#complete the yeehaw aesthetic

[calliesmemes]

EVEN MORE ABSOLUTELY UNHINGED COMEDIC RELIEF

ASSORTED SENTENCE STARTERS FROM AROUND THE INTERNET, including quotes from Tumblr, Pinterest, TikTok, and X (formerly known as Twitter), for when a muse wants to lighten up the situation at hand.

CHANGE gendered words and in-universe phrases as needed.

SPECIFY muse for multimuses.

“   It’s sea shanty time once again my fellow bastards of the ocean! ”

“   Partner, I reckon that I ain’t been feeling very yeehaw lately. ”

“   I don’t study; I consult the lore. ”

“   Yeah, I understand women — they all want daggers and swords. It’s all quite simple, really. ”

“   Lord forgive me but I may have to make a nonessential purchase. ”

“   Those are bold words for someone in stabbing range. ”

“   Yes I’m a gatekeeper and a hater. I’m also God’s most favorite princess and the most interesting girl in the world. ”

“   My primary motivations are fear, spite, and aesthetic longing. ”

“   Man — if I had a sword, I wouldn’t be worried about shit. ”

“   It’s not blood that runs through these veins but glitter gel pen ink. ”

“   If I was in a Jane Austen novel, I would be the one sent to the seaside for my health. ”

“   Half of me is a hopeless romantic, and the other half of me is … well … an asshole. ”

“   I am the nicest, sweetest, most rage-filled person I know. ”

“   I hope I give off the vibe to all animals that I am their ally and their friend. ”

“   I see you’re paying attention to someone who is not me. Why is that? ”

“   Normalize letting me talk without making any sense. ”

“   Don’t care, didn’t ask, plus my psychic visions have predicted the outcome of this encounter. ”

“   I could be so much worse. For example, I could start acting like my father. ”

“   Sorry for acting so strange and irregular; It will happen again. ”

“   i love sitting in my room.....alone....a girl in her cave....scheming and plotting and drinking tea. ”

“   These man made horrors are beyond YOUR comprehension. I get it though. ”

“   I’m a goth girl on the inside. On the outside? A father figure. ”

“   I don’t need to face reality; I’m not just that type of girl. ”

“   DO I LOOK LIKE I GIVE A frickle-frackle? ”

“   I’m about to cha cha real smooth off a fucking cliff. ”

“   Sorry I told you about my trauma. Do you still think I’m hot? ”

“   My priorities aren’t straight and neither am I. ”

“   I have felt permanently guilty for no reason since I was like eight years old. ”

“   Of course I have a lot of pent up rage, you fool! I’ve been the same height since I was twelve years old! ”

“   I was born for shock value. ”

“   Good morning! God has let me live another day and I’m about to make it everyone’s problem. ”

“   Oh, I slept miserably because I was tormented by terrible visions all night. I hope none of them were prophetic! ”

“   Be the surreal nonsense that you want to see in the world. ”

“   Being smart has never stopped me from being a complete fucking idiot. ”

“   My hobbies include knowing things and being right. ”

“   This is good advice, but don’t tell me what to do. ”

“   I hate the idea of authority. What the fuck is someone being superior to me? Bitch I’m gonna take your kneecaps. ”

“   Stop forgiving my crimes! I worked so hard on those! ”

“   My hobbies? Uhhhh, symbolism mostly. Metaphors and implications and the like. ”

“   I may not have any braincells, but I make up for it by having many heart cells. ”

“   I can’t mansplain manipulate manwhore my way out of this one guys! ”

“   Not all your life decisions have to be smart. Some can be purely for cinematic value. ”

“   Sometimes I wish I looked more fragile and feminine like a dainty flower, but I do enjoy looking like I hate everyone. ”

“   Any dream can be a prophetic dream if you’re willing to do some really weird shit. ”

“   girl help there is not enough enrichment in my enclosure. ”

“   BRO, you NEED to stop SUMMONING DEMONS in the FRAT HOUSE. ”

“   I just gave your address to some spiders! ”

“   I disappoint my father as a hobby now. ”

“   I think that the dark circles under my eyes add to my aesthetic actually. ”

“   Good news! I’ve successfully replaced all of my emotions with jokes! ”

“   I have half a braincell left and I’m very scared to use it! ”

“   Listen, son — in this world, it’s either yeet or be yeeted. ”

“   I appreciate the advice, but I think that I’m old enough to make my own bad decisions. ”

“   I’m disappointed in me too. Y’all aren’t special. ”

“   Running from your demons is the best exercise! ”

“   Sorry; I can’t commit any crimes with you. My mom says that I have to study. ”

“   Time flies when you don’t know what the fuck is going on. ”

“   If I run out of tacos, I can no longer maintain my human form. ”

“   Bestie, I don’t think that I can girlboss under these conditions. ”

“   Yeah I’ve had combat training; I can do anxiety attacks! ”

“   Swag is earned, not learned. ”

“   Contrary to popular belief, violence solves a lot. ”

“   I CANNOT STAND YOU ALL so I will SIT DOWN. ”

“   Please God no … I don’t need any more character development right now! ”

“   If you can’t beat ‘em, yeet ‘em. ”

“   Do not put me in a situation. I’m at my limit and I am very tired. ”

“   I may be depressed, but at least I’m not basic. ”

“   It’s MY LIFE and I’ll sabotage it myself, thank you. ”

“   Think twice? Bold of you to assume that I think once. ”

“   At the next inconvenience, I will start biting people. ”

“   Oops I think that I just experienced an emotion. ”

“   Did you know that rats spelled backwards is star? ”

“   One day, I’ll be reincarnated as a pigeon, and I’ll shit on your head. ”

“   On the outside, I’m a baddie — but on the inside, I’m a saddie. ”

“   My grandma bullies me through the Ouija board. ”

“   I’m a cool person if you can just look past my personality. ”

“   Beetles don’t have to do taxes, and I think that is a beautiful way to live. ”

“   I hope that you get your character development arc soon. ”

“   Those are some nice kneecaps … It’d be a shame if someone stole them … ”

“   I’ve wanted to be a trophy wife ever since I was a little boy. ”

“   I’m done being baby; I want POWER ”

“   Wait, “Just Standing There Ominously” doesn’t count as socializing? ”

“   Yes I am smart, and yes, I am stupid. It’s called being flexible. ”

“   I am NOT delusional!!!!! I am OPTIMISTIC! ”

“   I deserve compensation for not being the menace to society that i could be, like i'm skipping out on a lot of fun here. ”

“   Do not ask me if you should or shouldn't do something !!! Before I am a friend I am an enabler !!! ”

“   i am the WORLDS PRETTYIST PINK PRINCESS and im gonna KILL YOU WITH MY HUGE FUCKING HAMMER ”

[axl-ul]

Writeblr (Re)Introduction

Hello! After some time of being inactive, here's a small reintroduction from me:) And I also guess that this is the exact aesthetic I aimed for. Finally!

General info:

(Nick)Name: Axl-ul, but you can address me as Axl^^

Likes: Writing, reading, drawing, crochet, mythologies and folk stories, tea, doggos, cattos, battos (majority of animals that are fluffy)

Stuff I like to listen to: an ENORMOUS range that goes from og dubstep to chillstep to metal to edgy yeehaw dark country (among my fave artists are Bonobo, Nujabes, Burial, Hugo Kant, Sigmun)

Favourite movie: Noroi, The Vanished Empire

Favourite show: Mononoke (2009) it's actually an anime and yes I do consider it a show, Red Dwarf

Favourite book(s): The Witcher saga (Season of Storms was a little bit mid in comparison to the rest, still enjoyed it though), Solomon Kane, The Hobbit, Whiskey, Blood and Silver, The Warlock, Journey to the West (still reading it)

Favourite manga: anything by Junji Ito, Berserk

Favourite games: The Witcher trilogy, DreadOut, Condemned: Criminal Origin, TES V: Skyrim (also slowly getting into Oblivion), Sleeping Dogs, Darkwood, anything made by Fromsoftware (a fanboy)

Favourite genres: horror, mystery, (dark) fantasy, comedy

Favourite tropes: animal companion, found family, rivals to best friends

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Writer info:

Genres I write in: horror, mystery, dark fantasy inspired by world mythologies, dark comedy, my wips might have a touch of detective stories to them, too^^

Tropes I use(d): found family, animal companion, rivals to best friends, rivals to friends to lovers (used only once as I don't like romance that much, why it appears in my wips is a looong story), orphaned MC

POV: 3rd person, multiple POVs with main focus on 1 to 3 characters max

I tend to write in quite a flowery language and in poetic prose, but since English isn't my first language it can come across slightly awkward (TL; DR I do plenty of updates and edits to my posted stuff)

My wips are inspired and sometimes directly refer to a certain mythology, such as Slavic (this one is also most widely used as I like to read local legends of Serbia, Russia, the Czech and Slovak Republic, Ukraine, Poland and so on), Chinese, Nordic, Japanese and Indonesian. HOWEVER I love to create my own mythos and so the world is a blend of characters directly based of a mythological figure exploring environement both familiar and completely new to them. (I've always been intruiged by a question what would happen if world mythologies bumped into each other and what would be the consequences of it.)

My own mythos are pretty much eldritch-like oriented with a significant touch of folk horror. I'm not going to lie, I'm a FromSoftware fanboi, I see Bloodborn or Kuon, I'm going feral and so is my inspiration.

There are many occuring themes about substance abuse, addiction, health issues, gore, extreme violence, sexual assault/rape and other strongly 18+ stuff, so I'd appreciate if only 20+ y.o. people (or be at least 18, really) follow this account. In other words - PLENTY OF NSFW THAT'S NOT DIRECTED AND INTENDED FOR MINORS.

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WIPs

Not all from my wips have a proper introduction (a.k.a. there's no link for their Tumblr WIP intro). BUT I do plan on doing them, so expect the links to be updated. These are just quick summaries of them.

The Flight of the Western Crane - A dark retelling of Journey to the West where Sun Wukong tries to protect the young Buddhist monk Tang Sanzang while meeting a duo of a stranded Princess of the Great Tiger Kingdom and her foreign advisor Lady Wolf Witch. Their common journey starts out as an innocent one. However, it soon evolves into a dangerous chase where the Monkey King must face the worst of his opponents.

City of False Gods - Hybrid of wuxia, mystery and film noir genres set on a fabricated island near Hong Kong. The fiction evolves around the Monkey King who's, after his yet another imprisonment, woken up to a strange world of 1920s where his powers are under a radar by the local supernatural cop unit and is forced to live among the poorest while trying to solve strange happenings in the city. City of False Gods also serves as a sequel to The Flight of the Western Crane.

Empire of Dust - Historical dark fantasy with horror elements set in 330 Constantinople. The story follows two little sisters one of whom is considered neither dead nor alive. One day, Ulfrika sets out for a strange task in order to provide for her dear little sister. Her pure-hearted intention, though, may lead her down the rabbit hole which may devour her sanity.

Ratpeople - An outline idea for a standalone story involving Ulfrika and her time in the Wild West, where the soulless hybrid discovers an eerie town in the desert while chasing after a man who stole one of her horses. The story is related to weird western (mostly its horror and fantasy elements and no sci-fi stuff) and mystery genres and also mythology related things.

Boy Who Chased a Dragon - Another outline story outside the universe of The Legends of No-man's Land. The story takes place on an island of eternal summer and flower bloom, where mythical creatures live peacefully. One day, Dado* loses his pet dragon, a creature his sister gave him for his 8th birthday, in a harsh storm. Now, he sets out for a long journey to retrieve his best friend from the claws of the cruel Ember King.

*because this is still in a process of an outline/1st draft, I'm still not sure about the name, it's only a working name for the protagonist

[mightyanxiety]

*waddles into your inbox and awkwardly holds out a small bouquet of pink roses and hydrangeas with a sheepish smile*

Um h-howdy. I discovered your art through the Yeehaw Peepaw tags and I just had to say that your art has completely left me speechless. It’s such a delicate and soft style that somehow still manages to pack a punch that leaves me with a gaping mouth because of how incredible spectacular it is.

Like it’s so refreshing and ✨aLiVe✨ that I just want to reach through your pages and pinch the turtles boys cheeks they are just so positively darling. Looking at your heart is lowkey like…healing? In a way? So delightfully aesthetically pleasing, and so I wanted to give you these flowers as a form of appreciation. Because you make such pretty art, I feel like you deserve something pretty too. Pink roses represent sweetness, appreciation, and admiration. While hydrangeas represent abundance, heartfelt emotion, and gratitude. I sincerely hope wherever you are tonight that you realize you’re making a difference because of what you create and you’ve sincerely touched my heart because of it. You’re doing a great job honey and I just wanted to let you know! ✨🧡

ERROR:Mighty.exe has stopped working

[its-haughty]

YEEHAW!!!!

Hans!! The Hero and the main character of this New Thing I’m Working On!!! he’s very clueless but he’s got the spirit

(Actual information under the cut lol)

Hans is fated to be the protagonist, in a world where the prophecy dictates what people do, Hans is lucky enough to be The Hero. He’s destined to defeat The Big Bad villain and to rescue The Princess… Unaware of the fact that when he rescues The Princess and saves the world, he doesn’t see another day as the entire world resets back to the beginning. Hans’ memory being completely wiped to repeat the cycle again and again and again…

Boisterous, charismatic and lively. However, he’s a little dense and naive

Although he’s supposed to defeat Billy in every timeline. However, Billy would find a way to defy fate and now Hans are partners with him as they try to make their own destiny

He’s in a fantasy world and yet he chooses to be a cowboy instead of a stereotypical knight. Nobody else is a cowboy- this isn’t the wild west but he just likes having his own aesthetic

The only cowboy lingo he knows is “yeehaw” … Yeah this guy is destined to save the world alright..

Really likes sweets and has a big liking to candy canes :)

Awful at cooking

Extra:

I’m so normal abotu them

[moostelid]

James Bond villian with a yeehaw southern USA accent.

No charming upper-class British accent or an intimidating thick Russian or German accent. Just pure American Southerner complete with backhanded comments and ‘bless your hearts’.

Otherwise, he’s just an average James Bond villain. Just as rich, refined, aesthetically pleasing, and with needlessly complex defenses and plans.

[nukenai]

Looking for that good queer yeehaw content on tumblr and finding nothing but modern rodeo cowboys makes me cringe so damn hard, how do ppl not see how clearly abusive rodeo is??? horses buck when they want you off, horses buck like THAT when they're scared and in pain, its not entertainment, are people just not noticing the cowboys ramming their legs (the classic cowboy spur ppl love the aesthetic of so much) into the animal???? the electric shocks before opening the gate which is basically an open secret, the horrific injuries that a lot of them get??? I thought it was common knowledge that horse racing is abuse do ppl not get that rodeo is very much the same, mistreating horses for money and entertainment.

I just wanted to see some queer cowboy content 😭😭

I FEEL LIKE I COULD'VE WRITTEN THIS ASK TO MYSELF!!! I completely feel your pain, anon. It's very frustrating to me that rodeo shit is just somehow STILL ACCEPTED in this day and age, it's legitimately insane to me. I think it's just so ingrained in culture that people don't think about it. It's almost in like with the whole "nobody draws tack right" because nobody like, can be bothered to do even 10 seconds of research?? Horses are continually considered accessories to an Aesthetic(tm) instead of actual living creatures and it's so so weird.

Even people irl at my barn have been fucking flabbergasted when I've very mildly said "I don't like rodeos because I don't agree with animals being treated poorly for entertainment". I get stares like I have 15 fucking heads, as if, how DARE I?!?!? Also rodeos and shit are way likely to be filled with tr*mp people who would call me slurs so, that's also great.

In my opinion it's not spoken about as much because it's not as easily accessible of an activism like not eating meat and speaking against factory farms. Because of course everyone hates factory farms. B-b-but cowboy stuff is so sexy and horses bucking and rearing looks so cool and fun! And big sharp spurs look so COOL! :( and god forbid people give up entertainment or reflect on the actual issues with this shit. Probably most people who are obsessed with Cowboy/Rodeo Aesthetic(tm) exclusively in art and stuff have no actual experience with horses and, again, consider them more accessories that living animals that have been historically and systematically abused in horrific ways that are so often ignored. Often just for entertainment.

I live very close to one of the most famous race tracks in the country and the entire city is obsessed with horse racing. It's an extremely rich city because of all the racing and it's so exhausting. All the horse people I know love the track and see nothing wrong with this and I feel insane. I personally knew ex race horses who had severe injuries and mental trauma from what happened. Though, I'll be fair, I do also know a few who wound up okay, though it was usually because they weren't raced for very long.

To me it's very close to if fucking dogfighting was some popular online Aesthetic(tm) thing and no one saw anything wrong with it. Both are horrible disgusting animal abuse practices and yet one of them is considered sexy and cool. It's very weird.

Thank you for this ask anon, I always feel like a weirdo animal rights freak when I mention this particular issue (I am an animal WELFARE advocate, NOT an animal rights activist) bc it's really inconvenient for a lot of people. I'm really glad and relieved to learn I'm not utterly alone on tumblr feeling like this 😵‍💫

[quirofiliac]

anonymous asked: What would you consider to be one of the most challenging aspects when it comes to writing your muse?

anonymous ​／ unprompted ／ always accepting.

hewwo anon!! i’m trying to remember what i said previously because i think i’ve talked about this before via an ooc post or something of the like! it’d be kind of sort of a bummer of me (and for u, mwah.) if i just repeated the same thing :~)

i also apologize because i might get a little wordy andor unfairly critical of Certain Things i noticed. we’ll just say it’s because i’m old and bitter ADKFKMGKMF

if i can recall correctly....... i can’t seem to remember, ironically, talking about The Hand Thing™️ which is, in another world, honestly quite impressive LMAO but tbh, it’s under that whole pretense of, like, writing a serial killer with his own, individual modus operandi and the like. i struggle, sometimes, with the outside perception people have in regards to him-- they understand and recognize that he kills, at least partially, for sake of claiming a person’s (usually a woman’s because, yeehaw weird complexes about women let’s gooOOOO!!!) hands but, also, completely sideline the potential that he’s, subconsciously maybe, using the hands as an excuse to kill?

i guess what i’m trying to say is that, yeah kira’s a murderer that also likes hands but he’s also... not... just that? yeah, basically that.

because it’s this whole thing, again, of boiling a character down to their bare essentials and yet, somehow, still managing to even miss that? somehow?? it’s weird because, obviously, kira’s not the only character this happens to. genuinely, it happens to just about every single fictional character you see under the sun, which is... y’know. annoying. FKGKMFGKFJGN because it, honestly, makes whoever is writing that character out of a genuine love (no matter how you define “love” as.) andor intrigue for that particular muse’s experience all the more harrowing and unenjoyable.

for me, i’ve noticed that whenever this sort of thing happens, a lot of the times the person it’s happening to feels like... almost caged in? like they have no choice but to lean into this exaggerated idea about their muse in order to actually receive any sort of feedback. and then it goes into this whole other thing of, “well, i feel like i’ve lost sight of why i actually wanted to write this character and--” blahblahblah. it’s just kind of uncomfortable to see someone get bombarded by That One Thing™️ their character is known for when, by perchance, they want to explore other aspects too-- at least, in my experience, anyway.

i don’t mind writing out kira’s cheirophilia, genuinely! it’s part of why i write the guy (because i love writing genuine freaks and weirdos and creeps and all of that smooth jazz.) but it’s also not the only reason i wanna write him. i love character types like kira because they’re always so fascinating, in my opinion, because it’s this mixture of black comedy (his attempts at living a normal life even though, dude, you’re a serial killer.) and sheer, utter horror (he worms himself into society almost perfectly and can claim victims so easily, so effortlessly.) that really gets me good. if i were to be frank, that is sincerely one of my favorite aesthetics, so i’d like to be able to explore that admiration through writing and the like!

there’d be no point, imho, for me to write him if all i wanted to do was write him lusting over people’s hands nonstop with zero substance otherwise. the idea of that lowkey bores me and, in a way, also burns me out. it also doesn’t help that a handful of people have tried using his cheirophilia as a means of forceshipping with me like, uhhh..... hello? hi, yes, i’m the writer aka a person with sentience and boundaries and feelings that totally doesn’t feel weirded out that you’re only using my muse for land development a ship. like, damn dude, at least take me out to dinner first or something like,, gosh LMAODKMGMKFKM

so, maybe, this also applies itself in the sense that i want to be able to incorporate his cheirophilia while also not just making that his sole character trait? i want to explore his anxiety, his upbringing, his opinions (no matter how invalid some of them are. </3), his dynamics with others, and... well, his overall duality in regards to society as a whole. i like the idea of a guy that seems to be a downright snooze fest (and maybe, also, a goddamned nightmare because of it.) to interact with that, as you dig deeper and deeper, it’s gradually revealed that, oh boy, uh... haha!

he has this weird fascination with hands, and it’s mostly women’s hands, too. a little weird but, hey. don’t knock it til you try it or whatever. as long as it doesn’t hurt anyone then it’s okay-- oh, wait, it actually does hurt people? oh, and you’re also saying that he hurts people because of it? oh. ... oh, wow. huh! well, that’s some rather unfortunate information!

and then you just keep going and going, falling down this rabbit hole of “oh my good god, he’s a freak and not in the good way” which is just so... ngl, to me it’s genuinely fucking hilarious yet, also, incredibly unsettling. it’s that whole “hiding in plain sight” trope that, honestly, can be so cliché yet... when done well? mwah. chef’s fuckin’ kiss right there.

that kind of stuff is fun for me to write. i love writing and i love role-playing-- it’s just an awesome way, hand to god, to bond with people who share the same passion. i love being able to explore those sorts of things (and more.) with people that are also curious about the exploration. i adore the journey and i loooove seeing what other people can come up with. it doesn’t help that i’m naturally a nosy person but, man, y’all can come up with such good shit. deadass. i adore it AKKMFFMKKMDKMD bc ugh 😩 ur minds...................

but, it’s also just kind of like... ough when i’m interacting with someone and i happen to bring up that character’s Very Specific Quirk and im just kinda grimacing to myself because i do not want it to be taken at such face value. keep in mind, this has heavy determinant in vibes and, obviously, intent from the other side and i’ve come to terms with the fact that i’ll just drop those threads like a hot potato if i’m noticing anything that seems generally... y’know, off andor uncomfortable. also i’m genuinely begging people to stop trying to have kira thirst over hands that belong to minors. it’s weird. i hate it. don’t do that. thank yew.

so uhhhhhh, i’m gonna have to say that, yeah, it’s more-so trying to establish that i’m not trying to erase One Of The Core Characteristics of kira but, also, i don’t want that to be all that he’s known for! and, at that point, all i can kinda hope for is that i’m not doing that. because i’d lowkey hate to live enough to become the villain (derogatory.) and so on, so forth... blahblahblah another nolanverse quote here because i love aging myself and making everyone around me realize that i’m nearing my 30s at light fuckin speed LMFAO

BUT-- thank u for the question!! i appreciate these sorts of questions (and asks in general!) because they always get Ye Olde Creative Juices flowin’ <3 i hope u find a... HMMMM... handful of fifty dollar bills on the ground on ur next walk around the neighborhood!! thank u again mwah 💖💖💖

[gospelrot]

the majority of my original muses here are most likely from/live in a fictional town called saintly. it's based in an alternate southeastern appalachia, and generally i use the setting of the base of the smokies around where i live for the town info. some photos i use are of real places in my area, but otherwise everything is completely fictional. i realized i kind of like the vibe of some connected but not really connected original characters who have a similar yeehaw vibe to them...and here we are.

also i have an aesthetic-y sideblog too sup.

[bringerofplagues]

A Ranking of All Mainline Pokemon Regions, From Least Favourite to Most Favourite

The title basically says it all, i am going to make a ranking of the pokemon regions from every mainline pokemon game, from least favorite to most favorite, along with a short description of why i feel that way towards a specific region. Short disclaimer this is all personal opinion, i might not like your favorite region and that is ok, also i fully believe in the theory that most peoples favorite region is the one they first played as a child, so there will be a lot personal bias in this post.

Kanto - this is the only region i have never been able to play through fully, unless you count going to Kanto in the Johto games, but that doesn’t feel like it counts to me. It’s not that i haven’t tried playing the kanto games all the way through but they are just so boring that i can never bother with getting past Koga. Kanto also just have the most boring pokemon designs in the entire series imo, a problem that only gets worse given that they were made before pokemon figured out their unified design principles which means a lot of those designs just feel super generic and without any interesting stylisation, ultimately resulting in them not even feeling like pokemon and only being recognized as such because they have been plastered all over the franchise for so long (a phenomenon i have dubbed the Charizard problem). Also team rocket are just not interesting, they have no real motivation or any real characterization at all.

Hoenn - Hoenn is pretty good, but i just don’t care too much about it. There were some good designs and i do really like the island theme and all the surfing, at least on paper. I think the problem is that i just grew up a bit too late, i do remember the Hoenn anime being on tv as a kid, and while i liked it a lot i never grew really attached to it. I really like team aqua and team magma, especially their oras redesigns, and i like the idea of two opposing teams, one in each version of the game. However like i said i like how much water Hoenn has on paper, but i think some of the surf encounters got too repetitive after a while, if they had added a few more it would have made the games a lot more fun. Still by no means a bit region but just not one i feel very attached to.

Galar - So the next four regions are all incredibly close and their ranking might change at any given day. That being said i really wanted to rank Galar higher, it’s such an underrated region but i just can’t. Part of the problem is definitely age, it’s just too new to be nostalgic but not new enough to be exciting, i also didn’t get the dlc’s which seemed to add a lot of charm to the region. I will also say that i belive that gen 6 and onward have the best overall designs in the series and galar is no exception. That is other than the starters, none of them have ever really spoken to me, Cinderace is probably my fave atm. The story was also a bit of a mess. All of the rivals were great and very well written, but chairman Rose sucked. He was willing to endanger an entire city full of people just because Leon wanted to wait one more day to fix a problem that was a thousand or so years away. And then there is team yell, i am a big fan of punk and punk aesthetics but they just didn’t do it for me, all in all they feel like a worse team skull. Still a great and underrated gem of a game. Also the nationaldex was completely unsustainable and it would have to be removed sooner or later, anyone who was mad at that is weird.

Unova - My relationship with Unova is lot like my relationship with Hoenn. I think Unova is at all technical levels a great region, but i just never grew attached to it. It definitely had some good designs (Klingklang and vinalluxe got way to much hate) and some bad ones. People like to talk about how nice it was to see the gym leaders partake in the story, but i don’t feel like any of them where that iconic other than Clay, and i only remember him as a yeehaw cowboy and oil/mining tycoon. The seasons mechanic was cool and i would have loved to see them do more with it. I also didn’t play B2W2 since that was during my “pokemon is for kids” phase so i fully understand that i have missed out on part of the story. Speaking of story but Unova has the worst villain since Giovanni. Now before you get your torches and pitchforks let me just say: i don’t think N is a villain. I could write an entire essay about this opinion but long story short i see N a as good person with a unique ability that led him to have extreme empathy towards pokemon, and i see him as a victim of his abusive and manipulative adopted father who used him for his own greedy goals. I honestly feel like N is one of the best written characters in the entire series. The problem is that with all the attention N got, the actual villain of the game got no real depth. Ghetsis is just like Giovanni, he is evil but has no reason why, he’s just a greedy asshole with no deeper motivation, every other villain than those two have at least something resembling an ideology.

Kalos - I love kalos, kalos was the region that got me back into pokemon, all though i only missed B2W2. Like i said the gen 6 and onward design philosophy is great and there are so many great mons in kalos. The gym leaders also had a lot of personality and mega evolution is the best battle gimmick gamefreak have come up with. The problem is the rivals and the evil teams.The best way i can describe the rivals is that if you squished them all together you would have one full rival, but as is they all just feel empty. Essentially they all have one character trait that completely dominates their character. And then there is team flare, Lysander is obviously evil and doesn’t work as a twist villain, and the grunts and admins look really dumb, especially given their focus on beauty. Kalos will always have a special spot in my heart, but it just has a few too many faults to go any further on the list.

Johto - now here we have the first region bias. I cant actually remember if my first game was soulsilver or platinum, but i don't care i love them both so much. Part of he reason i love modern pokemon design so much is because i love cute designs with rounded edges, which johto has a lot of. And then there are the towns, this is the first region on this list where i really want to talk about them. Other regions had good towns, but none of them so far have come close to the towns of johto. Ecruteak city is so goated. And then there is the new team rocket, who actually have motivation, sure it’s not a lot but it’s way better than what they got back in kanto. And then there is the characters. Silver might just be my favourite rival, and while the gym leaders don’t have the most depth some of them are insanely iconic (cough cough Whitneys miltank), and hell lance even gets some more characterization. All in all just a great region only really being held back by a bad leveling curve.

Alola - Alola is such a good region, and probably has the best story in the entire series. The fact that Lusamine lost her husband to ultra space and then got obsessed with ultra beasts trying to get him back. The fact that you get to se Lillie grow as a character throughout the game. The twist that Gladeon is her brother. And then that scene where Lusamine is finally free from the Nihelego poison and calls Lillie beautiful. It all just works so great. My only problem is that i don’t like Lusamines character in USUM. Instead of her having gone mad she is now trying to save the world but fails and accidentally sets Necrozma free, and i think that hidden scene at the end where she sees Mohn, realizes that’s her husband and lets him go because he seems happy would have worked better in SM since it would have been a more satisfying end to that Lusamines character ark. And then there is team skull, the better team yell, not to mention how sympathetic Guzma is. He was just a kid who couldn’t live up to all the pressure he was under and now he rejects the whole system that put him under that pressure. Sadly z moves were a somewhat boring gimmick leaving the game in the number 3 spot

Paldea - so this might be recency bias, but this region is perfect. Because it is new i won’t spoil anything but the characters are amazing, the pokemon designs are better than ever, and the electric gym leader is my favorite character since looker.

sinnoh - Ah sinnoh, my favorite region. Like i said i can’t remember if Platinum was my first game but god did i fall in love with that game. The designs were great, the gym leaders had so much character, you even got to help Volkner with his depression. And then we have team galactic, Cyrus is such a great boss. In platinum it is hinted that he was emotionally abused as a kid and that is why he despises emotions so much. And then there is the music, gods it is so good, i love that relaxing jazz vibe it has. And of course the towns, i still have their iconic designs burned into my memory and i will keep them their till the day i die.

[darksber]

wish we had one scene of Whiskey on a horse🌝

[phantasmal-halfmask]

31 day dragon share challenge

10. Most clothed dragons

who said i can’t reshare dragons. anyways kassandra is (planned to be) using 13 slots. and auxesia is eating up 14 slots. money hoarders >:(.

[bnhaven]

Dad Snipe AU (because I can)

Okay, listen. Just...just give me a second to explain myself, okay? Great, thanks. 

So I love parental All Might stories, and stories where Aizawa becomes a dadzawa for his problem child (which leads to Present Mic also becoming a paternal figure for Izuku, which is a blessed idea), and all of those. But you know what I love even more?

If all of that happens, but Izuku’s dad is actually Snipe. Yes, Snipe. 

Let me explain the story in my head, because it’s a doozy.

-So, to start, let me explain how I got the idea. It’s simple, really- canon hasn’t given me a reason not to get the idea. I mean, we’ve yet to find out Snipe’s real name, so it’s fair game to call him Hisashi Midoriya until Horikoshi himself rips this idea out of my cold, hopefully not dead hands. 

-We also never see his face, and the dreadlocks could either 1. Be a wig or 2. Just be his hair, but the blue-ish shade is what caused the darker coloration for Izuku’s hair. Who knows anymore, the world these heroes live in is a really weird one.

-Now, Snipe may not breathe fire, but shhh. Maybe Inko was lying to the doctor or something, because if she said, “My husband can control the trajectory of any and all of the bullets he shoots”, well, that could’ve given away the identity of her husband! Maybe the Midoriya family doesn’t want to broadcast who Hisashi is.

-Also, having a father with such a Quirk could explain why Izuku is Quirkless (or, in this case, potentially ‘Quirkless’). It’s not like Inko would just let little Izuku play with a gun to see if he could shoot as well as his dad, or anything! So boom, the little joint test is enough, brush it aside, Dad!Snipe explanation over.

Got it? Great! Now, onto the bullshit story idea I came up with, or as I like to call it:

How Snipe Accidentally Ghosted his Family for a Decade, because He is Too Goddamn Dumb Sometimes.

Buckle up folks, and hold your horses a little tighter, because we’re going for a ride.

-So Snipe goes to Texas when Izuku is just a small boy, just barely a toddler. He’s really serious about his whole cowboy aesthetic, and pulls an All Might by working abroad for what he plans to be a few years, but might become five or six if he finds a good agency to work with in the meanwhile.

-Lo and behold, he does!! Nice, nice, Snipe relays the message to his dear wife Inko, lets her know that he’ll be gone for a while- but it’s okay, he plans to call her every chance he gets, make sure she’s doing well with their little boy, and life will be good.

-Things, uh...don’t go as planned.

-Snipe blames it all on a snake. A goddamn snake that decided to hide in his goddamn boot. There was a snake in his boot, what was he expected to do?

Probably not throwing his phone at the thing, breaking it, but uh...Snipe panicked. A lot.

-No problem, right? He’s a Pro Hero, he makes plenty of money, he can just get a new phone, plug in his old number, and all of that stuff. Easy as can be.

-Haha...no. 

-Because Snipe is a fool. A fool who can’t remember any of his passwords for his phone, or the answers to any backup questions. 

-He’s a great hero, he’s excellent at marksmanship...but the man just can’t remember these things to save his life.

-He can’t even remember his wife’s phone number to call her about it (and beg for the passwords because he just can not manage to recall them)

-Snipe is just glad that Inko is the one who set up his bank accounts so he’d automatically send money to their shared account, or else he’d feel awful.

-Figuring that the best thing to do in this situation is to just keep on truckin’ along, Snipe continues working at the Texas agency until it’s time for him to head back home.

But the fun doesn’t stop here, because…

-By the time Snipe yeehaws his way back to Japan, that man realizes that he can’t even recall what his address was. 

-He ends up working at Yuuei, because he was aimlessly wandering around, trying to find Musutafu.

-By the time Nedzu finds him, he’s so embarrassed that he just...can’t bring himself to admit that he forgot literally everything he needed to get back to his house.

-The conversation for the job starts a little like this…

Nedzu: Why were you wandering around Yuuei for over forty minutes?

Snipe, unwilling to admit that he couldn’t remember if he had to go east or west to reach his house: I saw a little doggie. Very cute.

Nedzu: That was probably me, but I digress.

(For the record, Snipe had to go south to start his route home…)

-Some good news: After working at Yuuei for a few years, he finally sees his boy again!!

-Some bad news: it's the USJ attack

-Snipe bursts into the USJ, sees that green haired silhouette and just knows it is his boy, even if it’s been somewhere around a decade since he saw his little sprout and his boy is now stronger and taller.

Snipe, seeing Shigaraki about to hit his child: Villain, you just yeed your last haw 

Snipe: shoots Shigaraki in the hand.

-After USJ, we have more fun, with some lovely dialogue I came up with like:

Snipe, sitting with Aizawa: So, hypothetically of course, if I was to say something like, I don’t know… ‘You’re in charge of my long lost child, who I couldn’t get in contact with ‘cause I couldn’t remember mah wife’s phone number’...how would you recommend starting the conversation with him?

Aizawa, mummified, tired, and already realizing that this child is the problem childTM: I need a drink.

Snipe, a fool: Are...are ya sure I should start off with that?

-Despite this totally hypothetical conversation, it isn’t until finals that Snipe brings it up. 

-Nedzu pits Snipe against Izuku and Todoroki, and it’s beautiful.

-Snipe pulls an ‘I am your father’ moment like in Star Wars, both Izuku and Todoroki promptly flip their shit.

Snipe: Izuku, I am your father.

Izuku: I thought you were dead!

Todoroki: I thought you were All Might’s child!

-Needless to say, the fight ends quickly, because Izuku goes a little feral. 

Izuku, pinning Snipe to the ground: What excuse do you have for ghosting mom for years, huh?

Snipe, sobbing: I forgot my phone number!

-Izuku drags Snipe back to the house once finals are over. 

-Inko...isn’t even surprised when she hears what happened.

-She just sighs and goes, “Do I need to tattoo my number onto you, Hisashi?”

-Snipe wonders if it’s worth the potential security risk, he doesn’t want her getting tracked down and hurt after all.

-There’s a long conversation about microchipping Snipe, so if he disappears again, Izuku can just hunt him down and drag him back home again.

-And voila! Snipe is reunited with his family, the dad fluff can commence.

Snipe: I’mma give him a gun.

Inko, tired: At least he’ll be hurting others instead of himself for once.

-1-A is horrified.

Their precious green bean, wielding a gun?!?!?!?

-It’s made worse when he’s a natural at it, just going feral and having fun with his dad.

-Finally, because I promised more parental figures along with actual, biological Snipe, please consider:

-All Might getting upset because Snipe is stealing ‘his boy’.

Aizawa, trying to be reasonable: All Might, Midoriya is literally Snipe’s child.

All Might, petulantly: But...but he’s my boy.

-For extra humor, make Aizawa also feel like the problem child is his problem child for extra parental jealousy.

-Need more chaos??? Yamada thought he and Aizawa were adopting Izuku for some reason.

Don’t ask how Yamada came to this conclusion, but he is heartbroken when he finds out his almost completed adoption forms were for nothing.

Yamada, sadly: I thought Inko was his older sister...and he didn’t even have a dad!

-Just...Izuku having a dumbass dad and the other potential dads being put off by the realization that Snipe, Snipe, gets actual Dad Rights but somehow lost contact for like...10 entire years.

-Okay rant over, bye.

[nukenai]

I'm so sorry to come back to you yelling about this as its a very unhappy topic but I have no one else that I know of who shares my opinion

ORVILLE PECK MY BELOVED, RODEO ISNT SEXY COME ON MAN, the duality of both knowing that rodeos were an incredibly gay and non-white space in a very cishet and white time (and the current queerness around them) AND that the horses were getting damn near tortured in those spaces. 😭😭😭

I completely relate bc I don't know anyone else who really talks about this topic. Please continue to vent to me about it if you need to! I don't mind at all!

I think it's a worthwhile discussion about the Cowboy aesthetic stuff in LGBTQ culture but I can just... sort of never get over how the commodification and severe abuse of animals is just ignored.

It's really frustrating for me in particular bc the barn I board my horses at is known as a barrel racing barn pretty much, and a lot of the people there are utterly gobsmacked when I tell them I don't like rodeos bc of how the animals are treated. And these are people who DON'T abuse their horses (tho some are very Not Great to them at the barn!!! Awesome!!!!)

It's just so ingrained in culture and animals like horses and cows are considered accessories bc they're categorized as livestock first and it's just. Concerning!

And full disclosure here I'm not a vegetarian, I think there is a huge difference between raising animals for food (people need to eat) and borderline torturing them exclusively for entertainment (you will not die if you don't go to a fucking rodeo).

Really my idea of a rodeo is that if I go there it would be entirely trump supporters who would call me slurs if they knew anything about me. """""Luckily""""""" I can like """""pass"""""" as """"acceptable""""" in most YEEHAW horse spaces bc I don't think I give off The Gay Vibes(tm) that much. Just a weirdo bc I wear shirts with robots on them and shit lol.

Like mannnn I just want to be able to talk about the severe abuse endured by horses in the US in industries like rodeos and racing without being written off as a "crazy PETA person" or some shit. Like just admit it's too inconvenient for you to evaluate shit you do solely for entertainment. There's a reason DOGFIGHTING isn't an #Aesthetic and horse abuse shouldn't be either.

And I will make a note here I had to Google who Orville Peck is please excuse me I'm very old and completely out of the loop on everything.

[generallypo]

move over maschenny, we’ve got a hotter and cooler Khun princess in the tower now.

introducing Khun Aguero Jahad, the one and only princess that Jahad actually, sincerely hopes never wins the competition.

excessive rambling under the cut + a short fic under that. all my warnings are dead and void as of now. cheers!

-- -- -- -- -- --

i sat on my salt for a couple of days -- and then finally, finally decided to do something about it. my previous TOG post kinda went ham on that. yeehaw.

i imagine jahadprincess!khun is a little more snakey than the original (is that possible?). having climbed the tower at a blistering pace following her selection, she’s also a more competent fighter, though it additionally means she needs to use her brain less. though she plays more by her family’s and Jahad’s rules, she’s not particularly ruled by her bloodlust in the way Maschenny is, or utter complacency like Repellista. her outfit is shamelessly ripped off of Yuri’s and the casual officewear aesthetic khun sports in s1.

anyways, i did The Big Write. it has been 3 years since i have attempted such a thing. the process was complicated and stressful, i drank milk tea to compensate. i wanted to depict the moment of a big decision in which a characteristically selfish person does something shockingly altruistic, as well as the bystander who questions her motives. it’s not quite khunbam, more like an intense, one-sided dedication and some sorely needed soul searching. 

played fast and loose with characterization, timelines, general TOG canon while banging out this beast. like every middle child, i’m not super proud of it, but it gets the job done. i had a great time with it! really!

-- -- -- -- -- -- 

Unsurprisingly, it’s Yuri who finds her first. 

Her heels, lustrous and scarlet, click faintly on the rooftop tiles, and their mild echo belies nothing of the thunder on her face, or the sibilant presence of the Black March at her side. Aguero turns to meet her, inclines her head in response. 

“Why, princess Yuri. It’s a pleasure, as always.”

“Cut the crap, Aguero,” she snaps. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”

Aguero raises her hands. From one of them, Manbarondenna dangles innocently, unclasped buckles gleaming under fake starlight. 

“Waiting for my ride. I’m not expecting a plus one, though.” She smiles pleasantly, eyes narrowed. “Run along now. This is a single-passenger trip.”

Yuri growls. “Seriously?” She steps forward with intent, and Aguero momentarily tenses, fingers flying to her bag — but just barely, Yuri’s features soften, and she stops. Dramatically, she cocks her head, ponytail bobbing with vigor.

“You,” she points emphatically. “You’re actually going to do this. You’re not worried about the consequences.”

She states it like an accusation, but the palest shade of concern colors her voice. Are you sure of what you’re doing? Leaving this place -- leaving all of us? A complicated expression crosses her features, and she scowls. 

“This won’t just affect you, Aguero.” Firmly, her hand rests on the Black March’s handle. Do you want me to stop you?

“… I’m aware.” A pause, and oh, ugh, Aguero’s doing it again — that nasty, calculating look on her face, the one that reminds onlookers, in no uncertain terms, exactly how the princess had come by her position. Yuri balks uncharacteristically, and steps away. 

It’s not like she doesn’t think she can take Aguero in a fight… but it’s not what she had come here for in the first place. After knowing each other this long, the least she can do is offer her support, not another enemy. Aguero has no problems with making — and gleefully crushing — the latter.

She looks at the woman before her. Khun Aguero Jahad, formerly surnamed Agnis. Not so long ago, a nameless little nobody — somebody’s second, second-choice, second-rate daughter, born in a family with too many offspring to invest attention into a daughter lacking outstanding martial prowess or an especially fetching face. A forgotten girl, wholly incongruent to the imposing figure Yuri knows her as now. 

The air around them vibrates with tension, laced with an inexorable chill -- it’s not a trick of the light, Yuri notices, that her breath seems a little more visible than normal, that the sweat on her forehead feels almost solid to her skin. Aguero is watching her, face bright and predatory, and it’s a stark reminder that even beautiful things can be cold and unforgiving.

The crown jewel of the Khun family sneers, and Yuri braces herself for impact.

— — — 

Khun Aguero Agnis had almost always been a slippery, unremarkable thing, with willow branches for arms and a sullen, snarky mien. On her placid, faintly superior face sat two intelligent, gem-blue eyes — pretty enough, but also afflicted with an attitude chilly enough to wither even the most persistent suitor’s desire. To her family, and an equally hostile Tower, she was both undesirable and unsupported — and consequently, insignificant. 

Yuri had met her before, once. It had been an event much, much longer ago, during a nameless, perfectly ordinary mission to deliver some sealed goods. A loaded favor of sorts, from one family to another. Bright and on the cusp of princesshood, hair still bound in youthful twin tails, she had been greeted at the door of one of the numerous Khun establishments by a slim joke of a girl. 

Thanks for your work, the girl had said, eyes blue and sleepless and unreadable. I’ve been expecting you. With mechanical efficiency, the girl received, inspected, and stowed the package away, vanishing from the gate within seconds. 

Baffled, Yuri withdrew, scratching her head. She’d been given a verification stamp to use at the end, but the package had made it to the correct address regardless. 

I’ve been expecting you, the Khun girl had said. That counted as a mission complete, didn’t it?

If not for the silvery-blue shock of her hair, no one would have guessed the girl a child of one of the great ten families. Favored Khuns, after all, were generally not disposed towards handling petty messenger duties. The observation had barely registered for Yuri, and not much later a more exciting adventure came along to wipe the encounter from her mind. Favored or not, there were more interesting, deadly things in the Tower to focus on.

A couple hundred years ago, though… things had changed, and drastically so. Yuri doesn’t know or exactly care for the inner politics or delicate power balances among the characters of Jahad’s court, but the truth of the matter is this: 

Khun Aguero Jahad might have only been recently crowned — but she has always been a threat. 

Since the dawn of the ten families, the Khun staples of education had remained true to three essential subjects: warfare, politics, and assassination. The children learn young, or not at all. A daughter true to her heritage, Khun Aguero Agnis had bared her fangs only at the most opportune moment, sinking them firmly in the throats of her blood sister, a rival from a nearby branch family, and a number of prominent, up-and-coming girls vying for the princess candidacy. 

It had been, without a doubt — a flawless victory, the perfect display of brains and cruel strength. And of course, with those eyes, a blue as deep and pitiless as the sea: beauty, and the arrogance to wield it.

It had taken the entire upper floors by complete surprise, propelled Aguero’s name to the top of the gossip columns, and whispered unrest among the current princesses in a way that hadn’t been felt in at least half a millennium. All it had taken was a hundred years’ worth of waiting, a lighthouse, a well-placed knife, and some dead girls.

As expected, a mere three months after her candidacy was announced, Khun Aguero Agnis became Khun Aguero Jahad, and not a single voice spoke out to disagree.

— — — 

“Are you going to stop me?” Aguero’s voice is low and cool. Like magic, a small blade glimmers in her hand, and while Yuri can’t predict what kinds of weapons her sister carries on her person, she knows better than to think this is her only, or most lethal one.

“... No,” she admits ruefully. “I don’t think I’d be able to, anyway.” Deftly, she stows the Black March in her inventory, and spins around to sit cross-legged by the princess’s side. It’s always a gamble, relying on Aguero’s temper, but it’s more likely than not that the other girl isn’t actually looking for a fight. She can’t afford the attention a real one would draw, or the physical exhaustion it would inflict.

Aguero lets her, and she grins with satisfaction. “I’ll wait with you until your ride is here!” The and buy you time, if necessary, goes unsaid. Yuri yawns, and then stretches, eyes crinkling with cheeky fondness. It won’t take long for her to get bored. What better way to kill time than with invasive questioning?

“Is he really worth it, Aguero? That boy?” Yuri pouts, eyebrows raised. “This better not just be because he’s cute.” Her words have the subtlety of a berserk Shinheuh, but she’s genuinely curious, and Aguero will understand.

A quiet huff of laughter has her squinting in surprise. Dawn hasn’t quite made it to their corner of the rooftop, but she can make out the faint, yet unmistakable curve of a real smile. 

Huh, thinks Yuri, wide-eyed. It’s not a bad look on her. It’s not that Aguero has never smiled, per se, but the intrinsic softness of it all is a wholly foreign creature to her, and she likes to think Aguero does consider her a friend. Or at least as close to one as a Khun is allowed to call a person.

“Oh, he’s cute all right. Like… a puppy, I guess. Big, gold eyes, really nice voice, listens to everything I say.” Aguero snorts, fiddles with her hair. “… For the most part, at least. There was a girl that he came here chasing after — ” and here she pauses briefly, expression hard like ice chips — “but she’s, ah, not a problem anymore.” 

Yuri blinks. By her feet, frost gleams in elegant, spiraling patterns. For a moment, curiosity steals across her thoughts— what kind of girl could that have been, to catch the eye of Aguero’s sweetheart? To make even the pride of the Khuns lose her famously unshakable cool? And what the hell had even happened? But instinct cautions her otherwise, and it’s yet to lead her astray. 

Yuri shakes her head. Best not to pry into those matters. 

“Okay, then. And what are you going to do after you go?” she presses. “You know you can’t come back.”

At first, there’s no response. The seconds slide uneasily by, thick like a finger swirled through honey. The other girl’s face is thoughtful as she slowly replies: “I’m gonna help him climb the Tower.” 

Aguero shifts slightly, and meets Yuri’s gaze. “To be fair, I wasn’t sure about that either at first. He… he’s really weak, you know.”

Yuri cackles, just to fill the silence. “That bad?”

“That bad.” Aguero exhales. “But he’s a monster, too. He has these… moments, when he gets a certain look in his eyes, and it’s almost terrifying. It’s funny, because he’s the gentlest thing I’ve ever met. But he’s going to be amazing in the future. I know it.” 

“... Like Jahad? Or better?” Is it the boy’s power you’re after? His life? It’s not like Yuri can’t understand. But in the Tower, the asking price of violence and overwhelming force comes laughably cheap, and for something as easy as that Aguero would never be so reckless. The conditions of their status are admittedly stifling, but few things are truly unreachable for a Jahad princess.

Or is it something else?

“They’re nothing alike,” Aguero says flatly. “And I don’t want him to be.”

Frustratedly, she runs a hand through her hair, gesturing vaguely. “It’s hard to explain, but he…he’s good, Yuri. He’s good. All those years stuck in a cave, all the trials the Tower ran him through, all that death and backstabbing and grieving that they make the Regulars practically eat and breathe  —  he fought through it purely by his own merit, and still, nothing's broken him of it. I can’t understand it myself.” 

Aguero murmurs to no one in particular, looking bewildered herself. “… It’s dazzling, honestly.” It only lasts a heartbeat, but there’s a heat to her entire bearing, an unexpected intensity, and it looks a lot like hope.

“He’s going to flip this Tower on its goddamned head, just you wait. He’ll need someone to watch his back when he does.” She smiles again, sharp and secretive — and it leaves Yuri reeling from the whiplash, this girl — who suddenly looks more like sunlight on new snow, like devotion underneath domed ceilings and glass sculptures praising unshakable belief, than the glacial stoicism of her bloodline. “The Regulars are supposed to form teams, right? I intend to be his light-bearer.”

“A-aha…I see it now. You’re crazy,” offers Yuri, more weakly than she would prefer. She thinks she can see the bigger picture now. She isn’t sure whether she likes it or not.

… So it’s his love you’re after. Do you think it’ll make you happy?

“I’ve got it all planned out, of course. I had a quick chat with Headon about starting fresh as well, so the Ranker rules shouldn’t apply to me.” It shouldn’t be possible to make throwing away your life so easy, so fulfilling, but Khun Aguero does it somehow, conviction radiating firmly from her entirety. She laughs, bright and determined. “We’re gonna give the floors so much hell, Yuri.”

“As for being a princess,” she continues, “I have a couple of ideas as to making sure no one looks too closely. That’s a secret, though.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Yeah.” Aguero shoots her a mild look, and it’s the end of that discussion. She flicks her fingers with impatience. But one last question still burns a hole in Yuri’s chest, the one that hadn’t actually been answered, and she can’t let the other girl leave without a proper response. If she does, there won’t be a second chance.

The first hints of day yawn loomingly across the horizon. Shades of carnation and marigold, thin and pale, send tendrils of light across the sky. In just a few more minutes, the stars will disappear, eclipsed by their vibrance. And Aguero will be gone, gone, another name to be struck from the records. 

After all their years of friendship, this is where the line gets drawn. It’s a little lonely, if she thinks about it. Yuri steels herself. A younger, less jaded girl might have asked Aguero to reconsider. But regardless of whatever answer she would have been given, it’s not the one she needs to know right now.

No regrets now, Aguero.

Princess Yuri Jahad looks the defector in the eye, feeling fully well the pride and colossal pressure of her status. Bending the rules has never, ever seemed so daunting before. Maybe the weight thudding cold in her chest is her grief. Maybe, she thinks sheepishly, it’s her jealousy. She wouldn’t be surprised if it were all of the above, and more than just her own fair share of the bitterness. 

Believe it or not, she has been a princess for a very, very long time. The other girls would want to know the same.

It’s with hushed longing that she opens her mouth again, one last piece of idle gossip. With resentment, for countless eras spent in solitude and misplaced spite; loneliness, for every generation of lost, loveless young women. Every missed opportunity, every broken dream, every petty, contrived falling-out. She’s old enough to remember most of the worst. Aguero is escaping their shiny little showcase of a birdcage, at the price of losing everything else.

Please, she thinks desperately. Let her be right, this time. This is one of their sisters, after all. They must not have another Anaak Jahad.

“...Aguero. He’s worth it?” she repeats. 

Khun Aguero Agnis steeples her fingers against her chin, staring forward. The sun rises ahead of them, unrelenting and pure, and the light catches on her face and draws it all out in ferocious streaks of gold.

“Yes,” she answers. “He is.”

[just-an-adventurer]

Hi, my lovely graverobbing friend!

15, 18, 20, 21, 28 for the video game ask thing, please? <3

Howdy, my wonderful trenchoat friend! ^^

15. Which two games do you think would make an awesome crossover?

Hm, I feel like anything combined with Bloodborne would make for an awesome mix.

BUT, I think the most entertaining crossover would be Red Dead Redemption and Skyrim because I really want to see a bunch of yeehaw outlaws adapting to making heists in a place with dragons and trolls.

18. A game you wish your friends knew about?

I'm gonna be predictable here and say Bloodborne. It would be so fun! Shooting off wild theories about how stuff in Yharnam came to be, and of course shooting quotes back and forth. And let's be real, the greatest draw here is that when they knock on my door I can be all like "Lousy offcomer! Who'd open the door on the night of a hunt?"

20. What was the first video game you ever played?

I don't quite remember. I think it was Halo???

21. How old were you when you first played a video game?

Probably somewhere between 5 and 10 years old, haha.

22. If you could immerse yourself in a game for one day, which game would it be? What would you do?

This one is tricky, because I feel like a good number of games may or may not kill me if I entered their worlds XD

I'd say Skyrim, because I'm really curious what casting magical effects would actually feel like, and I'd get a lot of joy from yeeting objects using the power of Yelling Really Loud.

I wouldn't exactly want to be in Dark Souls (dangerous, probably gonna die a few times, and it has to smell bad. I just know it.), but I really do want to hug some of my favorite characters. ^^ Oh and I want to pet Alvina.

Far cry 5 is also gorgeous and (sometimes) peaceful, but, y'know... Cultists.

28. Which character's clothes do you wish you owned the most?

Oooh I LOVE this question! I'd have to say the Good Hunter's usual hunter garb. That's like my favorite aesthetic: cool boots, cool hat, and an awesome long coat. Yeah. Alfred's executioner set would be super comfy in winter, though :)

And I don't want to keep it per se, but it would be fun to try on a Vinheim sorcerer's outfit, complete with the funny hat, or run around with big hat logan's hat. 10/10, would totally enrich my study time.

[nyc-looks]

Khephren, 21

“This look I put together is giving complete yeehaw agenda – western wear from Alcala and jewelry from Akira. I’m a creative and spontaneous person, and I’m composed of a variety of influences. One day I’m giving black cowboy yeehaw energies, and the next I’m giving a slightly jock-y, athletic soccer aesthetic/vibe. The philosophy behind my aesthetics is still early in its formation as I’ve recently graduated college and now have time to explore it more deeply - but one thing I can say is my style is multidimensional, open, and purposeful.”

Aug 24, 2019 ∙ Afropunk