#also once I'm at home I'll make a list of every character that still doesn't have any art whatsoever submitted

[transgenderswagcompetitions]

Sorry for the extended delay! The move has been a bit more taxing than I thought. I'll arrive at my new home on Thursday and should start working on the bracket and setting up prelims by Friday, and hopefully have the bracket posted by Saturday with prelims starting either on Sunday or Monday.

In the meantime, if you've submitted a character that doesn't have any official art, I would appreciate if you could try to either find an existing piece of fanart and ask the creator if it can be used in the tournament (with credit, of course), or create or use your own fanart (which will also be used with credit). I really like having pictures of the characters when making battle edits, but only a few of the submitted characters have official art. No worries if this isn't possible, though, I'll just use the book cover if no fanart is submitted!

[thefoxtherapist]

hiii! i saw you were taking requests for wuwa and was wondering if you could write general cuddling headcanons or scenarios for jiyan, calcharo, scar (idk if he’s a cuddle type guy lol), and/or any other characters of your choosing. can have already established relationships

tysm 💜👾

Thank you for the request! I hope you like it! I'm still learning the characters so go easy on me o7

-Scar actually strikes me as somebody overly clingy if given the opportunity. If his schedule allows for it, there's almost nowhere else he'd rather be.

-He's pretty brash about his wants and needs, he doesn't hesitate to take what he wants. And yet, his approach to relationships and intimacy differs from this. If his storytelling is to be believed, I think he'd be hesitant.

-But the moment you open your arms when he comes home? Scar's arms are around your waist in seconds. Always a bit too tight, face buried against you in one way or another. It can be bruising at times, or the complete flipside of far too gentle.

-With Scar its rarely big spoon/little spoon. He prefers when you're laying on your back, either on the bed or the couch. He likes to lay partially on top of you, his face buried in your neck, body half on top of yours like a protective shield. Your arms around him, holding him tightly.

-If he can't breathe because he refuses to remove his face from your neck or hair, then he's cuddling correctly!

-You know those memes that are like (brooding edgy guy) "and what were you up to-" "killing..." "we were cuddling." YOU CAN'T DO THAT WITH HIM! Scar will PROUDLY announce everything you two were doing. IN DETAIL.

-He's a proud man. And you've eaten his hair. Ultimately, 7/10.

-Jiyan gonna hit you with "I'm too busy right now, I'll make it up to you." then never make it up to you. The weight of the world is on his shoulders and to some degree he put it there himself.

-You gotta drag his green ass into bed, I'm sorry. But once he's in bed, he will stay there. The thing about cuddling with Jiyan is that it isn't just cuddling? It's also nap time. He's tired, he's overexerting himself, he's fighting a bazillion internal and external wars.

-He likes being the big spoon (you slept on his hair accidentally ONE TIME). Jiyan is a bit tense as his arm wraps around you, his other arm under the pillow. At first his chin will rest against your head, he'll sorta look over you.

-Eventually though he'll relax, his chest will loosen, his grip will loosen, and his face will drop into the top of your head. His breathing gets quieter, calmer. Every time he breathes out a lil hard, there's a gentle breeze that rustles the sheets. But it keeps the temperature perfect.

-It is at this point you could turn in his arm if you want to, bury your face into his chest. Jiyan is fast asleep and happy to hold you as he finally gets some rest with his lover. He's a bit of a snorer though, sorry.

-3/10 on a normal day, but once you get him into the freaking bed, he's so comfortable to nap with and snuggle so 9/10 once hes in there. Good luck though.

-So the edgy brooding guy I mentioned in Scar's section, that is Calcharo. Most of the people who work for him, or even know him, don't even know he has a partner. This is to keep you safe.

-But because of this, physical intimacy is often put aside for safety. He isn't a fan of it, I doubt you're a fan of it. But Calcharo puts those he looks out for pretty high up on his priority list.

-You have a secret knock. And when he knocks in that secret way, he's quick to push by you and into your home. He's quick to check all the locks before he even says hello.

-But his hello is picking you up and bringing you to the nearest soft surface. Your back hitting the couch cushions, him still holding your thighs as he pretty much lays on top of you at a bit of an awkward angle.

-Calcharo tends to kiss and cuddle, it isn't just a relaxing snuggle, he wants to get his kisses in too. Each one gentle, almost tired, as he peppers your face in small kisses. He's a bit like, yes I am saying this to be silly, a puppy.

-If you don't push him off and get him outta his gear, he will sleep like this. Look at that man, he's tired. But the second you push on his shoulder, he's off of you. Very respectful man, my beloved. But he'll follow you to your bedroom, dropping gear on his way. His weapon beside your bed.

-8/10. He's back to giving you kisses and he hasn't undone his boots yet.

[mrinafria]

[contains spoilers]

I'm an eternal digger of good narrative techniques. A decent story becomes great in my eyes if the narrative is done right. And it's one of the hardest things to do really, since there's no one-size-fits-all rule for what technique works well with a particular story and what doesn't. One of the primary reasons I keep obsessing over Lovely Runner is its' narrative technique. In all honesty, if it had a linear, singular narrative, I would not be hyperventilating over it on a constant basis (I still would just a certain amount, because both Byeon Woo Seok and Kim Hye Yoon deserve awards for what they are doing). One reason it has managed to knock it out off the park and take the top spot in my forever-favorite list is how wonderfully well the narrative is done.

The primary perspective used in this show is Im Sol's. It's through her we're introduced to the story. Her perspective gives shape to the plot, the characters, because we learn things through her. Her perspective is absolutely critical for exposition. Without her thoughts and way of viewing things, you would never realize why saving Seon Jae means so much to her, or why she would bend the rules and bulldoze ahead when it comes to his safety (exhibit A, her leaving home on the day of the accident, despite knowing about her fate). She'd rather have him alive than have him in her life. Without her narrative, you'd think it's really all about a fan saving her idol (thanks to everyone who'd rejected the script listening to that pitch by the way, I'm grateful we have BWS and KHY as the leads because of that, I would not change it for anyone else). With Im Sol's perspective, you realize, she is not just a fan: she's an ardent admirer, a cheerleader, a well-wisher, a protector, an invisible friend trying to support her friend any way she can, someone who respects Seon Jae, sees him as an idol but also as a human, someone who wants to give back to him the same kindness, empathy and love she had once received from him over a radio call. To her, Seon Jae is first a guardian angel and then an idol, the angel who changed her view of life, made her appreciate things even amidst all that could be wrong with the world and her life. He saved her. Not just on that day at the hospital but every time she struggled and faltered since then, he was there, as invisible as it may have been. So this time, she wants to save him, no matter the price.

Then comes Seon Jae. Oof. If Im Sol's perspective gives the story its beautiful, beautiful shape, Seon Jae's perspective breathes literal life in to the body of the story. The show wouldn't be what it is today if not for his perspective. Without his view into things, Im Sol appears as a fangirl going to extreme measures to save her idol, clinging onto him like a monkey (yes I mean the poster) embarrassing the heck out of herself, making you cringe (in a good, enjoyable way) throughout. Then you reach the end of episode 2 and it knocks the breath out of you because WHAT DO YOU EVEN MEAN. It all clicks.

All this while we kept thinking Seon Jae was caught off guard and just kind enough to tolerate her antics, and maybe he'd slowly fall for her now, only to realize we were completely oblivious to a whole different side of the story. If Im Sol's narrative draws you in and keeps you hooked, making you root for her to succeed, it's Seon Jae's narrative that makes you irredeemably fall in love with them and sincerely, genuinely, desperately hope they get their happy ending together after all the storm.

And the motifs. Walking/running, for instance. I'll focus on just one scene here. I recall seeing a bts where KHY is discussing the OG 2008 accident scene, and it explains how she has to slow down, while running away, for just a moment, only to be hit by the taxi driver. Have you ever been in a situation of absolute panic, desperation and stress, then suddenly found a familiar face or a name or a thing you could connect to, and felt a wave of relief rush through you? She sees Seon Jae, a person who is calling out her name. Even if she didn't know him back then, the fact that he knew her (and that he had his uniform on), gives her a sense of safety she badly needed that moment. That momentary relief, so visible in her features, then overtakes the crippling fear she felt running in the middle of nowhere with no one in sight in the dead of the night. Her body, already exhausted beyond anything, responds to the relief she feels for those few seconds, slowing down her steps.

And that is when she is caught off-guard and hit. That also might have added to Im Sol's anger at the hospital when she is screaming at Seon Jae, her internal anguish that if only she had not paused seeing Seon Jae, and kept on running, then maybe she wouldn't be hit, wouldn't fall, wouldn't lose her ability to walk. It's one thing to have tropes and symbolic things, but it's a very different thing to know how to use them effectively so they elicit very specific types of emotions/reactions out of people. Lovely Runner excels in that. All kdramas more or less have 'things' that take on different meanings for the couples/viewers. It's the way motifs are used to narrate the story in this one that has me going back over and over again to all the episodes aired so far. These are not just their 'things', these are 'things' that drive the plot forward, tell you about their characters, their personal motivations, what they mean to each other and so much more.

This is getting longer that I intended it to be so will end with this. I feel valued when watching Lovely Runner. And I've seen people saying the same thing. It feels like they respect your critical thinking skills, and your ability to infer, so they don't spoon-feed you everything from the get-go, and you can't predict much despite it being primarily a rom-com. You'd be pulling your hair out (again, in a good way) trying to figure out what they will show next, and you will be somewhat or very far from the truth, which will compel you to think further about the story, the characters, long after an episode has aired...I can't remember the last time it happened with a drama. I love this storytelling.

[ghost-proofbaby]

fic authors self rec game

When you get this, reply with your favorite five fics that you've written, then pass on to at least five other writers. Let's spread the self-love 💞

thank you so so much for the tag @thecreelhouse <3

the shire is burning (eddie munson x oc) - ao3 linked

shire will always, always, always have a very near and dear space in my heart. it is the proudest i have ever been of any fanfic i've ever written, and one of my only works i can consistently reread and admit to myself that i wholeheartedly enjoy. it's not perfect, it's not everyone's cup of tea due to being an OC fic, but it's my baby. i sat down in a booth at denny's one night in 2022, said i wanted to write an eddie munson fanfiction, and did it. i think it's my best work for capturing canon eddie, and any time i reread any bit of it, i just get the warm fuzzies all over. there are so many wonderful memories attached to it (from writing it, to experiences it led me to), and it brought me so many friends in this fandom that i love very dearly. i just love it, and even if i have to drag myself across the finish line, i will be finishing the sequel/fix it fic for willow and eddie. their love story is one i'll probably get to carry with me forever, which is pretty fucking neat, all things considered. <3

2. the moon will sing (astarion ancunin x oc) - ao3 linked/tumblr here

the moon will sing (i loved you like a sun) is still a fic currently in progress, but i really enjoy the concept, and i'm really excited to see where i take it! just like shire was my ultimate love letter to eddie munson, this fic is my ultimate love letter to astarion <3 it's got just as many, if not more, moving parts and i like the challenge it presents to me as a writer. i've always been the type to know every single experience my characters go through (both borrowed loves and original characters), and having to write a character with a strange sort of amnesia has presented a wonderful stretch for muscles i didn't use previously. it's also been really interesting writing astarion, because as a character, he's pretty different from eddie (who is my easiest character to write due to practice). he's canonically a wild card, a whole bundle of contradictions, and i constantly find myself making notes along the way in these drafts to overexplain and remind myself of his motives. i just really love it. i just really love him <3

3. house song (eddie munson x fem!reader)

this is from my 1k celebration, and it's definitely one that didn't get much attention. and probably for good reason. it has little to no dialogue, it has little to no actual interaction between eddie and reader. at the end of the day, it's long form poetry at best, and a nuisance of an elongated metaphor at worst. but i am really proud of it still. i had an entire version of eddie set up in my head, an entire reader with her own backstory, and whenever i reread it, i think that really shines through. it was a quiet softness about the boy we all still continue to love, even two years later, and i think it even perfectly shows why i still love him as the years pass. just a love note, rather than a full love letter.

people (fictional and real) don't always make good homes, but i think eddie munson might just be the exception. and that's why i stick around.

4. sweet like honey (steve harrington x fem!reader)

now for one from my 3k celebration! and i don't think this list would be complete without some sort of smut. i once had this fic quoted back to me from a friend (who i fucking adore with all my heart), and i didn't even recognize it as my own. it's no love letter to steve harrington (that one is in the works, trust me), but it's fun, and it hits all the right spots for me. i like steve harrington putting up a cocky bastard exterior only to be cracked wide open to find all that softness inside. this fic doesn't quite crack him open, but it definitely showcases that image of 'king steve' that i think we all enjoy fantasizing about a lot <3

this last one is hard. very, very hard. i have three fics that still come to mind that i'd love to put on this list, because in a strange turn of events, being in this fandom has taught me to love my writing far more than any fandom before. it's taught me my words are worth something. not in a money way, but in a 'i have something to say, a story to tell, that is worth yelling to the void - regardless of how many people will listen' way. and i've just been lucky so many of you have been willing to listen.

i'm giving honorable mentions right now to twenty four hours (because how could i not? for all the hell it gave me writing wise, i still like it, ya know?) and kissing lessons. the latter didn't make the list solely because i'm so new to writing robin, and it was a really tough subject matter for me despite being such a sweet fic. it's hard sometimes to love what you make out of a bad thing, even if the end product is something far more beautiful and healing than the reality of it all.

anyways, enough yapping.

5. who could stay? (you could stay.) - eddie munson x reader

this was one of the scariest fics to ever post. it was a request, and it was something i knew all too well, and it was putting a lot of myself into a reader. most of my fics that are this personal/include so much of myself never leave the google drive (and i have a few). half the time as i wrote it, it felt like just another diary entry. the other half, it felt like i was making some momentous mistake and shouldn't project so much of myself onto someone's request. but you know what happened? instead, all of you who have read it and showed it any love cradled it carefully in your hands and said "i see you" or "i am you", and reminded me it's alright. sometimes experiences are unique, sometimes experiences are factory-born. either way, posting this fic taught me i'm not always alone. and sometimes that isn't a great feeling (we all want to feel special, right?), but sometimes... it's a nice feeling. a giant group hug over the internet. i've definitely written similar fics in the same vein as this one since, and i don't know if i'll ever post them, but it proved to me that if i do choose to post them - it's safe. or at least, as safe as the internet can get. basically it was one giant lovely reminder of the space i've managed to create here on my blog and the type of people i've managed to attract to this corner of the internet, and i'm grateful for it. <3

alright. this was one of the hardest things i've ever done (i've obviously led a very privileged life). i'm gonna shut up now and reread some old writing because i feel like i just chose my favorite kids and now i need to reassure all my silly fics that i also adore that i totally still love them just in a different way.

no pressure tags: @andvys @hellfire--cult @hellfirenacht @lokis-army-77 @rosewaterandivy @take-everything-you-can and anyone else who wants to partake, because we all need to show our fics a lil love. you're your first reader, first and foremost <3

[iantimony]

yay tuesday is back

return of tuesday! i had two weeks in the UK which was very fun but i am definitely vacationed out - i miss my routine. longer trips like that are only fun towards the end if you have a home base that isn't just a hotel room.

listening: newest coral bones ep is very chill. it's only three songs and they're all very vibey but i think my favorite is 'seatac'. i wish they were still posting on bandcamp. alas.

SeaTac - Coral Bones

also got back into listening to the altogether - their album 'when we were kids' is very travel-coded to me for some reason, it was on loop my entire train ride from london up to edinburgh. (i'm also pretty sure brian david gilbert of all people is featured on this album haha)

Billy & Anne - The Altogether

finally, i saw st. vincent live in london this past weekend!!! it was a really good concert, lots of fun, interesting venue. she's definitely got an insane stage presence. the opening act (heartworms) was fun too, my brother and his friend weren't interested and described it as 'moody goth bullshit' and i was like well. that is right up my alley. you boys enjoy the bar im gonna go be moody and goth. it was good!

i think if i do standing room tickets again i need to invest in some platform shoes, at least two or three inches, because some of that was a struggle to see Anything ... i did manage to find a spot where i had a decent little corridor between heads to see the stage, however i was directly behind a guy in a bowler (?? fedora?? idfk) hat and his boyfriend who kept moving around and dancing (fine) and gyrating (also fine ?? i do not consider st. vincent particularly gyrate-able music but what do i know) so i also had to do some leaning side-to-side to see around them. one of her songs has a line about jumping off the london bridge and the way they both looked at each other and pointed gleefully at themselves while going "meeee" was very funny. i bet they're on tumblr, they had the vibes. hello gay guys at the london st. vincent concert, if you're reading this.

reading: i read 'when the angels left the old country' by sacha lamb in the two days that i was alone in edinburgh before my brother came! it was good, speedy read, i enjoyed the characters and overall conceit well enough. probably not on the to-buy list, i'd just rented an ebook for my trip.

some miscellanous articles from my pocket emails:

How to Coexist With a Belligerent Catbird by Caitlin Gibson (<3)

The Last Kid in Ninth Grade Without an iPhone by Liz Kreiger (this was relatable as a kid whose parents did Not let her get anything more complex than a flipphone for emergencies until i got myself one as a senior in high school and i think i was better off for it)

The Case for Doing Laundry Every Day by Rebecca Onion (insane, IMO)

watching: mostly fallow, did watch one of the dunmeshi eps that came out when i was gone with the boy yesterday and will probably watch the second one tonight.

i have Opened the jenny nicholson star wars hotel video, not yet watched, but saw in my patreon emails from friends at the table that the tablefriends did a related episode on their star wars podcast, which, i then noticed like [leo decaprio pointing meme] xeecee spotted in the credits for the cover art ?? i'm not surprised they are aware of each other but i thought it was funny

playing: fallow! completely, for once! no ttrpgs, no video games, etc. i guess i played a Lot of solitaire on my flight back from the uk, maybe that counts lol

making: i did a lot of sketching on my trip! i made a watercolor travel journal that somehow doesn't have enough pages so i'll have to rebind it but oh well. no watercolor pics for now but i'm excited to share those as i go! in the meantime, some sketches i did in the east princes street gardent, the scottish parliament, and the victoria and albert museum in london respectively:

i think once i finish the travel journal ill try to do a higher quality scan of it and upload a pdf somewhere, i feel like that will be fun.

eating: ough i ate a lot of good food in the uk. mostly the non-british food unsurprisingly but i Did have some really good fish & chips moments. last meal of the trip especially we got a recommendation from one of my brother's friends who goes to cambridge and ouuuugh that shit was So good.

misc: it's good to be back ... now i'm back in The Grind (work) but i don't mind it. despite the jetlag i'm feeling refocused and excited to get moving on stuff again. i liked a lot of stuff about the uk (trains, vibes) but i also did not like some stuff (why are the cold meds So weak there lmfao) and overall i'm glad to e home :)

[lavenderbradshaw]

Swift September!

Hi! Okay, so I had a little fun thought. If you look at my profile, you'll notice my wicked love for Taylor Swift. 9/10, the things I write are inspired by her lyrics. SO! I thought I'd compile a list of lyrics that I'd love to write to and let y'all pick what you want to see.

I'll do these all throughout September, so please send in stuff! (No, seriously, I’m genuinely desperate)

If there's a lyric here you'd like to see, send it in an ask. If there's a character from Top Gun you'd like to see it with, add that, too! If there’s no character, I will pick, so be warned! If there's a lyric I haven't included (and it's Taylor Swift) please send it! Also, combos are so totally acceptable!

They'd just be pretty short blurbs, quick little scenes. But they all do have the possibility of becoming something someday ;)

-

SMUT

i feel the lavender haze creepin' up on me

you know i'm not a bad girl, but i'd do bad things with you

i said, 'no one has to know what we do', his hands are in my hair, his clothes are in my room

i could see you in your suit and your necktie, pass me a note saying 'meet me tonight'

the altar is my hips, even if it's a false god

lord, save me, my drug is my baby

devils roll the dice, angels roll their eyes, what doesn't kill me makes me want you more

'cause all the boys and their expensive cars, the range rovers and their jaguars, never took me quite where you do

ANGST

you drew stars around my scars, but now i'm bleeding

losing him was blue like i'd never known

from sprinkler splashes to fire place ashes, i gave my blood, sweat, and tears for this

you're not gone, you can't be gone, no

she would've been such a lovely bride, what a shame she's fucked in the head

maybe i was naive, got lost in your eyes and never really had a chance

crawling up the beaches now, 'sir, i think he's bleeding out', and some things you just can't speak about

tell me that you're still mine, tell me that we'll be just fine, even when i lose my mind

is it really your anxiety that stops you from giving me everything, or do you just not want to?

last night i heard my own heart beating, sounded like footsteps on my stairs, six months gone and i'm still reaching, even though i know you're not there

i can go anywhere i want, anywhere i want just not home

i pulled your body into mine every god damn night

the idea you had of me, who was she? a never needy, ever lovely jewel, whose shine reflects on you

if our love died young, i can't bear witness

FLUFF

you are the best thing that's ever been mine

there's a dazzling haze, a mysterious way about you, dear

i'm begging for you to take my hand, wreck my plans, that's my man

if you were here, we'd laugh about their vacant stares but for now, my time is theirs

there's a chain 'round your throat, piece of paper where i wrote 'i'll wait for you'

i once believed love would be black and white, but it's golden

i'm so thankful for all of the girls you loved before, but i love you more

MISC

**anything from this category might need a little more vision from the requester**

i can feel the flames on my skin, crimson red paint on my lips, if a man talks shit then i owe him nothing

how's one to know, i'd meet you where the spirit meets the bone

all the liars are calling me one, nobody's heard from me for months

[freneticfloetry]

fic rec friday fun

So wanted to get some hiatus rec lists going and encourage some self promo in my friends so how about sharing your top fics no matter how big or small - give us the links to your wonderful words with the Most hits/Most kudos/Most comments/Most bookmarks /Most words/Least words

My Works List's answer to everything but Most and Least Words is the same fic, because for whatever reason it is a runaway train, so I'm going to use that for the first and the second spots for everything else. Kisses to @carlos-in-glasses for the tag.

Most Hits: Ashes and Flame (Every You and Every Me) (Hunger Games Trilogy) Peeta comes home, still unsure what the word means. I finished Mockingjay about eleven o'clock one night and stayed up way too late just to write this. It was a fever bunny. I still have no idea how people are still finding and reading this fic, but I have such a fondness for it to this day.

Most Kudos: Lost in Translation (The Losers) Jensen's given a Spanish side mission, and learns more than he thought he would. Sometimes in song. Once upon a time, a friend and I made a pact to write a different NYR fic for unfilled Yuletide prompts every week for a year. That lasted exactly two weeks, because I couldn’t write short to save my life, but I had two of my favorite fic experiences ever as a result. This was the second. I always love getting to play in the brains of characters with the kind of snarky stream-of-consciousness voice Jake Jensen has, and writing this was a blast.

Most Comments: scenes from an unfinished story (told by the lost and found) (The Magicians) The summary is a story on its own, so I'll just say: it's a Queliot Hollywood AU featuring Eliot the Actor and Quentin the Aspiring Writer (who, for the moment, is a PA), based on, of all things, Win a Date with Tad Hamilton. It was my Magicians Happy Ever After Big Bang, and it holds a special place in my heart for a multitude of reasons, but the holy trinity of those is that it was my first real foray into AU territory, it was the proudest I've ever been in my structure and storytelling abilities, and it gave me some of the best friends I'll ever have.

Most Bookmarks: Deck the Halls with Daddy Issues (MCU) Tony Stark doesn't do Christmas. But Steve loves Christmas, and he loves Steve, and he's going to try. (Which still doesn't mean he'll be any good at it.) Third in line here, since the second was already on the list. This was an Avengers movie spec written for the cap_ironman exchange, back in the days before the movie was actually released and squashed every Steve/Tony inkling I've ever had. I also completely forgot about it, in the madness of Yuletide that year, got a reminder email from the mods, said "no no, it's almost done!" when I hadn't written a word, and vomited this onto the page in a six-hour all-nighter. Still, it makes me smile.

Most Words: Past Perfect Future Tense (The Magicians) It happened. That they'd asked themselves how, when it's literally the least important part of this, he can chalk up to shock or shortsightedness or his own sheer stupidity. It's the why that actually matters, and he thinks he knows the answer to that. So the real question… is how to make it happen again. My monster Magicians WIP. I've nicknamed it Cerberus. Plotting this thing just about broke my brain, with all its time travel shenanigans, and the forecasted chapter count has almost doubled since I started, but I still love the idea and get excited just thinking about it. Soon, my precious.

Least Words: So Have I For You (Firefly) Discipline only carries you so far, lies are never good enough to truly fool yourself, and pride goeth before a fall. She's never been trained for this. Y'all, I used to write short fic. Granted this is about fifteen years old, but still. It is a full and complete story in less than 600 words. Where has that girl gone? This is just a little look at Inara, as she prepares to leave Serenity, and all the reasons why she has to.

I think everybody's pretty much been tagged, but just in case: @hoko-onchi-writes, @mixtapestar, @rubickk7, you're it.

[the-art-in-arthesia-is-loud]

Random Ass Trivia Post Because I Am Impatient To Share These...Trivias. Heh.

help girlboythingthemidkthegenderofthepersonwhoisreadingthisrightnow i have a lot of stuff to share here that i could've shared in their own posts but i DIDN'T. utc like always :3

yea hello let's proceed

i shared this before but i'll say it again- technicolour's cube can turn into a dagger if he really needs it to be a dagger. it can also turn into a paintbrush and a digital pen.

spinel went missing on a friday, so on every friday galactic would play spinel's favorite song to: A. mourn her if she's fucking dead, or B. increase her hopes of spinel coming back soon.

^ spinel's favorite song is anything that sounds like the song she's based off of (spinel by penoreri(??? i hope i'm typing that right jddjddjk)).

tempo will never, and i mean NEVER, let trojan near a computer or any device like ever. this is because trojan would just end up giving it a virus if he even touches it. he doesn't know why this happens and he can't exactly control this either.

^ he can still use a phone perfectly fine, though. but he's not allowed to use shit like google or whatever.

for every year on her birthday, pamolia's parents would gift her the same goddamn thing; butterflies in a frame. she absolutely fucking ADORES THEM THOUGH. even if it's the same thing over and over again. ohhhhh the butterfly autism is real for her...... (idek if i'm gonna make her ACTUALLY autistic or not since i myself am Not autistic so-)

as implied in a recent drawing of mine, pupa can turn into a cute lil butterfly if he so pleases :333 but yeah, he did got stuck inside of a jar once. he felt like it was his death day.

if arghena and mantis were to ever meet, abstruse would be horrified over how fucking PINK AND PURPLE THEY ARE..........

primeval has made WAY TOO MANY CONNECTIONS THUS FAR. in her one month of even being conscious on this god forsaken planet she already made like. what. 10 acquaintances. what the fuck. i wish i was like her...

spinel once stole destonio's chocolate bar. needless to say she nearly died.

ana and hikaru get along fine. she hates glaciaxion and finds arta annoying, though.

a lil trivia that is Not related to a character; there might be characters based off of prsk commission songs here. who knows though. aha. ha. ha. ha ha ha ha ha h a h a h a H A .

back to character based trivia: pamolia is a science kid, meanwhile miracle hates science. they're meant to be /hj

no one, and i mean NO ONE can ever impress or even make tessi smile. the only three exceptions to this are callima, world ender, and loveless dress (who i haven't mentioned yet, but hey! she exists! woo hoo!)

^ after she became lacey, that list increased somehow, adding tempestissimo and fate into the list <3

aleph's a perfectionist now, sure, but at least his perfectionism is not as bad as back then when he was still in high school. he would come home from school, stomp into his room, and then have a full on breakdown for just getting a simple 80 on a test....... (this is me projecting)

one time in the past, mantis stepped on a caterpillar infront of larva. needless to say she was fucking mortified.

felis would spill tea everywhere, no matter where he is. lightning screw always complains about it, meanwhile glory road finds it wayyy too amusing to tell him to stop.

hikaru and arta used to be friends! and even know they still are friends! when arta saw the news about hikaru's death, he was absolutely horrified that he just couldn't stop thinking about it for weeks on end.

^ adding onto that, hikaru and glaciaxion met when hikaru was like...11? yeah, maybe. i'll probably dive deeper into that another time, though.

spinel cares a LOT about her physical appearance, because to her, her appearance is basically anyone's first impression of her! so she has to look her best everyday! it's common courtesy!

ok yea i ran out of shit to say augh

[nellie-elizabeth]

What We Do in the Shadows: Go Flip Yourself (4x08)

I mean... absolutely hilarious in every way.

Cons:

This episode was relatively light on Guillermo, and I kind of missed having the Guide around, but honestly I don't have much I can really complain about! Oh, I guess even though Young Colin Robinson isn't my favorite part of the show, it was a little odd that he wasn't around for this, considering that it seems like the kind of boring show he'd be into as much as Lazlo. No acknowledgment that he also lives in the house was kind of odd!

Pros:

I just... I don't even really know how to articulate the cleverness of how this episode was framed and scripted and edited. It immediately sent me back in time to being a kid and watching shows on TLC, remember TLC? My favorite was Clean Sweep. Obviously now all this kind of thing is on HGTV which I don't really watch much of, but I still recognize the trappings of the genre. The editing, the logos, the way they'd show a misleading preview clip from the next scene after the commercial break, the intro song with the attempt at being bad-ass, played over clips of comically small renovations and stock footage of demolitions, the style of the interview, the moment of decision where we cut back to earlier moments of the characters considering their changes, the big "reveal" and how obviously disappointed they all were, the post-credits scene they all film for the purpose of getting like $1,200... I could go on and on. It all felt like a spot-on parody of something I wouldn't have even said I knew much about to begin with.

And then we get our plot twist, that Bran is actually Simon the Devious, who has created the entirety of this TV show, gotten Lazlo hooked on it, all to gain access to their home in Staten Island and steal back the cursed hat. I'll admit that the final scene where all this is revealed was a little less funny to me than all the parody stuff that came before, but I also think it's what will make the episode stick in my head later, and cement itself as a hilarious half hour. The sheer lunacy of the plan really shines through when you remember that the hat these two have been fighting over is in fact cursed and makes everything immeasurably worse for whoever has it. Simon immediately flies into a wall in bat-form once he has it. I feel like Simon's whole plan really speaks to the nature of vampirism in this world, the way you have infinite time to make some truly weird decisions and just run with them for as long as you need to. The gag where he lists all of his crew, the various vampires we've met in the past, really worked for me, as did Simon's continued disdain for Staten Island.

As far as our core cast, I love how even when the episode is focusing on this larger meta gag, we still get to see our favorites playing out their familiar roles. Guillermo is attempting to be devious and get something that he wants out of the bargain, once it's clear the vampires won't be saying no to the renovation, but in typical sad sack fashion he doesn't actually get the renovated room of his dreams. Nadja gets over-excited and acts impulsively, actually killing the co-star of the show before things get started, and has to use her hypnotist powers to clear things up for the crew and the viewers at home.

Marwa gets a prize for being the smartest: since she now likes whatever Nandor likes, she is really excited about Nandor's new wish for a "man cave," which Nandor definitely thinks is a place where he gets to hang out and get fucked by his guy friends, which is hilarious and perfect... anyway, she gets the "man cave" all set up and then locks herself alone in there, because since Nandor wants time alone in this room, so does Marwa. Honestly, that wish is the gift that keeps on giving. What you've basically got now is a setup where Marwa and Nandor have the exact same desires, but Marwa is just... much smarter than Nandor, and therefore is going to get her way more and more as time goes by. Genius! I love it!

As is always the case when I'm trying to write about this show, I really could go on and on in praise of its comedy, but describing jokes is never as funny as experiencing them yourself. So I'll just leave by saying my favorite gags were: Vampire Elvis, always a classic, and Lazlo's delivery of the words "New York Citayyyyy."

Can't wait to meet Guillermo's special friend next week!

9/10

[the-east-art]

oh? can you rec some of your favorite sonic fics? I’ve never read any before!

Oh! Yeah totally! I don't think I have a ton because tbh there''s A LOT of chaff to get to the wheat in the sonic fandom lol and when it comes to the sonic character I'm very particular about their characterizations so I'll totally share what I have cuz I know it's rough to find the good stuff. (I'm also not really interested in shipping the sonic characters so that instantly means like 80% of the fics don't really interest me). You may notice this is mostly the same fic writers, and, yeah, what can I say they know what I like

Foray - Hikareh (unfinished)

Leaving one's family and destiny isn't an easy thing to do, but Sonic needs to get away to discover if he's the prince his siblings want him to be, or the hero his heart is telling him he is. Three years later, Eggman kidnaps Manic, and Sonic is drawn back into the world he left behind, but now he can do more than rely on his medallion. He can fight. Bridging Underground and SEGA.

I never watched sonic underground but this fic is so compelling that it doesn't really matter, I love it anyways. I don't think the author has any intentions of ever updating this fic, so be warned, but I adore this characterization of all these guys, especially the brotherly relationship between sonic and tails. Once every year or so I give this a reread (and it's a long fic! it's over 100,000 words as is!) just because I love it that much. If you aren't interested in sonic underground I still recommend reading the first few chapters because they mostly just take place with little moments between Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles and they warm my heart.

(the rest is under the cut to prevent it from taking up a whole dash lol)

Zima - Hikareh (unfinished)

Every year, Sonic makes it snow on Tails' birthday. Even now, when Tails looks through him and can't really remember him, Sonic keeps his promise.

Ah, the kind of really good au worldbuilding that makes you wish the author would just take the time separating the fandom stuff from the original ideas and make their own book - it's that good in my opinion. Basically most of the characters in the story are, like, magical beings that help control the weather, except for Tails, who Sonic raised. However only children can see the spirits of the weather, so when Tails gets too old he can't see Sonic anymore and man it breaks by heart. Unlike Foray the ashemarie has mentioned returning to this fic someday (although I wouldn't hold my breath - I'm a fic writer I know that can mean an update this week or in twenty years or never).

Untried Equilibrium - Speedy123 (complete)

It's a long way down from space, still quite a way to go back to his island, and a tired Knuckles has too much time to think. A lot has happened, a lot has changed, and which parts are good and bad about it, anyway? - Short moment in the wake of SA2's aftermath.

Speedy 123 almost completely owns the rest of this list. Exactly what it sounds like, almost like a character dynamic study between the primary color trio.

Carvings and Relics - Speedy123 (complete)

On a cold winter day, a lonely guardian attempts to battle the onslaught of time on Angel Island's ruins. Upon his return home he finds an unexpected visitor waiting for him who offers a different perspective on relics and their worth.

Ah I adore this one. A oneshot between Knuckles and Tails on Angel Island. The characterization of these two is so good - they always manage to write Tails as earnest and sincere.

Fire and Smoke - Speedy123 (complete)

For some reason, it seemed like it passed everyone's notice that it's a VOLCANIC island. Team Sonic's day of outdoor fun on Angel Island takes a turn for the worst.

A hurt and comfort, more dramatic story where Sonic and Tails arrive on Angel Island to see that the Volcano has erupted. Obviously they'll all be okay, it's not that kind of fic, as Speedy123 says its' more to explore how these characters would react in these kind of situations

Skyfire - Speedy123 (complete)

Theoretically, Sonic and Tails had other plans, but when they find out an ancient and important echidna holiday is coming around, they head up to Angel Island to crash an echidna party instead. Knuckles isn't so sure what to make of that, but at least he's trying.

Again so good as you see Knuckles struggling with a tradition that he only knows about second hand, it makes my heart break for him. Speedy explores a lot about the fact that Knuckles lives alone on Angel Island and I adore that - it makes me so sad that Angel Island isn't in the movies (yet at least, a girl can dream)

Unlikely - sarilleny (complete)

Knuckles isn't exactly sure what to expect when he finally reaches the resistance force base. He is eager to join the fight. He is willing to sacrifice. He is ready to defend everything they have left. He is not prepared however, for the unlikely circumstance that ultimately awaits him.

I've never played Sonic Forces but like any good fic you don't need to know much to get the gist and understand the situation the characters are in. I love fics that explore Knuckles in his leadership role, filling the void that Sonic left and the stress that puts him under, but also how he comes into his own. this is part of a series all exploring this idea and I can wholeheartedly recommend the whole thing.

Legacy. What Is A Legacy? - BrownieFox (complete)

'It's planting seeds in a garden you never get to see'.

Silver wants to grow some plants for the resistance, and Knuckles decided to help out

YEAH THAT'S RIGHT IT'S BROWNIE! Another fic during the sonic era, a oneshot exploring Knuckles and Silvers' dynamic - something you don't often see! and does such a good job at exploring the idea of how the world has changed in the face of everything.

and that's it! There's probably some more out there - Hikareh has some more on their ffnet that never got crossposted, and I probably have more on my ffnet bookmarks but lord going through those is tedious work! I hope that these are helpful to you! sorry I'm super biased towards the trio lol what can I say they're my boys

[sitpwgs]

Wow you read a lot!! I'm currently trying to read more myself. Do you have any advice/tips on how I can do this? Thanks!

hello friend!! i wanted to preface this answer with a quick statement for you + anyone reading this — it doesn't really matter how many books you read; what matters more is your own enjoyment 🤍 please don't feel pressured to read more because someone has read x number of books, etc! with that being said, i do have some advice/tips, so let's get started!

know what books work for you. what genres do you gravitate towards? what storylines do you like — or specific ones that you hate? are you more character-driven, or plot-driven? do you prefer fast paced books? short books or long books? do you like books told in first person? do you like reading one book at a time, or do you like juggling multiple books?

personally for me, i know i enjoy contemporary stories more than high fantasy ones! i just don't always have the brainpower for high fantasy/worldbuilding, so i try not to read high fantasy until i'm in the right headspace for it! i know that i like reading multiple books at once, but i usually have a priority read, with the others on the backburner!

don't be afraid to switch things up. if you've been reading a lot of one genre, try switching things up! or if you've been reading a lot of fiction, throw in a non-fiction, or something else just to break up the monotony!

a few weeks ago, i was reading romance after romance trying to find a good book club pick, and guess what? i was completely burnt out of reading one of my favorite genres. i ended up reading a nonfiction instead, and that helped me get back into reading! i'm currently reading some longer / heavier books, so i'm also reading some plays in the meantime!

figure out when is the best time for you to read.

admittedly, a lot of my reading time comes from when i'm unable to sleep or when i'm not feeling very well. like anything else, reading is something you just have to make time for! when i used to commute to work, i had a one hour bus ride (each way), so that was built in reading time for me! since i'm still working from home, i don't have that built in reading time, so i have to be more intentional about my time and when i get to read. i don't really love reading in the mornings before work, because i usually get really sucked into the story + struggle to switch into work mode, so i normally read at night! i also try to read + journal an hour before "bedtime", just so i can wind down for the night, but everyone works differently!

figure out what medium works best for you. do you prefer hardcovers? paperbacks? e-readers? audiobooks? all of those are just as valid options!

sometimes, i have a hard time focusing reading on an e-reader (i just need to not look at a screen), so i'll pick up a physical book! there are books where i just couldn't get through by reading a physical copy, but flew threw the audiobook or ebook.

it is okay to dnf a book. it is 100% okay to put the book down and come back to it later (or never). reading should be something you do for fun. it shouldn't be a chore. if you aren't enjoying a book, you can always put it down! not every book is for every person, and that's okay.

admittedly, i'm not very good at this one — i like to finish books; i'm usually curious to know how things end, and a lot of the time, i'm reading an ARC so i do want to finish it. but i have DNF'ed books before, and am an avid "i'm not in the right headspace for this one; i'll read it at some point" person!

setting reading schedules, goals, or deadlines.

sometimes, i'll set monthly TBRs — whether or not i stick to these TBR lists is a different story, but i feel like it helps me to have an idea of what i want to read so i'm not totally overwhelmed or at a loss for when i do want to read. if i've got a larger book (like les misérables, for example), i'll try to set goals for myself and read the book in chunks, so maybe 5 chapters this week, 5 chapters next... you get the idea. i also try to read most ARCs i get prior to publication date, so i've got a built in "deadline" — but that doesn't always happen!

book clubs, buddy reads and readathons are great.

i find readathons really helpful, because i get to be introduced to new books i wouldn't normally read, or i get to check things off my TBR list! either way, it's a win win! the same can be said for book clubs ( self plug for my own book club, tea time reads, which is a diverse book club held on discord ! ) i'm a very social reader, so i enjoy getting to discuss books with other people — i just naturally conversing, theorizing & analyzing, so book clubs and buddy reads are always something i have fun with.

setting matters. do you read better with noise? do you need it to be completely quiet? where do you like to read?

i used to only be able to read if there was some kind of background noise (preferably music). i like reading in bed, but i also have a very cozy chair that i like to read in! i also enjoy doing facetime reading dates with some of my best friends, where we're both enjoying our own books and just having a good time!

sprint sessions work wonders.

if i'm really struggling to focus, but i really want to read, sometimes i'll ask if any of my friends are down for a quick sprint! we usually do 30 minutes, but we can do longer as well. it's just a nice accountability method!

put your distractions away.

this one is a given, but really, just put your distractions away! i really enjoy focus mode on the iOS, which has a "reading" option — sometimes, i'll put my phone on do not disturb and just read for hours on end!

take care of yourself.

i feel like a lot of these tips are also tips i used when i was studying, and tips i use at work! but really, make sure you're hydrated, make sure you're doing okay too — it's hard to concentrate if your basic needs aren't met.

read what you want.

this one seems pretty given, but really — you don't need to read the most popular book on the internet. it is okay if you don't read it now, or ever. read the books you want to!

reread books.

if i'm in a slump, sometimes i'll reread a book! i really love rereading books; there's something so lovely about reading something where you already know how it ends. i think we as humans like to reach for things that are comforting, and i love going back and analyzing them from a new lens! rereading old favorites — or just books that you want to give a second chance — also just takes the pressure off of it!

hate read.

this one may be a little out of left field, but it really is something that's worked for me in the past. there are definitely books i've picked up with the knowledge that i won't like it very much! there are times where i've been pleasantly surprised, and also times where i've been completely validated. when i go into a book with the idea that it won't be a 4 or 5 star read, it takes a lot of the pressure off and it's just an easy, fun, no pressure book!

annotate.

i loved english class growing up, and i really do miss annotating books + discussing them! like i mentioned earlier, i've been having a blast rereading, annotating & even discussing books from a deeper lens lately. but another thing i've started doing is annotating my friends' favorite books — this gives me a way to either reread a book that means something to the two of us, or the chance to read their favorites! i think exposing yourself to your friend's favorite media is a form of love, and by doing so, i get to learn a little more about my friends in the process. it's just a really lovely project that i've been having a blast with.

i am so sorry at how long this post got! it really just got away from me 🤍 i hope this helped a bit, and i hope you find some books that you love! i'm always here to chat about books (whether you want to just scream about your current read, want recommendations, have any other questions, etc.)! hope you're doing well and staying safe! xx

[alottanothing]

Kismet

Summary: Evie prepares a meal for the stranger who helped her and finds herself more than a little smitten.

Previous Part: Hope

Word Count: 5707

Warnings: Language

Tag List: @ramilicious, @txmel, @edteche2, @gloriousdarkangelsworld, @diasimar, @xmxisxforxmaybe (Let me know if I missed you, or if you would like to be added to the tag list)

A/N: Okay, I almost didn't get this up today because I was up most of the night sewing kilts for Highland Weekend at the Ohio Renfiare. BUT I stayed awake and did my final read-through, so this should be mostly okay. I skipped a couple steps in my editing to get this up on time but I think, for the most part, it's okay. If you see a grammatical booboo, just ignore it, I'll get in here sometime this week with my other two editing steps and find it, then repost this. Capisce? Okay, cool...now. I hope you enjoy it, I also hope my trying to phonetically write Mer's accent doesn't get too annoying. I know you really shouldn't write accents, but I think it helps add to the characters. And I do try to keep it to a minimum so it doesn't get annoying. Thanks for the love the first part received last month! I know waiting so long between updates is a bit sad after weekly updates with LtR. But life is busy right now and once a month is all can guarantee.

Jonny did not know how to keep a house.

In fact, Jonny did not know how to do much more than drink, argue, and get into fights. He was nothing but a thorn in Evie's side—never mind how much she needed him for a place to lay her head. A necessary thorn was still a thorn. Given the opportunity, she would rip it out as soon as she could and dress the wound promptly so she was finally able to heal better. She stayed only because she had no other choice. And every time Jonny raised his voice or stumbled in reeking of alcohol and red-faced, Evie could hear her best friend's warning in her head. Cynthia had begged her not to go with him, but she hadn't listened.

Oh, how she wished she had.

Luckily, Jonny wasn't the kind of man who liked to stay home which eased the ache of the ever-present thorn in her side. Whatever money he did have, he spent out on the town—the town being New Orleans. Like Evie, Jonny had been born and raised in the Big Apple, the noise and the chaos was part of him. As such, he hadn't taken to the quiet suburban life Bridge City offered as well as Evie. She liked the quiet, easy flow of the sleepy town. Her housemate loathed his new home. He thrived in disarray, thus, he found a group of like-minded young men to run amok with in the neighboring metropolis every chance he got.

If Jonny had been any sort of amicable company, the notion of him leaving most every night to wreak havoc several miles away would have been upsetting. Thankfully, his penchant for city life meant a good portion of Evie's days were spent out from under Jonny's tyranny. The hours he was gone were blissful and calm, and she relished in them. Whether she was creating art or tending to chores around the old house, Evie didn't care as long as Jonny wasn't there—never mind how lonely the routine often was.

Evie had never gotten the chance to meet Jonny's maternal grandmother, though she suspected she would have liked to. Unlike her grandson, she seemed like any other sweet elderly woman judging by the furnishings she'd left behind. There were dozens of lace doilies, and table cloths with soft patterns, decretive china even, but it was the plethora of photos the old woman kept that told Evie she'd carried a kindly heart. All of them were kept in pristine albums or intricate frames; they were the only barbles that seemed to have been cleaned or dusted with any regularity which spoke of how much she must have treasured them. Evie loved those tiny trinkets and black and white memories. It didn't matter that they were not her legacy of family heirlooms to keep, she adored them anyway.

She couldn't count the number of times she'd replaced a broken frame that had fallen victim to Jonny's drunken belligerence or scrubbed tirelessly at a stain he'd left on the patterned tablecloths. It proved to be a hefty undertaking, but dwelling in the fantasies of someone else's history let her forget the grief of her own. She was willing to sacrifice a little elbow grease if it allowed her mind to roam away from the shadow that never really seemed to vanish.

For all the effort Evie put in on the interior, the cottage held little in the way of curb appeal. The porch was sunken in the middle, the paint was peeling off in chunks, and the yard was mostly weeds. Worst, however, was the screen door which squeaked so loudly, every dog in the neighborhood howled in protest every time someone crossed the threshold. The outside needed love that Evie simply didn't have the energy to lend. Despite the grit, however, the foundations were sturdy enough that she didn't worry. The cottage proved to be stronger than she looked—a feat Evie felt she had in common with the old house. And while it was a swell enough place to rest her head, it never truly felt like home. Home was somewhere safe, and as long as Jonny lived under that roof she wasn't safe. Not really.

Fortunately, Jonny wasn't home when Evie returned after her run-in with Mr. Shelton—Mer, she corrected herself with a hint of a giddy smile. Without her housemate there, her evening promised to be hopeful instead of lonely, and she wasted no time in figuring out what to make for dinner.

With her red pumps replaced by her worn-in slippers and her blue checkered apron secured around her waist, she set a pot of water to boil and dialed the phone conveniently located in the kitchen. Every evening she called her sister-in-law to pass the time and keep up on unimportant gossip back home; this time, however, Evie was excited to finally have some good news to share.

"You got the job, didn't you?" Cynthia Clarke asked on the other end, sounding hopeful. "I knew you would."

Evie grinned, still amazed how the sound of Cyn's voice always seemed to settle some of the ever-present anxieties buzzing in her head. She missed her friend so much.

"I didn't even say yes."

"Did you or did you not get the job?" Cynthia pressed.

"I did," Evie confirmed and her smile grew hearing her friend cheer on the other end of the phone.

"See! I knew it." Cynthia said. "My gut feeling is always right."

Evie rolled her eyes and shook her head fondly.

"I think I'm gonna like working there too, so that's good." she mused as she stood at the stove, eyeing the pot of water she’d set to boil.

"That's so great, Ev. I'm so proud of you." Cynthia paused before continuing. "So, what are you up to tonight? Avoiding Jonny?"

"Sorta," Evie nodded even though she knew her friend wouldn't see.

As she continued to watch her cooking pot of water she told Cynthia all about her trouble with Jonny's car and the man who'd been so kind to help her.

"Wait. You invited the stranger over who fixed the car?" Concern was heavy in Cyn's voice, and Evie half expected a lecture to follow.

Despite knowing each other since childhood, Cynthia had taken on the role of her protector since Evie's family was no longer in the picture. The war had claimed Evie's father, and brother—although they'd never found her brother, Jimmy after he disappeared behind enemy lines. Evie never lost hope that Jimmy would one day be found, Cynthia though, was certain her husband was never coming home. After Cyn’s brother, Charlie, died at Normandy Cynthia had difficulty believing anyone was going to make it home. As for Evie's mother, losing a child and her husband to the war was too much for her tender heart and she passed not long after. Ever since, Cynthia was overcome with the need to act as Evie's guardian.

"He wouldn't let me pay him," Evie explained. "So I'm making him dinner—it seemed like the least I could do."

"I suppose…." Cynthia didn't sound convinced, if anything she sounded slightly irritated there was no quick way for her to argue the logic. "Just be careful, Evie. You don't know this guy—he could be another Jonny Doyle. Or worse."

"He's not," Evie said quickly. She wanted nothing more than to tell her friend all about how benevolent Mer was, but she decided against it. Cynthia would only argue that point somehow.

A long pause followed, and Evie wedged the receiver between her ear and shoulder so her hands were free to work on the meal.

"So, what are you cooking?" This time, there was a hint of jest in her friend's tone when she spoke.

The art of cooking was one creative outlet that Evie struggled with, second only to music. In her youth, her mother did all the cooking—it was a passion of her mother's—thus Evie had done little more than watch in wonder as her mother whipped up meal after meal effortlessly. Breakfast she the meal she was probably best at, apple pies too, but anything beyond that Evie required a step by step guide to prepare. And even then she lacked confidence. Thankfully, when she'd fled south, she remembered to grab her mother's cookbook. It was a cumbersome tome with yellowed pages and notes scribbled into the margins: a piece of art itself cultivated over years of collecting recipe after recipe starting the moment her mother stepped off the boat that brought her from Ireland. And like a witch and her spellbook, Evie depended on it.

"Spaghetti with garlic bread," Evie admitted feeling as though the meal lacked a certain something.

Pasta was something she knew held a low degree of difficulty when it came to preparing. Surely she couldn't mess up pasta.

“Mmm, I can almost smell it,” Cynthia said.

“Shut up.”

“No, seriously,” Cyn replied. “You’re mom’s spaghetti recipe was always my favorite.”

A doleful smile pulled at the corners of her lips, thinking back to her mother happily cooking in the kitchen as she sang a Celtic tune. It seemed strange that those moments would never again play out, instead they’d become bittersweet memories Evie could only relive in her mind.

“Mine too,” she murmured, suddenly missing her family.

Neither of them said anything for a moment, and Evie’s mind roamed the dregs of her grief before blinking back into reality and the hope of something happy to come.

“I need to go, Cyn,” Evie told her friend with a sigh. “I don’t want to burn the garlic bread.”

Cynthia chuckled and said her goodbye, only after making Evie promise to call her in the morning to let her know how everything went.

With her second hand restored after hanging up, Evelyn reached for her mother’s cookbook to give the steps another look over to ensure she had done everything and added every herb and ingredient she was supposed to. She’d followed everything perfectly, even factoring in the little notes scribbled into the margins left there by her mother—those she smiled at fondly and traced the fading ink with her fingers. Everything was as it should be. Even so, without a taste, Evie knew the sauce she had prepared would never be as savory as what her mother made so effortlessly.

“You were the artist in the kitchen, Ma,” she said with a shrug. “I’ll stick to paper and canvas.”

For the smallest of a moment Evie thought she would hear the warmth of her mother’s laugh, and when it never came she sighed again, trying not to dwell on the shadows behind her. What mattered was the light ahead.

Despite her lack of confidence, the meal came together without any severe hiccups. The noodles were not overcooked, the sauce was a complementing mix of savory and sweet (though, as she had guessed after a tiny taste, was not nearly as good as her mother's) and the garlic bread was nicely golden. A small tingle of pride manifested in the form of a surprised, but satisfied, smile as she surveyed the dinner before her.

“Not bad, Ev,” she told herself, knowing her mother would have been delighted.

With the cooking done, Evie threw a glance over her shoulder to the clock mounted on the wall, triggering a surge of anxiety to bubble in her gut. Stranger, perhaps, was the amount of excitement coursing through her veins. It was as though all of her happiness was riding on whether or not she would see Merriell again. None of it made sense; the man was little more than a stranger. The coupling of nerves and delight was not a feeling that put her ill at ease, however. She trusted it. And it was that peculiar sensation that seemed to fuel her movements.

With a few minutes to spare, Evie wandered into the small bathroom to freshen up. She made sure her hair was still pinned the way she liked—up and pretty. Her make-up was holding up nicely despite the heat; all she needed was a fresh layer of lipstick to complete the illusion of a put-together young lady. It wasn't often she wore a dress with heels and a face of cosmetics—she liked to when the opportunity arose, but she was just as comfortable in a pair of old overalls and smudges of charcoal on her face.

Just as she wiggled back into her red pumps—discarding her worn-in house slippers with a couple of calculated kicks—a knock on the door signaled Merriells arrival. Immediately a grin curled onto Evie's lips and her heart began to pound an anxious-excited rhythm. A blush threatened to color her cheeks to give away the torrid muscle beating in her chest—her ever yearning heart already making leaps and bounds for a man she had known for mere hours.

Don't be ridiculous—she warned herself taking in a deep breath to curb the eagerness coursing in her veins. Untying her apron, she tossed it along with her discarded slippers and went to answer the door, taking one last deep breath to steady the fervor in her heart.

Merriell had changed and showered. The sweet bouquet of his shampoo coupled invitingly with the musk of the aftershave he'd chosen, making it difficult for Evie to keep from soaking in the scent he carried. His curls were still somewhat damp—too much moisture in the air to keep the heat from drying them on his way over—though they fought to spring back into their previous fluff. The grease-covered, jeans he'd been wearing had been replaced by a nice pair of tan slacks, and the buttoned shirt he wore was a soft shade of green that made his eyes glitter a deeper emerald as he stood under the glow of the porch light. All Evie could do was stare—utterly beguiled—every rational thought in her head lost to her.

Mer smirked, amused by her ogling. "Hiya."

Evie blinked, coming back to reality, suddenly feeling foolish, and uttered a nervous "hi" before swinging her arm to invite him inside.

"Come in."

Merriell's smile grew as he crossed the threshold, inhaling deeply. "Mm, smells tasty in here."

He gently forced a bottle into her hands as he passed on his way to investigate the savory smells in the kitchen.

"I wasn' sho what ya was makin', but I figured wine usually goes with anythin'."

"Oh, thank you." Evie glanced at the label, unable to read the French words printed there. "You didn't have to bring anything."

"I know," Mer shrugged, placing his hands in his pockets. "I just wanted to make a good impression."

There was something almost boyish when he smiled then—cheeks coloring pink ever-so-slightly—that made him even more of a mystery. One Evie was eager to solve.

"Well," she said placing the bottle on the kitchen table. "It should go perfectly with dinner."

His expression lost a hint of its boyish charm as it grew into a look of delight.

"Make yourself at home," Evie gestured vaguely between the table and the sofa in the living room as she ventured to the cabinet where the stemware was kept.

She placed two crystal glasses on the table along with the wine and retraced her steps to fetch some of the nicer china Jonny's grandmother had kept. Mer watched her, his gaze, gentle and attentive, and a little bit yearning as she methodically sat the table.

"Need help with anythin'?" he asked finally.

"Nope," She replied with a smile. "Everything is almost ready."

The hearty red sauce on the stove was beginning to boil again which told her it was hot enough to serve, and Evie eyed the pot with scrutiny, praying silently her attempt at cooking would go over well.

"I'll pour us a glass then," Mer announced.

"Great, lemme…" Evie spun to fish for the corkscrew in the drawer of misfit utensils, finding it, only to turn to see Merriell holding his lighter against the neck of the dark bottle just below the cork.

Before she could ask, a loud pop sounded, causing her to jump as the cork went flying.

"Oh my goodness!" she laughed, a little surprised, a little impressed. "Where did you learn to do that?"

Mer shrugged, a sly expression on his features, and left her question unanswered.

"How much ya want?" He held the open bottle over the top of her glass, waiting patiently.

"Enough," she said, tossing him a coy smirk without really meaning to.

He bit his lower lip as he smiled, chuckling under his breath when he poured a generous glass of red wine for each of them. She thanked him as he took his seat and grabbed his plate to dish out their dinner.

"How much pasta would you like?"

Mer's face lit with charm and mischief as he turned to face her.

"Enough," he grinned.

The expression on his face was playful, his smirk devious and amused by his own response and his cheekiness settled warmly in Evie's stomach. Not only did she revel in it, but she also played into his whimsy and scooped as much spaghetti into his plate as she could before coupling it with the savory sauce and a slice of bread.

Despite being only strangers, the atmosphere that bloomed that evening was not marked by any hint of bashfulness, instead, it was relaxed and amiable. Warmth that Evie had longed to dwell in again—that unrefutable kindness she'd lost with the passing of her family—flowed uninhibited from the man sitting adjacent to her. His conversation was cautious but still jovial and genuine. It was the first time since running south Evie could recall what life felt like without grief and fear weighing upon her. Merriell was a stranger, but she felt safe with him. Jonny had never made her feel that way.

"So," Evie spoke as she twirled the last bit of pasta with her fork. "What is it you do, Mr. Shelton?"

Mer cast her a look of disapproval—no doubt in retaliation to being addressed so formally—before his features softened back into a neutral, yet somehow still amused side smirk.

"Nothin' too excitin'," he stated vaguely. "The odd jobs are what I like ta do the most—like fixin' ya car this aftah noon."

Without really meaning to, Evie leaned forward, resting her elbow and chin on the table, utterly enchanted by the beautiful stranger at her table.

"You like to get your hands dirty, huh? Fixing things?" she was entirely too intrigued with the thought of what he could do with his hands.

He shrugged, suddenly modest after a foray of playfully arrogant smirks and glances. It made him abruptly twice as charming.

"I've always had a knack for it, I guess." Merriell finished the food on his plate with the help of his remaining garlic bread to mop up the sauce still left on his dish.

"What about you?" he asked after chewing. "Ya workin' anywhere?"

All at once, a proud smile lit up Evie's face. After all the excitement of seeing Merriell again, she'd almost forgotten about her good news.

"Actually, I just got a job today—the general store downtown, Southern Comfort."

Mer's face lit up too, "Birdie's place?"

"Yeah, you know it?" Of course, he knows it! She thought, Bridge City's population was slightly less than the number of people who lived in a single district back home in New York. Everyone knew everyone else.

"Sho do—I was practically raised there…ole Birdie's like a second mothah to me."

"Really?" Evie found a great deal of comfort in that notion. In fact the more she thought on it, the more she realized how similar the old woman and Mer were; they radiated the same magnetism and sincerity.

"Mmhm," he nodded, his eyes focusing elsewhere as the veil of memories danced across the contours of his features. "My mama used ta work there…once upon a time…"

"Does she still work there?"

Merriell's face lost a hit of its levity and he swallowed as though to fight off the onslaught of sudden emotion threatening to cast a shadow onto his expression.

"No…" he said softly. "She—uh—she died, about a year ago."

Shit!

Abruptly, sick knots twisted into Evie's stomach, feeling callous, but understanding of the quiet misery he hid under layers of charm and arrogance.

"Merriell, I'm…I'm sorry—I didn't mean…"

He met her eyes and cast her a quick smile—doleful, but enough to ease the awful feeling in the pit of her stomach.

"It's okay," he reassured her, reaching for his glass of wine and taking a good gulp before changing the subject. "Birdie's great—you'll enjoy workin' for her."

"I hope so…" Evie said softly, still too embarrassed to meet Mer's glance longer than a second or two.

For the first time all night the atmosphere they shared felt cumbersome—perhaps more melancholy—than she'd wanted it to get. Evie sat, worrying her bottom lip, her fingers toying with a loose thread in the table cloth as she stole quick glances through her lashes in Mer's direction.

He was nursing the alcohol in his glass with the same sadness she'd caught plaguing him as he sat at the bar hours ago. And while Evie was eager to know if his grief stemmed only from the loss of his mother, or perhaps more, Merriell was still too much of a stranger to warrant such questions. It didn't matter how easy it was to be near him, she had not earned the right to know his narrative.

A soft sigh broke past her lips as she fought to find a way to properly allay the gloom that was quickly ruining an otherwise wonderful evening. It wasn't until her eyes found their desert sitting on the counter, waiting to save the day, that she perked up.

"Got any room for apple pie?" Evie asked with a hesitant smile. She hoped he wanted to stay long enough to have a slice, though she would not have blamed him for wanting to leave.

Immediately Mer perked up too, the shadows on his features retreating with the promise of something sweet.

"I was countin' on it—seems as how you promised a slice earlier," he said with a boyish grin.

When she stood, he did too, helping clear away their dinner plates, and letting them soak in the sink to be washed later. Evie cut them each a slice of apple pie and the delight on Mer’s face made her smile too seeing him lick his lips as his grin continued to grow. Catching that flash of his tongue was like a bolt of hot lightning striking her without warning; a blush rose so quickly on her cheeks Evie had to look away to keep the blunder a secret. Thankfully, the pie was more than enough to hold Merriell’s attention away from her.

“Mmmm… Almost looks too good to eat,” he said ogling the desert in front of him.

When Evie chanced a look his way, the expression on his face caused her to chuckle, “‘oughta be, I made one for my pa every year for his birthday since I was nine. It’s probably the only thing I have any confidence in making in the kitchen.”

“Coulda fooled me,” Mer quipped as he loaded his fork with as much pie as he could.

The moment he took a bite, his brows creased, and eyes closed as he chewed painfully slow. Those few seconds were like agony. Evie’s heart was pounding in her chest with so much anticipation she feared she might faint as she watched him sample the only thing she could actually make that was worth a damn.

“Fuck me, if that ain’t the best apple pie I’ve evah had the pleasure of tasting.”

A somewhat nervous, but relieved chuckle sounded in the back of Evelyn’s throat as she watched Merriell shovel a larger bite of pie into his mouth.

“Mmm… Yep. God damn delightful.”

“Stop,” Evie said sheepishly, suddenly afraid he was overselling his reaction to keep from hurting her feelings.

“No,” he wiped his mouth and leaned across the table to meet her gaze with a sincere expression that stole away all the doubt writhing in her stomach.

“I mean it. If I wasn’t so full of pasta, I’d eat that whole damn pie right now.”

“Well,” Evie grinned softly, trying not to let her blush color her cheeks too obviously. “Thank you. And you’re welcome to take the rest of it when you go.”

Excitement took form on his face with a smirk that was sweet but roguish all at once—a sort of debonair charm that amplified his magnetism—as if his bright eyes dark curls and razor-sharp jaw did not make him alluring enough already. Again she had to look away knowing the pink in her cheeks would be too strong to combat.

“Imma have ta take ya up on that offah. An’ I’ll be thinkin’ ‘bout you every time I cut me a slice.”

That blush was unstoppable; her heart was suddenly so smitten, it felt as though butterflies were fluttering merrily in her stomach. She felt weightless with warmth and hope swelling in her bosom, fearing any slight breeze would carry her off. It was ridiculous how at ease Evie felt sitting there eating pie with a complete stranger. The conversation had been easy all night; even when it had delved into less savory topics he still made her feel comfortable. Evelyn had forgotten what it was like to be in the company of a man who wasn’t easy to anger, who was genuine and kind and wanted only to live in the moment.

For a time the whimsy of the atmosphere faded as the warmth in her heart ached, suddenly missing her brother James and Cynthia's brother Charlie. Both of them were good men, kind and genuine—like Merriell—but they had been swallowed by the rages of war. Brave young men were lost forever, while a man like Jonny Doyle was still alive How was that fair?

No matter how pleasant her thoughts could be, they always fell back to the grief that plagued her. She sighed, deeply, pushing those intrusive memories back into the depths of her mind so she could find joy once more in the moment with a kind stranger.

When Merrill finished his plate he made a beeline for the sink full of soaking dishes.

“Oh, no,” she said jumping to her feet. “I can do those.”

Merriell, however, shook his head. “Uh-uh, you did the cookin’, I can do the cleanin’.”

When Evie tried to argue, Mer simply shook his head, his grin amused but determined as he kept scrubbing the dirty dishes.

“Let me help at least,” she suggested. “I’ll dry and put them away.”

Before he could protest, she snatched the freshly rinsed dish from his hand and began wiping away the droplets of water clinging to the porcelain surface, throwing him a smug smirk that made him chuckle.

“Alright,“ he smirked.

She watched him for a moment not really paying attention to her task as he scrubbed the old plates clean, overcome with a blissful vision of peaceful domesticity. It made her stomach fill to the brim with whimsy and her heart was fluttering again; had this stranger bewitched her already? Or did what she feel bubbling lightly in her gut like a seltzer stem from an end to her loneliness—even if it was only for a few hours? Evelyn didn’t know. Nevertheless, she was intrigued with a profound feeling and she wanted to dwell in it for as long as she could.

Occasionally as he would hand a freshly washed dish her way, his calloused fingertips would brush against her skin, igniting a spark she didn’t know how to react to. It was more than an amicable tingle racing from the tips of her fingers right to her heart. And each time they touched, Merriell would cast her a gentle smile that held nothing more than his inherent charm and magnetism. She wondered if he felt it too, or if her need for companionship was playing a dirty trick on her.

When the dishes were all back in their usual places—the night drawing to a close—Evelyn realized she was not ready to say farewell to her Beautiful Stranger. She longed to stay up all night just chatting with him, she did not care about what, Evelyn only wanted to stay encompassed a while longer in the blissful warmth he brought into her life. Once he was gone, all she would be able to do was stay up and ponder the significance of those little touches and the sparks they brought.

Thankfully, Merriell lingered on the old rickety porch, one hand in his pocket, the other holding onto his plate of leftover pie, seeming to stall their inevitable departure.

“Well,” he said with a grin. “Thank you for invitin’ a stranger ovah for dinna.” He paused, glancing at the leftover pie in his hand. “Can’t recall ever having a better plate of pasta, an’ nothin’ evah gonna beat this pie.”

Evie quickly looked at her feet to hide another blush.

“It was the least I could do,” she told him before looking back to meet his eyes. “You have no idea how much of a savior you were this afternoon…”

A glint of concern flashed in his eye, his brows beginning to crease as his unspoken question lingered between them.

She thought about telling him—telling him how Jonny was nothing more than a throne in her side, and how much she cherished Merriells company—but Mer was still a stranger. It wasn’t right to unload so much onto someone she’d only known for a few hours.

Before Mer could offer any reply, the sound of screeching tires stole all their focus as an old wagon pulled along the curb—narrowly missing a collision with the mailbox. The rowdy passengers were laughing and shouting loud enough even before the door opened to let Jonny stumble out. He staggered on drunk feet and screamed a handful of profanities to his buddies in the car which made them all roar with laughter.

It was only after the wagon full of hooligans pulled away that Jonny began to stagger towards the house, and it was exactly then that Evie’s fluttering heart became consumed with panic.

She and Mer watched him cross the yard, unseen, both frozen: Evie in fear and Merriell in confusion. Jonny’s intoxication level inhibited him from taking notice of them until he was at the base of the steps leading onto the porch. Immediately, his eyes narrowed and he frowned.

“Who the hell are you?”

“Jonny, this is Mr. Merriell Shelton,” Evie said quickly, willing her voice not to shake.

The Doyle’s were not known for their hospitality, nor were they known to trust most people. Especially strangers.

“He helped me this afternoon with a bit of trouble I was having,” she explained vaguely, hoping to thwart any more suspicion. “I made him dinner to say thank you—he’s just about to leave.”

Jonny eyed Merriell, seizing him up as best he could through drunken lenses. Mer stood his ground, eyeing him back with a subtle intensity that never so much as cracked under Jonny’s scrutiny.

Finally, being the better man, Mer held out his hand in a friendly manner, “nice ta meet ya.”

Jonny cast a prolonged glare at Merriell's open hand, his brows furrowed and part of his lip hiked up in a sort of snarl. Instead of returning the kind gesture, Jonny made a show of spitting at his feet before tossing his heavy leer at Evelyn.

"Evie, do not invite any more strangers into my house. I don't care if they are dying." He shoved past them both, purposely bumping Mer's shoulder (most likely in hopes to start something) muttering as he went: "I don't trust any of these filthy southerners."

Shock sent Evie's jaw slack; this time the redness in her cheeks was a symptom of embarrassment instead of infatuation. She should have known Jonny would say something rude and uncouth. Without another thought, she grabbed Mer by his sleeve and pulled him across the lawn until they stood next to his truck parked along the curb.

"I am so sorry about him," she said, crossing her arms and glaring at Jonny's house, ashamed and angry.

Mer shrugged as he placed his partially eaten pie in the passenger seat through the open window before fixing his hands in his front pockets.

"Ya boyfriend's a bit of an asshole."

"He is not my boyfriend," Evie corrected vehemently. "I don't think he knows that though. I'm just staying here until I can figure some things out."

Merriell was quiet a moment, nodding silently. It seemed as though he was taking his time processing the whole situation. There was compassion on his face and behind his eyes, but it was guarded somehow. Evie caught it though and she was grateful when he didn't ask the questions plainly forming in his mind.

"Well," he said finally, his tone light as one corner of his mouth quirked into a grin. "Since he ain't ya othah half, I feel more inclined ta leave ya with this…"

Gently, Merriell caressed her upper arm as he leaned forward to plant a tender kiss on her cheek. He let his lips linger slightly longer than was common for such an act, that all at once wove a new hopefulness into her heart.

"Dinna was swell," he added as he pulled away, his smile somehow more charming than it had been all night. "Hope I see ya again, Evie."

"Me too," she murmured.

Evie watched as he got in his truck to leave, her hand held to the cheek he'd graced with his kiss. And when he drove away, it took everything inside of her to keep from running after him.

[currantlee]

My Top 5 favorite Pokémon Boss Battle Themes

So, I fell into a pit of my Pokémon nostalgia. Don't look at me, I loved these games as a kid, and I don't enjoy what they have become. That being said, I really hope the Sinnoh remakes - both BDSP and Legends - are good, since Sinnoh was my first region and I'd hate to see it butchered. Plus, they look promising. But I'm not getting my hopes up yet, I'll wait for reviews.

Anyways, one of the things I enjoyed so much about these games is the music. I could probably hum you some of the Sinnoh tunes, or even sing the lyrics I imagined for them (it's obvious that Sinnoh is still my favorite region, isn't it?). Or I could list some of my favorite music tracks from all across the series. So... I did just that to get my hype energy somewhere 😂

So yeah, I hope you enjoy this little list 😊 I tried to explain the stories and memories associated with those musical themes as well as I can for those of you who aren't into Pokémon. That being said - spoilers for Pokémon OmegaRuby and AlphaSapphire, Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver and especially the Sinnoh games ahead.

Oh, and if you do know Pokémon - please leave a comment or reblog and tell me what your favorite boss battle theme is, I'd love to know!

Since Pokémon doesn't have an explicified boss definition, here is what I define as boss battles in Pokémon:

Rival Battles

Gym Battles

Elite Four Battles

Champion Battles

Commander Battles

Admin Battles

Legendary / Unique Pokémon Battles

Frontier Brain or similar Battles

With that being said, let's go!

#5: Pokémon UltraSun/UltraMoon: VS Ultra Necrozma

I will admit, I haven't played the game. I heard this battle is actually pretty difficult, but I can't speak for myself on this. Pokémon games have stopped to be enjoyable to me with Sun and Moon, which had an amazing storyline and some great gameplay concepts, but just... Not enjoyable to me. And USUM seemed like cashgrab to me. I will say though, this musical theme has something and might as well be the best legendary battle theme of modern Pokémon for me.

#4: Pokémon OmegaRuby/AlphaSapphire: VS Brendan/May

In Gen3, Game Freak tried out a new approach with the rival character. See, you always have a rival in Pokémon, and up until this point, all rivals were pretty much jerks. What this new approach was? Well... Let's just say they made the rival character the crush of the player character.

Depending on whether you play as Brendan (whom everyone thought to have white hair before ORAS, except Hidenori Kusaka and Satoshi Yamamoto, who make the Pokémon Adventures manga) or as May, the other will be the rival, and let me tell you, the game pushes this ship really hard in my opinion. It's no wonder why the manga chose to write Ruby and Sapphire, Brendan's and May's counterparts respectively, as a romantic couple, who even confess their love for each other - twice.

Their battle theme conveys this perfectly: this isn't two people who hate each other battling, these are two friends, who might like each other more than you like a casual friend, battling to spend time together. Despite that, both of them are determined to not lose.

One of my favorite moments in the entire game is the ending of it. After the credits (during which Brendan and May are riding their bikes home together) have rolled, you arrive at the pond where you and your rival first met, and they will challenge you to a battle once more. It's when you hear this theme, the one you've listened to every time you battled Brendan or May during the game, and it's just an amazing moment in my opinion, one that is accompanied by this soundtrack, following absolute silence.

And yes, I prefer the remake version of this track.

#3: Pokémon Diamond/Pearl/Platinum: VS Cyrus

Since Kingdom Hearts is currently my main fandom and therefore most people following me probably know more about that series than about Pokémon, let me explain who Cyrus is: Cyrus is the Xehanort of Pokémon. And that up there is his battle theme. And safe for the one time they butchered it by turning it into a disco song for USUM, it's absolutely perfect.

I especially like the beginning. It conveys intensity and the dangerous situation you're in. I mean, Cyrus literally wants to destroy the universe to replace it with a new one he will rule as a god. He also regards all emotions as weakness and will openly admit that his grunts are useless and merely tools to him. Honestly, he is the most terrifying antagonist of the entire series to me, mainly because his plan is that of a madman, but he is actually serious about it (and unlike Xehanort doesn't let go of it even after his defeat).

At the same time, the musical theme sounds hopeful - like all will be good. And I mean, all is eventually good. You have your Pokémon with you, and Cynthis (who also has a badass battle theme by the way) helps you out too. Here is a great thing about the Sinnoh plot: Cynthia has been built up as a character you can trust, and her philosophy is the direct contrast to Cyrus'. So when she helps you battle Cyrus and Team Galactic - you know she won't let anything happen to you. Despite how terrifying Cyrus is as a villain, you know you're safe, because you have not only your Pokémon, but her on your side. Oh, and she is the final boss of the game. So in the end, you and your Pokémon overcome not only the villain, but also the person who held your hand the entire time.

Sorry this turned into me gushing about the plot of the Sinnoh games, but I can't help it 😅 On with the show!

#2: Pokémon HeartGold/SoulSilver: VS Champion/Red

If Cyrus is the Xehanort of Pokémon, then Red is it's Yozora. And while his musical theme is technically not his alone, I definitely associate it with him more than I associate it with Lance.

One of the best things about Red in my opinion is how he is foreshadowed during the entire game. Like, in the first city you visit, an elderly man will tell you about a boy named Red who three years ago saved the neighbouring region Kanto from the evil Team Rocket. Then, you hear nothing about him for a very long time - until Blue Oak mentions him again on Cinnebar Island and you meet his worried mother at Pallet Town.

While Red is technically an optional secret boss, the game makes you want to beat him through the little details it reveals about him. That he is a legend, that he is the true Champion of the Indigo League... To me, his mother worrying about him was always what got me the most.

I have to say, I also got a soft spot for the 8-Bit-version of the theme, it's just not what I grew up with. I admittedly never played GSC. I also like the Gen7 take on the theme, which mixes the original melody with the Alolan vibes.

#1: Pokémon Diamond/Pearl/Platinum: VS Dialga / Palkia

I don't know how, but they managed to make the piano in this theme as epic as a theme for those two Dr Who-deities deserve. It sounds mysterious and it makes you respect what is in front of you, without sounding bombastic like Arceus' theme (which is also freaking amazing, ngl). Not that that is a bad thing, but I feel like the mysterious vibe fits Dialga and Palkia, who are the embodiments of two very abstract concepts. Arceus is simply god, and that's that. But Dialga and Palkia are the embodiments of time and space, two concepts that are far more difficult to grasp than "god".

Dialga also has an amazing battle theme in Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time/Darkness/Sky, which definitely deserves an honorable mention here (Palkia's theme in said game is okay, but they definitely got the short end of the stick IMO).

I really hope they're not going to butcher this theme (or Cynthia's. Or Cyrus'. Or any of the Gen4 themes really) in the remakes. But the one thing Pokémon didn't mess up completely for me so far is the soundtrack (except that one time they turned Cyrus' theme into a disco song, which really doesn't fit him at all). So I have faith in that at least.

What's your favorite boss battle theme in Pokémon? Leave me a comment if you like, I'd love to hear about it!

[kazuwhora]

Hey, could I have a Tokyo Rev matchup? If that's alright ☺ I FORGOT TO ADD MY APPEARANCE ALSO I'M SORRY IF THIS IS TOO MUCH 😭😫🙏🏾

Ok so I'm a bisexual girl who uses any pronouns, mostly she/they. I am also around 5'5, I kinda wish I was taller so I could intimidate men with my height 😈 I am a Virgo, although I don't think I act like one. It's probably because I'm an Aries Rising and Pisces Moon. But n e wayz I am an ISFP 4w5 and tbh I kinda tone down my personality depending where I'm at💀 At school, people would describe me as kind, quiet, chill, smart, weird, innocent looking(that completely changes once I start talking because I say weird things. I once told my teacher about how some astronauts had herpes in Space 🏃🏾‍♀️). At home, my family(and friends) would describe as loud(Once I laughed so hard to the point where my mom could hear me outside), crazy, weird, chaotic, dumb(I say a lot of stupid things that make no sense 🤷🏾‍♀️), annoying, a troublemaker, competative, argumentative, mean, chill at times, really talkative although I have a stutter. I have noticed that in both areas, people have said that I'm a people magnet and a good person to be around 😁 When I'm alone I like to read fanfics 😏, listen to music, read my Warrior Cats books and when I'm with my sister or with Family, I love to dance, listen to music, watch anime, play sports, go for walks. I've been dancing ever since I was young, never went to lessons but still performed a lot for School. Most of the time, it's actually what people know me for. With my family, I was known as the Snake Girl for a few years because I really wanted one, I never got one but I do have 5 rats now 🐀 I've always loved animals, when I was younger I made a list of all the animals I wanted and there were like 20+ pets on there 😭 And because I love animals so much, I've decided I want to help them in the future but I also want to help people. I've been wondering what I should be in the future and it's changed multiple times(mostly because the hours were too long and I HATE 9-5 jobs) but helping animals and helping people is something I always want to do. So, I've decided that I'll do everything I want to do in the future and no one will stop me 😾 That's probably why I'm listed as the Troublemaker in the Family, I do what I want to do and say what I want to say without caring how other people feel because I'm my own person(Mostly, because I love having fun but also because they really need to hear it). My family doesn't like it tho 😕 whenever my sister does the same, she's always told that she's acting like me and that it's a bad thing but idc. When I'm of age, I'm gonna live my life the way I want 😌 I'm gonna get tattoos, get piercings, be a stripper while I get my desired degree in College/University. I'M GONNA DO IT ALL 💃🏾

I would also like to add that I smile and laugh a lot. I literally have smile lines from how hard I smile all the time. I could be experiencing any emotion like Anger, Happiness, Sadness, etc. and I'll still smile and laugh. I think it's the eye contact 😃

Appearance: I'm around the age of the Tokyo Rev characters, I'm 5'5, I'm not skinny or fat so I'm kinda in the middle, I have Auburn hair and eyebrows and have braided hair with beads in it 😩 I'm very hot, I also have glasses I wear occasionally although I really need them for my left eye 😫 I do think that the glasses make me look hotter tho so I wear em 👀

I hope that's a good representation of how I am and also thank you in advance <3

u are the definition of an aries rising LOL

IM MATCHING YOU UP WITH NAHOYA SO YOU CAN BE THE MOST CHAOTIC DUO TO EVER EXIST

im not even gonna lie to you here. y'all scare me. nahoya scares me, u kinda scare me (in a good way dw I literally dropped out of highschool nothing can truly scare me) but the way y'all absolutely hype each other up an energize yourselves off of each other is freaky and mildly concerning. its like, the two of you are somehow a match made in both heaven and hell because your brains are wired the exact same way but at the same time should we really be putting those two brains together????

all jokes aside though you really are mirrored versions of yourself and its fun as fuck for the both of you. nahoya, who lives for chaos and humour is delightfully enabled by your ability to take his jokes and follow along with his chaotic nature at the same speed without a skip in your step. you, are enabled by his ability to also match your speed and encourage you to do whatever the fuck you want because its your life and you should live it how you want.

when I decided on nahoya I didn't even think of the smiley thing but it just makes so much sense as I go back and reread your description?? like its meant to be ok

you two are THE trouble makers. ppl can't handle you and if you ever show up at any toman event mikey is immediately separating the two of you because even HE can't handle it. double trouble for sure.

nahoya says fuck a job. you can just hang out with him every day right?? no but for real, he 100% does not understand responsibilities and he doesn't get why you can't actually just hang out with him every day. he has so much fun with you and when you're gone he's like ?? tf do I do now?? disturb shit on my own?? damn. he does not like it one bit and will huff at you for having responsibilities. he swears he'll become rich so you don't have to do anything and he can just spoil you so you'll stay with him forever and cause ruckus together for the rest of your lives. this is his goal.

he's one of the top 3 worst boyfriends so im not even gonna lie that hes a shit boyfriend but I bet you wont care because the fun you have together and the freedom that your relationship holds is enough to make it all worth it.

psst.. he doesn't have to say I love you for you to know. it'll be clear in the way his eyes twinkle every time he sees you <3

[thehaemanthus]

Hi! I’ve fallen back into a ACOTAR hole (following the inevitable Scholomance hole post-Last Graduate), and now that I’ve read every book over and every piece of fic at least twice, I was wondering if you had recs for similar books with different authors? I know Leigh Bardugo, SJM, and Naomi Novik pretty well but I feel like there must be new stuff out there.

oh man. Anon, my love, I wish I read more and was better at recs. I'll give you what I got. I'm sure you've read the obvious, the Holly Black and Victoria Aveyard and such.

@feyrearcherons got me addicted to Karen Marie Moning's Fever Series. There's faeries, magic, sex (nothing too explicit tho, the author likes a fade to black) and a slow burn romance that makes me want to tear my hair out (but, also, helped me with Our Savaged Souls, so--). You might pick up the first book and go "absolutely not". Keep in mind it was published in 2006 and have some leniency on fashion choices. It's definitely a candy book, and the series is...I think? Not as cohesive? As I might like. I'm on the second to last book (as of now, I think this author is still going to write more, lol, she hasn't stopped yet) and I'll have a better idea once im done. Warning! It gets dark. It's not YA, it's for a more mature audience. Characters do bad things, and love interests are flawed.

I don't know if this is a similar book to ACOTAR, but I like Katherine Arden's Winternight Trilogy. If I remembering correctly, there's a bit of Death and the Maiden in the romance. Magic, a loveable, wild female protagonist, and some beautiful lush writing.

er....imma just start listing some fantasy books. They pretty much all have strong female characters, an interesting magic system, probably some romance. I don't know if they are similar to ACOTAR (depends on what similarities you want-- the romance, the faeries, the types of characters, the writing) but they are good!

Kristin Cashore, Graceling Realm Series. Classic. Enjoyable. Each book features a different female protagonist, each extremely unique. There's something about the writing, plotting, pacing? that's different. Makes you think differently, I think.

Sabaa Tahir, An Ember in the Ashes Series. I met her and we defiled a poster advertising the book-signing together and then I got to take it home, so gotta shout out to Sabaa. I really enjoyed the first and second books, but strong plot is not her specialty, I think. She tries to go super dark and doesn't quite get there, but! These books are good and enjoyable.

Marie Rutkoski, The Winner's Trilogy. Okay, so this series doesn't have a strong magic system. I don't think others like it as much as I did, and maybe that's because I read it at a formative time or it just clicked with me. The story revolves around an enemies-to-lovers romance, and it does not shy away from that. While there is politics happening, I appreciated that the series wasn't afraid to be what it is-- a story about lovers.

Sherwood Smith, Crown Duel. An oldie but a goodie! No hot and heavy romance, but lots of politics and interesting world building. I read it when I was much younger, so again my perception may be colored by nostalgia. But I read it recently and still enjoyed it quite a bit.

.....okay. If you like Death and the Maiden, if you like "all powerful death gods kneeling for their human lovers", try Land of the Beautiful Dead by R. Lee Smith. The cover looks atrocious, but the writing is good, lol. It's DEFINITELY mature, explicit, extremely dark. It's long as fuck. It could very well be one of those books that I'm like "wow so good" and the rest of the world is like "wtf is wrong with you." But it was good! Oh, also. This book and this author is for monster fuckers.

Okay, I have a lot more general "book recs" but that's it for ACOTAR-esque books. Or just fantasy books that I'm like uhhhh HERE take this.

If you are willing to branch out let me know, I'll give you a general list of books that I'm like "I wish people would read so we could chat about it"

Anyone else, please do reblog or reply with your own recs!

[patchun]

after many hours in UM and 1cc'ing with every character, i can finally present my card tier list! some of these rankings are based on personal preference. for instance, some tier lists have placed remilia at s tier, and i don't DISAGREE with that. it's a really good card, but i just don't enjoy it as much. so in a way, this is very much "the casual player's tier list". i will explain some things below if you're interested:

S tier

Saki is in S tier because her card is ESSENTIAL, in my opinion. The damage difference is really important for every character, and at least as far as I can tell, it doesn't drop off late-game, either. If someone informs me that it does drop off when you hit full power, i'll be removing it.

Now you may ask: why Miko? Sumireko and Piece are so good, and you just talked about how good Remilia is. Well, I like Miko because with those other cards, I tend to accidentally try to use them as death-bombs. And of course, that never works. None of the active cards function as death bombs, so that false sense of comfort does me in more times than not. For that reason, Miko's active is good for me, because if you want to use it well, you have to use it preemptively. There are cards I know I struggle with, or midboss sections like stage 4, 5 and 6 mid - that Miko can handle so long as you use it at the right time. Byakuren isn't ESSENTIAL for Miko to be good, but it makes the active a lot better and reduces cooldown. If you have Miko, Byakuren probably goes to S tier.

A tier

That said, if you can't get a Miko, Sumireko is the second best bet. Her little circle of invulnerability can come in really clutch if you can use it at the right time (or remember to use it at all LOL). Byakuren would go in S if Sanae, the definitive best character (those who say Reimu is... you're crazy, snakes are too powerful), actually needed it. But she doesn't. Sanae's bomb is already insanely strong, and she doesn't really need Byakuren's help. That said. With Byakuren she becomes even stronger. So in retrospect, I think I should have put Byakuren in S tier. It just feels good, and that's important!

Speaking of remembering to use ability cards and bombs, though... Eirin can be a real run saver. Near the end of the run, you can start getting tired. If you have a silly death that could have been prevented, you may get discouraged. In those situations, it can be easy to snowball into a defeated spiral and keep dying over and over, without even bombing! But Eirin has the power to prevent that. More experienced players may find this one useless, but if you're just trying to 1cc these games for fun, Eirin can be quite good!

Mokou is good if you can afford her for obvious reasons - but be careful not to spend too much power later on to get this card. The later stages become quite difficult when you're low on power - you can go into a loss snowball really quickly because you can't clear enemies quick enough so the screen fills with bullets. To get Mokou you kind of need to be on a positive snowball.

B tier

For B tier, the top three equipment options really depend on who you're playing and what you need. For Sanae and Reimu, I think Mini-Hakkero is really good. Based on my testing, Hakkero is better than Needle and Missile, so in comparison, the other two are probably not worth it.

Sakuya B has in my experience been a GREAT card for both Marisa and Sakuya. The knives can be hard to aim, but they seem to do quite a bit of damage, so they really help to make up for the lack of range on both Sakuya and Marisa. Honestly though, I think they'd be fine on anyone. I haven't seen anyone talking about them but... yeah, they're underrated. Another thing is: they feel good.

Then, yin-yang orbs - I just think these are nice to have. They're better than snakes as equipment primarily because they can hit behind you, but I also think they have more consistent dps. Snakes miss a lot more often, which isn't really a big deal when you're Sanae who has 4 snake outlets, but it is a big deal when there's only one snake.

Alice doll - I'm pretty sure this is good. It moves quickly, homes in on stuff, can hit behind you, increases DPS, isn't too expensive. I like to take this when I see it.

Then, lives. Lives being only 80 money can be a big deal. In quite a few of my runs, I've taken lives 3/5 stages because I was just not very lucky with card selection, but I still managed. Lives are very strong if you can manage to not waste them and remember to use bombs.

Yachie's card is good if you can get it early - it wouldn't be in B tier except it's very, very cheap. Only 140 iirc. Now, the UFO... why did I choose that as my best bullet eraser? You may say: patchun, you've said in the past that Okina is really good for erasing bullets! And yes, you're right, you're right - but Okina is really only consistently useful for that one Chimata card, and once you learn that card, it's not very difficult to avoid. Plus, UFO can help with that card too! UFO doesn't give a fuck what it touches, it will erase it. It doesn't have a cooldown as far as I can tell, so it just erases everything in a circle around you constantly. I rank it this high up because UFO saved my ass MANY, many times against Misumaru, who is in my opinion the toughest boss in the game. UFO can destroy yin-yang orbs, so it makes several of her patterns a lot easier. Not even Sumireko can destroy yin-yang orbs. If you happen to see UFO and nothing else, and if you don't think you'll be distracted by it, try it out.

Few more comments

I think Sanae Frog is good on Marisa and Sakuya. Not better than the equipment cards in A tier, but good if you see it. I think anything that helps with Marisa and Sakuya's horrible range is great for them.

I've seen Sannyo card ranked pretty highly, and maybe if you get it early on it is, but I don't feel like it's worth a place in your starting deck, personally.

Mamizou can be good if you've already snowballed as a way to prevent a downfall. But I don't think she's worth picking up early at all. And Keiki's bullet erasing is good, but I found it often erased something I didn't need it to erase just to fail at erasing what I did need it to erase. Probably better than nothing, but far from a must-have, and the no-CD on the UFO and backdoor having very little CD makes them stand out for erasure.

I've heard good things about Aya, as well, but I personally never take my hand off the shoot key. Yuyuko's card may save you in a miracle situation but it's just very unlikely, honestly might be more startling than helpful. You generally know when you're about to die, so when you suddenly don't, it's like... your brain hasn't processed correctly, so you probably just die soon after. Sakuya left-right knives suck. Don't use them lol.

And finally, Utsuho is such a funny card. But... power is such an important resource in this game, with how snowball-y it is, that I could never justify using Utsuho on a serious attempt. I'd love to see some Utsuho challenge runs though.