#Winter Storm Pax

[greenwitchcrafts]

February 2024 witch guide

Full moon: February 24th

New moon: February 9th

Sabbats: Imbolc-February 1st

February Snow Moon

Known as: Eagle Moon, Horning Moon, Solmonath Moon, Bear moon, Ice Moon, Wild Moon, Raccoon Moon, Big Winter Moon, Groundhog Moon, Quickening Moon, Storm Moon, Goose Moon, Hungry Moon & Red/Cleansing Moon

Element: Fire

Zodiac: Aquarius & Pisces

Nature spirits: House Faeries

Deities: Aphrodite, Brigid & Nut

Animals: Otter & Unicorn

Birds: Chickadee & Eagle

Trees: Cedar, laurel, myrtle & rowan

Herbs: Balm of Gilead, hyssop, myrrh, sage & spikenard

Flowers: Primrose

Scents: Heliotrope & wisteria

Stones: Amethyst, jasper, moonstone, obsidian, onyx , rose quartz, topaz & red zircon

Colors: Light blue & violet

Energy:  Astral travel, banishing, beginnings, breaking bad habits, creativity expressiveness, empowerment, energy working to the surface, fertility, forgiveness, freedom, friendships, future plans, growth, healing, problem solving, purification, responsibility & science

February’s full Moon is a “Micromoon” this year. Think of this term as the opposite of a “Supermoon.” It simply means that the full Moon is at its farthest point from Earth (not the nearest point).

The explanation behind February’s full Moon name is a fairly straightforward one: it’s known as the Snow Moon due to the typically heavy snowfall that occurs in February. On average, February is the United States’ snowiest month, according to data from the National Weather Service. In the 1760s, Captain Jonathan Carver, who had visited with the Naudowessie(Dakota), wrote that the name used for this period was the Snow Moon, “because more snow commonly falls during this month than any other in the winter.” 

Imbolc

Known as: Feast of Torches, Feast of Waxing Light, Oimele & Brigid's Day

Season: Winter

Symbols: Besoms, Brighid's crosses, candles, candle wheels, fertility symbols, fire, ploughs, priapic wands & white flowers

Colors: Black, brown, Earth tones, lavender, light green, orange, pink, red, white & yellow

Oils/Incense: Apricot, basil, bay, carnation, chamomile, cinnamon, dragon's blood, frankincense, heather, jasmine, myrrh, neroli, red sandalwood, sage, vanilla, violet & wisteria

Animals: Badger, cow, deer,groudhog, robin, sheep, snake, & swan

Mythical: Dragon

Stones: Amethyst, bloodstone, citrine, clear quartz, garnet, green tourmaline, hematite, iron, lodestone, onyx, red zircon, rose quartz, ruby, turquoise, yellow tourmaline

Food: Breads, chives, curries, dairy products, grains, garlic, herbal teas, honey cakes, lamb, muffins, onions, peppers, poppy seed cakes, pork, poultry, pumpkin seeds, raisins, scones, spiced wines & sunflower seeeds

Herbs/Plants: Angelica, ashleaf, balsam, basil, bay laurel, benzoin, blackberry, clover, coltsfoot, coriander, dragon's blood, garlic, heather, lemon, myrrh, rosemary, sage, vervain, wheat & witch hazel

Flowers: Celandine, chamomile, iris, rose hips, snowdrop, sunflower, tansy, violets, white flowers & yellow flowers

Goddesses: Anu, Aradia, Arianrhod, Artio, Athena, Branwen, Brigid, Danu, Februa, Gaia, Inanna, Juno, Selene, Sirona & Vesta

Gods: Aegus Mac Og, Bragi, Cupid, Dian Cecht, Dumuzi, Eros, Februus & Pax

Issues, Intentions & Powers: Activation/awakening, animals, beginnings, fertility, healing, hope, illumination, inspiration, light, pregnancy/childbirth, prophecy, transformation, well-being & youth

Spellwork: Air magick, banishings, candle spells, divination, fertility spells, prosperity & purification

Activities:

• Make & light white candles

• Clean/decorate your altar & consecrate your  altar tools

• Go on a walk in nature & look for signs of spring

• Make a Brigid's Cross

• Have a feast with your family/friends

• Give thanks & leave offerings to the Earth

• Set intentions, reflect & look deeper into your goals for spring

• Start a bonfire

• Find Imboloc prayers & devotionals that bid farewell to the winter months, honor the goddess Brigid, as well as seasonal blessings for your meals, hearth, & home.

• Pepare plans for your upcoming garden

• Craft a priapic wand

• Spend time with children celebrating Imbolc by making crafts & or baking

• Practice divination & fire scrying

• Draw a cleansing ritual bath for yourself

• Meditate, reflect & say your farewells to winter

• Cleanse & clean your house to prepare for spring

• Create a Brídeóg: a doll of Brigid made of straw

• Make Bride's bouquet satchets & exchange as symbols of good luck and fertility

• Set aside food & or drinks as an offering to Brigid to invite her in your home

Imbolc is a Gaelic festival marking the beginning of spring. Most commonly it is held on January 31 – February 1, or halfway between the winter solstice & the spring equinox. The holiday is a festival of the hearth, home, a celebration of the lengthening days & the early signs of spring. 

The word "imbolc" means "in the belly" and refers to the pregnancy of ewes at this time of year. The term "oimelc" means ewe's milk. Around this time of year, many herd animals give birth to their first offspring of the year or are heavily pregnant & as a result, they are producing milk. This creation of life’s milk is a part of the symbolic hope for spring.

Imbolc is mentioned in some of the earliest Irish literature and it is associated with important events in Irish mythology. It has been suggested that it was originally a pagan festival associated with the goddess Brigid and that it was Christianized as a festival of Saint Brigid, who herself is thought to be a Christianization of the goddess.

Some use Imbolc to celebrate the longer days which herald the return of Spring & The Goddess's recovery from giving birth to The Sun (The God) at Yule. The God & The Goddess are children symbolizing new life, new beginnings & new resurrections.

Related festivals:

• Groundhog Day-  Is a tradition observed in the United States & Canada on February 2 of every year. It derives from the Pennsylvania Dutch superstition that if a groundhog emerges from its burrow on this day & sees its shadow, it will retreat to its den & winter will go on for six more weeks; if it does not see its shadow, spring will arrive early.

While the tradition remains popular in the 21st century, studies have found no consistent association between a groundhog seeing its shadow & the subsequent arrival time of spring-like weather.

•St. Brigid's Day- 1 February. It was originally Imbolc, the first day of spring in Irish tradition. Because Saint Brigid has been theorised as linked to the goddess Brigid, some associate the festival of Imbolc with the goddess. St. Brigid is the patroness saint (or 'mother saint') of Ireland. She is patroness of many things, including poetry, learning, healing, protection, blacksmithing, livestock & dairy production. In her honour, a perpetual fire was kept burning at Kildare for centuries.

A recent campaign successfully established her feast day as a national holiday in 2023.

• Chinese New Year- (February 10th) the festival that celebrates the beginning of a new year on the traditional lunisolar Chinese calendar. In Chinese, the festival is commonly referred to as the Spring Festival,- marking the end of winter and the beginning of the spring season. Observances traditionally take place from Chinese New Year's Eve, the evening preceding the first day of the year, to the Lantern Festival, held on the 15th day of the year. The first day of Chinese New Year begins on the new moon that appears between January 21st & February 20th.

The Chinese New Year is associated with several myths and customs. The festival was traditionally a time to honour deities as well as ancestors. Within China, regional customs and traditions concerning the celebration of the New Year vary widely & the evening preceding the New Year's Day is frequently regarded as an occasion for Chinese families to gather for the annual reunion dinner.

It is also a tradition for every family to thoroughly clean their house, in order to sweep away any ill fortune & to make way for incoming good luck. Another custom is the decoration of windows & doors with red paper-cuts and couplets. Popular themes among these paper-cuts and couplets include good fortune or happiness, wealth & longevity. Other activities include lighting firecrackers  & giving money in red envelopes.

��  Candlemas- is a Christian feast day on February 2nd commemorating the presentation of Jesus at the Temple. It is based upon the account of the presentation of Jesus in Luke 2:22-40. 

While it is customary for Christians in some countries to remove their Christmas decorations on Twelfth Night, those in other Christian countries historically remove them after Candlemas.On Candlemas, many Christians also take their candles to their local church, where they are blessed and then used for the rest of the year.

•Setsubun- (February 3rd) Is the day before the beginning of spring in the old calendar in Japan. The name literally means 'seasonal division', referring to the day just before the first day of spring.

Both Setsubun & Risshun are celebrated yearly as part of the Spring Festival (Haru matsuri ) in Japan. In its association with the Lunar New Year, Setsubun, though not the official New Year, was thought of as similar in its ritual & cultural associations of 'cleansing' the previous year as the beginning of the new season of spring. Setsubun was accompanied by a number of rituals & traditions held at various levels to drive away the previous year's bad fortunes & evil spirits for the year to come.

Other Celebrations:

• Lupercalia-

In ancient Rome, this festival was conducted annually on February 13th through 15th under the superintendence of a corporation of priests called Luperci. The origins of the festival are obscure, although the likely derivation of its name from lupus (Latin: “wolf”) has variously suggested connection with an ancient deity who protected herds from wolves and with the legendary she-wolf who nursed Romulus and Remus. As a fertility rite, the festival is also associated with the god Faunus.

to purify the city, promoting health & fertility.

Each Lupercalia began with the sacrifice by the Luperci of goats and a dog, after which two of the Luperci were led to the altar, their foreheads were touched with a bloody knife & the blood was wiped off with wool dipped in milk; the ritual required that the two young men laugh. The sacrificial feast followed, after which the Luperci cut thongs from the skins of the sacrificial animals & ran in two bands around the Palatine hill, striking with the thongs at any woman who came near them. A blow from the thong was supposed to render a woman fertile.

In 494 CE the Christian church under Pope Gelasius I forbade participation in the festival. Tradition holds that he appropriated the form of the rite as the Feast of the Purification (Candlemas), celebrated on February 2, but it is likely that the Christian feast was established in the previous century. It has also been alternately suggested that Pope Gelasius I replaced Lupercalia with St. Valentine’s Day, celebrated on February 14th, but the origin of that holiday was likely much later.

Sources:

Farmersalmanac .com

Llewellyn's Complete Book of Correspondences by Sandra Kines

Wikipedia

A Witch's Book of Correspondences by Viktorija Briggs

Encyclopedia britannica

Llewellyn 2024 magical almanac Practical magic for everyday living

[audreyinajam]

Comic Markets And Cute Girls: The Seismic Influence Of Japan's Indie Developers

The year is 1975. The venue is Japan, the event is Comic Market. In a time when smaller studios, local artists, and producers of indie projects were turned away from conventions and expos, three students of Meiji University banded together to inaugurate a fan event where these creators and their works would be celebrated, rather than shunned.

Today, Comic Market is more commonly known as Comiket (コミケット, or コミケ—Komike—for short) the largest fan convention in the world. Hosting almost a million attendees in the year 2019, Comiket’s draw is that it is the biggest physical marketplace for doujinshi: self-published works of manga, anime, and video-games/software, produced by small studios, local artists, and in many cases, hobbyists.

Don’t believe the numbers? Well, see for yourself! Here’s a photo of the crowd in attendance on Day 1 of Comiket 97, held in Winter of 2019! (Picture from Petrit Elshani. (2019). Comiket 97 Day 1: The Calm Before the Storm. Otaquest. https://www.otaquest.com/comiket-97-day-1/)

For Japanese indie developers, Comiket functions in much the same way as does itch.io. The developers bring the game, and Comiket brings the storefront. And indeed while each Comiket event hosts the distribution of hundreds of Japanese indie games, it is to a highly receptive audience that these games are sold. Several indie titles first launched at Comikets of years past have since gone on to develop dedicated playerbases if not cult followings. But just how much of an impact have these Comiket releases ended up having on their players, and even on the industry as a whole?

Before the advent of Steam Marketplace and itch.io, in-person on-location marketplaces were by and large the only way to obtain media published by indie studios and small artists. In Australia, the United Kingdom, and America, the majority of these markets were zine fairs, which specialized in the distribution of zines.

In Japan, the biggest indie market has been Comiket since its inception and it continues to be exactly that to this day: thousands of small publishers and local creators set up stalls from which they sell their doujinshi, or self-published works, to an audience of fellow creators, players, and general fans alike. These doujinshi can be anything from transformative works—such as fanfiction and fanart—to completely original works featuring characters, settings, stories, and ideas entirely created and coded by the artist selling the work.

In spite of the superlative turnout it receives each bi-annual, Comiket as an event has yet to receive the same international recognition as commercial conventions the likes of San Diego Comic-Con (SDCC), Gamescom, and Penny Arcade Expo (PAX). For all that it has yet to become a household name, however, Comiket is no less one of the most significant events in the ongoing history of video-games as a medium. It was at Comiket that two pivotal video-games were first released for public engagement; it was over the span of several Comikets (held during the late nineties and early ‘aughts) that these two choice games began to lay the pavement upon which many successful indie franchises walk today.

One of the most notable, and certainly the most influential, original doujin games first sold at a Comiket was a little PC-98 title known only as Touhou Reiiden (東方靈異伝 in the original Japanese—which literally translates to ‘Wondrous Tale’, but which most fans tend to refer to as “Highly Responsive to Prayers’’).

A ‘bullet-hell’-style shoot-em-up, Touhou Reiiden released at the 52nd Comiket held in the year 1997, developed in its entirety by one mathematics student by name of Jun'ya Ota, who traded at Comiket by handle of ZUN, sole developer of the development team ZUN Soft. The game was published by Amusement Makers, a student-run video-game development club of which ZUN was a member. Development for this title had begun in 1995; an early build of the game was first shown off in 1996, at a campus festival held by ZUN’s university.

The original cover of the doujin game Touhou Reiiden, featuring series protagonist Reimu Hakurei. (Picture from Amusement Makers/ZUN. (1997). Touhou Reiiden. Touhou Wiki. https://en.touhouwiki.net/wiki/File:Th01cover.jpg)

According to ZUN himself, and as catalogued in Szczepaniak's The Untold History of Japanese Game Developers: Volume 1, thirty copies of Touhou Reiiden were sold at Comiket 52. ZUN would release a sequel shortly thereafter, titled Touhou Fuumaroku (‘Demon-Sealing Record’ literally, but more commonly known to fans as “Story of Eastern Wonderland”). Touhou titles #3, #4, and #5 were released over the span of the following year, and thus was formed a series of games that would come to be collectively known as Touhou Project. Correlating with ZUN’s graduation in 1998, the fifth game in the Touhou Project series was to be the final. ZUN was hired by the commercial game development studio Taito Corporation following his graduation, however he continued composing music for Amusement Makers in his spare time. Finally, in 2001, ZUN would establish Team Shanghai Alice, a doujin group all of his own.

It is worth noting that while Team Shanghai Alice is categorically a group, it is in fact comprised of only one person: the ZUN himself. All the games that Team Shanghai Alice have gone on to publish, therefore, are games that you could validly argue were self-published by ZUN and ZUN alone. A sixth Touhou Project game, titled Touhou Koumakyou—“The Embodiment of Scarlet Devil”—would be published by Team Shanghai Alice in 2002, functioning both as a sequel to the fifth Touhou Project game and a series revival, given the period of dormancy that had followed the series' last release back in 1998.

The original cover of the Touhou Koumakyou CD-ROM, featuring a silhouette of series antagonist Flandre Scarlet. (Picture from Team Shanghai Alice/ZUN. (2002). ~The Embodiment of Scarlet Devil. Touhou Wiki. https://en.touhouwiki.net/wiki/File:Th06cover.jpg)

Touhou Koumakyou was a seminal addition to Touhou Project. Not only did it introduce gameplay elements that would go on to become Touhou Project staples, it also introduced characters who would go on to be some of the most iconic in the series. The rest is history, as they say: since 2002, the Touhou Project series has more or less seen a new mainline release each year, with the series itself having grown in popularity and renown in kind. In Japan today, Touhou Project is a landmark series with staggeringly huge cultural presence.

But 2002 wasn't a pivotal year for Touhou Project alone. On the other side of Comiket, in that very same year, was launched the first entry in an altogether very different series of doujin games, a series that would go on to forge a legacy all of its own.

Higurashi no Naku Koro ni (ひぐらしのなく頃に—lit. “When the Cicadas Cry”, officially translated as Higurashi When They Cry) is a doujin game of the ADV genre that is known to English-speaking regions as the ’visual novel’ genre. To be precise, Higurashi no Naku Koro ni is a kinetic sound novel: the type of visual novel which contains a single, linear narrative with little to no gameplay, the sole player input being a click of the mouse or space bar in order to advance the on-screen text and therefore the story.

Rather than creating immersion through frenetic gameplay as do games in the Touhou Project series, Higurashi no Naku Koro ni (hereafter referred to as simply Higurashi) creates immersion through soundscaping, music, and sound effects, engaging the players’ imagination in much the way a novel might engage the imagination of its reader. A sound novel in eight installments, Higurashi no Naku Koro ni was released in parts, with the first of these—titled Onikakushi-hen (鬼隠し編—lit. “[the] Demoned Away chapter”)—having been released at that very Comiket of 2002.

The original cover of Higurashi no Naku Koro ni: Onikakushi-hen, featuring the characters (left to right) Mion Sonozaki, Satoko Houjou, Rena Ryuugu, Rika Furude, Jirou Tomitake, and Kuraudo Ooishi. (Picture from 07th Expansion/Ryukishi07. (2002). Onikakushi-hen. whentheycry.fandom.com. https://whentheycry.fandom.com/wiki/Onikakushi-hen?file=Higurashi_original_doujin_game.jpg)

As with the games comprising the Touhou Project, Higurashi was headed by one developer, an ex-social worker known only by his handle, Ryukishi07. Unlike ZUN with the Touhou Project, however, Ryukishi07 developed Higurashi with help: his friend BT assisted with coding, and BGM was sourced from a provider of royalty-free music. Ultimately, Ryukishi07 published Higurashi through the doujin group 07th Expansion, a team initially comprised of three individuals: Ryukishi07, Ryukishi07’s brother, and the aforementioned friend BT. In 2004, the group would gain a new member: the composer known only as “dai”, who would write the music for the fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth installments of Higurashi, as well as later sound novels released by the 07th Expansion team.

Of all the songs composed by dai for Higurashi, most notable is composition “you”, which has become a series anthem of sorts, popular among fans, and used as a motif in the anime adaptation of Higurashi, produced by Studio DEEN in the year 2006.

Higurashi's final installment was released in 2006, titled Matsuribayashi-hen (祭囃し編 “[the] Festival-Accompanying chapter”). Higurashi has since seen numerous manga and anime adaptations including the aforementioned, as well as a television drama, two feature-length films, various spin-off doujin games, and—most uniquely—a larger-than-life-size monument built in the rural Japanese town of Shirakawa-go in commemoration of the series’ tremendous legacy.

The monument in Shirakawa-go, featuring Higurashi characters (left to right) Keiichi Maebara, Satoko Houjou, Rika Furude, Rena Ryuugu, and Mion Sonozaki. (Picture from Lethargic Yuki Co. (Year unknown). Statues of The Club on a farm in the village. whentheycry.fandom.com. https://whentheycry.fandom.com/wiki/Shirakawa-go)

Now, the list of things that Touhou Project and Higurashi have in common is a short one; you could probably count them on one hand. One similarity is, naturally, that both games were first distributed at the Comiket convention by small video-game publishers and even smaller development teams. Another is that both series have, since their initial releases, gone on to be commercially rereleased both in Japan and in the West on platforms such as Steam, home consoles, and mobile app stores.

Though radically different Touhou Project and Higurashi may be in terms of gameplay, both series feature similar themes in terms of storytelling—where Touhou Project tells of one shrine maiden’s adventures with supernatural forces based on Japanese folklore, Higurashi is the tale of a shrine maiden struggling against her own fate in a world dictated by antiquated superstitions, a world trapped by traditional customs, a world sealed within itself by forces both supernatural and human. In Higurashi, this shrine maiden is a young girl by name of Rika Furude, miko of the Furude Shrine—in Touhou Project, the lead shrine maiden is one peace-seeking Reimu Hakurei, miko of the Hakurei shrine. Both protagonists play what is fundamentally the same role within their respective games, and so too is the player's role the same across both games. Whether you’re playing as Rika in Higurashi, or Reimu in Touhou Project, your task as either character is to close the rift between the paranormal and the normal, to bridge the world of demons (youkai in Touhou Project, oni in Higurashi) with the world of the humans in a way that harms nobody and saves everybody.

For the most significant similarity between Touhou Project and Higurashi, however, we need to look at the broader cast of characters that occupy each series. Not only do both Touhou Project and Higurashi star a large cast of characters, but both games star a large cast primarily comprised of what most players would call “cute girls”. Both series emphasize—and have in turn become famous for—their largely female casts, the girls of which are designed to be big-eyed, short-statured, and overall overly cute.

Touhou Project—preceding Higurashi by several years—technically did the whole ‘cute girls in supernatural situations’ thing first, but when Higurashi entered the scene in 2002, it took this basic setup and added to it a heavy helping of horror conventions. While Touhou Project did contain its own share of supernatural themes, it always handled these with a light heart and a tongue in cheek, never treating these themes too seriously, but rather toying with their cultural significance for comedic effect.

The very first instalment of Higurashi, on the other hand, would use supernatural themes as the basis for scenes of horror: brutal murders, stalking, characters being possessed by evil spirits, and demons stealing people away never to be seen again… Higurashi paired its cute girls with supernatural forces and played it not for laughs, but for scares, attracting notoriety—and therefore popularity—as it did so. Higurashi's coupling of cute girls with horror themes was considered especially novel at the time of its release. Not only was it a selling point for the series, but it would end up becoming the very basis of the series' persisting identity: to this day, it isn’t uncommon to hear Higurashi referred to as the one about the “killer loli[s]”. Higurashi's influence, accordingly, has not been endemic to its country of origin. We can see this if we turn to look at one of the most successful indie OELVNs (original English-language visual novels) of recent years: Doki Doki Literature Club, hereafter referred to as DDLC.

The cast of Doki Doki Literature Club! (left to right) Sayori, Yuri, Natsuki, and Monika. (Picture from Team Salvato. (2017). The Doki Doki Literature Club! splash screen. store.steampowered.com. https://store.steampowered.com/app/698780/Doki_Doki_Literature_Club/)

Featuring characters who echo archetypes first seen in Higurashi (parallels can be drawn between Higurashi’s Rika and DDLC’s Monika; between Rena and Sayori; between Shion and Yuri; between Satoko and Natsuki), DDLC does to its cute girls what Higurashi did to its first. DDLC sets up its majority female cast in a mundane environment of the bright and stakesless kind before introducing elements of horror that render the entire cast untrustworthy to the main character, turning the everyday setting into one stained with betrayal, murder, and so, so much blood.

In the West, Doki Doki Literature Club , but Higurashi did it first, and Higurashi arguably could not have done it first had the Touhou Project not primed audiences to be receptive to stories about cute girls in supernatural situations.

This is by no means the extent of the Touhou Project’s influence, however. Unlike Higurashi, which saw commercialization through its successive adaptations, Touhou Project has famously remained an indie work. Where the majority of Higurashi fans today were introduced to the series via its commercial adaptations (the Higurashi anime in particular was a point of entry for many), Touhou Project remains a series made ‘by fans, for fans’—today, the series is just as famous for its fanworks as it is for its core games.

Touhou Project merchandise for sale in a shop in Ikebukuro, Tokyo. (Picture from FuyuMaid. (2023). Touhou dedicated shop in Ikebukuro, Tokyo!. reddit.com. https://www.reddit.com/r/touhou/comments/16oa27n/touhou_dedicated_shop_in_ikebukuro_tokyo/?rdt=45365)

The influence of the Touhou Project on Japanese video-games (and, increasingly, Western video-games) is almost unquantifiable. Every year, hundreds upon hundreds of Touhou fanworks are produced by its fanbase, ranging from fan art, to fan comics and fangames, and even to fanmixes and -remixes.

Comprised of themes, leitmotifs, and recurring melodies, Touhou Project’s soundtrack has been mixed and remixed into near-infinitum by its fans. Historically, it's been tradition (however unspoken) to publish these remixes via the video sharing site Nico Nico. But many fanmixes are becoming increasingly available via mainstream platforms like iTunes, Spotify, and Apple Music. Some even see publication in CD form, and these CDs in turn may be distributed at fan-run events such as conventions, or on the shelves of commercial music shops.

In short, the Touhou Project isn’t ZUN’s and ZUN’s alone—it is a fan project, and indeed without its bafflingly prolific fanbase, it never would have achieved the status it proudly holds today. It may never have received the same degree of commercialization that Higurashi did, but Touhou Project has nonetheless become so popular as to become commercially available: Touhou merchandise, CDs, artbooks, and other paraphernalia features regularly in such commercial stores as AmiAmi and Animate, and big-name brands such as GoodSmile routinely release figurines, statues, Fumos, and Nendoroids featuring fan-favorite members of the Touhou Project cast.

This is absolutely comparable to—and, I would argue, the precursor of—the kind of widespread success that certain Western indie video-games would see in later years.

Five Nights at Freddy’s, much like Touhou Project, began as a small indie release which was quickly latched on to by fans and was thence fan-worked into perpetuity. As of 2024, countless FNAF fangames can be found on itch.io and Steam (the latter of which is, incidentally, also a prominent hub for Touhou fangames). Further, FNAF’s uniquely- and recognizably-designed cast of characters was of immediate interest to fans at the time—so much so that these FNAF characters have received comparable quantities of fanart to what has been given to the cast of the Touhou Project over these past twenty-five-odd years.

From left to right, Bonnie the Bunny, Freddy Fazbear and Chica the Chicken as seen in Five Nights At Freddy's. (Picture from Scott Cawthon. (2014). Five Nights At Freddy's. store.steampowered.com. https://store.steampowered.com/app/319510/Five_Nights_at_Freddys/)

Though radically different these video-game series may seem, neither of them would have risen to the same success they have were it not for the efforts of their fans. FNAF and Touhou Project are successful indie games even without the backing of commercialization because they are carried just as mightily on the backs of their fans.

Undertale is another Western indie game of relative recency whose fanbase echoes that of the Touhou Project. Just as the musically-inclined contingent of Touhou fans have taken the melodies present in the series’ soundtracks and remixed them ad infinitum, a similar phenomenon has emerged in response to Toby Fox’s Undertale. Fans of Undertale have taken its themes and remixed these with such prolific fervor as to render these themes recognizable to even those who haven't played the game in question.

You can even draw parallels between ZUN’s work on Touhou Project and Toby Fox’s work on Undertale, what with ZUN's writing the characters, the game code, and every musical number himself, just as Toby Fox has done for his own Undertale and deltarune indie projects. In fact, you might even say that Toby Fox’s ‘do-the-whole-thing-yourself’ ethic was directly inspired by the developer ZUN’s work on Touhou Project—and Toby Fox himself might even agree, going on the record as he did to cite Touhou Project and ZUN as a huge inspiration for his work!

@tobyfox on Twitter. (Fox, 2018). https://twitter.com/tobyfox/status/999210405959426048

Thus we see that not only did Touhou Project’s persistently productive playerbase pave the way for Undertale’s similarly-prolific playerbase, but that Undertale itself just mightn’t exist today as it does—were it not for ZUN and the work he did on Touhou Project.

There is so much more I could talk about in terms of the effect that Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni and Touhou Project both have had on indie games—certainly more than fits into the parameters of this essay!

But the TL;DR of all of the above is that many of the biggest Western indie games of this day and age take their influence—both incidentally and consciously—from some of the biggest indie titles to come out of Japan in the late nineties and the early ‘aughts.

Games such as Touhou Project and Higurashi no Naku Koro ni may be unknown to the average Doki Doki Literature Club or Five Nights at Freddy’s fan, but neither game would be as they are today were it not for Touhou Project, Higurashi, and the trailblazing work of such Comiket developers as ZUN and Ryukishi07.

Though their games were coded in small studios by even smaller development teams, their influence has reached across both countries and time. To this day, Higurashi no Naku Koro ni and Touhou Project continue to inspire media and fanbases on the other side of the world.

[intomusings]

﹒﹒  unisex   names   masterlist     !

back  again  with  another  masterlist  for  u  all  after  receiving  some  anon  suggestions  .  here's  250+  unisex  first  names  for  ur  next  character  ,  these  come  from  various  influence  points  but  some  of  them  really  are  just  pulled  from  thin  air  .  the  names  are  sorted  by  first  letter  but  not  alphabetically  within  each  letter  !  if  u  found  this  useful  ,  feel  free  to  like  or  reblog  to  boost  this  .

A : ashtyn , avery , adrian , anderson , abbott , aaren , aki , alix , amari , aden , arden , addison , angel , arizona , armani , ayla , austen , avani , august , ajay . 

B : bailey , beck , bellamy , blaine , blake , brooks , bryce , bodhi , beverly , boston , boyd , benz , banks .

C : cameron , camden , carter , casey , charlie , chicago , carson , courtney .

D : dakota , dallas , delaney , denver , dylan , drew , dua .

E : eden , eli , elliot , emerson , emery , erin , evan , everest , ezra .

F : fallon , finley , finn , forest , foster , finnick , frankie .

G : gem , gabe , gray , genesis , garnet , greer .

H : hale , harley , harlow , harper , haven , hayden , hayes , hunter , hero , holland , hollis , hudson , honey .

I : indy , indiana , isa .

J : jace , jack , jade , jamie , jay , joey , jordan , jude , juniper , julian , jagger , journey .

K : kali , keegan , kelan , kendal , kenzie , kieran , kit , knox , kyle , kaiden , karsyn , kourtney .

L : lake , laurence , lennon , lennox , landry , levi , logan , london , luca , lux , lyric , love , link , lincoln .

M : maddox , madison , manning , manny , marlow , marley , mason , max , morgan , montana , milo , michi , memphis , milan , mica .

N : nevada , nicky , noah , nye , nova , nash , nyjah .

O : ollie , ozzy , orion , onyx , oakley , owen , oliver , ocean , opal , otto , orlando , odelia .

P : paris , pratt , parker , pascal , pax , paxton , paxon , penn , peyton , phoenix , presley , psalm , pearl .

Q : quincy , quinn , quentin .

R : rae , ryan , reagan , reed , reece , rei , rem , riley , river , robin , rocky , rory , royal , rowan , ryder , ryker , reign , rue .

S : sean , sacha , sailor , salem , sam , sawyer , scout , shiloh , skye , skyler , sloane , sol , spencer , stevie , sutton , sydney , storm , sab , seven , saint , sage , shelby , silver .

T : tai , teagan , torrence , tyler , tristan , trevor , tove , toni , tommy , theo , terry , tatum , tanner , tate , tayler , taryn , tris .

U : uma .

V : val , vesper , vega , vaughn , vince , venus , vinny .

W : waverly , wade , whitney , winnie , willy , wylie , wren , wyatt , winter , winslow , wolfe , west , weston .

X : xio , xyla , xashary .

Y : yael , yves , yara , yensi , yale .

Z : zane , zuri , zoe , zion , zayden , zero .

[heartnosekid]

✨ name stimboard masterlist ✨

i get a lot of asks for names i've already made boards for, so i wanted to compile a list of all the name boards i’ve made, which i will update as new ones are posted! so, before you request a name stimboard, please refer to this list first!

- ish 💕

IMPORTANT UPDATE: ALL LINKS TO NAME STIMBOARDS ARE HOSTED AT THIS LINK. PLEASE REFER TO THAT LIST INSTEAD.

Moxie

Huxley

Ainsley

Wilson

Laurent

Marnie

Maxie

Apollo

Caroline

Rassy / Rasbaby

Isabel

Judas

Romeo

Izzy

Storm

Quinn

Joeli

Greg

Logan

Kaitlyn

Roswell

Cos

Crowan

Pax

Emily

Ida

Sacha

Algernon

Arion

Briar

Dizzy

Irii

Danny

Lynn

MM

Yaffa

Destini

Reyez

Nero

Mars

Ingydar

Anna

Kit

Clementine

Frank (short for Franciszek)

Beatrice

Giovanna

Amber

Emery

Astre

Laz

Varon

Persephone

Ian

Caron

Roz

Finn

Jester

Daenir

Mon / Mono

Maya

Clover

Winter

Winnie

Ezra

Altaïr

Shay

Jasper

Travis

Sunny

Martha

Ethan

Aliel

Sidney

Icarus

Vladimir

Sonny

Bean

Andie

Nori

Leonis

Aedyn

Tearsette

Zack

Bramble

Robin

Asmara

Luna

Victor

Azure

Luck

Dee

Sage

Sequoyah

Maris

Cordelia

Catarina

Eddie

Arlen

[the-goth-catte]

[ BLACK MASS @ PANDEMONIO || 0 2 . 1 9 . 2 3 ]

Ghost - Watcher in the Sky Apoptygma Berzerk - All Tomorrow’s Parties (Evolve or Die Mix) Aeon Rings - Pale Blue Papa Roach - Last Resort (Fury Weekend Mix) NIN vs Faderhead - 69 Freaks Closer De/Vision - I Regret (VNV Nation Mix) Agonoize - Slave to the Needle Nyxx - Voodoo William Control - Running Up That Hill VNV Nation vs Daft Punk - When Will We Get Lucky in the Future Hante - The Storm And One - Wet Spot Vanguard - Ragnarok SITD - Snuff Machinery (Club Mix) Faderhead - Noise. Voices. Noise. Silence. Lana deal Rey - Summertime Sadness (Dominatrix Remix) Omnimar - Sadizm Perturbator - Venger Anna Lux - Sanctuary Qntal - Veni (Filthy Floor Mix) The Cruxshadows - Helios Rotersand - Grey (Light Gray) Kanga - Home KMFDM - Megalomaniac Project Pitchfork - Pitch-Black SPOCK - Never Trust a Klingon Joy Division - Love Will Tear Us Apart (TEE mix) Prince - When Doves Cry (Extended Freestyle) L’ame Immortelle - Tiefster Winter (Zeromancer Mix) Suicide Commando - Hellraiser (Agonoize Mix) KMFDM - Juke Joint Jezebel Metallica vs Sisters of Mercy vs NIN - Reflection of Puppets New Order v Depeche Mode v Daft Punk - Better Blue Master People Goldfrapp vs Funky Town Depeche Mode - World in My Eyes (Yehuda Matan Reconstruction) F(x) - Nu Abo (Areia Remix) Apoptygma Berzerk - Unicorn (Fairlight Children Mix) Powerman 5000 - Black Lipstick Alice in Videoland - Numb Neuroc - Jacked In Solitary Experiments - DejaVu (Dominatrix Remix) Apoptygma Berzerk - Kathy’s Song (Green Court Remix) VNV Nation - Beloved (Remix) Noisuf-X - Warning Nachtmahr - Tanzdiktator Grendel - Pax Psychosis Twin Temple - Lucifer, My Love

[7-omen-7]

Here are some names that aren’t strictly for females or males

Alpha Astrix/Asterisk Axis Blur Bolt Brick Cube Cyan Data Delta Echo Entity Error Exa/Exo Form Friday Hazard Idea Impulse Infinity Ion Kilo Kite Limit Name Nebula Neon Obsidian Plastic Point Quartz Qwerty Radar Retina Reverb Rocket Scavenger Sigma Sonar Swing Tank Tax Tera Valence Vertex Virus Vortex Audience Beat Binary Brass Cable Canon Canvas Chord Clash Coarse Crash Discord Double Feedback Forte Genre Hack Hollow Hook Impulse/Pulse Ink Key Lyric Mellow Memory Neon Noise Note Omen Phase Quaver Riddle Shallow Sharp Shiny Snare Treble Tune Twang Aloe Arrow Atlas Azure Balsa Bee Beetle Branch Bread Bridge Candle Cedar Cello Chameleon Cherry Cloud Clover Coffee East Echo Egg Ember Fern Finch Flannel Forest Gecko Gem Goose Grey Jay Kale Lake Leaf Mango Maple Moss Oak Pond Poppy Rain Raven Rock Silver Topaz Violet Wednesday Willow Wood Frog Max Alex Shawn/Shawne Kai SCP 834 Nyx Ares War Criminal Cas Sky/Skie Bee Ash Arson Vin Sal Cat/Kat Tax Fraud Liminal Dream Fade Angel Glitch Tooth Centipede Chlorine Crayon Fever Bones Ghost Eye Omen Nurse Band-aid Tape Glow Legs Decay Poison Blowfly Needle Finger Mold Doll Wasp Moth Dirt Bunny Trinket Shell Cicada Ariel Astra Aurora Celeste Luna Nova Starling Starr Stella Sunshine Aldrin Apollo Callisto Castor Comet Hercules Leo Neptune Rocket Solar Aries Eclipse Galaxy Halo Mars Mercury Moon Saturn Star Sun book strawberry cherry tea soup lace butters melody lyric bunny slime apple Saturn star venus kandi/kandy/candy glitter monster zero/zee/z neo gutz/guts brainz/brains trixie roxy rex Moss Bones Arson Rain Feather Cloud Deep Raven Fall captain bone/bones patch/patches sparrow flynn skipper boots hook reef treasure Winter Midnight Crow Corvid Raven Siren Shade Nova Veil Salem Ash Aster Devin Day Hyde Dagger Knife Psyche Osiris Pandora Haven Jade Blade Gray Ember Ebony Blue Dee Day Dove Sky Rain Ash Coin Pax Rex Mick Reef Rory Ari Bug River Dane Finn Lumi Lux Ore Roux Note Tone Melody Piper Sonata Violin Coda Riff Alto Lyre Lyric Calypso Cadence Chorus Canto Chanson Harper Lorelei Octave Song Muse Canon Clef Motif Legato Nonet Pan Rhapsody Trill Vevace Dusk Indigo Orion Onyx Obsidian Somnus Hypnos Morpheus Noctis Noir Nero Umbra Ash Omega Orpheus Crow Jinx Hex Grey Pandora Morrigan Shade Silver Zephyr Storm Crimson sprinkle Bunny cloud Skittle kitty birdie bee flower Grass peach strawberry cherry Berry Apple Berry Apricot Huckleberry Mulberry Honeydew Lychee Peach Cherry Basil Bayleef Pepper Anise Clove Coriander Ginger Nutmeg Rosemary Rue Sesame Thyme Saffron exe/txt/pdf/gif web/website tech emoji sci beta dell chip zip Arson Blue Blur Brick. Cloud Detective Dice Egg Elmers Error Gremlin Icon Jester Lake Leaf Mischief Nike Nintendo Pi Royal Skull Spark Ten Tesla Vortex Yoshi Zero Zoom angela/angelo/angie angelonia/angel andy/andi ann/annie/anny antares andromeda bone/bones biscuit/biskit paw fluffy fetch scout chase skull corpse blade jinx hex bat bandit rogue trick/tricky smoke lee leo/lio pluto mars orion redd avery aster cyrus cleo miles quinn indigo amber ruby sugar lace/lacey boba rosie mae merry dottie plush/plushie cinnabun pompom teddy peach smile/smiles/smiley alphabet blocks bug snail paint crayon slime sticker rainbow gummy candy/kandi button bandaid glitch static disc pixel robot/bot glitter wire/wires code key/keys virus byte bunny/bunnie/bun kitty/kit/kitten plush/plushie milk fluff cloud bubble/bubbles angel ghost tea cookie bow / ribbon bonbon puff / creampuff Nintendo Mossy Quill Spark Vermillion Cotton Candy (or C.C. for short) Cocoa Indigo Sunset Elmers Snowy Sketchpad Frost Jester Poltergeist Spirit Cricket Poem Puck Mischief Truffle Golden Clay Feather Hatchet Gremlin Stone Brad Chad Thad Zoom Crayon Detective Otter Sonic Armadillo Ocelot Puggles (name for baby platypus) Dylan Logan River Fince Ellory Finn Converse Sage Saint Sal Saturday Saxon Scan Scatter Scoop Scorpion Scout Scream Sea Senti Sentinel September Serene Seven Shade Shadow Shake Shatter Shaw Silent/Silence Silver Siphon Skill

[jonsadrabbles]

jonsa drabblefest 2020 masterlist!

Thank you to everyone who wrote, read, and shared our drabbles! This event was a huge success, and all in all we had over 100 submissions (!!!) 

Due to the amount of fics that were written, we may have missed a few in this masterlist. If that is the case, please message us and let us know!

Below the cut are the submissions for this event that were posted here on tumblr! Enjoy!

DAY ONE - LINGER | CAMPFIRE

linger - by @amymel86

linger - by @azulaahai

(not) a matter of decorum - by @zarahjoyce

unspoken - by @jonsaslove

a necessary evil - by @saensas

summer storms - by @pax-2735

rosa suburbia - by @zoyaalinas

carpe diem - by @sweetcalarinanis

sizzle - by @sansaswolfbits

linger - by @ladystarks

The tresspasser - by @sunbeamsandmoonrays

this is a state of grace - by @part-timewonders

tales by the fire - by @miazeklos

linger | campfire - by @periwinkle39

in brevity - by @orangeflavoryawp

linger - by @sailorshadzter

linger - by @wildflower-daydreamer

The Lady Bird and the Winged Wolf - by @jade-masquerade

campfire | linger - by @annawoodhull

linger - by @schnoogles

as if he’d never left - by @that-plo-koon

campfire - by @amymel86

campfire - by @sailorshadzter

campfire - by @madgrad2011

piece of cake - by @vivilove-jonsa

did I dream it all? - by @captainbee89

happy friends - by @acourtofhopeanddreams

confession campfire - by @sweetaprilbutterfly

flames - by @esther-dot

campfire - by @graceverse​

campfire - by @growstheoak​​

DAY TWO - STOLEN | TRUE KNIGHTS

ache - by @jonsaslove

a thief in the night - by @sweetcalarinanis

stolen - by @graceverse

perjury - by @zoyaalinas

stolen - by @esther-dot

steal me now (i won't resist) - by @ladystarks

stolen - by @amymel86

(not) a matter of choice - by @zarahjoyce

May I? - by @sunbeamsandmoonrays

stolen - by @madgrad2011

Robb(ed) - by @pax-2735

all this time (how could you not know) - by @jolieunfiltrd​

thief - by @saensas​

a true knight, to steal me, to sweep me off my feet - by @sansaswolfbits​

hold the thief - by @acourtofhopeanddreams​

under the january light - by @sonderlust45​

by any other name - by @miazeklos​

stolen - by @sailorshadzter​

pride and prejudice AU - by @annawoodhull

stolen | true knights - by @periwinkle39

stolen kiss - by @ladeewrites

the lady bird and the winged wolf (stolen) - by @jade-masquerade

there aren’t any heroes - by @minitafan

true knights - by @amymel86

her true knight - by @vivilove-jonsa

Not Mine (Yet) - by @sunbeamsandmoonrays

true knight - by @schnoogles

true knight - by @sweetaprilbutterfly​

stolen - by @growstheoak​​

DAY THREE - LEGENDS | BEYOND THE WALL

under the January light - by @sonderlust45

memory - by @jonsaslove

legends - by @amymel86

legends - by @schnoogles

legends - by @esther-dot

wild gold - by @zoyaalinas

(Not) A Matter of Fear - by @zarahjoyce

Robb Snow - by @vivilove-jonsa

Just Jon - by @sunbeamsandmoonrays

legends - by @madgrad2011

the queen of winter and her cursed lover - by @sansaswolfbits

nessie - by @acourtofhopeanddreams

legends | beyond the wall - by @ladystarks

crowned - by @saensas

breath of life - by @miazeklos

legends and beyond the wall - by @jade-masquerade

outlander AU - by @annawoodhull

beyond the wall - by @graceverse

beyond the wall - by @amymel86

dum spiro spero - by @sweetcalarinanis

wolves - by @asongofsnow​

summer storms (beyond the wall) - by @pax-2735

beyond the wall - by @sailorshadzter​

legends - by @growstheoak​​

DAY FOUR - HIDDEN | TRUE

promise - by @jonsaslove

hidden truths - by @asongofsnow

a true knight - by @sweetcalarinanis

true - by @amymel86

true - by @esther-dot

frostfires - by @zoyaalinas

(Not) A Matter of Desparation - by @zarahjoyce

coronation - by @sunbeamsandmoonrays

hidden | true - by @phosphorescent-naidheachd

hogwarts AU - by @annawoodhull

hidden true feelings - by @acourtofhopeanddreams

when the wolves come home - by @miazeklos

hidden and true - by @jade-masquerade

hidden // true - by @growstheoak

true - by @sailorshadzter

silver - by @minitafan

promise - by @jonsaslove

hidden - by @graceverse

hidden - by @amymel86

Jon Knows - by @paperskiess

how far this thing can go - by @part-timewonders

the rest is confetti - by @saensas

in plain sight - by @pax-2735

baby you know it’s obvious - by @jolieunfiltrd

hide away - by @sunbeamsandmoonrays

what stays well hidden - by @periwinkle39

hidden - by @ladystarks

hidden - by @madgrad2011

hidden daggers, perfectly placed - by @standbehindhousestark

hidden - by @schnoogles

hidden//true - by @growstheoak

DAY FIVE - WINTERFELL | THE WALL

renew - by @jonsaslove

home - by @asongofsnow

cold and cracked - by @israfel00

winterfell - by @schnoogles

is a house really a home if all your loved ones are gone? - by @standbehindhousestark

winterfell - by @amymel86

the pleasure of the dance - by @sweetcalarinanis

remember - by @sunbeamsandmoonrays

winterfell - by @graceverse

winterfell - by @growstheoak

winterfell - by @esther-dot

nightmares - by @acourtofhopeanddreams

every chorus was your name - by @jolieunfiltrd

I shall sing you safe on your way (I shall sing you safely home) - by @miazeklos

Winterfell | The Wall - by @sweetaprilbutterfly

frozen AU - by @annawoodhull

winterfell - by @jade-masquerade

winterfell - by @sailorshadzter

the wall - by @amymel86

give me hope in silence - by @zoyaalinas

(not) a matter of timing - by @zarahjoyce

open your eyes - by @pax-2735

the tower - by @sunbeamsandmoonrays

the wall - by @madgrad2011

remedy - by @wildflower-daydreamer

the wall - by @ladystarks

DAY SIX - SPRING | AUTUMN

spring - by @amymel86

tempus vernum - by @sweetcalarinanis

spring - by @esther-dot

flower crowns - by @sunbeamsandmoonrays

summer flings - by @pax-2735

the mummy AU - by @annawoodhull

forget me not - by @acourtofhopeanddreams

new session - by @jonsaslove

shower your affection (let it rain on me) - by @miazeklos

spring - by @schnoogles

spring - by @sweetaprilbutterfly

spring - by @growstheoak

spring - by @madgrad2011

the lady bird and the winged wolf (spring) - by @jade-masquerade

spring - by @sailorshadzter

fall(ing) - by @asongofsnow​

(not) a matter of courage - by @zarahjoyce

autumn - by @graceverse

magnum opus - by @zoyaalinas

autumn - by @amymel86

DAY SEVEN - FREE

old new beginnings - by @miazeklos

sansa stark and the vampire - by @acourtofhopeanddreams

i want your midnights - by @part-timewonders

haunted - by @asongofsnow​

happiness - by @sweetaprilbutterfly

free choice - by @amymel86

a gaze across the field (part 1) - by @fedonciadale

a gaze across the field (part 2) - by @fedonciadale

lyanna lives AU - by @periwinkle39

the lady bird and the winged wolf (free) - by @jade-masquerade

[primergon]

TFP X GAME OF THRONES AU

A/N : This AU have been stuck in my head for ages now ! I might be writing several fantasy ficlets off these , so I’m just going to post them here + The bots stay bots here ! Only they are not titan-sized, but nearly as big as us !! Don’t hesitate to correct me if you see any mistakes <3 

A SONG OF METAL AND FIRE

ONCE, Earth was ruled under one kingdom. Under the reign of House Prime, the Thirteen ruled benevolently. Yet, the age of peace and prosperity came to a bitter end when Megatronus forced his Starsaber upon Prima. Conflict tore the once powerful House apart, leaving the Iron Throne to the hands of House Megatronus, while the rest formed their own factions. Years have passed, and Megatron, son of Megatronus, has done nothing but wage war upon both Humans and Cybertronians. 

Just as the people of Earth were about to succumb to their wretched fate, word of a savior arise from the North. He is coming, they say, the last Prime is coming for the Iron Throne. He has formed his own allegiance, and is on his way to usurp the merciless monarch.

And so it begins : A Game of Thrones.

Decepticons

House Megatronus of Kaon

“PEACE THROUGH TYRANNY”

Megatron, Soundwave, Dreadwing, Shockwave, Starscream, Knockout, Breakdown

With Megatron as king, House Megatronus have ruled the Earth with an iron fist. In the heart of Kaon lay Drakmount Tower, guarded by Vehicons and swarming with Seekers, the castle was impenetrable. The capital city was overflowing with riches, popular for its thriving community. Yet, even the sun casts a shadow - and Kaon has its own dirty secrets. Up in the highest point, sat Megatron on his Iron Throne, waiting for the young prince to come and challenge him.

House Seeker of Vos

“ AS HIGH AS HONOR ”

Dreadwing, Skyquake , Starscream ( but he left to align himself formally with house Megatronus)

House Seeker have dutifully aligned themselves with the Decepticon cause, swearing legacy upon House Megatronus. Located in Vos, a city that lies deep within Decepticon territory, it is known for having the tallest towers and buildings anywhere on Earth, giant silver towers that end in needle points. In this stretch of Sahara, they will offer their valuable armada to the King, doubling the size of his military. Dreadwing and his brother, Skyquake, equally ruled the Southern territory. While the youngest brother, Starscream, has successfully tied himself to House Megatronus. In secret, the prince felt robbed of his throne, seeking to claim his own within Megatron’s ranks.

House Black of Altihex

“ TOGETHER WE HUNT”

Airachnid & her Insecticons

House Black is situated in the darkest forests of the South. Altihex borders west of Vos, dwelling where the sun cannot touch them. It is said that the path would become deepest brown and the moonlight would bleach the stones leading up to her nest. Only those overcome with madness would dare to venture into forest alone, and hope to make it out alive. It is told that Airachnid aligns herself with no one but her Insections. Yet, she was last seen offering House Megatronus allegiance.

House Predacon of Kalis

“ FIRE AND BLOOD ”

Predaking, Darksteel and Skylynx

House Predacon of Kalis is an exiled Great House of Earth and the former royal house of the Kingdom. House Predacon conquered and unified the realm before it was deposed during Prima’s reign, making them an ancient enemy of House Prime. No one has heard of them after their exile to the Sea of Rust , until recently, the two surviving royals, Darksteel and Skylynx , have announced the return of  Predaking. Gripped with vengeance, The Last Sons of Fire offer their loyalty to House Megatronus, swearing to kill the Last Prime and end his bloodline.

Autobots

House Prime of Iacon

Optimus, Arcee, Bumblebee, Ratchet, Smokescreen ( once of House Magnus )

“ TIL ALL ARE ONE “

As an act of resistance, the once noble House have taken arms to fight against Megatron’s cruel and violent regime, spearheading the Autobot movement. Yet, unfortunately, they are still vastly outnumbered. The Autobots' capital city is located far in the North, where the days are short to make way for longer nights. Gripped by eternal Winter, House Prime have adapted to living in such harsh conditions, using the brutal cold as a shield against outsiders. This has largely decreased the numbers of Decepticon spies moving in and out of the city, and only the most competent enemies can infiltrate the town undetected.

Here, the Last of the Primes swore to reclaim his birthright, and they chant his name into the night ; symbol of hope, a symbol of unity. Optimus Prime is here to reclaim his throne.

House Magnus of Praxus

Ultra Magnus, Wheeljack, Bulkhead, Seaspray , Cliffjumper

“ BROTHERS IN ARMS  “

House Magnus is a force to be reckoned with. The legendary warriors built their stronghold East of Iacon, and in Praxus, the storms were violent and the tides are high. The laws of this city are fair and just, and those who dare to threaten its people are quickly found and brought to a swift justice. Bordering the sea of rust, these Praxian Soldiers have earned their fearsome reputation through their victory over the Battle for Tyger Pax. With Ultra Magnus acting as second in command to the Autobot cause, Megatron has every right to be concerned - for the commander and his team are coming his way.

THE RACE OF MEN

Following the fall of Prima and the Thirteen, the connection between Humans and Cybetronians was deeply wounded. For centuries, humans were ostracized by the children of Primus. They are deemed as the spawn of Unciron, harbringers of death, children of destruction. Promised to bring nothing but chaos, humans were exiled to the far west.

Here, they have split into two factions. 

House Darby of Winterfell

June,  Jack, Miko & Raf, Fowler

“ WINTER IS COMING “

June Darby knew they couldn’t run from this war the moment Ratchet showed up by the gates of their castle with an injured Optimus Prime. House Darby of Winterfell is known for their fierce loyalty. Their queen knew better than to turn them away, but at what cost ? This will be a declaration of war against House Megatronus, and she was not prepared to put her children on the line for a century-old war. Yet, it has been decided, the moment the wolf prince came to Prime’s aid during the Siege of Vector Sigma. In return, the Lord of House Bishop was sent to attack Winterfell under the warmonger’s orders, and the Darby children were separated ; Miko was heard to be last seen within the ranks of the Praxian Soldiers, while Raf was spotted wandering the borders of Iacon.

With her family scattered to the winds, Her Highness has no choice but to join forces with the Autobots. Tell them the North remembers. They say. Tell them winter is coming for House Megatronus.

House Bishop of Castlery Rock

“ HEAR US ROAR ”

Silas, Sierra, Vince and Amanda ( OC )

The Bishops rule over the Westerlands. Their seat is Casterly Rock, a massive rocky promontory overlooking the Sunset Sea. The Wardens of the West are akin to nobility, yet darkness plagued the halls of their castle. Having severed their alliance with House Darby, they aim to unite themselves with the Decepticons, by offering their eldest princess to the warlord himself. The Red Rose knew she was just as good as dead within the lion’s den, following the Decepticon’s obvious distaste for mankind. Not wanting to die in their metal claws, Amanda of House Bishop and her sister, Sierra, have planned an escape. However, they were separated in their journey, with only a promise to meet by the gates of Winterfell Castle.

In the middle of her perilous journey, Amanda was aided by the Knight of Praxus. With the promise of safely delivering her to House Darby, Ultra Magnus pledged himself to the princess. Together, they brace themselves for the oncoming war.

A/N : hehehe I hope you guys like this AU ! It took a while for me to piece this together, so enjoy ( peace sign ) <3

[chipotlepepperspokemonandother]

Festive Words List: 100+ Adjectives, Nouns, Verbs, Adverbs, and Names Relating to the Winter Holidays

For all your holiday writing needs!

Adjectives:

animated (ex: animated holiday scene).

emerald (ex: emerald ivy streamers).    

evergreen (ex: the evergreen wreaths of cypress and pine).

faithful (ex: faithful friends).    

familiar (ex: familiar films).    

melodic (ex: melodic hymns).    

merry (ex: multitudes of merry melodies).

peaceful (ex: peaceful snowfall).

peppery (ex: peppery party guests).

resplendent (ex: resplendent wreaths and ribbons). 

scarlet (ex: bells of silver, scarlet, green, and gold).

spirited (ex: spirited carolers singing seasonal songs).

snowy (ex: a snowy day).  

toasty (ex: toasty treats).

vert (ex: vert stockings and crimson caps).

warm (ex: warm colors, flavors, and feelings).

welcoming (ex: a welcoming hostess).

 Nouns:

advent (ex: the advent of this holiday season).

apples (ex: apples for jellies, jams, pies, pastries, and potpourri).

autumn (ex: autumn leaves).

bows (ex: beautiful bows atop perfect packages).

butter (ex: butter to boost the flavor).

cocoa (ex: cocoa covered in crème).

candles (ex: candles from the local chandler).

cardamom (ex: the recipe called for cloves and cardamom).

carol (ex: careening to Christmas carols).

comrades (ex: comrades from college).

cordial (ex: finishing the feast with cake and cordial).

cinnamon (cinnamon for the Christmas cookies).

eggnog (ex: nutty home-based eggnog).

family (ex: family from far away).

hanukkiyah (ex: the hanukkiyah placed in the darkened room).  

garland (ex: reams of ribbons and garland on the handrails).

gravy (ex: generous servings of golden gravy).

latkes (ex: the savory scent of freshly fried latkes).

lights (ex: a festival of lights).

memories (ex: making meaningful memories).

menorah (ex: Miriam’s menorah).

miracle (ex: celebrating the miracle).

mistletoe (ex: viridian mistletoe dangled from the doorframe).

ornament (ex: opaque ornaments beside a crystal candelabra).

packages (ex: packages picked for you).

pandemonium (ex: the pandemonium of Christmas morning).

pfeffernüsse (ex: preparing pfeffernüsse on the advent of December).

poinsettia (ex: plenty of poinsettia  plants)

potpourri (ex: stovetop potpourri of fir and cedar).

putri salju (ex: purchase putri salju from Padma).  

rum (ex: no rows over rum).    

reindeer (ex: bells on an enchanted reindeer).

Shamash (ex: the silvery sacred Shamash).

snickerdoodles (ex: Mary made snickerdoodles and mincemeat pie).

snowfall (ex: snowfall in the early hours).

sufganiyot (ex: sufganiyot served at six).

tinsel (ex: tin tinsel trickled down the trees).

tirggel (ex: tirggel treats from Timo).

wine (ex: red wine and crumbly cakes).

winter (ex: wonderful winter wonderland).

wonder (ex: the wonder of winter).

Verbs:

await (ex: awaiting the Birth of Christ).

bake (ex: bake pastries, pies, and pizzelles)

buy (ex: buy batter for baking).

burnish (ex: burnish the silverware for supper).

dream (ex: dream of December wishes). 

gift (ex: gift me goods). 

hope (ex: hope to see family and friends).

simmer (ex: letting the stew simmer).

sing (ex: singing psalms).    

swirl (ex: snow swirling).    

wait (ex: wait all night for Santa’s visitation). 

waft (ex: the scent of gingerbread wafted through the condo). 

wander (ex: wander Market Street).

wonder (ex: wonder and dream).    

Adverbs:

cheerfully (ex: cheerfully running through the snow).

generously (ex: shopped generously). 

graciously (ex: graciously provided the eggnog).

fervidly (ex: fervidly greeted guests).  

hungrily (ex: hungrily devoured the homemade latkes).

merrily (ex: merrily marched into town).

vivaciously (ex: vivaciously volunteered to go caroling). 

warmly (ex: smiled warmly). 

Names:

Angel

Angela

Astra

Aura

Aurora (Rory)

Bell

Belle

Berry

Bianca

Blanca

Blanche

Blaize (Blaise)

Blaze

Carol

Charity

Christa

Christian

Christina

Christine

Clara

Cristobal

Crystal

Cypress

December

Eira

Ember

Emmanuel

Emmanuelle

Estella

Estelle

Eva

Eve

Faith

Felicity

Felix

Fira

Fire

Frost

Gloria

Grace

Haile  

Harmony

Hope

Holly

Hoshi

Iclyn

Israel

Ivy

Jesus

Joseph

Joy

Juniper

Lucia

Lumi

Lux

Maria

Marie

Mary

Nicholas

Nichol

Neve

Nieves

Noel

Noelle

North

Oakley

Pax

Quilo

Rudolph

Serafina (Seraphina)

Serena

Serene

Shepherd

Snow

Star (Starr)

Storm

Vale

Whittaker

Winter (Wynter)

Yeshua

Yukio

Thank you @paradoxinyourpantshorse and @pokemonfanthings for your contributions. 

Please add on!

[mouse--quinley]

improvise, adapt | mouse & open

[An idea’s been prickling his mind since the storm ended, and after two days of spending all his spare time helping anyone who needed an extra set of hands, he finally has a moment to speculate on it. The sun’s nearing the dimming point where he’ll have to go inside to see properly, but for now he’s perched on one of the low walls that surround the Hub, pencil in hand and notebook open on his thigh.]

[They’ve been exhausting themselves trying to pull things back into shape, and the state of his trousers and arms where his shirt’s rolled up probably speak to how much cleaning and repairs the Col’s needed, both here and on the main buildings. But Pax had done himself a favour by putting more structure around his own stall, leading Mouse to consider bigger, more time-consuming (and improbable) possibilities. There’s no way they could get enough materials to actually cover the whole of the Hub, but in his head it’s there---partly arched beams at the top, like the old shopping arcades he remembered visiting as a kid... Space, but shelter enough that next winter it’ll be easier. Or the next time the heavens decide to open up and let loose on them, they won’t have to do this all over again.]

[And he can’t figure out what it is he’s thinking of, why that shape in his head is so familiar to him, until his eyes drift to the horizon and the boats.] Put a boat on it? That even possible... [He mutters suddenly, then flips to a new page and resumes scribbling. There had to be some old ships that weren’t seaworthy---either here, or at another port---and they could repurpose materials from a hull as a roof, maybe---]

[His Empatheia fails him and he doesn’t even realize he’s not alone until a long shadow falls across the page. Automatically he offers the same line he’s said to everyone else who’s asked if he’s intending to come in for dinner.] Be right in. [Then he looks up, sees who it actually is.] Oh---Sorry. Hi, I mean.

[natura-rp]

Planet: Erebus

A vast and frigid planet, Erebus sits further out in the trenches of Athena, distant and isolated, as untouchable as its citizens want it to be. Youngest of the three major planets, it may be viewed as fledgling, as still developing, but there’s fortitude and tenacity to be found beneath the ice and frost. For one must be steadfast to live among the grueling conditions of Erebus’ surface, and with enough grit, there’s enough riches and rewards to be ploughed from the frozen earth.

Planetary Prospectus

SIZE: 3x Earth

MAJOR AUTHORITY: House Lazarevic

PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT: Originally enveloped in ice, the terraforming of Erebus warmed the planet to a certain degree of habitability. Immense ice caps fed into floes, which melted to water, creating a more temperate environment to complement the sweepings forests and titanic mountain peaks that cover its surface. However, Erebus remains a cold, wintry planet despite the efforts, suffering from powerful blizzards and winter storms all year long.

MAJOR INDUSTRIES: lumber, stone, precious minerals (gems, jewels), metals (iron, copper, steel, gold, and silver), liquor, energy (terra victus), public service (prisons, law enforcement)

For notable locations on Erebus, please continue reading.

Capital City: Kitezh

Naturally protected by ancient forests grown tall and strong over time, Kitezh is a cold city only in temperature. Sturdy buildings of wood and stone keep the skyline low and allow for many of the natural wonders of the planet to shine through. Bustling and industrial, the citizens of Erebus take pride in their capital city for how well they survive - and thrive in - the elements.

Jumpgates

Main Jumpgate: Controlled by the Lazarevic family and can fit any sized spacecraft. 

Amihan Jumpgate: Controlled by the Amihan family in service to the Sikandar family. Meant for all Sikandar business, but primarily used personally by the Amihan family to run their shipping company back and forth from Erebus to Corinth.

Moons (3)

Andlang: Though cold and snow covered, the weather is almost always pleasant on Andlang, which makes for the perfect wintry vacation spot. Those who enjoy skiing, snowboarding, snowshoeing, and more flock to Andlang to take advantage of the freezing temperatures and luxurious accommodations for the wealthy. Beyond cozy cabins and guided treks, Erebus has made great use of the terrain to set up plenty of winter sports arenas and practice areas. Anyone who wants to prove themselves in the twice yearly biathlon events held by the Skadi family are best served to practice here.

Vyraj: What happens in Vyraj stays in Vyraj. Nearly all of the gambling, casinos, and entertainment attractions on Vyraj are encapsulated in interconnected glass domes to allow visitors to view the spectacular icy wonderland around them without ever feeling a chill. Find bookies and opportunities and regrets on Vyraj, but make once-in-a-lifetime memories too.

Liusha: Followers of The Faith of the Celestial Seven settled on Liusha as doubt crept into their beliefs about the astrological bodies they worshiped. By the time they’d set foot on the moon, they’d seen new planets, open space, comets, and more to dissuade them from their ideals. In a last ditch effort, they settled on Liusha and turned the moon into a thriving community for teaching and spreading their convictions. The religion has mostly fallen by the wayside, though offshoots remain strong, but their footprint is evident on Liusha, including a large and beautiful cathedral dedicated to the astrological bodies that were once foreign to Athenians.

Space Station

Domovoi Forum: Orbiting Erebus is the non-noble answer to the Pax Vultus station for the Consortium. The Domovoi Forum exists to allow businesspeople from CEOs to startups to investors to blue collar workers to meet up for meetings, conventions, and planning purposes. There are rumors of union talks occurring here, but no one dares breathe it outside of the station's walls.

Other Attractions (2)

Lysa Hora: Andlang may have plenty of mountain ranges to traverse, but the largest mountain, Lysa Hora, is located on Haukim family land. It is nearly twice as large and treacherous as any other mountain on Erebus and requires permission from the noble family to attempt a climb. Those who attempt to climb without a guide and a plan often do not return.

Belovodye Observatory: Built by religious scholars long ago, it is a miracle that the Belovodye Observatory survived the Great War relatively unscathed. Originally meant to unlock the secrets of the astrological bodies that The Faith of the Celestial Seven believed had untold cosmic powers, as the religion faded so did interest in exploring further systems. Today, the Belovodye Observatory is mostly a tourist attraction for viewing the present planetary system from a new angle.

[bytesnbolts]

✧･ﾟ: * aesthetics : colours edition.

Starprowler and Solar Pax

𝐁𝐋𝐔𝐄 cloudless sky / ocean waves / winter dusk / deserted rest stops / dust-filled book jackets / sea salt in your lungs / open space lofts / mountainside meditation / empty ski lodges / calm before storms / electric charged air / lighthouses / road trips with no destination / desert skies / summer breeze through a cottage window / cool air against water-soaked skin / seaside towns during off-season / wind-chimes / big bed with lots of blankets / coming home after a long time away / a wolf howling in the distance / fingers dancing along spine / a hug from an old friend / afternoon tea / wild flowers off abandoned highways.

𝐑𝐄𝐃 wine soaked lips / internalized rage / blood on knuckles / four poster beds / barefoot on marble floor / velvet drapes / lipstick marks / murder mysteries / old barns with hay lofts / mouth full of weapons / love / dark chocolate / apple orchard visits / handwritten letters / fresh strawberry fields / cherry flavored chapstick / soft candlelight / vintage pumps / tingles over your body / strong but gentle hand around your throat / scarf tied over your eyes / fog on a rainy night / intimate bar settings / complete destruction / kiss swollen lips / scratches against flesh / sitting by a fireplace / blood orange sunsets.

𝐘𝐄𝐋𝐋𝐎𝐖 community gardens / sunflower seeds / open fields / blowing dandelion fluffs / bubbles in spring / warm champagne / drafty cottages opened after winter / soft buzzing near your ear / loose braids / flaxen sundresses / handmade straw hats / warm butter on fresh toast / daisy chains / drum circles / sun on your face / maypoles / outdoor festivals / street food / car shows / pop art drawings / fruity flavors / mist on produce / running through sprinklers / cucumber water / wrap around porches / worn pages of a book / honey in tea / yard sales / freckled skin / tarnished gold lockets / angel food cake / windmills / flashlight beams.

𝐆𝐑𝐄𝐄𝐍 marshy swamps / haunted graveyards / old road signs / the house people tell stories about / lights flickering / jazz music / twig snapping / campfires / ghost stories / urban exploration / vines creeping up brick / wooden flutes / quiet forests / labored breaths / hiking trails / rain on leaves / bonfires / fresh smoothies / water logged grotto / painful whispers from jealous lovers / successful business ventures / leaky cellars / park theatre productions / mint scented lotions / ambitious promises / pine needle covered floors / oil lanterns / aloe on warmed skin / crushing floral foam / forgotten towns.

𝐁𝐋𝐀𝐂𝐊

crinkle of leather jacket / midnight walks / bulbs burning out / black lacquered nails / the sound of bats screeching / distant marching band music / noises when you’re home alone / blood soaked knife / dark lipstick on pale skin / scent of sulfur / soot on boots / slasher movies / glint of cat eyes in the dark / oil slicks on dark asphalt / basement bedrooms / investigating a noise / grainy camera footage / black and white photos / dust filled attics / empty theatres / whistling in the middle of the night / scratches at your window / wrought iron gates / lace neck ruffles / long floor sweeping skirts / broken music boxes / needle scratching on vinyl / lost memories / disembodied voices / forgotten faces.

𝐖𝐇𝐈𝐓𝐄 crisp scents / laundry on a line / fleece blankets / brightly lit hospital rooms / empty train stations / genuine laughter / feathers against skin / new life / cotton dresses / log cabins in winter / swan gliding through water / harp music floating through the air / plane rides for fun / mountain tops / ice sculptures / first snowflake of winter / linen freshly pressed / the scent of a running dryer / vanilla and cinnamon milk / a smile from a stranger / letters in the mail / a longing finally satiated / kiss of moonlight on skin / fresh canvas / snow glittering like diamonds / paint strokes / pretty lie told from a kind mouth / sparklers / coffee foam art.

tagged by [aka: nabbed from]: @beyond-use tagging: You get a tag! You get a tag! All of you reading this get a tag!

[jade-masquerade]

Tagged by: @pax-2735 --thank you for tagging me!

Tagging: anyone else who hasn’t been tagged yet and wants to play!

Ao3 name: Jade_Masquerade

Fandoms: Jonsa (GOT/ASOIAF), Uhtred x Aethelflaed (The Last Kingdom), Harry Potter in the past

Number of fics: 27 posted; sitting partially finished on my computer... I’m embarrassed to say lol

1. Fic you spent the most time on: My ongoing WIP The Thawing of Winter

2. Fic you spent the least time on: I saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus--I wrote it in just about an hour on Christmas Eve as soon as the idea came to me!

3. Longest fic: The Thawing of Winter --really my only multichapter work

4. Shortest fic: I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus 

5. Most hits: The Thawing of Winter

6. Most kudos: Again The Thawing of Winter

7. Most comment threads: Also The Thawing of Winter

8. Fav fic you wrote: It is hard to choose just one because there are things I like about so many of them! Besides my ongoing WIP, one I honestly do revisit and enjoy rereading though is In Case of Fire--I had so much fun writing it, I never really hit a point where I wasn’t sure what to say next, and it was the rare fic where it turned out exactly the way I had hoped!

9. Fic you want to rewrite/expand upon: I have a couple of ideas to follow up on my recent Uhtred x Aethelflaed fic I’ve Always Had Eyes For You

10. Share a bit of your WIP or share a story-idea that you’re planning:

The beginning bit for the next chapter of “The Thawing of Winter”:

Snows swept across the North again, swathing castles and hovels, roads and ramparts, trees and streams in thick blankets of white. The weather drove all those except the boldest of children playing in the yard and the sentries wrapped in furs standing guard indoors, even those who were hardy northerners complaining about the blustering winds and the biting cold.

Sansa had sent Jon a raven that managed to arrive before the storm, though by the time his response was received the snows had set in and there had been no sense in attempting to answer in return.  She told him her father had paid Winterfell a visit, and Jon replied he would return at once as soon as he was able, his ire conveyed through terse sentences and clipped words. Much to her disappointment, she realized that would not be happening any time in the very near future.  

[keatondj]

My Personal Ranking of Enya’s Discography

Before I really started getting into pop music and the music of today, before I was a true Little Monster or Arianator, before all of that, I had one true music idol: Enya. Enya is one of the most divine artists of our time, I think. 

I knew many of her songs from dancing to them at ballroom concerts or gigs (such as It’s In The Rain, Dreams Are More Precious, and Wild Child), but I never took the time to listen to how beautiful they were. I dug out Watermark from my parent’s CD cabinet one day in my junior year of high school, and became completely enraptured. I wouldn’t go a day without listening to her; yes, I would even fall asleep to her music. I just think she has the most incredible ear for rapturous orchestration, otherworldly vocal arrangements and layering, and heavenly melodies. I always look for music that is just beautiful, and she is the epitome of that for me.

Certain albums speak more to me than others, but all of her work is just absolutely divine. I’d love to share my thoughts and express my gratitude for her incredible work.

Reminder: this is my opinion. Everyone has a different ear, and certain sounds and songs resonate with different people. I’m just sharing my personal thoughts and experiences with these albums.

8. And Winter Came... (2008)

Although Christmas is my favorite holiday and the holiday season is just a sweet time of year, I’m not terribly fond of holiday releases. Other than Mariah’s “All I Want for Christmas is You”, many modern holiday releases are not noteworthy, and can’t live up to the true holiday classic we know and love. This album, unfortunately, falls in that category.

As a whole, this album just falls flat compared to the majesty of the rest of her work. Certain songs just don’t gel with me like “One Toy Soldier” and “My! My! Times Flies”; the use of the electric guitar in the latter just sounds corny, and I don’t enjoy it.

The album has its moments: “Dreams Are More Precious” as I mentioned is one of my introductions to Enya and it’s also one of my favorite songs of hers, the title song follows the tradition of a killer title song on an Enya album, and the “Oíche Chiúin (Chorale)” is Enya vocal-layering at its best, and it’s wonderful to hear such a beloved holiday hymn in another language.

It’s not an awful album; it’s not just heavy in my Enya rotation, we’ll say.

Favorite Songs: “And Winter Came...”, “Journey of the Angels”, “Dreams Are More Precious”, “Stars and Midnight Blue”, “Oíche Chiúin (Chorale)” 

7. Amarantine (2005)

This is another album that just doesn’t stand out too much for me. I actually think it’s quite a lovely album, and the fact that it has the first use of the Loxian language that Roma Ryan invented is exciting; “Water Shows The Hidden Heart” is probably my favorite song on the album from the use of the language and the fact that it’s just a really gorgeous song.

I don’t have a lot to say, really. It’s a fine album, but it just doesn’t resonate with me as much as her other albums.

Favorite Songs: “Amarantine”, “It’s In The Rain”, “If I Could Be Where You Are”, “A Moment Lost”, “Water Shows The Hidden Heart”

6. A Day Without Rain (2000)

This is an interesting album for me. It contains some of her strongest work and some of my most favorite of her work, but it’s not a favorite of mine either. I think the album artwork just speaks to quintessential Enya (and may be my earliest picture of Enya in my mind, I’m not sure), but it’s not my quintessential Enya album. The critics of the time absolutely hated it; I don’t necessarily agree with them, but I think I understand.

The album is incredibly top heavy, in my opinion. The title song is pure bliss, “Only Time” obviously took the world by storm for good reason (and unfortunately in the meme world as well, which I don’t appreciate), and “Deora Ar Mo Chroí” is one of the most beautiful and tragic songs I’ve ever heard. After “Flora’s Secret” (another song I danced to in ballroom), it really loses steam and power. I can hardly ever finish the album for this reason.

It’s musically one of her most gorgeous albums, but it’s not the most impactful or inventive.

Favorite Songs: “A Day Without Rain”, “Only Time”, “Deora Ar Mo Chroí”, “Flora’s Secret”, “Pilgrim”

5. Enya (1987) / The Celts (1992)

At first listen, I really did not like this album. I thought it wasn’t pretty enough, it didn’t have the key Enya elements, and it was too weird. Listening to it more and more, those are actually the reasons I really quite enjoy it now. 

It’s nothing like the rest of her work, which makes it so unique. She was just starting to find her musical sound and sensibilities, and this involved a lot more experimentation on her part. It’s so musically interesting and diverse, and so wonderfully late 80′s. It is a compilation of songs used on the show The Celts, but the fact that it holds up so well as an album itself is remarkable.

This album was a perfect starting point for the rest of her career and it holds up as a great album now.

Favorite Songs: “Aldebaran”, “Deireadh an Tuath”, “Fairytale”, “Boadicea”, “Dan y Dwr”

4. Dark Sky Island (2015)

You have no idea how excited I was to be getting a brand new album from Enya after I started being a huge fan. I wasn’t sure if we would get a new one after And Winter Came..., and little 19 year old me was geeking out too much at the thought of a new Enya album. To say the least, I was not disappointed at all.

This is one of her strongest releases in a long time; 7 years break from releasing music really benefited her, and she came back more powerful than ever. This is such a solid album, and I definitely had it on loop when it first came out.

I will say that none of my favorite tracks stand out against her earlier work, and there is no true powerhouse of the album. It is a very cohesive album, however, and that is how it is so successful. It’s a pleasure to listen to from start to finish.

I sure do hope we get more records from her in the future. I would be so eternally grateful if she could bless us just once or twice more.

Favorite Songs: “The Humming”, “The Forge Of The Angels”, “I Could Never Say Goodbye”, “Dark Sky Island”, “Diamonds On The Water”

3. The Memory Of Trees (1995)

I got this album for Christmas a few years back along with And Winter Came..., and believe me, I was listening to this album non-stop. This is the album that solidified my status as a true Enya fan.

For a while, this was my favorite Enya album, and maybe my favorite album of all time. However, my opinion has shifted, and I realize that I was just devastatingly in love with a few certain tracks. Like A Day Without Rain, this album is very top heavy for me, with the last few tracks not carrying the power of the beginning of the album.

“Athair Ar Neamh” took my breath away when I first heard it; I think it is her most beautiful song to date. I was just absolutely ravished by the haunting nature of the song with the signature Enya production behind it. It’s a song I can always throw on to feel comforted. 

All in all, this is an absolutely gorgeous album, and it’s part of the reason I’m so in love with her work.

Favorite Songs: “The Memory Of Trees”, “Pax Deorum”, “Athair Ar Neamh”, “Hope Has A Place”, “Once You Had Gold”

2. Watermark (1989)

This is the album that catapulted Enya into international stardom, and for good reason. This entire album is ethereal and blissful perfection. It really creates its own world and transports you on a journey filled with desire, contentment, and adventure.

It’s the first full Enya album I listened to, and I can always find joy and comfort in its gorgeous melodies, her haunting vocals, and the spectacular production on Nicky Ryan’s part. “Evening Falls” and “Na Laetha Geal M'Óige” were the two songs that established my sensibility towards Enya’s softer and slower songs, and I hold every other song to their standard, basically.

There is not a bad song on this album, and it definitely could take the number one spot. This is the perfect starter album for anyone trying to get into Enya, and it’s one of the most beautiful albums ever made.

Favorite Songs: “Watermark”, “On Your Shore”, “Exile”, “Evening Falls”, “Na Laetha Geal M'Óige”

1. Shepherd Moons (1991)

This is the quintessential Enya album in my opinion. It checks every mark, and then some. Everything about this album is just so perfect, incredible, powerful, etc. This is where she hit her stride, and delivered her most incandescent work. I can truly escape into another world when I listen to this album. It’s an album I need all the time; it’s one of the albums that really defines me. 

Every song is just so good; there’s not a dud at all. The ones that impacted me the most are “Caribbean Blue” and “Marble Halls”; both epitomize the qualities I love most about Enya. They are my two most favorite songs of hers, but I’m going to say that “Marble Halls” takes the cake for the top spot. It’s not an original work of hers (funnily enough), but it’s just the most gorgeous song ever. Nothing else to it; it’s absolutely flawless, divine, and any other adjective meaning “perfection”.

I love this album so much, and I will forever be indebted to Enya’s brilliance and majesty because of this album.

Enya is an absolute goddess of music, and I hope she knows how much impact she has to all her fans around the world. She is just amazing, and I will love her and her art forever.

[jflashandclash]

Traitors of Olympus IV: Fall of the Sun

Fifty: Kalypso

Satyr Butts and Catching Up

             Kally was happy they waited until she was awake to fill in the group about what happened. Frank wanted to wait until everyone was up, but Axel and Calex did a convincing job dissuading him from waking Euna.

Clovis had gently beckoned Kally out of her surprisingly peaceful dreams and Chris Rodriguez and Matthias Severe Hanson very ungently pulled Pax from inside his nest. Hazel was even generous enough to give Alabaster a white board and some dry erase markers.

           Kally feared the first thing he’d write was, My helm or your first born child.[1] Considering the ingredients he kept for his spells, she wasn’t sure what he’d want if she’d lost something of his that was so important.

           All of their possessions were gone when Kally woke up: her notebook, messenger bag, and his Cloven Terror helm. Even her clothing was gone. Instead, she woke up with an IV drip in her hand, a surgical smock, and pain with each breath. She had barely been able to pick up her glasses from the pillow beside her.

           It was creepy to think someone had changed them. The only people Kally knew well at camp had also been unconscious. For the time being, Kally would just pretend that was one of Will’s powers: magically poofing people into surgical-friendly clothing.

           The only person in the room who was allowed to keep their weapon—and Kally guessed “allowed’ was a strong word—was Euna.

           Instead of asking about his missing things, Alabaster scribbled down, Why? and pointed to the balloon beside his sleeping bag. It depicted a satyr on one side and the satyr’s ass on the other with a note that said, “Poke me; I sing!” There were also streamers strewn off his IV stand.

           “Apparently this is how a certain child of Hermes decided to thank you for saving his brother,” Dr. Claymore said. He never looked up from the book he was reading, though the smile that he cracked said he’d watch the Stoll set up everything while Alabaster slept.

           Alabaster’s fingers flashed over the board to write, Ajax. No.

           Pax, meanwhile, pouted.

Axel sighed. “His arms are too messed up to throw anything at it. Trust me. He tried.”

           Frank and Reyna sat in foldout chairs they’d managed to stuff into the room, moving Lapis’ closer to the weird bird cage in the corner. Hazel stood ready by the door like the most unassuming of guards. None of them wore armor, just SPQR sweatshirts and workout pants. Hazel’s fingers tensed around her spatha’s hilt. Reyna twirled her knife into the edge of her seat. A sword hung at both her and Frank’s sides. Every time Euna mumbled in her mossy cocoon, they would startle and go for their weapons.

           While nibbling on some microwave breakfast sandwiches, Reyna got them up to speed.

           “Apparently, after Prometheus brought Axel and Pax back here, he contacted Helios—”

           Kally felt her jaw drop along with a piece of egg. “Wait—that creepy, former sun god that used to work with Hemera?”

Kally remembered Helios and Eos, the Goddess of Dawn, dream-messaging her to say that Hemera had been taken.

           “Creepy is a forgiving choice of word,” Reyna said, looking utterly unamused.

           Frank coughed off to the side. “Reyna may have brought Helios up to speed on the last few decades of equality on gender treatment.”

           “With her fist,” Hazel said with a giggle. Whatever transpired must have been intense. Hazel was fanning herself.

           Axel smiled, looking impressed. Although Merry and Calex had informed Kally about his flirt-session with a cat goddess, Kally had a feeling no one could distract Axel from this praetor.

           Reyna cleared her throat and continued, “Prometheus contacted Helios—”

           “And said there might be an open job listing for Sun Chariot Driver,” Pax filled in, bouncing on his haunches.

           Apparently, before Kally woke up, Pax had been refusing treatment. She forced him to take some ambrosia with a Reese’s Stick. Now, she was wondering if the extra sugar before real food was a bad idea. Though, with the barely convincing smile on his face, she wondered if Pax was acting as peppy as possible to distract everyone from how he actually felt.

           Reyna nodded, looking a lot less like she wanted to strangle Pax than Kally would expect. “If Nyx wanted Hemera to come back alive, Eris told Nyx that she had to wrap Apollo in the Golden Net and keep him there, but didn’t mention anything about the chariot. When Nyx’s old business associate showed up to borrow the Sun Chariot, she didn’t try to stop him.”

           “How did Helios know where to find them?” Calex asked. He leaned up against the wall, sitting on top his sleeping bag. Kally winced anytime she glanced at him. Half his handsome face was covered in some vicious scabs that cracked when he talked. The bandages peaking out of his clothing indicated that wasn’t the only part of him that was cracking.

           Merry, sitting between them, would occasionally frown and apply pressure with a clean cloth when something bled too much. Her face was marred with bruises, and when Kally had tried to put a thumb at neutral position to see how Merry was feeling, Merry had shaken her head and mouthed the words, later, sweetie.

           Frank snorted and leaned back in his chair. “Augh, you should have heard Helios. ‘I helped find Persephone when Hades kidnapped her. You think I can’t find someone as high on his own sun fumes and flamboyant as Apollo?’’

           Hazel frowned. “They really don’t like each other. After Sadie, Leo, and Jason got Hemera and Lapis back and Lady Nyx let Lord Apollo go, he stormed back here. Helios had come back to get rid of Python’s corpse—”

           “Corpse?!” Calex and Kally echoed.

           Her head spun. She had put her everything into the last light javelin she threw, but… corpse?

           Calex slipped a hand past Merry to offer Kally a high five. “Nice play, Kassand,” he said.

           Kally struggled to raise her arm that didn’t have the skin graft. Every move made her ribs burn. On the list of reasons she found her powers stupid, having the ability to conjure the heat and brilliance of the sun without being fireproof topped everything else.

Seeing her slow movement, Calex leaned the extra way to tap her hand.

“Thanks for the assist, McKenzie,” Kally said, sincerely hoping they’d be well enough and the chaos would settle enough that she and Calex could scrimmage each other on the soccer field. Every time they high-fived, it made her long for a fun, normal-seeming soccer match.

           “Python will reform one day,” Reyna said. “Until then, Helios pried out her fangs for the two of you. Thalia already called dibs on one of the eyes to add to her Aegis shield.”

           “Thalia’s okay?” Axel asked, his ears perking up at the name.

           Reyna nodded. “Once Lady Diana saw the sun fall, she returned to check on everyone. Thalia is with Lady Diana now, assuring that Lord Apollo doesn’t skip out on details when they explain everything to the other Olympians.”

           The squeak of a marker brought everyone’s attention to Alabaster. He held up his white board. If his jaw wasn’t wired shut, he looked like he might have been smirking.

           Helios and Apollo didn’t get along?

           Kally suddenly wondered whose side Helios was on during the Second Titan War and why Prometheus, who apparently had been hiding since Mount Othrys’ fall, had been comfortable going to him for help.

           Hazel continued her story from where Kally had interrupted. Kally felt her cheeks get red, realizing how much she’d derailed them.

“Helios’ actions helped save the camp, but Lord Apollo was furious the older deity had borrowed the sun chariot. And Helios began shouting at him for neglecting his employees. He demanded Lord Apollo give Hemera, Eos, and Astraeus more benefits and more days off during the winter solstice. I thought they were about to start brawling, but that’s around when Artemis showed up and calmed her brother down. It was…” Hazel smiled softly. “Kinda sweet. You could tell Helios really cared. He only left to check on Hemera and make sure she and Nyx were okay.”

           “At least he had some redeemable features,” Reyna grumbled. She flexed her hand and Kally noticed the bandages around Reyna’s knuckles. “And Lord Apollo helped a little with the healing before he left. His song saved Lou Ellen and Michael Kahale.”

           Alabaster made a noise.

           Kally glanced over to see him covering his stitched jaw, where she knew a bone had been sticking out a day before. Judging by his pallor, he must have tried to talk.

           Kally didn’t have the heart to ask which people Apollo hadn’t been able to heal. A moment of silence passed; everyone seemed to be thinking the same thing.

           Pax stopped rocking on his haunches. “So, two of the Special Seven are here.” He pointed to Hazel and Frank. “I’m going to guess Piper and Annabeth are still doing some massive sleep marathons to get rid of the kissing disease and the buboes. Commander Valdez just left, and his good mood means he’s got his blond Superman around. Where’s your Aquaman?”

           The tone of his voice was a little too careful. Kally didn’t understand the seriousness of the question—she assumed Percy had other important things to do now that he wasn’t glued to a chair—then she saw the way Merry jutted her jaw to the side.

           “After Jason assured him that he’d focus on reconstruction, Percy went to spend the day with his parents and little sister,” Hazel said, “I think the whole family is coming to help out tonight. He’s a little rough though. Um… I think the early stages of mono are setting in.”

           Kally held her breath as Pax, Axel, and Lapis all turned their gaze to Merry. Even Calex frowned in concern, showing she hadn’t told him about anything yet.

           Reyna cleared her throat, sitting up.

           Merry waved the diversion off before Reyna could begin. “I guess I can’t really avoid the Debby Downer anymore,” she said. The buoyancy vanished from her voice. “I…”

           Her gaze had sunk to the floor. Reflexively, she tapped her collarbone, like she expected the music dial on her jacket to appear. After sucking in a shaky breath, she looked back up, glancing from Pax, to Axel, to Lapis. “Baby Jackson is safe… but, by the time the EMTs got there...” A silent tear rolled down Merry’s busted cheek. She withdrew her hand from Calex’s reach when he tried to touch it. “Hiro is paralyzed from the waist down.”

           Kally froze. She could hear the sound of three different cheeks popping.

“He fell onto one of the parapets… I shattered his mind. It was all I could think to do when—he’s at Mount Sinai hospital.” Merry’s breath was so short, she sounded close to hyperventilating. “I-I’m sorry.”

           Kally felt her mouth hang open in surprise. Iciness in her stomach made her set the half-eaten breakfast sandwich down. Her appetite was gone.

Merry hated violence. She wouldn’t even hurt bugs. Shattering someone’s mind? Was that even something Merry could do?

           Tears streamed down Pax’s face.

           Axel closed his eyes.

           Lapis choked into his gag. His chair thudded on the ground as he thrashed.

           Pax shot up from his bedding.

           Frank rose to intercept him, but Reyna shook her head.

           Pax scurried to Lapis. With a whimper at moving his arm with the injured shoulder, he tore off Lapis’ gag before anyone could stop him.

           That mustn’t have been what the praetor thought Pax would do. Maybe a hug. Not giving a psychopath their most dangerous weapon back.

           Hazel, Frank, and Reyna all tensed. Kally expected Lapis to cast some kind of Egyptian magic and send everyone’s faces smashing into the ground.

           Instead, Lapis sobbed, tearing making black lines as they mixed with his charcoal liner. “He’s alive. Our stupid grime-licking Dartface is still alive. You hear that, Tufted Ears?” Lapis looked up, his expression one of crazed glee. “There are still four Pax boys! Eat garbage, world! You can ‘t eradicate us that easily!”

           Pax and Axel released broken laughs. Pax snuggled, as best as he could, against Lapis.

           Axel muttered something back to Lapis in a staccato language that Kally could only guess was Mayan. The Egyptian barked something back that made them burst into more sob-laughs.

           Merry looked understandably speechless. She hugged herself and huddled further from Calex’s worried glance.

           Axel exhaled slowly and opened his eyes. “Merry, we expected you to do what you needed to do. Hiro babysat Percy’s little sister for days and was willing to cut off her fingers without a moment of hesitation.”

           “His mind was more like a mirror hanging out at a skeet shooting lounge,” Pax croaked.

           “But he’s alive,” Lapis repeated, rubbing the coal-tear streaks against his sleeve. “Our crazy bastard is alive.”

Lapis sat up to glare at Reyna. “I’m going to hug my brothers,” he announced. He muttered something in Egyptian and his bindings disintegrated.

           The Romans clutched their weapons tightly as Lapis rose. He half-dragged Pax, half-limped over to Axel’s sleeping roll and collapsed beside him, dragging Pax down on his other side.

           “We’re going to be a Facebook-friendly, snot-happy family, and we’re not losing any more of us. But, I’m still kicking both your sorry asses for all this shit later,” Lapis said, rubbing his face on some of Axel’s bandages. His scowl darkened when he pointed to where Merry was now sobbing into her cupped hand. “Don’t think you’re off the hook though, Wine Babe. You’re coming over all the flippin’ time to try to fix up Dart Face’s messed up head.”

           Merry didn’t complain. She nodded her head feverously. With that tiny hint at forgiveness, she leaned toward Calex.

           Despite all the terrible things Lapis had helped put them through, Kally felt her own eyes warm. Axel and Pax looked so much more relaxed with their family member beside them, like neither cared what was going to happen next. For a moment, she could picture some of the stories Pax had told her, about them playing in the school yards of Belize or pranking the carnival with Frasco. Her gut twisted to realize there really were only four members left when there used to be seven in their Tumbling group.

           Like Reyna had read a book on how to ruin family moments, she twisted her knife deeper into her chair and said, “We need to talk about that.” Frank and Hazel’s expressions fell. Alabaster made a low growling sound, closer to something Axel might make. Dr. Claymore shut his book and examined them carefully.

           “Merry being a Wine Babe?” Pax choked through hiccups.

           Reyna ignored him. “Frank and I discussed matters with Chiron and Annabeth. Considering Merry’s father’s position at camp and her importance in saving Percy’s little sister, we believe the Olympians will overlook her involvement with the Triple A Chimera,” Reyna said.

           Kally felt her stomach make a valid attempt to punch its way out.

           “We believe Calex will also be absolved of any crimes, as well as Kally, especially considering their prominence in taking out Python. However, Euna is a different matter. Her declaration and continued vehemence towards the gods will make her a target for Olympian ire and they’re going to be looking for a target after this humiliation.”

           Kally glanced over at Euna. The daughter of Demeter snored softly in her moss and grass cocoon. Despite the scythe in her hand, Euna looked peaceful, in a weird feral dryad sort of way.

           Any relaxation Axel might have felt about having another sibling close must have tensed away. He sat up, away from Lapis and Pax, pulled his shoulders back, and raised his chin. “You’re not taking Euna without a fight,” he said.

           Reyna sighed. She stood and walked over to Axel’s sleeping bag. When she knelt down, his gaze remained firm. Then, Reyna pressed the butt of her knife into Axel’s bandages.

           Pax and Lapis exchanged a look and a short conversation in Mayan. One of Lapis’ hands shot up and Pax shoved it down.

           Axel’s face paled at the pressure on his wounds. He collapsed backwards with little more than a grunt.

           “Will says that you’d be dead if that goddess hadn’t helped you heal,” Reyna said, sheathing her knife. “And Euna’s not the only one we’re worried about. The Triple A Chimera isn’t safe. New Rome has wanted to hunt you down for years, and I assume the gods want the same. Look at what Ares did as an unofficial punishment. Image what it would be like with a full consensus.”[2]

Kally could feel the saliva building in her mouth and she swallowed back the urge to vomit. The thought of Pax’s fresh injuries and both brothers’ internal turmoil flashed through her head. She still couldn’t believe the Greeks and Romans worshipped gods that would force people to kill their own family members. She knew Axel and Pax had screwed up in the past—they’d even betrayed her—but nothing warranted what happened to them.

“None of you could defend yourself right now. The spellcaster doesn’t have a mouth to cast a spell. The thief can't use his hands to throw a smoke bomb or plan an escape. The tank isn’t strong enough to hold up against the gentlest press from the butt of a knife,” Reyna said, her tone tight.

           “You said butt,” Pax whispered, though his face was still pale.

           No one laughed at Pax’s joke. None of them were in a condition to help the Triple A Chimera or Euna escape, except maybe Euna herself. Even then, maybe not. Tearing one god apart left Euna comatose for a day. What would Euna do if they summoned her to Olympus with the twelve gods?

           Squeaks interrupted the ominous hush. They glanced over to Alabaster as he flipped his white board over, What are you saying?

           His scowl was intense.

           “I’m saying that we’re grateful that you helped save camp, but that doesn’t make up for your crimes in the past.” Reyna’s sternness didn’t break under his glare.

           Merry, Kally, and Calex exchanged a terrified glance. This wasn’t right, and they all knew it.

           Frank cleared his throat. “But, we are also saying there is a lot of chaos happening at camp right now and it’s hard to keep track of who is here and who leaves and who was supposed to be guarding the Pax Mobile. Hazel, wasn’t it supposed to be Dakota?”

Hazel coughed and became very interested in something outside their room. “I’m not sure. I thought Dakota had a sugar crash and Bobby was supposed to take over for him? It’s kind of hard to say.”

After dealing with Axel and Pax for so long, Kally was relieved to see that Hazel was a terrible liar.

           Tension eased from Kally’s chest. Merry squeezed Kally’s shoulder. Calex chuckled.

           Axel still looked concerned as he struggled to sit up. Although they made it as subtle as possible, Kally could tell Lapis and Pax were helping him, especially when Lapis rolled his eyes. “Reyna?” he asked, like he was looking for affirmation.

           Although Kally usually looked at Axel as a leader of sorts, she wanted to hit him with a, shut up and accept it speech.

           Reyna folded her arms across her chest. Her face was unreadable. “If I didn’t want to face the Olympian’s wrath, I wouldn’t be here when the sunsets. That’s as long as Thalia suggested she could stall the Olympians, if there was a need. But, also, I would get out of here as soon as possible, in case any guards decided they wanted to change how vigilant they were being. Speaking of which, Zhang?”

           Frank sat up, and Kally got the feeling he often forgot he was a praetor. It made him a lot less intimidating and made Kally feel even worse that she’d given him a massive concussion during one of their… misunderstandings. With the Triple A Chimera on the run again, Kally wondered if any of those misunderstanding would be cleared up, or if the Triple A Chimera would go down in the history books as exclusively monsters.

           “We should decide who we wanted to post here, since Leo and Sadie might consider leaving early for their trip without telling anyone and there might be a gap in the guard,” she said. There was a hint of humor in her tone as she turned to step out the door.

           As Frank went to stand, Axel said, “Wait, I’ve been meaning to say something to Praetor Zhang.”

           Reyna continued out the door with little more than a wave. Apparently she was done with Pax nonsense for the day.[3]

           Frank paused. His expression twisted to one of trepidation and Kally couldn’t blame him. Out of all the heroes of Olympus, this shockingly nice son of Mars had taken the brunt of the injuries from their group, both mental and… emotional.

           “I’m sorry about your ear,” Axel said. The comment felt almost like a casual formality and Kally contemplated whether maiming apology letters were a thing.

           Frank reached up to touch the bandages still plastered to the side of his head. He frowned. “Yea, I’m still pretty mad about that. But… um… Sorry my dad made me interrupt your date. I would have at least waited until you were alone to arrest you. Do you guys… know what happened to it? My ear, I mean? Will said we could have reattached my ear if we had it…”

           Frank looked a little queasy. Kally had to wonder: if someone ripped off her ear, would she rather they had eaten it or the ear just been lost?

           Alabaster and Pax exchanged a glance. Axel’s face remained blank, but he puffed up his cheeks and popped them.

           The son of Hecate tapped his white board to draw attention to him. After an uncomfortable period of marker squeaks, Alabaster held up his board, No. It would be weird if we took it, right?

           Frank’s shoulders slumped. “I just wish we hadn’t lost it,” he said.

           Calex cleared his throat. Kally made herself look anywhere but at Frank. Merry glanced at all of them with a disapproving, confused hum.

           Before anyone could stop him, Pax let out a nervous giggle. “Oh, we didn’t. It’s in a tube of formaldehyde in Alabaster’s basement.”

           Frank paled. His mouth moved a few times in horror. Hazel’s eyes went wide.

           “I just wish we’d lost it,” Frank corrected forlornly. If possible, his shoulders sank lower.

           “Oh!” Pax said, “Speaking of not losing things that could emotionally destroy cute Canadian boys.”

           From within his blanket nest, Pax withdrew a charred stick and balanced it on his busted hand like he was presenting a baby lion.

           Hazel reacted first. She snatched the stick from Pax’s palm and held it close to her chest. “When did you get this back?!”

           “We thought Atë still had it!” Frank said. He rushed to Hazel’s side, slipping a hand to hers to touch his stick.[4] “Thank—wait, were you the one that set it on fire during the fight? I felt that.”

           Frank scowled at Pax.

           Pax puffed up his cheeks and popped them. “If I said that I gambled your life force for a good cause—Aye!”

           “What Ajaxapax is trying to say is that he’s sorry for stealing your piece of ugly kindling in the first place,” Lapis said. His fingers were pinched tightly around Pax’s ear. His charcoal-lined eyes narrowed as he gave Pax a devilish grin. “Just ‘cause Tufted Ears traumatized you doesn’t mean you get an easy pass.”

           “But—but my year of consequence-free pranking!” Pax squeaked, squirming to break Lapis’ hold.

           Hazel tucked the stick neatly into Frank’s pocket. “When did you get it from him in the first place?” she asked. “Frank is really careful with his stick.”

           Lapis released Pax so he could give a proper explanation.

Heat rose in Kally’s cheeks. With everything going on, she couldn’t remember why she was so enraged by the mention of that stick, but she knew it was something that made her furious.

As they watched, Pax’s features shifted. His skin darkened several shades as his hair lightened to a cinnamon. His black eye lightened to match the hazel one. His frame shrank. Within a few seconds, there were two Hazels in the room. Fortunately, his hand stayed busted and bruised as a dead giveaway in the event that they decided to play a quick round of Ring around the Rosie. Pax-Hazel altered the way he was sitting, mimicking Hazel’s shy demeanor.

Frank’s jaw dropped.

Real Hazel gasped.

           Hazel-Pax batted his-her eyes at Frank and fanned her face. When he spoke, his accent mimicked her slight Louisiana one. “Oh, the day after we arrived in New Rome? It was just a little detour that Frank and I took on our walk to the training fields.  I needed you two to be too flustered to communicate, so no one would realize there were two Hazels walking around. And I needed a centurion that the praetors would trust to go into the principia on their own.”

           “Wait, what?” Axel demanded, scowling at Pax.

           “You dodgy perv,” Calex said, putting the good half of his face into his hand. “Do you want these blokes to go back on letting you go?”

           Frank looked like he couldn’t decide if he was going to be sick or if he was going to turn into a rhino and gore Pax. Hazel looked horrified. “You were mean to Frank? As me?!” she asked, sounding genuinely hurt.

           Kally remembered why she was in the let’s hurt Pax party.

           “Yea, ‘mean.’” Hazel-Pax lost the act. At real Hazel’s appall, he gave Frank an endearing smile. “She’s so cute and innocent.”

           Frank seemed to decide on goring Pax. He stood back to full height and Kally could see him tensing for an attack.

           Lapis twisted Pax’s ear again. Pax shrieked while morphing back into his raven-haired, hazel-and-black eyed, Hispanic self.

           “Aye! Okay! Okay! I’m sorry I impersonated your girlfriend and rocked your morning!”

           “We’re giving you this head start because you saved the camp,” Frank told him, shaking with rage, “But, once we help rebuild the camp, I’m fulfilling my father’s quest and dragging you before the Olympic council in place of your brother.”    

           With the threat, Frank stalked off down the hallway.

           Hazel paused. She walked up to Pax and punched him in the face.

           Pax squealed again, pressing his ruined palm to his face. “Well deserved punches are the most painful!”

           Hazel’s mouth moved a few times. She blushed. When she couldn’t think of the right words, she stormed off after Frank.

Although Kally knew Pax’s words were light, the tone was choked, like all his obnoxious bravado had met its match. For an uncomfortable moment, she wondered if Pax had been intentionally a jerk to let Frank and Hazel focus on that, instead of going easy on him after… everything.

           Kally shook off the feeling. She was still mad at him for doing whatever he did with Frank while they were almost-not-really-dating. She was also mad that she couldn’t decide if she did or didn’t want to know what it was or if that even mattered. There had been so much going on, and so much almost dying, that Kally hadn’t had a chance to think about her feelings for Pax, or that Alabaster had kissed her in the infirmary, or that Alabaster and Pax had dated, or that Pax had locked himself into a hopefully platonic date with his half-sister. There was still too much going on to acknowledge that train wreck.

           New rule: no flirting until at least one month after the most recent traumatic event. Preferably with everyone in safe locations with fewer gods trying to kill them.

           Kally glanced at Pax, wondering how long he’d make it before—

           “What did you do?” Axel demanded again, his voice tight.

           Tapping emitted across the room and Alabaster pointed to his board. And why did you need access to the principia? Unlike Axel, Alabaster looked amused.

           “Yep, still illiterate,” Pax reminded him, though Kally suspected he’d dodge that question regardless. “Let’s just say that Frank might know these hands better than Alabaster or Kally. And really, that—in itself—is a crime.” Pax held his hands up and winked at Kally. He blew a kiss to Alabaster as best he could. Although he was trying to look playful and cute, the way his shoulder slumped and the discoloration of his hand almost distracted Kally from the obscenity. Almost.

           Axel sighed. “Lapis, can you hurt Pax for me?”

           Pax didn’t squeak fast enough when Lapis snagged his ear. There was a split second where Kally could see Pax examining his hand. His forearm twitched with movement, but only his thumb folded to the bruised skin. A sickness returned to Kally’s stomach when she realized he was trying to move his other four fingers. All their hard work reattaching Pax’s tendons had been undone. She wondered if he’d ever be able to move his fingers again.

           In one way, that felt like karma, with how much of a sneak thief and pickpocket Pax was. But then Kally remembered how much Pax liked to paint and sew and bake for others. She remembered how he used his pickpocketing to help his brother combat his nicotine addiction.

           That moment of Pax’s silent recognition past, then he was whining under Lapis’ grip. “Aye! Okay! I lied! Kally still knows this hand better!”

           Merry shoved Kally’s shoulder while humming Let’s get it on.

           Kally felt like her face had caught fire, her head scrambling to figure out what he was—

           “Because I cut it open for surgery?” she half-asked, half-explained. That’s the only thing he could—  

           Something made a loud thump. Kally jumped. Pain exploded in her ribs and she inhaled sharply. That’s when she remembered there was an adult in the room, listening to this whole conversation.

           Claymore had slammed his book shut, which Kally didn’t even remember him reopening. “As charming as this teenage idiocy is, it might be prudent to follow the praetors’ suggestion of haste. The Triple A Chimera and Euna are on a timeline. I don’t want to see what will happen if they change their minds.”

 ***

Thank you for reading!!! I hope you enjoyed :D Stay tuned next week for Kally’s chapter, A Stalling Resolution. And, afterwards, stay tuned for the Part One/Part Two epilogues the following weeks! We’re so close to being done!

 ***

Footnotes:

[1] Pax would like to say that Alabaster probably wants to say this regardless, but not with the same intention that Kally fears.

[2] I just had to note the amount of swearing and anger Mel wrote in her betanotes about this. XD

[3] Mel beta note: “BUT YOU LOVE ONE PAX’S NONSENSE, RIGHT?! THERE’S STILLL A CHANCE, RIGHT?!”

[4] I will leave this how it sounds and judge all of you for saying anything between this cute Canadian and sweet New Orleans girl could be dirty.

[gwydionae]

Dice, Camera, Action Timeline

(So. Uh. While going through DCA again I decided to keep track of how much time has passed. Don’t know if anyone already posted something like this, but after taking the time to type it up, I thought I’d share in case anyone else was interested. I am kind of amused by the fact that they were only originally in Barovia for less than two weeks. XD

All days are totaled according to the amount of time passing for the Waffle Crew and does not account for discrepancies between places like Barovia, the Shadowfell, Toril, etc. I am not adding the K’thrissmas Special as it was recorded earlier but aired months later, making it pretty impossible to properly place timeline-wise. If anyone has any corrections, feel free to let me know.)

~*SOME NUMBERS ARE APPROXIMATE*~

SEASON 1 - CURSE OF STRAHD - 14 days total Ep 001 - Day 1 (Spend 1 night outside) Ep 001-003 - Day 2 (Spend 1 night outside) Ep 003-005 - Day 3 (Spend 1 night at hag windmill) Ep 005-008 - Day 4 (Travel to Krezk) *nighttime travel/rest not confirmed* Ep 008-009 - Day 5 (Spend 1 night in Krezk) Ep 009-013 - Day 6 (Spend 1 night outside) Ep 013-016 - Day 7 (Spend 1 night at winery) Ep 016-017 - Day 8 (Spend 1 night in tower) Ep 018 - Day 9 (Spend 1 night in Amber Temple) Ep 018-022 - Day 10 (Spend 1 night in Amber Temple) Ep 022-025 - Day 11 (Spend 1 night in Van Richten's tower) Ep 025 - Day 12 (Spend 1 night in Van Richten's tower) Ep 025-028 - Day 13 (Spend 1 night in Argynvostholt) Ep 028-031 - Day 14 (End of the first season) *end of day not confirmed*

SEASON 2 - STORM KING'S THUNDER - 51 days (+50 years) total Ep 032-033 - Day 15 (Spend 1 night at lodge) *beginning of day not confirmed* Ep 033-034 - Day 16 (Spend 1 night at lodge) Ep 034-035 - Day 17 (Travel to Citadel Adbar) Ep 035 - Days 18-26 (Travel to Citadel Adbar) *exact amount of days not confirmed - "in week 2"* Ep 035-036 - Day 27 (Spend 1 night outside) Ep 036 - Days 28-32 (Travel to Citadel Adbar) Ep 036-037 - Day 33 (Spend 1 night in hut) Ep 037 - Days 34-42 (Travel to Citadel Adbar) *exact amount of days not confirmed - estimated travel time left was 10 days in ep 36* Ep 037 - Day 43 (Spend 1 night with Ur'greys) Ep 037-038 - Day 44 (Spend 1 night with Bronzefires) Ep 038-039 - Day 45 (Travel to Yak Folk village) Ep 039 - Days 46-47 (Travel to Yak Folk village) Ep 039-048 - Day 48 (Spend 1 night in Ironslag) *exact amount of days in Ironslag not confirmed - based on group resting only* Ep 048-050 - Day 49 (Travel to Citadel Adbar) Ep 050 - Days 50-52 (Travel to Citadel Adbar) *conflicting travel times given by Chris - "1 day" plus "a couple more days" could equal the amount of time it took to get to Ironslag (3/4), but then he says they haven't seen Waffles in "a week or so"* Ep 050-052 - Day 53 (Spend 1 night in Citadel Adbar) Ep 052 - Days 54-55 (Spend 2 nights in Citadel Adbar) *exact amount of days in Citadel Adbar not confirmed - 3 days or less* Ep 052-056 - Day 56 (Magically goes from night to morning and XXX years in the past) Ep 056-058 - Day 57 (Everyone dead but Strix) *50 years pass in Ep 058* Ep 059 - Days 58-64 (Travel to Kronenheim) *exact amount of days not confirmed - enough to establish the Dragon Cultists using the sending stone "every couple of days"* Ep 059-061 - Day 65 (Spend 1 night on airship)

SEASON 3 - TOMB OF ANNIHILATION - 116 days total (almost 4 months) Ep 061 - Days 66-72 (Travel to Chult) Ep 061-062 Day 73 (Travel to Chult) Ep 062-064 Day 74 (Spend 1 night in Port Nyanzaru) Ep 064-065 Day 75 (Spend 1 night in hut) Ep 065 - Days 76-78 (???) *exact number of days lost due to the mostly missing episode - at least “3 to 4 days”* Ep 065-067 - Day 79 (Travel to Camp Vengeance) Ep 067 - Days 80-87 (Travel to Camp Vengeance) Ep 067-068 - Day 88 (Spend 1 night in jungle) Ep 068-070 - Day 89 (Travel to Oralunga) Ep 070 - Days 90-92 (Travel to Oralunga) Ep 070-071 - Day 93 (Spend 1 night in hut) Ep 071 - Days 94-101 (Travel to Oralunga) Ep 071-072 - Day 102 (Travel to Omu) Ep 072 - Days 103-109 (Travel to Omu) *Ep 073 takes place around days 107/108* Ep 072-074 - Day 110 (Travel to Omu) Ep 074 - Days 111-112 (Travel to Omu) Ep 074-077 - Day 113 (Spend 1 night in Omu) Ep 077-081 - Day 114 (Spend 1 night in Omu) Ep 081-083 - Day 115 (Search for Paultin) *passage of time is out of sync between Paultin and the rest of the Crew - I am going by days passing for the majority of the party for these numbers* Ep 083 - Days 116-152 (Travel in Shadowfell) *exact amount of days not confirmed - 32 days for sure plus some additional days as Chris lowers Diath and Strix's max HP further* Ep 083-085 - Day 153 (Travel in Shadowfell) Ep 085 - Days 154-182 (Travel in Shadowfell) Ep 085-087 - Day 183 (Spend 1 night in hut) Ep 087-089 - Day 184 (Spend 1 night with hags) Ep 089-091 - Day 185 (Spend 1 night in Port Nyanzaru)

Total time passed in 3 seasons: Almost exactly half a year (+50 lol)

SEASON 4 - WATERDEEP - 157 days total (a little over 5 months) Ep 091-093 - Day 186 (Travel to Waterdeep) Ep 093 - Days 187-191 (Travel to Waterdeep) Ep 094 - Days 192-215 (Travel to Waterdeep) Ep 094-097 - Day 216 (Spend 1 night in Waterdeep) Ep 098 - Day 217 (First night in the Wafflehaus) [ Ep 099 - Days 218-238 (Stay at the Wafflehaus) *exact number of days not confirmed - “some number of days and/or weeks”; at least 5 days needed for Diath’s journey to and from Red Larch, presumably including 1 night there, plus time for all of them including Diath to feel settled in* ] [ Ep 100 - Days 239-241 (Spend 1 night in Nightstone) *number of days based on Part One of the five part episode - Strix and Diath were taken by the mists the same day Strix got the message from Omin, but Paultin and Evelyn took a 2 day journey to Red Larch and were then spirited away* ] [ Ep 101 - Days 242-244 (Journey to Waterdeep) *exact number of days not confirmed - “multi-day journey”; estimated journey based on maps and compared distance to Red Larch* ] [ Ep 101-102 - Day 245 (Spend 1 night saving Waffles) ] [ Ep 102-103 - Day 246 (Stay at the Wafflehaus) ] [ Ep 103 - Days 247-248 (Stay at the Wafflehaus) ] [ Ep 103-104 - Day 249 (Stay at the Wafflehaus) ] [ Ep 104-105 - Day 250 (Stay at the Wafflehaus) ] [ Ep 105 - Days 251-253 (Stay at the Wafflehaus) *exact number of days not confirmed - “over the next day or two” and then “over the next day or two” again* ] [ Ep 105-110 - Day 254 (Operation in Xanathar’s lair) *the passing of a day isn’t specified, however the kids were at the neighbor’s long enough to know that elves don’t sleep* ] [ Ep 110 - Day 255 (Stay at the Wafflehaus) ] [ Ep 111 - Days 256-262 (Stay at the Wafflehaus) *exact number of days not confirmed - “some time has passed”, “a period of tranquility”, though Paultin is still an egg throughout so probably not too long* ] [ Ep 112 - Days 263-276 (Stay at the Wafflehaus) *exact number of days not confirmed - “some time has passed”* ] [ Ep 113 - Days 277-290 (Stay at the Wafflehaus) *exact number of days not confirmed* ] [ Ep 114 - Days 291-304 (Stay at the Wafflehaus) *exact number of days not confirmed* ] Ep 115-116 - Day 305 (Stay at the Wafflehaus) Ep 116-117 - Day 306 (Evelyn stays at Wafflehaus, Diath stays in jail, Strix and Paultin are out) *Talastin Aderagon visits in the morning and Diath has his first day in jail, so one night passes between 117 and 118* Ep 118 - Day 307 (Stay at the Wafflehaus, real Diath still in jail) Ep 118-121 - Day 308 (Stay at the Wafflehaus) Ep 122 - Day 309 (Stay at the Wafflehaus) *it is never specified how much time takes place before or after this episode* Ep 123-124 - Day 310 (Stay at the Wafflehaus) Ep 124 - Day 311 (Stay at the Wafflehaus) >Ep 125 - Days 312-327 (Stay at the Wafflehaus, Evelyn with Jarlaxle night 327)< Ep 126-127 - Day 328 (Stay at the Wafflehaus) *exact number of days between 127 and 128 not specified - ep 128 “recently” after 127, kids supposedly got gifts “about a week” since 128 which happened on day 310 (ep 123), so as that already conflicts, I made 128 the next day so it adds the shortest amount of time possible* Ep 128-131 - Day 329 (Stay at the Wafflehaus) Ep 131 - Days 330-331 (Diath and Strix travel to Rassalanter; Paultin and Evelyn stay in the Wafflehaus) Ep 131-132 - Day 332 (Stay at the Wafflehaus) Ep 132-134 - Day 333 (Stay at the Wafflehaus) <Ep 135 - Days 334-339 (Stay at the Wafflehaus; Evelyn travels to and from Red Larch?) *it is never specified how much time takes place before or after this episode*> Ep 136-137 - Day 340 (Saving kids from Jarlaxle) *ep 136 starts at midday, but ep 140 has it at evening after a long rest with no mention of night passing, so I am basing this off of the assumption that a night passed while dealing with Jarlaxle* Ep 137-140 - Day 341 (Stay at the Wafflehaus) Ep 141 - Day 342

[ *In 99, Chris says it is “the end of winter, going into spring”, and in 114, he says it is “late spring”, so I totaled the number of days between these episodes to equal a little less than 3 months.* ]

Also fun to point out that in 130 Chris says that the Crew has known Warrington about “4 to 5 months”, and as they met him in 94, this lines up perfectly, having known him a little over 4 months by my estimates. So I didn’t have to readjust anything! Yay! lol

>125 is a bit weird as it’s the live game where the cast was DMed through envelopes and everyone had a separate turn. Jared/Paultin took place over days 312 to 317; Nate/Strix took place over days 312 to 319 (calculated by assuming Strix brought Waffles to the circus after Simon came back); Anna/Diath took place over days 318 to 327 (calculated due to Strix talking to Diath about owlbear sex at the very start); and Holly/Evelyn took place all in one day and directly before episode 126, thus day 327. This is assuming that the “extras” took place between days 318 and 327. All numbers are approximated as there was a lot of “a few days later” type descriptors being thrown around.<

<Evelyn’s guest spot on the Pax East 2019 C-Team game conflicts heavily with the facts we have from DCA. 139 is supposedly after it, but 136 is supposedly before it. However, 136-139 is all one, unbroken narrative, so it couldn’t possibly fit between them, especially when Evelyn has to make the journey to and from Red Larch, which is at least 6 days by my earlier estimations. It’s possible it could fit after 134 and before 136 as the number of passing days is unspecified, but that would mean retconning things Evelyn said in regards to what happened in 136. So I added enough days to fit it there, but continuity-wise, it still doesn’t fully work.>

NOTE: In 117, Chris says that the theft of the Evelyn statue - which occurred in 106 - was “A week ago? Two weeks ago?” however unless 2.5 months pass at the beginning of 99 alone, this is impossible and should be chalked up to him being an “unreliable narrator”. This is not the only instance of him being one, but it was a fairly glaring contradiction, so I thought I’d point it out!

Interesting Facts (some numbers are approximate):

Evelyn was a construct for 127 days

Paultin was without a shadow for 41 days

Diath was a ghoul for 4 days

Simon 1.0 was with the party for 33 days; he had first met them 2 days prior; Simon 2.0 would be found 9 days after his death

Hooty McHootface was with the party for 17 days; Waffles was only 24 days old when 3/4ths of the party died

The Waffle Crew carried a nuke around for 72 days

If my numbers are correct, then it took the party 39 days to get from Port Nyanzaru to Omu, and Diath, Strix, and Paultin would have each lost 13 HP along the way

Anything in season 4 is nearly impossible to have accurate due to all the vague descriptors, and I’m sorry XD

But if my numbers are even remotely correct, season 4 took up almost half the amount of time that passed on the show as a whole

Also not even a full in game year passed - wild