mean or deliberately distant. He was still his brother, they still talked together, laughed together, occasionally cried together. But Luigi still couldn’t shake the feeling that things had changed. Something about the way Mario’s focus drifted every time they met up in Rogueport, or how he had come out of that painting the second time, vigorously shaking Luigi’s hand like he was running for political office. 

Luigi gave a silent nod, picking up his tote bag from the ground before following his brother’s lead, starting off in the direction of the town

Then again, maybe it was for the best. If Mario didn’t have to tell Luigi about his private life, then Luigi wouldn’t have to share his, wouldn’t have to get into the creeping insecurities and resentment that clouded parts of his existence in the Mushroom Kingdom. Wouldn’t have to explain that he didn’t know what love looked like, at least not the love he thought he was seeking, the part of him that craved understanding, with being known, unconditionally.

He had his brother. They were alive, healthy, and together. It would have to be enough.

[bella-rose29]

episode 8 commentary - Not the Eternal

final episode :(

swearing and spoilers for the books and show

also I wrote this months and months ago and no I will not be rereading so I'm just as surprised as you are for whatever is in this

not the way the light is buzzing while the camera spins around!!!

lockwood please go to therapy so you can start handling your emotions better

I love that he just gets changed into another suit and not comfy clothes

I WONT GIVE UP ON YOU LOCKWOOD

omg you're opening up about your feelings and admitting that you wanted to be at the bottom of the thames??? well done!!! (you still need to see a therapist though I'll do it for free if you can't afford it)

I want ruby to read CBeebies bedtime stories because the way that she narrates Mary Dulac's writings is amazing

omg idk if it means anything but the bone glass being a 'window' and George seeing Bickerstaff's face in the window and punching it??? am I stretching or is that a very sneaky link???

"where the hell is George" he's with the woman that's definitely in some sort of weird i-want-to-groom-you-relationship with him

yeah she needs you but not in the way you think

skull is such a snarky arse and I love it

"too busy playing the happy couple" yes they were although they were more like a married couple going through a rough patch

"it had to be here" because there's nobody to hear you scream then George

kipps omg no

Georgie yes slay that ghost

Joplin why do you just carry around the second knife that's very obvious of you

"I'd never be that nice to you" pfft

"let's kick in the doors, like we're really cool and know what we're doing" YES THANK YOU LOCKWOOD FOR VOICING WHAT ALL OF US WANT TO DO AND WHY

go on bobby

"what's the secret weapon?" "she is" power move from a husband supporting his wife

"and I'm Anthony bloody lockwood" YES YOU ARE

"this isn't a park, it's a graveyard" "then let's bury them" ICONIC LINE FROM HUSBAND

ned you got this

bobby you got this don't let the ginger woman beat you

is it bad I kinda wanna pin lockwood to a pillar

Kat come on you're a badass bitch don't let anyone tell you otherwise

skull why are you so cryptic and so literal at the same time

Georgie no

Georgie academics are not always nice like you are

he did want to see more but not unconsensually

yes you do know that knife Georgie is it all coming together now

DONT YOU HURT MY LOCKWOOD WINKMAN

YES KAT KICK HER IN THAT GRAVE

YES KAT KNOCK HIM OUT

"that bastard had a plan" "a suicidal one" "That tends to be a feature of all my best plans" lockwood honey-

"to save my friends. and kipps" pfft I love that he went to move away and had to turn back to make the distinction

omg Georgie no

you are an oddball but that's why we love you

omg Lucy called him Georgie

I love that Lucy has a go at lockwood for being all "do what you want with me but leave her alone" and then she does the same thing with George 💀

lockwood your arrogance is showing (but also you absolutely beat golden blade twice)

DONT TALK ABOUT HIS PARENTS

DONT FUCKING SHOOT HIM

omg the thump when lockwood lands on the bottom of the catafalque has me on the floor 💀

poor skully

omg dying at that shot of lockwood standing up after falling down the catafalque

Lucy no

Georgie yes

GEORGE IS NOT STUPID YOU BITCH

I am quite sad we didn't get the glasses wearer representation from George where he looks into the bone glass and doesn't see shit because he's not wearing his glasses bc honestly same (I can't see shit without mine either)

YES LOCKWOOD SLAY THAT BITCH

"oh, and I got shot" love it

not the way Lucy is cradling lockwood's face when they go back up on the catafalque and he's just lying there like some sick victorian lady in a painting while she strokes his cheek

omg and she moves his arm and coat so that all limbs are inside the vehicle at all times

"I thought George would have told you" George didn't tell because they secretly love you really kipps

"just reckless enough" both iconic and he looks like a wet cat

his smile is so precious I love him

"you're alright, lockwood" despite the fact you poked me in the bum after beating me in a duel when we were younger

"It's a medical necessity, George, it doesn't mean a thing" lol

"I thought I'd killed him" bitch nothing can kill him but his wife leaving

omg them being a family

"lockwood almost died a thousand times, but... I think he's decided he's better off alive" OH MY GOD

skully :(

"it's incredibly rare. both of you are" OK LOVER BOY

*shoves a doughnut in George's mouth to get him to stop talking*

HE'S WEARING THE PINK SOCKS iconic

his hand when he opens that door omg I need to stop I'm too obsessed

[enstars-popularity-tournament]

Round 1

[oceandirtcountry]

Cookiescross Pokémon AU stuff

Salem, leader of the evil team, is horribly mutating Pokémon into abominations known as Grimm. These Pokémon are untamable, feral, and only listen to her and a select few.

Ruby Rose: A young girl setting out on her Pokémon journey. She obtains a Scizor from Ben as her first Pokémon as Ozpin’s starter that was meant for her ran away. She eventually finds it and adds it to her team.

Ruby just wants to become the best trainer around, the champion rank of the champion ranks. But with new trouble popping up throughout the Remnant region, it’s gonna be pretty hard to do something like that.

Ben is assigned to tag along her entire journey, much to his dismay.

The team I have planned for her is:

Scizor (Basically her crescent rose)

Inteleon (High caliber sniper mon)

Roserade (It used to be Summer’s Pokémon.)

Salamence (Caught from a Bagon, signifies Ruby’s wish to “fly” and become a great Pokémon trainer. Shelgon evolved into a Salamence when the two’s ideals lined up into one, during a fight against Cinder, as Ruby wished to be stronger and Shelgon wished to fly to save her.)

Alcremie (obligatory little guy)

She eventually picks up a legendary to add to her team to stop Salem, being Zygarde, both determined to bring balance back to Remnant.

Ben Tennyson: An ex-champion ranked trainer, Ben is an oddball with an unknown history. Somehow, he threw away his prodigious champion rank, earned when he was Ten, to disappear for five years, whereabouts unknown.

He’s matured since then, but Ruby finds it odd that she’s never seen him fight—until one fateful encounter with Tyrian leaves her team on the brink of toxic damage, and Ben brings out a powerhouse even Ozpin didn’t know he had.

Ben’s team:

Deoxys (basically the Omnitrix. A Pokémon that’s been with him since he was ten, and helped him defeat eight gyms and become a champion ranker. But it mysteriously disappeared when he was twelve, leading to Ozpin and everyone else assuming Ben no longer had this Pokémon on him.)

Xurkitree (Feedback, basically. A Pokémon he lost in a showdown against a corrupted Rotom, which practically absorbed the Xurkitree’s ball into its body. Sensing Ben’s presence later on, Xurkitree broke out of its chains to assist Ben once more.)

Buzzswole (Four Arms. One of Ben’s ace Pokémon, and sees the most use in battles due to its astounding strength.)

Nihilego (Ghostfreak. A wild encounter with this Pokémon left Ben traumatised as a kid, but after encountering it again, hurt, in Ultra Space, Ben tended to its wounds and added it to his team.)

Kartana (Wildvine. Ben’s wild card, Kartana uses the surprise factor of even being on the field to absolutely go to town on opponent teams, cutting them up before they even have the chance to react.)

Rayquaza (Sensing great power from a trainer, Rayquaza faced Ben in a battle atop Sky Tower. It took all his Pokémon, but Deoxys trumped the big lizard, and Rayquaza agreed to join Ben’s team.)

Rex Salazar: Rex did not want to become a Pokémon trainer. But after a Grimm attack on his home town, or a scientific facility made to study those Grimm, Rex joins Ben and Ruby on their adventure to make things right.

Rex suffers from memory loss, so he hopes that his journey with Ben and Ruby will help jog some of those.

Rex’s team:

Ambipom (Bobo. This Ambipom can actually talk—and was basically Rex’s only companion in the facility. A result of some of the facility’s experimentation left this Pokémon with boosted intelligence—and a love for being sarcastic, apparently.)

Tinkaton (Big, massive, hammer. This Tinkaton has been observed to change its hammer based on the situation, having gone from hammer to sword to fists before. Rex is still unsure why it does this, and it feels a little extra to keep switching, no?)

Sceptile (One of Agent Six’s team members, who he sent to watch Rex to ensure his safety. It’s a stark contrast to the rest of Rex’s team, as it fights with a certain rhythm and discipline.)

Randy Cunningham: A chosen trainer, having the ability to empathise with his Pokémon and truly understand their emotions. Randy was selected from years upon years of trained Pokémon to be the final trainer to carry on the legendary “Ninja” title.

Randy doesn’t really understand as to why it was him to be chosen, and he joins the main three after accidentally flubbing a battle and realising he might need more help.

Randy’s team:

Ogerpon (The ninja mask, Ogerpon is adaptable and the most friendly of Randy’s passed-down Pokémon. Often switching masks to turn the tide of battle. When Randy eventually unlocks “Ninja Zen”, an ancient art that basically allows him to be on the same wavelength as his Pokémon, Ogerpon dons the Ninja Mask and becomes a Fighting/Grass type.)

Greninja (A Pokémon that has been with the First ninja. It’s honestly surprised as to why Randy was chosen as its trainer, since he’s a little bit…different from the rest of the Ninjas. It’s stunningly powerful, but only if Cunningham understands what to tell it. When in Ninja Zen, it adopts a form similar to ash greninja.)

Accelgor (A speed demon that Randy is still unsure how to control. It’s erratic and barely listens to him.)

Dragapult (Its a very kind Pokémon, the one which guided Randy on how to train its teammates in the first place. It’s got a motherly nature to it, probably because the two Dreepy on its head are its kids.)

Blake Belladona: A Faunus girl, shunned for their ancient connection to Pokémon and their pokemon-like body parts, even though most of them cannot use Pokémon moves. Blake is part Meowscarada, and excels at sleight of hand tricks.

After saving Ben and company from the White Fang, she’s originally surprised by the group’s lack of hostility toward her and her Faunus traits.

When they eventually go to see Weiss, the two break out in an argument, which eventually leads to Weiss discovering what exactly is happening in the mines.

Blake’s team:

Meowscarada (A pokemon she has a sort of link with. The two battle as if in sync, with Blake not needing to call out moves for the Pokémon to know exactly what she wants.)

Zoroak (A Pokémon gifted to her when she was a child. It can create illusions to hide Blake when she needs it, together with her Faunus traits, and hence comes in extremely useful.)

Crawdaunt (Schnasty lobster. After Blake nearly drowned, this Pokémon came to her aid, and has been at her side as a guardian angel of sorts ever since. It’s the one Pokémon that helped her buy time while she escaped from Adam. She eventually met up with it again, after her re-confrontation with the Tauros Faunus.)

Weiss Schnee: A snobbish, prideful heiress of Remnant’s most powerful company—Dust mining, which work like a mix of Z-crystals and type gems from the Gen 5 games (I’m still working on it)—and has a powerful team to boot.

After a near-death experience when Ruby and co. brought her into the mines, she realised exactly what her dad was doing to the poor Pokémon and Faunus workers, and well, she wasn’t happy.

Her dad took away her Pokémon, but one insisted on staying with her—the family’s most powerful mon,

Kingambit (The Arma Gigas. It’s the Schnee family’s famous Pokémon, prided for its strength and honour. While it used to be Winter’s Pokémon, it chose to tag along with Weiss on her journey.)

Weiss also later obtained her team back, with help from Randy, which consists of

Froslass (Saved her from falling during a ski trip in the mountains. Has stuck with her ever since.)

Delphox (Her starter from Professor Ozpin. She didn’t like it at first, but it grew on her.)

Appletun (Some weird lady gave her an apple, but it turns out that apple had an Applin inside! After eating the sickly sweet apple, it evolved into an Appletun that Weiss finds quite adorable.)

Yang Xiao-Long: A member of Raven Branwen’s tribe, Yang was raised to pride strong Pokémon over anything else. She didn’t even realise Ruby was her half-sister until much, much later, when she joined Ruby’s team for good.

Yang doesn’t like how controlling her mom is, and sometimes wished she’d been with her dad instead, even with her mom talking so much smack about Tai.

She eventually leaves the tribe when the whole group shows up to confront Raven about a kidnapped group of powerful Pokémon from their natural habitats, which is about when Ruby meets Bagon for the first time,

Yang’s team:

Infernape (Yang’s original Pokémon. It’s fast, it hits hard, but the two never formed a bond as Raven deemed it “useless”.)

Tyranitar (One of the two Pokémon that the tribe kidnapped. It chose to join Yang as a Larvitar as it found her to be a strong, destructive force, like its mother would have been.)

Garchomp (The other Pokémon the tribe kidnapped. It’s oddly meek for its species, and joined Yang as she seemed to be the friendliest person in the tribe.)

…Pawmot? (A Pokémon Yang picked up into the journey with Ruby and gang, which she found adorable. It’s more of a sign that she’s shedding the beliefs raven drilled into her head.)

[rjl11898]

Happy Critical-Role-Is-Ending-Eve! In honor of CR being my all time worst hyperfixation I’m going to write a post-canon fic!

They’d never really had the money, or the time, or the need for pastries before. They’d never really even had much of the luxury of shopping in an actual market much before meeting Bells Hells, and she decides that that is enough of an opportunity to buy some sweets for her and Laudna.

A/N I personally am the kind of autistic that will be thinking about these characters lives for the next five-ten business years, so I’ve decided to try and write fanfiction! When I was younger I read a fic that uploaded a new chapter every weekend, and went on for about 20 years, and like tbh that’s my inspo. I really want to write some long-form content that will cover the long long lives of these characters, and the fallout from the campaign. Also if you think this isn’t going to be the roundest of families you’ve got another thing coming bucko. This is just a snippet so like idk join me? This will be a lot less fun if my girlfriend is the only one giving me new prompts and ideas lol. Anyway give her a try:

She doesn’t need to read minds to tell that she and Laudna just walking hand-in-hand through the market is an unsettling presence for some townies. They’re fairly used to the people looking in fear at Laudna, but Imogen notices the eyes that meet hers seem less reassured than usual. It doesn’t necessarily bother her, she just feels like it’s important to note. 

They don't feel as prosecuted as they did in smaller villages, the people of Jrusar seem a bit more used to strange-looking people. Bell’s Hells as a whole have seemed to more or less desensitize these people to their general mayhem at this point. The fish they needed to fry got bigger, and they hadn’t even realized their station was rising above anyone who had a problem with them. Sure they still run into familiar ruby vanguard faces but they run in fear or are easy enough to deal with, especially when they're without backup.  

Their associates now have given Bells Hells a sort of infamy in Jrusar. They still keep to themselves, only going out and interacting with their limited net of people, which has led to most people just gawking at them and wondering who they are.

She can hear the peripheries through the static…oh dear, hide the girls… oh they seem dangerous… we should be careful… and she supposes she should be grateful they’re intimidated rather than their usual anger. Unsettled is fine, as long as no one tries to bother them about it. That being said, she also hears wow I’d let her.. and more importantly fuck, they’d kick my ass from one impressively large orc-looking figure. 

She looks over to Laudna, who is inspecting various strawberries, clearly putting a lot of effort into picking the absolute best ones. She hears the light melodic hum of Laudna’s mind still playing in the back of her own and reaches out through it, so far so good as far as it comes to townies. They seem more intimidated than willing to go grab a pitchfork. She notices Laudna’s eyes peer around the space before meeting hers with a raised eyebrow; we'll see if they remain as open to the oddballs as they seem to be now. Imogen can hear the lilt of a smirk even through their thoughts. Laudna moves her head to get Imogen’s attention before sending; I’m less concerned than ever of being overtaken with the crack of a devilish little smile. 

Imogen cracks a smile and bites at the air a few times, trying to mime eating a god, which has its desired result as Laudna’s light cackle rings out, only to receive a few more scrutinizing looks from the townsfolk. Laudna looks back at her only to wink lightly and go back to investigating her strawberries. They came here for a few things and Imogen turns around to find the bread they need to pick up when her eyes catch on the pastries. 

They’d never really had the money, or the time, or the need for pastries before. They’d never really even had much of the luxury of shopping in an actual market much before meeting Bells Hells, and she decides that that is enough of an opportunity to buy some sweets for her and Laudna. After looking over the options, she decides to get a cinnamon roll and an almond scone, figuring Laudna would like either option. 

She makes sure Laudna is still busy with the fruit before grabbing both of her bags and heading up to the vendor to make her purchases. She’s just turning her head around when she meets a pair of apprehensive eyes. She feels a pang of annoyance as she plasters on her most charismatic smile. 

“Hi there, just grabbing these today,” Imogen remarks, making eye contact with the shorter gnomish man. 

He seems to remember his manners all at once she snaps to attention, stuttering “o-of course ma’am, that’ll be 5 silver pieces.”

She opens the pouch and pulls out a gold piece, it’s not like they’re exactly strapped for cash, and hands it to gnome, “keep the extra.” She smiles, hoping the cosmic good will do them all some favors with their overall public image. 

She looks over at Laudna who has a basket full of pomegranate, strawberries, raspberries, and apples at this point. Imogen moves the few steps it takes to cross the pathway to Laudna, grabbing her hand as she approaches, you have any recipes in mind, or just snacks? 

Laudna looks over to Imogen as she says this, her heart still doing a little flutter as she catches the smirk on Imogen’s face. ..wow.. the pomegranates are just for snacking unless you have something in mind, but I had the thought to spend some of our newfound quiet time doing some actual baking! She wonders if Imogen catches the tail end of her thoughts flicking to Eshteross and how he used to bake for them all. The pang of guilt is further down, and she pushes it away almost as quickly as it pops up. Before her thoughts run away from her she hears well I will certainly try to help, but you may have to do most of the heavy lifting. Do you think Evelyn has any of Eshteross’ recipes written down? and Laudna is less convinced Imogen didn’t catch some of her quieter thoughts. 

She raises her eyebrow at Imogen as she says well there’s certainly no harm in asking, darling— ooh! We could even stop by on our way back to Zhudanna’s Imogen’s smile widens just a little and Laudna catches her eye, thinking about how badly she wants to kiss her girlfriend. After a tough decision to pull her eyes away from Imogen’s lips, she peers around for any truly disdainful eyes, before kissing Imogen gently. Imogen sends whatever you’d like to do, my love. You’re the one who knows how long this baking adventure will take. with a little giggle.

Laudna remembers what’s in her hands, and reminds Imogen with a chuckle, I do think we’ll have to pay for these unless we want a very sticky situation to explain to Keyleth on our hands. 

They make quick work of purchasing the berries, receiving only slightly terrified looks from the clerk. Their next stops are more generic, looking for specific items amongst the stalls. They need flour and eggs and the bare bones of a kitchen, seeing as the only food they’ve had regular access to for the past few months was molded over due to an excessive amount of corpses. They’re pretty sure they have everything as they make their way to pay for their items. Imogen notices first (catching a thought from across the room) the woman looking at them with a mix of disdain and terror. Temult- she’s fine, how is she alive, what happened- before Imogen finally makes eye contact with the apparently ex-ruby vanguard member and they seem to pull up more walls around their thoughts. 

She sighs before sending Laudna do you see that woman with the long brown hair? Before doing her best to send the image of the woman behind Laudna’s shoulder. 

Well I certainly do now, do we have trouble? as her eyes sink a little deeper into their sockets. 

Not yet, I honestly think she thinks I’m my mother. She’s wondering how I’m alive. Imogen sends well actually, I mean she might know something about Predathos but oh and… she nods as she catches the figure ducking out of the shop. Laudna looks over her shoulder to catch the outline of the retreating figure, hmm strange, but better her running than as I suppose. They turn back to face the clerk to see the previous customer stepping away from the till. 

Oddly enough, this vendor seems to take them for what they are, and not pass any further judgments. Imogen doesn't even catch a spike in fear over her thoughts. 

“Hi! Are you two new to Jrusar?” The teller asks as she does some quick math, “It’ll be 11gp.”

Imogen pulls the appropriate amount from their money pouch with a slight smile. “Well we lived here for a few weeks a while back, but we’re more inclined to settle down soon.” She opens her mind a little wider to listen in to the clerk’s thoughts. 

…don't think I’ve seen them, maybe they’re making pastries… “It’s an up-and-coming area! And I hope y’all come back to visit if you need anything!”

Deciding that this woman is friendly enough, Imogen smiles genuinely before responding “Sure, we’ll see you around.” As they leave the stand, she sends Laudna She seemed genuinely nice, with a little shrug, I wouldn’t mind shopping there regularly. She takes a second to let it sink in that she is allowed to make habits. The warmth of it all washes over her slowly, pulling a smile to her face. She looks back over at Laudna and her love of the situation blooms in her chest seeing the beautiful little grin on her face. 

They move leisurely around the market, poking their heads into stalls and sending little quips over their mental connection. They revel in the slowness of it all, taking the time to actually shop for new and interesting foods and trinkets. They pick up a few chocolates from a confectioner, seeing them from a few stalls down and taking their time to discuss what types they like the most. 

They're making their way through a consignment shop when Laudna sees a few pairs of glasses with the moons on them. The Catha glass is a beautiful clear old-fashioned glass with the moon and stars etched into the side, but the Ruidus glass is what truly grabs her attention. The glass is made of red-dyed glass, with Ruidus in a crescent shape, and even smaller constellations etched into the side. It takes some bartering, and all of her energy to avoid Imogen’s attention, but she convinces the shopkeeper to give her two Ruidus glasses instead of one of each moon. The shopkeeper gives in after being convinced no one would truly want the Ruidus ones anyway. 

With her glasses wrapped up safely and tucked away in her bag away from Imogen, she looks around to see where she went. The lilac hair is easy enough to spot through the crowd, and she slinks her way through people to reach her girl. Imogen looks over at her as she approaches, sending what did you find? And Laudna thinks she should have hid her grin a little better before responding none of your business, it's a surprise! But lets her grin slip into something a little more mischievous. Imogen grabs her hand and starts pulling her towards the exit. They make it just outside the entrance before Imogen stops and pulls Laudna away from the path and around a corner to kiss her thoroughly.  

————<3 ri

[tomboyjessie13-artblog]

Sorry for the long wait, I was super distracted this week, what with the drama going on Tumblr and being getting sick with Covid.

Anyways, I don't know what I was thinking making this or any of the drabbles of written in the past month, but just before I became sick, I had the "brilliant" idea of making an AU where everything's the same, except DIO and Medea's unhealthy relationship finally ended with the latter getting pregnant with his 5th illegitimate child during the "High Priestess" arc.

Basically she's like Jouta Kujo, except her birth is less cursed and weird, she doesn't exist in the main timeline, but she does in another.... it's for fun. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hypothetically, Stefani King-Tachibana (ステフ���ニー キング-橘 Sutefanī Kingu - Tachibana) is the daughter of Medea and DIO from alternate timeline where their unhealthy relationship resulted in her birth, making her DIO's fifth and final illegitimate child alongside her half-brothers.

She was born into Japan sometime after the events of "Stardust Crusaders" being raised by her mother with the help of the Kujos and Keiji, she grew up not knowing her birth father but has accepted Keiji as a real father figure. She appears in "Diamond Is Unbreakable" as a secondary ally, Stefani was first introduced as an oddball child, but that was just a shield as she gets picked on at school for being a foreigner, in reality she is shown to be quite reserved and respectful to her elders and loved ones, as she is shown to be very caring of Noriko's wellbeing against Yoshihiro's enemy Stand users and has disowned DIO as her father upon learning what he did to her mother in the past.

It's later revealed that Stefani is a natural born Stand user like her parents, welding a Jorogumo-like Stand named [Spiderwebs]. Stefani later appears in "Stone Ocean" as a secondary protagonist, having made a career in women's boxing in her adulthood, she heard about Noriko's false imprisonment and rushed to the Green Dolphin State Prison to rescue her, eventually getting caught up in the many incidents involving Pucci's conspiracy and later meeting her half-brothers, the sons of DIO. 

Like her half-brothers, she shares some of DIO's traits, such as having a hatred for her birth father for mistreating her mother similar to how DIO despised Dario Brando for doing the same, as well as crying out "Wryyyy!" when angry and having a talent in boxing. 

~Name~ Japanese Name: ステファニー キング-橘 Romanized Name: Sutefanī Kingu - Tachibana Namesake: Gwen Stefani (American lead singer of "No Doubt") Dave King (Irish American singer of "Flogging Molly") Stand: Spiderwebs

~Profile~ Age: 10 (Part 4) 22(Part 6) Birthday: August 1989  Chinese Zodiac: Snake Gender: Female Height: 160 cm (5 ft 5 in) Weight: Unknown Blood Type: O Ethnicity: British-American Nationality: Japanese Occupation: Elementary school student (Part 4) Professional boxer (Part 6)

~Favorites~ Color: Ruby Red Movie: Blade runner Food: Shogayaki Band: Monkey Majik Hobbies: Boxing

~Other Information~ Hair Color: Brown (dyed rouge pink in Part 6) Eye Color: Gold Relationships: Medea King (Biological Mother) Dio Brando (Biological Father/deceased) Keiji Tachibana (Stepfather)  Noriko Tachibana (Half-sister) Giorno Giovanna (Half-brother) Donatello Versus (Half-brother) Rikiel (Half-brother) Ungalo (Half-brother) Status: Reincarnated (Part 6, but it's also Hypothetical, she's an AU character.) OCs belong to me Jotaro Kujo belongs to Hirohiko Araki

[eah-mh-aus]

EAH bririse fankid AU ideas: Most of Ruby Hood's backstory

As a little girl, Ruby was made by one of her moms, Briar, to be more feminine due to being a princess. Having two moms who were destined to be damsels, most kids viewed Ruby as a damsel before finding out about her being 1/3 Badwolf.

She hung out with her cousin, Rue, and his older sisters on rare occasions. Together, they'd hang out by sneaking out of Justine's home to do whatever they wanted to do. At school, however, she never went to the same elementary or middle school with any of them.

Once people outside of her family started finding out about her being part Badwolf, she was treated differently by kids who originally viewed her as just "the shy girl." Some started to view her as a beast in Red Riding Hood's clothing. Others still viewed her as a damsel due to being more human than a Badwolf. Because of this, her hood was used to hide herself from others; not to keep a secret like Cerise, but to prevent herself from being seen as either a beast or a damsel.

She didn't want to be perceived by anyone, isolating herself from other kids in her grade. She'd be bullied for her Badwolf genes by most girls. This was especially prominent in the daughter of her mom, Briar's, friend. This girl was named Briar Jr., a name that Apple picked out since she and Briar had tried to patch things up after following their stories.

Briar Jr. was someone who she was made to hang out with Ruby on occasions, yet having her as a friend was debatable considering Briar Jr.'s treatment towards Ruby. With Apple's ideals ingrained into her daughter, Ruby dealt with so much bullying from her that she literally found it hard to actually trust or properly befriend others.

Ruby became the oddball, the "weird girl," and the recluse due to this. She had very little friends. The ones she had were often pushed away from due to her fear of being hurt from them. Even when she first met her current best friend, Tsuki-Hime, Ruby was introverted and didn't know how to talk properly to others. She was lucky to have a mom who knew about Tsuki-Hime's mom, making their relationship develop in a very slow process.

Finding out about Tsuki-Hime's weird, moon-based abilities and emotional state, Ruby grew to see how wonderfully unorthodox Tsuki-Hime was. In a way, Tsuki-Hime's gentle, caring attitude towards her new friend helped her grow to show a side of her she's not used to showing off (outside of her family at least); she was loyal and protective of her new friend. She even admitted to being slightly possessive of Tsuki-Hime in their younger years of their friendship.

After a year of knowing Tsuki-Hime, Ruby decided to actually become close to a couple of other kids. These kids were the sons of Cerise and Briar's friends, Hopper and Dexter. The boys were named Tenacious and Newton.

Newton was like Hopper, being destined to be the next Frog Prince. Tenacious was more of a mix between both men, having the persistence of a Croakington and the strong passion of a Charming. To Ruby, however, they were just a couple of nerd she grew to affectionately tease every once in awhile.

Becoming friends with all three kids, Ruby started to develop a desire to change her style. She wanted to make herself look less like a damsel hiding her wolf-like traits and more expressive of her heritage. She'd even have her one or two of her cousins come along with her pack to go shopping for new clothes.

While attending high school with her some of her cousins, she was glad to actually be with them whenever she needed someone from her own family to talk to. Whether it was to gossip about other kids, talking about Briar Jr. behind her back, or really anything, if Tsuki-Hime or the Charming-Croakington boys weren't available, she'd go spend time with her cousins. She was especially closest to Rue during her time at EAH.

With Ruby's current choice in more punk, tomboy outfits, she uses her looks to embrace all parts of her heritage. She stopped caring about how others think of her for being part Badwolf, even showing pride in being one. She and Tsuki-Hime were more open about their disinterest in being victims of misogynistic boys. With Tenacious and Newton, they were the only ones who were allowed to be around Ruby as two of her closest guy friends. Tsuki-Hime even befriended some of Ruby's cousins while attending EAH.

Ruby developed to even start thinking about being a singer. Even though it was not a common thing for anyone in her family to sing, she wanted to start a band to let her feelings out in the form of music. Her cousins and friends all tried showing support in her interests, even helping in finding band mates of her own. Even her moms show their support in her musical interests, trying to experiment with her new tastes as she grows older.

[nellie-elizabeth]

Doctor Who: The Legend of Ruby Sunday (14x07)

This is an undeniably excellent season of this show, wow!

Cons:

So, the big thing is, I don't know who Sutekh is within the lore of this show. I went and did a google, and he's a figure who appeared in one episode and then a bunch of tie-in stuff. There was a lot about this "reveal" that was effective, and I'm not saying knowing the deep lore is a requirement to get the significance of the twist, but it's like... I don't know. Ideally, you spend all season with the mystery of this recurring woman, and you hear people talking about "The One Who Waits," and then the moment of truth hits and you go "oh shit! I can't believe it was [blank] the whole time!" Sutekh could have been "Bob the Scary Demon Man" and it would have made no difference to me or, I would wager, to the majority of the audience.

I also think I could have used a bit more buildup of "The One Who Waits" just as a concept. Could have used one or two additional drops of that phrase. There's something a little clunky about the reveal being a god of Death, because it's like... hmm. Isn't the saying "time waits for no man," like, Death is going to get you, you can't run from it? So the idea of a death god "waiting" and then deciding to "stop waiting" is a little off for me. My favorite depictions of Death in fiction are always Death as Inevitability. Not cruel, not actively violent, just... it's coming for us all. This dude by contrast seems to be more of a god of destruction, an active force that wants to kill the universe. I'm down for it, I'm just saying maybe the "waiting" aspect is a little muddy.

Also, the creepy old lady neighbor being some sort of messenger for the coming of Sutekh was cool, but I could have used another cut back to her just to make sure Grandma Sunday is okay, or to give us a tease of what might need to happen to keep her safe next episode? It felt weird to include that little sinister bit and then not really revisit it.

Pros:

I say all of that, and I mean it, but at the same time I was wicked impressed with this episode's ability to build and hold tension, to tie me into the emotional reality of the Doctor and Ruby and feel the pain and fear through their lens, even when I didn't get the larger reference from the show's lore. I think the real showcase of this episode, the scene I'm going to carry with me, is the scene in the time window. It's a long, long scene, and very slow, with a lot of the Doctor and Ruby just standing and watching, and not a lot happening. And yet somehow I was holding my breath, filled with the tension and the desperation of the moment, the whole way through. When the hooded figure, ostensibly Ruby's mother, turned and pointed, I honestly gasped. And when the UNIT member's voice started speaking, talking about being lost and being in hell... goosebumps.

I also want to say how good it was to see Kate, and Rose, and Mel, and just spend time with this oddball UNIT crew. There's this interesting sense whenever we're with Kate, like, "oh, everything's going to be okay now." And it's a fun reciprocity between viewer and characters, because you also get the sense that Kate feels that way about having the Doctor near. We can take comfort from UNIT, and UNIT takes comfort from the Doctor. I liked the little twelve-year-old genius boy and the other characters we got to spend some time with; there's this real sense of a lived reality going on when we're not here to observe it; they're on about their business all the time, keeping a lookout for inexplicable danger. That's also what makes it so sinister and thrilling when you realize the danger is right there in the room with them. The Doctor brought it with him, totally by accident, leaving his TARDIS behind to set off the trap.

There are two identity-based mysteries going on in this episode. One is Ruby's mother, and the other is Susan, the Doctor's granddaughter. Are we going to get to see a glimpse of Ruby's mum? Will the great mystery be unveiled? Is this woman actually the Doctor's relative? Are we going to see him face his past and reunite with her?

And the answer to both of these questions seems to be: nope! Not yet, anyway. Just you wait! There's a delicious frustration to this episode, where you think what we're building to might be the answer to what the heck is happening with Ruby, but it's not. There's a connection there, but it still feels elusive, the real truths just out of our reach. I believe that Ruby is not returning as a companion for another season, so ostensibly whatever answers we're going to get about her, we'll get next week? I hope she gets the answers and the peace she's looking for. I still want to know what creepy old-lady-Ruby was whispering to everyone that made them run away back in "73 Yards."

Once again Ncuti Gatwa's performance was outstanding. I loved seeing him interacting with Kate and Mel, these people who have known the Doctor for so long and through so many different iterations. His contained pain and doubt about Susan, and that moment of heartbreak when he shakes her hand and looks her in the eye and can't feel the recognition that would prove who she is... that was really moving. And then also his care and compassion for Ruby, holding her through her grief about not being able to find answers about her mom! And then the fear and horror on his face as the truth of his foe comes clear to him at last. Despite my complaints above about this reveal not really having prior meaning to me as a viewer, I am convinced to feel a great amount of horror by the strength of the Doctor's reaction alone. That's impressive!

One last note, I'll say that Doctor Who isn't known for its top-notch SFX even in this new age of Disney money, but I always appreciate the creativity of how they choose to do things visually. The memory effects in the time window had this strange mix of VHS static and then a genuine horror element to it, where it felt like everything was happening on a predestined loop but you were also ready for the hooded figure to turn and see the Doctor and Ruby at any moment. It felt so nebulous and unspecific in a really neat way. And then the Sutekh effect at the end, looming over the TARDIS - I mean, it's kind of cartoony and a bit unconvincing but I honestly really liked the way it looked, that big scary mouth, the glowing red eyes, the whiskers and the ears... and then the effects on Harriet and Susan too, they looked so creepy and scary and I didn't want them to touch the Doctor or our other good guys!

So yeah, that's what I've got for this one. I do wish I could have somehow been clued in to the full lore so that the big reveal would feel like a genuine revelation. But even with that significant disadvantage built into the structure of the story, this was a great installment of the show and I eagerly await part two!

8/10

[slunatic]

Also on FFN: Chapter 5: Oddball.

Summary: This is the sequel to New Tricks. Regina and Emma continue their relationship with Emma being Regina’s pet, but things slowly evolve as their lives change.

Updated Saturdays (posted on my Patreon before Ao3 or FFN).

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Archive Warning: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings

Category: F/F

Fandom: Once Upon a Time (TV)

Relationship: Evil Queen | Regina Mills/Emma Swan

Characters: Evil Queen | Regina Mills, Emma Swan, Maleficent (Once Upon a Time), Red Riding Hood | Ruby, Snow White | Mary Margaret Blanchard, Prince Charming | David Nolan, Mulan (Once Upon a Time), Rumplestiltskin | Mr. Gold, Queen of Hearts | Cora, Tinker Bell (Once Upon a Time), Nova | Astrid, Marian (Once Upon a Time), Robin Hood (Once Upon a Time)

Additional Tags: Slow Burn, Romance, Drama, Angst, Domestic Fluff, Developing Friendships, Master/Pet, Bisexuality, Alternate Universe - Non-Magical

[schizochroal]

Warblers might look a bit similar in their non-breeding , but with their breeding plumage they are so beautiful and varied, I call them the gems of North american birds. I remember once, on a hike thru the woods with my gf we had seen three species of warblers in one day, and heard a fourth one the whole time. Upon reaching the top of a hill, and finally getting a glimpse of those warblers (Townsend's warblers) we had been hearing that whole time poking through the leaves on a tree, we both got really emotional and teared up.

The real enemies of identification in birding in North America are definitely the flycatchers .

These are all separate species of birds, and most of them live in the same areas. I didn't even include the pewees, which also can look similar depending on lighting, because at least those have a distinctive call. I imagine if you live in a coastal area, gulls are also pretty bad, but I will call special attention to one other group of birds.

While there are only a couple of species that live in my area, vireos, which also look very similar to each other, also look nigh indistinguishable from ruby crowned kinglets which is , imo, absolutely ridiculous.

These birds are completely unrelated, and in a way both oddballs. Vireos are the only group of corvoids in North America outside of the true corvids (crows, jays and magpies, you know these guys) and shrikes (aka the bird equivalents of vlad the impaler). Despite their famous relatives, vireos are just tiny little bug/fruit eaters, and are pretty close in behavior and life style to an "archetypical" passerine.

Meanwhile kinglets are biologically very unusual, in addition to having a unique crest structure on their head (which they never seem to actually show when you try to take a picture of them ) they have metabolisms more similar to hummingbirds than other passerines, and have to eat insects almost constantly to stay alive. They also lay more eggs in a single nest than most passerines I know of (up to twelve!) and live extremely short lives, typically living less than a year in the wild (by comparison, some vireos live up to 10 years in the wild). Taxonomically they get shoved around the passerines family tree by different studies, being grouped with the old world warblers or in more recent research the wrens/nuthatches, but some evidence points to them being a unique group within passeri, perhaps warranting their own infraorder, sister to all other passeridians.

Regardless, they are about as distantly related as birds in the same suborder can even be, and yet look nearly the same. Also they are both extremely difficult to take pictures of because they seem to almost exclusively hang out in the middle part of trees, and move almost constantly.

(photos: USFWS)

[enstars-popularity-tournament]

Round 1