#Lyko launch

[the-words-we-sung]

Look at this cutie pie!!!

I'm sad that I wasn't able to meet him this afternoon but I still managed to see him and gosh he just looks stupidly perfect 🥺

[kruemel8]

OMR beauty launch at Lyko.

[dreamingofyouthemanyone]

Eyes on the Prize

Featuring: Alma of the Sweeper Guild

Type: Short Oneshot

Reasons: It's 6am

Prompt: "GN!Reader makes a bet with Alma. Loser gets to do whatever the winner wants. The game? Tag."

Warning: Pre-Game Launch Character Assumptions, Hunter and Prey-esque theme

You hadn't really thought much about it when you'd first suggested it.

Just a simple game of tag out in the forest, you'd offered. To see which of us is faster.

And oh, how confident you'd been that you'd win.

And why wouldn't you? Out of everyone in the Sweeper Guild, Lykos was really the only one who could give anyone a run for their money, being a gigantic wolf and all.

But Alma?

Even though he was as fit as a fiddle, those clothes of his would certainly hinder him in his running and he never took them off. Might even get caught in a low-hanging branch or two, something that has happened in the past.

The memory of Alma gaping at one of the several holes he'd gotten in the edges of his priest garbs after trekking all night in some forest makes you snort.

"I get a ten seconds head start, 'kay?" You remind Alma as you kick your right leg up, left hand stretching as far as it can go to reach the tip of your shoe.

Alma hums in response, absorbed in whatever passage he's reading this time in his scripture.

"You better prepare yourself to take my chores for this month," you tease, bumping elbows with him to get his attention.

Finally, Alma raises his gaze to meet yours. It still surprises you how much his eyes remind you of warm honey, a stark match to his easygoing character.

"And you better prepare yourself for my appetite," he banters back, grinning just wide enough to show a glint of teeth.

You roll your eyes even as a shudder runs down your spine. Truly, Alma could shrink your wallet dry.

"You wish," you scoff.

Oh, it really should have been you wishing.

Minutes later finds you panting as you hide behind a tree with a thick trunk, hand clenched to ur chest as your other one grips the tough bark.

Shit, shit, shit, is a continuous string in your mind as you glance left and right, focusing on any sound other than the wind and rustling of the leaves above.

Never in your life had you expected a friendly game of tag to turn so serious, but here you are, heart racing a mile away as you struggle to catch your breath because who knows when he'll—

"Boo."

A strangled scream gets stuck in your throat as you whip to your right, meeting eyes that were once warm pots of honey but are now smoldering pieces of gold fitted around dark pupils.

Instinctively, you take a step back, your foot crunching the grass beneath it and making you flinch at the sudden sound.

"Ahaha," you laugh nervously, the hairs at the back of your neck practically standing straight like a platoon of soldiers. "I guess you found me, huh?" You try to keep your voice even, to not alert the man in front of you.

The man who has turned off his Alma switch to make way for one that you had completely forgotten in your excitement to shove your chores on someone else.

Karma tilts his head at you, his braid following that movement, and god.

How could you ever think Lykos would be your only worry in this game of tag?

"Why don't we head to that barbecue place you like, huh?" You mention, because if there is one thing both Alma and Karma could agree on, then it would definitely be about food. "I'm sure you're starving for something after all that running, right?"

If anything, rather than looking placated by the offer, Karma narrows his eyes, displeased.

"Starving..." He murmurs, taking a step forward to which you mirror with a step back. His lips twitch. "I don't think I can wait that long," he says, taking another step forward.

Then another.

And another.

You know you're fucked when your back hits a tree. Fear seizes your heart then and, as you see Karma reach out for you with a hand, you close your eyes, body stiffening, and mentally prepare yourself to fight if anything drastic happens.

One second.

Two seconds.

Three seconds?

When Karma doesn't even touch you after a while, you pry your eyes open to see what's the hold-up.

A gaze still too cold to be considered honeyed catches your gaze, the depths in them mesmerizing, and though you're able to register the fact that Karma is much too close, your eyes flick downwards to the shiny red fruit in front of you.

You're about to wonder if Karma is offering you that fruit when the man in question presses pink lips to it, pecking it softly before that wicked mouth opens wide enough for sharp teeth to dig into the firm flesh.

Crunch.

You watch as Karma takes a bite out of the fruit, chewing slowly, all the whilst holding your gaze.

A thin trail of juice slips free from the corner of his lip, trailing down his chin to pearl prettily against the edges of his jaw.

You realize belatedly that Karma has started talking, and you know that he knows how distracted you've been with the way a smirk curls his lips.

"Well?" He raises a brow. "Aren't we going to that barbecue place? I thought I should get a snack along the way, before I get too hungry." His smirk widens.

Suffice to say, you're never challenging him to a game of tag ever again.

[recentanimenews]

FEATURE: The Anime Stars of Genshin Impact

Image via miHoYo

  Genshin Impact has lived up to its name in that it has indeed made an impact upon the gaming world. Launched on September 26, the free-to-play open-world game has amassed $245 million in only its first month, and that's from Android and iOS alone. I'm not ashamed to say that I have sunk an unholy number of hours into this game. Why do I like this game so much? Perhaps the biggest reason Genshin Impact is so appealing to me is that I am an anime fan.

  Voices from all over the world of anime can be heard in Genshin Impact, from Naruto to My Hero Academia to currently airing seasonal anime. Being able to "hear" your favorite anime character in-game is part of what makes this game so great. Let's take a look at some of the talented people from the anime industry whose voices bring the characters of Genshin Impact to life.

  Paimon (Aoi Koga)

    Paimon is the face of Genshin Impact. No, literally, her face is on the launcher icon. Imagine my shock when I found out she is voiced by Aoi Koga, the voice of Kaguya Shinomiya from Kaguya-sama: Love is War. The intimidatingly smart rich girl Kaguya and the squeaky and energetic (and kinda stupid) Paimon couldn't be more different. Props to Koga for making both work. Koga has also voiced Elulu from Cautious Hero, Yuri Miyata from TWOCAR, and Sora Kaneshiro from Angel's 3Piece.

Male Traveler (Shun Horie) 

  One of the first actions you take in the game (in most games, for that matter) is to choose your character. In Genshin Impact, you choose between two world-traveling twins, who the other characters simply refer to as "Traveler." The male Traveler (whose official name is Aether) is voiced by Shun Horie. I personally recognize him as Enta from Sarazanmai, but most would know him as Kazuya ("Kazuya-kuuuuun!") from Rent-a-Girlfriend. Some of his other roles include Ichiro Suzuki aka Satou Pendragon from Death March to the Parallel World Rhapsody, Rat from Juni Taisen: Zodiac War, and Hacker from this season's Akudama Drive.

Female Traveler (Aoi Yuuki)

    What about the female Traveler (whose official name is Lumine)? Turns out she's voiced by Aoi Yuuki, who voices ... Mami from the same show. The irony of this coincidence is not lost on me. Yuuki is probably best known for voicing Madoka Kaname, the protagonist of Puella Magi Madoka Magica. To me, however, her most memorable role was as the titular Boogiepop in 2019's Boogiepop and Others; an unforgettable performance. She's voiced a number of other notable roles, including Tamaki from Fire Force, Tsuyu Asui (Froppy) from My Hero Academia, Tanya from Saga of Tanya the Evil, Tornado from One-Punch Man, Kayo from ERASED, Yuuki Konno from Sword Art Online II, and Hachiman's sister Komachi from My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU. 

Amber (Manaka Iwami)

  Image via Madman Entertainment

  Amber is one of the game's most popular characters, owing to her cheerful and optimistic personality. She is voiced by Manaka Iwami, the voice of Teresa Wagner in Tada Never Falls in Love, Lykos in Children of the Whales, Mizuho in Wave, Listen to Me!, and Maquia in Maquia: When the Promised Flower Blooms.

Kaeya (Kohsuke Toriumi)

    The cool and charismatic Kaeya is, surprisingly enough, voiced by Kohsuke Toriumi, known as the voice of the hotheaded Kiba from Naruto. He has also voiced Shunsuke Imaizumi from Yowamushi Pedal, Mista from JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Golden Wind, and Cecil from the Uta no Prince-sama franchise.

Lisa (Rie Tanaka)

    A lazy and flirtatious scholar with electrical powers, Lisa is voiced by the experienced Rie Tanaka, who one might easily recognize as Lacus Clyne from Mobile Suit Gundam SEED. The gentle, "sisterly" voice of Lacus suits Lisa's personality to a T. Tanaka has also voiced Yomi from Azumanga Daioh, Chii from Chobits, Sammy from Time of Eve, Maria from Hayate the Combat Butler, Chizuru from Squid Girl, and Suiginto from Rozen Maiden.

Barbara (Akari Kito)

    The first Akari Kito role that catches the eye is her performance as Kotoko Iwanaga in In/Spectre; both she and Barbara have a near-identical dressing sense, with their frilly white frock and cap. Kito has also voiced Nezuko in Demon Slayer, Nene Yashiro in Toilet-Bound Hanako-kun, Kaho Hinata in BLEND-S, and Suzune Horikita in Classroom of the Elite. You can also look forward to hearing her as Tsukasa in TONIKAWA and Adachi in Adachi and Shimamura this season.

Beidou (Ami Koshimizu)

    Beidou is voiced by Ami Koshimizu, voice of Ryuko from Kill la Kill and Kallen from Code Geass — two popular characters from two of the biggest shows of our times. Some of her other roles include Holo from Spice and Wolf, Tenma from School Rumble, Nodoka from Saki, and Shizuri from A Certain Scientific Railgun.

Bennett (Ryota Osaka)

    Bennett's design coupled with his "passionate" and "righteous" personality screams "protagonist" to me. And that's exactly what his voice actor Ryota Osaka delivers, being the voice of Eijun Sawamura from Ace of the Diamond, Nariyuki Yuiga from We Never Learn: BOKUBEN, and Ryu Yamada from Yamada-kun and the Seven Witches. His other roles include Zen Wistalia in Snow White with the Red Hair, Keiji Akaashi in Haikyu!!, Yuki Sanada in Tsuritama, Nagate in Knights of Sidonia, Ikki Kurogane in Chivalry of a Failed Knight, and Sadao Mao in The Devil is a Part-Timer!.

Chongyun (Soma Saito)

    Chongyun is voiced by Soma Saito, perhaps best known as Yamaguchi from Haikyu!!. However, his breakout performance was as young Twelve in Terror in Resonance. Other notable roles include Tatsumi from Akame ga Kill, Adlet Mayer from Rokka: Braves of the Six Flowers, Doppio from JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Golden Wind, and William James Moriarty from the currently-airing Moriarty the Patriot.

Diluc (Kensho Ono)

    Diluc is widely considered to be the best character in the game from a gameplay perspective. He is voiced by Kensho Ono, whose most famous voice performance is undoubtedly Giorno Giovanna, the protagonist of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Golden Wind. Ono is also known for his performance as the titular Kuroko from Kuroko's Basketball. Other roles include Canute from Vinland Saga, Arata from ReLIFE, Mikazuki from My Roommate is a Cat, Slaine Troyard from Aldnoah.Zero, Tanaka from Tanaka-kun is Always Listless, and Akutagawa from Bungo Stray Dogs. 

Fischl (Maaya Uchida)

    In what has to be the most on-point casting in this game, Maaya Uchida — best known as the voice of delusional eyepatch-wearing chunibyo (middle-schooler) Rikka from Love, Chunibyo, and Other Delusions — voices a delusional eyepatch-wearing chunibyo in Fischl. Well done, miHoYo, well done. She also voices Hiyori from Noragami, Norman from The Promised Neverland, Catarina Claes from My Next Life as a Villainess, Yoshioka from Blue Spring Ride, and Rui from Domestic Girlfriend. 

Jean (Chiwa Saito)

    Chiwa Saito (the voice of Jean) went on to become one of my favorite voice actors after I heard her as Hitagi in Bakemonogatari, Yona in Yona of the Dawn, and Homura in Puella Magi Madoka Magica. Some of her other performances include Aika in Aria the Animation, Chloe von Einzbern in Fate/Kaleid Liner Prisma Illya 2wei, and Schierke in 2016's Berserk.

Keqing (Eri Kitamura)

    The energetic and hardworking Keqing is played by Eri Kitamura, known for voicing such energetic characters as Mina Ashido in My Hero Academia, Yui in Angel Beats, and Sayaka in Puella Magi Madoka Magica. She also voices Ami in Toradora!, "Chief" Yachiyo in Wagnaria!!, and Bea in Pokemon: Twilight Wings.

Klee (Misaki Kuno)

    Klee has quickly become a fan favorite, partly due to her short stature and childlike demeanor. She is quite appropriately voiced by Misaki Kuno, known for voicing "childlike" characters such as Hawk from The Seven Deadly Sins, Momo Kawamoto from March Comes in Like a Lion, Shio from Happy Sugar Life, Serara from Log Horizon, Niko from Kiznaiver, and Akane from Durarara!! x2.

Mona (Konomi Kohara)

    Is it a coincidence that this game has both Aoi Koga AND Konomi Kohara (who voice Kaguya and Chika in Kaguya-sama: Love is War)? I think not. Kohara's other notable roles include Akane from Tsukigakirei, Kasumi from Asobi Asobase - workshop of fun -, Mina Hibino from Karakai Jozu no Takagi-san, Shamiko from The Demon Girl Next Door, and Tsukasa's sister Chitose from TONIKAWA.

Ningguang (Sayaka Ohara)

    Sayaka Ohara is known for her deep, "mature" voice — an apt fit for Ningguang. While Ohara's best-known voice role is probably as Erza Scarlet in the Fairy Tail series, she has also delivered iconic performances as Beatrice from the Umineko When They Cry visual novels and Yuuko in xxxHolic. Other well-known roles include Irisviel from Fate/Zero, Alice from Aria the Animation, Milly Ashford from Code Geass, and Mrs. Yuigahama (Gaha-mama) in My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU.

Noelle (Kanon Takao)

    Kanon Takao has not done a whole lot of voice roles but there are still some recognizable titles on their resume, such as Hina Tsurugi from the recently-aired Diary of Our Days at the Breakwater, Latina from If It's for My Daughter, I'd Even Defeat a Demon Lord, Aku from Demon Lord, Retry!, and Linnea from The Master of Ragnarok & Blesser of Einherjar.  

Qiqi (Yukari Tamura)

    Qiqi is voiced by Yukari Tamura, who shot to fame as the voice of protagonist Nanoha Takamachi from the influential magical girl franchise Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha. Her other significant voice roles are as Togame in Katanagatari, Tenten in Naruto, Rika Furude in When They Cry, Io Euclase in GRANBLUE FANTASY: The Animation, Mai Kawasumi in Kanon, Yamada in B Gata H Kei, and Jibril in No Game No Life. 

Razor (Kouki Uchiyama)

    Kouki Uchiyama is known for his soft-spoken roles, especially villainous ones like Meruem from Hunter x Hunter, Shigaraki from My Hero Academia, and Rui from Demon Slayer. Even his non-villainous roles have that serious, soft-spoken nature to them — Tsukishima from Haikyu!!, Smile from Ping Pong the Animation, Natsuno from Shiki, Yu Otosaka from Charlotte, and Toi from Sarazanmai. He is a perfect fit for Razor, a menacing wolf-boy of few words.

Sucrose (Akane Fujita)

    Akane Fujita (the voice actor for curious bio-alchemist Sucrose) had her breakout year in 2017 when she played Sagiri Izumi in Eromanga Sensei and Sistine Fibel in Akashic Records of Bastard Magic Instructor.

Venti (Ayumu Murase)

    Venti's naive and mischievous personality makes him the perfect fit for Ayumu Murase, best known as the voice of the cheerful and simpleminded Shoyo Hinata of Haikyu!! fame. What interests me most, however, is the fact that Murase also voiced protagonist Kazuki from Sarazanmai — between Venti, Razor, and the male Traveler, it looks like we have the entire Sarazanmai main trio assembled! Murase has also voiced Shun in From the New World, Iruma in Welcome to Demon School! Iruma-kun, and Ryo Asuka in Devilman Crybaby.

Xiangling (Ari Ozawa)

    I was very excited to hear that Xiangling would be voiced by Ari Ozawa, whose performance as Chiyo Sakura in Monthly Girls' Nozaki-kun (her first major role) is one of the finest I have ever seen. Ozawa has also voiced Hina Hikawa in BanG Dream! S2, Kirin Todo in The Asterisk War, Mao in Hinamatsuri, Papi in Monster Musume: Everyday Life With Monster Girls, Benitoite in Land of the Lustrous, Lynn May in Plunderer, and Conny in The Promised Neverland. 

Xingqiu (Junko Minagawa)

    It is quite common in the voice acting industry for male characters, especially younger ones, to be voiced by female VAs. Such is the case with refined bookworm Xingqiu. This is not the first time Junko Minagawa has voiced a male character — her first role came as Ryoma Echizen from the long-running The Prince of Tennis. Her other roles include Oz Vessalius in PandoraHearts, Cornelia in Code Geass, Sailor Uranus in Sailor Moon Crystal, and Jeanne d'Arc in Drifters. 

  As more characters are added to the game, we can expect more talented voice work from the people behind the scenes. Further updates have teased us with the possibility of such giants as Saori Hayami and Yoshitsugu Matsuoka joining the cast. Can't wait!

Who is your favorite Genshin Impact character? Let us know in the comments below!  

Do you love writing? Do you love anime? If you have an idea for a features story, pitch it

By: news+feed@crunchyroll.com

[bamfdaddio]

X-Men Abridged: 1969

The X-Men, those dino-obsessed mutants that have sworn to protect a world that hates and fears them, are a cultural juggernaut with a long, tangled history. Want to unravel this tapestry? Then read the Abridged X-Men!

(X-Men 52 - 63) - written by Arnold Drake, Roy Thomas, Linda Fite and Don Heck, drawn by Werner Roth, Barry Smith, Tom Palmer and Neal Adams.

step aside, Wall-E, these Sentinels have nothing on your range of emotions (X-Men 59)

When we last left our X-Men, they were smack-dab in the middle of a big, convoluted plot! Let me refresh your memory:

The X-Men had to beat a hasty retreat;

Polaris had joined her father Magneto

Magneto was injured;

Iceman had quit the team because he still had faith in Polaris;

Eric the Red appeared, making overtures towards Magneto.

And the whirlwind continues! The X-Men (sans Iceman and Cyclops) sneak back into Magneto’s base! Eric the Red reveals himself to be Cyclops! They set a trap for Mesmero! Which is sprung by the wayward Iceman! But he has pertinent information! Lorna is not Magneto’s daughter, she’s just an orphan! Bobby (hilariously) has the papers to prove it!

magneto has now fucked up the relationships he has with all of his children before any of them knew he was their father. mad props (X-Men 52)

Lorna breathes a sigh or relief, glad that she doesn’t have to be evil anymore. (Because obviously, evil is hereditary. And even though she keeps sensing everyone’s ‘evil vibrations’, she stayed with Magneto out of her own volition. SO.) Without Polaris’ power to back them up, Magneto and Mesmero flee.

After this, the X-Men come back to live at the mansion again. No muss, no fuss. Roy Thomas, who’s returning to the book, wastes very little time undoing some stupid decisions made last year. In fact, 1969 has a pretty strong showing, with plotlines flowing almost naturally into one another, a bigger cast and the introduction of one of my favourite villains. It’s pretty palatable.

The one snag is a superfluous issue where the X-Men fight Blastaar and Jean kills someone. (Never comes up again, don’t sweat it.) I wouldn’t even mention it, were it not for this moment where Jean uses some super duper mind machine:

does this remind you of... anything? no? just me then (X-Men 53)

So, anyway, remember Scott’s beloved brother Alex?

i love that jean is all smiles about scotts terrible and all-encompassing ability to repress everything (X-Men 54)

I can sort of understand why that whole third Summers brother was such a huge secret for so long, considering Alex was not even kept a mystery and it still took SIX YEARS for him to be revealed.

Alex is barely introduced before he gets the old plot-bat to the face, getting mixed up in a fight when some pharaoh claims all mutants are pharaohs, being children of the Sun? Apparently, all of them are powered by cosmic rays i.e. the sunlight. Alex is kidnapped, as is Cyclops, and just as Cyclops ponders how happy he is that Alex is not a mutant despite him having the X-Gene, he is attacked by the pharaoh and Alex saves his brother using newly minted energy powers! Oh, the irony.

when I say that I want Alex to wear his old costume, I obviously mean this sexy Egyptian skirt-ensemble (X-Men 55)

Alex and the pharaoh are apparently two sides of the same coin, being charged by the same cosmic rays: when one waxes, the other wanes. The pharaoh locks Alex away in a tomb, cutting him off from those sweet, sweet sunbeams and taking all the power for himself. Like a Power Ranger villain, he grows in size and becomes… the Living Monolith! The X-Men take him down while Alex accidentally blows up the Living Monolith’s temple.

Alex, afraid of his own power, flees into the desert and is apprehended by… the Sentinels?! Surprise, bitch! Lorna is also abducted by them out of her New York apartment. Their next victim is Iceman, and they deliver him to… Larry Trask! (Son of.)

My favorite thing about Sentinels is that, despite the fact that they are objectively huge, they are still able to sneak up on people. Apparently, these murderous periwinkle toaster ovens are so quiet, you only notice when they rip open a roof to get at you. (X-Men 59)

Larry Trask hates mutants because:

They killed his father;

He’s a racist.

Determined not to repeat the sins of his father, Larry has a helmet with which he can use to take direct control of the sentinels, so hopefully they won’t rise up and rebel this time. Somewhere, Asimov is rolling his eyes.

On live television, Larry Trask baits Iceman into attacking him, trying to smear him and mutantkind in general. In the mean time, the Sentinels strike everywhere, taking Unus, Angel, Banshee, the Living Monolith… Even Wanda and Pietro. It´s a literal who´s who of sixties mutandom! The only exempt ones are the Changeling and Magneto, the latter only because he’s been a robot for a while now. Mesmero is just as shocked by this unnecessary retcon as we are.

Just as Larry orders the Sentinels to kill every mutant in the compound (including Bobby, Lorna and Alex), a family heirloom is ripped off his neck. Apparently, this medallion was some kind of protection: the late Bolivar Trask knew little Larry was a mutant and tried to hide this fact from the Sentinels.

The Sentinels turn on Larry faster than you can say “Is being betrayed by AI a hereditary trait?” The X-Men intervene and, after unleashing the might of Havok, they end up in a debate with the Sentinels, turning their own logic against them:

Protecting humans is more important than killing mutants.

So, to protect humanity, they must destroy the cause of mutation.

The Sentinels promptly launch themselves into the sun. Neat.

On a side note, the relationship between Jean and Scott is shelved for now? It seems like they’re dating, but also not? It’s such weird storytelling, especially because their annoying will they or won’t they has gotten so much focus in the past and the relationship between Lorna and Bobby is crystal clear:

Scott. Jean. Is it really going to take Chris Claremont to DTR you two? Fuck’s sake (X-Men 60)

Because Havok’s powers still threaten to overwhelm him, the X-Men contact a former colleague of Professor X… Professor Lykos.

Let me tell you about the sheer, amazing sixties wonder that is Professor Lykos. Originally, Thomas envisioned him as a vampire, but the Comics Code forbade vampires. So, instead, Lykos ends up a human who was bitten by a magical pterodactyl at a young age and who can only survive by draining other people’s life force. He can also hypnotize people into doing his bidding.

Yes.

Lykos suspects mutants might be the cure to his strange, strange ailment, and begins to drain Alex. But to his (and our) sheer delight, he turns into a pterodactyl!

I just love this damn idiot so much (X-Men 60)

Be like Sauron! Choose evil!

The X-Men barely figure in this plot. Ordinarily, I’d be bothered by the fact that these three issues are more about the villain than the heroes, but given that it’s Sauron, I’ll let it slide.

See, Sauron’s tale is a tragic one. Not only is he a weird pterovampire, he is also in love with a sweet girl whose father forbids him from seeing Dr. Lykos, because he is… poor! Gasp! (Those billionaires, not even a doctor is good enough for their daughters.) Sauron, slightly corrupted by his dino-side, realize that it’s a lot easier to just kill Tanya’s father than to impress him by robbing banks for cash.

When he attacks the man and sees the reaction of his star-crossed lover, Lykos realizes Sauron is far too much in control. Sauron is too evil! Lykos/Sauron promptly flees to a cold, distant region, the same place where he got bitten all those years ago, figuring he’ll stay in isolation and starve himself of the human energy he needs. But, just as he is utterly ravenously out of his mind, Tanya finds him! In order to protect her, Sauron sacrifices himself by throwing himself off the mountain… straight into the Savage Land..

The X-Men (sans Angel) follow him into the Savage Land. (It’s unclear why? To retrieve his corpse? Annoyingly, in the next arc, Sauron is not brought up again.) There, they run into Ka-Zar, who’s embroiled in a fight with… prehistoric mutants?

Angel, meanwhile, follows the X-Men in their footsteps, only to end up on the other side of the fight, with a strange white-haired man named the Creator who claims to be the mentor of these Savage Land mutates. Angel pledges him his wings, gets a snazzy new suit and flies off to fight the X-Men. Only then does the man secretly reveal himself: he’s… Magneto! (The true one, not a robot.) And he wishes to rule the savage land!

Angel and the other X-Men briefly fight, but soon the situation is sorted out and the X-Men go and confront the Creator. Magneto, who is way too hammy to ever hide his true nature for too long, reveals himself and the fact that he created these… mutates, including the creepy Brainchild. (He’ll become important later.) The X-Men defeat Magneto and he seemingly dies again.

Without Magneto there, the mutates revert to just being regular cave(wo)men:

I love that Ka-Zar, WHO HAILS FROM THE SAVAGE LAND HIMSELF, has no scruples othering his own kin. (X-Men 63)

The comic accidentally ends on a sad note: the X-Men confessing that they’d give up on their powers in a heartbeat. Not to nitpick, but while I buy that coming from Beast and Cyclops, this issue is less clear-cut when it comes to Jean and Bobby, who have a much better handle on their powers and, more importantly, present as human. It could potentially be an interesting issue to explore, but instead, it is swept under the rug, presenting the team (once again) as a boring but unified front. It remains one of my critiques of this era: the X-Men barely get fleshed out as individuals, other than the broadest of strokes (Leader; Rich Boy; Joker; Smart Guy; Girl). Pity.

Didn’t you take Art History? One thing that has definitely improved is the overall art-style. Artists experiment with panels and splash pages, stepping out of the traditional 2 by 3-grid that Kirby loved so much. It makes the stories more dynamic and, because the writers get more issues to tell their stories, the artists get more space to do their art.

I mean, check this ish out:

Fuck yeah, mental powers represent. (X-Men 57)

Ugliest Costume: None! I really like Havok’s black bodysuit with white stripes and the Sentinels design looks so much less dorkier than before. A+.

Best new character: Sauron, duh. Does he team-up with Dr. Doom at some point? That would be some ham-to-ham combat.

Most audacious retcon: There’s a second Summers brother?

What to read: 57 to 59, which is the plotline dealing with the much improved Sentinels. 60 and 61 if you have a soft spot for vampiric pterodactyls.

[bittersweetbiscotti]

Wolf-Eared Guardian

Humans have relied on the Traveler for a long time, centuries even. It brought about a new Golden Age where we lived longer, traveled through space, and had excellent credit scores.

Naturally, that all comes crashing down.

Think about it, a giant goddess orb comes along and launches humanity to be the best they can be like overnight, comparatively. All world problems are solved... for the most part. The human race is thriving, and they thrive for a long time. And then all of that is all suddenly, violently, taken away. Survivors are forced to huddle in tiny enclaves as their world literally collapses all around them. Then the alien invasions begin: first the Fallen arrive, then the Cabal, then the fucking HIVE. Okay, looks like dead humans are resurrected by the Traveler to serve as heroes of humanity, yay... oh, wait, no, turns out these first Guardians are fucking assholes and become the Warlords who inflict even more chaos and destruction.

Desperate times. Very desperate times.

Which call for desperate measures.

So the surviving scientists huddle together in their secret scientific meetings. They can’t rely on the Traveler anymore. There are still many sentiments that relying on the Traveler was a mistake in the first place. And they can’t rely on the next risen human to not be an epic asshole, too. They have to do what they can with the humans who are living right now and keep them alive. Give the Lightless a chance to fend for themselves and survive, or die, on their own terms.

Here’s the thing about desperation. It’s thinking on panic-mode and panic is very, very shortsighted.

Recombinant DNA (or whatever inserting genes from one organism to another is called... DNA magic I guess) is not a new science. It goes all the back to pre-Golden Age, actually, when all the weebs evolved into geneticists or microbiologists or whathaveyou so they can finally bring catgirls into existence. And now, centuries later after a period of technological miracles that jumped our civilization forward by millennia, humanity has the sophisticated technology to make DNA magic much more plausible and less harmful to the subject. 

But so much damage has been done to these labs, and some of them are even located all the way the fuck over on other planets, and well, not a lot of ships available during the Dark Age. Not to mention Clovis Bray kinda hoarded all the best stuff for himself, jerkface. Access to this technology these days is difficult, and many parts have to be replaced with inferior ancient technology, or even alien technology stolen from the Fallen because it looks correct, because that’s all they have. There is no time for adequate testing. Subjects range from babies to adults. Some are volunteers. Some are voluntold. All for the good of human survival.

The purpose of DNA magic is to basically force humanity to a more evolved form because we don’t have time to sit around and wait for Nature to do it the ol’ fashioned way. They insert genes of various animals for desirable traits into human DNA: Enhanced speed and strength. Keener, sharper senses. Night vision! like we were meant to have but then cars were invented. Apex predators like wolves and big cats are the most common. Reptiles are also used. Even certain herbivores like red deer, bovine, rabbits. Eagles, owls, and corvids because why not give humans the power of flight? Some go full on chimera with several DNA strands from different species merged together because we’ve never seen this story before and it will definitely not end in absolute pain.

Some scientists don’t even stop with animals. Some of them try to experiment with the DNA of their enemies. Eliksni, Cabal, Hive. Why not go all way pushing against human limitations?

Remember when I said operating on panic-mode is an extremely short-sighted way to operate?

Yeah, so, many subjects die, actually, the very humans they were trying to keep alive in the first place. Most who survive become monsters who destroy their cages and the scientists and escape into the wild where Nature takes care of the rest. Very, very few actually fulfill those naive expectations that created them in the first place, and even then there are still problems. Eventually, during a later period of the Dark Age, the Iron Lords shut down the facilities, rescue the human subjects who haven’t succumbed to the experiments just yet, and mercy kill any who had.

Those are the stories, anyway. Maybe the reality is still much different. 

Some of those labs still exist to this day. Some of them have even relocated to other planets. Because there are many who still don’t want to rely on the Traveler or the Guardians for their survival. There are many Lightless determined to prove their own worth.

Desperate times.

**

This is just a silly fun thought I had and using the lore to justify it. Feel to use what’s written here for your own backstories if you want. This was totally not made to give Lyko wolf ears what?

[multiverseforger]

Karl Lykos was the son of an explorer's guide. As a teenager, he accompanied his father to Tierra del Fuego as the elder Lykos guided a wealthy client named Mr. Anderssen and Anderssen's young daughter, Tanya. While defending Tanya from mutant pterodactyls, Karl was bitten by one of the creatures. During his recovery, he discovered that he could now drain the life-force of other organisms. He found himself repeatedly tempted to use his new power, feeling that he needed to drain life energy from other humans or animals to survive.[6]

When Karl's father died, Mr. Anderssen took Karl into his home in thanks for rescuing Tanya. As the years passed, Karl and Tanya fell in love, but Tanya's wealthy father would not allow her to date Karl because of his lack of wealth. In an effort to win Mr. Anderssen's support, Karl went to medical school and became a physician, geneticist, and hypnotherapist. He treated patients through hypnosis, but secretly robbed them of energy at the same time.[6]

First transformation into Sauron and life in the Savage LandEdit

Dr. Lykos became a colleague of Professor Charles Xavier, and first encountered the X-Men when they sought treatment for Havok. Absorbing Havok's mutant energy transformed him into a vampiric, pterodactyl-like monster with human intelligence and superhuman hypnotic powers. He named himself Sauron, after J.R.R. Tolkien's villain (also reminiscent of the word saurus, Latin for lizard),[6] and battled the X-Men, as a would-be conqueror.[7] When he realized that his transformation would threaten Tanya, he fled to Tierra del Fuego. Without energy to absorb, Sauron turned back into Karl. When Tanya tracked him down, Karl threw himself off a cliff to avoid harming her.[7]

Karl was presumed dead, but had survived unconscious on a ledge below. He journeyed to the Savage Land and survived in human form by only draining less developed animals. He befriended Ka-Zar and used his medical skills over many months to care for Ka-Zar's allies. But when several X-Men were stranded in the Savage Land, Lykos was overwhelmed with the desire to absorb the powerful life energy of mutants. He transformed into Sauron once again after absorbing Storm's energy.[8] He reverted to human form during a battle with the X-Men, and Ka-Zar explained that Lykos was an ally.[9]

Tanya learned that Karl had survived the leap from the cliff. She joined Angel and Peter Parker on a journey to find Karl in the Savage Land. They found Karl, however the Savage Land Mutates used a Genetic Transformer to mutate Angel, Spider-Man and Tanya into animal-like forms. The destruction of the machine forced Lykos to drain energy from the three in an attempt to restore their true forms. Although his gambit succeeded, he subsequently reverted to his Sauron form and joined the Mutates and Zaladane. The X-Men traveled to the Savage Land, and Sauron helped to capture them. However, the X-Men escaped and defeated Sauron and the Mutates. They brought Lykos back to the United States, and at the X-Mansion Professor X seemingly cured Lykos of his condition. Karl and Tanya decided to resume their relationship and a normal life.[10]

Second transformation into SauronEdit

Lykos was again transformed into Sauron when the Toad used a device of his own design to force Lykos to drain the life energy of Tanya, which killed her in the process. Sauron then joined the Toad's Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, despite the fact that he is not a mutant. Alongside them, he battled X-Force, and slew Cannonball. Sauron was apparently shot dead by Cable, and his body was thrown by Cable to the Morlocks.[11] Sauron was later revealed to have survived the gunshot wound, and battled X-Factor.[12] Sauron went on to menace the X-Men and other heroes on a number of occasions.[13]

Later, Sauron had the Savage Land Mutates kidnap Havok, hoping to use his energy to satiate his hunger. When his teammates Cyclops, Phoenix, and Polaris came to the rescue, Sauron had both Summers brothers placed in an energy-transferring machine, and the mix of energy mutated Sauron even further, making him larger and stronger than ever. Phoenix tried to engage Sauron on the Astral Plane, but it was Lykos' personality who prevailed, making a suicide leap into the abyss of his own mind, taking his hated alter ego with him. As a result, Sauron's mind appeared to be stuck in an animalistic state.[14]

Sauron became a prisoner of the Weapon X program jumpstarted by director Malcolm Colcord. Being held there against his will, Sauron started up a revolution with fellow agent Brent Jackson and dethroned Colcord as director, giving that position to Jackson. Sauron in return became a more powerful villain on the team, but vanished after Weapon X rival John Sublime launched an attack on Weapon X, and the group had to go underground.[volume & issue needed]

After being imprisoned in the Raft for refusing to participate in any more Weapon X assignments, Sauron escaped during a jailbreak concocted by the Skrulls. For a time the Avengers believed he and the Mutates were responsible for the breakout, and pursued him to the Savage Land.[15] Sauron and his allies there briefly held the new team of Avengers hostage, but the team freed itself thanks to Iron Man's voice-activated armor, and were about to interrogate him, when he was shot through the head by the second Black Widow. Sauron had absorbed Wolverine's regenerative healing factor and recovered from his injury, just in time to be soundly defeated by the New Avengers. He was taken back into custody, but not before returning the favor to Black Widow by burning her with his fiery breath. Sauron was placed in S.H.I.E.L.D. custody and Maria Hill planned to return him to Weapon X.[16]

Sauron allied with Ka-Zar, Shanna the She-Devil, Zabu, and the natives when the Skrulls were invading the Savage Land.[17] Sauron was among the villains analyzed by Quasimodo for Norman Osborn.[18] Sauron later had a fight with Wolverine.[19]

Amphibius later tells Sauron and the other Savage Land Mutates that Magneto's Asteroid M has risen from the sea, but they didn't want to go find him. Worm took control of Barbarus, Lupo, and Sauron and commandeered a ship to go find Magneto. When threatened by the Japanese military, Sauron attacked an armored car, causing an international incident. Cannonball, Sunspot and Warlock investigated and found the Savage Land Mutates on the deck of the ship. Cannonball managed to defeat Sauron while the other New Mutants defeated the Savage Land Mutates. Upon learning why the Savage Land Mutates were on the ship, Karma told Worm, Sauron, Barbarus and Lupo that they were in charge of Asteroid M and Magneto. Worm then orders the Savage Land Mutates to return to the Savage Land.[20]

Upon becoming the new leader of the Japanese underworld, Sabretooth held a party that Sauron attended with other enemies of Wolverine. Wolverine arrived and beat them up.[21]

Kade Kilgore of the seventh incarnation of the Hellfire Club recruited Sauron to become a staff member at the Hellfire Academy.[22]

Sauron later collaborates with Stegron in a plan to turn humanity into dinosaurs where they fought Spider-Man and the mutant students from the Jean Grey School for Higher Learning. The duo's plans are unraveled by their own infighting, purposely exacerbated by their mutual attraction to Shark-Girl, who caused their powers to neutralize each other.[23][24]

Lykos returns working in a military laboratory to enhance his powers, until one of his colleagues is contacted by the Scarlet Spider.[25] Now able to store mutant energy to trigger his transformations at will, Lykos turns into Sauron and attacks the vigilante, but although he wounds the man the Spider came to the base to collect, Sauron is defeated and webbed up to be taken away.[26]

[darrowsrising]

At the end of DA it is believed that Darrow died during the fall of Heliopolis, how long in the next book will it be believed that Darrow died in the fall of Heliopolis?

Aaa...ok, so that was what you meant. I don't think it will be necessary for Virginia to break the news. Darrow will probably fuck a celestial body up - Luna, for example - and break it to everyone in style:

That he is alive and no one fucks with Reaper. Maybe even rescue the Howlers while there (kidding, if he goes to Luna, it's to rescue Sevro, Clown and Pebble).

Virginia does know that Darrow is on his way, though. The journey in itself is still risky, though as they go through enemy territory.

So yeah...not that long. Darrow never does things by halves. So if he wants to tell the world he is some sort of immortal god that you just can't kill, even if you beat him into a pulp...he'll do it with some crazy move like...blowing up the Citadel or launching an Iron Rain on Earth and make the Rim his bitch...whatever extravagant powerful move you can think of, add 10 and you have Darrow of Lykos, Reaper of Mars back from the dead and bringing hell with him!

If he cannot bend heaven, he will raise hell...

Ok, I am done...you just made me think of a hell of a lot of aesthetics in the span of 2 minutes! Hell! I cannot wait!

[thefvture-blog]

@svperstars || little wolf kids

             if anyone could see the way kris was stalking the halls, they’d be sure the little wolf was hunting something. in a way, she was. she was hunting for lykos. it was rare that she got to see the other wolf, and she was EXCITED. so sue her. as she caught sight of the younger man, kris broke into a run before launching herself at the other wolf. she wrapped her arms around his shoulders. barely stopping her momentum from knocking them both off their feet.

      “little wolf! hi!” she said with a laugh as she laid a kiss to his cheek.

[playchoices]

Inside Choices is a behind-the-scenes blog from the Pixelberry team!

With Choices nearing its one year anniversary, The Crown & The Flame trilogy has come to an end. It's been an epic year-long journey for Kenna, Dom, and the rest of their ragtag crew. As one of the first books to launch with Choices, the team behind TC&TF started work on it long before August. Months later, saying farewell to one of our first series feels like saying good-bye to an old friend.

The team has weathered marathon brainstorms and late-night writing sessions, and celebrated epic plot twists and awesome character art. With the final chapter in the rearview mirror, the writers of TC&TF took the time to reflect and reminisce...

The Crown & The Flame trilogy is over, and it's been quite the journey. How do you feel?

Kathleen: Super weird. It kinda feels like graduating from college, actually. Like, you've been immersed in this cool new world for so long and surrounded by these people you've grown to love (even though Val's always stealing your food and Dom wants to party all the time instead of doing homework), and you get so attached that you kind of forget there's a world outside. Now graduation is looming and half of me is like "oh thank goodness" but the other half is going "WAIT, NO, I LIKE IT HERE, AAAAA".

Eric: So many feelings! Sad because I’ve dedicated so many hours to TC&TF, and it’s like saying goodbye to close friends. Happy because we were fortunate enough to get to create this whole world from scratch! Proud because I feel we’ve brought the series to a satisfying conclusion. And of course grateful for the fans, whose passion for it made Books 2 and 3 a reality.

Since we're at the end, why not talk about beginnings? How did TC&TF first come about? What were the early days like?

Kathleen: Lot of brainstorming, LOT of revisions. The first story that we outlined was much more focused on courtly intrigue, less so on the action. It looked totally different from the version of TC&TF that exists today, but there are a few relics from that first version that we kept because we loved them so much. For instance, Sei Rhuka was one of the first characters we created for that earlier story, and she survived the move to TC&TF pretty much unchanged (because what would you change? She's perfect).

There were some late nights, and times when I definitely thought I was gonna crack under the stress. Fortunately I had Eric and Kara, two heroes of legend, fighting by my side.

Kara: The first draft of TC&TF was written under so much pressure and at such a frantic pace that it was nothing like the book that ended up being released. To give you an example of how much things change, Val Greaves, everyone's favorite mercenary, was originally a male character just named Mercenary. Kathleen had the idea of making her a woman, and then the character of Val really started to emerge as the snarky, mean voice that the cast was currently lacking.

Another thing that came about because of that time was just the incredible trust between the writers. On most products, there's a more formal process of logging changes, but because we were so short on time, we were just actively editing each other's work, and I think we managed to get through that without killing each other, so it really says a lot about how well we work together! Sometimes you write your first draft and you don't realize how much better it can be until you take a step back. I wrote a scene once where Dom is carrying a sack of flour down the castle hallway, and I thought, this is boring, I'll add in a choice. Oh, I'll give the choice a timer! Then I realized I'd just made a minigame about carrying a sack of flour. So I cut the whole thing. But sometimes it isn't until you write the scene that you realized you're going down a bad or boring path. The early days were a lot of that.

We rewrote a lot of things together, but it was such a privilege to work with Kathleen and Eric on creating this world. It was amazing when we reached a point where we'd revised and revised and revised and finally felt like we'd burned away everything that was boring or not working and all that was left was even stronger than it had been before.

Eric: Hectic! It's one thing to write a book now, knowing what Choices looks like, but back then we were writing with placeholder art (everyone was Queen Adriana!) and we just had no idea what was going to work and what wasn't.

Also, I echo everything Kara said above about trust. So many times I wrote a thing and thought, "Oh gods, I'm a fraud! I'm a terrible writer!" and then had either Kara or Kathleen or Jessica swoop in and turn my garbage into gold. Having the safety net of a great team makes standing on the tightrope a lot more fun.

Strong world building is crucial to any good fantasy story. That ranges from history and culture to what you yell when you stub your toe. What was the worldbuilding process like for the Five Kingdoms?

Kathleen: You start super general (place names, general time period/level of tech, climate), then build your details on top of that. Every detail comes from somewhere, everything is the way it is for a reason. In those early stages it helped us to give each of the kingdoms a "thing" that they're known for. For Fydoria, it's knowledge and art, for Thorngate, it's trees and archery, for Lykos, it's jerks and backstabbers, lol.

That gave you a jumping off point for what these people would be like, and how they relate to the other kingdoms. We were also very deliberate about what colors and styles of clothing the different kingdoms would wear, which I was really into. It's great to look at a character and immediately know whose team they're on (or whose team they want you to think they're on...)

Then you take your pages and pages of notes to the artists, and they do some kind of beautiful magic that turns your dreams into something real you can look at. We work with some AMAZING artists. I have the Aurelian castle set as my computer's wallpaper because I like to stare at it all day.

Eric: Ditto what Kathleen said. The incredible art helps tremendously with this process. Sometimes we'd get a piece of art back and it'd be SOOOOO good that it'd inspire us to go in a new direction. That kind of moment (like with Val) is really special.

What did you consider the most challenging part of writing TC&TF?

Kathleen: Not making every chapter 5,000 lines long, haha. I have issues with writing these super long, flowery dialogues, but thankfully Eric is there to keep me in check. It can also be hard to find a character's voice sometimes, especially if you and that character don't have a lot in common.

Eric: Keeping Kathleen in check. HA! Seriously, though, we had a HUUUUGE cast, and all of the characters have compelling backstories and fun voices and fans on social media. Trying to make sure everyone got ample screentime (while still telling a good story) was tough.  

Going off of that, what were your favorite scenes to write in TC&TF? (Spoiler alert!)

Kathleen: Oh man. I'm a mean person who loves writing the super intense emotional climaxes where everyone is crying and screaming at each other. So basically the whole Whitlock/Hex arc. One of my favorite writing moments though was when I was working on that kraken scene in book 2 and I had to turn to my boyfriend and say "Hey, what sound does a kraken make?" Boyfriend: "<kraken sound>" Me: "Yeah... but like, how do you spell that?"

Kara: My favorite scene to write was a dream sequence where Kenna and Dom get married, because I got to jump around in different scenarios and it felt a lot like fan fiction in the best way. But my second favorite was when Val has to pretend to be a handmaiden for Zenobia Nevrakis. I loved the idea of getting to see from Val's point of view as she has to infiltrate this girly world of gowns and bodices. She's usually a character who's seen it all and can handle anything, so it was fun to get her out of her element for once.

Brandon: I had a major blast with the entire final battle, but I have a special place in my heart for the scene between Luther and Kenna in Chapter 13. I love when you get to shine the spotlight on a bad guy, in a way that makes you almost sympathize with them...but not quite.

Eric: By far, the action scene where Dom turns into a dragon for the first time. I was actually writing from my apartment, and I was like, "If I turned into a dragon, what would be the most fun, badass things I could do?" (Cut to me flapping my arms through the air as I run around my apartment breathing imaginary fire on unsuspecting Nevrakis boats...) It was silly, but I did get some good stuff outta that.

TC&TF is filled with so many different villains, heroes, and everyone in between. Who was your favorite character to write?

Kathleen: I have a soft spot for terse warrior types who just have no time for your nonsense, so writing Sei is always super fun. She behaves the way we all sort of wish we could, except she can get away with it because she's crazy strong and can light you on fire with her mind.

Brandon: Oof, tough choice. I think we all have a lot of fun writing Val (because who doesn't love that character who gives the bad guy the finger?). Personally, though, my favorites to write have been the Nevrakis, specifically Luther and Zenobia. Zenobia is just so annoyed and out of place most of the time, which is fun to play with. She's like, "Ugghhh, dragons? Really? Whatever." It's like she stepped in off the set of Mean Girls. And Luther is just such a fun jerk. He's got sort of a cynical wisdom, but also has zero self-awareness and is totally unapologetic for any of the ruthless stuff he's done. That is a character I really love to hate.

Eric: Severin. I felt like his art asset was really imposing, and his character represented this first challenge for Kenna on this impossible path. It was fun to make him this physical, monosyllabic, gruff presence that couldn't be reasoned with. She'd have to eventually fight him in combat to prove herself. Plus, he's kinda dumb, and I love writing dumb characters. Alas, no one seems to care much for Severin...

In a way, TC&TF lives on in The Royal Romance. Olivia in TRR is a descendant of Zenobia, for one thing. If Kenna and Dom and the rest of the crew were around now in present day Cordonia, what do you think they'd be like?

Kathleen: Kenna is super responsible and runs her Kingdom like a proper adult, but when she gets frustrated with politics she dreams of running away to tour with Val and Sei's metal band (Damsels of Destruction). Kailani just won like, 12 olympic medals for weightlifting and martial arts. During the off season she and Noa split their time between running a gym and touring with Cirque du Soleil. Whitlock runs one of those tech companies that does supersonic maglev trains and smart dishwashers and stuff. He's totally gonna colonize Mars. This is fun, I wanna do this all day!

To write fantasy, you had to know the fantasy genre pretty well. What makes the fantasy genre special to you? And what are some of your favorite books?

Kathleen: I was raised on a diet of Grimm fairy tales and Greek legends (which probably explains a lot about me). I love the fantasy genre because you take these wild, magical worlds that look completely different from anything we know, and use them to explore themes that are really close to home (coming of age, sacrifice, family, etc). Fantasy is a dramatic metaphor for real life. Because I'm a huge nerd, I dig fantasy books that have logical, internally-consistent magic systems. Sabriel by Garth Nix is hands down my favorite book, but the Enchanted Forest Chronicles by Patricia Wrede was the first series I got super into. Arglefraster!

Eric: When I was little, I wanted to play Dungeons & Dragons with the older kids in my neighborhood, but they wouldn't let me play. That led me to this one book (I don't remember the name) that was basically like single-player D&D. It had a page where you kept track of your hit points, potions, etc. It was incredibly nerdy, but also the awesomest book I'd ever experienced. Little did I know it was paving the way for my career.

Pixelberry was the first place where I really felt comfortable letting my inner nerd loose. I finally got to not only play D&D (we ran a campaign after hours), but to write something within a similar world...

What's next for The Crown & The Flame team? Can you give us a hint about what you'll be working on after this?

Kathleen: *Evil cackling, hands rubbing together in glee* Ahem. I don't want to give anything away, but I will say that I seem to have been typecast as a genre writer and I am 100% okay with this.

Eric: No hints. We're definitely not planning something for Halloween.

Ooh, intriguing... To all the fans of The Crown & The Flame, thank you for coming with us on this epic journey! Check back every week for more Choices adventures!

-Jessica

[natonebutfun]

Session 19: Vigil’s End - The Argent Vigil

During the afternoon the members of the group gradually came back together and met at Trollskull Manor, Theryn and Chester arriving with the trio of puppies that are promptly introduced to the others. Lif especially taking an instant liking to the creatures albeit that they weren’t necessarily very fond of him at the start.

Chester chose to name his female pup Shikari, where Theryn named his Venari. The only white furred mastiff being the only male was named Cullen. The party also drew up contracts for them to continue adventuring together and work the tavern once it opened as a team. And so they finally had a name to call themselves, The Argent Vigil. 

In the next several days the final contracts came in to begin the renovation of their tavern and new residence. While working tirelessly to get their business up and running, the Argent Vigil also continued their personal interests. Theryn purchased a new spell to learn and trained Venari and Cullen with somewhat equal progress. Cullen seeming to take on his lessons more slowly than his sister Venari. Chester on the other hand works alongside Nygarth for Shikari’s training as the barbarian has past experience with the handling of animals.

Meanwhile Passion also makes an effort to learn Wesley the parrot some tricks and mostly suceeds, which is fortunate since Durnan was not pleased at the bird’s noises on the first night. Now he remains silent when ordered, and dances on the tunes of Passion’s music. Thirgrim managed to make a somewhat profitable agreement with the couple from Steam and Steel which allows him to work their forge two days per tenday, if paying a large percentage of his profits for the agreement. Raivyre continued to travel between the tavern and the temple to not neglect the need of many seeking guidance or counsel.

Needing the staff to run the tavern, the Argent Vigil spent several days interviewing likely candidates. Putting each and every one to the test by running the scenario of cleaning, cooking and serving in order to get an idea of the skill of those who had applied. Over the course of three days Theryn, Thirgrim and Chester conducted the interviews while letting Passion, Raivyre and Nygarth take the role of patrons to judge the quality of the food as well as service. With their determined menu at hand the party agreed on six individuals to become part of the tavern’s staff, as well as a half-orc by the name of Murgen who would become security living with them. She had applied to be a cleaner but Theryn saw more potential in the reserved youth and proposed to allow her stay in the manor as bodyguard and security if they were to be away.

Two cooks were hired to provide a variety of choices, Helgret Glanhig the motherly dwarf would mostly be in charge of the lunch and early day meals that are more traditional than the dishes served by Rolen Holimion, the moon elf. His specialty being more challenging recipes. As a cleaner they agreed to hire the elder Randal Wendells due to his many years of experience and his sociable nature. The three servers now in their employ are Caramip Reese an energetic gnome, Salma Samir a former matron of a festhall, and Lykos Weaver a half-elf apprentice wizard which also caught the eye of Theryn due to his potential use outside the tavern. 

With the renovations done and the staff ready, the party was finally ready to launch their business. Inviting the many new faces they met over the past few tendays to attend the grand opening. Many came to see what the new owners had achieved with the well known tavern and the party managed to make a generous amount of profit from their first night. Launching them into a busy few days to get to grip with the new routine and responsibility.

Thirgrim decided to take one of those days to work on some swords at the forge to be put out for sale by Steam and Steel. While Chester, Raivyre and Nygarth made a trip back to Oakhurst, briefly stopping by at the Hucrele House where they learned that Sharwyn and Bradford had become engaged and would be wed during Highharvestide. After encouraging their old friends to visit Waterdeep and their new tavern they set out for the clearing where they had initially fought the wayward Direwolves and tracked down a litter of newborn pups. The Mother was ready to protect her offspring but they quickly rendered her unconcious. Not meaning to leave the other youngs to fend for themselves after they retrieved the small runt and returned to the tavern, now with a pet for Nygarth in tow.

Now all settled, the peace is soon disturbed by a sudden mayhem just outside the door of Vigil’s End, the windows shudder and shatter when the roar of impact is heard. Fire blooms in the street and individuals fall over burned while smoke and ash begins to fill the air.

Bring on chapter THREE

[kruemel8]

Same anon about Intro/shipping. Thanks for the tip! But I'm from an EU country not on the list. Also, Intro has been out of stock on Lyko for a bit now.

Tbf, it could be worse than 12€ for delivery, but two products would definitely make it more 'worth it'.

Either way, I'm excited about this new mystery product launch. And hopefully, it'll be more summertime than Christmas time 🤭

Oh, didn’t know it was out of stock on Lyko. That’s great for Omar! I’m sure we will find out soon enough. Either he will tell us or someone is playing detective like last time. 😏

[oneworldproductions]

CCK vs Aussie Open

With their opponents already in the ring, Chris Brookes and Kid Lykos made their appearance, stopping on the ramp in typical fashion. After a howl from Lykos and water spewed by Brookes, they both stood, looking around. Their music stopped, causing the pair to look at one another, both shrugging for a moment before a new song filled the arena. It was familiar to the 1WPW crowd and though she’d been seen backstage, the audience wasn’t sure if she’d come through the curtain or not. CCK had been known to do things to honor Nixon while she was out injured and many thought that’s what this was again. The music continued to play, the pair still standing on the ramp, giving the crowd hope that maybe, just maybe, it meant she’d be there.

  Chants of “Nixon, Nixon, Nixon fuckin’ Newell” began to fill the arena, a chant started by the tag team standing in the ring. Just when it seemed like they’d gotten their hopes up for nothing, Nixon emerged from backstage, making her way to the top of the ramp to join the other members of CCK. The smile she wore seemed to fill her entire face and it didn’t take much encouragement before Lykos started toward the ring. They didn’t rush, rather, the three took their time heading for the ring, Davis and Fletcher continuing to lead the chant for the girl with the shiniest wizard.

  When they made it to the ring, Lykos was up on the apron quickly, Brookes taking time to help Nixon up as well before joining them. The three stood on the apron for a moment before Brookes and Lykos were inside the ring and standing on the ropes, their valet standing proudly between them. Brookes called for a mic, pacing around the ring for a moment before he spoke. “Well, since we got you lads here tonight, we thought we’d have a bit of fun. Whaddaya say we have some fun?” Aussie Open seemed more than okay with it, Kyle hopping up onto the ropes and holding his imaginary bow, firing the invisible arrow into the air. The five people in the ring all looked up as if watching it fly toward the ceiling. The crowd began to look up as well, reacting after a moment as balloons and beach balls began to fall from the rafters. They fell onto the crowd and into the ring, the look of pure joy evident on Kyle Fletcher’s face. “I did it!” He shouted, causing his partner to pat his shoulder before climbing out of the ring. He knelt on the floor, searching for something under the ring.

  Lykos hopped from the turnbuckle to snag a balloon, giving it a shake as he looked at it. “Is that….?” He looked across the ring at Kyle who nodded, causing the wolf to let out another howl. Brookes looked over, watching as Nixon was climbing back down to the floor. He leaned through the ropes to talk to her for a moment, jumping in surprise when Davis spoke up. “We brought you guys another present!” He popped up, holding something close before tossing it into the ring. Kyle scooped it up, presenting it to the crowd- INFLATABLE LYKOS!

  The referee was trying to wrangle the four wrestlers in the ring so the match could start but Kyle was lost in taunting Lykos with inflatable Lykos while the real Lykos was threatening Kyle with the balloon in his hand. They finally agreed to a trade and once inflatable Lykos was in CCK’s possession, he was tossed at Brookes just as the bell rang. With Kyle holding the balloon he’d been gifted over his head, Lykos jumped up to pop it, white powder falling all around him. The howl of laughter served as the perfect distraction, Brokes sliding in and rolling up Fletcher, who kicked out almost immediately. Mark Davis walked over, dragging Brookes off his partner, all four men now standing and staring at one another. Chris held his hands up in a sign of innocence, acting as if he’d done no wrong. He and Kyle locked up, Chris quickly giving up and shifting to a wristlock, Kyle stomping his foot and yelling at him to let  go. Giving in, Brookes grabbed him in a headlock instead. “Is this better?!” Davis began yelling for Brookes to let go, even going as far as to throw beach balls at his back. “He’s just a boy! Let him go!” After a moment, he obliged, stepping away and blowing a kiss at Aussie Open.

  From the corner, he could hear his partner yelling for him and when he turned to make a tag, inflatable Lykos was tagged in. Kyle looked around for a moment and when he turned back to his opponents he was caught by flying inflatable Lykos. He was thrown down to the mat, struggling to get up as the referee looked on in confusion. “COUNT IT!” Nixon’s yell from the outside shook the ref from his daze and he dropped for the count.

  One…

  Two…

  Kickout!

  Kyle rushed to his corner, tagging Davis in, meanwhile Lykos was pulling his inflatable counterpart to his feet. He was launched at Davis, who mere moments later was thrown to the mat with a big hurricanrana. With Davis down, Brookes tagged in and hurried to lay down, calling for Reckless Danger Machine. His feet were in place, inflatable Lykos in place. He was launched into the air only to be knocked aside by a beach ball thrown by Fletcher. It served as a distraction, Lykos instead being flung onto Davis. CCK’s attention was drawn to the corner were inflatable Lykos was being held by Fletcher, calling for Davis and his massive chops. Brookes crawled quickly over, begging them to spare his friend. He was pushed aside, Davis calling for the crowd to quiet as he prepared for the chop. At the last possible second, inflatable Lykos was pulled out of the way, the chop landing on Kyle Fletcher’s chest. All three members of CCK stood inside the ring, Nixon on the floor, collecting balloons. She tossed one inside the ring for Brookes, who waited for Kyle inside the ring. When he charged them, yelling about the unfair advantage, he was tripped by inflatable Lykos. Brookes was quickly on his back, arms hooked to hold him in position for the wet willy. Feet flailed wildly, the younger Aussie yelling for mercy. Brookes grabbed the balloon, rubbing it against Fletcher’s hair, popping it once he was satisfied with the amount of static in his hair. “You look like an idiot,” he yelled down at him, cackling after a moment.

  Davis rushed into the ring, quickly caught by the inflatable Lykos and dropped on his head with a wicked DDT. Nixon pulled Lykos from the ring, making sure he was in the corner and holding the tag rope as she whispered a game plan to him. After a moment, she was leaning over to search for something under the ring. Meanwhile, Lykos had locked in a kneebar on Fletcher, Brookes and Davis casually chatting in the corner about the match. They grabbed a beach ball, batting it back and forth, each one cheering on their partner. Nixon emerged, super soaker in hand, causing everyone in the ring to freeze. Lykos let out a loud yell and released his hold, rolling from the ring to be sure he was out of the line of fire. Davis started toward her, Nixon pulling the trigger. They fully expected water to shoot from the gun but instead it was what looked like red paint. It hit Mark Davis square in the chest and he immediately fell to the ground. There was an awful scream to come from Kyle Fletcher as he rushed to his partner’s side. “YOU SHOT HIM! SHE KILLED HIM! DUUUUUNKY!!!!!!”

  The members of CCK stood in shock for a moment before inflatable Lykos was thrown into the ring, landing on top of Dunkzilla. The referee hesitated for a moment as Kyle continued to dramatically scream and cry, attempting to revive his partner. With Dunk’s shoulders down and a member of CCK technically inside the ring on top of him, the referee started the count.

  One…

  Two…

  Three!

  CCK HAS DONE IT! Kyle sat up, holding a balloon that had just settled on the mat beside them. He held it over Dunk and popped it, fully expecting more powder to fall around them. However, it was glitter that rained down over the paint splattered pair and it was like some weird fairy dust, Dunk immediately coming back to life. Nixon had carefully made her way into the ring, watching as Dunk, Kyle, Brookes, Lykos, and inflatable Lykos sat in the middle. “It’s a miracle,” Kyle cried out before they were all on their feet. Inflatable Lykos’ hand was raised, Dunk and Kyle refusing to get too close to the doll before all six of them rolled from the ring. There was a group hug before Lykos could let out a howl and they all headed up the ramp together, balloons and beach balls still bouncing around the audience.

[oneworldwc]

Warrior’s Crown: A Block: Day #5- Chris Brookes vs Nixon Newell

Brookes stood inside the ring, pacing slowly, eyes fixed on his opponent as she made her way to the ring. Kid Lykos sat atop a turnbuckle, legs bouncing as if full of nervous energy. When Nixon made it to the ring, Chris climbed out to give her any assistance she might need while Lykos stood ready to hold the ropes open for her. Once she was inside the ring, he stepped close, shaking her hand slowly, the pair having a sort of silent conversation. No words were needed between them.

The bell rang and the two stood facing one another, a determined look on Nixon’s face while Brookes looked slightly unsure about things. They knew one another extremely well, had faced one another plenty of times, but this was different. He rushed forward and they locked up, Nixon shifting it to a side headlock, Brookes’ hands settled on her knee. When she changed her position, Chris kept his hands on her leg to give her as much added support as he could. He stood facing her, eyebrow raised slightly before she pushed him back, causing him to stumble until he lost his footing and rolled across the ring. Once on his feet again, he shook his head before closing the distance between them, his shoulder against her stomach as he lifted her off her feet, carrying her back until she was in the corner.

Brookes sat her on the top turnbuckle before climbing onto the bottom rope. He could be seen leaning in, saying something that only she could hear before she shook her head quickly. Both hands settled on his chest before she gave him a hard shove, sending him tumbling off the rope. Shaking his head, he backed himself to the corner directly across the ring from her. He looked around the ring, calling for Lykos and shrugged when he didn’t get a response. His hands came together, begging Nixon from across the ring but that was quickly shut down when she held her hands up, motioning him toward her. He shrugged and set his shoulders, running forward toward her.

Just before he could make it to her corner, a giant stuffed bear was launched into the ring at him. He was clearly surprised as the large animal knocked him off his feet. Standing slowly, shaking his head, he looked at Nixon who shrugged innocently. Picking it up, Brookes held the bear up, brow creeping up while pointing at the Nixon Newell shirt it wore. He dropped it again and moved to the corner, carefully picking Nixon off the turnbuckle, making sure she was steady on her feet before stepping away.

Nixon carefully followed him toward the center of the ring, shouting at him that she had nothing to do with the stuffed animal “attacking” him. Brookes picked it up and threw it out of the ring, shaking his head. When he looked, Lykos was on the apron holding it up, yelling something to Brookes who nodded. The bear was tossed into the ring again and as Brookes went to catch it, he quickly threw himself down on the mat, the bear on his chest. He struggled as if unable to get up, even as Nixon’s foot settled against his chest. The referee had been watching the entire ordeal with a look of confusion clear on his face. While Brookes struggled, Nixon looked at the ref, yelling for him to count the pin.

1…

2…

3!

Nixon Newell has won!

The moment the bell rang, Lykos was inside the ring, dragging the bear off his tag partner and into the corner. Brookes climbed to his feet, looking around as if he couldn’t believe anything that had just happened before a small grin formed on his lips. He was quickly in the referee’s face, arguing inaudibly with him while pointing at Nixon who stood there, looking around the ring. The ref stepped past Brookes and raised Nixon’s hand, officially declaring her the winner. Lykos climbed out of the ring, dragging the stuffed animal out with him, hoisting it onto his shoulder while Brookes was making sure Nixon made it through the ropes safely. He moved to stand in front of Nixon, allowing her to slide off the apron and onto his back. Once he’d carried her up the ramp he carefully placed her back on her feet, again raising her arm in victory.

[hentaihunblog-blog]

Kujira no Kora wa Sajou ni Utau – Episode 11 [We Spoke of Dreams]

New Post has been published on https://hentaihun.com/blog/2017/12/21/kujira-no-kora-wa-sajou-ni-utau-episode-11-we-spoke-of-dreams/

Kujira no Kora wa Sajou ni Utau – Episode 11 [We Spoke of Dreams]

Commander Orka, Lykos’ older brother, is hauled in front of a mysterious committee of some important people and blamed for the loss of Skylos and all its soldiers. As a result, Commander Orka, his commander Araphne (the blue-haired guy who hurt Ouni a few of episodes ago), and all of the other people who went along with the raid are sentenced to death.

This doesn’t phase Orka however. He proceeds to put the blame for Skylos’ loss on Araphne, and provokes Araphne into shooting Orka’s hand to demonstrate that Araphne is not in control of his emotions. Or rather he’s acting “normally” by our standards, I’d say. Regardless Orka tells the committee that they’re all full of shit, that another world cleansing is coming and if the Empire doesn’t gain control of the daimons then everyone will die. Apparently Orka’s so sure that there’s lots of other daimons in the world, despite having only ever hearing of one (Ouni).

Araphne is hauled off for a punishment to be dealt to him later by Orka, and Orka himself escapes death. He might even be allowed to launch a campaign to capture all of the world’s daimons. But for now he’s alive. And we learned something else: Orka’s obviously in touch with his emotions too, somewhat, and he has thymia as well.

Outside the meeting place Commander Orka has a secret huddle with one of the men on the committee, a young man by the name of Atsali. Like Orka, he too is a Commander-in-Chief. Orka has a request for Atsali: he wants to use the warship Karcharias, and he’s convinced that if Atsali agrees then the rest of the committee will fall in line. Orka gives Atsali some time to think about his answer.

On the Mud Whale, all of the Marked gather together to activate Falaina’s wings using Kokalo (Chakuro’s new furry friend). Speaking of which, where did the original brown one go?  The ceremony is beautiful but Lykos is obviously still bothered by something. Chakuro tries to cheer her up, and she puts on a happier face for him. Suou points out that now the Mud Whale can go wherever it wants, even away from the Empire if they so choose.

Later that evening Rochalito finds Suou out in the gardens picking flowers for a medicine he’s making for the Marked. Rochalito asks why there are few adults on the island and Suou says it’s because the Marked lead short lives due to their use of thymia. Rochalito commands that Suou take him to his room; he wants to show Suou the world.

Inside Suou’s bedroom, Suou assembles his aids and together they sit down with Rochalito and his lead advisor. Rochalito wasn’t kidding: he shows Suou a map of the sand ocean and all the known continents. He shows Suou where his country Amonlogia is, and where they found the Mud Whale.

Then it hits everyone in the room: the Mud Whale had been trapped in exile in a region with bad currents, unable to escape because they had no rudder. And the treacherous currents kept other people (aside from the Empire) from breaking through and finding Falaina. Like a bird in a cage, the Mud Whale was kept secret from the world. Rochalito wants Suou and Falaina to come with him back to Amonlogia, which is where Falaina is currently headed. Amonlogia is fighting an unnamed enemy further to the west, and they want to protect Falaina. Suou does not give an answer at this time.

Later still, Lykos meets with Rochalito alone and asks him to stop investigating the people on the Mud Whale. She reveals the reason why the Marked live short lives. On other islands powered by nous, people feed their emotions to the nous and in return are able to use thymia. However for some reason, Falaina is different. Falaina eats a person’s lifeforce in exchange for their thymia ability. The more they use their thymia, the shorter a life they will have. Whoa. Now that it’s been pointed out, the correlation seems pretty clear to me and I can’t believe I didn’t pick up on it sooner.

Chakuro, who had spotted Lykos and come over to say hi, accidently overhears this revelation and runs off upset. He had already suspected this, but of course to actually hear it confirmed is quite another thing. Chakuro runs home and goes to bed.

When he awakens, he overhears the dark-haired twins Shikon and Shikoku yelling to a crowd outside his doorstep. The twins are back, and they’re trying to convince the assembled citizens to fight back against the (unmarked) Council of Elders, who up until this point have been making all the rules and decisions. The twins try to pit the marked vs the unmarked, and it seems to be working until Ouni intervenes and tells the twins to knock it off.  As Chakuro watches in disbelief, a rebellion seems to be in the works.

Meanwhile Lykos and Rochalito are in a meeting with the full Council of Elders, Suou and his aides. The Council reveals that they already knew that Falaina eats the lifeforce of the Marked, and they kept it quiet from everyone else because they didn’t want everyone on the Mud Whale to know. However Rochalito points out that once Falaina interacts with the outside world, the Mud Whale’s inhabitants are going to learn the truth for themselves anyways. He asks the Council what their decision will be: keep Falaina trapped in its own world, its own prison, or let it fly free for the first time in almost one hundred years?

This series is based on a manga so unless this series is getting its own original ending a la Vampire Knight, I suspect not everything is going to be resolved by the next episode. If nothing else, watching Kujira no Kora has made me really want to read the manga. One more episode to go!

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Kujira no Kora wa Sajou ni Utau – 02

What I thought was the start of some kind of grand adventure involving Chakuro, Ouni, and Lykos turned out to be more of a quick stop. Lykos (which isn’t her real name) shows them the creatures called “Nous” that suck all emotion out of humans, leaving them “heartless.” Chakuro and Ouni only get a brief taste of the experience, but I imagine neither of them wanted to get a longer one, as intriguing an experience as it might’ve been.

They’re brought back to Falaina, where Ouni is thrown in jail, Lykos returns to the custody of the elders, and Chakuro is freed after “cooling his head”—just in time for the extraordinary periodic phenomenon involving swarms of glowing star locusts. Chakuro breaks Lykos out of confinement so she can see the event with him, and jealous vibes immediately emanate from Sami.

Having been away from…whatever it was she was doing on that other island, Lykos is definitely starting to show more emotion, and when she remembers the time her father gave her a piggyback ride (out of practicality, not love or any other emotion) she can’t help but cry. Chakuro thinks it’s normal, and it proves she has a heart. And anyone’s heart would be stirred by the light show they get.

But that night, Lykos almost told Chakuro something very important, and the next day, really really wants to tell that something to the council of Elders. She best she gets is Suou…but by then, any warning she might’ve given is too late: another island sidles up to Falaina and an attack is launched by its highly-prepared and more technologically advanced occupants.

Those we see are wearing clown makeup (not a great first impression), and Chakuro and Sami stare up at their airship in Miyazakian awe…right until they open fire, Sami jumps in front of Chakuro, and gets riddled with bullets. I was not expecting that! Poor Sami!

It’s a bold, dark new turn for what had been an pleasant Utopian slice-of-life. That’s not quite right: the introduction of Lykos and her lethal magic last week marked the beginning of the end of things, and the locust swarm was the swan song for the Mud Whale as a place of peace and contentment, and even that may have been artificially maintained, as the elders likely knew something like this was possible and/or coming.

It would seem our protagonist and his society are viewed as “sinners” in the outside world, perhaps because they still possess the emotions the Nous feed on and make no effort to purge them. Thus ends Chakuro’s official archive of the Mud Whale, and the beginning of his personal diary.

By: magicalchurlsukui