#and started playing animal crossing wild world to avoid coloring

[causeimanartist]

A to Z Character Challenge U: Ultimate Spider-Man

Into the Spider Verse is the ultimate Spider-Man movie I accept no others

[durmstrange]

It’s A Date - Fred Weasley

Welcome to another Fred blurb!  This takes place post war.  Hope you enjoy!

Word count:  1,605

Truthfully, you had always been rather content with your life.  During your schooling, you weren’t unpopular, but you weren’t popular.  People gravitated towards you, but you never became attached to anyone.  You weren’t ever the one to seek other out, but you were there for when others needed you.  In fact, if no one had sought you out, you would have spent your school years alone, and you were content with that.  

When you graduated, you started working at a muggle flower shop in London, where you rather sneakily used magic to make your flowers the most beautiful in the area.  When the war came around two years later, you didn’t hesitate a moment to fight at your old school.  The battle was hectic and you met many new faces and a few familiar, including your partner during the first half of the battle, Fred Weasley.  He had gotten separated from his brother, and you arrived alone, so there was an unspoken agreement to stick together.

Fred and you worked well together, even in school.  He was your partner on occasion during Potions class, and you quite enjoyed his jokes and company.  Throughout the battle, you and Fred saved each other on multiple occasions, both of you barely avoiding the cold grasp of death.  During it all, a small bit of rubble had hit you as well, leaving a rather ugly cut across the side of your face.  Fred broke his leg when wall collapsed and you blasted as much away from him as you could.  During the calm period, you helped Fred to the Great Hall, where his family took care of him, and you left to finish the battle.  That was the last you saw of Fred.  

After the war ended, you returned to your quiet life, coming to work each morning with a small scar you wore on your face with pride.  Day in and day out, you worked and went back to your flat, to your books and to your cat, which had become your best and one of your few friends.  

One particular Monday, on your day off, you decided to go to your old stomping grounds.  You hadn’t been in Diagon Alley in years.  In fact, you hadn’t been in touch with any sort of magical shop in almost two years, since the battle and since the war drew to an end. 

You entered through the Leaky Cauldron, dipping your head to the patrons you faintly recognized.  As you entered Diagon Alley, a nostalgic feeling washed over you.  Last time you had been there, most of the shops were closed and it was rather drab and dreary, but now it was like when you were a kid.  Bright, bustling, and beautiful.  There were so many witches and wizards, dressed how you used to dress, in cloaks and colorful clothing, pointy hats and odd animals on their shoulders.  Music played loudly from a nearby shop, which you recognized to be the Weird Sisters.  Memories of the Yule Ball faded into your mind and a faint smile formed on your lips as you wandered up the alley. 

You felt out of place, wearing your tight jeans and black band t-shirt, containing a muggle band you were sure few people in the alley around you knew of.  But the wand tucked into the waist of your jeans made you feel like part of them.  As you wandered up the alley, your eyes landed on the one shop you had never been in.  Weasley Wizard Wheezes. 

It was an incredibly fun looking store, one you were sure you would enjoy, but before the war, you only ever came to Diagon Alley when you absolutely needed to, and your time there was short with no time for stops like this.  Now, however, you had all the time in the world.

When you stepped into the shop, it smelled of fireworks and sweets and there were various sounds and flashing lights all around.  It was August still, so there were copious amounts of young students bustling around and laughing at everything around.  Your smile grew as you ran your hand along a display, looking at the bottled love potions and Puking Pastilles, to other products you truly couldn’t have thought up in your most wild dreams. 

As you picked up an odd looking package, you felt someone brush by you and you ignored it, accrediting it to the busy shop, but as you turned over the package in your hand, a voice brought stole your focus.  “Well, hello,” a voice you recognized greeted, causing you to turn to the Weasley twin.  “Here I thought I’d never see you again.”

Fred smiled at you, but held a confused look on his face.  “Loonar Loop Luminators?” you asked him with a small laugh in your voice.  You wondered in the back of your mind what he meant by his words, but you brushed it off for the moment.

Fred glanced down to the package in your hand, as he had not noticed it sooner as his eyes focused on your face.  “A sort of firework,” he answered proudly and took the product from your hand.  “A demonstration, maybe?” 

Shrugging lightly, you followed Fred as he led you to the center of the store.  “All right, you lot, listen up!”  His voice boomed through the store, silencing the many students and grown ups alike.  “I’ll be doing a quick demonstration of our Loonar Loop Luminators, so stand clear,” he continued as he opened the package.  He placed a small blue tube on the ground, using his wand to light the end of it. 

After a few mere seconds, sparks of various colors exploded from the product, reaching the ceiling of the shop and popping into more sparkles.  You clapped, along with the rest of the store, as the fireworks exploded beautifully.  Fred smiled proudly, his arms crossed over his chest, and waited until the last of the sparks faded to speak once more.  “Loonar Loop Luminators can be found over here to the left, in the front of the store,” he finished and swooped down, picking up the expired product.  Fred stepped back over to you, an expectant look on his face.  “What’d you think?” 

“Absolutely brilliant,” you answered with a laugh.  

Fred beamed at your words.  “You see, if you do it in an open area, and not indoors, it will be a much more grand show.  Sparks will fly to the moon, hence the name,” he explained proudly and flashed the box to you, which held a rather smiley moon.

You hummed, a bright look in your eyes.  “I reckon that’s quite the sight.  I might have to leave here with a few myself.”

Fred smirked, glancing at the box in his hand once more.  “Take as many as you want.  I couldn’t bear to charge the person who saved my life,” he explained as he led you to the counter, where he tossed the box in a waste bin.  

With a small laugh, you shrugged and leaned against the counter as his brother, who was two years younger than you, rung up the many guests.  “Well, you saved mine as well, so I had assumed we were even.”  

Fred scoffed, checking his watch for a moment before glancing at his brother.  “Man the shop for a minute, mate?” 

Ron glanced at you and nodded, a smile on his lips.  “Take your time.”

“Got a moment?”  Fred asked you as he nodded towards the door of his shop. 

You glanced at your own watch, pretending to contemplate his words, but shrugged.  “I suppose so.” 

Fred smirked and led you through the shop, out into Diagon Alley.  “I thought you died, you know?”  His voice was a little shaky as he spoke, his hands in the pockets of his colorful suit. 

“Well, here I am,” you replied lamely, giving him a gentle smile and a small shrug.  

With an incredulous look on his face, Fred shook his head at you.  “I mourned you, you know?” 

Your smile fell at his words, causing you to feel oddly guilty.  “Why would you mourn someone you didn’t know to be dead?  Someone you barely know?”  The words came out a little harsher than you intended, but as Fred led you up Diagon Alley, walking slowly through the crowd, you were sure he understood. 

“I want to know you,” Fred said suddenly, his voice insistent.  Your mouth fell open, rather surprised by his words, and waited for him to continue.  “I always have.  That’s why I always convinced others to let me be your partner in class, why I spoke to you as much as I could without bothering you, why I wanted to stay by your side during the battle.”  Your face felt warm at his confession and for a moment, you were at a loss for words.  

With a gentle blush on your face, you ducked your head and smiled to yourself. “Well, here I am,” you repeated the words you said moments before and glanced up at Fred.

Fred smiled widely at your words, raising his eyebrows.  “Will you let me take you to dinner, then?” 

For a moment, you bit your lip and pretended to consider his offer.  After a brief pause, you spoke softly, “I suppose so.”

“Brilliant,” Fred smirked and stood with his hands in his pockets.  “Meet you here at the shop tomorrow?  Say seven?” 

Nodding gently, you fought the wide grin forming on your lips.  “It’s a date.”

[nashibirne]

First of all. A big thank you to everyone who liked or reblogged my little story/drabble I posted yesterday. It's good to know that there are people who like what I'm writing.

So here is another piece. Still untitled. Suggestions are appreciated! It's another part of the bigger story in my head. Regarding the timeline...I think this happens a few days before yesterday's chapter. Confusing much? Let's see.

Untitled 2.1 / Against all odds

Part 1

Part 2.2

Henry Cavill x mc / ofc

Summary: Walking the dogs and confusion...again

Warnings: none

Unbeta'ed!

******

"Oh, sure. Poor little Henry. You really are to be pitied"

Her voiced dripped with sarcasm.

"I'm serious" he replied, stopping in his tracks.

"Of course." She rolled her eyes but the smile playing on her lips gave away that she was rather amused than annoyed. Sitting down on the nearby bench she eyed him pointedly from bottom to top. "A man as attractive as you had problems finding a woman." she stated. "That's ridiculous"

"Attractive?" he said raising his eyebrows in surprise as he sat down besides her.

"Oh heavens, please don't fish, Cavill. You know exactly how handsome you are."

"You're right. I think my looks are quite okay". His smile, innocent and playful at the same time, almost killed her.

"But up to now I haven't been aware that you find me attractive". He emphasized the personal pronoun by patting her knee a few times.

"Of course I do." she admitted. "Is there even one single person in the world who wouldn't agree you're good looking?"

"I just considered I might not be your type."

"I don't have a type."

She avoided Henry's gaze pretending to watch the dogs who played on the meadow on the other side of the path that had led them on top of the hill right behind Braxton Castle.

"You don't?" He wasn't convinced. "You're ex boyfriends all looked differently?"

"They were all tall. But that's it. Different hair colours, different eye colours, different body types, different looks." She tried to shrug it off.

"All right" he drawled the words more than necessary. She could tell by the way he looked at her, that he wasn't ready to bury the topic.

"Shall we?" She got up from the bench, calling her uncle's Labradors Byron and Shelley who rushed to her side immediately. "Good boys." She gave them the expected treat and leashed them.

Henry whistled on his fingers and Kal came trotting almost in slow motion. "Come on, mate. You can play with your noble friends again tomorrow." He gave Kals soft fur a few strokes before leashing him. "Good boy" he whispered tenderly. That was one of the many things she loved about Henry. His undying devotion to his animals.

"You know that dogs can't be noble, don't you?"

"Their owner is. And it makes Kal feel good to think he has some aristocratic fellows." Henry replied with a wink.

Her warm laugh was music to his ears. He loved the rough edges around it.

"Maybe we should knight him. What do you think. Sir Kal-El of Krypton?"

"Sounds fantastic. See, he already loves the idea" he replied pointing to his dog who wagged his tail somehow knowing they were talking about him.

Continuing their daily morning walk they had a lot of fun imagining a ceremony to make Kal a knight. Henrys ideas were hilarious and she almost peed herself because he made her laugh so hard. Another thing that had made her fall in love with him. His great sense of humor. She tried not to think about her feelings for Henry. It never led to anything good. Just frustration and heartache. And the nagging feeling of being a coward for not confessing her feelings to him. For just secretly fantasizing. About his lips on hers. His body on her own. Here we go again, she thought. The carousel of dreams turning endlessly, coming to no stop. But then again. It made no sense to confess feelings to a man who friendzoned her right away. Literally the first time they've ever met. He had frankly explained that he was planning on going solo. Just him, his animals and his freedom. That he was still hurting from the last breakup and that he wasn't willing to fall in love again any time soon. Of course she fell for him anyway. And she fell hard. But she was used to it. Her heart had the fatal tendency to choose the wrong ones. Maybe that was her type of guy. Mr. Wrong.

When they arrived at Henry's house she expected the usual short goodbye before she would continue her walk back to the castle. But not today. He was not willing to let her of the hook.

"So you really don't have a certain type of men you like?" he asked when she was just about to leave.

"No. Is this so hard to believe?"

"Who's your favorite actor?"

"Is that a trick question?" she eyed him suspiciously.

"No. I promise." He smirked. "I know it's me, of course." Another billion dollar smile. Another heartwarming laugh. It was a gift from god that she never blushed

"Just tell me. An actor you like and find attractive."

"Okay...Patrick Wilson from Aquaman."

"Oceanmaster, huh?" Henry internally crossed off his attributes.

Tall, blond, bright eyes, likely blue, high cheekbones, classical adonis.

"Who else?"

"Adam Driver" she said without hesitation.

"Ok. Kylo Ren it is?"

"You bet, Darling" she confirmed, giving him a pushy grin.

Well. This guy was a hulk. Black hair, dark eyes. Not the typical handsome guy, big ears, big nose, big face. But with tons of charisma, talent and charm.

"Next."

"Next?"

"Yeah...go on."

"Henry..."

"Come on, don't be a spoilsport"

She gave in with a sigh.

"Christian Bale."

Tall, light brown hair, no idea regarding the color of his eyes. Handsome guy, sharp cheekbones, broad shoulders. Strong personality.

"Ouch...Batman...that hurts." He dramatically pressed a hand on his chest.

"Don't worry, Superman. I liked him best in American Psycho. He was the perfect potrayal of Patrick Bateman."

"A serial killer. How romantic. Give me just one more."

She made a face at him but told him the next name anyway.

"Last, not least. Nicolaj Coster-Waldau as Jamie Lannister. "

"Uh-hu...the Kingslayer"

Tall, dark blonde hair, green or blue eyes. Henry wasn't sure. Stereotype of the evil but sexy prince charming.

"Satisfied? Very different looking men. Nothing in common."

"On the contrary, mylady. There is one big similarity."

"Really? Well...enlighten me, please." she said with a prompting gesture.

"It's pretty obvious. You like the bad boys. The Alphas. You have a soft spot for the villains and assholes. And mass murderers" he said snickering like a schoolboy.

"Oh fuck...I guess you're right." She couldn't help but laugh along with him. Almost unable to stop. Like a silly teenager in front of her crush. When she finally managed to calm down she smiled at him.

"I better get going now, before you start analyzing why I'm drawn to the dark side."  She winked at him and waved good bye, starting to walk away. But just when Henry was about to enter his house, standing on the doorstep, she turned around to ask one last question.

"So now that you know my type. What is yours, Cavill?" She expected him to give a short, vague, slightly funny answer. Something like "sexy blonde fitness model of course", topped with a sarcastic smile and a sweet blink of his eyes. But Henry went a little deeper into details.

"Oh, that's an easy one. Tall...estimated 5'90... dark blonde curls, beautiful green eyes, sensual lips and fantastic curves. Very smart, sophisticated, humble and kind with a great sense of humor. There's noble blood in her veins but she's never snobbish, only a little posh from time to time. Bookworm to a nerdy extend, with a weird but good taste in music. Librarian. Vegetarian. Introvert. Tattooed. She can be a terrible nuisance and a smartass. Little Miss-knows-it-all, but that's part of her charms. Plays the piano perfectly. Is afraid of horses but adores her cats and her uncle's doggos. Loves her twin brother, her uncle and his husband. Her friends and to my personal irritation her ex who is still one of her closest confidants. She doesn't know how stunning she is. Which is her biggest strenght and her biggest weakness. She's a wonderful person, the woman of my hottest dreams and simply irresistible. And thats all I guess."

And with a wicked smile on his lips he closed the door behind him, leaving her speechles with a racing heart and a bunch of wild butterflies in her belly.

*****

That's it. Thanks for reading. I'm planning to write about their first encounter soon. Maybe this is going to make everything a little clearer.

[kiribakuhappiness]

Strawberries Were the Fucking Worst

by KiriBakuHappiness

KrBkMonth2020 - Day 1 Prompt; Strawberries!

Read under the cut!

This was such fucking bullshit.

Katsuki glared at the mechanical crane as it clenched around his squishy reward and started lifting it from the haphazard pile of stuffed animals and badly scuffed pre-packaged gadgets. The lights from the claw machine whirred silently, flashing obnoxious colors of bright ass blue and neon pink and blinding yellow. He watched with growing agitation and dissatisfaction as the crane swayed dangerously over the hole before dropping the embarrassing excuse of a consolation prize out to him.

“Tch.” Fucking bullshit.

He’d been playing this game for close to twenty minutes now, trying and pathetically failing to snag the headphones near the back of the tank. He would have even preferred nabbing that stupid fucking dragon plushie with the ridiculously bulging eyes or that dumb little keychain of a bomb with an explosion over this piece of shit.

Scowling, Katsuki snatched up the soft toy from the machine, squeezing it as hard as he could between his fingers.

What the fuck even was it? A fucking strawberry? What kid in the entire universe has ever looked at a strawberry and thought to themselves, hm, I’d love to fucking cuddle the shit out of that bitter ass ball of jaw-aching natural sugars. Strawberries were the fucking worst. And now Katsuki had a dumbass plushie of one.

It grinned up at him with a crooked, badly stitched on smile and the dumbest set of crossed eyes Katsuki’s ever seen. He couldn’t really help but snort unattractively at how fucking stupid this thing looked. Jesus fucking Christ. What a horrible end to a horrible day.

Katsuki grumbled as he turned his back on the claw machine – because what a fucking waste of time and money – before he started out of the arcade. A gaggle of pre-teens took one look at the red atrocity clutched in his hand and they giggled so repulsively that it made Katsuki grimace and hunch in further on himself, drawing his shoulders up to his ears defensively. He shot them a heated glare that had them squirming before he disappeared out into the night.

He stopped on the sidewalk and took a deep breath of the cool, damp air.

He hadn’t really wanted to go out tonight, but fuck, the idiots back at the dorms were being especially loud and annoying and he’d just wanted to get away from all of that unnecessary chaos. He didn’t know how Kirishima could stand being around them for longer than a few hours. He could stand Tape-Face on a good day, he supposed, and sometimes Pinky didn’t totally piss him off, but stick them all together and let Pikachu fucking rile them all up over stupid bullshit to the point where they’re all screaming and Katsuki just has to fucking get out of there before he explodes them all – which, according to Kirishima, he’s not allowed to do for some reason.

It’d been a horrible fucking day.

Between his mother calling him at the ass-crack of dawn before classes to bitch about the fact that he hadn’t been home in months, him snapping at Kirishima because of the residual frustration in his chest resulting in the pouting red-head to practically avoid him for the rest of the day, and the way he’d almost failed his test that afternoon – Katsuki was wound up fucking tight. Close to snapping, even.

So, he’d done the only thing he really knew how to do. He’d gotten on the bus and trekked his ass down to his favorite arcade.

It was reflex at this point to find himself at the arcade when he was stressed the fuck out. He’d been going there since he was a kid; Deku trailing behind him and whining some dumbfuck nonsense like, but Kacchan, this is a big kid’s arcade, they don’t want us here. As though Katsuki didn’t already know that. As though he hadn’t felt the annoyed glares and aggravated side-eyes of all the edgy fucking teenagers rounding on the pair of them after Katsuki had confidently waltzed inside.

He just hadn’t cared about them the way Deku had. He hadn’t been scared. What the fuck were they going to do? Beat him up? They’d never be allowed back into the arcade if they did that. Katsuki had been too smart for his own good at that age, because he was right. Apart from a few mean snickers and well-placed glowers of distaste, nobody bothered them or said anything as they clambered into the too-big seats of some racing game that he was sure was still operational, even this many years later. It wasn’t worth getting banned over just to pick on a couple of kids.

The arcade had become his sanctuary.

He found himself there a lot – after a heated argument with his mother, or when the world just felt too fucking loud, or when he thought he was losing control and he needed to reset himself. Restart. Replay.

He’d always been good at video games. Playing them helped develop his incredible hand-eye coordination, which also helped with his quirk, and the more violent video games stirred the creative part of his brain into coming up with more ideas for ultimate moves and new ways to blow shit up. He’d even go as far to say that playing video games was similar to training for him, though his mother would scoff and roll her eyes if he ever said that shit out loud.

But he hadn’t really been thinking about any of that when he’d barreled across the threshold into the arcade earlier that night. He’d just wanted a distraction. He’d just wanted to sit and tap vigorously at some dumbass buttons and maybe win a fucking prize.

Which, in the end, he supposed he had accomplished exactly that.

He glared down at the stupid fucking strawberry still grasped in his right hand before he huffed and started back towards the buses that would take him up to campus. He knew, realistically, that he could throw the damn thing away. He could even just set it down on the sidewalk and walk away from it, if he really wanted to. Some snot-nosed kid or homeless dog or some shit would probably find it and make it their own. But he had won it, even if it was fucking stupid, so he just balled it up as much as he could to try and save some of his dignity as he flashed his UA ID to the bus driver and meandered to sit in the very back of the bus.

He’d always preferred the buses at night. They weren’t as crowded and the air conditioner was always on, making it cold enough and uncomfortable enough that most people elected to walk wherever they were going if they could.

Plus, he always got to see some really weird ass shit and he fucking loved it.

Like tonight. Seated a few rows away from him was a man sitting casually, limbs sprawled out all over the place, with his shirt slung over his shoulder as he bobbed his head along to music that he wasn’t even listening to. Like, who fucking does that? What a weirdo. Where was he even coming from? Why was he shirtless? What song was he muttering and gesturing his hands around wildly to that Katsuki wasn’t privy to hear? Didn’t he see Katsuki sitting there? Or did he really just not care? It was fucking wild.

He reached into his pocket and slid his phone out before he discreetly tried to angle it so that he could take a picture of the guy. He made sure his flash was off and he waited until they were passing under a streetlamp so he could really capture the effect of this funky ass dude just chilling in a pair of shorts and nothing else in the middle of the night.

He texted the picture to Kirishima, like he always did when he found something weird happening out in public. Which was pretty much any time he walked outside the gates of UA into civilization, honestly. People were always doing weird ass shit.

 Bakugou Katsuki [9.38pm]: Image-Attachment297.jpg

Another fucking weirdo

 He stared down at his phone, rubbing his thumb absentmindedly over the power button and waiting for Kirishima to answer. He always came back with something dumb and amusing. Like that time Katsuki had sent him a picture of some woman dressed like a mermaid on roller-skates and Kirishima had said something hilariously stupid like, Maybe she’ll roll off the peer and just splash into the water. Never to be seen again. Like, what the fuck even was that mental image? Katsuki had cackled for about five minutes straight just thinking about that dumb woman speeding her way along only to yeet herself off into the water and ‘return home’ or some shit.

He frowned down at his phone when a few minutes ticked by and he didn’t get an answer. What was Kirishima doing? Katsuki figured he was probably still hanging out with the other idiots, but even then, he usually texted back. Was he still trying to avoid him or something?

Katsuki sighed through his nose and shoved his phone away, gripping tighter to the strawberry plushie in his lap.

He wasn’t very good at friendship. Fuck, he knew that he wasn’t. He wasn’t some oblivious idiot. He knew he was a lot to handle, and he knew sometimes he blew up about shit he probably didn’t fucking need to blow up about and his doctor has been worried about his blood pressure for as long as he could fucking remember. But he wasn’t used to Kirishima avoiding him like this. He was usually more resilient than that.

Katsuki scowled at the dumb toy.

Kirishima would probably like this stupid thing. He’d say something about how it matched his hair or whatever. Dumb fuck would probably even keep it on his bed. He’d probably be pretty fucking happy if Katsuki gave it to him… Right?

His fingers gripped harder as he chewed on the inside of his cheek. He wasn’t very good at friendship. He didn’t know what it all entailed. Sure, he’d had friends before. He wasn’t a fucking loser. But they had all sucked. They were shit at video games and they were fucking stupid as all hell and they always grated on Katsuki’s last nerves.

But Kirishima wasn’t like that.

He kicked ass at video games. And he wasn’t annoying. And Katsuki supposed he liked how shamelessly the big oaf threw himself on top of him; arm slung tight around his neck and that stupid beaming smile of his fucking blinding him. He was always warm. Plus, Kirishima was strong, like he was. It was really fucking cool that Katsuki could literally howitzer the motherfucker and he’d still be standing, grinning like a dumbass and yelling something like, Did you see that? Did you see me?

As if Katsuki didn’t always see him. As if Katsuki wasn’t always looking.

Maybe that was weird.

Maybe that was a little out of bounds of what normal friendship required, but Katsuki didn’t fucking know any better, and it was hard not to automatically look for the idiot’s appalling red hair whenever he walked into a room. He didn’t want to be around anyone else, they were all so fucking weird, sue him for wanting to hang out with his best friend. What-the-fuck-ever.

Katsuki huffed again as the bus pulled to a stop in front of the gaping gates of UA’s campus. He balled the dumb strawberry up as much as he could before he labored to his feet and started the short trek back to the dorms. The campus was mostly empty at this point – curfew was at 10 o’clock so there really wasn’t any point to be out this late. Not that he was fucking complaining. He always needed some more peace and quiet.

He didn’t stumble across another person until he was almost at his dorm room.

Kirishima’s door opened just as Katsuki was about to walk past it.

“Oh,” Kirishima’s eyes widened a little before he rested a hand on the back of his neck. “Hey dude.”

Katsuki scowled at him. He wasn’t even hanging out with the fucking idiots. Why hadn’t he texted him back? “Hey.”

Kirishima leaned against his door frame and slid his hands deep into the pockets of his shorts. He looked like he wanted to say something, like he was teetering on the edge, but he couldn’t force himself over. Katsuki sneered. Why was Kirishima acting so fucking weird? It was really starting to piss him off.

He shoved the strawberry plushie into Kirishima’s chest. “Fucking here.”

Kirishima blinked in surprise for a moment before he glanced down at the toy with its stupid fucking crossed eyes. He beamed at the dumb thing and Katsuki hunched in on himself to avoid feeling… fuck, whatever it was that he was fucking feeling right now.

“Dude, this thing is so cute,” Kirishima said, as if it really was.

Katsuki snorted and rolled his eyes. “It looks like you.”

Kirishima’s eyes boggled a little and his cheeks blossomed into a deep red color.

Katsuki scowled. What the fuck? Did he really not get it? He reached out and tapped impatiently at the strawberry’s dumb face. “It’s all red and shit like your fucking hair.”

Kirishima blinked at him one more time, his face still impossibly flushed, before he let out a loud laugh. He shook his head, gripping the toy and inspecting it more. “I can keep this?”

“I’m not gonna fucking keep it,” Katsuki grunted, scratching awkwardly at his cheek.

Kirishima smiled at him and, shit, Katsuki couldn’t look away from it. It was too fucking soft. “Thanks man, I really like it!”

Katsuki felt himself brim with something that vaguely resembled pride for some fucking reason. “I knew you would, that’s why I fucking gave it to you.”

Kirishima’s smile softened even more and Katsuki physically had to stop himself from moving closer. It’d been a horrible fucking day and to top it all off he hadn’t gotten to hang out with Kirishima at all. He didn’t want to be a bitch about it. They literally saw each other every goddamn day, Katsuki could afford to spend one fucking day by himself.

But…

It’d been the worst fucking day he’d had in a while. And the first day in a while where he hadn’t hung out with Kirishima. Those two things couldn’t be connected, right?

“Are you gonna go to bed?” Kirishima asked as he fiddled with the toy, not looking at him.

Katsuki shrugged and slid his hands into his pockets. Why was he so fucking sweaty right now?

“I don’t know…” Katsuki hesitated. “What are you gonna do?”

Kirishima glanced up at him through the fringe of his hair. Katsuki really liked it when his hair was down like that.

“Hang out with you, maybe?” He grinned sheepishly, and Katsuki’s dumbass heart did a dumbass flip or some dumbass shit.

“Tch,” he reached a hand up and scratched at the back of his head. “Then I guess I’m fucking hanging out with you, aren’t I?”

Kirishima beamed and it distracted Katsuki enough that he didn’t even bother chastising him for bringing that dumb fucking strawberry into his room or for cuddling the damn thing on his bed for the rest of the night.

[seimeinotaka]

Sword training (Vil x MC)

Set Post-Pomefiore.

Vil learns that Ann has somehow started training with a sword, of all things. He also finds himself getting somehow a knight of sorts.

Thanks to polyphenols@AO3 for beta-reading this!

-

"Hi yah!"

The yell reached Vil's ears as he was doing his daily walk.  Instinctively, he turned his head to where the sound came from, easily recognizing the person's voice.

"Haaa!"

Ann swung her blunt sword in an upward arch, possibly the new movement she had been taught. It was too amateurish, inelegant and charmless, Vil thought to himself. It was exactly like her, though unexpectedly so, as he wouldn't have imagined she was interested in sword fighting in the first place.

"Hyah!"

She swung again.

At least she was passionate about it, though her passion alone wouldn't get her very far.

Ann paused her swings, turning suddenly around, startled when she realized his presence, though this didn't stop her from waving at him and jogging to where he was standing.

"Vil-senpai!" she said in between breaths. "I felt someone watching me but I didn't think it was you."

"Your swing is inelegant."

As well as her appearance: her hair was in a messy ponytail, bangs disheveled all over her flushed face.

"Well, Shishou just taught me this yesterday."

"Shishou?"

"Yes, Shishou. Silver-senpai. He's teaching me the sword in his free time."

That was surprising to say the least, Silver was from Diasomnia and one of Malleus's guards, everyone knew how they would flock behind him. Weren't they overzealous about Malleus's protection?

"I find it hard to imagine, he is always in Diasomnia doing his duties."

"It's okay! Kanchou said so!" she replied with a smile, as he frowned.

"Kanchou? Do you enjoy not making any sense?"

She rolled her eyes, that infuriating smile not fading in the slightest, and it was so tempting to smack her. "Kanchou is Lilia-senpai. Since Lilia-senpai is Silver-senpai's senpai, that would make him the big boss, so Kanchou."

He arched an eyebrow at her incomprehensible logic. Just like her.

"You make no sense."

"I don't? Huh, that's rude. You always call us potatoes, why can't I give you nicknames? There's Shishou and Kanchou, there's also Tsunotaro though that's his own fault. Trey-senpai is Aniki, Azul-senpai is Boss..." She looked at him with a sly smirk, "Wouldn't you like to know yours, Vil-senpai?"

Yes.

"No."

But he was not going to admit it.

"Too bad, it's a secret!"

"Then why offer something you're not even going to reveal?" He huffed, mildly annoyed to be entertaining her and going on her own tempo. He was the one who should be setting it, not her.

"Maybe I wanted to see if you were interested?"

"Why would I be interested?"

"Just a wild thought," she dared to say with a smirk. "I enjoy talking to you too."

-

Sometimes their paths crossed, almost like strangers fated to meet. He didn’t like leaving things to something intangible as fate, the same as how wishes worked. Like wishes, fate undermined hard work. There was no value to becoming the fated hero…or villain, cursed to a forgone conclusion especially if fate deemed you unworthy, no matter what. However, he wasn’t so sure he liked the only other logical explanation to these meetings, how he seemed to come across her during his walks, almost yearning for her.

Just as she was now standing in front of him, having interrupted her sword practice just to talk to him. And he was somehow entertaining her.

"If you were in my situation, like you were thrown into a foreign world, wouldn't you try things you normally wouldn't be able to do in your home world? We don't fight with swords, and the only remaining sword fighting styles are sports. Actually, one would suit Pomefiore, it's kind of elegant now that I think of it... But anyway, swords in my world are only good for sports, collection bragging rights, and to make money in gacha games, so you can't exactly train to wield one. "

He folded his arms over his chest, not fully convinced. “That’s quite a leap in logic, potato. Surely the first thing you would consider trying isn’t something involving fighting. I would understand if you were trying magic, but to want to engage in this kind of combat? You certainly don’t look the type.”

“How rude!” She huffed. “You should know better than to judge someone for their looks! Maybe I just wanted to try something really extra? This school has the gothic and medieval style that it begs to try something knights do.”

“That logic is too obtuse, even for you. I knew you were an otaku like Idia, but I didn’t take you as the delusional type.”

Something was off. She was unreasonable, but even this was a big stretch for her.

“Perhaps I could protect someone...!”

For a second, he thought something flashed in her eyes, but it was too brief to make sense of it.

"Must be nice to be able to take things like a game."

"Does it look like that way to you? I wish it was.”

Her soft expression was unreadable and somehow, it was disconcerting. It was the first time he had seen it in her eyes.

She didn’t seem to mind his silence, as she pondered for a brief moment, before breaking the tension. “Hmm, I guess if it were a game, I could say this…”

Ann knelt down in front of Vil, one knee on the ground, hand on her chest above her heart. Bowing her head down, she said with a regal tone, "I vow by this sword I wield, that I will protect you with all my might, my Queen."

Vil immediately froze up, heart stammering inside his chest, when she had just said before... was she even being serious? Was she playing, and like this? But the tone of her voice was so clear, playful but oddly sincere, making blood rush to his cheeks, heart racing so much it ached.

"How can you say such things without even the slightest hint of embarrassment?" he reproached, controlling the emotion within. It was unbecoming of a queen to show this inner and violently increasing turmoil that this…prank had stirred.

Ann stood up, laughing softly with a flushed face he wanted to smack.

"It's not like I'm not embarrassed but..." The expression in her eyes changed faintly, a mix of softness and...despair. "You don't know if you can say those words tomorrow so it's best to say them when you can."

She was most likely fooling around, she could stop doing that with him, as his heart was still recovering from the shock.

"So, you're one of those people, living your fullest every day," he replied, trying to sound unamused and unaffected by her.

"...I guess." Her gaze was fixed in the horizon, not looking at the orange colored sky but somewhere else, somewhere distant and foreign. That faint odd feeling from before heightened, it was briefly in her eyes. Perhaps she was just homesick, and this was her way of dealing with it. It could be something else too.

But he wouldn't pry, and he had the feeling she wouldn't say it either. Even someone as open as her had things sealed deep inside.

No.

Because she was so open about everything, it was why she could hide something.

-

“Just so you know,” Ann began, as she casually stretched, suddenly tagging Vil on his walk because she knew no limits and he was feeling charitable that day. “Paladins are supposed to protect the King and Queen.”

“I am aware of it, thank you for the useless information,” he replied dryly. “Also, Paladins are supposed to be master equestrians. How is your progress in the Horse Riding club?”

She flinched at his words, a large grimace replacing her teasing expression seconds before. “It’s a work in progress…” she mumbled. Though he was already aware that her progress was nil, it was bold of her to speak such words.

“Do your best to improve then, potato.”

“I don’t only need the horse, alright!” she huffed quickly. “It’s important to know you’re protecting someone! After seeing Shishou and Kanchou, even the annoying Sebek, protect Tsunotaro earnestly, I realized… I guess those speeches you hear in shonen anime do make sense, you do get a stronger purpose if you’re protecting someone.”

"I don't need you to protect me."

"Who said I was going to protect you?"

He could feel the flare up his cheeks, his mind already thinking of thousands of rebuttals because how dare she. He was the Queen, it was natural to imagine her proposal.

Did he need her help?

Absolutely not, he was more than capable of defending himself. The bodies of many who tried to fight him and lost were proof of that.

Did he want her to...

He stopped that trail of thought.

And most importantly…

“Didn’t you make that silly vow before?” he snarled, feeling the heat in his cheeks.

“Ah, so you remembered!” She gave him a big, bright, cheeky and infuriating smile. “It was just a test, but I can tell you do want me to stick around.”

“You’re really…”

She still had that smile of hers as she waved him goodbye. Softer and odder this time, but a smile nonetheless and he wanted so much to wipe it from her face. When he reached his dorm, he avoided Rook’s piercing gaze as the hunter complimented his newest blush.

But once his racing heart had slowed down, there was still that odd feeling he couldn’t shake off.

-

"Don't you want to go back?"

This time, he had reached out to her, catching her off guard as she had finished her sword practice. She was startled, both at being reached out to and him asking her that question. She probably never expected him to do either, but there was something he had to figure out.

"Huh?"

"To your world. Crowley is looking for a way to send you back, isn't he?"

"Well, looking is a stretch, he conveniently forgets it every time except when he wants me to do something. Then he excuses himself by saying that it is so hard that he can't do anything."

"You're avoiding the question."

She covered her mouth, but he could see hints of a gleeful smile. "Could it be you don't want me to go back? Hehe, that's actually sweet of yo-ack! Why did you smack me!?"

"You always think so highly of yourself, potato. Wouldn't you want me to beg you to not go back? Of course you would."

'So you keep deflecting the question,' he thought to himself. And it was then when he noticed, the smile she had held had softly, almost imperceptibly transformed. It was painful to watch, a mirthless expression behind that mask.

“There was something bothering me for a while, about you specifically. I finally realized it now. Your smile doesn’t always reach your eyes. I can tell you aren’t lying to me, but your true feelings are another thing entirely.”

She froze immediately, all pretenses and forced expressions vanished, replaced with a fearful expression of being caught.

“…You must be mistaken, Vil-senpai,” she replied softly, her hand gripping her arm awkwardly, as she couldn’t hold eye contact anymore. The attempt of a smile was so stiff that he didn’t need to say anything, as she realized it was futile. “I’m….”

She couldn’t finish that sentence and their meeting didn’t last much longer. Her distraught silence was more than enough proof for him that he was right, but she didn’t say anything else. He had caught her off guard, so used to hiding something in plain sight that, she didn’t know how to react when she met someone who knew where exactly to find it out.

Even though Vil didn’t know what it was.

As her figure disappeared in the horizon, he thought of his own Overblot. The feelings he had carried for so long, as they weighed him down, no matter how hard he tried to go on. Choking him gently, until he found it hard to breathe, to think.

Ann wasn’t capable of magic, that was certain, but…

That didn’t mean she couldn’t break.

-

Ann enoys giving people nicknames as you can tell. Hers for Vil is actually S-paisen, on the logic that he looked like an DoS but then he wasn’t (as she dealt with him during their stay at Ramshackle) and THEN NVM he is a DoS during his speech about making people kneel. Paisen, because she is affectionate towards him. She also has uhhh some issues but she’s not really the kind to say them out loud. Yet,

Thank you for reading!

[crimsonbluemoon]

celebrity!au, childhood friends, “sometimes, i sit in bed and wonder what would happen if things were different.” - ohmtoonz

Last one for the night, and I went overboard…again. >.>

AU: CelebrityTrope: Childhood friendsPrompt: “sometimes, i sit in bed and wonder what would happen if things were different.”

Pairing: Ohmtoonz 

“He really went and got famous on us, huh?” Ryan blinked away from the television he was sitting in front of, his attention floating to his mother’s face. He hadn’t been able to see her much when he went to college four years ago, since he’d ended up on the other side of the country for school. Coming home and spending the winter break with her for the first time had been something he looked forward to since November. Now, it was Christmas Eve, the night before his favorite holiday of the year. A comforting aura hung in the falling snow outside his childhood home’s window. He could smell the dinner cooking in the kitchen, bringing back fond memories of his childhood. The worn blanket from years ago still kept his frame warm, and he took another slow sip from his hot chocolate to avoid answering the question his mother had asked.

Because, as much as he wanted to believe everything was perfect, he knew one thing was still missing. 

“He said he would,” he finally mumbled, not needing to look back to the TV to know who was on it. The highlights of the Hollywood films awards from the previous week were playing, with a stunning young man sweeping several categories for the win. It was strange to see the bearded face, once chubby with baby fat and smeared with blue popsicle, holding the trophies that looked identical to the ones they’d cut out from cardboard or construction paper. 

“Luke was always a handsome boy, wasn’t he?” His mother’s knowing tone made his cheeks rise in color that he couldn’t blame on the wood stove beside him. 

“Momma,” Ryan whispered, hating the quiver in his voice. She hummed when she stepped closer to the couch, her soft hand gently patting his head. 

“I remember how he used to follow you around like a little puppy whenever you got mad at him for something reckless he did.” The memories felt like they’d happened just yesterday, despite the decade that had passed. “He’d jump his bike on a dare, or he’d sneak into some abandoned house to win some money. Used to tell you that part of the fun was seeing your face turn bright red after finding out what he did. Sure did like pulling on your tail to get your attention, didn’t he?” 

“Toonzy never let me do anything dangerous.” His shoulders fell from his flushed cheeks when she pet his hair, her motherly presence pulling down the walls he’d forced up years ago. 

“Because he didn’t know how to handle you getting hurt. Remember what happened when that kid pushed you out of that treehouse and broke your arm in the seventh grade?” He didn’t know why she was dragging him down memory lane, knowing the road was paved with pain and heartbreak. She’d been by his side as he cried, sat on the phone with him each time he ended a relationship that ‘didn’t feel the same’, and never once pushed the boundaries he set up around his childhood friend’s memories. But now, in the low light of the fireplace in the living room he’d last seen Luke in person four years ago, she did. 

“He beat the snot out of him,” Ryan answered, his smile tinged with sadness even when hearing his mother’s soft laugh.

“He was still scrawny back then, but seeing you hurt gave him more strength than superman. I think that was why he started getting in shape; to make sure nobody ever pushed you around again. And now look at him; the first gay actor to win best leading role in an action movie. He didn’t hide it one bit; wore his pride like a suit of armor. His momma should be proud, she raised him right.” 

“You had a part in that, too,” Ryan replied, remembering Luke’s acceptance speech. He hadn’t forgotten where he came from, and hearing him thank both his own and Ryan’s mother for their support had warmed his soul behind his thick walls.

“Pretty sure I wasn’t the only one mentioned from this family.” The comment was soft, like she was speaking to a skittish animal ready to bolt away. Instead, Ryan buried further into his blanket, hoping the red of the threads would conceal his blotchy skin. 

“He could have meant anyone, really it-”

“I know I didn’t raise a fool, so don’t act like one. We both heard that nickname.” Ryan’s mother pinched his cheek before pulling away. Her words floated in the air when she walked out of the room. “Don’t think he would call anyone else that.” 

After a heartbeat of silence filled the living room, Ryan closed his eyes, hiding the tears that sprouted up from the truth. His traitorous mind didn’t give him reprieve, replaying the words from the awards he’d watched days ago.

“This award means so much to me, and I have so many people to thank.  First is my momma, of course, who somehow kept me alive through my crazy years to be here. And when my momma was too tired to handle my wild ass, she sent me to momma wrecker’s house for some tough love. I owe that woman so much more than words can say. My friends, my agent, the supportive cast and crew for this movie. Of course my fans, who can’t seem to understand that it’s them who make all of this possible for me. I hope you all know how important you are. 

“But there’s one person who…I haven’t gotten to see for a while. And damn, that’s been something I’ve regretted since the moment I walked out of his living room four years ago. You know, I wouldn’t trade my life for the world. I had a dream, I worked hard to obtain it, and now I’m staring at an award I always wanted with my name on it. I’m giving every kid who was told they couldn’t be something proof that they can change their own fate whenever they want. But sometimes…I sit in bed and wonder what would happen if things were different. If I hadn’t walked out on him like that, if I’d picked my other dream over this one. The one where I get to tell him this to his face. 

“I love you, Ohm. This award, and every one I win after it, will always be for you. Thank you.” 

“Why didn’t you tell me, Toonzy?” Ryan whispered, hating the hitch in his voice from the unshed emotion. He pulled his knees to his chest, read to bury his face in them, when a voice from behind him paused his movements.

“Because I’m a coward.” For a moment, Ryan’s body froze on the couch, unsure if he’d somehow fallen asleep by the fire. But he knew that wasn’t possible; even in his dreams, he’d never let Luke call himself that. Frantic to see the truth, Ryan pushed out of his blankets, turning quickly to face the figure illuminated by the kitchen light behind him. With his hands shoved in his pockets, Luke looked sheepish, his shoulders hunched forward and grin lacking its normal confidence. “Hey.” 

“Luke…” The breathless tone he used didn’t phase him, knees bumping into the couch from his nervous movements. “What-what are you doing here?” 

“I always come back to town for Christmas Eve dinner; it’s in my contract. Your momma’s orders; I haven’t missed a single one since I was seven, after all.” 

“When you were sick with pneumonia.” It was such a stupid thing to remember, but Ryan could almost taste the feeling of loniless on his lips when thinking back to the empty seat by his side that Christmas Eve. 

“You saved me mashed potatoes cause they were my favorite. When my momma wouldn’t let you come in, you pushed them through the mailslot of my door.” Heat flushed his face at the recollection, his hands waving in the air to disperse the memory. 

“Th-that was just cause I was little. I didn’t-how was I supposed to know the tupperware would burst open when it hit the floor?” 

“Because you were always smarter than me, Ohm.” The nickname suddenly shifted the air, and the moment of light fun burnt up quicker than the logs beside Ryan. Hearing it again reminded him of the speech, his hands slow to drop to his sides and fall limp. Luke seemed to pick up on the change, his movements slow when coming around the couch. “It’s really nice to see you. I’ve been…waiting a long time for this moment.”

“You come back every year,” Ryan deflected, eyes shifting away while he took a step back. His arms crossed over his chest protectively, to shield him from Luke’s approaching body or the surge of emotions that were quickly overwhelming him at seeing his childhood lov-friend up close again. “You come back and see your momma, my momma, our old friends, and probably the whole town. Not to see-none of them told me you came back. Did you tell them to stay quiet?”

“I did.” Luke spoke like he had no shame in his sneaky ways.

“Why?” Ryan flinched when a warm hand touched his face. 

“Did you see my speech?” 

“I…did.” He knew he couldn’t lie when his cheek warmed under the smooth palm still holding it. 

“All the way until the end?”

“Yes.”

“Then you should know why I couldn’t face you yet.” The words finally broke Ryan’s resolve, and he looked up to the face that didn’t feel out of place mere inches from his. “I made a choice when we were eighteen to become an actor. You were going away to college, and I knew there was no way we’d be able to stay in touch with our lives going in different directions. I left this town, walked away from you, went after my dream, and got it. It was what I always wanted most, or…or I thought so. But I had that award in my hand last week, the one I’d always believed I needed to feel complete, and do you know the first thing that popped into my head?” 

“I don’t,” Ryan whispered, wondering if he was more foolish than his mother gave him credit for. 

“All I could think was ‘I’d give this stupid piece of metal away in a heartbeat to see Ryan’.” There was raw honesty in Luke’s voice when he peered down at Ryan, his thumb slow to roll under the lashed that had started to collect the unshed tears in Ryan’s eyes. “Ohm, I’ve loved you since the first time you called me an idiot for stealing old man Nanner’s flamingo lawn decoration when we were six. I didn’t know it was love until I realized how scared I was seeing you fall out of that treehouse. But two nights ago? That was the first time I’d ever admitted it to anyone out loud.”

“So you choose the whole world to tell?” Ryan asked, sobbing through a laugh when Luke grinned and shrugged.

“Didn’t really care about the whole world hearing it; just you.” He rubbed the tears away quickly, though Ryan knew a second set would quickly take their place. “And now, I’m here to see if there’s a chance you’ll make my second dream come true. Because this life? Being who I am, the fame and all the other stuff? It’s pointless if you’re not going to be there with me. None of this matters if I can’t kiss you for good luck or gratitude when winning another award. If I can’t just kiss you to show you I love you. I made it to the top to make sure that I was the man I needed to be when I told you this; Ryan, I am and always will be in love with you. Will you give me a chance to prove how much?” 

“You’re…You’re such an idiot, so impulsive and stupid and why did I fall in love with someone so reckless-” Ryan’s hands grabbed at Luke’s jacket desperately while he ranted over Luke’s laugh, yanking him forward to kiss him. His arms quickly wrapped around Luke’s neck, feeling his waist be yanked forward before hot lips pressed harder against his. They still needed to talk, to heal the wounds left on his soul during the years of silence between them. He needed to learn Luke again, like re-tuning a guitar left in the attic for years untouched. The damage was apparent, but not irreparable. 

Maybe this time, they could find a dream together.   

[witchesoz]

What we know of Oz: Book 1, the East

# Let’s talk a bit about the first Ozian region that Dorothy travels through: the land of the East, the Blue Land, the land of the Munchkins. This region’s “official” color is blue – well, official is maybe too much of a term. In the book it is merely referred to as the “favorite” color of the land’s inhabitants, like all the other “official” colors of Oz. However it doesn’t mean the whole land is blue – the flowers, the grass, the birds are said to be a diverse and vibrant palette of colors. Blue is rather found in man-made things: the Munchkins houses, farms, fences and doors are painted blue. The Munchkins also dye blue their bedsheets, their rugs and their clothes. In terms of clothes, we know that women and children wear blue but we don’t know exactly what they wear. However we have an exact description of the typical clothing worn by all the adult male Munchkins (and it seems that being an adult in the Munchkin population is being old enough to sport a beard) : a blue round hat that rises to a small point a foot above their heads, with little bells around the brims that tinkle sweetly as they move, blue clothes the same shade as the hats, and well-polished boots with a deep roll of blue at the top. In terms of culture, we know that the Munchkins are by nature kind-hearted people, very emotional and very empathic – for example, when Dorothy starts crying, immediately the three grown-up Munchkin men around her also start crying. 

The narration adds says that the Munchkins are good farmers able to raise large crops – in fact, all the Munchkins houses we see are also farms of some sort, and most of the Munchkins are farmers, the only exception mentioned being a tinsmith and a family of woodchoppers. A typical Munchkin house is round, with a big dome for a roof, all painted blue. # The Munchkin country is “sometimes pleasant, sometimes dark and terrible”, as the Witch of the North puts it. Boq has a very similar warning: “the country is rich and pleasant, but to go to the Emerald City, one has to go through rough and dangerous places”. Indeed the Munchkin Country seems to be split in two areas – its most eastern area, which is a true Eden Garden, a rural Arcadia – and its western part, the closer to the Emerald City, that is basically one gloomy and creepy forest filled with dangers and monsters. Is it the natural disposition of the region? Or was it a natural tool the Wicked Witch used to isolate even more the Munchkins? Or maybe the whole country was peaceful and beautiful a long time ago but the Wicked Witch of the East made its border a world of doom and death? Who knows, all theories are possible.

To explore the Munchkin country, I will probably follow the Yellow Brick Road, the one that crosses the whole land. Note that in the book the Yellow Brick Road isn’t a sort of “historical landmark” or “main axis” in the Munchkin country. It is merely the only road that leads to the Emerald City, and in fact it isn’t cared for by anyone anymore, falling into ruin in the most isolated parts of the country. Most of the Munchkins never want to go to the Emerald City – Boq for example never went there, and the Tin Woodman explains that his father went once to the city, when he was a small boy, and that it already was “a long journey through a dangerous country”. (Take in note how there is a separation between the “dangerous country” and the one the Munchkins live in; I will talk about it later with the Quadling country). As for why the bricks are yellow, it is not explained in the book, even though a theory explains that the road is yellow merely because it goes towards the west, hence the yellow color (and it suggests that there are similar roads, a purple one for the north and a red one for the south).

The road starts in the best part of the country, with “neat fences of dainty blue color”, fields of grain and vegetable in abundance – it is also where is located the house of Boq. For those of you that don’t know of him, Boq is apparently “one of the richest Munchkins in the land”, his house being larger than a regular Munchkin house, and after the death of the Wicked Witch he hosts a party with a bunch of friends where they abandon themselves to the typical Munchkin pleasures – dancing, singing, playing the fiddle and eating feasts of fruits, nuts, pies and cakes. After this house follows the cornfield where the Scarecrow is first met. After that the road becomes rough, the yellow bricks said to be uneven, broken or missing. The farms are “not well-cared of”, there are fewer houses and fewer fruit trees, the country becomes “more dismal and lonesome”, until there are no more fences, and the land becomes rough and untilled. Clearly, the Munchkins avoid being too close to the western part of their country, or had to move away from it.

The road then enters into a forest – which seems to occupy the whole western part of the Munchkin country. The forest is said to be “great”, with trees “so big and so close” that their branches meet and unite, blocking the light of the sun, so that at night the forest is pitch-black and no human can even see what is going on around them. This is where the Tin Man’s house is located. The presence of the Tin Man is actually quite an interesting thing… you see the Tin Man is the only “human” inhabitant of this forest, and his cottage is the only house found in the forest. Since the Tin Man lived there (and then stayed rusted there) for a very long time, it is very possible that he lived in the woods at a time when the forest was still occupied by Munchkins lumberjacks and woodsmen, but that they ended up abandoning it, leaving only one wood chopper behind, the Tin Man. But again, the Tin Man’s cottage is quite close to the edge of the forest, so maybe even at the time when lumberjacks worked in it, they did not dare go into its depths. Further away, the trees and branches become so thick that if they aren’t chopped down, one can’t keep walking on the yellow brick road, clearly indicating that the road was abandoned and that nature grew wild around it. The road goes on in these “thick woods”, its yellow bricks covered with “dried branches and dead leaves”, with no birds around (because as the narration puts it, birds prefer open spaces and sunshine), but with deep growls in its depths, the growls of wild animals – in fact, it is in this part of the forest that we meet the Cowardly Lion. Then the road is split, yes, split, by a wide and deep ditch that divides the forest “as far as can see”, with jagged rocks at the bottom and sides too steep to climb – the Lion has to take his comrades on his back and jump over it to continue along the Yellow Brick Road. Later, our little team meets another gulf that breaks the road, but this one so broad and so deep not even the Lion can jump over it, and they have to cut down a tree to cross over. These gulfs are obviously quite “recent” given that they actually break the road in two – which makes one wonder when, exactly, the road was created. Either the ditches are recent, either the road is very ancient. (Interestingly, in the audio series “Chronicles of Oz”, the explanation given to these huge breaks in the road was that the Wicked Witch of the East broke the Yellow Brick Road to prevent the Wizard from invading her domain). It is also very interesting to note that these ditches actually act as the “borders” of a very specific part of the forest, said to be “thick and gloomy” – the territory of the Kalidahs. 

Kalidahs are one of the threats of Munchkin land, “monstrous beasts with bodies of bears and heads like tigers” the Lion says, with claws so long and sharp they could cut him in two. I’ll talk of the “mind” of the Kalidahs later, but I will already mention here that the mention of the Kalidahs as “monstrous”, especially when it is done by the Lion, himself a beast, seems to indicate that the Kalidahs are seen as monsters or abominations by the other beasts of Munchkinland. However, this should be taken with a grain of salt – it may also just be the Lion’s cowardliness speaking. Immediately after crossing the great gulf, the trees become thinner and start to bear fruits (peaches and plums mostly, in the forest the only fruits available were nuts), until the Yellow Brick Road stops at a broad river. This broad river seems to act as the border between the Eastern lands and the central region of the Emerald City, so I’ll stop my description here. However, note that to go from where she landed to the Emerald City, Dorothy had to walk around five or six days – four or five in Munchkin land, roughly one day to go from the river to the Emerald City. Some of you may like to calculate the amount of miles or kilometers she crossed in this time based on complex calculations… I remember someone once calculated the rough dimension of Oz… It must be still on DeviantArt somewhere

[cherry-valentine]

Summer 2020 Anime Season

What I’m Watching:

Deca Dence is one of the better shows this season, probably the best one that started fresh this summer. It has a very strange setup that I won’t detail very much here to avoid spoilers. It’s strange in that it’s a fairly unique twist and in that they waited until episode two to actually drop that particular bomb (whereas most anime would definitely try to cram it into episode one). The bare bones premise of episode one is that there is a huge, mobile fortress that contains some of the last remnants of humanity as they try to survive in an apocalyptic world overrun by monsters of unknown origin that range in size from tiny insects to huge kaiju. A young girl named Natsume dreams of being one of the warriors who fight the monsters, but is instead given the lowly job of armor maintenence, where she meets the older, gruff Kaburagi whom she learns was once a famed warrior. Natsume’s relationship with Kaburagi sets off the actual plot, but the story takes several turns that I honestly didn’t see coming. The series is quite violent, with literally tons of monster blood flowing and plenty of human death, but it maintains an overall upbeat, adventurous feel, with some well-done humor and genuinely touching moments. The art is colorful and bright, with some truly impressive animation. It clearly has high production values. Natsume is a fun character (even if we’ve seen characters like her many times before). She’s your typical optimistic, never-give-up, spunky sort of girl but she works really well as a hero in this kind of story and is generally entertaining to watch. Kaburagi is also a fun character that we’ve seen the likes of before (the stern former soldier type with a heart of gold). Overall a great series and very high on my watch list.

Gibiate is an oddity. It’s a series that had the potential to be top tier. I mean this show could have been not only the best of the season, but possibly the best of the year. It has gorgeous character designs by Yoshitaka Amano. The voice acting is top notch. And the premise is awesome: In 1600, a samurai and a ninja are both suddenly transported to a modern, near future Japan that has been completely ravaged by a disease that turns humans into powerful, grotesque monsters. They fall in with a small group of survivors that have gathered around a couple of scientists and a doctor who are working on a cure. Sure, it’s not 100% original, but it’s an exciting premise that results in some great samurai and ninja action. The problem is, for all the show’s great ideas, the execution is totally flubbed. For starters, the animation budget is obviously quite a lot smaller than it needed to be. What should have been thrilling battles of katana and shuriken on monster violence end up just being sort of bland. Too many cut corners. The writing also suffers, with often nonsensical dialogue and character behaviors that are so illogical that they end up being unintentionally hilarious. A good example of this is how practically everyone in the group of survivors just takes the fact that these two guys are time travelers from the past totally in stride. Hardly anyone is surprised at all or even questions it. The show tries to dismiss the stupidity of this by having one character say, “Well we have these monsters running around so why not have people traveling here from the past?” Which is still dumb because he’s a doctor who has been studying the virus and knows how it works, scientifically. But he has no questions for the guys who show up out of nowhere claiming to be from 1600? Another example would be how the samurai and ninja react to modern technology. Basically, there’s very little reaction. They don’t even react to a freaking helicopter! They should be losing their minds over this stuff! Still though, despite the show’s many shortcomings, there remains a small nugget of greatness. I can almost imagine how fantastic this show would have been with decent production values. And because I can see that potential, I’m still watching and I’m actually enjoying it very much. The characters, poorly written as they are, somehow remain interesting. The visuals, despite being sabotaged by clunky animation, are still appealing. I know it’s strange to watch and enjoy a series because of what it COULD have been, rather than what it IS, but here we are. Surprisingly high on my watch list.

Koi to Producer is an otome series with very pretty art and a supernatural plot. It’s based on a Chinese phone game that I’ve never played but sounds a lot like Mystic Messenger in how the game is played. It follows a young woman trying to produce a television show about various rumors, urban legends, etc. who gets mixed up in the world of Evolvers (humans who have developed special powers). Of course four of these Evolvers are handsome single men who are very successful and clearly attracted to her. She also ends up becoming a target of Black Swan, a shady group studying Evolvers. The show is somewhat plot-heavy, in that it tends to focus a bit more on the overarching story than on the romance. This is fine by me. The men are handsome, but two of them look a little too similar to each other, making it hard to tell them apart when they’re both in the same scene. It’s nice that the heroine is an adult and a big part of the story is about her career, but other than that she’s a bit bland and could be switched out for any other bland otome heroine and no one would notice. So far the series has hinted at an interesting back story for her so I’ll just have to hope it follows through on that. I’m enjoying the show because it’s pleasant to look at and not boring, but it’s the lowest title on my watch list.

Appare Ranman is my overall favorite of the season, which is ironic because it actually began last season. It was put on hiatus due to the pandemic and resumed this season. If you remember the old cartoon Wacky Races, this is basically the anime version of that. It focuses largely on two Japanese men who end up stuck in California after some crazy hijinks: Appare, an aloof and eccentric mechanical genius, and Kosame, a straight-laced but genuinely kind samurai who had been given the thankless job of keeping Appare in line. Broke and lost in an unfamiliar land, the two of them decide to enter a cross-country race and use the prize money to get back to Japan. Along the way they meet a whole cast of wild, crazy, and fun characters (including my favorite, the lovely, badass, and determined Jing Xialian, the only woman in the race, who had to fight against sexism and discrimination just to get the opportunity to drive in the race). The series has a very fun vibe, but has enough serious moments to keep it from being a straight up comedy (the aforementioned discrimination felt very realistic, and at least two characters are still suffering emotional trauma from losing family members to violence when they were children). One of my favorite aspects is Appare himself. He pays absolutely no mind to social norms and doesn’t care in the slightest what anyone thinks of him. This resulted in his family back in Japan being ashamed of him and everyone else viewing him as a weirdo. But Appare doesn’t mind any of that, and happily pursues his dreams. An interesting scene early on is when Jing is grappling with the fact that she’ll never be accepted as a racer because she’s a woman. She’s clearly in emotional turmoil. Kosame, who is the kinder, more compassionate of the two leads, can’t really help her. He can sympathize with her plight, but his own rigid regard for social norms prevents him from telling Jing to just go ahead and be a racer, society and their expectations be damned. It’s Appare, the guy who seemingly has very little regard for, or interest in, other people, who encourages Jing to follow her dreams. To Appare, there’s absolutely no reason why Jing can’t be a racer. The fact that society refuses to accept her means nothing. Jing has the skill to be a racer. She should be a racer. The scene did a lot to endear Appare to me. Aside from great characters (and there are so many that I can’t possibly mention them all here), the animation and design work are amazing. The characters as well as the vehicles look fantastic. The music is also great, with my favorite opening and ending themes of the season. If you want totally fun and wild romp, you can’t go wrong with this series.

Carry Over Shows From Previous Seasons: Black Clover Ahiru no Sora Major 2nd Season 2

Best of Season: Best New Show: Appare Ranman Best Opening Theme: Appare Ranman Best Ending Theme: Appare Ranman Best New Male Character: Appare (Appare Ranman) Best New Female Character: Jing Xialian (Appare Ranman)

[guerilla935]

My Favorite Games That Made Me Care About How I Looked

I’m very self conscious about the way I look in video games. Not only is it normally very easy to change an outfit or get a haircut in a video game it also says something about how I’d like to be perceived, especially in an online game. There are a lot of games that allow their players to express themselves in a lot of really fun and unique ways and I think that it’s really special when you get to celebrate a style that you would never get to portray in real life. These games that I am about to talk about are all games where I was able to look at my character and feel some ounce of pride at something that I had created. Some full disclosure for these images, I pulled them from official gaming outlets and developer blogs but none of these that you are seeing are my original characters. If anyone would like to request to see any of my characters from these games (or any other games!) I would be happy to go and grab screenshots of those characters.

Grand Theft Auto Online

This is a pretty easy choice for most people. I chose specifically GTA Online over any GTA game or Red Dead game because I think the really special part about this is its setting. Your image is not only your character and your outfit in GTA Online but also your car, your house, and your business. There are a lot of different places to choose to call home and there are a lot of things to get “invested” into. For example, my good friend mojo5 runs a night club and wears suits and spends a lot of time gambling at the casino. That’s a character that would be different than mine who dresses and acts like a street racer. It gives your character a kind of personality and back story that is hard to achieve in other games. I have always kind of considered Grand Theft Auto Online to be a modern MMO of sorts, a playground. And as much as it is a huge lobby where you wait to start activities, it is also a sprawling city-space where you can essential live, make money, create this fun fictional life for yourself. And as far as fashion goes, the outfits, the cars, and the real estate help you shape that fantasy. Basically, I can tell you that I spent way more time customizing my character than I spent in actual activities in Grand Theft Auto Online.

Saint’s Row Series

I love Saint’s Row. It is very similar to the last entry in this article but has this unique and goofy style that makes a lot of things okay that I would never do to my GTA character. In Saint’s Row I can have a neon blue Mohawk wielding a 10 foot melee weapon that is designed to look like something extremely unmentionable while driving a night rider space car that is also a tank and it’s totally fine because in the next cut scene you are about to fight Roddy Piper in Keith Davids nightmares. The games are incredibly wild and I love how I can let loose with a lot of different styles, and in the same way that I feel like I am creating my gritty street racer in GTA, I can make my goofy crime lord super hero secret agent in Saint’s Row. I think specifically in Saint’s Row 2 I took it a little more seriously because the tone of the game is a little more serious than the other entries however I have a specially place in my heart for how wacky each game allows me to be.

Animal Crossing: New Horizons

You knew we couldn’t just not talk about Animal Crossing: New Horizons. With the current situation, the Animal Crossing community is insanely huge. I cannot avoid the heap of Animal Crossing videos and screenshots all over social media. On my island of Sandover Village, I am patiently awaiting the Able Sisters to set up shop so that I am able to put in codes from everyone else’s custom designs that I’m seeing on twitter. That is because I have on my phone a stockpile of sweatshirts, sweaters, robes, and hats that I am actually really excited to show off in game. I tried to create some of my own but I am not one of the gifted seamstress’s that there seems to exist on the internet. I am not very far into Animal Crossing but by looking at other peoples games I know that I have only scratched the surface of my options in the game. I have to commend Nintendo on the amount of individualization that the design pro feature gives to its players. I have never seen a game give players the option to design their own clothing and it makes the social experience of the game feel so fresh.

Dark Souls III

One of the most badass games that I have ever played as far as character design is concerned is Dark Souls III. When I put on a new set of armor I sit in awe of how it looks because I can see each tiny tear in the cape, every dent in the helmet, and the wear and weight of the armor. I was dragged through this game by some friends (because I could never in a thousand years have the patience to beat it by myself) and I followed them to every cursed swamp and death crypt because I wanted to see every weapon and every armor set. You look absolutely ghoulish in every armor set and I love it to death. This game allows so much in the way of customization and I think it helps that almost every gear set is good enough to get you through the entire game and that allows you to play with a lot of different looks and game play styles. This game is tough, really really tough, but you look really good even when you die.

Splatoon 2

Splatoon 2 is a really special online shooter. I think in the month that I played this game religiously the thing that kept me playing was coming back to the stores to see what kind of clothes were in stock and what kind of items I could steal off the players in the lobby. I think that the developers of Splatoon 2 knew that the players were in it for the threads because every reward for playing the game was most likely a piece of clothing. The clothing options kind of vary from academy prep to Patagonia camp wear to skater outfits. And it comes together in this very hipster overall aesthetic that blends really naturally. The game features a mechanic that I really like wear you can walk up to anyone in the online lobby and look at what their wearing and order it. By the time I logged on the next day I had (a noticeably weaker version of) the exact same item but it really makes you feel like anything you see, you have access too which is really cool. And the ordering of the items kept me coming back to play every day.

Final Fantasy XIV Online

I’ve heard it said many times that the real end game content of Final Fantasy XIV Online was the glamor and housing systems, and for most people they aren’t wrong. I will never stop being surprised at the outfits that players can put together in this game. I have seen millions of players in my 750 hours in Eorzea and I have not seen two characters look the same. The customization options are really limitless and I truly believe that. I played a healer mage and in my time at max level I had outfits that made me look like a cowboy, a thief, a fox spirit, a grim reaper, and even one that made me appear like a real healer mage. The clothing options throw a Final Fantasy twist on every kind of style that they set to replicate. So even though all the outfits can be wacky they never feel out of place in the world. If you want a game that you can make almost 50% just about customizing your character and taking it out to the town to show it off or in big raids to flaunt your style then this might be your game.

Pokemon Sword And Shield

Pokemon is still trying to get it right but Sword and Shield is Game Freaks best attempt at trainer customization. The clothing options in the game are very European, well, they have always been that way but they are ESPECIALLY European in this one. Probably the greatest customization offered is the hair which in the world of anime characters is the most important one. I loved designing my character in this game but it was just so brief because shopping in this game is so boring as most clothes in the actual stores are very samey which makes the act of shopping pretty boring most of the time. I would roll up to a new town really excited to see what kind of stuff they had in the shop but it was just new colors for the same weird duffel bag that your character had already. Note that the game is mostly about the Pokemon so they really didn’t have to put any trainer customization in the game to make it a good game but they did a half decent job putting this much customization in the game and I feel like it’s going to keep getting steadily better the more times they implement this feature into their games. Big plus, you can design your trading card in the game and it is the most adorable thing and feels like a huge payoff to have a cool card if you’ve put a lot of effort into your trainer.

Soul Calibur VI

So I haven’t actually played Soul Calibur VI, I bought the game and went immediately into character creation and started making my own roster of fighters that I ended up using maybe once or twice and moving on from. The character creator in this fighting game is really special. So the idea is that you choose a character that already exists and you keep their move set and fighting style but change how they look and immediately the things that came out of the community were hilarious. Some are kind of terrifying but they come shockingly close to being somewhat recognizable. For me it almost comes down to that being someone who is unfamiliar with the cast of Soul Calibur VI I cannot tell the difference between actual characters from the game and characters frakensteined together in the character creator. As on of the most fun character creators I’ve ever used I think it’s at least worth googling what other people have created.

God of War (2018)

The newest God of War introduced something that we never got in the older games and that was the ability to change out what Kratos was wearing. While it was important in the game to maximize his stats, it also made you look cooler and cooler as the game went on. I wouldn’t say that you have a lot of options of things to wear in this game but I always felt bummed when I picked up something with relatively low stats that looked amazing. Later on the armor sets become more like trophies for completing hard tasks. The design of each piece of armor is really intricate and amazing to look at and while you can’t just pick whatever you want, I really wish that you could.

Diablo III: Reaper of Souls

In the Reaper of Souls expansion pack a new vendor was added to Diablo III that changed the way that I looted in the game. The vendor was called the mystic and she would make a piece of gear look like any other piece of gear of the same type. This meant that I could look amazing all the time without sacrificing strength. The way that the database of appearances you could pick from expands over time gave so many options that I couldn’t decide at some points. The coolest armor in the game was now accessible at any time. And the armor in Diablo III looks tight, sometimes I would argue that unless you pick some unique stuff it doesn’t make that big of a difference because of the isometric point of view in the game but it is really fun to have an added layer of customization in Diablo.

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

So this is actually a section dedicated to Nexus Mod Manager because Skyrim in itself doesn’t actually have a whole lot of variations in the ways you can dress. But with the powers of modding you can now do absolutely anything and there are a whole group of 3D modelers out there getting you immersive and lore friendly items that make you look a whole lot cooler. The wonderful world of modding can turn kind of creepy very fast, a lot of very suggestive mods are out there and a lot of very inappropriate things so you know, a fair warning. It’s incredible when you can make it work and keep it from getting to the level of ultimate Skyrim. You can change and add clothes and weapons, add hair styles, and even add entire races into the game. Sometimes though I really believe that I like browsing mods a lot more than I like actually playing with them but I found that it is really satisfying to download a mod like Immersive Armors and see just how much it changes how diverse the selection of armors that not only you but everyone in the game now wears can be.

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

So I believe that some other previous Zelda titles had the ability to change Links outfit but never to this extent. What I think is the coolest part about the clothing system in this game is that you wear certain clothes to survive certain climates but you can also forget all that and make a yummy meal instead that lets you be warm wearing the desert clothes in the snow. The amount of armors that you can amass in this game starts off kind of underwhelming but becomes really fun and interesting and serves all sorts of fun fan service for fans of the series. This game doesn’t have the versatility and variety of some of the other games in the series but any game that lets you cross dress to sneak into a city of warrior women is credited for its costume design in my book.

League of Legends

I have spent a shameful amount of money on skins. I hate League of Legends and I hate most of the business practices of Riot Games but their skins just look good. I can appreciate when someone I don’t like makes something good and they consistently pump out awesome looking skins that are frankly worth the money if you play the game regularly. Back when I played this game daily I put up way too much money, even I think about 18$ just on a skin that changed colors when you typed a specific command. Anyways that’s really all I have, there aren’t a lot of games where I like the skins, especially the fact that they are mostly behind pay walls but League gets a pass I suppose.

Destiny Series

I used to be really into playing a specific game mode in Destiny named Iron Banner. I played a lot of it in Destiny and a good portion of them in Destiny 2. When you played enough Iron Banner in a year you were able to collect an armor set to commemorate the achievement. Almost all the cool armor in Destiny has purpose to it. Not only do you get to decide how you look but it also is you showing off the fact that you completed a raid, were really good at sparrow racing, or kicked major ass in the crucible. Each armor was recognizable and everyone knew what it meant. I think that is what makes the customization in Destiny so rewarding, its that it is in itself an actual reward for completing hard tasks that not everyone will be able to complete.

Code Vein

Out of all the anime games I’ve played I think what stands out to me the most is that their character creators have all been really bad. This is where Code Vein really shined. Code Vein has this dystopian vampire aesthetic that is really unique and allows for a lot of ways to make cool characters that fit into the look of the game. I don’t think that what they’ve done here is completely new but they have this style that is exciting to play with. Making a revenant is fun and builds this anticipation for the rest of the game. I also respect the games decision to allow you to make modifications to your character after the game has started which is not something that most games would allow. Code Vein has these cape’s that you can wear to gain abilities and those are cool to add onto your outfit but I don’t think that it outshines what the character creator has done here. It’s a niche thing I guess but if you have always wanted to make your own anime vampire then this is it.

A Persona

I really like making characters for a reason. I think a lot of the escapism of video games hinges on me placing myself into the character on the screen. That’s why I love what you can do in games like Animal Crossing that is all about creating exactly what you want and Final Fantasy XIV Online where you get to exist and share in a world as a persona of sorts. Being able to customize a character in a video game does not make that game good or bad, but I think that when you are given the option the developer is given an opportunity to make it a very special experience and allow you to be unique within a community of people online. And the internet has made that sharing of characters really special, allowing everyone to see how unique of an experience you can have with a game by beating it with “your character”.

Special Shout Outs For Stylish Games And Characters

SSX series being dripping in 90s style

Also NBA Street Vol. 2 for the same reason

Persona 5 for being the most stylish game ever

Halo because space marines rock extra style points

Katana Zero for being badass and 80s neon will always be in style

Specifically Graffiti Mario in Super Mario Sunshine he had flair

Samurai Legend Musashi for having a stylish game case but being a horrible game

Devil May Cry just for existing

[writing-the-end]

Exodus- Part 4

Previous Chapter

An Edolas Hermit Story (AU belongs to @theguardiansofredland )

Impulse has escaped the city, avoided the leaders, but now he’s lost in a world he knows nothing about. And no matter how far he goes, it’s never far enough to stop the feeling of being watched

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LET”s try this again shall we?. Yada yada nods to other games, easter eggs and inspiration. 

But still! CHECK OUT RED HIS WORK IS AMAZING AND HE”S THE FUCKING GENIUS THAT CAME UP WITH THIS. I just put words to paper. Sometimes I do it well. 

Warning: This story contains general dark elements and language

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The hours stretch into days, the sun rising and setting without a clock to tell Impulse when the nights are looming and retreating. He seemed to have lost Xisuma and Cub a while back, but that doesn’t stop him from running. He can’t put enough distance between them and himself. He can’t put enough distance between the city and himself. 

But he knows that with each step away from the bonds of Hermitland, it’s also a step away from the bonds of friendship. Leaving behind Tango and Zed, being forced to continue without them has been some of the worst thoughts that haunt his mind. Are they okay? Were they seen? Does Cub know who they are? Will they be able to escape some other way? Join him beyond the walls? Questions haunt Impulse in the day, and nightmares run wild at night. Nightmares of what horrible experiences they may have to endure, experiences like he went through. Being caught, interrogated, put through rehabilitation. Or worse. 

The worst nightmares aren’t ones of himself being hurt, or his friends being caught. It’s of them forgetting him. Moving on with their lives, giving up on their shared dreams of freedom. Of the classes they’d taken together, the long evenings studying for engineering exams, cool nights on rooftops dreaming of a world beyond the walls. No memory, no recollection of Impulse. No one left to remember, to care about a poor boy with big dreams to help people. 

As Impulse travels through the birch forest, he’s learned not to trust anything. The eyes of the trees, the whispers of the leaves all betray him. The squeaks and howls of animals are distant voices, carrying the message of his location to unwanted ears. Even the sticks on the ground, the grass are traps in disguise. Ensnaring the city boy and making his paranoia grow. Everything is out to get him. Just like in Hermitland. No, because of Hermitland. It’s all a part of the bigger conspiracy. 

If Tango and Zed were here, they’d be able to quell his fears. Prove to his mind and all it’s wayward conclusions that it’s just coincidence. Tango’s skepticism and caution would point out the flaws of Impulse’s fears, the coincidences that break the story. And Zed would have filled in what was left with optimism, truth and guidance to ease away the sharp worries. 

But it’s just Impulse. Alone in the wild, alone in the world. Is there anyone beyond the walls, or is he the only soul out here? Impulse isn’t sure if he could take living alone, like some hermit out here in a forest full of eyes. Full of things waiting to hurt him, waiting to rat him out to things that only want to do him harm. People that only want to do him harm. 

Impulse trips, crashing into the ground. Clumps of grass and dirt stick to his sweaty face, and he spits a leaf out from between his teeth. He twists, looking to see what brought him to his knees. Sunlight filtering through the trees glistens off two metal buttons, blinding Impulse as he stands in the reflected illumination. Impulse creeps closer, looking at what he caught his foot on. 

It’s a doll, a little rag doll not dissimilar from the toys he grew up with. Metal buttons for eyes, tattered fabric skin and clothes. A plant has grown from it’s chest, the stuffing within long ago stolen by birds and beasts. His foot was caught in the cavity that remains, nearly ripping the toy to shreds. 

Impulse turns his gaze to his surroundings. Trees grow from sharp rises, cliff faces of moss and lichen. No, not hills and cliffs. Homes. Lampposts overgrown with vines, flowers blooming from where lights used to shine down. Rusted iron support beams have fallen apart, tied to the ground by roots and grass. Crumbled stones and structures lay in heaping mounds, cairns of a time long past. Impulse digs the heel of his boot through the grass, and finds concrete beneath the thin layer of dirt. 

He also sees black marks on the stone walls, wooden posts charred and piles of ash tucked in the corners of homes. This must’ve been from a time before Hermitland, before the wall. 

This village was burned in the war with the nether. After all the lies he’s been fed, Impulse was starting to doubt the existence of such an event. But nothing else could explain damage like this. This is more firepower than any overworld army could do. This is why Hermitland was built. What Xisuma, Cub, and Doc were trying to protect the city and it’s people from. 

Utter ruin, total annihilation. But the line between defense and deception is so very thin, so easy to cross without ever realizing. Impulse feels the wind brush past his cheeks, his breath huffing as he stays still for just a minute. Between the broken windows and collapsed doors, he swears he can hear the voices of people long forgotten. The daily life of this village, long lost. 

Impulse can’t help his curiosity. He needs to know more, about the people of this place and how it came to ruin. He feels it’s only fair. Most of the buildings are missing roofs, left to the devices of the elements. Plants have grown over what animals haven’t taken, reclaiming the village in nature’s name. Bringing life back to a town that was once dead. Impulse clambers into one building that still has most of it’s roof, though heavily charred. The forces of nature have been kept at bay more so in this room than the rest of the village. 

It’s a library. Or, it was a library. Most of the books are gone, and the shelves have collapsed into blackened rubble. Impulse picks his way through, picking up whatever books remain. A recipe book, delicious and colorful meals making his stomach growl and ache. He hasn’t eaten in days. A manual on how to play some sort of tabletop game. Best played with three or more people. 

One book does catch Impulse’s eye. It’s a thick tome, the leather binding and yellow pages charred by the fire that had swept through the library. Portals to Other Dimensions: 3rd Edition. Impulse raises an eyebrow, and carefully flips through the pages within. They nearly crumble at his touch, but he’s able to make sense of what he’s reading. 

There may not be a way for him to get as far away from Hermitland in this dimension...but what about other dimensions? Or even other worlds? Anywhere is better than here. There’s nothing left for him here. The nether dimension is absolutely a no, but the book does mention something about another dimension. It’s vague, but something about a place full of lost things. Isn’t Impulse a lost thing? 

He flips the page, but the paper disintegrates before he can read on how to get to this End dimension. The next page says something about stone and brick. Is that how he gets to the End? He can build a portal to a different dimension, just by scrounging up stone from the ruins of this city. He can escape to the End, far away from everything the Overworld and the nether has ever done to hurt him. Make a new life in this strange new dimension, no matter how harsh it is. 

So Impulse begins to build. Tossing off his tattered buttonup, and tightening the bandage around his burns, he gathers stone and stone brick. He organizes the heavy material into an arrangement as close as he can mimic to what he hopes is the End portal. He doesn’t know what it looks like, but the book says that nether portals are six by nine meters of obsidian. If stone bricks have something to do with the end portal, then it’s reasonable for him to assume that it’ll be in a similar arrangement. 

The sun sets on the ruined city and ruined boy, but Impulse doesn’t stop. His pace becomes feverish, to the point that he actually puts his broken clock to the side so he can work without worry of breaking it more. It sits next to the open book, catching the moonlight. Impulse refuses to stop. No amount of hunger, fatigue, or pain will stop him now. He’s run so far, but not far enough. There’s still a chance he could be found in the Overworld. He needs to go beyond. 

Impulse scrambles up the lopsided portal frame, pushing his dirty, windswept hair out of his eyes as he places the keystone at the peak of the portal. One stone brick portal, which hopefully will take Impulse to the End. Impulse steps back, admiring his handiwork, and feeling his entire body screaming for him to stop. To rest, to eat, to heal. 

But his fear, his paranoia tell him to keep going. He swears he can hear voices in the distant, whispering among the leaves of the trees. People are close, or at least he can swear they are. People who want to harm Impulse. He rushes to pull out his flint and steel, not even taking the time to test the striker before sparking the portal. The rift opening nearly throws him off his feet, red swirls and sparks drifting free of the portal frame. 

He did it. He opened a portal. Hopefully, a portal to the End. Impulse grabs his clock, and steps up to the portal. In the distance of the birch forest, beyond the ever present eyes surrounding him, he can hear something howling. He doesn’t hesitate. 

Impulse leaps through the portal. His mind and body feels distorted, like he’s going to throw up. Like everything and nothing is happening to him. He exists, yet he doesn’t. Every atom of his being colliding and condensing. Until he’s out the other side. 

He stumbles forward, catching his weight on a sapling. But the young tree can’t handle the weight of the young man, and snaps. For the second time today, Impulse goes crashing to the dirt. But this time, he leaps back to his feet, ignoring the dirt and grass. His feet drag against the ground, body tired from running, low on energy. He’s running on empty, nearly burned out. Not enough to stop him from breaking his own portal. 

Impulse rips the stone portal apart, rock after rock tossed in all directions around him. The frame collapses under its weight, severing the connection between the birch forest and wherever he is now. He doesn’t care- he’s gone, in a completely different place than Hermitland. Somewhere Xisuma can’t get him. Somewhere no one...not even his best friends...could ever find him. It’s all gone, all the bad. But so is all the good. 

Days of running, without food and fighting through the painful cuts and bruises all over his body finally catches Impulse. He barely has enough forethought to step away from the rubble before his knees give out from under him. 

He’s gone before his head hits the ground.

[rpgsandbox]

Welcome to Britannia and Beyond!

A regional guide for the Cthulhu Invictus™ setting detailing the province of Britannia, and the barbarian lands of Caledonia and Hibernia

‘Britannia is the border, the furthest outpost of Empire, bounded by cruel Oceania on all sides… what lies beyond that border, what crosses and passes unseen… those things concern me more than any barbarian tribe, more than any army of men… yes, you are right to worry about approaching that border, for what waits in Britannia and beyond… is said to be the doom of Rome.’ – Vatia of Rhodes, 54 AD

The earliest accounts of Briton the Romans saw were from Greek writers, such as Horace, who wrote ‘the shores of the distant Britons’ lay where ‘the real world came to an end and the world of unknown peoples and mythical creatures began.’ To even approach those shores, Horace writes, the Romans would have to cross ‘the stream of Oceanus, filled with large numbers of sea-monsters.’ And so, the island remained a complete mystery, shrouded in shadow and fog.

But eventually the expanding Roman Empire crossed that ocean, and through hard battles and bitter campaigns enveloped Britannia into its borders. Today (96 CE to 180 CE) the province of Britannia is a place of contradictions, a clash of peoples, cultures, and ideologies. It is a land marked by conquest and brutal oppression, but also by peace, productivity, and great progress. Its citizens enjoy prosperity and health, but to most Romans Britons are still seen as unwashed and uncivilized barbarians, the ‘Britunculli’ or ‘nasty little Britons.’ It is a land, and a people, who are slowly forming a new identity, often at odds with themselves.  

But there is another truth, another history: one that predates human existence which is unseen by all except a chosen few. The Shadow War. Humanity’s battle against alien gods, their servitor monsters, and the depraved humans who serve them both or exploited them for personal gain, has raged on for millennia. For centuries, this war in Britannia was mostly contained, the dark forces kept dormant through a combination of rituals, ancient magics, and powerful seals erected over the doors of various mystical prisons.

But the coming of the Romans and their Empire changed all that. With the destruction of the druids and their faith, a darkness long kept at bay is now returning. Spells and rituals are no longer performed, protective groves have been burned, sacred stones toppled, and the prison doors to many dark gods now stand open. These entities seek to spread their dark influence, from the new “colony” cities and wealthy villas to the simplest villages of thatch roof huts and century old farms, from the most powerful elite to the lowliest of slaves. Nowhere and no one is safe from their vile machinations.

This misty, mysterious island is the latest front line of the Shadow War. At the edge of the Empire, a new history waits to be written: one of adventure, but also madness, of glory, but also unspeakable horror. Welcome to Britannia and Beyond.

Three years and five Kickstarters ago we were lucky enough to bring Cthulhu Invictus back to the world of Call of Cthulhu, updating it for 7th Edition. That book proved to be quite difficult and time consuming, but the end result proved worth all the effort. We are deeply proud and grateful that it was honored with the 2019 Silver ENnie for Best Supplement at Gencon.

We caught our breath to play with some cats (Tails of Valor), make a stand for justice (An Inner Darkness), and remember our childhood (The Lovecraft Country Holiday Collection), but through it all, we planned our return to the setting we hold so dear. That time has come at last. The Shadow War never ends, and dark things stir on this rainy island on the edge of the known world. It’s time to set sail for Britannia and Beyond!

The scholar Zosimos, Lady Dexia of the Vestal Virgins, and the centurion Galarius Rufus along with his loyal hound Brita sail towards Portus Dubris, and the misty, mysterious province of Britannia. For Brita, the war dog, this is a homecoming of sorts.

For our first setting book for Cthulhu Invictus, Britannia was an obvious choice. With the rich, often tragic, history of the Roman conquest and colonization of Britannia, the fascinating cultural and social results of the blending of so many diverse cultures, and the enchanting folklore of the ancient Celts… one might ask, how could we NOT start with Britannia? From the Roman baths at, well, Bath, to the Antonine (and yes, Hadrian’s) Wall(s) in the north, from Stonehenge, to London (or is that Londinium?), Tír na nÓg and the Sidhe, the savage Picts of Caledonia in the north and bloodthirsty Hibernian raiders from across the western sea, to the dark tapestry of Great Old Ones connected with Britain (especially its Severn Valley). The attraction to delve into these things and create a version of what Britannia is like in the world of Cthulhu Invictus was completely irresistible. So, here we are!

This well researched and comprehensive guide will provide keepers everything they need to take their Cthulhu Invictus campaign to the province of Britannia, and possibly beyond. The book covers:

1. A detailed history of Britannia, from pre-history to the end of the Antonine Period of the Roman Empire (180 CE).

2. Details on Britannia’s climate, geography, natural resources, and economy.  

Today, the streets of a rebuilt Londinium look much like any other provincial capital in the Empire, maybe a bit cloudier than most.

3. Information on the Roman government, including the military legions stationed there, including both past and current client kingdoms.

4. Tips for creating characters living in Britannia, from Roman settlers, to Romano-Celtic natives (Latinized natives), and native Celts, with a list of Celtic names and gender-naming conventions.

Our heroes and heroines arrive at the home of Veldicius, an old friend of Galarius Rufus from their days serving with the Legio XX, many years ago.

5. A guide to the province of Britannia by region, describing its distinct cultural outlook, the tribes native to the region (and their attitudes towards Rome), important cities and towns, notable sites, sinister seeds, mythos threats, and more.

Paying a courtesy visit to (and seeking advice from) Queen Caratacae of the Dobunni, ruler of one of the few remaining client kingdoms of Britannia.

6. Information on the religion, folklore, myths, magic, temples, and sacred sites associated with Britannia, including Druidism and new rules for creating Druid characters.

7. A collection of patrons, investigator organizations, and sinister cults located across Britannia.

8. The Britannia Bestiary, a listing of the native plants and animals, as well as mythos entities drawn from traditional folklore viewed through cosmic horror colored glasses.

The wilds of Britannia can be a dangerous place, with forests old and dark, where older and darker things lurk.

9. The Dark Gods of Britannia, a discussion of the most iconic Great Old Ones and Outer Gods found across the province, including Eihort, Gla'aki, Y’golonac, Byatis, Yegg-Ha, The Keeper of the Moon Lens, and more.  

Britannia is home to many dark and dangerous gods, and since the coming of the Romans, the powers of those gods are not only growing, but spreading.

10. A discussion of The Dreamlands, Tír na nÓg, and the mysterious Sidhe.

11. A listing of new mythos tomes, magical artifacts, and spells.  

New Roman roads are only a good idea if they avoid places no one should ever go. Getting the engineers and bureaucrats to change their "well laid out plans" is seldom an easy task.

12. Beyond the Wall and Across the Sea: the barbarian lands of Caledonia (Scotland) and Hibernia (Ireland), detailing their people, the conditions there, and the rules for creating characters from these far off lands.  

Walls alone won't protect the Empire from its enemies, human and otherwise. Sometimes, it take courage, steel, arrows, and a fair amount of blood!

13. A pair of scenarios set in Britannia, allowing Keepers and players to dive right into daring and horrifying adventures in this misty land on the edge of the empire.

A Mortal Harvest by Oscar Rios - Shortly before harvest, three villages of the Ordovices suddenly abandon their homes and head towards the city of Viroconium. The investigators must delve into this refugee crisis and get the Ordovices to return to their homes and bring in their crops, lest they face starvation come winter. The Ordovices are too terrified to do so because of a mysterious figure singing haunting ballads under the cover of night. He strums upon a harp, singing a tale of an army of the dead serving a dark god, and warning of their impending doom should they remain.

The Long Dark by Oscar Rios - Just south of the Antonine Wall, in the village of Trimontium, an old friend needs help. An old army buddy, Caito Lupis, retired from the legions and settled down. He's gotten married and begun farming on the land given to him in return for his 25 years of service. At least, that's what he's trying to do. For the Romans, it is time to harvest, but for the natives it's a sacred time, the start of their New Year, a time when ghoulies and ghosties and long legged beasties are free to enter our world. It seems that some of these creatures are set on ruining your friend's harvest and driving him off his land.

==========================================================

Kickstarter campaign ends: Mon, April 13 2020 5:00 AM BST

Website: [Golden Goblin Press] [facebook] [twitter]

[bignookling]

100 days to acnh challenge - 1 to 74

found this challenge and decided it would be a great way to pass the time until the release date, and a good way to get people to know me a lil better too c’: i feel so powerful starting at this point, there are so few days left to wait! 

1. Do you prefer making up a new name for your villager, or using your own name? i never, ever used my own name... i always felt like this would be boring, and i kinda want to give myself the opportunity to create a new “character” based on the events that happen to them in the game... (my first character in wild world was named Scarlet :^)) 2. Do you use the first map you’re given, or do you reset for layouts? i am bige resetter with bige plans all jokes aside i am way too indecisive and spent way too much time on this, i would even check people’s dream towns prior to resetting to gather ideas and fresh input on this. though usually, each time i remade my town i had a specific kind of map in mind? most of all, i like having a secluded nice little corner to put my house (being able to move your house in nh is a game changer honestly!) grass type and colors of buildings also matter. residents not so much because, hey, i can also reset for that later! (i am terrible) 3. Do you use the face you’re given, or do you wait for guides and choose your favourite? similarly, i use a guide. i think the only times i didn’t was my first times in wild world where i didn’t really have access to a fast internet connection :’^) (guess what i am also indecisive about this! my most used are the classic arched villager eyes, the almond shaped ones and the shiny anime ones THEY ARE TOO CUTE) 4. Favourite town/island name?/Have you a name picked out for your town/island? I WON’T SAY YET... i have multiple options for now and idk what to do... but my nl town is named Suzuran, and i really like this name :] 5. Will you be sharing with friends/family, or is your island going to be all your own? probably gonna be my own! my mother used to have a character in my wild world town though :) 6. What’s a new feature you’re excited about? ALL but mostly the terraforming/switching everything up options!! for...reasons mentioned above... also the weeds. i never really got to dupe clovers or stuff like that so i am very pumped 7. Favourite fruit? buttfruit peaches probably... i also love perfect oranges and perfect pears because they’re like golden... i like gold like perfect fruits in general hehe i also love the new fruits in new leaf! 8. Least favourite fruit? apples are a bit tacky to me but i still love them i am sad i cannot really make a lot of fruit trees work in my minimally colored nl towns... some people do it so well though and i am TRYING 9.  Favourite area? (Beach, campground, shopping district etc, from any entry in the series.) THIS IS HARD I DON’T HAVE A LOT OF MEMORIES i have fond memories of the beach in wild world just because of some people’s really pretty hacked towns. like they added a whole “manor” (big player house) in front of it and that was the bomb. i also loved the cliffs in city folk and am so glad they are back... 10. Where do you like to like to put your house? Do you like that level of customization, or do you prefer to have some things decided, like in older entries? as i said i like secluded, remote areas for the house, and i also loved to put it near the cliff in city folk! (you better be fully awake if you step out)  the beach is a neat option too. but in nl my favorite was next to a waterfall! 11.  Favourite grass pattern? triangles! when i was a kid it was my least fav and i always avoided it though... then i visited a friend’s cf town and was like “wait this is MORE LIKE REAL GRASS” and i had an awakening...  12. Least favourite grass pattern? circles are a bit... odd for grass i think 13. Favourite villager/s? purrl was my absolute queen when i played wild world and still is. i love cats in general... and deer. and coco. coco is so my aesthetic and goals for a town feeling if you know what i mean, i adore her. doyoing 14. Least favourite villager/s? i am basic and like cute things so the least cute and mostly most tacky, bright colored ones... i am sorry...i still care about all your villagers 15. Did you like doing Tom Nook’s chores, or did you find those to be a pain? generally speaking i like them when i first play the game because they are immersive and kinda introduce you to the main concepts of the game? (the city in city folk, being mayor in nl etc) but with side characters and resetting they get a bit repetitive and frustrating upping your reputation to be able to work as a mayor in nl also is a pain 16. Favourite NPC/s? label is my queen and wife. i love her sisters too, and tom nook... BLANCA too i adored her when i played wild world and couldn’t get to see her in my town and was so hyped for her nl event laughs, and joan and daisy mae... i’m probably forgetting some faves I LOVE EVERYONE wait KAPPN has cute dialogue too!  17. Least favourite NPC/s? is there one? i don’t know? i’m gonna go check a list of npcs now ... i am back and honestly I DON’T KNOW 18. Do you use paths? Are you excited about the new path tool? i don’t use paths in my town because they are a mess to set up and i love the natural look anyway, but some people do it so well! i love the ones with natural colors and the little details.  the new path tool looks so convenient, but i don’t know if i like the textures! i’ll probably use it sparsely because i also wanna keep that wild look to my town 19. Favourite feature from an older entry?  the lights on the villagers’ houses in wild world is what came to mind first, hahah 20. What was your first Animal Crossing game? WILD WORLD!! i played it so much and for so long 21. Favourite activity (fishing, bug catching, fossil hunting, other)? bug catching (ca-ching) is my fave out of this list, i also love visiting dream towns and playing with friends in general! 22. Least favourite activity? diving is so slow... 23. Favourite bug? the huge butterflies you see in summer (i was AMAZED when i first saw them), the fireflies (SAME, the first time i saw some was in someone else’s town in city folk as we crossed a bridge and it was just magical, laughs), and the big shiny beetles... it’s not just for the monies, i promise 24. Least favourite bug? either the small butterflies that you see everywhere when you’re trying to catch something neat for the bug-off, or the tarentulas/scorpios because i NEVER MANAGED TO CATCH THEM 25. A quarter of the way there! How’s the wait? actually there’s barely a month remaining as we speak, so pretty fine! i still have to pick my character and town names, and to be honest i am mostly worried i’ll start procrastinating like crazy once the game is out. coughs. at least i’ll draw ac characters? 26.  Favourite fish? i love coelacanths because i am a big nerd, also the sharks and the cute colorful fishes 27.  Least favourite fish? just all the most common ones probably? sea bass isn’t the only one... 28.  Favourite fossil?  what are these questions. uh, i loved putting the small squares ones in my room in wild world...especially ammonites 29.  Least favourite fossil? the ones that bring less cash money? i only care about fossils when they’re displayed in the museum tbh. and there i just love them all 30. Favourite furniture series? the ranch series looked way better in wild world and i am mourning now i love alpine, rococo and modern wood the most! the green one looks cool recolored too! i like combining different series the most, too 31. Least favourite furniture series? anything bright and tacky (except maybe the lovely that’s still fairly cute?)  32. Favourite soundtrack? (Gamecube, DS/Wii, etc) i can’t remember but i get huge pangs of nostalgia if i listen to the wild world/city folk one 33. Least favourite soundtrack? i DON’T KNOW... maybe nl was a bit less whismical? 34. Favourite wallpaper? alpine, chic, exquisite, classic, [...] anything that looks warm and natural and makes for a comfortable house!  35. Do you have a nice memory of the games/community etc you’d like to share? when i was a young teen, i idolized someone in the wild world community because her town was honestly incredibly pretty? so much thought has been put into it and it was just a dream. it made me want to invest more time and planning into my own towns and that’s how i got really, really hooked on the game, i think 36. Least favourite wallpaper? anything really colorful and tacky again... 37.  Favourite carpet? the wood ones, mostly! 39. Favourite furniture item? i love the oven thing from pocket camp... and the rocking chair... and the fireplace... 40. Will you be buying a Switch for Animal Crossing, or do you already have one? i have preordered the animal crossing one... i live for this (i am so glad i waited though honestly) 41. Least favourite furniture item? the huge tacky things or things that just look odd in a house perhaps... wait but i still like to see them and some people use them so well. why would i hate on furniture i wonder 42. Favourite flower? jacob’s ladders and white flowers in general. i adore the look of the ones in nh, holy sh- 43. Least favourite flower? pretty much anything that’s yellow. just never goes with my town plans... the roses especially are so bright i’m 44. Favourite hybrid? i miss the colors of the ones in ww/cf so much... so so much but in general i like anything that’s purple, black or blue i think :> 45. Least favourite hybrid? hmmmm the orange ones from new leaf i think? in the previous games they were so rich and warm though... 46. Favourite shirt? the canary shirt, maybe? though i mostly use qr codes, ahaha some of these outfits are still super cute... 47. Favourite dress? anything pocket camp tends to be good, also this one forever in my heart. i adore the flowery sleeveless dresses too! 48. Favourite accessory? bandages, heart shades, leaf, and tortoise specs! 49. Favourite hat/helmet? celeste’s ribbon, hibiscus hairpin, and that tiny straw hat 51. Favourite shop? i always adored able sisters, and leif’s little gardening shack :> 52. Do you collect amiibo cards/figures? Would you like to see them used in the new game? we know they are compatible now, but i don’t have any! maybe i should buy some? 53. Fishing Tourney or Bug-Off? bug-off is quicker and funnier >:] also i remember i ALWAYS WON in cf while playing with friends... fight me... 54. Do you like making your own clothing patterns? there are so many nice ones already that my slots are always full, so i don’t bother... i remember making a two-toned shirt that i wanted irl when i got new leaf, but that’s pretty much all 55. Did you streetpass with many other ACNL players, or is it a feature you didn’t get much use of? I ALMOST NEVER DID...

56. Favourite villager species? CATS... also, deer. basic basic 57. Least favourite villager species? mice and monkeys have the least cute designs i think...? also hamsters idk. i don’t know i like villagers don’t make me choose 58. Favourite nickname from a villager? 59. Least favourite nickname from a villager? I NEVER LET THEM NICKNAME ME... i am sorry to all the aminals 60. Do you try to collect everything in the game, or just try to get your favourite bits and pieces? in wild world i tried to fill my catalog, but now i only get what i need or what i know my friends might need 61. Favourite villager personality? i always had a thing for the snooty and cranky ones! the uchis are cool now too 62. Least favourite villager personality? the jocks are boring to me and they tend to have my least fav designs. when i like one i keep them though because it is so rare...wheeps 63. Do you “plot reset” for villager house placement, or do you let them move in wherever they want? i only really started doing that with the welcome amiibo update that apparently makes it easier, else i just waited for the annoying ones to move... (and time travelled a lot) 64. Are you excited to wear any of the new accessories (like the bags etc shown in the E3 trailer)? i will COLLECT THOSE and COLOR COORDINATE 65. What season are you most looking forward to seeing in New Horizons? 66. What’s your favourite season? i think summer, i want to hear the cicadas and see the fireflies again, and i also want to see how the rain and wind look like! i remember seeing really pretty storms in nl during summer too ♥ 67. Least favourite season? winter gets slow after a while? i still love it though 68. Which game’s events/holidays do you like the most? 69. Which game’s events/holidays do you like least? i don’t remember ‘-’ honestly i feel like i liked them all for different reasons? wild world felt more “involved” in the community, REMEMBER THE GARDENING CONTESTS! and city folk gave you better rewards and was a fun minigame for the day.  70. Do you have another nice AC related memory you’d like to share (in-game, of the community, etc)? i had a vivid dream that your character could DIE in animal crossing once (i predicted new horizons yes) 71. Do you prefer the “live” versions of K.K. Slider’s Songs, or the airchecks? i tend to prefer the airchecks but the concerts are Special, no matter if it’s with friends or alone 72. An NPC you’d like to see more of? mmmnnh blanca always. i love her spirit 73. An NPC you’d like to see less of? really unpopular opinion probably but i wouldn’t miss reese and cyrus too much if they aren’t as present in nh 74. If you could have any piece of AC merchandise, which would it be? the plushies are so good... i’d like like... a fauna one... idk WHEW I’M DONE... i’ll be posting the rest of it daily now! 

[therkalexander]

The Good Counselor Chapter 4

Book Three in the Hades and Persephone series. Seventy years have passed since Elysion was created, and Persephone's efforts to conceive a child with Hades have been in vain. But a secret rite on Samothrace might bend the Fates and give her all that they have dreamed of, or pave a path of untold suffering.

Author's Note: Woohoo! The longest chapter to date! I hope you enjoyed it. I will be interviewed on a radio show called "Behind the Scenes" on Friday at 4:30pm PST if you want to tune in online. I'll be discussing The Good Counselor and turning my series into a TV show

Chapter 4

“Ready?”

Persephone clicked her teeth together. “I suppose so.”

“She did this on purpose,” Athena said. “On the very day that beast will be there…”

“You could avoid Poseidon, you know.” Her gateway through the ether twisted in a winding gyre of Phlegethon flame, and on the other side stood Olympus. “You don’t have to accompany me.”

“I know,” said Athena. “And I hope you don’t think that my ill temper is because of  you. But she told me to bring you and what the Queen wants, the Queen gets. Father is always asking us to play nice with her. Much good it does any of us.”

They stepped through. Persephone’s first impression of Olympus had held true over the years. The garden was filled with perfectly manicured trees, shading plates of rich food from the perpetually bright sunshine. But the perfume of the vibrant flowerbeds was soured but the stink of unpicked rotting fruit, uneaten food, and spilled wine. Around every elegant bend was another display of intrigue, in each secluded bower more emotionless fornication. Deferential nymphs peered over cups of wine, gods and goddesses were swarmed by their retinues, each coincidentally finding a reason to be there to catch a rare glimpse of the Queen of the Underworld.

Persephone had returned only twice since her first visit: once at her husband’s side to announce the creation of  Elysion to  Zeus and the Dodekatheon, and again as a guest of Aphrodite. She wished for  an excuse not to come here, but everyone knew the sowing season had passed, and one didn’t just turn down an invitation from the Queen of Heaven.

“You don’t have to go in,” Persephone said.

“Father wants me to.”

“Why?”

“Strategy. He went easy on me for my role in Poseidon and Apollo’s plotting. I was new to Olympus, then. He wants to make sure that his brother and I hate each other and never conspire again.”

“Given your history with Poseidon, I can’t see why he’d think that’s likely.”

“His punishment for the rebellion has been meted out slowly. He’s been inflicting that animal on me for aeons now” Athena rearranged her scowl into a smile as they passed through the hall, and she straightened her shoulders.

Poseidon stood before the throne, tattooed arms folded. He turned and spread them wide, his sea green eyes lighting up when he saw Persephone. “Well, this is a pleasant surprise!”

She’d only seen Poseidon once, and even then in the most formal of circumstances, at the court of the Dodekatheon. Persephone started to bend her knee.

“No, no, we’ll have none of that,” Zeus said, descending the step of the dais. “You’re Hades’s Queen. Not my vassal. Relax here, daughter. Hera is looking forward to meeting you.”

Poseidon cocked an eyebrow. “I was under the impression she and Amphitrite would be alone.”

“I am no tyrant over my wife’s hearth. She may invite who she likes. Besides: this is quite the occasion. The first meeting of the three goddess Queens. A momentous thing,” he said slapping Poseidon’s back. “Don’t you think, brother?”

Poseidon folded his arms, his shoulders tense. “Indeed.”

“Is Amphitrite here, your excellency?” Persephone said.

“My dear, you don’t need to call me that, and no,” he said, a smirk twisting up the corner of his mouth. “She’s hunting.”

“Not much untried quarry to be had here for either of you, uncle,” Athena said, placing a protective hand on Persephone’s shoulder. “If memory serves.”

“We’ll see.” Poseidon replied. “If she’s unsuccessful here, I could always send her to your temple.”

Athena took a step forward and Persephone could feel the heat rising from her skin.

“If memory serves, it hosts the sweetest prey of all.” Poseidon bared his teeth in a wide smile.

“Let’s not start this again in front of our dear guest,” Zeus said. “I want her to have a good impression of you both.”

“Perhaps we should kiss and make up,” Poseidon took a step toward Athena.

“That’s—”  Athena said, raising her voice. She took a quick breath and continued more calmly, “—quite unnecessary uncle. What are a few jokes among family?”

Persephone stayed quiet. Athena curtsied and quickly strode from the room, hounded by Poseidon’s chuckles echoing through the marble halls. From the corner of the room came a glow of red and yellow, indigo and green.

A woman, kneeling low, shimmered as the light settled. She rose and faced Zeus. “Your grace, your illustrious wife sent me to escort her majesty Queen Persephone to her home.”

“Yes, yes, thank your Iris,” Zeus said, waving his hand. He turned to Persephone. “Well, I’m sure you’ll have a wonderful time. Sadly, I don’t think I will be free when you are finished. There’s much business that needs attending to.”

“Fates, I hope not…” Poseidon muttered. He gave Persephone a kindly smile and nodded to her.

She nodded to her father and Poseidon, then followed Iris out of the symposium. Persephone had only seen her from a distance as a child. The goddess-in-waiting to Hera had hair like a raven’s wing, tinged with every color of the rainbow, and her gown shifted color as she took Persephone through shadow and light in the marble halls and along the path to the Palace of Hera. The walk down the hill to Hera’s villa made Persephone uneasy. How odd that Hera kept a separate home, a separate bed from her husband, and situated below his place at the peak of Olympus. Just as her throne was steps below that of the King of the Gods. Hades’s Palace was Persephone’s palace, and Persephone’s bed was Hades’s bed. Olympus again proved itself a world apart.

Like the other private palaces of the Dodekatheon, the grand villa was newer than the old citadel of Olympus itself— the original home of Gaia and Ouranos. Its columns were painted marble statues of women, the heavy balustrade beneath the domed ceiling resting on their uplifted arms.

“If you think this is impressive,” a voice beside her whispered, “you should see ours beneath the waves. And saffron is a good color on you. The daughters of the sea don’t wear that shade often. A pity.”

Persephone blinked, startled from her reverie. Her unexpected companion was a curvy woman with rich umber skin and blue coral and cowry shells woven through her tightly braided hair. A diadem of cross sectioned conch shells sat above her thin eyebrows. She was clothed strangely, like the paintings of the priestess queens on Old Crete. Her flounced skirt and tight fitting blouse were made of an embroidered linen as diaphanous as sea foam. “Am— are you Amphitrite?”

“The same. Though perhaps it’s not so grand. Poseidon and I have merely one bed to share, instead of two. One throne instead of a pretty chair three steps below the big one. The bed keeps him from straying too far if I’m there waiting every night, and sitting thigh to thigh keeps his eyes from wandering too far by day… ”

Persephone’s cheeks grew hot and she stared at Iris’s back, wondering how much Hera’s lady in waiting could hear.

“You’re an earth goddess… wouldn’t you agree that the best way to keep a man from sowing his wild oats is to make sure that his grain silo is always empty?”

“I hadn’t heard that analogy before…”

“I hear you sit your own throne in Chthonia, but Fates— tell me you don’t sleep separately from Hades,” Amphitrite said, louder than was necessary for Persephone to hear her.

“Ah, no, our room is… we definitely— well, I suppose, for six months of the year…”

The sea goddess laughed and threw an arm around Persephone. “Don’t be so nervous up here. They’ll eat you alive. And she will think you’re as much of a prig as she is.”

Persephone’s jaw fell slack and she stared at Amphitrite.

She bit her full lip and chortled. “I couldn’t care less what the rainbow girl hears.”

Iris’s long peplos shifted from a sky blue to the violent gray green of a storm and she spun about. Her face was tight. She forced a smile and straightened her back, her dress lightening until at last it returned to a tranquil hue. She spoke to Persephone. “I shall introduce the consort of Poseidon first. You, as our most honored guest, shall be introduced last.”

A delicate golden gate, it’s filigree mimicking swirls of clouds and the eyes of peacock feathers, swung wide and Iris walked through, followed by Amphitrite and Persephone.

Amphitrite turned her head. You, as our most honored guest, shall be introduced last, she mouthed, exaggerating Iris’s mannerisms. She ended her impression with a spin and a courtly bow. Persephone stifled a laugh.

They passed between the statues who held the ceiling aloft. One looked a bit like her mother. A peahen shrieked and ran across their path, pursued by a peacock. Iris turned the corner and led them through a grand hall, similar to the symposium of Olympus, but with watery light dimmed by gauzy blue veils and green drapes. The columns inside were enormous and carved at the base with stylized lotuses. Soft divans were scattered in clumps here and there, covered in plush fleeces and rolled wool pillows. Frescos and tapestries featuring lionesses with their young, pomegranates, and the ubiquitous peacock feathers plastered the walls. Shafts of light penetrated here and there, giving the strange feeling of being submerged, but the color and softness was welcoming after the Symposium. A delicate, jeweled throne dominated the center of the room, empty.

“Majestic Hera, most treasured daughter of Rhea, She of the Heights, Protector of Men, wife of Zeus Aegiduchos Cronides, and Queen of Heaven,” Iris said to the empty throne, “may I present Amphitrite Halocydne Nereida, Lady of the Sea, Goddess of the Encircling Third, consort of Poseidon, and may I introduce Persephone Karpophoros Chthonios, Goddess of Spring, Exacter of Justice, consort of Aidoneus, and Queen of the Underworld.”

As her titles were uttered, Persephone knelt to one knee, her head bowed. She pressed her right palm to the floor, just as her husband did when in the presence of Zeus, though she was uncertain to whom she was bowing. The throne before her was still empty. She kept her head lowered.

Amphitrite had given a customary nod and curtsy, but stood tall.

“We are all equals here. Please. Stand.”

Persephone rose and looked for the source of the voice. Beyond the throne, a blue veiled woman sat at a loom, her back to them as she wove a fine woolen thread through the taut strands. Iris bowed low once, backed toward the door, curtsied, and departed.

Hera stood and pushed her veil off her head. Beneath were dark locks held up by a simple green filet. Her features were sharp, yet warm, large brown eyes that reminded Persephone of Aidoneus, and a thin, serene smile. Malachite hung heavy on her lids, and kohl rimmed the edges, making them appear even larger. “Come. I thought tea would be in order. If memory serves, wine is not preferred in the lands below, so we shall abstain.”

Persephone felt tension leave her shoulders. “Tea would be fine, thank you.”

“It might be a bit tepid. They took it off Hestia’s hearth several minutes ago.”

Was she late? No, three hours past midday was the appointed time, she thought. Hestia… Persephone tried to remember. The second Child of Kronos. Hera’s closest friend, who had a vast collection of herbs and spices curated from all the plants of the world, some varieties lost for aeons. She cared for the plants, and tended to the hearth with which she cooked and warmed Olympus. And her gateway through the ether was the same as Persephone’s: fire. “Will she be joining us also?”

“No.”

She balked at Hera’s abruptness. But then the Goddess Queen smiled broadly, exposing perfectly white, if slightly large teeth. “I thought it should just be us today. The three of us have never really met.”

“A bit odd that you haven’t invited her here,” Amphitrite said, “since she has been Hades’s queen for nearly four score years. We all thought you were going to go the whole one hundred before holding court with her.”

Hera demurred. “Alas, we’ve been… preoccupied. Much has transpired in that time, no? And dear Amphitrite, how many times has Persephone been a guest at your palace?”

Persephone already felt like a country peasant here. Was she remiss in requesting an audience with Hera or paying fealty to the Queen? Had her oversight endangered the alliance between the Earth and the Heavens? Despite Hera’s tone of friendliness and informality, Persephone kept alert, knowing that every word she chose might be perilous.

“Speaking of, Persephone, I must apologize to you.” Hera moved closed to her, her eyes cast to the ground.

“For what?”

“When I sent you that pomegranate nectar…” She grasped Persephone’s hands, her fingers warm, and looked at her with pleading eyes. “I never intended for my wedding gift to aid your mother’s maidservant in causing so much trouble.”

“There’s nothing to forgive. I assure you.”

“I understand you dealt with that wretch and your mother’s base behavior rather succinctly.”

Don’t ever show them weakness, Demeter had told her. Let them believe what they must, her husband had said. Persephone straightened her back. “Yes. I did.”

“Ooh, there’s an idea, Hera.” Amphitrite giggled. “How do you suppose Zeus would react if you made his next dalliance burst into flames mid-stroke?”

“My ways are more subtle than that,” Hera shot back at her. “Thanks to her resourcefulness, Persephone’s husband was unharmed. And, if anything had transpired, Aidoneus wasn’t himself. He had been poisoned by that whore, had he not?”

“With ergot,” Persephone said guardedly.

“Well, as I said.” Hera again cast her eyes to the ground. “I cannot tell you how sorry I am, Persephone, that you had to endure that.”

“In the grand scheme of things,” Persephone said with a strained smile, “nothing happened.”

Hera clapped once, and three lady’s maids dressed in identical sky blue peplum floated into the room, each bearing a steaming  kantharos. Hera took her place on a divan, and Persephone and Amphitrite flanked her on couches of their own. Persephone didn’t even get a chance to look into the eyes of the servant who bore the golden tray holding her tea: she was silently retreating as soon as Persephone’s cup left the platter. The tisane was pink, and smelled sweet and pungent. Persephone realized that it was rose and jasmine— an honorary nod to her role as the Goddess of Spring. She inhaled and smiled.

“Now, Hera usually punishes those women’s sons and daughters, rather… firmly,” Amphitrite said, “But you… Is it true what I heard from Anauros of Thessaly about what you did to Kokytos, Minthe’s own father?”

“That was… an unrelated matter. He violated the rules of my husband’s kingdom and the dead cast many curses upon him for his wrongdoings. It was my duty to carry them out.”

Amphitrite laughed. “You sound like Aidoneus. So grave! He’s certainly wormed his way well into you, hasn’t he?”

Persephone blushed and looked away, sipping her tea. A burst of sweetness revealed that it was full of ambrosia. She shouldn’t be surprised. Ambrosia was in everything here.

“There’s no need for you to embarrass her,” Hera said under her breath.

“Please… we’re all wives, here. And if they’ve already had a hieros gamos so impassioned that it created Elysion, a realm within their realm, I think that there’s little left to blush about.”

“Let her be the arbiter of that,” Hera said, an edge creeping into her voice. She forced a smile and changed the subject. “I have not seen Elysion yet. Though I heard from my dear husband it is incomparably beautiful.”

“I think it is,” Persephone said. After they told Olympus of its existence, Zeus had made a rare descent into Chthonia to see the Elysian Fields himself. He had said almost nothing at the time, and had looked nervous.

“Tell us a little about it.” Amphitrite said. Both she and Hera leaned forward.

“There’s… the entrance is a grove of intertwined pomegranate trees within the palace garden. Well, it was within our garden. We removed part of a wall and a path was laid out to guide the worthy souls to their new home. Once inside, Elysion appears… expansive. There are many trees, of all varieties, some from lands that we’ve only heard about, and beyond that is a sea, with green, hilly islands dotting the surface.”

“It must be vast,” Hera said, her brow knitting. “How large is Elysion?”

“We haven’t found its end yet.”

Hera’s eyes widened, then she quickly schooled her expression and took another sip. “How do you determine who enters?”

Persephone bit at her lip. “Aidoneus and I spent the better part of the last century combing Asphodel for the worthy shades. With some difficulty, we let them revisit their lost memories long enough to speak with us, and then either sent them back to the peaceful Fields, or rewarded them with Paradise.”

“That sounds exhausting,” said Amphitrite.

“Do you find these souls together during the winter, or does Aidoneus take it up when you are… with your mother?” Hera wrinkled her nose.

“I would not delay any of our— his subjects on my behalf. Aidoneus has ruled Chth— the Underworld for aeons. He is plenty able to search out the worthy shades without my assistance.”

“You have made a great change in him, I think. I didn’t take him for someone who is quite so compassionate. What of the recently departed?” Hera asked. “What must they do to gain entrance to Elysion?”

“Their soul must be prepared. Nothing more.”

“Ah, your Eleusinian Mysteries.” Hera said, raising her eyebrows. She exhaled and turned to Amphitrite. “Any news from beneath the waves, Amphitrite?”

She smiled wide, her teeth showing brilliant white. “There is. I am expecting another child.”

“Oh, by Poseidon?” Hera said over the rim of her cup.

“Oh yes,” Amphitrite hissed at her. “And I would be happy to share every exquisite detail of how he—”

“Congratulations to you,” Persephone interrupted. She hadn’t come here for this. She could very well be with Aidon right now in the comfort of their villa in Thesprotia.

“Why thank you.” Amphitrite smiled at her, and then winked. She knew that Persephone was trying her utmost to keep the peace. She readied her arrows for Hera anyway. “Poseidon was… very eager for another son.”

“You know that it’s a boy?” Persephone said, putting her cup down.

“Why yes,” Amphitrite said. “You know how these things are known.”

“I…”

“Your modesty is quite refreshing here, Persephone,” Hera chimed in.

“I beg pardon,” Persephone said, her eyes cast down on her cup. “But… I cannot claim modesty when I honestly do not know what either of you are talking about.”

Hera put down her cup and canted her head. “Oh dear, I’m sorry, I had completely forgotten you have no children. How careless of me.”

“Good! Then I’ll explain it to her.” Amphitrite stirred her tea. “After the deathless ones create a child, they can both … learn about it together. Its sex, what it might look like, sometimes its sigil for the ether…”

“How?”

“By the simple touch of both, upon the womb,” Hera said.

Amphitrite smirked. “Poseidon likes to find out from inside—”

“Persephone is too much of a lady to listen to any more of that.”

“And what sort of lady? The kind that sits beneath her lover like a concubine?”

“The sort who doesn’t speak like a concubine.”

“At least she too is her husband’s equal.”

“That is not the order of things,” Hera said quietly. “No matter how crookedly you’ve wound Poseidon around your finger.”

“Oh, you hadn’t heard? A little nymphai reminded me that Queen Persephone sits as an equal to Aidoneus.” Amphitrite turned to her. “I know how Chthonia operates. You can tell her, Persephone. Maybe she’ll learn a little something and she can finally bring that insufferable man to heel.”

Persephone sat stock still. Amphitrite was correct, but there wasn’t any way she was going to say so. Persephone didn’t know how to play this game. Fates help her if she was foolish enough to side with either of them.

Hera swallowed a polite sip. “How very strange to hear you speak that way about your sworn king, my husband, when it is well known that Poseidon’s eye wanders far afield. And debasing yourself so shamelessly for his benefit has done you little good.”

“No, plenty of good, I assure you. It was during a very enjoyable ‘debasement’ that we conceived little Eurypylus.” She stroked her belly for effect. “And our bedmate Astypalaia was all too happy to participate.”

Hera sighed, and set her tea aside. She dropped her head into her hand and squeezed her temples. Persephone didn’t move.

“Poseidon desperately wanted to bed that innocent princess, but knew I was between the tides. He started caressing her, then lowered his lips to hers, and she was so enrapt that Astypalaia didn’t even know I was in the room until I replaced Poseidon’s tongue with mine. And it turns out, Astypalaia was not so innocent as Poseidon imagined. To men, sure enough, but not to women. Trust me, the sights and sounds the two of us treated him to drained him of his seed rather quickly.”

Persephone felt the color seep from her face, and looked from Hera to Amphitrite and back.

Amphitrite snickered, then put her cup to the side before she doubled over. Her laugh echoed through the hall. “Alright, you win, Hera. I’ll stop embarrassing her. Gods… you refuse to let me have any fun.”

Persephone relaxed, relieved but exhausted. Hera exhaled and rolled her eyes. “Well since that’s done…”

“I’m done, I’m done. I promise.” She leaned forward. “One last thing though…”

Hera looked skyward. “Amphitrite…”

“Tell me, Persephone… have you considered inviting one of those delicate winged nymphs from the Styx into your chamber? I would be fascinated to find out what they are like.”

“I have not. Nor will I.”

“Surely after all these decades, you’d want to liven things up for the King of the Dead?”

“Neither Aidoneus nor I have any interest but for each other. And it will remain so.”

Hera and Amphitrite looked at one another. Hera lowered her eyes to the floor, but Amphitrite smiled and held her belly, feeling her son turn. “It’s only been seventy five years, Persephone. You have an eternity to truly find the limits to your marriage. And likewise an eternity to try for children.”

Persephone scoffed. “Well rest assured, that despite Zeus’s oath to us, I doubt a child will be forthcoming.”

“Oath? What do you mean?” Hera said, her eyes trained on her tea.

“The Stygian oath he swore to us at the Pomegranate Agreement.”

“Don’t let him get to you.” Amphitrite said. “Hermes told us everything. Cruel and selfish to taunt your husband that way. Zeus only made that promise so that he could bring Aidoneus to heel. He does that to my husband constantly. Not by promising that our child will become the heir to the heavens, mind you, but he has other ways of needling Poseidon.”

“Thank you. As I said, it’s of nothing, and his words on that matter bear little consequence. Aidoneus and I could be content if it never happens at all.”

Amphitrite was silent a moment, then took Persephone’s hand and squeezed it in hers, and gave her a reassuring smile. “As I said, it’s only been seventy five years. Only the Fates know what the future will bring.”

Hera stared into her cup, her serene smile set in stone.

[ruoxin]

Hello everyone!!

I noticed that I gained a lot of new followers recently, and I realized I haven’t really made a post introducing myself like ever lol so I brain dumped 50 random facts about me and hopefully you guys know me better! ^-^

My name is Angela, but I also go by Ang/Angie/Leighann

I’m currently 22! I was born in 1997 (Chinese zodiac is year of the Rat since I was born before the Lunar New Year)

i’m quite short at 4′11″

My Myers-Briggs is INFJ

For those into Astrology: Aquarius sun, Sagittarius moon, Cancer rising

I just graduated last month from UCSB as a psych major with a minor in English literature!

Born and raised in the Bay Area ❤ Hoping to live in SF someday!

I’m ethnically Chinese/Dutch, but both my parents are from Taiwan

I have a HUGE birthmark from my ankle to my thigh (it’s insane haha but it faded a lot throughout the years)

I have 8 piercings! All in my ears (6 lobes, 1 tragus, 1 helix)

Only countries I been to: U.S., Mexico, China, Taiwan. Top of my bucket list include: Iceland, Santorini, Japan, South Korea!

I guess I’m bi? Still figuring it out tbh. But guys my type include: Doctor Mike, Andre Hamann, Nick Bateman. girls my type: Hyoyeon, Seulgi, Maggie Q, Lucy Liu

My fav (American) TV shows are: OITNB, Grey’s Anatomy, Burn Notice, and FRIENDS

My fav kdramas are: Encounter, City Hunter,  IRIS, Legend of the Blue Sea

My fav movie is Breakfast at TIffany’s

I listen to a lot of indie/alternative (Foster the People, Lana Del Rey, Naked and Famous, Mumford & Sons), kpop (right now loving Red Velvet, SNSD and Gfriend), and classic 60s - 80s (Beatles, Motown, Frank Sinatra, etc.)

I got into kpop in 2009 but stopped listening around 2013-2016 and started again in 2017. My ult kpop group is pROoOBably SNSD and my (ult) bias is Hyoyeon ❤ PLEASE STAN HER AND LISTEN TO HER NEW SINGLE BADSTER WHEN IT COMES OUT JULY 20 6PM KST!!

I was raised Catholic but now I am spiritual but not religious. I believe in constantly working on becoming a better person and doing good.

My fav colors are: black, white, most shades of light pink, turquoise (or TIffany blue), and recently I’ve been obsessed with yellow! I can’t pick a single one!

My favorite time of day is prob dawn but I haven’t been awake for it in years lol. I do love twilight too because it gives me a weird nostalgic feeling

I speak English and proficient-fluent Mandarin (I prob can’t have a deep conversation about economics or politics or something lol but I grew up speaking it with my parents 24/7). I also took 4 years of Japanese in high school (but i prob forgot most of it welp). I’m going to relearn Japanese/Mandarin and hopefully start learning Korean sometime in the near future! I know the alphabet and some basics from my countless of hours watching kdramas lol

If you’re one of my female friends, I will melt if you call me these: angel, sweetie, beautiful, babe, hun, etc!!

I try to avoid mainstream things that are talked about too much because I really believe that things are overhyped and people can lose their identity by liking things just because other people are. (no hate, but e.g. BTS, Ariana Grande, Game of Thrones, Beyonce).

I LOVEEE receiving and giving handwritten letters

Speaking of, I change my handwriting every few years since I haven’t really found one that stuck yet and I have like 5 different types of handwriting from all caps to very neat print to almost calligraphy-like cursive

Games I play(ed): Pokemon (Silver, Leafgreen, Emerald, Ultra Sun, Alpha Sapphire, and Pokemon Go lol), Animal Crossing (Wild World, New Leaf, Pocket Camp). I also did my fair share of League but stopped before it consumed my life with toxicity. I was a support main who used Nami, Janna, and Thresh!

27 is my favorite number but I really do not know why lmao

My guilty pleasure song is Britney Spears - Toxic and I still haven’t gotten sick of it. Some favorite songs of all time are prob: Aretha Franklin - Day Dreaming, Tears for Fears - Everybody Wants to Rule the World, SNSD - Gee, SNSD - Genie, Amy Winehouse - Valerie

My best subject at school was English and I received an academic excellence award at the end of my junior year out of all the juniors in my grade in American Lit

When I was younger, my first dream job was an artist. then I watched Grey’s and wanted to be a cardiothoracic surgeon. Other dream jobs I had for brief moments: makeup artist, fashion designer, motivational speaker. Now I’m hoping to go to grad school to be an MFT/LPCC!

I love black cats and german shepherds! But I’m more of a cat person

If I could travel back in time I would want to live in 60′s New York or the 90′s.

Biggest turn on: someone who can hold a deep and intellectual conversation with me about meaningful subjects! Biggest turn off: someone who is extremely vapid and has no ambition whatsoever

My fav season is autumn!

The perfume I use is Marc Jacobs Daisy but I think I want to change to Versace Bright Crystal after I finish

I have perfect vision!

I did track during my prime teenage days (long jumper!) and my fastest mile was 7:20. I haven’t ran for years after that and I just started again 7 years later around this March, and I improved from around a 10 min mile in the beginning to my recent fastest at 8:09! I am hoping to get back in the ~7 mins

I also did a little bit of swim team, and I can swim all four strokes (free, back, breast, butterfly) but I mainly raced freestyle and butterfly!

I am literally the least picky eater you will ever meet. Take me to any restaurant and I wouldn’t complain. I also have a decently high tolerance for spicy things. The only food that I ever really tried and disliked is liver and the one thing that I probably wouldn’t ever try is something way out there like snail or scorpion lol

Speaking of food, I love food on the heavier side and tend to over season and over-sauce my foods lol. I love onion, ketchup, ranch, black pepper, soy sauce, korean chili spice (what they use for kimchi)

I can crack all my toes at will (it grosses everyone out xD)

My favorite book of all time is East of Eden by John Steinbeck ❤

My super power of choice if I had one would probably be invisibility

I played piano for 6 years in my childhood and I can still read notes, but veeery slowly lol

I’m kind of VERY unhealthily obsessed with (Japanese) stationery. Moleskine journals, Uni alpha gel, Pilot Dr. Grip, Zebra Mildliners, Staedler Triplus fineliners, Sakura Microns, Uni-ball signo, Pilot Hi-tec-c... yeah... i have all of those and more... yiKEs

My fav holiday is Christmas. I love holiday spirit and Sleigh Ride (I only accept the Ella Fitzgerald version) is literally such a good song??

My favorite non alcoholic drink is prob earl grey boba tea. fav alcoholic drink is whiskey!

I do not have any tattoos, but the top two I am planning are: “♒” behind my left ear, and “英” behind my neck (my mom’s Chinese name, but it also means brave/hero/outstanding person)

city > countryside

How I would describe my fashion style: tomboy, casual, chic, comfortable

[arrancxr]

Henlo, I just discovered this blog and have been binging thru it like crazy lmao I love the way u go super deep into a characters pyche and how they act? I live for those kind of in depth examinations on behaviour, it's so nice ahh I'm v curious about this girls of virtue story?? If it's gucci, could u give out some general lore about the story? Like maybe some info about the world its set in, race descriptions?? General story plot/themes? Go wild 🤘

Henlo anon I love you for sending this~  (๑・ω-)～♥” I live for writing character analysis/development too, and while the Hollows will always be precious to me, there’s something extra fun about having my own characters to play with o3o I have another GoV ask waiting, and I intend to make that one the more simple, spoiler-free answer. Thus, what I’m writing here will have major spoilers for the story.

And it’s going under the cut in case anyone wants to avoid those~ (｡’▽’｡)

THE WORLD OF FOG

The world that Girls of Virtue is set in is called the World of Fog. It’s an alternate dimension parallel to our world, known as the “real world” within the story, and it is one fucked up place. The World of Fog itself is a parasitic dimension that draws creatures known as subconscious beings out of humans and into itself. It then feeds on the energy and life force of those beings, eventually draining them to the point where they fuse with the world itself. The World of Fog is very literally built on corpses, and while the ever-present fog hides it from the eyes of its inhabitants, the reality is terrifying. 

When subconscious beings have been drained, they lose energy and slow down, slowly entering a near-comatose state. When they’ve reached the point where they can no longer move, they start to merge with their surroundings. This process is slow and horrific, and it ends in a still-living subconscious being fused with whatever it was near, slowly sucked into the World of Fog itself to become a permanent energy source. For reasons that I’ll explain in the next section, this effectively kills the human that they were attached to. 

The World of Fog is a creepy, miserable place devoid of color and life. The only living things in it are the subconscious beings; there are no animals, and few living plants. The world seems to be endless, but the only thing resembling civilization is an abandoned town that springs up the middle of nowhere. The town is rotting and in terrible disrepair, but it’s the only real shelter available, and thus, what the Girls of Virtue call their home. 

SUBCONSCIOUS BEINGS

The only living things in the World of Fog are mysterious creatures known as Subconscious Beings. These beings are the physical manifestations of the worst parts of humans. They’re the hateful, violent, and unstable sides of people given a life of their own, and they’re dangerous. 

Since the World of Fog feeds on the energy of these beings, it’s drawn to the strongest negative forces. Thus, very few neutral or positive beings are formed. Each Subconscious Being is tied to the human that they originated from, and if one side of the connection dies, the other will as well. However, Subconscious beings are much tougher than humans. They’re stronger and faster, more agile, with supernatural regeneration levels and some forms of telekinesis. Their abilities vary by individual, but generally, the worse the human that the being came from, the stronger the being is. 

When Subconscious Beings are formed, they lack their human memories. They don’t know who or what they are, beyond a name that they can call their own. The current group of Subconscious Beings is lead by a vicious monster called Judgement, who considers herself to be the god of the World of Fog. While not directly said in the story, Judgement has killed all of the Subconscious Beings that were still in the World of Fog when she was formed, in order to leave only herself as leader. From there, she’s carefully selected the followers that she sees as useful, and disposed of any new beings that she doesn’t want to use. 

By extension, Judgement has been the death of many humans in the real world, who’s bodies would have shut down when their subconscious was killed. Judgement herself is the strongest being to have been formed, and is easily powerful enough to kill all of the others combined. She’s a monstrous tyrant, and one who considers herself a god. 

PLOT DETAILS

Judgment has the unique ability to open gateways between the World of Fog and the real world. At first, she’s only able to do this when she has an object to hold the gates open with, and the gates themselves are temporary but as she grows stronger, she’s eventually able to hold the gateways open on her own, with no anchor needed.

The plan that Judgement has is to enter the real world and kill the humans that she deems unworthy of life. Judgement seeks to destroy, and she uses the group that she’s assembled-- the Girls of Virtue, as she ironically calls them-- to cross into the real world and wreak as much havoc as they can. However, her plan is threatened when the newest arrival to the World of Fog, Beginning, a being who’s clearly out of place, decides that she’s going to stand up to Judgement. Beginning is kinder and more human than any of the rest, and her kindness is the one thing the heartless girls aren’t prepared to deal with. 

Beginning spreads discord throughout the Girls of Virtue, confusing and bewildering the girls who only know how to respond to hate and violence. All the while, she seeks to know who she is, and why she was brought to the World of Fog in the first place, when she so clearly doesn’t belong. 

In the end, Beginning regains her memories of her human self, and with her true name, Change, goes on to reveal to Judgement and her followers the true nature of what they are... and exactly what their world is doing to them. The girls’ panic leaves the World of Fog off balance, and when the ever-present fog finally lifts, they all see the true, horrifying nature of the World of Fog. Through tearing apart their twisted worldviews, Change forces the girls out of the World of Fog and back to their human selves, thus saving both them and the real world that they were set on destroying. 

Change wakes up as her human self when the World of Fog collapses, no longer having any living beings to sustain it. The only problem now? The Girls of Virtue are loose in the human world, with physical bodies and all of their memories intact. And Judgement is among them. 

THEMES/MEANING

The story itself is very, very personal to me. I’d have to go into a lot of detail to explain it all, but the short answer is that the whole thing symbolizes the struggles of mental illness, and the road to living with and recovering from the worst things that your brain can throw at you. 

The Subconscious Beings represent a distorted view of one’s self; the way that we see our worst parts as defining us. Their traits are the ways that our minds turn against us, and many of them represent symptoms and struggles that mental illness brings. Judgement herself, the leader of them all, is the force that thinks itself to be god, the voice that tries to tell us that we’re unworthy of life and love and happiness. Judgement is the dark, destructive nature of the illnesses that torment people. 

Thus, the story is one of positivity and recovery. Change is the force that allows us to heal and move on; the person choosing to face their demons and fight for the life that they want to live. Through facing and accepting the Girls of Virtue, she grabs them by the shoulders, and just like her name suggests, drags them towards something better. Even Judgement is bested by the will to see reality and break free of the voice that says that you’re better off dead. By breaking down the World of Fog and returning the Girls to who and what they really are, Change destroys the distorted perceptions that allow them to make the world-- and themselves-- suffer. 

There will be a second book at some point, featuring the Girls’ human selves and their recovery. That book will also feature Marina (Change) and Adora (Judgement)’s dynamic evolving from what is was as Change and Judgement, to something positive and healthy. 

I could go on for a lot longer, but this post is already pretty massive... >.> Thank you so much for the wonderful questions, anon!!!

[wherethestoryhasimagination]

As a Pallet cleanser...

I’ve posted a bit to much Meat. And so before I dive on in to Candy, which, from the impressions I’ve gathered, contains terrors greater than those found in meat, I’ll be providing some ‘Candy’ of my own, hopefully in a form reminiscent of thin mint cookies.

I’ll be making as wholesome, happy, and generally carefree a post as I can possibly make.

I’m going to be BluHing out my thoughts and ideas for things I would Hope for, dream of, and expect to possibly see in various percentages of those three of-

Animal Crossing.

As Animal Crossing has progressed through the Years, more and more chances for Player agency to influence the world have come to be. even going so far as to give you an official government job where you help to plan/fund Public infrastructure & The Arts. An update was even added at one point that would let you have more control over what Villagers were in your town; something practically impossible in past games, & in the pre-update New-Leaf.

I expect this trend to continue, though how it continues may vary; my Hopes for the hypothetically possible, & Dreams for the incredibly unlikely as follows.

Furniture Creation; it can be tricky getting that last piece of a set that just never seems to be in stock. but if you had a way to get furniture pieces that are not in your catalog, such randomness would be relieved… There’s even already ways to change some pre-existing pieces of furniture by bringing it and a set of gems to an npc in retail… severely limited in that form, but… a definite precursor to being able to get the furniture you want by using resources you have. and while it is a spin off I know little about, I believe Pocket Camp actually Does have a more tangible form of ‘crafting’. it even has an official Quarry to dig in.

extensions on the new ‘burst collection’ mechanic introduced in Pocket Camp; Pocket camp introduced items such as fishing nets and honey for gathering fish and bugs faster than one could with a rod or bug net. in a new game without micro transactions, a number of things could be done to balance the effectiveness, cost, and availability of items that help make it easier to get things; like rotted turnips & candy attracting ants, but elaborated upon.

improved mail system; just a little thing here. maybe a Villager you had been best friends with, but who had to move away, could send you a postcard inviting you to visit, should you ever wish to do so, with a Picture of their new town on it.

Food options; even if they are as useless as eating has always been, more options would be nice. like actually getting to partake in the displays that appear on some holidays, or being able to actually eat some pudding, like what some Villagers claim to have accidentally eaten 23 servings of from time to time… And hey, if some villagers have favorite foods, getting it for them could be a nice thing to do. maybe going to Brewsters could serve a purpose other than buying coffee till you’re given access to Gyroid storage, or working a small, part-time job.

semi-open world feel; even if it’s just an illusion, it would be groundbreaking for The Flanking Cliffs to finally give way to nature. even if the Cliffs are just sometimes replaced by massive clusters of impassible, unchopable trees that serve the same purpose. a tiny bit of variety in world wall could help. but full, low restriction openness is the dream… maybe have rivers a little bit wider than most, that you could eventually make crossable with foot-Bridges…(trains and such have their own bridges already of course, so you can still take the train to new places) … you know what? yea… Building Bridges… uniting the World… I like that. from now on, my hypothetical Animal Crossing game will be called ‘Animal Crossing Bridge Builders’.

Wood?/new tree mechanics?; the Ax is one of the least used tools. and once you’ve got the trees you want exactly where you want them, it begins to feel like Time slows down… The World only changing when you or villagers make it change, or with the seasons. a bit more of a purpose to trees could be an incentive to experiment, or to pay more attention to The World, as you watch new saplings grow far more frequently than you ever did when planting new trees was a one-off aesthetic setup. Plus, if furniture crafting does become a thing, you got to get materials somewhere.

‘More’; exactly as it says on the tin. More fruit types, more tree types, more Villagers… a simple expectation, but one worth note.

extend on the mining thing from pocket camp?; I’m mostly thinking of this for the sake of a single gag… The mining place underground is randomly generated once a week or so… And poor Mr. Resetti… Another job change has resulted in them being tasked with helping facilitate the process that… Resets, the underground so that you’ll always have fresh access to the resources you need.

(huh… food, crafting, fishing, foraging, mining… this is starting to become more and more like Stardew Valley, only without an official farmland)

Balloon Presents; you ever wonder where those balloons come from? maybe you could give something back. Perhaps you could release things up into the air, where someone, somewhere will eventually get it. 

‘Island Search’; an excuse for the ability to Design, shape and all, your very own island. after all, the Ocean is so big, that of course you’ll end up finding an island that matches what you want. The ultimate in Player agency over control over their environment; such as also being able to send invitations, or approve applications for Villagers so that they can come and live on your island. and, depending on how ‘north or south’ your island is, the seasons may pass normally, seem to always be summer, or so on.

non-real-time option; this is likely a dream that would be divisive. Real-time has always been a staple of the series. a mechanic that always has been. Well, like what was done with Breath of The Wild, even the most fundamental core aspects of the series should be open to revision and review, to see if it really is the best possible option. What if sleeping in your Bed could actually pass time? what if you didn’t have to be caught in a cycle of only being able play for however long it takes you to find the ore & money rocks, the new buried objects, and such, before the majority of everything new in the world that day has been expended, leaving the chance for you to stale the remaining time you play by running through pre-treaded ground, or for you to simply skip time anyway and change the date to, for example, see if what you want in the store or such shows up. (the ability for the gameplay loop to avoid turning stale could also be avoided with any other number of changes that could be implemented) this is just a possibility worth keeping in mind. also, next, as a possible middle ground that could help branch the two different time options…

Live events; like how Splatoon has Splatfests, and Smash has select Spirit events, there could be special happenings that follow a Real-realtime structure. like, ‘all furniture you’ll find by shaking trees will match your favorite Color this week!’ or, ‘manta-ray migration! the Villagers are going to be celebrating this event as they would a holiday sometime this week’(perhaps on the first available in-game day you play that week, so that it isn’t restricted to only a 24 hour window that some people would be more likely to miss)

more Amiibo Villagers; this might fall under ‘more’, but wouldn’t it be amazing if a majority of the amiibo released had villagers associated with them? I for one, would love to have an Octopus Guardian Villager Friend.

better character creation; the game has partially approached this, with things like beak accessories, but, what if you could be an animal like the other Villagers? And, perhaps, if you opt-in to this, The game could eventually Generate an Npc version of your Animal based on various actions and interactions the game slowly gathers as you play. An Npc that could then be found by other Players in their Worlds. so that there is always a new face to meet… there is a lot of variables here, and naturally, it would need to be monitored to prevent those with unkind intent from tainting the world, but if the game could Generate new Villagers, rather than being limited to a set of pre-made Villagers that would seem to be a drop in the bucket by comparison… and for you to know that the character you’ve met, who is kind and friendly to some degree, was created based off of a Person in the real World who is not all that different from you? To have a Worldwide Community of People able to see that no matter who you are, or where you come from, that you can be kind? That we can learn to love eachother, both despite and because of our differences? …

I’m not going to say it could lead to World Peace, but I won’t say that it won’t lead to World Peace.

Sable; ‘oh Hello! How are you doing today? My sisters can help you if you wanted to buy something, but if you wanted to make something yourself, I could help you figure it out’

Years of countless Players sharing their Love and support for Sable has grown into a warm feeling she will always have with her in her Heart… She will Never doubt herself or her value as a person ever again… And if you still choose to talk to her every day, She will still want to be your Friend.

Permanence vs drifting; It is nice to work hard, and make something of the town you live in… Developing bonds with your Villagers… Till you know every bump, crack, and turn in it… till it becomes Home… But, more and more traveler elements have been introduced… Campers, and mobile homes. even the towns of other players accessed through your dreams. Perhaps you could explore the world, like the Villagers who visit your town are, ready to see who you might meet, and what you might see… and who knows… maybe one day, you’ll stop. You’ll look around. You’ll feel the cool air against your skin. You’ll see the sun start to set beyond the mountaintop. You’ll sit by the campfire, and see smiles on faces… and just maybe… After how long it has taken you to reach this moment… You might decide…

That you are, right now, exactly where you want to be…

That you’ve finally made it Home.