#// will be sending out a plotting call and a fun idea for some mini interactions in a bit

[garmgeyr]

Introduction & Interaction Notes

// Hello hello, Ree here with a second muse o/ I couldn't resist joining the HSR boom, but more importantly, I wanted to get elbow-deep in Penacony's history and worldbuilding. I've been in love with this planet and its cast since 2.0, but Penacony's founding figures are by and large my favorites.

To kick things off, as GH was first a Genshin RPC, I thought that it might be helpful to write some sort of brief (lmao) overview for interacting with Gallagher with Teyvat muses and muns who haven't played HSR in mind. This character is a little (a lot) complicated as of 2.2, but I have both a spoiler and spoiler-free summary. All of this is also written up on this blog's notes page.

Spoiler Free (if you haven’t played HSR’s story through 2.2)

You can find Gallagher just about anywhere in Penacony's dreamscape. He has the uncanny tendency to show up at just the right moment. However, all threads with him will need to take place in the dreamscape and/or within the Asdana system for story reasons. Fortunately, Penacony’s dreamscapes are massive. There’s plenty to do.

The impression he gives off is that of a tired, middle-aged man, but he’s generally friendly toward visitors. Inexplicably, characters will believe him to be reliable from the moment they meet him, and - unconsciously or not - will trust him as one of Penacony’s security officers. He’s also a drinksmith, which he clearly enjoys more.

I base my characterization mostly on his JP VA’s performance, who slurs his words more to sell the image of a drunk old man. Gallagher himself says that he’s been called a number of names, “drunk” included, so this trait is free game for any character to comment on. He also tends to lean more crass and blunt than the ENG loc.

There’s little else you need to know about him prior to an interaction. Let him make you a drink and spin you a few stories.

Spoiler Version (if you’re caught up with HSR as of 2.2 and/or just don’t care about spoilers)

FITTING GALLAGHER INTO GH

Gallagher is implied to disappear at the end of 2.2 because of the concept that a lie that’s been discovered as a lie can’t exist anymore, assuming that something must be perceived to be true in order to exist in the first place. While the loading screen explicitly says that “Gallagher” breathed his last, he talks in the story as if this isn’t necessarily certain and that it’s beyond his control, so I’m taking this as an excuse to give him an ambiguous period between his last scene in 2.2 and his actual end. He knows that his end is coming, but it hasn’t happened yet. (conversely, he could still exist in the minds of those who never discovered the truth, but “died” in the mind of the player/the Trailblazer, but that theory overly-complicates things so we’re leaving it at this).

Gallagher is a work of fiction, created by a History Fictionologist. As such, he doesn’t technically exist outside of the dreamscape. To get around this and allow him more freedom within GH, different “versions” of Gallagher will be created for different planets and nations in Teyvat. * I'm aware that Penacony itself is unique and the Fictionologist likely can't create different avatars outside of its dreamscape, but this is a compromise between consistency with the game's lore and allowing a recognizable canon character to leave Penacony for GH's purposes. His character stories point to a base personality that seems consistent with that of the Fictionologist’s, so these different versions will more or less have the same personality no matter where they are (I’m not interested in creating OCs, and this goes against GH’s rules anyway). They will also all be some sort of bartender or (retired) security officer. The difference between these versions and the original Gallagher is that they’ll 1) have different names and 2) have different false backstories to suit the environment.

As an Emanator of Enigmata, the fictionologist is capable of influencing an individual’s impression at a memory level, so all versions of Gallagher will appear to the locals like he’s been there all his life. For example, if he were to show up in Mondstadt one day, Mondstadt characters will believe that he’s more or less an unremarkable local, and may even think that they’ve had some meaningful interaction with him before even if this is technically the first time they’ve met. For this reason, I - as the mun - give explicit permission for my partners to use any non-italicized prose in my posts as information that their muse already knows. This would ordinarily go against metagaming etiquette, but this is an experiment I’d like to try.

Even though Gallagher himself is a kaleidoscope of traits gathered from 52 different Family members in Penacony, for the sake of this group, every version of him will retain a similar appearance. But more often than not, you can just imagine him as a “generic older brown-haired, brown-eyed NPC” from the region that the thread is taking place in.

To note, all of the above is specific ONLY to threads taking place outside of Penacony. For some special characters, like the Trailblazer, past memory may allow them to recognize and therefore see Gallagher with his canon appearance.

FOR TEYVAT SPECIFICALLY

History Fictionologists are said to travel the cosmos, altering the history of civilizations in order to change their trajectory into the future. Since Teyvat is hinted to be trapped in some sort of samsara, this gives the fictionologist behind Gallagher an easy reason to want to come check the place out. However, I’m leaving the plotting and scheme designs to the hoyo writers. There will be no underlying plan mentioned here.

NOTES ON WRITING

I’m approaching writing Gallagher as writing the fictionologist acting as Gallagher. Gallagher is a dreamscape avatar, and this can be equated to an online persona. Physically, they are not the same person, but they don’t exist independently of one another. In other words, Gallagher isn’t like the memetic entities in the dreamscape who can develop independent of their creators.

This is, as a result, something of a writing experiment for me. Most of the content in my thread posts will be objective. All details can be known and observed by all characters involved (in other words, no inner monologue or ramblings about Gallagher’s emotions/past that the other character can’t also access). However, I do intend to include occasional snippets from the fictionologist (in interactions where my partner doesn’t mind spoilers), written in italics. These parts cannot be referenced by other muses unless explicitly mentioned by Gallagher himself, in dialogue.

This concept may evolve and change if ever new information is released in canon.

[polizwrites]

PoliZ's WIP Update - 19 Jul 2024

Another busy week IRL, but I made my  unofficial weekly goal again, as well as got some planning for next month’s events done.  I touched five fics (2 new & 3 WIPs) - for a total of 2115 words. 

On Ao3, I posted: 

 The Business of Pleasure - No Powers omegaverse D/s Stucky one-shot (for now)   

An Attractive Concept  - vaguely steampunk No Powers AU Stony ficlet. 

Making Themselves at Home - canon-divergent WinterIron ficlet 

On Tumblr I posted: 

Short-Timing It - a pre-war Bucky & Steve (Stucky if you squint) ficlet.

I’m juggling  20  active/semi-active WIPs with my current  deadline being the  Steve Rogers Bingo which ends on July 15th and the July Break Bingo, which runs for the month of July.  

See  below cut for what I’m working on/planning to work on - arranged more or less by bingos/challenges/etc.  As always, feel free to send me   prompts or plot bunnies as well as asks regarding  any of these projects  or any other WIPs I’ve got out there.   Interaction really helps feed the Muse and keep me motivated!

Steve Rogers Bingo - Round 3 [SRB_R3] (ends  15 Jul 2024)

Twenty-one  fills, two bingos and no WIPs at the moment  - turns out I have another month to try to squeeze in a few more fills! 

* B1 - Project Rebirth -   Went with an outsider POV to fill this - Judging A Book By Its Cover is 413 words of Howard Stark’s perspective on the moments before shrimpy!Steve is transformed into Captain America.   Planning to post this on July 3rd.    

* C5 - Exes to Lovers -   Have an idea I’m playing with that will also fill the  BaBB May prompt: Wrong Number.  We’ll see if I have time to write it before the deadline!

* D2 - Alpha Steve -  What is turning out to be the first chapter of The Business of Pleasure posted last Friday.  It’s a crossover with  Week 2 of Hot Bucky Summer - combining  “What should I call you?”  +  Master  + Alpha - along with my BBB K5 - Voice  Bucky seeks out a professional Alpha Dom and - despite appearances, will be getting exactly what he needs.  It came in  at 990 words and am planning a second chapter to coincide with HBS Week Four - stay tuned!  

* E3 - Steampunk -  Posted An Attractive Concept  to Ao3 last Thursday - It’s  a vaguely steampunk mostly-platonic Stony ficlet where Tony tells Steve about his newest invention and crosses over with the Flash Fiction Friday prompt [#FFF250 Rushing Train].   It came in at 380 words

July Break Bingo [JBB_24] (runs 1-31 Jul) 

@julybreakbingo  is a fantastic any-fandom bingo event designed to spark creativity during the month of July!  After filling out a detailed request form, you get a customized bingo card where you can combine prompts and squish them any way you please!   The main restriction is to post fills within the month of July - so I brainstormed and came up with some good potentials - combining with Hot Bucky Summer prompts and my Bucky Barnes Bingo card - check those two sections below for details!   If all goes well,  I’ll have at least 17 squares filled and (with the help of the Alt prompts) a bingo or two! 

Hot Bucky Summer 2024 [HBS_R2] (Ends 31 Aug)

More fun from the @buckybarnesevents folks - this time weekly challenges to create (usually NSFW) Bucky-centric fanworks!   Thanks to the July Break Bingo (see above)  and Bucky Barrnes Bingo - I now have ideas/mini-outlines for each week of July.  

* Week 1: I combined the following prompts - “Louder, let everyone hear you.” + Noisy Sex +  Exhibitionism  along with my WIB  A/B/O: Knotting and BBB KINK: Shower sex  squares for   Coming Clean - 659 words of PWP featuring WinterIron shower room shenanigans with a surprise appearance by Steve.  This is getting a second chapter - see Week 5 below! 

* Week 2:  “What should I call you?” + Master + Alpha  see SRB - Alpha Steve above. 

* Week 3 June 15th - June 21st “Really? Here?!” + Someone Else’s House.  Posted  Making Themselves at Home  this morning.  Tony tries to talk Bucky into fooling around during a visit to a friend’s house.  It came in at 409 words and crossed over with BBB - Y1 - Cliche. 

* Week 4 June 22nd - June 28th   FREE WEEK - possibly using optional prompt  Acarophilia [Scratch Kink], plus BBB:  U2 - This won't hurt a bit  for a continuation of  The Business of Pleasure.

* Week 5 June 29th - July 5th:  “We’re...”  +  Friends with Benefits   Adding on to Coming Clean -  WinterIron PWP with Steve joining in the fun.  Combining with  BaBB June:  Bratting , BBB Y5 - Polyamory or open relationship and JBB  - B1 - "I made a mistake."  + N2 - "Don't let this one go." + O1 - Emotional.  Sitting at 303 words - planning to post  July 5th.  

* Week 6 July 6th - July 12th  - “I won’t be able to stop myself.”  + Gone Feral  WinterIron  -  Alpha!Bucky  afraid of going into rut after what Hydra did to him. - Tony trusts him - turns out Bucky  becomes an aggressive cuddler and ultra-protective.  Crossover with  BBB: Y4 - Cursed! &  JBB:  B2 - "I'm what's wrong." +  G1 - Aggressive + G3 - "I can't breathe." + Alt4 - Love as being present  

* Week 7 July 13th - July 19th -  “Put this on for me.” + Blindfolds  + Collars  WinterIron - Tony ashamed of sub tendencies (gets abused by one night stand?) -   Bucky steps in to help him with a simple scene.   Crossover with  BBB C1 - Psychological torture, JBB:  O5 - "Where did you get this?" + I1 - "You can't do anything."  + Alt1 - None of us want to be fully revealed. All our faults and weaknesses laid bare for the world. + Alt5 - Love as patience

* Week 8 July 20th - July 26th -   “Maybe this'll help you relax”  + Cockwarming  Wartime -  Steve dealing with planning Howlies’ next mission  - doesn't have time to fool around. Bucky comes up with a way to let him do both. Crossover with  BaBB June; Cockwarming, BBB: U1 - KINK: "Please let me come." & JBB:   O4 - I'm gonna remember this." + I4 - "Don't let me stop you." + N4 - Priorities

* Week 9 July 27th - August 2nd - FREE WEEK | Optional Prompts: WAM (Wet & Messy), Steve post Rebirth  - copious amount of semen when he comes -  Bucky is 100% here for it.  Crossover with BBB: B4 - Showoff  JBB: I2 - "I feel disgusting." + N1- "Are you done?" + Alt2 - Love as passion 

Hawkeyes Bingo [HB_R2] (Ends TBD) 

Working on this  Tumblr event - got a 3x3 card and and am looking forward to creating more  Clint-centric content and trying my hand at a bit of  Kate Bishop fic as well!    

* A3 - Awkward Flirting – this might be a good entry into my first femslash fic with Kate/Yelena?    

Build-A-Bucky Bingo [BaBB_R1] (Ends 1 Sep 2024)

Another fun year-long  event from the folks at  @buckybarnesevents!  Each month there’s a list of prompts and you choose (at least) one  each month for your card!  At seventeen fills and two WIPs with five months to go, I seem to be going a bit overboard …. 😁

* May:  Bucky’s Trigger Words -  combined this with last week’s  Flash Fiction Friday prompt [#FFF251 Out There] for Just To Live One Day Out There - a Winter Soldier self-reflective ficlet. It came in at 312 words and will get posted to Ao3 Real Soon. 

* May:  Praise Kink - planning to fill this with Chapter Six of A Little Bit Carried Away where Alpha!Bucky and omega!Tony get to live out their fantasies.  It’s sitting at 754 words and will get posted later this month.  

* June: Inconvenient Attraction - filling this with Chapter Six  of Love is a Thing That Can Never Go Wrong  which is sitting at  1620  words and will get posted this Friday. 

* June:  Bratting - see HBS Week 5 above.  

* June: Cockwarming -  see HBS Week 8 above.   

WinterIron Bingo Round 2  [WIB_R2] (Ends 16 Dec 2024)

Signups are still open for pre-made cards for Round Two of this super-fun bingo event! I have fifteen  fills and zero WIPs at the moment - setting this aside for the moment, as I have other time-sensitive events going.  

* Iron Soldier (One Bingo, One Fill) - looking at combining my Column B prompts: Matchmaker, Bucky Riding Tony, Stark Gala, Inside Joke and Threesome.  Still working on a plot - if you have any suggestions/want-to-sees - let me know! 

* I3 - Car Sex -  Have a fun ficlet in mind for this - some of the dialogue & such already worked out in my head.   Possibly combine with JBB B3 - "You're in denial." or  B5 - "Wanna practice?"

*I4 - SHIELD HQ - combined this with the Flash Fiction Friday prompt [#FFF245 You Never Cared] and wrote Fathers Don’t Know Best  -  No Power AU with Bucky working as an analyst at SHIELD who stumbles across a late night visitor to the lobby.  It came in at 407 words and will get posted to Ao3 before the event ends.  

* N1 - Hair Pulling Kink -  thanks to a fun prompt from @scottxlogan  - I filled this square with Untangling Their Attraction - where Tony’s offer of assistance leads to mutual kink discovery (not as racy as it might sound).  It’s coming in at 544 words and will post to Ao3 before this event is over. 

* N5 - "I'm here for you."  - Possibly the next chapter of  Lady Natasha’s Consort and Lord Steve’s Companion ?  

Bucky Barnes Bingo - Round Six [BBB - R6]  (Ends 31 Mar)

This amazing bingo event is back!   Got my card last week and am combining several prompts with HBS & JBB -   I have three fills, and three WIPs.  

* B4 - Showoff - see HBS Week 9 above.

* U1 - KINK: "Please let me come."  - see HBS Week 8 above

* U2 - This won't hurt a bit - see HBS Week 4 above. 

* C1 - Psychological torture - see HBS Week 7 above

* K4 - Last Times/Farewells - combined this with last week’s  Flash Fiction Friday prompt [#FFF257 Count The Days ] for  Short-Timing It - a pre-war (just barely) Bucky & Steve (Stucky if you squint) ficlet. It came in at 313 words and will post to Ao3 before the event is over.   

* Y1 - Cliche -  Filled this with  Making Themselves at Home - see HBS Week 3 above. 

* Y3 - Found Family - Combining this with my WFB  N3 - Realization of feelings square for Chapter Six of  Love Is a Thing That Can Never Go Wrong -  the No Powers omegaverse Reality Show AU where Alpha!Bucky is the Bachelor.  It’s coming in at 1691 words and contrary to what Ao3 currently says, it’s not the last chapter! 

* Y4 - Cursed!  - see HBS Week 6 above 

* Y5 - Polyamory or open relationship - see  HBS Week 5 above 

Warm and Fluffy   Bingo  [WFB]   (no end date)

Six  fills on my card, courtesy of   @warmandfluffybingocards  - need to try for another crossover or two!

* N3 - Realization of feelings - see BBB Found Family above.  

++++++++

On  other creative fronts:  I am working on  a Buzzie the Vulture as a custom commission,  along with a Count Orlok/Nosferatu for another commission.  

If  you’re looking for one of a kind gifts for birthdays or other celebrations, check  out Stuffed With Character    over on Facebook for a full list of my designs (now over 150!).   These soft stuffed figures are  mostly Marvel and monsters, but I have some Star Wars, Star Trek, DC   and Disney figures as well. Plus I love to take custom design   requests  for any fandom!

[roshield]

PERMANENT PLOTTER / RELATIONSHIP CALL

happy almost year to this game and this blog so i figured it's time to finally put up a permanent plotter up.

liking this post means you're a-okay with me sending memes on meme day or just hopping in your inbox for something random ( and vice versa! ). you're also cool with me jumping into dms to discuss plots and all, and also just throwing out random starters your way. you're also cool with me liking starter calls and replying to your minis without feeling like i'm being bothersome!

just a warning is most relationships discussed will prob be pre-established stuff if we haven't interacted before, mainly because i'm just a lil tired of writing new meetings!

below is kind of a list of relationship types i'm interested in!! not rly anything final ( fantasy ) but just kinda a general idea of what i might vibe with.

friends: pretty classic stuff, despite clive's overall demeanor he's a pretty friendly guy. he gets along with a lot of people with different backgrounds. he's not exactly the most fun person, but he's... trying? sort of? he just kind of doesn't know how to be a normal person after being dehumanized for so long. nevertheless he does make a good friend and being friends means he's willing to put his life on the line for you!! this can also include being sparring buddies with him bc he's usually training a lot to keep his skills sharp. but really he just needs people to hang out with and maybe they can teach him how to loosen up a little

enemies: he's learned to be mostly patient buuut he's got a short-fuse and can be hot-tempered at times. he just doesn't have a lot of time for bullshit and has no tolerance for it. anyone looking to harm innocent people tend to go on his shit list pretty fast, and anyone who wants to hurt his loved ones will have the worst time with him. he's ruthless :)

not really enemies but you've annoyed him: again, short-fuse sometimes and has little tolerance for bullshit. he won't have the want to kill you but expect sarcasm and the negative sims emote.

animal lovers: clive spent most of his time with his dog or his chocobo as a kid and has a better connection with them. he's the only one who can speak to moogles in his world. he's basically a disney princess. if u like animals then he'll get along with u and if u like torgal then he'll rly get along with u! please show him ur pets too he will pet every single dog ever.

knights / other duty bound folks: clive has an odd relationship with his status as first shield, mainly because he really only took the role on to protect his brother. still, he takes pride in it and puts his duty before a lot of things. it would be interesting for him to see what people see when they look at him, but also find some kinship with people like him!

religious themes: clive was unfortunately fated to be some corrupt god's vessel and he really hates it! he's not exactly a religious person at all and has an odd history and feelings with religion because of that. he's tolerant of course but it's easy to understand why he's not exactly a faithful man, so it would be interesting for him to bounce off of characters opposite of him!

big brother / father figure: clive's got big bro instincts so he's pretty protective over younger characters. he can be slightly awkward with them because a lot of the times they're very playful and he's just, not really, but he's definitely got that cool big bro / wisely father kind of vibe! he's got years of experience and could give sound advice. really he just wants to look after people.

wife guys: anyone else miss their wives / spouse. he misses his all the time even tho she's on speed dial.

other: something else??? just let me know :3

[entwinefates]

𔓕 BLOOM ⸻ PLOTTING CALL

hi hi hello hello nice to meet everyone again!! ( ´ ▽ ` )ﾉi've been answering asks here and there, but there's about a week left before the month ends, so i wanted to try sending out a mini plot call while i work on some other things. i'm admittedly still a little nervous so⸻though i'll list all the comms i'm interested in⸻i'd like to only take on two threads at a time as to not overwhelm myself ( and i want to keep myself open for the june event !! anxiety be damned i'm doing the next event even if it kills me. ) if you're interested in threading together then feel free to slide into my dms o7

TCG.   ( grips your shoulders. ) i love genius invokation tcg so much it's not even funny. it's gotten to the point i log on solely to play the silly card game. the idea of building a deck for paimon alone has me weeping with me joy. i'd loooove the play the game straight while the two muses take dramatic shots at eachother ( "my grandfather has no pathetic cards, kaiba!" ) and if, for whatever reason, you would like for me to offer advice for different decks and strategies your muse could utilize (◕_◕)🎉

ANGEL SHARE.   for a quick buck you decide to pick up a one-time job at a tavern. your coworker is a baby. it is your personal mission to keep her from dropping glasses or else you'll be oweing the winery money instead of the other way around.

or i'd think it'd be funny if paimon was really sullen and came to the bar to "drink her sorrows away," cos that's what people in mond do, right? unfortunately, you have to cut her apple cider off at the eighth glass...

WUBBABOO HERDING.  i've only recently picked up the game again, so my knowledge of hsr is limited, but based on a scan of the wiki page, i think there's lots of potentially fun shenanigans! paimon being mistaken for a wubbabboo and crying indignantly about it, trading increasingly strange plans on how to catch the wubbaboo, finding someone possessed and trying to uselessly bonk the spirit out of them cos she can't fight ... silly. so silly. honestly little pie interacting with anyone from the star rail cast sounds really fun!

PLOT BUNNIES.

 i think it'd be suuuper cute if paimon won a makeup kit and wanted to test it out on someone since she's too young to wear it for herself. it could go a bunch of different ways, like someone teaching her step-by-step how to apply the various products or the two of them just winging it and slathering on everything.

╰┈➤ taken; hiii alina!!

i had the idea that maybe the steambird was hosting a non-fiction writing competition and paimon decided she wanted to interview one of her friends! i imagine it'd be something small like their daily life, their fighting style, fun tidbits about themselves, etc. i think it'd be make for some cute back-and-forth and a nice excuse to make up some headcanons ♡♡

╰┈➤ taken; hiii sen!!

[mobscene-london]

All right, so this particular writing event is a little throwback to some vintage Mob Scene, and we’re going to keep it going like we did last year! Once again, I would like to first start off by thanking Lia. This was her idea the first time, and we always have so much fun with it, not revisiting would be a crime. Thank you for everything you have contributed over the years, and continue to contribute now, bab. Love you muchies. ♥

The event is just going to be called ‘Mistletoe’ because I’m not creative.

THE GENERAL IDEA:

For every character you play, you get a piece of mistletoe. (So if you play three characters, you get three nominations.)

Each piece of mistletoe gives you the chance to nominate a couple–any two taken characters in the group (or past characters current members are willing to bring back for the event)–to meet underneath it.

The players behind the couples will write out the interaction of a mistletoe moment, and you will get to watch it unfold. Most will likely have to be written in an AU format, because I know you people are going to be extra as fuck about this, but the players involved do have the option to make it canon if they so wish.

THE RULES:

Please read them.

To select your couple of choice, just send the word ’Mistletoe’ to the main page, followed by the two names, and I will add it to the list. If the couple has already been suggested, I may prompt you to send another to get a more even spread.

You can send your nominations in straight away.

Nominations must be off anonymous, so I know that you’re only picking one couple per character played. That being said, I’ll be the only one who knows which couple you’ve picked, so it will be anonymous in that sense.

Any format is acceptable. Whether you want to gif chat, do a joint-drabble/self para, mini-paras or a full-blown novel, all is good. Whatever you have time for.

Please don’t nominate a couple that includes your own character, vain sluts.

Please try to get involved! It’s not compulsory, but it’s a bit of fun, and I feel like we could all do with that right now. If for some reason you really are opposed to the idea of your character being involved, however, send me a message as soon as possible and we can make it known. It’s not a problem. :)

When the list of couples is posted, if you have too many characters nominated and you don’t think you’ll be able to keep up, just let me know! There’s no need to feel pressured. This is just some fun, and you shouldn’t feel overwhelmed.

Lastly, after I post the list of nominated couples, if your characters aren’t amongst those selected and you would still like to be involved, I will pick a partner for you! Don’t be afraid to come forward if you didn’t get nominated but wanted to be, and remember not to take it personally. With limited numbers of selections, it stands to reason that some people won’t get a nomination.

The closing dates for the nominations will be posted in the coming days, but I would recommend getting them in as soon as possible as you can start writing them December 1st. The interactions should be aimed to be completed by New Year’s Eve, ready for NYE plot drops.

If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to ask!

HAPPY NOMINATING!

[andromedarune]

Bede x Hop Request:“Just Desserts” (p2)

REQUEST ~ “I have one, it’s a hop x bede where bede feels bad for being mean to hop, but is too scared of apologizing to him in fear of rejection. Due to his past at the orphanage and his overall fear of being left alone again. So he decides to send homemade desserts to hop with secret messages ,anonymously . Hop Figures it out when the desserts stop coming after bede gets sick badly ( maybe a bad fever from exhaustion, anything that stops him from baking will do). You can include opal or the other gym leaders teasing hop on who could be sending the treats. I hope this is okay.”

A/N: Alright, here’s the conclusion to my mini-fic requested to me earlier in the week! I definitely got carried away with the prompt, but I really wanted to nail the emotions being presented here (because there are A LOT). Not sure if I accomplished that, or much else, tbh... Oh well! Give it a read anyway and hopefully it’s decent? Thank you!

It’s hard to really say that his work could possibly follow a routine. There were the basic things that always remained the same, of course; he’d wake up a seven in the morning every day, feed Dubwool before he started eating his bedsheets, do whatever morning chores his mother had waiting for him, head to the lab, basically become free slave labor for Sonia for the next eight or so hours, come home to a few more chores, then pass out on the couch while working on some papers before magically waking up the next morning in his bedroom. That was probably the closest thing to a routine he’s ever had, all things considered. But Hop never really minded the idea of a routine or the lack thereof; so long as he got to have some fun at some point, he didn’t mind. And it was safe to say that being the new professor’s assistant was far from what he would consider a boring life.

But he wasn’t sure how he felt about getting comfortable with someone constantly leaving lovely gifts for him every single week.

The first one came in, leaving the assistant incredibly puzzled. It wasn’t anybody’s birthday, here, so that idea was dashed. Maybe Leon brought it for Sonia? Hop shook his head; he wasn’t so quick to assume something like that, especially since Leon had never mentioned anything about giving Sonia presents beforehand. Nevertheless, the youth brought his findings to his boss, who was equally as perplexed as him. So the two opened up the box as well as the letter. A beautiful cake, and an eloquent letter apparently dedicated to Hop. Now that was a plot-twist.

“Someone’s got a secret admirer~,” Sonia nudged his shoulder, still giggling at the way he was completely frozen in a state of perpetual embarrassment. Maybe he should have investigated on his own before bringing it to Sonia.

“D-definitely not!” Hop finally found his words, wincing at his voice crack. He thought he had enough of that when his voice started changing. Apparently it wasn’t done with him.

“Oh yeah? What did that letter say? Something about the ‘brilliant radiance of determination reflecting like the sun in your eyes’?”

“Sonia, please,” Hop slapped his hands over his face.

She laughed some more, giving him a good pat on the back.

“Relax - there’s nothing wrong with having a secret admirer. It’s actually really sweet and adorable.” She picked up the letter, flipping it around a few times in her hands. “Though, they didn’t seem to leave a name. Any ideas on who it might be?”

“No clue. I honestly didn’t think that anybody’d actually think of me like that…”

“What? Of course they do! You’re a total catch, Hop - not for me though, ‘cause that’s gross.”

“Yeah, gross,” Hop finally laughed, lowering his hands to inspect the cake a bit. It really did look good. Chocolate cake was always delicious. “So, should we eat this now or…?”

“Who, me? No way - this is your secret admirer. You eat it.”

Before Hop could argue, Sonia sashayed out of the room, snatching up some of the documents she had brought into the room. Once she was gone, the boy simply sighed, glancing back down at the cake. Well, best not let it go to waste. He sat himself down, skimming over the letter a few more times. Who in the world could it be?

A week went by, and he had forgotten about the letter and cake. But they, apparently, did now forget about him.

“Another?” he blushed down at the box on the ground. He didn’t even need to look inside to know what it was. Hop looked around, hoping to find a sign of somebody around the entrance to the lab. Nothing but Rookidees. He sighed, kneeling down to pick up the gift. I don’t even know if Lee gets stuff like this, he thought to himself, pulling the simple envelope up to investigate. Maybe they left a clue this time…

But, just like before, there was no discernable way to figure out the identity of the mysterious benefactor. He opted to hide from Sonia’s teasing, hiding himself up in one of the numerous study rooms that the main laboratory had to offer. The letter was similar to before; beautifully crafted words of admiration, noting the many qualities of the assistant that he hardly noticed himself. He could note, though, a strange familiarity in the writing. ‘I had never known shame until I saw myself in your teary eyes.’ So obviously they knew each other - unless this was all metaphorical. Hop was never good at metaphorical writing. But Hop didn’t exactly interact with a lot of people, these days. He’d occasionally get to hang out with Gloria if she had time off; maybe it was her? He shook his head at that. The girl wouldn’t know bashful if it hit her in the face. A shy confession like this definitely wasn’t her style. Maybe Marnie. He hoped not. They never really spoke to each other, even during the gym challenge, but that was mainly because Hop wasn’t sure if he was more scared of her or her brother. But fancy homemade cakes didn’t really fit her style, either, so that was out. Who else did he know?

Not really anybody else. He sighed, skimming through the letter a few times more before resigning to just eat the cake and return to work. It was, unfortunately, amazingly delicious. Better than even the fancy cakes up in Wyndon. Whoever this person was, they really knew how to bake; Hop just wished he could finally figure it out so he could thank them or something. Do you even thank secret admirers? How does all this stuff work out? Definitely too much for him to figure out.

Four weeks later, and it became an unfortunate addition to his routine. Friday would roll around, and Hop would eagerly rush through his work without even noticing. Sometimes Sonia would comment, other times, she’d just wink and saunter off. Hop tried not to think about it too much - anticipation really did get annoying, even for him - so he sought to busy his mind with work until the time came upon him.

The clock ticked on, and so did the day. Before he knew it, the sun was setting, the whistle of the tea kettle from the kitchen signalling the end of his shift. Sonia called him over to join her for some tea, usually her way of saying thanks for all his hard work. He had barely walked into the room when Sonia leaned onto the kitchen table, curious eyes searching for some juicy gossip from his own golden irises.

“So, I noticed that we didn’t get any… special deliveries today.”

Hop blinked.

“Huh, so that’s what felt off today,” he tried to say, hoping that he could save face just a little bit.

“So? Does that mean that you’ve figured out who they are?”

The teenage boy grimaced, running a hand across the nape of his neck. It was a little sore today; maybe he slept wrong?

“Uh, well, uh… not really.”

“Huh?” Sonia slapped the table. Oh no, it’s happening - she’s getting worked up over something that doesn’t involve her again. “You’re serious?! Your secret lover didn’t send you a gift today and you don’t know why?!”

“W-well, th-they’re, uh, not really, um - we’re not -”

“Hop this is serious!” she lunged for him, grabbing his shoulders. “This person has faithfully been leaving you sweet gifts every Friday for over a month, now, and just magically stops doing it out of nowhere?!”

“Maybe… they forgot?”

“TRUE LOVE DOESN’T FORGET, HOP!”

This lady really needs to lay off the chick-flicks. But Hop had learned the hard way never to point out stuff like that when Sonia was in one of her manic moods.

“S-sure it doesn’t…” he tried not to sound creeped out.

Sonia sighed, putting her hands on her hips as she sent him a sassy pout.

“I’ve seen this in a show once - the person with unrequited feelings reaches out in their own way to their crush, but then something bad happens to them, so the crush has to be the one to help them.”

“I don’t think that’s what happens in real life -” Sonia shot him another look and he promptly shut up.

“Yes, of course!” she smiled, ignoring Hop’s previous comment entirely. “You have to find out who your secret admirer is quickly or else something terrible might happen to them - if it already hasn’t! Maybe they’ve been hit by a car! Or were kidnapped! Or are terminally ill and only your love can save them!”

“How are you a nationally-acclaimed pokemon professor?” he muttered under his breath.

“It’s settled then - here’s your mission, Assistant Hop! Figure out who can bake a cake like that, and you’ll find your true love! Easy, right?”

Hop nodded, not really understanding what she was saying, but was desperate enough to just lie to escape her nonsense. She was probably just overexaggerating like always, but he also didn’t want this mysterious person to be hurt. Maybe something did happen to interrupt the once steady flow of kind words and delicious foods? And thus began his search.

As terrible as it felt, the first person Hop went to was Leon. His big brother no doubt had handled situations like this before, so Hop swallowed his pride and approached his brother on the subject. Once he finally got Leon to stop laughing, he explained the whole situation from start to finish.

“Well,” Leon stroked his chin, at least pretending to seem semi-serious, “I don’t think I personally know any high-caliber bakers. But if I’m remembering things correctly, I think Opal is said to have legendary baking skills that practically nobody can compare to.”

Hop grimaced, but Leon quickly waved his hands before his brother full-on threw up everywhere at the thought of Opal being his secret admirer.

“No, no, no! I’m not saying she’s the one sending them - I’m just wondering if she taught the person who’s sending them.”

Hop leaned back a bit, trying to think. He didn’t really know too much about Ms. Opal (other than that she was an eccentric rich lady at an unknown age who seems to enjoy dressing people in bright shades of pink). But if there was a chance that she knew the identity of his mysterious benefactor, then he was willing to investigate a bit further. He opened his mouth to thank his brother, but a dark scowl suddenly flashed over his features. Leon blinked.

“Uh… everything alright there?”

“I just remembered,” Hop growled, “that if I want to even get close to Opal, then I’ll have to see that jerk again.”

“Who, Bede? Like I’ve said a thousand times, don’t worry too much about him. I hear he’s really mellowed out these days. Maybe all that pink finally seeped into his brain.”

Hop scoffed, but otherwise kept all his venomous comments at bay. He thanked his brother for the help and hurried out the door, making his way towards Ballonlea.

Ballonlea was always a difficult place to get to. A big contributor to that issue was due to Glimtangle Forest, which was basically a mystical maze that had posed as a major threat to countless gym challengers as well as general travellers for years. This is why most people opt for a flying taxi whenever they need to get to the city, but even then, some mystical fairy nonsense occasionally will cause a detour for whatever poor soul happened to be flying over the forest. Thankfully for Hop, this wasn’t the case, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t nervously twiddling his thumbs at the apprehension of having to navigate that nonsensical forest when in such a hurry.

He jumped out of the taxi, offering a berry to the Corviknight before making his normal dash for one of the most ornate buildings in the quaint town. It wasn’t hard to find Ms. Opal’s house when it was so amazingly decorated - it was borderline gaudy with the amount of pinks and purples passionately strewn about the house’s complex design. He wasted no time, bounding up the fancy front steps, grabbing the old-fashioned door knocker, and knocked. A few breaths passed him by as he shoved his sweaty hands into his pockets. What was he even nervous for?

After a couple of moments, the door opened, revealing the ever intimidating Ms. Opal, the now retired fairy-type gym leader of Ballonlea.

“Well, if this isn’t a… pleasant surprise,” she smirked, seeming almost deviously pleased in the teen’s awkwardness. “Running errands for the professor today, hm?”

“A-actually, I, um….” Hop took a deep breath and gathered his resolve. “I’m actually here to ask you something.”

She nodded, tapping the ground a couple times with her cane.

“Of course you are. Come inside, then.”

Before the assistant could protest, the elderly woman was already shuffling away deeper into the depths of the house. Hop could only sigh as he followed behind her. It was painfully frustrating; she took tiny steps and dragged her feet along the somehow pristine wooden floors, so Hop had to take the world’s slowest pace at the constant protest of his long legs. But over the course of a year, he’d managed to attain some semblance of calm, deciding that it would be best if he didn’t complain too much around the person he was seeking assistance from. Once he got the information he wanted, he could run around to his little heart’s content.

Eventually, Ms. Opal halted just before a beautiful white staircase, spiraling all the way up into the rather tall ceiling above.

“So, tell me,” she mused through sharp, invasive eyes, “what was it you were hoping to ask of me?”

“I… was curious to know if, um… Well, uh… if you happened to have any knowledge in baking. L-like, y’know, a cake, or something…”

Opal’s eyebrows twitched upwards just a centimeter. She brought a hand to her chin in dramatic thought.

“In my earlier days, I was quite proficient at it. But I don’t bake nearly as much as I used to.”

“Then… is there, um, a chance that you might have taught someone how to bake like you?”

She paused, staring intently at the boy with an amused expression. Hop was beginning to wonder if he really wanted the answer to this question. Before he could make up his mind to flee, she let out a small chuckle.

“Ah, but of course. My protege has been trained in everything I know how to teach. Head up these stairs and you’ll find your secret admirer.”

A stone of dread sank into the depths of his gut. Maybe Ms. Opal had more apprentices? It definitely couldn’t be the person he was thinking it was, right? No, that would be silly - impossible, even. But there seemed to be no turning back now. Hop swallowed his fears and slowly began his way up the stairs, trying to ignore the apprehensions racing through his fingertips.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~

Bede rolled onto his other side, desperate to find a position that made existence a little less agonizing. A dreadful fever had overtaken his body, unrelenting in its rage for the past four days, leaving the normally active youth bedridden the entire time. Hatterene was on nursing duty, constantly checking her trainer’s temperature and switching out his face towel in an attempt to ease the fever. Sylveon was stubbornly nestled under the covers, desperate to get as close to his body as physically possible. Not like Bede could really scold it even if he wanted to; he didn’t want to waste his energy on pointless yelling. So, he reluctantly stayed in bed, allowing his devoted pokemon to care for him while he waited for his body to recover. But a knock on the door earned a frustrated grown from him.

“What?” he hissed, trying to speak through a throat chalked full of phlegm. Hatterene nudged his shoulder, reminding him to watch his emotions. She was a sensitive thing, that Hatterene. Bede sat up, watching the door open and fully expecting to get an earful from that old woman again. So it’s safe to say that his heart entirely stopped when he saw Hop sheepishly shuffle in, wringing his hands nervously before his chest.

This… this couldn’t really be happening, right? No - he must be dreaming. Yes, that’s it. This was just a fever-induced nightmare. Bede would wake up in a moment’s notice and be in his bed once more, alone with only the company of his pokemon to rely on, just like always. Just like always. Just like always.

“Um…” Hop kept his eyes on the ground, brows knitted tightly together. Bede wasn’t sure if the boy was frustrated, sad, or confused. It all just looked like a blur of emotions constantly shifting across the assistant’s tan face. “... It’s… been a while.”

Bede opened his mouth with full intent to say words, but none dared to come to fruition. So he closed his mouth, pushing his aching body up to his elbows. How pathetic he felt right now, sick in bed with this person who confused him so annoying bad being unable to look at him. Maybe it would be best if Hop just left. At least then Bede would be familiar with the feelings in his chest. He didn’t know what he was feeling right now.

“So…” Hop cleared his throat, attempting to meet Bede’s eyes, but quickly looked off to the side. “I… I just wanted to ask if… if you’re… um…”

The light-haired boy felt a bead of sweat tumble down his brow. Surely it was from the heat of the fever, right? No way was he this nervous. No, no, Bede always kept his cool. Especially when beign confronted by the person he sort of kinda maybe almost possibly liked. Not that he did, anyway. Because that would be stupid. And Bede definitely wasn’t stupid. Right?

Hop sucked in a sharp breath of air, balling his hands into fists as he squeezed his eyes shut.

“Are you the person who’s been sending me those gifts?” he threw the words out, trying to ignore his own flurry of conflicting emotions going through him at the moment. He didn’t know how to feel about either possible answer. Could he be happy with either one?

The intensity in the air rose a few degrees, making every breath laborious. Bede glanced towards Hatterene for some sort of support - he didn’t really know why he did. She smiled back at him, cooing a few unintelligible sounds.

Well, by the gym leader’s logic, if Hop was destined to abandon him like everybody else, then it really didn’t matter if he knew the truth, then, right? It didn’t matter of Hop found out this terribly dreadful secret Bede’s been carrying with him for over a year. According to the assistant, Bede was still Bede. Cold. Egotistical. Conniving. After everything that had happened, it was ridiculous to hope that Hop could ever forgive Bede, and nobody could blame him. And even if he could, it wouldn’t last. No, Bede would surely find some way to screw things up, or wouldn’t be enough to make Hop happy in any condition. Hop would leave, and eventually Ms. Opal will leave, just like the chairman and his foster parents and his parents that never came back and

“So what if I am?” the words hissed past his lips, far more venomous than he meant. Oh well. It didn’t matter. The outcome would be the same, anyways.

Hop flinched back a bit at the sharpness of the other boy’s words, but his conflicted expression remained stable. Once he collected himself, he took another deep breath. Slower, this time, as if to savor the taste of oxygen flowing through his lungs.

“Why?”

A painfully simple question. Remarkably, it was also one Bede hadn’t really expected. He really should have thought this through.

Why did he bake those cakes? Why did he write those letters? Why did he send them to Hop? Why did he feel this way? Why, why, why?

It eventually became obvious that Hop wasn’t going to hear a response. Bede had opted to glaring holes into his duvet, fingers tangling themselves within the fluffy pink fabric. Ah, pink, the color of so many things: sweetness, innocent attraction, adoration, and - evidently - embarrassment. There was no way to hide such a shade from the plush of his cheeks. How bothersome.

“... Did you really mean what you said in those letters?”

Bede looked back over at Hop for the briefest of moments, and immediately wished that he hadn’t. Much confliction remained, but there was something else there, now, amid the tempest of clashing feelings depicted on the teen’s face. Perhaps Bede really was having a fever dream. No way there was actually a bit of hopefulness in Hop’s eyes.

Maybe that’s what pulled out a strange sentence from Bede’s mouth.

“Every word.”

Hop shied his gaze away, seeming a bit more bashful as he rubbed the nape of his neck. Now Bede was really confident that he was the color of embarrassment. Maybe a bit too red though. The assistant stuttered an awkward laugh, trying to ease the thickness of the air while Bede shifted a bit more upright. Sylveon didn’t appreciate that motion, evidently, and crawled onto it’s trainer’s lap. Instinctively, Bede ran his fingers through the creature’s fur, desperate to distract himself from his non-fever related warmth. He looked back over to Hop, who seemed to still be processing the gravity of those words, and another sentence slipped out without Bede’s permission.

“Are you going to leave?”

Hop met his gaze, surprised.

“What?”

Bede took a small breath, losing just the smallest smidge of confidence in his words as he took the initiative to repeat them.

“... I said, are you going to leave?”

“Do you want me to?”

Here it was. The moment he had been unknowingly dreading. If he says yes, then Hop will no doubt walk away forever, and Bede would be back in his element of loneliness. Or, he says no, and takes a risk he never expected to take willingly. He would be clueless, a Magicarp out of water, left with nothing to keep himself steady but the hope that Hop would guide him through the confusion. Could he really take that chance?

“... No.”

Bede couldn’t keep his eyes on Hop. This was it, the deepest layer of his person; everything he was had been revealed in only a handful of words, leaving nothing but a fearful child afraid of being left behind by the people he loved. And now Hop could see the truth behind Bede’s every action and every word. This was blind faith in its simplest form, the gym leader unsure of what exactly he was hoping for.

“Okay.”

His eyes shot back up, genuine surprise (and a tinge of fear) written all over his flustered face. Hop stared back at him, hands shoved deep in his pockets with a curious expression on his face. What could that guy be thinking when he stared at Bede so intently?

“O-okay? Okay… what?” Bede’s voice died down syllable by syllable, reduced to nothing but a faint whisper by the end of it. Hop gave a timid smile. Perhaps a bit afraid, but a little hopeful, still. Such a strange expression on such a tender face.

“I’ll stay.”

[that-house]

Hey so I hit 100 followers today!

Buckle up, this is gonna be a LOOOONG post.

I quite honestly expected it (while my ego is a little smaller than my jokes make it out to be it is definitely present), I didn’t expect it to happen so fast.

It’s not an insane milestone, plenty of people have 100 followers. A hefty portion of my followers are bigger than me. But it’s still important to me. Knowing that there’s 100 people out there who enjoy my shit makes me happy.

First and foremost the credit quite honestly has to go to ahegao George Washington. No, I’m not joking. Until I posted on r/tumblr about my desire to draw that, I had 0 followers. I jumped to like 10 overnight, which was awesome. And then those new followers helped me spread my posts and get more attention.

Secondly I’d like to shoutout @imaverysadgirl and @themeaninglessjumble. You two were my first real tumblr frens. You were the first of my followers to really interact with me. Ember, I’m super happy you’re alive to see me hit 100 followers. Jumble (I don’t know your name unless I forgot it), your art and creations are great and you deserve way more attention.

To all the rest of you, you guys are great, too. Every new follower makes me happy. I’d say I don’t deserve you all, but my colossal ego says I do. Regardless, being nemesi and getting called out for being horny on main and sending and receiving asks has made this last month or so great.

Finally, for all the shit it gets, and for all the shit it pulls, [tumblr] really is pretty dope. I got to meet you all, and it’s actively making me a better person by exposing me to groups of people I’d rarely interact with in real life.

Why does it feel like I’m saying goodbye? I’m not, don’t worry. I plan to stay, and neither death nor pain shall drive me from this hellsite. I’m just saying thanks.

Now with the thanks out of the way, I want to talk about myself a little. Just the stuff that I’ve always wanted to say and never quite gathered my thoughts and found the time to talk about.

You’re gonna get to know me so well! This is like a mini autobiography!

First off, my mental health. This is something I don’t talk about much on this blog, mostly because it doesn’t need much talking about. I’m doing pretty well, to be honest. I have a smattering of anxiety and I’m maybe a little too introverted for my own good, but I’m not suffering from depression and the only time I ever even remotely considered suicide was when I just really really didn’t want to go to French class. COVID has been great for me, since I don’t have to see people. I suppose I’m not a great person to talk to if you’re struggling with depression or suicidal thoughts, seeing as I can’t personally relate, but I’m still always here for you guys if you need me. Just because I haven’t lived through your experiences doesn’t mean I can’t try to help.

Next up I want to talk about my sexuality. This one’s a bit of a mystery. For the past 16 years of my life I’ve considered myself 100% straight. But lately (let’s be honest, following the release of Spirit Blossom Thresh) I’ve been wondering if I might be bi. How many times can I joke about wanting to smash sexy boys before it’s not really a joke anymore? And if I am, a lot of things would suddenly make a lot of sense. But every time I think I have it figured out it suddenly feels like I have no clue what’s going on. Regardless, my sexuality has honestly never been a massive part of my identity (though I’m definitely not asexual, my friends can attest I’m far too horny for that). I have no clue if I’m bi and for now it’s kind of a fun little adventure!

I guess I’ll talk about school and stuff now. Believe it or not, I’m kinda smart. I’m taking a shitton of AP courses this year. But I simultaneously feel like it’s too much and not enough. I’m smart, but I’m not a great student. Compared to my dad, who graduated college with a 3.98 GPA (and his only B being in History of Canada as an American) and now has a super well-paying government STEM job that he loves, I feel like even if I work my ass off I’ll never quite measure up. And my parents have had super high expectations of me, and it’s only recently that they’ve started to accept that I might get some B’s here and there. I’m worried about all the homework this year. I’m a year ahead in Math but I don’t feel good enough at math to be taking AP calculus junior year. I’m worried I’m going to get like a C. But for the most part school is alright, too. That’s sort of the trend in my life. Everything’s alright.

Time to talk about my love life! I have no love life! I’ve been single for 17 years and probably stand no chance of changing that until at least college! Haha I’m so alone! But I can live with it. Growing up an only child with a few friends means that I’m pretty good at functioning without a ton of social interaction, and, while I’d like a partner someday, I’m not desperate. I can wait until I find someone. Pretty much my goal is not to die alone.

Onto sports maybe? I played soccer for most of my life, and was always the worst player on the select team. I was too good for the normal team and not good enough for the select team (kinda like math). Soccer was really toxic, especially when you’re the worst player on a team of high school jock drug addict boys. So I quit, and started playing frisbee! It’s a lot better. The people are nicer! But my first season never happened because of COVID and now I’m in my Junior year and haven’t played much frisbee! So I kinda suck! But I’m physically fit and that’s good enough for me! On my own time I bike and run to stay in shape.

Are you still with me? Now I’m gonna talk about my hobbies and things!

I’ve been playing video games for a long time. I kinda suck at them to be totally honest. I probably have below-average reaction time, and my parents only let me play 15 minutes a day for most of my childhood, so I have a lot less practice than most of my friends. I’m pretty slick with Swain in LoL tho.

This next part is borderline shameless self-promotion, but since the Kickstarter isn’t live yet I guess it doesn’t count. I’m making a tabletop role playing game! I’ve been working on it for the past few years. My goal is to launch the Kickstarter prior to my college applications, because that’ll look sexy as fuck to potential colleges. It’s a post-apocalyptic sci-fi game where you play as supersoldiers trying to reconquer the wastelands of Earth for humanity. I’ll do a big post on it when I launch the Kickstarter, and I guess that’ll also be a full name reveal (kinda spooky since my full name is ENTIRELY unique and one-of-a-kind. More ego boost lmao).

And finally I want to talk about my art and writing. I’ll start with my drawing, and finish off with my writing, since that’s what I’d most like to be known for on here (but that’ll never happen because my caveman brain shitposts are too funny).

So I’ve been doodling for a long time. I briefly got formal art training but sacrificing my Saturday mornings to draw what someone else wanted me to make so that I could make better stuff in the future didn’t appeal to my 8-year-old brain. I draw in the margins of worksheets. I draw on random sheets of paper. Recently my parents bought me a drawing tablet, and I’ve been trying to improve at digital art. I’d say I’m getting better, but I don’t practice nearly enough. All in all my art serves its purpose. It makes people laugh and can sometimes creep people out. It’ll never go in a museum, and I’ll never make money off of it but whatever.

And finally, my writing.

How can I talk about writing without talking about reading? I’ve likely read more books than both my parents combined, and if not, it’s close (and my mom is a prolific reader too). I have three bookshelves in my room and books on every surface. You can’t follow me for long without seeing a post ranting about my latest read. I love to read and I read incredibly fast. Reading spurred my love of English class, which in turn helped me write.

And finally, we get to writing in and of itself. I’ve been writing stories since I was a little kid. I’d like to think I’ve improved a fair bit. I’m still no novelist, but I consider myself a fairly adept short story writer.

But I suppose where my writing really stems from is my bed. Every night while I’m lying in bed, I tell myself stories until I fall asleep. I work on a story until it’s done or until I get bored of it. Along the way, in the shower, on my bike, I build the world of the story, crafting the plot. Sometimes the stories are elaborate fanfictions of my latest reads. That’s probably how they started. Often, they’re unique worlds all of their own. My current writing posts are about the City of Mammon, but my current story in my head is about some vampires who hunt other vampires in Victorian England.

And now we get into the process of writing. It’s fun! I sit myself down with an idea in my head, and use all the fancy words I picked up from my books to convey the vibes I want. I honestly wouldn’t be a great writing teacher. It’s just a skill that comes naturally to me as a result of what I’ve been doing with my free time my whole life. And it’s beautiful. And every time someone compliments my writing or reblogs it, I love writing just a little bit more.

Well I guess this is it. The 100 follower special. I wonder how many of you guys will take the time out of your day to read this. Hopefully a lot!

James (or That House) signing off for the night!

<3 thanks guys

[positively-penguin]

Random angel and demon AU I just came up with with a plot I’m coming up with on the spot? Yes.

(If there’s even going to be a plot, that is)

This will be mostly Karasuno centred cause they were who I thought of when I thought of this AU. I may do the other schools’ versions of this too (unlikely but there’s a small possibility)

I’ll just clear it up as to who’s what first.

Angels: Tsukishima, Sugawara, Hinata, Asahi

Humans: Daichi, Yachi, Nishinoya

Half human, half demon: Kageyama, Yamaguchi, Kiyoko

Yeah, these may seem odd at first but let me explain. By explain, I mean give their backstories in here cause I think that clears things up. (Also, I didn’t include Ennoshita and Tanaka cause I couldn’t really think of anything for them)

Yamaguchi lived with demons for most of his life, he was bullied for being a half human so life generally sucked for him but one day, while he was being bullied again, Tsukishima sorta “saved” him. Note, in here, angels and demons are pretty much told to stay away from each other and each others’ business. Like they basically try their best to each avoid each other. It was a thing that came about after a giant war between the two which resulted in massive casualties on both sides and the agreement to each stay out of the other’s business and to leave them be. Tsukishima, being an angel, and calling them pathetic sends them running.

And Yamaguchi, well, that’s the first time someone’s ever been kind to him and he wants to thank him and that’s basically how they become friends and Yamaguchi spends more and more time with Tsukki and Tsukki wants him to leave the demon world and visit the human world. He says it’ll be better for him. But Yamaguchi doesn’t really dare to and their whole thing is centred around Yamaguchi finally leaving a toxic environment and getting used to the human world and just trying his best. Character growth and insecurities in here too! (I love those two)

As for Daichi and Sugawara, Sugawara’s an older angel, he’s been around for a while and kinda flutters around and helps out where he can and one day, he meets Daichi who beats him to the chase to help someone and he just kinda falls for him. He knows it’s a bad idea, humans don’t live forever, angels do and he’s known the pain of getting too attached to a human but he can’t help it. And he spends more time with Daichi and they both slowly fall in love with Daichi completely unaware of Suga being an actual angel.

Nishinoya runs a sort of safe space for angels and demons alike. If any of them have any issues, they go to him. Fake IDs, creating fake histories, birth certs, practically everything under the sun that a supernatural creature may need help with, he’s your guy. Both demons and angels know not to mess with him.

Kageyama has been bored out of his mind for a good few decades or centuries or so (he’s spent most of it sleeping) before he finally decides that maybe it’s time for him to go live a little. So he decides to travel the world. He goes to Noya’s to get the things he needs for it and well, Noya and Hinata are friends and Kageyama bumped into Hinata there. Needless to say, their first interaction is certainly ...dynamic. And as annoyed as Kageyama is with Hinata, he finds him amusing and somehow manages to convince him to travel the world with him. Yeah, they somehow end up falling in love too. Mutual pining, fear of rejection, all that fun stuff.

Kiyoko was being hunted and injured by some people after being discovered to be a demon. Yachi quickly took her in and helped her heal. Yachi is a human but she has some magic after one of her ancestors won a bet with an angel centuries ago so she uses said magic to help speed up the healing process. But she also doesn’t want Kiyoko to be in danger like that again so she approaches Noya who she met through Hinata. And well, turns out Kiyoko was banished from her demon home and Yachi offers her a place to stay and Kiyoko starts to forge a new life there. New beginnings, fluff, some insecurities, growth. (Okay, honestly I’m good with Kiyoko being shipped with both Yachi and Tanaka, I just thought that fit this AU, Yachi fit better)

Finally, Asahi and the actual plot. Asahi meets the extremely chaotic Noya when trying to find the person who helped the supernatural creatures. I was thinking that Asahi wanted help from him to find out everyone who had came to him for help in the recent years cause I don’t know, there was said to be someone starting to track down all these demons and angels in the human world who were trying to forge a new life there and kill them. And he wanted to know who they were to keep them safe. Now, Noya in here is extremely good at reading people and he senses the right things from Asahi and agrees. And the two of them sorta set out to deal with this issue together.

Honestly this is more of like mini mini stories surrounding the same AU, are interconnected and sorta just come together. This was long, I’ve just made myself want to write this but yeah. I honestly don’t know how to end so well, yup, I suppose that’s it for now.

[thatyanderecritic]

Inu X Boku SS

Title: Inu X Boku SS

Media: Manga, Written by Cocoa Fujiwara

Yandere(s): Soushi Miketsukami

Yandere Scale: 5/5

Criticism written by: Kai 

Editor: Julie

The Review: 

Hey there everyone! Kai here with a review that I’m sure everyone was waiting for. Sorry for taking so long. I really tried finishing the story but… god damn was it boring and convoluted. I ended up calling it after reaching chapter 31(?) out of 45. Reading the wiki was a million times easier than the actual story lmao. But I’ll get into this whole nonsense in the review. Let’s begin. 

To summarize Inu X Boku in a nutshell… well, uh… that’s kinda hard to do since it’s kinda wild. But to break it down, Ririchiyo (our protagonist) one day decided to live on her own and moved into an apartment complex. This apartment complex is known to only house the rich and each resident is assigned a bodyguard. But!!! The apartment complex and all the residents aren’t normal people but half yokai!!! OooOoOoO~

But anyways, Ririchiyo’s bodyguard is Mr. Yandere here, Soushi. Since Ririchiyo moved to this building to be independent, she wasn’t cool with having a bodyguard. But after some shoujo bullshit, Ririchiyo warmed up to the idea of having a bodyguard and they hook up. Bunch of dicking around from the characters but then suddenly DRAMA~!!! A bad guy comes around to turn the half yokai into full yokais or whatever and kills the heroes!!! Oh no!!! 23 years passed, and everyone reincarnated because that’s the logic of the world. Don’t question it. Anyways, history repeats itself and so the gang decides to prevent it by sending a time capsule backwards in time (don’t you dare question story logic!!!) to warn their previous lives of the bad guy. It worked. They killed the bad guy but wait! The bad guy was just a deeply flawed person who went down the wrong path :’( And everyone had a happy ending, the end :)

As you can see, the story is wack. But before I get into my rant, let me talk about Soushi here, since that’s what everyone wants (not my amazing opinion on writing :( ). What can I say about Soushi besides being a hot piece of ass… like hot damn, the man is hot. And as a yandere, he’s even hotter. Lots of creeper actions like preserving Ririchiyo’s gifts for him, having a room full of her pictures, literally loyal to her like a dog, and doesn’t take Ririchiyo’s no’s seriously. Soushi whole life purpose is to protect Ririchiyo and he has a solid background on why he loves her. Soushi is much more of a sweet type of yandere and the best term to call him is a “good yandere” since he doesn’t really do anything bad towards Ririchiyo or any “love rivals”. Soushi is just a chill yandere overall and a well developed character! I wish more yanderes are like him tbh. I should mention that there is a case of alternate timelines and what have you. I’m sure some smart ass would point out how Julie and I gripe about alternate universes and multiple endings. Yes, this is usually detrimental to the yandere sometimes but that’s only if they aren’t consistent with their yandere character. It doesn’t even knock them out of the running either if they fail that point. But here, Soushi was consistent in all timelines. He loves Ririchiyo and was a yandere for her in each timeline. See, is that so hard to ask when tossing in an alternate universe? Anyways, is Soushi enough incentive to read this god-awful story? Well, let me make a list here on what I thought of the manga.

Pros:

All the characters are fantastic. They’re all well developed and they’re all likeable. You’ll most likely like all the characters, if not, at least one. Just… the characters are so well written. What the fuck happened with the story?

Great art. The manga art is pretty good. What else to say?

Cons:

Oh boy… lots of cons. The first one to point out is obviously the story. It’s so wild and convoluted. I can really sense the writer's scattered thoughts throughout the story. The best way to describe the plot is: “A whole lot of ‘something’ when there’s literally nothing.” Reading the story, you know for a fact that there’s a major conflict going on within the story but there was no real sense of urgency since the characters were dicking around so much. I can really tell the writer just wanted to do… ‘everything’ with their story. They want a complex plot yet slice of life. They wanted to do a 4koma comedy, yet they want to have a telenovela. They wanted the characters to be ‘human’ with human problems yet they’re also half monsters because that’s #cool. The writer was just all over the place and had no focus. There are just parts where you feel like the writer just went “Oh shit!!! This is supposed to be a fantasy action story!!!” It’s just… bad. The first arc was the only good part of the entire manga. It focused only on the main characters and side characters with no fantasy bs nonsense. And it was rather disappointing once Ririchiyo and Soushi got together since it was rather rushed for the #plot. Really, what the writer should have done was A) just kept the manga a slice of life, shoujo story. No need for the stupid half yokai and bad guy bullshit. Literally the writer forgets that shit half the time except for gags. There’s really no point and you can just fix the rich half yokai background with just rich people problems. The fuck. B) just focus on character relationships and expand on it. Take that first arc and just… stretch it out bro. Let Ririchiyo and Soushi interact more and grow together before dumping their tragic backstory. C) stop with those chapters dedicated to 4koma comedy strips. Yes, they’re fun and it’s cute to play with your characters like that. But it’s defeats the purpose of a “serious” story if there these comedy chapters… BETWEEN EACH PLOT IMPORTANT CHAPTER. WHY??? SAVE THAT FOR THE END OF THE MANGA OR MAKE A MINI SPIN OFF MANGAS FOR THEM. DON’T TOSS THEM IN THE MANGA AT RANDOM?!?!?!

Next on the chopping block is the weird fucking loli thing going on here. Is no one weirded out that Ririchiyo and this other side character are straight up lolis and are sexualized??? It’s really really disturbing. Why does Ririchiyo sleep nearly nude? Why is there a female pervert character who leers on these two child looking characters and want to put her hand between their thighs? Is the fact that the female pervert is a female supposed to make it better? How old is Ririchiyo??? She doesn’t look like a high school student even though everyone claim she is. It’s fucked to see Ririchiyo standing next to Soushi… especially once they’re dating. She looks like an actual child next to Soushi… either Soushi is freakishly tall or Ririchiyo is freakishly short (which I’m sure that’s the case). Just… why the lolis????????

Story logic = fucked

Pointless bad guy. Literally, the second and third arc are so bad and boring. What’s the point in having him around.

Repeat: the story is just… so boring. I can’t get this off my chest any other way.

Now back to my original point: is reading Inu X Boku SS worth it just for the yandere? My personal opinion: No. It really isn’t. Just read the first arc then from there read fanfics or doujinshi (there’s so many). Far better reward and you can focus on the characters. But if you can sit this manga through, more power to you.

Overall Score: 6/10

Now please enjoy this collage of pictures of Soushi while I read some Soushi X Reader fanfics. The man is hot and I think he’s my confirmed favorite yandere <3

[worldcakecakecake]

On Deutschland and Italia by Lovino Valenti

Lovino writes a series of blog entries on the relationship between Germany and Italy as he deals with a move to Hamburg, his brother’s wedding, and his budding romance (which he denies) to the infuriating Gilbert Beilschmidt.

                                                     Chapter 3

On Deutschland and Italia.

Italy’s troubling relationship with Germany in the current immigration crisis.

Making Peace with Gilbert.

 The relationship between Germany and Italy has recently soured so much that a recent anti-European agenda has been rising in Italy, dividing the country in preference to staying or following Britain’s example. There has been talk of creating a new mini-schengen…and guess who Germany will gladly kick out from it. Apparently, it’s a lesson to us for following in Greece’s footsteps. There’s been very crude remarks from the very Italian media, even from the point of view of high positioned leaders in the government, from that people that I both cannot and do agree with. But to be honest, this new idea of Italy’s is dangerous and as much as I hate to admit, we do depend on Germany to keep ourselves somewhat stable and show a strong European Union. But we shouldn’t be treated as subordinates, side casted when we are indeed one of the powerful economies of the continent. Many of you had commented to creating these very agreements with my own tyrannical German government here…which is Gilbert. Sure, what I just wrote had relativity and I might as well tell myself the very same thing…but I am not so easily persuaded after all he has done. I can’t just simply get over years of bullying like that. There has to be forgiveness, a common ground, an admit to all our wrongs that I know Gilbert is incapable of. Until we come to that meeting point, the crisis between us shall continue.

  The dinner was at seven, and with the perks of living above the restaurant, Lovino was there to help with the preparations of the table, dressed and rubbing his hands ready for his pizza.

 “I’m so glad you’re here!” Feliciano came, hugging him from the back tightly, even hanging, which brought them to spinning, Lovino reluctantly having to hold his arms around him.

 “You promised me pizza,” he had to remind.

 “And you will have it! I already have the cooks on it,” he winked and promised.

 “You better!”

 “This shouldn’t be only about pizza,” Augusto intervened, placing his loving and strong hold on their shoulders. “It has to be about the wonderful news Feliciano has for us,” he cuddled against him.

 “I just care about pizza.”

 A hit against the back of his head.

 “They’re here!” Renata called, having just spotted their car enter the parking area, hurrying to the table to make sure everything was well set.

 “Please behave,” Feliciano begged Lovino lastly.

 “Me? You should be telling that to Nonno as well!”

 “I always behave!”

 Lovino raised an eye but didn’t continue.

 Feliciano came to the door just as his large and buffed boyfriend entered the restaurant, taking him by the elbows so they could kiss as disgustingly as ever to Lovino, who rolled his eyes and kept them away. Augusto and Renata gushed.

 Ludwig spotted Lovino and tried to send a greeting smile, but Lovino grimaced and even moved further away, helping some of the waiters place the bread baskets on the table.

 “Is he ready?” Ludwig asked in a whisper.

 “Ready for the dinner? Of course he is!”

 “I meant…for Gilbert…” and that’s when Feliciano came to the crashing, heavy realization that now Gilbert had to come into the restaurant, share a table with Lovino, after he had told him he wasn’t going to be there and how their last meeting had been (Nonno Augusto told him).

 “Um…” he couldn’t finish as the rest of the Beilschmidts came in, the restaurant now filled in their loud greetings and instant chats. It started swell and Lovino had even come to greet them quite behaved. For now, Ludwig and Feliciano were breathing, for they knew that once Gilbert entered, they had to act quick.

 “Hallo, Valenti! Where’s the pizza!” Gilbert shouted, unmistaken, in no way to be missed.

 Augusto, Vincenzo and Renata smiled to his welcome, giving him their usual kiss to the cheek, but for Lovino it was the rapture to darken the dimmed and beautiful lighting of the restaurant. That was the moment Feliciano quickly went to his side.

 “What. Is. He. Doing. Here?” Lovino grinded, as a sort of hold from not going and hurling himself at Gilbert to drive him away, thinking perhaps he was intruding.

 “Lovino! The pizza!” Feliciano distracted, pulling him towards the table, trying to keep his face on the just placed ‘Italiana’ pizza, going as far as to even push him to just stare at it while they all took their seat. Feliciano took sitting beside Lovino, Ludwig on Feliciano’s other side, Gilbert in turn in his other. Ludwig thought that his stature could do well to hide his brother and at least he was away from sitting frontal in Lovino’s vision.

 “Come on! Taste it! Taste it! Taste it!” Feliciano excited.

 Bless pizza indeed, for it was Lovino’s hunger that kept him from shouting out or angering the more, for now distracted in the heavenly ingredients melting well in a wonderful combine in his mouth.

 The table was filled in all kinds of conversations soon enough, enjoyable, wonderful food coming in, Gilbert and Lovino participating in their own chats and bites without having for a moment needing to interact. All the inhabitants of the table made sure of that.

 They had come into dessert without a major disaster, Ludwig and Feliciano looking between themselves with such stupor, excited to soon tell the news to their families. Feliciano spun his ring in anticipation under the table.

 “Gilbert is one of my best mechanics. I’ve seen him fix cars in simple hours. I’m sure he can fix whatever your problem is,” Aldrich told Vincenzo.

 “That’s right! I’ll have it ready for you in a jiffy!” Gilbert assured loudly, one Lovino just couldn’t ignore.

 “Then why can’t you have my car ready, asshat,” Lovino had to put in, grimacing against his glass of wine as he drank.

 Gilbert remained silent and Ludwig just hoped that he wouldn’t provoke anything else, that he could bite his lips and focus on his own pizza before him.

 “I said you have to get ready to wait. I’m not touching your car,” Gilbert grimaced as well, hoping as the rest it wouldn’t escalate from this.

 Lovino scoffed, “shitty mechanic you are then. I don’t know what everybody is going on about.”

 “If you weren’t such a shit head yourself, then maybe I could have given you that car in record time,” he rolled his eyes.

 “Or maybe you just can’t do it.”

 “With that disgusting car, it’s easy.”

 “What? Never seen an actual beautiful car in all your time working there?”

 “I’ve seen some more pristine than whatever you can afford.”

 “You can’t even afford to have the stuff you horribly fix.”

 This new fight took control of the table, all silence as they plotted how they could stop this, if there was something that could break it.

 “You clearly haven’t seen my car,” Gilbert rolled his eyes, proud of his own.

 “That disgusting tow truck?”

 “Don’t insult Marina!”

 “You fucking named it!”

 “Nothing wrong with that,” Augusto intervened, hoping it could ease things.

 “Actually, I do believe it’s rather silly,” Aldrich added.

 “Nothing wrong with some harmless fun,” Louis said.

 “I’ll name my car…Pietrina,” Renata made it seem so wonderful and imaginative.

 “Oh god, Rena, no!” Monika said loudly.

 “Pietrina sounds awful,” Reinhardt had to say.

 “My grandmother was Pietrina!” Vincenzo insulted.

 “Well I’m sorry she had an awful name!”

 “A German man named Reinhardt is telling me this! You don’t know class?”

 “Don’t know class? Well let me tell you!”

 And from a serene moment, fights filled the table, loud and focusing, surely having many others in the restaurant staring, some even deciding to leave at such disturbance. The only two who stood out from this were Ludwig and Feliciano, who gazed between each other hoping for some sort of solution to stop all this.

 “I think now would be a good time to tell them,” Ludwig suggested.

 “Like this?” It was all so awful and unsightly, definitely not how Feliciano had imagined it.

 “Can’t we just get them to stop fighting?”

 “I’m sure it’s not going to work.”

 They were so dedicated to their fights, it’s like they forgot that Ludwig and Feliciano were there too.

 Feliciano sighed, nervous. This had to be it.

 “Okay,” he nodded to Ludwig, both taking their hands tightly under the table, prepared.

 “Um…” Feliciano began, raising a hand hoping it could catch their attentions. They continued to shout over it, their eyes too dedicated to their fights they didn’t even raise their glances to him.

 “Guys,” he tried calling again, nothing changed. “Guys,” a little bit louder this time.

 Ludwig was getting exasperated.

 “We’re getting married!” He ended up shouting, piercing enough to not only bring silence to the table, but to the entire restaurant.

 Their eyes were on them, surprised, questioning, but it was the silence and attention they needed.

 “Yes…uh…Ludwig and I are getting married,” Feliciano admitted shyly, raising his hand along with Ludwig’s to show the ring on the appropriate finger. “And I’m…moving with him to Santo Domingo.” There was still no response, only the same bewilderment that kept them frozen and silent.

 “Woo…” Feliciano celebrated, trying to get them all to react…yet nothing.

  On Deutschland and Italia.

Starved Germans and Desperate Italians.

Ludwig and Feliciano.

 In the 1950s, Germany signed a recruitment treaty with Italy that brought a large swarm of migrations to the country. It was at this exact time, after a horrible destructive war, that Germans began taking those postcard vacations to Italy…introducing us to the horrible image of socks with sandals.

 While Germans bathe in warm Italian sun, Italians themselves are overworking in their cold country.

 Italians had no other choice than to adapt, bringing with them stronger heaters, warmer clothes, even the very machines and trinkets that made our food.

 I can assure you nothing stops us from keeping the freshness.

 We had to learn a whole new language, had to deal with force labor, cramped quarters in old army barracks, horrible nicknames and stereotypes.

 Germans instead discover their love for Italy.

 It was paradise to them, an image brought forward to them by brochures, romantic movies and songs.

 They came to Italy in just the large numbers Italians took to Germany. In response to the harsh treatments and comments, they began to be ridiculed with their own nicknames and stereotypes, many that continue to this day.

 Sure, Gilbert and I might dislike each other a lot, but my brother and his brother don’t share that sentiment.

 Just this weekend they announced that they will be marrying each other…so you can understand how different our relationships are.

 Ludwig and Feliciano, because of this stronghold our families held, had known each other since birth and it was a tragedy separating them later when we had to leave for Italy. About fifteen years later, Feliciano returns to Hamburg made one fine piece of ass and Ludwig is one those many fools drooling and getting horny over my little brother. Whatever returning childhood friendship they wanted was thrown to the curve when they preferred dating, fucking, getting into a serious relationship and now marriage.

 My brother would have stood a chance…if he wasn’t into…tall and blond buff guys that…bake.

 In one part, I’m glad my brother found love, to someone that I have to admit will be loyal, devoted and loves him just as immensely. In another part…it’s Ludwig…a Beilschmidt! My brother is marrying…a Beilschmidt!

 I know our families were practically married already, so you must be thinking how this could make any difference. It makes a lot of difference because they’re connecting our families more. This time, we’ll really be family, we’ll be related, which means more time with them, more I have to take Gilbert’s shit and it will probably continue on until my last days.

 Currently I am in a mixture of emotions and I still don’t know how to react about this to my brother. But rest assured, I won’t sit back and take it all lightly.

  “Are you insane?” Was Lovino’s loud entrance into Feliciano’s apartment, stomping, ringing every item on him, taking the chair, the slide alerting, practically smashing himself against his seat as he stared at Feliciano straight on demanding answers.

 The younger was siting calmly at his stool, a hand with a paintbrush against a canvas, his other holding a medical report he was currently reading over to make sure it was correct to hand in.

 “Buon giorno, fratellone,” he greeted as nicely and kindly as ever.

 Lovino only huffed and slammed a hand against the table. “Don’t give me that crap. Come on, explain,” he heavily signaled with his hands, as if creating the space for Feliciano to take.

 Feliciano groaned, rolled his eyes, closing his book and putting his brush into a jar of water with others.

 Curse the day he gave his brother a spare key.

 “I love him,” Feliciano thought was sufficient enough.

 “I need more reasoning than that.”

 Feliciano huffed, but yet answered, “he’s my perfect match. We can live together, we see each other in our futures. There’s no one else I could love and want to be with more.”

 Lovino was still unconvinced.

 “He’s the sweetest man I know, a gentleman, respectful, patient, hardworking. He brings me peace and happiness.”

 Lovino didn’t change his expression. “That’s it?”

 “It should be enough, Lovino!” Feliciano angered.

 “Not to me!”

 “To you! This is me we’re talking about and if I decide to be with Ludwig and move with him to the Caribbean, then that’s what I’m going to do! I know you dislike the Beilschmidts, but I won’t let that stop me from being with the man I love.”

 “You do understand that marrying him involves basically dragging your families together, right?”

 “Lovino, it doesn’t have to be that way. If you don’t want to be with them, then don’t.”

 “And yet look what happened last night. You said Gilbert wasn’t going to be there and you go ahead and betray me,” he says like it was a big tragedy upon their play.

 “It was an important announcement. You honestly didn’t want Ludwig’s brother to be part of a family moment just because you didn’t want him there?”

 “He has to understand my boundaries.”

 “It was a family dinner!” He was on the verge of shouting. His brother could sometimes really drag him up the wall. “One that I wanted you in as well and I knew you wouldn’t come if you knew he was coming too. So I’m sorry that I did lie, but I really wanted you to be there.”

 Lovino lay in pensive silence, Feliciano giving himself that time to breathe and calm. “I’m sorry okay, I’m sorry,” he repeated, hurt.

 Lovino sighed, “it’s fine, I guess I am just…overacting over everything and I…I’m sorry I fought like that in the dinner. I should have controlled myself…and so should have Gilbert.”

 Feliciano rolled his eyes but smiled still.

 Comforting silence than lay over them, but Lovino was still insisting. “But, again, why are you marrying Ludwig?” He was back to his defensive self.

 Feliciano groaned and prepared for what would be his day.

  “I get it, Lud. Feli is adorable, gorgeous, I would have happily married him too!” Gilbert opened the door of the café for them. “Wise decision, wonderful, I’m very proud of you.”

 “But?” Ludwig was expecting it.

 “I mean…are you sure you want to be part of that family?”

 “Gilbert, we’ve known them since we were kids. They’re already practically family,” he rolled his eyes, ordering their usual drinks.

 “This is different! You will now completely submerge yourself in them. It would be spiritual, legal. You’ll be tying us stronger together than ever before.”

 “And that’s…bad?”

 “Yes, and that’s because you’re tying me to Lovino too.”

 “The ones who are getting married are me and Feliciano, not you and Lovino.”

 The image Gilbert got in his head was haunting.

 “We’d still be considered family. We’ll have to meet in constant holidays, reunions, parties, and I don’t think you want that fight at the dinner again,” Gilbert warned hoping it could convince.

 Ludwig still took their table unchanged, waiting patiently for their drinks.

 “You’ll probably get used to each other at some point and stop,” Ludwig believed and was convinced.

 “If Lovino can hold a grudge against me still after fifteen years, yeah, I don’t think so.”

 “You can learn to not let it get to you.”

 “I can’t just hold back.”

 “You’ll have to if you want things to continue peacefully.”

 “I’m not going to quit like that,” he announced, just as a waiter brought them their drinks.

 “Well, you’ll have to, or at least while me and Feliciano are here preparing everything for the wedding. Afterwards, I doubt you guys will get the chance to meet.”

 “I doubt our families would let that happen,” Gilbert rolled his eyes.

 Even without Ludwig and Feliciano in the country, their grandparents and parents would still have their own reunions that all were expectant to participate in. As long as he and Lovino were in the same city, it was unavoidable.

 “Anything I can do to convince you to back out of this?” Gilbert was ready to help him in whatever escapade, a mischievous grin that Ludwig already stared with scold in his expression. “You’re really doing this?”

 “Everything is starting to get set.”

 “Fuck.”

 Ludwig rolled his eyes and decided on just focusing on his drink.

  “But to the Dominican Republic!” Lovino shouted, decorated with a wine glass in his hand, pacing the room as he took his drink.

 “Ludwig got an opportunity there and I want to go with him,” Feliciano lay in calm on the couch.

 “What about you?”

 “I’ll be volunteering at a children’s hospital,” the doofus actually sounded excited.

 “Volunteering only?” Lovino wore the same insult that the rest of his family wore when Feliciano mentioned it.

 “So,” Feliciano had shrugged it as always.

 “As in you won’t be getting any pay?” How was he thinking of surviving?

 “They said they’ll be giving me something depending on the patients I take and the amount of workers.”

 “I doubt it will be enough.”

 “Relax, with what Ludwig will get, we’ll be more than settled.”

 “So, he’ll be your sole dependence then,” Lovino angered.

 “We’ll be fine! If anything I’ll paint and sell my artwork.”

 “Who does Ludwig think he is?” Lovino insulted for his little brother. “I get it now! He decided on marrying you to drag you along with him so he can keep you to yourself without having to worry about leeches over here.”

 Feliciano groaned into his hands, breathing out whatever worsening of his anger. “We both talked about this! Even if he hadn’t proposed, I would have still gone with him!”

 “He wants to make you a housewife!”

 “No! Ludwig didn’t make me do anything! Lovino please understand that this is all in my choosing and what I know will make me happy.”

 “Maybe Ludwig made you believe that!”

 “You’re really trying out my patience here.”

  “So, while you work yourself in files and tracks, numbers and sitings, Feliciano will be lazing about in your house expecting you to come home and cook.”

 “He’ll have a job too and despite his constant naps, he is not one to skip on cooking. I highly doubt he would leave such responsibilities,” Ludwig defended, entering the familiar workshop.

 “You can’t be too sure!”

 “I’m constantly in his apartment, I’m actually pretty sure.”

 “Gilbert! A Nissan just came in and the customer paid us extra to have it done by tomorrow evening,” was the first thing Opa Aldrich announced as both had entered his office.

 “Got it! We’ll continue discussing this later,” the older brother pointed rather menacingly, with power in his stride as he headed to work.

 “Still trying to convince you out of this?” Aldrich guessed as much.

 “Yes. He has to know I’m sure about this.”

 “He’s just looking out for you.”

 “Why would I need him to? This is Feliciano were talking about! There’s nothing to be worried about.”

 “We might never know, Ludwig. We still have to watch out. With Feliciano being so eccentric and you so orderly, I believe there are things that will clash between you two and cause discomforts and betrayals,” Aldrich worded out his own concerns as he wrote and picked between files in his desk.

 Ludwig couldn’t believe his grandfather was actually uttering those words.

 “Opa, you know Feliciano yourself,” Ludwig had to sit down, not being able to take these doubts. “Yes, he is lively, vibrant and outgoing, sometimes unwatchful and clumsy, but he is still very devoted and sacrificial when it’s needed. I’m sure that in our marriage he will show it more strongly than ever. I highly doubt he will be capable of this……do you think I will be?”

 “I know you…and I know you won’t.”

 “As I know Feliciano and I know he won’t. How would you feel if Augusto had these very doubts about me?”

 Aldrich didn’t give any other word, seeming more focused on his work.

 “I’m just looking out for you is all.”

  Ludwig still felt the question from his part, disliking and already fearing for this coming process.

< chapter 2

chapter 4 >

[chessdaze]

Day 3 of my @khoc-week​ catch up!

  Friends or Lovers? Show and tell who your OC is familiar with! Any friends? A Significant Other? Or maybe an enemy? Draw a picture of them with their best friend(s), enemy, or special someone! Or write a one shot about them interacting or going on a mission together. 

OH BOY I HAVE SO MUCH TO SAY ABOUT THIS. But I wanted to focus on two relationships in particular with Atlas - that with his mentor/father figure Wynter and that with his two best friends Kei and Quest (who were briefly shown in yesterday’s prompt!). family figures weren’t really in the prompt but I went with it anyways because I HAVE to talk about Wynter. 

Wynter is the reason that heartsmiths exist, he’s an incredibly powerful magic user. He’s also the reason Atlas is even alive, so of course he’s an important figure in Atlas’s life. Including Atlas’s wonderland background which he doesn’t recall, Wynter is the only father figure he’s ever had. Atlas loves Wynter. However, there was a big strain on their relationship during the time leading up to the keyblade war.

Readmore time

Wynter is a keyblade user. I’ve done a piece of him with his keyblade here, besides probably MoM, he’s probably the eldest keyblade wielder in Daybreak Town. However he doesn’t use his keyblade for fighting heartless  on a normal basis as it has a very specific trait. It can freeze someone’s heart in time. Thus the name ‘hand of time’. A theme of Wynter’s character is that he’s stuck in time and not able to move forward and his keyblade and it’s power are a reflection of that and how his heart is stagnant - which is like a punch to the gut when MoM is explaining all of this to him (MoM and Wynter are like old buds).

As the keyblade war draws closer it becomes clear why Wynter was given this particular keyblade with this particular power. He aims to have Atlas survive the keyblade war through freezing his heart and body in time. He knows of the dandelions via Quest (who was chosen to be apart of the dandelions - but more on that when i get to him and kei), and wants to freeze Atlas in time and then let the dandelions/Ava know of his location so after the danger has passed they can retrieve him. But things never go as planned. 

Atlas refused, almost violently so, when the idea was brought up. In the end. Quest and Kei had to hold Atlas down while Wynter stabbed him with his keyblade. Hence the below picture (which was like one of the first i drew with atlas ever - and of wynter’s keyblade it’s changed a bit since this look):

As one can imagine, this wasn’t great on their relationship. In Atlas’s main story, he ends up drifting with the heartsmith’s shop/forge in the space between (being a ‘mini world’ in its own right), Wynter’s notes being scattered to the worlds (like ansem’s reports - and his notes on heartsmithing is a precursor to keyblade armor being made, but that’s an entirely different ramble), and doesn’t awake until the guardians of light find him 1000+ years later. 

After awaking he has so many mixed emotions about his mentor. He’s angry that Wynter took the opportunity for him to help wielders away, he’s angry that he was pretty much forced to have a keyblade he never wanted (in stabbing atlas with the keyblade, atlas pretty much became the successor to it), and being left all alone without his friends or his family was just...sad. He blamed Wynter and his two best friends for the longest time.

REWIND A SEC AND I’LL TALK ABOUT ATLAS, KEI, AND QUEST. 

I have dubbed them the ‘ribbon trio’ as their design all involve ribbons. my sister has also affectionally called them the ‘rose buds’ because of this picture below and thinking on it, it fits because of Atlas’s past with wonderland, Quest being from Beast’s Castle, and Kei’s family being florists.

here’s another one because they’re cute

As mentioned above, Quest is from Beast’s Castle. His parents died during the plague and he had been having a rough childhood when he was given the power of the keyblade and was able to go to daybreak town and join a union. Considering the state he was in (practically skin and bones), Gula was surprised when he appeared and wanted to join Leopardos. He had to be nursed back to a fighting health but when he was able he became a party leader and lead the party the Chevaliers (I did a photoset of them here).

Kei is from daybreak town and her family are the local florists (see a picture of her and her sibs here). She was the only one gifted with the power of the keyblade and felt the need to become stronger and stronger so she could protect her family - and so she joined Ursus. She’s known as a ‘party hopper’ because as soon as she thought she learned all she could from a party - or if she became the most powerful one in a party - she left in search of new challenges.

They both met Atlas via the heartsmith shop, and while kei and quest didn’t quite see eye to eye at first - Atlas was the glue that kept them together and eventually they became closer and could consider eachother friends aswell. 

Leading up to the keyblade war, the one chosen to become a dandelion was Quest. He was extremely torn over it, not sure what to say or what to do. Some dandelions mentioned that it might be useful to have a heartsmith with them because ‘who knows what could happen’ so Quest asked Ava about Atlas joining. However only keyblade wielders could join - so Quest left to ask Wynter if he planned to pass his keyblade onto Atlas, if he became a wielder then he could become a dandelion. 

He was explaining this to Atlas when Kei suddenly appeared and started an argument about Quest picking Atlas over her- and why she wasn’t chosen to be in this special group of wielders. This caused a huge rift between the three. Atlas became too busy with wielders flooding into the heartsmiths shop for repairs and upgrades before the war to really tackle the issue - but Kei and Quest were at odds for quite some time. Eventually they came to terms with eachother and the problem at hand -- and they both quit their unions to become heartsmiths instead. 

pictured in the main photo at the bottom is sort of what directly came after that - Wynter stating his plan to freeze Atlas in time and Atlas retaliating. Quest and Kei both agreed it was for the best, and that they would do their best to become even half the heartsmith that Atlas was. But of course Atlas still wasn’t having it - and to save their friend from the war they held him down in a chair while Wynter stabbed him with the keyblade.

The two of them then had a crash course of how to be a heartsmith and not long after the war happened. 

I feel like I should say it doesn’t end well for any of them. 

Wynter dies before the war even begins. He uses the last of his strength from non stop weeks of working to send the heartsmith shop into the space between after Kei and Quest leave - has enough time to reach his twin sister Crystal (who is the local baker), then dies in her arms. 

Kei and Quest both die on the battle field - Kei dies protecting Quest dies protecting a wielder (I’ve plotted it out with friends that he protects the player character pretty much and it’s the reason that the dandelions are able to reach them in time). Kei and Quest’s hearts however find themselves at the heartsmith shop in the space between - and for those 1000 + years, they protect Atlas.

However they get corrupted over time and become phantoms which is where the darkling like designs i made come into play. When the guardians of light reach the shop - they have to fight passed Kei and Quest to get to atlas because they’re still trying to protect Atlas even if they’ve been lost to the darkness. 

Kei and Quest are freed from the darkness after they are defeated, and they stay long enough to see atlas being awoken before vanishing from sight. 

So as you can tell ATLAS HAS A LOT OF FEELINGS AFTER WAKING UP/HIS TIME BEGINNING AGAIN. And I just....love his dynamic with his friends/mentor so much okay.

And as a fun fact - since trios sometimes have an object that’s related to them. Besides ribbons TM Atlas, Quest, and Kei all have actual keys and armbands that are personalized to them. Kei has a flower design on her key, Quest has a star design, and Atlas has a heart design. Wynter made these all from them - and they’re literally all keys to the heartsmtih shop. Atlas was given one at first but when it was clear how close he was to Quest and Kei, Wynter made the other two keys by hand and gave them to the two. Kei suggested the armbands and Quest found them and atlas fashioned the chains they all hang off of. 

Now I’ve rambled enough about that ONTO CANON CHARACTERS.

Sadly the above picture took me forever and I don’t have the energy to draw much else but here’s a small comic I made for a friend when we were plotting things together - because of course Atlas knows Ventus and they probably have a deep connection even if Ven doesn’t remember him. Sadly I never finished this comic but maybe one day....

and honestly I could ramble for hours about how Atlas would mesh well with a lot of the canon KH characters. He’s literally a therapist, it’s his job to talk to people and help them through problems AND BOY DO WE KNOW THE CANON KH PEEPS GOT SOME TRAUMA. and he’d want to help all of them the best he could. I can see him and Riku getting close especially. And he would definitely want to talk with Aqua after all of her time in the realm of darkness. 

as a small bonus have the first picture I ever drew of the ribbon trio+ wynter together! Their designs haven’t changed much since this - aside from a few small things. I think the major things that changed is that atlas doesn’t wear his glasses on a normal basis and both Quest’s and Wynter’s hair is longer. 

[misas-biggest-fan]

some detailed thoughts on an LABB movie w a ‘read more’ bc i have A Lot To Say

i want it to be a movie bc i love movies

im also open to the concept of a mini series but a full tv show might be a challenging stretch

animated or live action would both be incredible and both have their unique pros and cons

the whole thing is DISTINCTLY LA

busy streets and palm trees and the Hollywood sign and the shiny, overly false glamour of everything

would really contrast well with Rue Ryuzaki’s disturbing fake-ness

like he’s just as fake as the whole city, that both he and Hollywood have on this costume to hide tragedy and hideous deeds

i want it to have the glitz and glam and extravagance of the recent gatsby movie (which i adore, dont come for me)

if bahz luhrmann doesn’t direct i will RIOT id die for bahz luhrmann he’s Good and he has the same energy and chaotic attitude of beyond birthday himself

i want beyond to have a scene like the one where Nick realizes who Gatsby is and Gatsby turns around with the champagne flute and the fireworks go off in slow motion as he smiles that’s my favorite shot in all of cinematic history no joke

it’s HIGHLY STYLIZED. i want bright colors and weird aesthetic choices

I also want some shockingly beautiful frames of LA and surprisingly sophisicated shots of Beyonds face lit up in different neon colors or something

Indie enough to be weird and fun but pop enough to be easily digestible

it opens with mello writing his book (like moulin rouge!! a;lsdjfk)

his burn scars are just healing and he knows he’ll die soon so he has to write down all his important memories, leave something behind

he wants to write down something important to him, something that he can leave for Near, something that might put his own life and actions into context

something that might help other people understand who he was more

so of course, he thinks of beyond

who he respects and admires and pities

who has such a similar and yet different story from Mello’s own

so maybe in understanding beyond and understanding how mello feels about beyond

people will understand mello

near will understand mello

so mello gets to work detailing this story his incredible mentor L once told him, describing this beautiful memory he has of meeting with and talking to L and how L told him about Beyond

(in this scene, you don’t SEE L. you just get an idea of what he looks like, flashes and shots, so that the audience can know L well enough to still wonder about the identity Rue Ryuzaki throughout the movie)

and then of course, we dive into the story

Beyond is OVER THE TOP. he’s more than unsettling, he’s downright terrifying. but he’s still somehow intriguing and even charming at times, like he can turn the smoulder on and off at will. 

Hes a disaster nb, a fabulous hodgepodge of discarded gender roles and impressive makeup skills

Him practicing his evil laugh and trying so desperately to be this comic villain didjdjdje hes such a loser i love him that scene NEEDS to make an appearance

he and naomi’s chemistry is incredible to watch on screen because beyond dominates any scene he’s in unless naomi is there to challenge him because her acting is also so powerful that when they’re on screen together, it’s like you can’t tear your eyes away from this insane car wreck that is their relationship

and NAOMI

a;lksdfj;dlkfj naomi misora <3 <3 <3 <3 ok im ready

so naomi is also a powerful presence on screen, even though she’s not crawling on the ground or eating with her hands or you know whatever ridiculous garbage beyond is doing

more time is spent on her

her disastrous relationship with raye

her feelings over her suspension from the FBI

and really play up the whole jessica jones thing she’s got going on

i want black leather for DAYS

I want “gritty LA detective who’s on suspension from the FBI because she doesn’t play by the rules” or whatever except it’s a twist because not only is she not a man, like this trope usually calls for, but it turns out she was suspended because of her tenderness and humanity instead of her brutality

she still needs to have MULTIPLE fight scenes, a few with beyond and maybe even a few with other attackers, who she absolutely mops the floor with

but then she and beyond have a scene where they fight against someone together

he’s not a good fighter. she mostly has to save his butt every time but he’s just happy to be there and probably keeps saying stuff like ‘wow misora you’re amazing!’ and she’s like ‘?!?! ryuzaki you loser?1?! run?!?’

and of course, there’s enough twists and changes from the book to keep everyone on their toes, but GOOD changes

like maybe we go back to mello a few times and he has more of his own subplot where his relationship to near is revealed more fully, that he wants near to understand him and he wants to reach out to near emotionally in this way

contrast mello’s story with beyond’s so when we learn beyond’s full story at the end, he and mello are revealed to be foils of each other

we get shots of wammy’s house and we see a and beyond interact and we see beyond’s life-destroying grief over a’s death

we get contrasting shots of wammy’s with mello and near and we’re allowed to hope that maybe they can be happier

A and beyond become something of a subplot leading up to as death but you dont entirely realize who beyond is until the big reveal at the end

maybe beyond does some more unsettling things that are just as creepy and in-character but are a terrible surprise for those who’ve already read the book!! i can’t imagine what other horrific thing he could do to scare naomi, but there’s got to be something

i’m rly into bday massacre bc i love naomi and beyond’s rly twisted relationship so i’d love to see more of him being in awe of her, more of them connecting, more of beyond opening up to her even. maybe she tells him a little bit about her suspension. just a little.

also if we could like clean up some of the plot holes in this joint pls and thank you

id even be ok if it’s insinuated that he self-sabotaged a little, on a conscious level or not, bc i feel like that wouldn’t be tooooooo ooc i mean, he’s a hot mess. most of this is just a really twisted cry for help anyway, at least in my interpretation. he wants people to realize he’s suffering. he just… can’t do it in a normal or healthy way :/

beyond pls a;lkdfj

Anyway. Theres also a boppin soundtrack

Fire is a big motif. Maybe make a connection between wildfires in CA and beyond using this case to self-destruct

A little more closure at the end. Thats part of the drive behind my bday massacre fanfic rn is that i feel like he and naomi never got any real closure on the traumatizing, like, week or two they spent together

I also want more closure on naomi as a character arc. I want her to dump rayes sorry butt and i want her to have had some sort of real internal change. None of this “she picks up her life where she left off and never thinks abt beyond again”

Of course, L is revealed and has his glorious little spill down the concrete subway stairs. Its What He Deserves :)

And of course we have to make the obvious contrast between both beyond and mello having survived serious burn injuries its just another thing that makes them such interestingly comparable characters

If Naomi visits Beyond in prison to say goodbye, i wouldnt be opposed. If they made my fanfiction into a movie i wouldnt be opposed

Mello prints out his book in the mafia hideout, his arms folded and waiting as paper after paper comes out, just begging any of these mafia dudes to mock him for liking to write. None of them do. Its a funny moment tho

He debates sending it to near, feeling so awkward and prideful, but he finally does it, leaving instructions for it to reach near after his death.

In the end, naomi and beyond are revealed to be dead at the same time as near receives the package from his dear mello

Naomi and beyond were doomed, and so were beyond and a, but now… near has mellos last love letter to him, cryptically begging him to try to understand. And so theres hope that although the rest of these relationships were doomed, maybe near can still have one piece of mello and be happy

[ganglylimbs]

Endgame Review

!Spoilers for Endgame! Also, I'm going to try to put this under a read more. If it doesn't work, I apologize for the long post.

I'll be honest, I did not expect to come out of Endgame liking it as much as I did.

Don't get me wrong. I expected to like the movie. I'm a slut for action movies, in fact my favorite type of movie is action-comedy, and Marvel has always pulled that off very well.

[[More]]

But with some of the spoilers I saw (Nat and Tony's death, Steve returning to the past, some things the directors have said that I'll get to), I expected for this review to be a lot more salty.

I mean, as a fair warning, I still don't like any of the things I mentioned above. I hate that Natasha died (hate it for the fact that until this movie, they never treated her like a character. And only do so now because they need to make her death sad). I hate that Tony finally got his family and was killed for it. I said before the movie even came out that I hate the thought of Steve returning to the past permanently.

But. They weren't as horrible as I thought they were going to be. (I did cry like a baby for both Natasha and Tony though.) And the way they did Steve, well I still hate it (for me, it feels too much like him giving up, abandoning his friends) but it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be and does give an end to Captain America.

So. The movie was a lot of fun, I liked the action scene. I really, really loved the big action scene at the end with everyone coming together to stand against Thanos' army. But you know why I actually came away liking the movie overall?

It's because, besides the first 30 minutes where Tony yells at Steve, this movie was about them being a team. This movie was about them being friends.

You have Tony and Nebula playing table football, where I suspect Tony let's Nebula win. Nebula pushing the last of the food towards Tony. Nebula setting Tony up as he's dying. Nebula and Rocket traveling the planet as they help Nat keep Earth safe.

Rhodey checking on Nat. Nat and Steve's friendship has always been great ("I'd offer to make you dinner but you look miserable already.") Nat bringing Clint back.

Scott is a delight with everyone and treats them all as friends. That scene when they all come together and Rhodey scares him. Then Rhodey and Scott arguing against Bruce and Nebula about the rules of time travel (and Scott's "You mean Back To The Future lied to me?" is amazing).

Rocket and Bruce bringing Thor back. Bruce telling Thor that he's here because Thor was the one to bring him back. Bruce, Tony, and Nat's brainstorming session about where the stones might be. Tony and Steve reconciling and even joking around with each other. Tony and Scott complimenting Steve's ass. That trust scene between Steve and Tony.

Basically, this was all I wanted from the past three Avenger movies. Them being more than a team. Them being friends. And it was so nice, to watch them work together on screen like that.

It's just sad that MCU decided they could only do that at the end. Because imagine if we got this in another movie? Where everyone survives and they beat the bad guy? How good of a movie that would have been.

Of course, that would involve them to actually follow through with friendships and romances which MCU is fucking terrible at. Look at Bruce/Natasha, who have no conclusion. They don't speak about the ending to AoU. Ever. Just a couple glances and Bruce being upset at her death. But they don't follow through with it. At least have a discussion about the events of AoU, even if the audience doesn't like it, dammit! Follow through on your ideas so they have a satisfying ending!

Or Steve/Sharon, who is never spoken of again. Like, she just never existed. Or Wanda/Vision, a couple that doesn't really have any buildup but I would actually be ok with. Except for the fact that Wanda barely mentions Vision in Endgame.

Look at the friendships. Steve and Tony have this great friendship in any other Marvel thing ever. And yet they are never friends in MCU, no matter how many times they try to imply that they are.

Bucky and Steve barely talk in Infinity War and Endgame, which is weird considering Steve destroyed Shield, the Avengers, and betrayed Tony for the guy. And then at the end, Bucky doesn't even talk to old Steve!

With Sam and Steve, my problem stems more from what the Russo brothers supposedly said. (I'm going to spend the next few minutes bitching about the supposed things they said. I am saying "supposed" because this is all second hand stuff I have seen). So, "supposedly" the Russo brothers said that the reason Steve returned to the past was because he didn't trust anyone in the future. Which makes no fucking sense considering his last moments in the future has him talking with Sam. Sam, who is practically begging Steve to stay with him. Sam, who cries at seeing Old Steve and getting the shield.

And so this begins my problems with the Russo brothers. All the memes about them becoming JK Rowling is true. Because again, I didn't like the thought of Steve staying back in the past but I still thought it was done well. Why do you have to explain it? Why not let the fans talk and discuss and theorize? Because any explanation (especially a stupid ass explanation like that) will just let people down.

Like the thing about since Natasha is a shadow, she wouldn't want a funeral. The thing is, Tony's funeral wasn't a big public thing. It was friends gathered around to send off another friend. While not make it a Natasha and Tony funeral, then? They both sacrificed themselves for the world. They both deserve that respect.

What makes it worse is that they could have so, so easily put it in there. If they just wanted the ending to be about Tony, ok, there's another scene right after she dies that could have been perfect. The group was already gathered around. Tony asked about if she had any family.  Steve says they were her family. There, right there, is a good time to have a mini funeral. Just...say a few words, remember your friend.

Have a funeral for her.

It's just...the Russos keep trying to explain things and talk about why they make certain decisions and it ends up all being bad.

Anyways. So here's a list of Good and Bad things I liked/hate about Endgame

Good

Nebula. Just Nebula in general. She has quickly become my favorite character. But I thought it was especially great that it was Nebula who pulls Gamora from the dark side this time. And it's a cinematic masterpiece that future Nebula kills past Nebula for Gamora, symbolizing Nebula letting go of the past.

The fact that Nebula and Thor are now official Guardians is amazing and I can't wait to see them in Guardians of the Galaxy 3. Also, more Peter and Thor interactions!

Gamora not being revived but being brought back from the past. I just think there is a lot of angst potential there, the Guardians having to deal with a just turned from evil Gamora. Also, we hopefully get to see the actual progression of Gamora's and Quill's relationship this time.

The best joke was hands down the America's ass bit. Every single thing about it, from Tony starting it till Steve commenting on his own ass, was amazing.

Steve vs Steve fight and Steve being exasperated by his own catch phrase. I loved it.

The Time Heist. Man, as someone who usually doesn't like time travel stories, the whole Time Heist plot was great. It kind of made me want to see what would have happened if the entire past! team saw Future! team and tried to stop them from taking the space stone, though.

Again, everyone bantering with each other! Being friends! Fuck yeah, for friendship!

Thor's talk with his mother. I know there are some problems with fat! Thor, but I thought that the fact that he got so excited about being still worthy was great.

Bad

Huce. Or whatever the Bruce/Hulk combination is called. Not that I hate that they combined, but that they didn't explain it. When the Russos' talked about the problems Hulk and Bruce had in Infinity War and why Hulk wouldn't come out, that Hulk was upset with Bruce because he felt like he was being used, I was excited to see how that would play out in Endgame. I wanted Bruce to talk about it! Or go on a journey to figure himself out. Except they didn't do that. They just breezed over it. They didn't explore that at all. How disappointing.

I have a few minor problems with the characterization of Tony in the beginning. Mainly that throughout the MCU, one of the few constant things they had was that Tony couldn't stop fighting. He couldn't stop being Iron Man, he couldn't stop thinking of the future and how to save it. So you're telling me, suddenly he doesn't want to fight anymore? I mean, it's not even that he turned the team down at first when they asked for his help figuring out time travel, because I can buy him being scared. It's that he doesn't change his mind till he sees the picture of Peter (I get that the whole thing they were going for is that everyone has a personal stake in this, but again, this is Tony, who has been trying to protect Earth long before Peter came around). And it's especially the fact that even figuring out time travel, he offers to hide it. To forget it and live in a post-snap world. What makes it more startlingly is you have those two bits of crap characterization contrasted with him still creating suits, for both Pepper and him. Again, this is a man they have made clear can't stop being Iron Man, can't stop trying to protect people, and suddenly he wouldn't immediately try to change back time to get everyone back? It just bugs me a bit.

Which leads me to an overall universe problem I have. I'm sorry, but I don't like Pepper/Tony in MCU and Endgame kind of brought that to the forefront. Because I suspect that they had Tony offer to throw away the chance to get everyone back specifically so they could have Pepper tell him to be a superhero. I get that it's supposed to be Pepper finally giving him permission to be who he is, but that's my problem. I just don't think it's a good relationship when one partner wants the other to change so drastically or change such a fundamental part of themselves. Tony Stark is Iron Man. That, again, is something they hammered into everyone. No matter how much it cost him, no matter how much it put his life in danger, no matter how much Pepper begged him not to, Tony could not stop being Iron Man. So yeah, I just didn't like their relationship that much.

Tony dying. Specifically, the fact that the one character that is constantly plagued with PTSD is only allowed to rest when he dies. And that he gets the family he so wanted, he gets the friends he so wanted, and he never gets to enjoy this. This wouldn't be such a problem if it also wasn't for the fact that the Russo brothers have also supposedly said that Bucky couldn't be a superhero because of his past and because of his mental problems. So yeah. If that part is true, then I don't really trust their stance on mental health and I can totally see them thinking that dying is a fitting ending for someone with PTSD.

Overall, I would absolutely watch Endgame again, if just to get those friendship feelings again.  It's sad that this is an end to an era, that we will probably never see the original 6 again, but I do hope that when Marvel needs to milk that cash cow again and re-do the Avengers, they actually have them be a family this time.

[ankutsu]

Mandrake Town Tips

Will be added to as I discover more or if others are kind enough to share. [** I’ve only played the korean version for a few weeks before I lost my data so this will be a compilation of that and the english version that I’ve gathered so far.]

Mandrake Town is a town cultivation game based off Mandrake Boys & Mandrake Girls; it is currently only out for android but ios is likely soon to follow, knowing SuperTree.

Edited: 4/30 -- added hotdog stand info. Thank you pescado-diabolico!

As with any town builder, make sure you have enough materials! Fountains max out at 4 items initially, but they can be upgraded as you level up. The time it takes for each fountain to refill varies, but when you upgrade a fountain it automatically refills it to the max for you so be aware. [ex.: upgrading ifit’s fountain the first time around will automatically refresh it so that there are 5 burning orbs ready to be picked up]

“Story” unlocks as you level up -- they pretty much walk you through everything for the most part -- the “tutorial” is actually pretty long, since it will take you a bit to unlock all the fountains (close to lv20) and shortly after that they give you free reigns with story still picking up as you go.

Do the mandrake requests, they’re the prime method to gathering gold until you unlock Pepe the merchant.

Bonding with mandrakes via requests is also how you unlock their clothes, makeup, items, images (etc). What is unlocked depends on the rarity and the level. All of this you can check on the left-hand side when you chat with a mandrake. Their house upgrades into something spiffier too as you level them up -- unless you’re a 1* Jujube, then your house goes from small shack to weather-beaten, run-down-shack with a gaping hole in the roof. COME ON BUDDY LET ME GET YOU SOMETHING NICER JESUS.

Treats are bond boosters, aka one of your best friends in this grind hell. There are mandrake specific treats, which give a bigger boost for that specific mandrake, and just general treats.

I think!! (not sure since I haven’t run into them yet but) in the korean version you could get little personalized stories with the mandrakes in your town once your bond hit certain levels, similar to the stories you get from expeditions in Mandrake Boys, but shorter and you -- as the manager-- are involved and you get the option of reply choices. If it’s not in the game yet, it will be at some point, I’m sure.

Decorate your town! What you decorate it with will influence what’s called your Eco points, which are required to upgrade your town hall and make your town plot bigger. There are four types: sun, moon, cloud, and field. Eco points are only counted when they are actually placed in your town; storage doesn’t count, sorry friends. Also! You can only buy and place so many of one item to put in your town!! So no, you can’t cheat and have a maze of 800 of the same fence piece to boost that sun eco point, sorry. The max number you can have is available at the bottom of the shop screen right buy the item buy button, it’s small but you can’t miss it.

Befriend people!! You can send presents to people on your friends lists, which gives your buddies 100 gold and helps with certain achievements.

You can also visit your friend’s -- and not-yet-friend’s -- towns! It’s good to do that to see different ideas for layouts. Plus you can write on their guestbook, which also helps your achievements!

Achievements! Best way to get stars besides leveling up and using real money. You can also earn gold, titles, and summon tickets. Be sure to check it and your progress on them often.

You can summon for free every so many hours -- I want to say it’s every 20 hours? Or so? Basically just under once a day. So don’t pass up the chance! Even if you draw a mandrake you already have, it’s automatically turned into treats you can use for that mandrake.

Pepe unlocks at a certain level, I wanna say around 11? He’s your trader merchant, which will help you earn extra gold -- but you have to build his trading shop first before he opens up. He drops by for about 2 hours every so often throughout the day and what he’s willing to trade will change each time so be sure to check in. Trading with him also goes towards achievements. He only gives three trading options per visit, though, so once you fulfill those three requests of his then there’s nothing you can do until he leaves and visits again later.

Sui is in charge of clothes; you have to visit her if you want to change your appearance. Either you can buy things from her via coins/stars, or swap into whatever you unlocked from the mandrakes.

Expeditions with Alvy are another decent way to earn materials, though it costs gold and time. You pick a mandrake to send off on an adventure and, for whatever required time, they are gone from your town -- you cannot receive or fulfill any requests of theirs they have. They are gone. You gotta wait until they come back with your materials before you can interact with them again. What type of materials they gather depends on the area you send them to.

If you need more space for materials, which you will once you get the ball rolling and unlock more items to craft in the factories, your inventory can be expanded so don’t fret.

You can also expand your factory line by clicking either on an extra item when the line is full or on the + circle. Right now it costs 500 coins to add a slot.

In the shop, there are “themes” of decorations that you can view, which you unlock as you level. You can unlock them early with stars if you’re impatient.

If you put a mandrake house in storage that was once on your town plot, if you decide to put it out on the plot again you have to wait for it to build itself just like you did when you first unlocked/placed it -- so be aware.

Be sure you tap on those dandelions when you see them! 10 dandelion seeds will earn you a free turn at the windmill just beyond the last fountain -- you can get anything between materials and stars there!

If you feel up for some fun or are quick with your tapping, be sure you try the hotdog mini game by clicking on the stand. Goal is to hand out the correct food to the townfolk as quick as you can without messing up. Rewards for how far you get are listed on the left and the list resets the next day so be sure to play once a day if you can!

Let me know if there is anything to edit or just reblog and add your own tips!

Welcome to mandrake hell v2, friends.

[morshtalon]

Shin Megami Tensei If...

(Part 8 of the MegaTen thing)

So, the previous main title in the franchise managed to close off its continuity in an effective, satisfactory, appropriately big manner. We wouldn't be looking at a new mainline game for 8 years this time around, so during that time a slew of spin-offs were released, the first of which being Shin Megami Tensei If...

Given these conditions, I can only speculate the designers gave themselves significant amounts of leeway as far as actually designing new stuff was concerned. Aside from 2 or 3 new pieces, all the music is recycled from SMT 1 and 2. The ones from 2 now have an actual melodic line, something that was strangely absent in their game of origin, so technically there's something new in them. Regardless, having just finished SMT2 prior to starting this game, two whole games with the exact same battle tracks was pretty grating to me.

Random art has also been borrowed from 2 in places. Most of the demons look the same, naturally, but some character art has also been lifted and modified slightly. Again, having just gone through 2, this feels like a weird milking of 2's material, as if they had stuff left over from its development and, in a Roger Corman-esque move, decided to just throw a new game together with it while they still had time. "If..." came out the same year as SMT2 as well, so good on them for being efficient with their assets...?

The gameplay, however, has undergone some changes. Most of them, I would say, actually make the battles more involving and fun. In SMT2, there were two "rows" of character boxes, but it made little to no difference in actual gameplay. Now, the party members in the back row can't use melee attacks, having to resort instead to either special skills or their gun. Furthermore, enemies won't be able to reach your back row guys with melee attacks, and they WILL target them a lot, so you can get some use out of it as well.

Ammunition is finally not just a piece of equipment anymore, and there's actually a counter representing how many bullets you have left (there's still no magazines or reload command, though, you're only limited by the standard max item stack size of 99). Sometimes, it can be annoying to keep restocking ammo and buying it in bulk, but I liked the potential the idea has of making you have to use your special ammo sparingly. This is something that could have solved SMT1's problem of overpowered status effect bullets, for example. It's underutilized here, however, and for the most part you can just buy regular bullets and call it a day.

Magic is a lot more effective this time, but the MP costs for spells are now very steep, so you'll still want to just stick to the support classics (tarukaja, rakunda, mediama, etc.) Instead of using attack magic. I would like to see magic being more useful in the future, though, and again, the potential has been opened and, with further tweaks, things can start heading toward great places.

With these changes, one again feeling like a contrarian, this game was harder to me than 1 and 2 were. Not a lot harder, mind you, but hard enough to demand some attention. In practice, though, this just meant that it took longer for me to properly set up all the essentials for having a breezy time with SMT games. Once it was ready, it was back to auto-battle time, but not always, though. I had to stop and change my moves quite a bit, especially as it was getting close to the end. The final dungeon throws enemies at you that are much beyond the level of one just playing the game normally without grinding, and things got pretty intense up there, forcing me to go back and readjust my demons and strategies a few times. Overall, I liked the raw battle aspect of it a lot more than I had previosuly with the franchise. It was more complex and involving, and felt like the systems were maturing. They're still juvenile here, but many cool things have begun to take shape, and I appreciate SMT If... for being their herald.

However, the unfortunate truth begins to creep in as I reflect about what it was all in service of. Bluntly put: The story and level design both suck. The plot is simplistic and inexorable; what would have been an arc in a game with a bigger scope is the whole game's plot here. There's no escalation and no surprises. The game sets things up, sends you jumping through pointless hoops on a meandering journey with the barest of juicy interactions, then quickly wraps things up and sends you on your way without so much as a second thought on its own events. Sure, there are multiple paths decided by who you partner up with at the beginning of the game, but outside of a superficial character study regarding the main villain, nothing of much intellect is contributed to a player's brain that hasn't been gathered in countless other, more involving RPGs before.

The hoops you have to jump through are simplistic mini-arcs surrounding sectioned off dungeon exploration. It reminds me of the very first game of the series, it's just a collection of errands with minimal interconnectivity. They're kind of short, too, and it results in the game feeling boring and repetitive at the same time it seems reductive and minimal in hindsight.

I suppose I have to talk about the Domain of Sloth, because it's the most baffling part of the entire game. The object here is to waste time. Several people are digging different holes in the walls, and there's either 7 or 8 "steps" between their start and end points. Each person digs a step further once the moon rotates fully, and each phase of the moon takes roughly, let's be generous here, 16 steps to move one sixteenth of a full rotation. Got that?

Well, if you javen't figured it out, the object of this "dungeon" is to directionlessly walk at least 2048 steps (16x16x8) until everyone is done digging their tunnels so you can go and see what's at the end of each. It's honestly elusive to me why they would think this was a good idea for a "puzzle". Did anybody ever playtest this? If they did, I have to assume at least someone was like "this is really boring and stupid, guys, shouldn't we change this puzzle around? Make the player have some agency over its progression?" and was quickly shut down by the higher-ups because they had deadlines to meet or something.

Regardless, other than that, I kind of dig the dungeon design of the other areas. Eventually they get pretty confusing and make liberal use of darkness tiles, teleport tiles, multiple stairways, holes that drop you to a floor below, and whatever tricks the dungeon design has accrued through the franchise's history. To some, it might be rage-inducing beyond the point where they can reasonably be expected to soldier on, and I can understand that, but I like it when the game doesn't pull any punches and is not afraid of using all aspects of its design. In my mind, it they really feel like sticking with the first person pseudo 3D bull honkey all the way through 1994, they might as well use the possibilities that such a manner of constructing levels gives them. For what it's worth, in the scope of dungeon crawls, it's not nearly as bad as it could be. I managed to clear the whole game with no outside help whatsoever, while in a game like Wizardry, I can barely get past the first floor with extensive hints as to what I could do to make life easier.

SMT If... does have things going for it. The battle gameplay is better than ever, a host of new, interesting ideas were being experimented with, and the level design, in a raw kind of fashion, showcased some bits that I personally found more captivating than dungeons in SMT1 and SMT2. However, the essence of a game like this is the story glue holding it all together, and this game falls flat on its face with its reductive, meandering, fruitless narrative. It fails to give the good aspects of the game any context, and turns it into a borefest. It has nothing over SMT2 besides being a little harder, and while it sows interesting seeds for future franchise titles to harvest, in itself, it fails to rise much above the previous entries in regards to interest. The experience of actually playing Shin Megami Tensei If... is one of disappointment and frustration at seeing the design milestones that, given the scope of the SMT series, the game fails to capitalize upon. My score for it is 4.4 out of 10, which is extremely harsh considering I technically had so much good to say about it, but this is not a game that's more than the sum of its parts. It's kind of like eating raw eggs, then gulping down some flour, chewing on a block of butter, and finally, sniffing sugar off the table. Could have been a yummy cake with some care, skill and preparation, but instead it's just a catastrophic mess to your taste buds.

[livetvonfirestick-blog]

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