#i was having too much fun dancing to take a bunch of photos

[rustbeltjessie]

Bikini Kill // Riverside Theater, Milwaukee, WI // April 19, 2023

[outofmydepthatapublicbeach]

Could you make one for phoebe??

hiii lovely!!! sorry this took me a few days, school has been very busy!! i hope this is what you wanted !! ❤️

A = Admiration (what do they absolutely adore about you?)

I think Phoebe would adore your smile the most. She would always be trying to get you to laugh or smile just so she could see your face light up.

B = Beauty (what do they find most beautiful about you?)

Phoebe would find your body the most beautiful. She sees your body as a temple, the thing that holds your soul and keeps you safe, she can hold your body and touch your skin, feel your warmth. I think it would be less like “their body is hot,” and more like “their body is what makes them, them, it keeps them alive.” 

C = Call (how often does she call/text?)

I could see Phoebe not texting as much as calling, I feel like she’d rather call you and hear your voice rather than just text. However she definitely sends you memes or just random photos throughout the day.

D = Dates (what does their ideal date with you look like?)

Either something more intimate like taking a walk and talking about deep topics, or going to a party and just dancing and having fun. No inbetween. 

E = Emotions (how do they express emotion around you?)

I could see Phoebe hiding her emotions, or bottling them up and then exploding, like after a long day she comes home and just breaks down. But I feel like she’d try and do it away from you so you didn’t see that side of her. 

F = Family (do they want one? If they do, when?)

I don’t think she’d really want one, especially not for a very very long time. She would probably only want kids if you really wanted them. She’d be fine with just having a bunch of dogs.

G = Gifts (how do they feel about gift giving? What are their habits when it comes to this?)

I think Phoebe would love receiving and giving gifts, I think she’d definitely buy you things that you see in a store that you want. I think it would be kind of random, it would go like this:

You’d come home from work or something and see this set of earrings you said you liked the other day on the dining room table. “Hey babe? What’s this?” 

Phoebe: “Oh those? You said you liked them the other day so I stopped by and grabbed them for you.” 

Anyway she would be very nonchalant about it all.

H = Holding Hands (when/how do they like to hold hands?)

Not as often as you’d think, she prefers an arm wrapped around your waist or a hand on your lower back.

I = Injury (how would they act if you got hurt?)

She’d get really mad, even if it was an accident where you give yourself a papercut or something, she’d get mad at the paper. Oh and if someone hurts you somehow, like a shove while you're walking on the sidewalk, you better grab her and hold her back because she is ready to throw a punch at a moment's notice.

J = Jokes (do they like to joke around with or prank you? how?)

I think Phoebe would joke a lot, maybe play pranks on you, but nothing too serious.

K = Kisses (how do they like to kiss you?)

Phoebe would totally be the type of lover to wake you up with kisses, like lots of little fluttery kisses all over your shoulder, neck, cheeks and face. 

L = Love (how do they show you they love you/love languages?)

For Phoebe her love languages are definitely touch and words, she loves to hold you and shower you with compliments. And she would for sure love to be on the receiving end of that too. I could also see her showing her love through doing things you have, like the dishes, or laundry.

M = Memory (favorite memory together?)

I think her favorite memories of you two would be when it's late at night and you both are in bed trying to fall asleep and just fall into conversation that never ends. Like talking about nonsense, and you're both so tired you’re delirious. 

N = Nightmare (what is their worst fear?)

Her worst fear is of you leaving her, she can be very doubtful of your true love for her and would be scared that one day you’ll realize her flaws and leave her (though that will never happen!!!1).

O = Oddity (what is one quirk they have?)

I could see Phoebe loving to try out intricate, detailed makeup looks on you.

P = Pet Names (what do they like to call you?)

I could see Phoebe coming up with some really weird ones to make you laugh like “schmukums” or like a combination of them that is really long like “my perfect sweet angel baby”. But in all seriousness she would probably use “honey”, “babe” or just a shortened version of your name/or just your name, oh and she’d call you “dude” all the time.

Q = Quality Time (how do they like to spend time with you?)

Y’all would spend your time together by just doing normal daily things, you both don’t need to be doing some crazy thing in order to have fun, just being in each others presence is

R = Rhythm (has she written any songs about you?)

Phoebe’s music is very deep and is very poetic in nature. I think instead of an entire song being about you, I think there would be mentions of you/things that represent you in all her songs. Like maybe a fond memory of a mention of your features.

S = Secrets (how open are they with you?)

Like earlier, I think Phoebe would try to be open with you, but ultimately hide certain things in fear of you leaving. For her to be completely open with you I think y’all would have had to have been together for a pretty long time.

T = Time (how long did it take you to get together?)

I think there was probably some pining done on your part for a while before Phoebe reciprocated feelings, and that might just be because she didn’t know how she felt for you.

U = Upset (how do they act when you’re upset?)

For when you’re mad I think Phoebe kind of stays close to you, she lets you take your anger out on her. But when you’re sad she stays as well, definitely being your shoulder to cry on and would consol you. 

V = Vaunt (what are they proud of? Do they like to show you off?)

Phoebe would definitely show you off at any chance to her friends, but might be a little hesitant to display you to the public, only because she knows how damaging social media can be and she wants to shield you from that negativity.

W = Wild Card (random!!)

Not as much about Phoebe but Maxine loves you and you are her second mom!!!1

X = X-Ray (how well are they able to read you?)

She is good at reading into you when you are upset, she knows your different tells. But she might struggle sometimes to differentiate from when you are mad at her or mad at something else. She would definitely ask “Are you mad at me?” A lot in these scenarios.

Y = Yes (how would they propose to you?)

I’m not 100% sure Phoebe would be into getting married, like she loves you and she wants to be with you for the rest of y’alls lives but do you need to get married? She would see it more as just a piece of paper that doesn’t mean shit, she’d probably value just being together more than a traditional marriage.

Z = Zen (what makes them feel calm?)

She loves to lay in bed with you and just hold your hand, it grounds her and keeps her calm.

[tapedsleeves]

(primer anon) Thank you so much!! <3 <3 I write at a snail's pace so no clue when I'll actually output anything but I loved reading your post 😭 if it's not too much trouble I'd love to hear a little more on keegs and adin since they're on your ships list and I don't know much about them (also maybe nic roy since I just found out he's quebecois?? For some reason I thought marchy was the only frenchy)

Or if you can point me in a direction I can go do my own digging and give your inbox a break 😭 I'd love to know if there's any go-to articles/video series/beat reporter or something, or a good blog/tag to dig through. the official social accounts post so much it's hard to find anything when idk what to search for

I always forget that Nic Roy is quebecois until he talks! There's actually another French guy, who probably will sign somewhere else this summer, William Carrier. Nic Roy is very very quiet. But he's got a cat and put that cat in the cup. Nic is is very chill and low key. Lots of guys on VGK are. Not a lot of them are like. Super flashy guys.

Will Carrier, also french, is SO SO SO square. He helped build his own house and while they were in the montreal series in 20-21, someone peed on his front door. He watched it on the security camera.

He often helps people fix things - he's very handy. But otherwise, he's very chill and low key.

Keegan Kolesar:

Danced with Mat Barzal at Ethan Bear's wedding. butt slaps and handshakes with Jack eichel. keegan is just. A really laid back, funny, sweet guy. His biological is absent, and his step (orr adopted) dad died of COVID complications in september of 2020, so he takes his mom on the dad's trips. It's VERY sweet that he does, and everyone makes her feel really really welcome. Annabelle is our Make A Wish signing and they had quite the fight :)) Here's his POV about it. Actually if there's kids, he's going. He goes to all the charity hockey / ball tournaments and ball hockey events that VGK does in the community. Every one has Keegan in there. did post game press with a chicken ceasar wrap (misattributed to a burrito)

why i ship him wiht Jack: after Keegan's goal against the Jets on 4/22/23, Jack did this, which looked like engagement photos to me

also very important to me: him holding the drunkest karly on stage at the parade. he was SO grabby. it was LOVELY.

I think they kissed on the mouth

Here he is kissing teddy blueger

Keegan kissing Nic Hague.

I'm pretty sure he's an affectionate drunk.

Adin Hill

Adin Hill is just very sweet and loves coffee. He makes his own.

Here he is laughing at Karly saying that his hamstring was "not chillin"

he was very drunk at the parade and referenced talladega nights

they did marchy SO dirty. They sent hilly & nic hague. the two tallest guys.

wore a UNLV basketball jersey to the parade, inspiring love from vegas

also took it off

gets fighty here's another shot

absolutely beautiful ok?

His kicky feets

HE'S SO FUNNY

why i ship him with paul cotter

it has less to do with adin and more to do with Paul himself. He's a goalie appreciator.

adin and tommy are REALLY CUTE tho

despite having the same listed height, adin is taller

their hugs are soo so so so tender. I love goalie.

As far as beat reporters: Gary Lawless is our insider guy, Jesse Granger is our beat reporter for the athletic, and Ashali Vise is one of our on-air broadcasters. All of them are pretty good sources of info. All of them I've referenced for stuff. But really I know most of this just because I like. Have been around. I pay attention. You'll note that some of this is sourced from my own blog, so like. Go nuts there too if you want. If you want older stuff, @himbeaux-on-ice has a bunch of good stuff. @vgkmarc also has some really good stuff, along with @golden-knights-of-the-realm , @at-empty-tables & @sevennone . @reneserseya is really good for Jack Eichel content with some Alec Martinez thrown in for fun & @goldenmisfits is as well. @lovethygoalie knows a lot about Nic Roy iirc.

Also I will say, Dave Goucher & Shane Hnidy are a fun follow, even if they're not exactly reporters - they're super involved and also very cute.

[lily-alphonse]

for the rarepairs:

hear me out, Haley x sandy, they just have so much potential omg.

also another ship that has been on my mind is robin x Haley, I don't even know why.

After getting this ask I edited my masterlist post to specify only one ship at once bc these posts would be way too long otherwise, so Im glad someone else asked for Haley x Sandy so I could answer both of these! Check that one out here for the first part of your question.

Haley x Robin

Making Haley a homewrecker smh lol

I'm wracking my brain rn trying to think of when they would literally ever even cross paths, Haley doesn't even go to the saloon. They have no reason to speak to each other. Haley doesn't hang out with Seb or Maru. She wouldn't need Robin to build anything.

Ok mind is taking me to Robin's friends. The aerobics class. And they gossip outside all the time in the square. Ok ok ok getting somewhere, I think.

Haley has another fight with Emily about not pulling her weight and how she has to grow up and do something with her life. In an effort to prove that she can be mature she joins Caroline, Robin, and Jodi outside to chat thinking its gonna be boring as hell but it's NOT.

It starts out that way. Boring and awkward because the women aren't sure how to be around her at first. Jodi asks Haley if she's doing anything for work and that goes about as well as expected. But Robin asks about her photography and Haley lights up, talking about how she got a new lens that can take macro photos of flowers and insects and she's having a great time with it.

Things are less tense then, and the ladies end up gossiping, and it's actually kind of fun. Robin is the coolest of the bunch, Jodi talks the most but she's so judgemental (which can be fun in small doses but gets old) and Caroline is the quietest and most high-strung. They invite her to aerobics class and she gives a noncommital answer.

But she keeps joining them outside to chat, and it's nice. She doesn't always have much to say but Robin at least always engages her, and she finds herself gravitating towards her. When Caroline brings out teas for all of them, she feels really included and adult.

She joins them for aerobics and its the first time Haley starts to consider she might have a thing for Sebastian's mom. Not only is she fit as hell (those carpentry arms go crazy) but she's silly and fun and gets Haley dancing around without doing any particular moves and just vibing. Haley's got heart eyes for her by the end of it. Watching her leave, she decides to jog up next to her, asking if they can walk together since she could go for a walk in the fresh air to wrap up the workout. Robin obviously accepts and they finally have a moment to talk alone.

When Haley asks her where she learned to dance like that, Robin laughs. She got around in her day. It turns out, a young Robin was quite similar to Haley. And it's easy to believe. She's still gorgeous, and has this sort of effortless cool girl energy that has only gotten mellower with age.

Conversation flows as they talk about their exploits, and the walk ends too quickly. The lake near Robin's house is beautiful, and Haley suggests she might have to come take some pictures up here sometime. It's only a little stretch of the truth...

Haley continues to meet with the women of the town, actually beginning to feel more mature. She's inspired to start looking into college courses. The aerobics class is the highlight of her week, because she gets to let loose. Afterward she makes a habit of walking Robin home, sometimes even challenging her to a race, and Robin even feels a little younger for it.

Sometimes she comes across her when she is up on the mountain taking pictures, and Robin invites her in for lemonade.

On one occasion taking pictures of a nesting falcon by the lake, Robin storms outside, slamming the front door behind her and stomping into the woods. She doesn't see Haley at first, and crouches behind a tree with her head in her hands.

“Robin?” Haley approaches hesitantly, stowing her camera.

Robin starts with a sniffle, quickly wiping her face. “Oh! Haley! Hi, you surprised me.” She clears her throat.

“What’s wrong?”

“Oh,” Robin shakes her head and waves her away, “Nothing, I’m being silly.” She sighs and pinches the bridge of her nose. “I don’t suppose I can convince you to just forget you saw this?”

“No, what’s wrong? You know you can talk to me.” Haley sits next to her in the grass, giving her an encouraging smile when she looks at her again.

“No, it’s… adult stuff. Nothing I should be telling you.”

Haley is a bit hurt at that. Robin has always treated her like an adult, encouraged her even, when she felt like she wasn’t mature enough to handle what life through at her. “Are you saying I’m not an adult now?”

But from Robin’s perspective, how are you supposed to explain you can’t vent about marriage trouble to a girl your son’s age. It wouldn’t be right. She sighs. “No, Haley, that’s not what I’m saying, I’m sorry. You’re right, and we talk about adult stuff all the time, this is just… this is personal.”

“We talk about personal stuff all the time, too,” Haley encourages.

Robin looks down at the grass for a beat, thinking. “Just… marital stuff. Marriage… shit. Arguing.” She growls and put her head down on her bent knees.

Haley scoffs. “Boys.”

It makes Robin laugh and lift her head again. “Except not, since, you know, adults.”

“Boys never mature,” Haley shot back snidely, to Robin’s amusement.

“I’ll give you that!” And then she’s quiet again, chin resting on her knees now to look out at the lake in reflection. “Don’t get married, Haley,” she murmurs. “And don’t get stuck here. You’ve got your whole life ahead of you.”

“And you don’t?” Haley asks right away, catching Robin off guard.

She lifts her head to look at Haley again. “Well… no, I don’t think so. I’m stuck.”

“Um, excuse me, who are you and what have you done with the badass woman I know? From where I’m standing I feel like you could do anything you wanted.”

“That’s really kind of you to say, Haley,” she responds with a sad smile.

“I’m not kind. I don’t say things to be kind, I say them because I mean them.”

Robin’s smile widens. She’s always liked Haley’s spunk. “I know. Thank you, anyway.”

“Why did you get married?”

She sighed again, her smile dropping. “Being a single mom is so hard. Don’t do that either, by the way. I actually… I would’ve been happier, I think, if Demetrius was alright being my boyfriend instead. I didn’t want to get married again, but image is so important in small towns, you know? And especially with young kids it just makes life easier.”

“You don’t have young kids anymore. And you don’t actually strike me as someone who gives a fuck about her image, no offense.”

Robin is quiet again for a while, mulling over her words. “You’re right.” She stands and Haley follows suit. “Sorry again you had to see this.”

“Don’t apologize.”

“Okay,” Robin huffs a chuckle. “Thank you?”

“You’re welcome.” Haley smiles, and Robin suddenly reaches out and hugs her tightly. She smells like sweat and pine and wood shavings and Haley wants to burn the feeling of her flannel into her skin.

Haley wraps her arms around her waist, her face in the crook of her neck, and squeezes her close, and suddenly the air has changed. It doesn’t feel like a platonic hug anymore. But neither of them are letting go and it’s gone on a second too long.

Haley clutches at the back of her flannel. Lifts her head to be level with Robin, cheek to cheek. She can hear Robin’s shallow breathing.

“Haley…” Robin says hesitantly. Almost a warning, if it wasn’t dripping with a breathless lust.

Haley pulls back, just enough to kiss her.

Nyaha chew on that lmao pls note I do not hate Demetrius/Robin in any way I think theyre good together but you see how the asks force my hand! I only do what the little anon faces ask so nicely for me to do

Send me any Stardew Valley rarepair and I will tell you how I would make them work! (Even non-marriage npcs) If youre lucky you may get a mini fic out of it. Check the list below to see if Ive already answered yours

Rarepair Masterlist

[ilyasorokinn]

Can I get an Erik Johnson with the prompts "Would you like to stay?" and "Because I fell for you, isn't it obvious." please.

900 CLUB

happy birthday to my fav horse loving king. i hope landy gives you a big smooch.

16. "would you like to stay?" 36. "because i fell for you, isn't it obvious?" (from this prompt list, fluff)

you had completely forgotten erik was coming over until he knocked on your door, "what're you doing here?" you asked, furrowing your brows together.

he raised a brow, "we were supposed to get lunch today." he checked his phone to make sure it was the right day.

"that was today?" you smacked a hand to your forehead as it all came to you, "crap, i'm sorry. i forgot."

"it's all good." he shrugged, shoving his hands into his pockets.

"i can't leave, i have a meeting in like 20 minutes, on zoom, but would you like to stay?"

"are you sure? i mean, we can do this another time."

"no, the meeting shouldn't take too long, so you can stay, then we can get some food after." you suggested.

"all right." he nodded, and you smiled, moving aside so he could enter. he walked in and walked straight into your kitchen to grab a drink.

you took your seat back at your table and waited for your meeting to start. erik fiddled around with his phone while he waited for you. you finally shut your computer about 45 minutes later and gave him a smile.

"so, what're you thinking?"

"whatever you want is fine."

"fine, just don't get mad when i pick something that you don't like." you grabbed your keys and headed for the door, erik following after you.

as it turned out, you picked a restaurant that he wasn't too fond of, "here? really?"

"you said you were fine with whatever, and i want a chicken sandwich."

"fine." he groaned, getting out of the door and walking into the restaurant like a whiny toddler.

yu ordered your food and talked and caught up, "so, you coming to the game on tuesday?"

"i don't know. got some errands i need to run, so we'll see."

"let me know,"

"aye-eye, captain." you saluted him with a smile.

a few days later, you were running your errands, all of which were a surprise for erik. he was set to play a big milestone game, so you were planning a little celebration after.

everyone but erik was aware of the party, so they were all in on the surprise. the little celebration was set to happen at the family suite. you got streamers, a banner, huge cutouts of erik's rookie headshot, and of course, shirts with a funny photo you had of him drunk.

you drove around, handing out the shirts so all the guys and girls had the shirts. and you made sure to send him a text that read "congrats on 900, king!" and a bunch of heart emojis and a couple others that he would understand.

you watched the game from the family suite, rocking your drunk erik shirt. he had yet to see your shirt, but he knew you were there. after the game, everyone made it up to the suite, the only person you were waiting for was erik.

"wow, this is really good." landy complimented as he finally got a chance to greet you.

"thank you. do you think it's too much?"

"i think it's perfect," he reassured.

a security guard led him up to the suite, and when he got there, he was greeted by everyone shouting "congrats!"

he nearly jumped out of his skin, but let out a laugh and covered his mouth in shock as he took in all the decorations, "wow, thank you." he started hugging people as he looked around.

he finally noticed the shirts, and sighed, "i know who did this." his eyes danced around the room before they landed on you, "you."

"surprise." you shrugged.

"we agreed that this picture would never see the light of day."

"well, you talked and i listened." you corrected.

he groaned, "you're crazy." he pulled you in for a hug.

the party was in full effect after that. drinks were flowing, music was blasting, and erik was having a lot of fun, "you know, you guys didn't have to do this. i would've been fine with like, a cake, or something."

"yeah, we know that, which is why we didn't plan this." gabe responded.

"then who did?"

"who else, dude?" mikko asked, nodding his head in your direction where you were talking with a couple of the girls.

"y/n did this?"

"of course she did." erik was too shocked to say anything, so nathan shoved him in your direction. you looked over when you saw him making his way over to you and smiled.

"you having fun, mr. 900?"

"tons." he nodded, "can i talk to you for a second?"

"sure." you set your drink down and followed him into the hallway, "so, what's up?"

"you did this? the party and the shirts. and the banners and the cutouts of my head?"

"well, yeah. i knew you wouldn't say you wanted a party, so i decided to do it anyway," you answered.

"why?"

"what? do you not like it?" you felt the panic bubble forming in your stomach.

"no, no, i love it." he reassured, "it's just, why? you didn't have to do anything. a cake would have been fine."

"i know, but i wanted to do something special." you shrugged, looking down at your feet.

"why?" he repeated.

"because i fell for you, isn't it obvious?" you finally blurted out. you watched erik's face change about 20 times, and that worried you because he didn't say a thing, "erik?" you asked after about a minute of him just staring at you like a fish.

"you... like me?"

"like? love? however you want to prhase it."

"why didn't you say anything?"

"because i didn't want to ruin anything."

"you didn't want to ruin anything? i didn't want to ruin anything.''

"what do you mean?"

"like? love? i feel it all for you, silly." now it was your turn to gape at him like a fish.

"are you serious?"

"if anyone else had printed me drunk on a shirt, we'd have a problem."

you let out a breathy chuckle, "we're really stupid, aren't we?"

"just a little." he nodded. you loped your arms around his neck and pulled him down to meet your lips.

"if we had just admitted a little earlier, we could've been doing this instead of pretending to enjoy those crappy chicken sandwiches."

"hey! i actually like them!" you hit him in the chest.

"no, you don't."

you pouted, "...the chicken is a little dry."

"that's what i've been trying to tell you!"

taylor's 2.5k celly!

this is a celly blurb, but it was the perfect time to write ot. so, happy birthday to my favorite guy ever (he shares this spot with about 10000+ other guys lol). you are so slay king *muah*

[a-la-campanella]

So... White Night goes hard. Here's a music video dissection!

Way too much to say, I'm doing bullet points again. Comparing CN lines and EN translation of those lines (NOT THE ENGLISH LYRICS) here, but if they say basically the same thing, I won't bother mentioning any differences. I'll look at the English lyrics in another post. For the record, like fuck did I bother to learn what the different zones of Penacony are named.

The transition out of the Hoyoverse logo with Aventurine's hand? That was smooth. Holy shit. I've tried doing a transition like that for a school assignment, and that sort of thing goes hard.

The word branded on Aventurine's neck spells out "slave". That's... concerning. I guess he'd have history with crime (assuming he was a slave and that slavery is illegal under the IPC - but who knows about that last point?) and given Penacony's history, he might hold some more personal sentiments about being there.

Showing off his rings, his watch, his fit... dude is bling-bling-bling. Coin flip sound effect! Love the whistling too.

Those dance moves, synced to the beat of the music. The camera angles. Wooooow. The first time I watched this was breathtaking. I give a fuck about Aventurine now. That's so wild. I had go check if this was official, for a few seconds genuinely thought I was watched a fan-made MMD.

Male Trailblazer! Checks out, last video had the Female Trailblazer. We get a fancy hat to dance with!

Background Robin poster, by the way.

Robin and Sunday in a shiny vehicle, with Robin holding a drink in her hand. They're driving somewhere. They look so pretty!

Something crashes into Misha? In the Reverie Hotel??? Is that a hat?

Out of all the luggage that gets knocked over, the blue, circular case stands out the most.

From "Don't forget, shut your eyes, embrace the light", the "embrace the light" part is "才算醒来" in CN (it's time to wake up). Do Misha and Gallagher have something to do with the dreams, besides the whole, Reviere Hotel thing?

Gallagher's lighter, and then the background change plus light turning off (plus sound effect!) when the lighter is closed? He's not the type of guy I'd really care about, but. That smile. Shit.

Sparkle followed by a bunch of koi fish out of water, skipping forward. She winks and sends us off with a koi fish transition.

It's fitting that the line here is "you act in this huge play, a change of attitude" (from CN line; 你参演 这场戏 变换姿态)... the EN line uses "postures interweave" to convey acting I suppose? Makes sense, she's a Masked Fool, acting would align.

Black Swan picking from one of ten cards... she eventually picks a card, revealing a white swan in the front. I wonder who that represents? I wanted to say one of the factions, but there are only nine we know of; the Family and the invited eight. Maybe an uninvited guest?

The CN line says "谜底 结局 我该 怎么猜" (The truth/mystery of the ending, how should I conjecture?), where 结局 can refer to the last act of a play. It's says the same as the EN line, this is just a more linguistic fun-fact.

For the last bit of that line, we see a hand with yellow claws, and at the center of the palm seems to be a red eye. New enemy?

Flrefly holding sparklers! She's smiling! It's a "prelude of dreams supplied by memories". This line definitely does not spark fear, because dreams are built on memories, and Firefly is definitely real. (I speculate that she isn't/only exists in dreams, but I sure hope not.)

Trailblazer tries to take a photo of her! It's synced so it sounds like you can hear the shutter go off, almost.

Transition to the Trailblazer running (in the form of a bunch of still Trailblazers gradually turning back/away from the camera) alongside a light in a very... uh. Absurd environment. Up a bunch of spiral stairs, and near the end of the sequence, seems to be chasing the light. Is the light meant to symbolize Firefly? Fuck me.

"Covered scars still linger yesterday" wherein the past remains, even when swept away... genuinely, what happened to Firefly.

Trailblazer in a room with a bunch of Clockies, standing on Clockie's shoe. We challenging the dream here? Is Clockie a representation of the Watchmaker? They might be holding a sparkler in their hand, hard to tell. They certainly don't look happy.

"Your wakefulness, time foresees" = time is waiting for you to wake up.

Blink, transition by zoom to a falling light, which turns out to be (probably!) Firefly. Throughout the descend, her eyes are closed. Sigh. I hope not. Based on the transition, it's definitely her, and I'm pretty sure she'll die, if she hasn't already died.

IS THAT AVENTURINE? Similar enough hair and outfit, but his chest opening is larger and glowing green. Wearing a mask too. Do we fight him? Is that who we fight with? Questions, questions.

Close-up of Aventurine with his earring and eye catching the light. Insert "take me away" line. Yessir, whatever you say ma'am, anything for you babygirl.

Someone else noticed this first, but his earring looks like a dream catcher! They're protective charms, so Aventurine might be safe from the horrors of an eternal Penacony dream.

I want to point out: the instrumental here goes silent, before a sound that reminds me of a rewinding watch hand plays where Aventurine says "take me away". Interpret that how you will.

We get a view of Clockie and some background or whatever, into the spotlight on the Trailblazer presumably tossing their hat. On the left side, the Clockies are smiling! On the right side... not so much? Either way, they're coming down the steps, and one of them is about to jump the Trailblazer.

Also, ad of a pizza pie with slices of money(?). Or it might just be pepperoni and mushrooms or something. The pepperoni is numbered, so I'm assuming it has something to do with a game of sorts.

Zoom out to get a better look at Penacony. We can see the whales in the sky looming over sll the buildings, ads everywhere (cartoony-looking Times Square), and massive bubble gum machines roaming the streets. At the heart of the city is... I'm guessing that's the Stellaron? Whatever the blue light is.

Flashes of whales, some kind of circular thing, a fan(?), and a very hard to make out sequence of numbers. The last three digits are 183. I've edited the screenshot I took to try and make the numbers more clear. (You might have to open the image to see what I mean.)

The whales are very reminiscent of the abyssal whale from Genshin Impact. We know that Genshin and the Honkai games are all connected in the same multiverse, though seeing these whales after fighting the All-Devouring Narwhal is raising flags...

A slot machine, falling gems, monsters on the street, oh my.

The line here is "Cease the shattering, let withering subside" or more literally, "Don't break again, don't wither again" (别再破碎 别再枯萎). I guess this has to do with the dreams? Don't let dreams shatter and wither; they must be good dreams, and Penacony must stay a land of dreams.

Transitions into an angry Clockie, though the face flickers back to a smile. Camera flips back up to a whale!

The clock ticks, passage of time, all that... sheesh, that synced well.

A bunch of tiny whales and monsters headed in the same direction. Clockie in the streets too, next to a monster holding SoulGlad.

Wacky flash transition to whales. Then zoom out of a TV screen (Clockie's face?) to see the monsters broke into the hotel, I think? That's not good. I guess that's where they were heading!

"Indulge anew, in the self's meandering stride"... I'm going to guess this is a reference to the dreams, the winding detours they lead you on, trippy experiences, stuff like that.

The rest of the Astral Express gang now! These are their dreams, I guess. Dan Heng is in the Reverie, I think, with a bunch of whales and wacky lamps. Maybe he's investigating, or he escaped his dream?

Himeko floats, eyes closed, one arm reaching outward. She's surrounded by semi-circular tables and chairs floating. Seems like it could've been a banquet, had there been more people.

The line for both of them here was "Savor at last, the taste that's ever true", and might be referring to SoulGlad. It's the only big thing I expect we'd literally be tasting in Penacony.

A huge March 7th is taking a selfie. Typical March.

Welt is surrounded by some toppled buildings, holding the Star of Eden in his hand as he looks out at the city. Maybe he knows what's up here?

Black Swan seems to be picking from one of ten circulating cards again, this time floating above the city. There's something inside the cards though—seems like a catalyst weapon. She holds it instead of a card.

"In the dreams of that night, we'll meet anew"... the first part is said with March and Welt, and the last bit is with Black Swan. Have we met Black Swan before? Or maybe this is us meeting her again/a second time on Penacony. Or it could be about someone else...

A white void with black cubes surrounds Sam, who gains these green wings (propellers?) to fly out of the void space into a fight with Acheron. I doubt the Stellaron Hunters would go out of their way into a fight with her, and they've had a record of staying in line with Elio's scripts (case in point: Kafka on the Xianzhou Luofu, Sam's "You should really stop playing with your food" line). This fight didn't seem to happen by choice.

Acheron swings her sword at Sam. We don't know a lot about her, but we do know that she doesn't pull out her sword that easily. Her eye glows, and red petals appear, followed by a swing of red lightning. All the other strikes had purple lightning instead.

"The more deceptive, the more pristine", where Sam is deceptive and Acheron is pristine... these adjectives might apply to both characters, to be honest. The word used in place of pristine also means perfect/ideal (完美).

Not sure about Sam, but the fact Acheron doesn't pull out her sword often is easily grounds for underestimating her.

Sam doesn't dodge the red lightning; instead, he's trying to block it with his arms.

A huge explosion follows, either from the backlash of contact with the lightning, or it could be entirely unrelated. Annihilation Gang, is that you...?

The translation says "Dreams in slumber, despair's endless spin", though the exact term used where endless spin is was 轮回. It's more so used to mean reincarnation, or the cycle of life and death... so dreams and despair go hand in hand, in a cycle like sleeping and waking.

Sam is down on one knee with electricity flickering around his body. Did he lose? He's not completely down yet.

The Trailblazer jumps with a running start, with Belabog in the background.

"With each blink, a retreat in time's cruel cue" is... hard to decipher for me. Where are you going back from? I doubt we're going back in time, it's a little to early to be traveling alongside Terminus... If Firefly is dead and was a real person, then it could traveling back in time to save her.

The Trailblazer throws pure light??? In the black and white for a few frames, you can see Stelle/the Female Trailblazer.

I don't think there are any major implications from this. The way I see it, Stelle is Caelus and Caelus is Stelle, in that both of them are the Trailblazer, and there was only ever one Trailblazer like them in this story (the choice we made/Kafka picked at the beginning doesn't matter when the end result is the same).

A big Sampo and big trashcan duke it out with Belabog in the background. This should all be be the trailblazer's dream, since dreams are made from your memories, and using the trailblazer's memories would make sense to generate the scene within Belabog.

"In the dream of that night, we'll meet anew" should be pointing to the Trailblazer meeting Firefly again.

The Trailblazer is on a rooftop with Firefly. When the Trailblazer looks back, Firefly has disappeared...

Acheron in front of a black hole(?). She's crying?

We get a few frames of Sam that fade into a faint red light.

The video ends with Clockie and the Trailblazer dancing together! Clockie either gave us the hat or returns it to us.

Characters who we don't see in the video: Duke Inferno (or anymore from the Annihilation Gang, for that matter), any of the other Stellaron Hunters (did they ditch Sam, or did only Sam arrive at Penacony...), and Dr. Ratio (where did he go...). Genuinely, where is the doctor.

I think the song is overall from the Trailblazer's perspective, and about their relationship with Firefly, trying to save her. I'm 100% convinced something sinister happened, or will be happening, to her.

[enfyswanders]

London, Part 2: June 23-26, 2024

My friends, have you heard about our Lord and Savior, ABBA Voyage?

My friends Molly and Josh encouraged me to check it out. I like several ABBA songs, so I decided one of my big splurges for the trip would be a dance booth ticket for a matinée.

I was expecting a high-tech concert experience. I was not expecting to sob for the first 20 minutes.

But let me back up. What the heck is ABBA Voyage? It's a concert featuring holograms of the band ABBA in their heyday. Their prerecorded vocals and instruments are backed up by a live band that's shrouded in shadow for much of the show, but is occasionally brought out and featured. The venue is an arena specifically built for this show, in London's outskirts.

Walking into the arena, my first impression was "This is Pride for women in their 60s and 70s." The sheer joy from that demographic, with many of them wearing colorful, spangled jumpsuits, brought joy to my heart. (I didn't get a photo of any of the bejumpsuited people., but trust me, there were a lot of them. A fair number of them under 30, too!)

The dance booth ticket, while one of the priciest ticket tiers, was worth it. The dance booth is an area for 12 people that includes a cushioned bench for seating, plus a lower level open area for dancing, and you get a private bar and table service, too. I had two delicious passionfruit cocktails waiting for the show to begin.

When the show started, I got emotionally overwhelmed in a way I absolutely did not expect.

Feeling 1: This is the biggest arena show I've been to since well before the pandemic. There's something beautiful about so many people gathered to enjoy music together.

Feeling 2: I'm both excited and terrified for the implications this event has on the future of musical performance. On the one hand, it could make it much easier to see acts more places and after people have passed on. On the other hand, we lose the authenticity of live performance. Not a hair was out of place, no flubbed lyrics, no sweaty sheen on the performers' faces. They lampshaded the concept a little by doing a bit about a costume change gone wrong, but it kind of made me cringe. The show is, and will always be, perfect. In removing the precious ephemeral nature of live musical performance, what else are we losing?

Feeling 3: This is the closest I have ever come to a true time machine experience, and wow was it moving to "see" ABBA in their prime, something I could only do on video before.

Feeling 4: Traveling is Just So Much. I needed a release after everything from the first week.

So I cried for the first 20 minutes, huddled in a corner of the dance booth bench. I don't cry very often, so it really took me by surprise. Once I was done, I got up and danced a whole bunch.

Some interesting pieces of the show were having three femme vocalists from the live band perform "Does Your Mother Know"; an animated two-part short; some fun banter from ABBA; clips from their 1974 Eurovision entry; and at the end, there are holograms that come out for a curtain call that look like the band members do today, which I think was a nice touch.

Honestly, the whole thing was a religious experience. I was deeply moved and it made me think about the world in a different way. I will forgive them not playing my favorite ABBA song, "Take a Chance on Me," because the whole thing was just so amazing.

After the show, I had my first of many Adventures in Doing Laundry on the trip. I found a few coin-op laundry places near my hotel, but based on reviews they only took coins, specifically £1 coins, which is complicated because most businesses in London are contactless or card payment only, so I didn't get a lot of change. I asked at my hotel if I could buy some £1 coins, but all they had were £2 coins, which I took, and hoped for the best. Some of the online reviews mentioned that staff at the coin-ops could make change.

Unfortunately, this was a Sunday afternoon, and no staff were present. The first laundromat I visited only took £1 coins and there was no way to make change. Fortunately, the second laundromat I checked did take £2 coins, and I got to enjoy the sticker shock that it cost £20 to do a single load of laundry (about USD$25). While I sat there, I had a nice chat with a couple from Brisbane, where I used to live, and made friends with an older woman named Sharon, who I ended up meeting up with for dinner by chance after I brought my laundry back to my hotel. She was really fun to chat with, and gave me some tips for places to eat in the area.

The next day, I visited Kew Gardens Royal Botanical Gardens, which is enormous and I sadly didn't have time to wander the whole thing, or even most of it. I did get to enjoy the treetop walk, though, which was a really neat way to see the big old trees in the park from a different perspective. They had some neat sculptures, too.

Next up, I visited some Richmond locations from Ted Lasso, including his pub (renamed on the show to the Crown & Anchor), the door to his flat, and a really tacky souvenir shop that wanted a shocking £65 for a shirt. I had some fish and chips at the pub, and honestly, I wouldn't recommend the food. I don't think they've changed their fry oil in the past decade. They were also slammed with Ted Lasso fans and the staff did not seem to be happy about that fact.

After that, I decided to go see Big Ben, just to check if off the list, since it's such an iconic site. Dear gods, never again. Up until this point, the obnoxious-tourist quotient of my trip had been pretty manageable, but when you exit the Tube near Big Ben, the sidewalk is completely slammed with tourists and con artists who have no sense of personal space.

I got a quick pic and booked it out of there, seeing the exteriors of Westminster Abbey and Parliament House quickly, and decided to return to Tate Britain, because I enjoyed it so much and it was fairly close by. I finally got a pic of my favorite piece there, a sculpture by Henry Moore called Reclining Figure:

I started my last full day in London visiting the Mithraeum, the ruins of an old temple to the Roman god Mithras, which was recommended by my friend Ron. It was super cool. There's a whole immersive light-and-sound experience with the ruins, to make you feel like you're in the temple when it was active. There's Latin chanting and everything.

Then I went to the British Museum. And if I thought the tourists outside Big Ben were obnoxious, well. There were a lot more of them at the British Museum. I mean, obviously I myself am a tourist, so I can extend some grace, but what annoys me is people who clearly don't have experience being in large crowds in cities having no spatial awareness and failing to notice that there are people trying to move around them, so they stop suddenly, that kind of thing.

The British Museum was crowded and only nominally air-conditioned in some places, so I was hot and uncomfortable the entire time. I only lasted about 90 minutes before I had to call it, which was a shame, because there is some cool stuff to see there. I think my favorite thing was the Rosetta Stone, but I didn't get a photo of that. Instead, you get to see this statue of Hermes:

After the museum, I had booked myself for high tea at a fancy place called The Wolseley, but the reservation wasn't for another hour, so I decided to check another popular destination off the list and go see Buckingham Palace.

Tea was absolutely wonderful. The warm currant scones scones were soft and moist, and the clotted cream and jam with them were absolutely scrumptious. The finger sandwiches (cucumber, salmon, chutney, curry chicken salad, and egg salad) were all very tasty, and the desserts were fantastic patisserie. I had an hibiscus herbal tea with it, and really my only complaint was that I didn't have a companion to enjoy the experience with. It was absolutely phenomenal and made me a quick convert to the joys of high tea. (And spoiled me for all future high teas on the trip, unfortunately!)

On my way back to my hotel, I spotted something a friend told me about, that I'd walked past every single day and hadn't noticed: There's a fucking TARDIS right by my Tube stop.

I guess the chameleon circuit still works okay.

This made me laugh:

[poke-professor-in-training]

Pinned Post ~ Intro and Team

((Disclaimer: this is unreality, falling under the category of Pokémon blogs acting as if we are living in the Pokémon world. It's all for fun. My inbox is open, so let's all just have a good time in 'Rotomblr'!))

~

Hey! Welcome to the blog! Thanks for having a look and feel free to hang around! My name is Casey Acacia - I grew up in Kalos, and I'm currently aspiring to be a Pokémon Professor, so I'm travelling around the regions to learn more about all the different kinds of Pokémon, how they behave, evolve and live. I'd like to specialise in Pokémon Sociology!

This is my trusty team!

((Card made with Pokécharms))

I'll introduce you to them, just under the cut :p

Nixxie the Sylveon:

My starter - she's been with me since I was 10! I got her as part of a school program collaborating with the local Day Care. They were getting too many Pokémon in the Day Care from Breeders, so they decided to collab with a bunch of schools around Kalos. Most of my class got baby Pokémon to look after.

Nixxie loves decorating Pokéballs. Whenever we head into a general store for supplies, Nixxie will head right to the stickers aisle. She finished decorating her own Pokéball a while ago, and has since moved on to the rest of the team's.

She's quite competitive, particularly whenever we have to battle someone. For someone so graceful, she can really be quite intimidating, and fiercely protective.

Nemo the Swampert:

I got Nemo on my second visit to Hoenn - Hoenn is one of my favourite regions, so I was keen to revisit. A tiny Mudkip walked up to my table at a café and I couldn't not get him a pokétreat. He's was - and still is - very polite. Such a sweetheart, and very gentle.

Since then, we've gone back to that same café a couple of times! The staff are always thrilled to see how much Nemo's grown and always sneak him a free poképuff.

He's a powerhouse tank in battle, but he doesn't particularly like battling. Of everyone in the team, he probably likes battling the least. That suits us just fine - battling isn't our priority.

Hera the Flygon:

Hera helped us find our way through the dessert in Hoenn. I'd just run out of water and only learned later that there are apparently special goggles for trainers heading into the dessert?? Hera (still a Trapinch then) thought it was very funny.

Probably as a byproduct of living in a biome where seeing the sky clearly is rare at best, she's has an excellent set of internal directions. Whenever we get lost, we can always count on Hera.

Trapinch are generally solitary, so it was fascinating to see her adapt to a more social lifestyle with the team. She loves giving the smaller members of the team free piggybacks now that's she's fully evolved and can fly.

Borealis the Emolga:

He's quite shy, which is strange considering most Emolga are very social. He's warmed up to the team and I, and I'm so proud of how far he's come.

Despite his shyness, he is a devious little mastermind when it comes to pranks. He never lets it get out of hand, though, and is very respectful of everyone else's boundaries.

Lately, he's been getting into acrobatic tricks. I took the team to a Showcase in Kalos a couple of months ago, and Borealis was fascinated by the intricate dances and performances. He's getting quite good and is now moving on to choreographing full routines.

Brynne the Vaporeon:

Brynne joined the team during a stay in Alola for a festival and evolved in Dewford Town in Hoenn when she dug up a water stone buried in the sand. Looking back, we were probably lucky she dug up a stone, and not some random Corphish taking a nap.

Her favourite hobby is finding a patch of sand or dirt to roll around in. It's good for her skin! It gets rid of any dead skin cells and any toxins, so I don't stop her.

The best at finding nice camping spots in the middle of forests, caves, grasslands, islands, mountains... you name it, Brynne can find a perfect camping spot. Loves the attention and obligatory photo of herself showing off whichever spot she's found for us.

Moss the Venusaur:

Our most recent addition to the team! We ran into the local Professor in Kanto, and he gave me Moss's egg. Apparently, there haven't been many trainers going to him for starters lately. A lot of them just head right into the wild and grab the first bug, bird or rodent Pokémon they find, rather than waiting until their tenth birthday to see the Professor.

She's very proud of her appearance, and takes great care in maintaining the bouquet on her back. On a similar vein, she likes seeing the sticker formations Nixxie puts on the team's Pokéballs.

Moss really likes races. Win or lose, she loves it. When she was still a Bulbasaur, she also loved jumping in water puddles. She does still like that, but at least she's got the courtesy to wait until we're out of the splash range now.

I should also introduce you to Newt - he's a Joltik, and is Borealis' adopted brother. When Borealis decided he wanted to come along with the rest of us, Newt followed. He vehemently refused any initial offering of a Pokéball, so he just hangs out in my jumper pocket and gives everything the evil eye.

((Art used with permission, @thefridgegoblin))

UPDATE! Bluey the Gulpin is also travelling with us now! We met him in Hoenn in the wild, where he was struggling to get by due to him being a shiny... So we helped look after him for a while, and apparently he's been missing us lately, so my friend in Hoenn sent Bluey over to us!

That's all of us! We look forward to seeing how we go in the online space during our travels :)

[formulacherry]

Ok Cherry! The differences between a Carlando vs. Maxiel wedding. Go. C/M anon 🍒

i’ve been sitting on this ask for 3 days so obviously i went over the top with my response

maxiel

max and daniel’s wedding would be super chill. definitely still extravagant but in a comfy and casual way and most importantly it would be FUN.

i feel like they’d have it on the farm in perth at sunset and max would have to talk daniel out of using like a sheep or something to be the ring bearer “cmon maxy it’ll be funny!” “daniel i am of course not having a sheep at my wedding.” (they use their nephews and niece instead, much to max’s relief)

one of their friends would officiate. maybe seb or someone that watched their relationship blossom from the start. they’d definitely write their own vows and they’d be a combination of really sweet words and dumb jokes and jabs at each other. daniel would be like “i love your ass and what you let me do to it” and both their mothers would let out a horrified gasp from the front row while max just furiously blushes.

their wedding photos would be really jokey; them grabbing each other’s asses and jumping on each other’s backs and stuff and the photographer would be so over it. but then when they thought they were done they’d be leaning into each other like they always subconsciously do and share a quick kiss and that’s when the photographer gets the money shot. it ends up hanging above their fireplace back in monaco.

they’d do a bunch of traditional cringe wedding things too. like come up with a hashtag that they make everyone use (it ends up trending #1 worldwide) and they’d play games that has everyone in hysterics. they’d make two bouquets specifically so they both have one to throw. (daniel aims for lando. max aims for carlos. no one fights them for it.) daniel would insist on trying to remove a garter from max’s thigh with his teeth which proves extremely difficult to do whilst max is wearing suit pants.

they’d have so many of their friends and family there. everyone who they love would make the trip over. all the drivers they’ve ever shared the grid with would be there, including the ones from before max’s time and after daniel’s. maybe they have someone like lando MC it so he can just tell embarrassing stories about them. everyone is happy. there are notable absences (eg: jos. maybe zak because max is still holding a grudge even if daniel is over it) but everyone is having such a good time that they barely give it a second thought.

their first dance would be so sweet and they’d just be laughing and kissing the whole time. there would be absolutely zero skill involved and would mostly just be them swaying together. max would twirl daniel around and then daniel would try and dip max even though max is significantly bigger. no one can take their eyes off them.

the food would be a serve yourself buffet type of situation. with like mini pizzas and sliders and stuff. just good wholesome food that everyone devours. the cake would have multiple flavours and they’d have something like donuts to go with it. they’d end up chasing each other around trying to smush it into each other’s faces.

they would have an obscene amount of alcohol. reds, whites, champagne, beer, spirits galore. they’d probably be really cringe and have a signature cocktail named ‘the maxiel’ and it would be gin and tonic mixed with honey served in a red bull can or something ridiculous like that. all the guests would be hammered, especially the grooms.

the night would end with everyone barefoot on the dance floor (martijn would DJ), daniel would be shirtless and everyone would be jumping around screaming the lyrics to bad wedding music while max and daniel are kissing in the middle of the crowd without a care in the world.

i don’t even think they’d have a proper send off because they’d also host an after party for the guests who wanted to keep going and they’d be up and partying well into the next day.

when they finally fall into bed together at like 3pm they’d just look at each other and be like ‘fuck. we finally did it.’ and they’d kiss a bit and then pass out wrapped around each other and sleep for 16 hours.

carlando

ok firstly, i think carlos and lando elope. i reckon they’re planning this huge, extravagant wedding and it’s stressing them both out and one day one of them is just like: what if we just.. got married today? so they call a couple of their closest friends and do it on a boat or something idk but they don’t even tell their families and it’s casual and fun and suits them perfectly. they both cry reciting their vows and everyone else who is there would be crying too.

onto the actual wedding. i think it would be much more formal and classic and traditional. with the ceremony in a church maybe, or like some nice gardens. i think their mothers and sisters would be the masterminds behind the whole thing and carlos and lando would just go along with all their ideas. i feel like it’s not at all what THEY would’ve chosen, they’d want it more casual, but their wedding ends up being more of a show and they’re ultimately fine with it because at the end of the day they just want to show their love to the world. they’d probably have a bunch of important people there. CEO’s and friends of their fathers and stuff so they just want to make a good impression, and if that means having it be a little stiff then so be it.

lando would definitely sneak into carlos’ room before hand and carlos would be like “aye, mi amor. you know it is bad luck to see each other before the wedding!” and lando would shrug and be like “we’re already married so figured it doesn’t matter.” laughing. kissing. sex. just time spent together before they have to go and perform for everyone waiting outside.

they’d use pre written vows, but it wouldn’t matter because they already said everything they needed to say to each other on the boat. carlos would start crying during his anyway which would make lando cry and everyone would be cooing from the audience. their first* kiss as a married couple would be through huge smiles and tears, holding each other as close as humanly possible.

their wedding photos would be absolutely STUNNING. maybe they’re using some of them for an article in a spanish magazine or something (‘our exclusive look inside the CarLando wedding!’) idk but they’re gorgeous. posed perfectly and they both look beautiful. they’d definitely struggle to choose which ones to use and would end up having a different one in every room of the house. (their favourite photos are still the candid ones their friends take throughout the evening though)

the reception would be less stuffy than the ceremony but still incredibly formal. caco would MC which would make things a bit more casual (daniel would be put out and they’d have to explain that without even seeing what he would’ve said, they know it would not be appropriate for this kind of wedding.)

the food would be michelin star but also kinda boring. three courses. a choice between chicken and beef (carlos suggested chicken and fish but lando was horrified. “carlos i’m not having FISH at my wedding!) and it would be served to them and stuff. the cake would be super rich and decadent and they’d cut it together and lando would smush it into carlos’ face even though they agreed they weren’t going to do that. (he then wipes the icing off carlos’ lip and pops it in his own mouth, sucking on his finger. carlos can barely contain himself and lando has to tell him that “no, we can’t leave yet” and carlos would straight up whine.)

they’d have so many friends and family there. there would be mclaren team member reunions and stories swapped about them. so many claiming they knew they’d end up together and that it was obvious from the start, how lando was ‘so obvious’ in the way he looked at carlos. which would have lando blushing and carlos pulling him close for a kiss.

they’d spend the whole evening trying to have a moment alone together but they’d keep being separated by different people needing different things and eventually carlos would be so fed up that he’d grab lando and drag him outside and behind the venue. they’d end up having their first dance as just the two of them. carlos humming some song under his breath while they hold each other close and sway together. it’s perfect. completely perfect.. until caco interrupts them and tells them they have to do the real one in front of everyone now. some choreographed thing that lando feels ridiculous doing but carlos is surprisingly good at.

the send off would be extremely welcomed. everyone waving them off into the night with well wishes and sparklers. by the time they’d turned out of the venue they’d both let out such a huge sigh of relief. shrugging off their jackets and undoing their bowties. they’d probably stop at mcdonald’s drive thru or something on the way home in their fancy ass car. lando would be leaning out the window to place the order. “carlos baby, do you want fries? yeah my husband wants fries!”

when they finally make it home and into bed they’d be so exhausted but sated and happy. they’d crawl into bed and have slow, lazy sex with carlos whispering “mi amor. mi esposo. te amo.” the entire time.

[mysteryloversbookshelf]

“Happily Ever Aster”

What are some of your headcanons on how some of the characters lived happily ever after? We won’t know for sure until being mentioned offhand in future seasons but it’s still fun to come up with ideas. Here is how I vision some of their happy endings. I’m putting it behind the read more in case some people still haven’t seen the season finale yet

Grace and Hannah

It’ll be weird for a minute since Edgar is dead and as terrible as he was I’m sure they’ll still have to grieve him in some way. Once that passes I see them continuing to travel together and maybe Hannah working with Grace in her antique shop. Rather than another yurt, I could see them living in a cozy cottage surrounded by more psychotropic plants. Idk if they’ll marry, but I see them adopting a baby or maybe getting a sperm donor and their baby being weird af like a mini Wednesday Addams.

Feng and Vivian

After news of Edgar’s death breaks out and people check out Kyler’s videos from the weekend, I can see a lot of people flocking to try baobing for clout but falling in love with it. They’ll get a boost in sales and Feng will end up opening even more locations. Now that he has enough money to pay off debts and etc, I see him and Vivian traveling the world together and her teaching him how to live it up. He doesn’t have to play it safe anymore so I could see him and Vivian sending Grace and Zoë pics of them both skydiving and other thrill seeking tourist stuff. Maybe offscreen Aniq and Zoë asked Vivian to help choreograph the first dance at their wedding and it turned out amazing.

Travis

Since he became the house and beat Sebastian, he can afford to fly out and visit Weronika. Does anyone remember what he does for a living? I could see him feeling inspired at actually discovering the crypto scam and taking courses so he can be a legitimate detective. Maybe he will even create an agency to help other people that have been scammed out of their crypto.

Isabel

She may not have been able to hold Edgar accountable for drugging her but she’s at least finally free. Howie is a close friend but maybe they’ll become something more at some point. With her personality I don’t expect her and Hannah to ever have a perfect relationship, but after that moment they shared while telling the mind movie, maybe they can get to a decent place. Probably not though after how she treated Grace.

Sebastian

Yeah he lost a bunch of money and was fired by Isabel, but you can’t keep a scammer like him down. He’s either about to start running cons with his cousins again or he’s going to attach himself to a wealthy older lady like Isabel and live out the rest of her life in luxury before moving on to the next one.

Aniq and Zoë

When they go see Danner in the time jump, are the rings to show that they’ve already married or are they still engaged? Either way, I don’t care to see a wedding. We’ve already been there and done that with Grace even if it did end terribly. I’m fine with seeing hilarious wedding and honeymoon photos/videos and calling it a day. It’s too bad Yasper is in prison because he would have been a really fun best man. Imagine the wedding toast 😂

Danner

Assuming season three will be the afterparty for the premiere of her movie, I hope that the person killed isn’t Jaleel White. Danner has been through enough so that would suck to do that to her character when she finally found what she wants to do in life.

Ulysses

He obviously doesn’t deserve a happy ending after trying to kill Feng. It might be too much of fan service, but the idea of him being cellmates with Yasper and them both performing together for the other criminals is hilarious to me. Knowing him, he’d probably be using his knowledge from his travels to scam the other inmates into giving him money for food and etc.

What about you guys? It would be really cool to be able to compare these headcannons to what will actually be canon in the future seasons.

[sheliesshattered]

Sleeves: laced on!

Dragon claw beads: sewn on and laced up!

Hem facing: started!

Lining for a bag to carry all my con stuff: sewn! (It even has pockets!)

Pieces for a casual punk!Rhaenyra for the evening parties: purchased!

I got to check three things off my Dragon Con to-do list today -- and add one more: a try-on and makeup test-run for punk!Rhaenyra. But hey, three steps forward and one step back isn't so bad, lol.

I am really happy with how the screen-accurate red dress is coming together and I cannot wait to wear it. There's a House of the Dragon/World of Ice and Fire photo meetup on Friday afternoon and it's my only Must Not Miss event for Friday. It'll be fun to get pictures with other people in costume, and commiserate over the complicated nature of HotD/GoT costuming.

Buuut, as much as I'm looking forward to finishing this dress and wearing it around con, every time I put it on I realize that there is definitely going to come a point in the evening when I want to get out of my super fancy silk gown and into something more casual for the evening parties. And thus the idea of punk!Rhaenyra was born.

So sometime Friday evening I'll go back to my hotel room and take off the red dress, re-adjust my Rhaenyra wig, put on a bunch more makeup, and switch to this look with the Targaryen tank top and red-and-black plaid skirt. I'll be pairing it with my big Doc Martens (which will have red laces already in by then) and the Valyrian steel necklace, and several accessories from my Harley Quinn outfit. My hope is that it'll read as Targaryen punk while being comfortable and easy to dance and drink and lounge in.

That puts my planned costumes for the weekend up to six total. Now that photo meetups and evening parties have been announced, my schedule is looking pretty locked in:

Thursday night: 80s prom

Friday daytime: Rhaenyra's red dress from eps 7 and 8

Friday night: punk Rhaenyra

Saturday all day: Harley Quinn in a Taylor Swift tshirt

Sunday daytime: Oswin Oswald from Asylum of the Daleks

Sunday night: Clara Oswald from Mummy on the Orient Express

As far as parties, I'm planning on hitting up the 80s prom (obviously) on Thursday night and the Doctor Who ball on Sunday night. Photoshoots I'm planning to be at include the House of the Dragon gathering on Friday afternoon, and the Harley Quinn gathering on Saturday afternoon. I've heard there might be a Taylor Swift meetup too, and if that happens to be on Saturday I'll try to swing by there with my 'we are never getting back together. like ever.' tshirt.

I've got maybe half an hour left today to work on the hem a bit, but after that I'll be down to 36 days to finish everything up for Dragon Con. If I can keep having days like this where I knock a bunch of stuff off my list, my to-do list should be in good shape a month from now. But I am so excited to wear all of these costumes that it's keeping me extra motivated.

Hokay. Back to pinning that hem facing.

[justablah56]

TJ anon once again: this is great because it's like writing a multi chapter fic but there's no plot and it's made for a readership of one person

Cass "Hey, if there's no security footage, there's no proof" Swift-Close-Foster-Freeman-Stampler is definitely a bit of a chaos gremlin. She and Lark once almost got arrested for public indecency when she got him to unbutton her shirt in a nightclub. Why? No one really bothered to ask, they were too busy trying to bargain with the police. One of them turned out to be Jodie's old work mates, who let them off.

You know what, this is going to be a clubbing themed ask. Disclaimer: I have never been clubbing. Legally, I cannot

The kiddads, Rebecca, Marco, and Cassandra have gotten kicked out of multiple clubs. At some point, they developed a system to create the wildest night possible, involving when you can start dancing on tables, and the best place to make friends for the night. The answer to the latter is the girls' bathroom. There is always a crying drunk girl in a bathroom, and Cassandra and Rebecca are very skilled at comforting and befriending them. Your boyfriend broke up with you? And he's here with his new girlfriend? Girl, you're so much better than him, we will buy you drinks and hype you up. We have 6 hot men who will dance with you and treat you like a goddamn celebrity for the entire night, let's show that fucker how much you don't need him. And if you're worried about them being weird, two of them are gay and all of them are respectful. Have some discount coupons for Swallows Ice Cream and a random makeover. We will turn a terrible night into one of the best for you.

Certain members of the group have been mistaken for erotic dancers on multiple occasions. No comment as to who. It does mean that they have more money for drinks though.

Cassandra and Nicky will be the ultimate gnc couple. Cass goes in a suit, but one of those more casual ones that have lowcut shirts and a deliberately loose tie. Nicky goes in a crop top and mini skirt with fishnets. They have switched outfits part way through the night without people noticing at least 7 times, because honestly, they would both wear each outfit.

Terry and Lark are usually the sober ones, as Lark is often the designated driver, and Terry just assigns himself designated drunk people wrangler. Since they're also the two who (at the time) are not in a committed romantic relationship, they carefully accumulated embarrassing moments for everyone's weddings, knowing that there was no sufficient retribution.

(Side headcanon that Terry and Lark go on platonic Valentine's dates every year in college/uni. They take lots of photos of Terry being cutesy and couple-y and Lark just being grumpy. Terry Jr always buys him sunflowers for the date, and although he'd never admit it, he keeps them for as long as possible. One year, TJ actually had a girlfriend on Valentine's Day, but he told her he was busy and still went on the date with Lark. She broke up with him after seeing the pictures of them together on social media, which, in retrospect, Terry Jr admits was completely fair)

hello again tj anon !! <3 also , this is great bcs I get soso many hcs and fun storylines that are vaguely connected , all written specifically for me to read and it's absolutely lovely <3333

anyways , the kiddads and co just being the most chaotic clubbers to ever exist <333 they commit enough crimes when they're sober , so it only makes sense they'd commit even more when drunk LMAO but them also just being like . that one story that a bunch of random girls have . just some club cryptids that find random sad girls and then proceed to be the nicest people ever and give them the night of their lives dbnsnsmsm also multiple of them being mistaken for strippers 😭😭 love that for them honestly <3 also glad to see Nicky is continuing Glenn's legacy of having the most gnc "straight" relationship to ever exist <333 them sharing outfits is everything , actually <3333 but lark and terry collecting everyone's embarrassing moments for weddings dbjsnssksk they are so silly <33 it's just the Lark and Terry dynamic !!!! they are the qpps of all time !!!!! and Terry ditching his gf of valentine's for lark 🥺 like yes that sucks for the gf , but Terry and Lark !!!! I love them !!!!!

[shamelessrabbithole]

Not the previous anon but what I feel about this label-less relationship (considering that yeah I like him and I consider him attractive, but I also have mixed opinions about how he behaves in romantic relationships) goes a bit like this. It's a dumb analogy but bear with me please. In my life (I have a legal adyacent job), I have seen many glamorous jobs with high salaries, a certain lifestyle that comes with it, many perks that come with a job, etc. But at the end of the day, it's public knowledge that people working these jobs are sitting at their desks over 60 or 70, hours a week, without being able to disconnect themselves. That's the less glamorous part of the job. Sure, you can get a fancy house and car, nice clothes and whatever with your high salary but you're also constantly exhausted. Many people straight up quit the profession after some years.

So for me, a romantic relationship with him (not that it's on my cards being able to even be acquaintances with him lol) feels a bit like seeing a fancy job offer advertised on Linkedin. I see the fancy trips, the Ludlow stays, his pool, the constant photoshoots, etc. And that's it. God knows what goes behind the scenes that isn't posted prettily on social media. He seems to have a very unique personality, maybe a bit too intense even (just from what we know about his relationship with Peyton or Sadie, maybe he doesn't know how to let go). Would I be jealous of any girl who gets the nice, fun parts of a relationship with him? Sure. But if I were in the place of the girl (Madison in this case), I'd really ask myself if the nice things are worth the possibly not so nice stuff? She has already gotten maybe one or two mean comments when she commented on the nursery post. Who knows if she got any DMs in a similar sense. Feels like even being showed off on his stories won't get her necessarily good rep. Maybe Lauren or the other girls were more used to it because they have insta profiles where tbh you see a bunch of random people either praising them over their pictures from photoshoots or just being straight up weird and creepy under a swim suit picture. Feels like Madison is used to another type of social media experience -friends and colleagues from the dancing world who are generally very kind to e/o. SO YEAH there's that. It feels like, for the sake of her mental sanity, it's best if she doesn't confirm anything. Sorry for the long ass message.

No worries about your message being long. I agree with the first half of your ask. That social media distills down the look of someone's lifestyle to only show the highlights. And the highlights of being with someone like Cam include fun travels and interesting photo shoots. But that the reality is probably more humdrum that what appears.

As for the negativity received on social media by his partners, I really don't think any of that would make a huge impact. I can imagine myself dating someone exceptional and wonderful, but a downside to that being jealous, anonymous trolls trying to make me feel bad about myself. Would I really give up an amazing relationship and life for some internet chatter? Would anyone? It's not gotten overwhelming to the point they couldn't even turn on their devices without being harrassed. And if it did ever get that bad, deactivating would've been a perfectly reasonable option.

The main issue with Cam, I think, is that he's been a performer from a very young age. He didn't have a male role model growing up, and he is very much an artist to his core. Being a boyfriend in all of the traditional ways we expect might not be in his DNA, and someone like Madison, who is also forever creating and making art and seeing the beauty in the mundane, might be perfect for him right now. It seems like an undemanding, highly encouraging relationship between two people who aren't forging a romance, so much as pushing each other to fully explore their passions.

So, that's my take on what we're seeing and why it's working for them at the moment. (I came upon this conclusion earlier today while brushing my teeth. 🦷)

[umichenginabroad]

Blog Post 4: Travel and Fun

Bonjour! This is Andrew, a rising sophomore here at the UofM. As you’ve probably already guessed, either from the start or because you read my other post (thank you if that’s the case), I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to come to Paris for a one-and-a-half-month study abroad experience, and I’m here to tell you all about the amazing trips and fun experiences I’ve had. In this post, I’ll be talking about my travels to Monaco, Luxembourg, the Loire Valley, and Amsterdam. I’ll also share some of the great things you can do in Paris. As a casual will-take-photos-of-anything photographer, I’ll be putting random photos I took that don’t seem to have any relationship with the content in random places in the post, so I hope you’ll enjoy it!

During my study abroad program in Paris, my friends and I decided to make the most of our time here by organizing trips to various incredible places. All these trips were planned during the program, not beforehand, which made them even more spontaneous and exciting!

Travel Stuff

First up, Monaco. We went on a three-day, two-night trip to see the Monaco Grand Prix, which, for the non-F1 watchers out there, is one of the most iconic races in one of the most iconic motorsport competitions ever. During the trip, we visited local bars and got our share of the vibrant nightlife. We also explored many local sights in both Nice, and Monaco. Walking through Monaco, we searched for the perfect spot to watch the race. What’s crazy is that, when I was ranting about the police being too strict on these places we could barely see the race, I got a free ticket from a random stranger that cost like 70 euros or something. Thanks to her, I got some crazy pics of the race. Whoever you are, I hope you live a wonderful rest of your life. The thrill of the race combined with the beauty of Monaco made for an unforgettable experience. The Grand Prix atmosphere was absolutely electric. The streets were packed with excited fans, and the sound of the cars zooming by was incredible. We even got to see some fancy cars and yachts—Monaco is all about that luxury life know wat I’m sayin. In Nice, we strolled along the Promenade des Anglais, soaked up the sun on the beach, and got some crazy gelato. The old town, with its colorful buildings and narrow streets, was perfect for some casual wandering and some photo sessions where we got a bunch of tough flicks. The nightlife in Nice, on the other hand, did not disappoint. We hit up a couple of trendy bars, and the energy was off the charts. We danced, laughed, and made some great memories with both locals and other travelers. The best part was definitely the unexpected free ticket to the qualifiers. Watching the cars race around the tight corners and narrow streets of Monaco was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. The whole trip was a perfect mix of high-speed excitement, cultural exploration, and just plain fun. 

Photo 1: Tuff photo we got in Loire Valley

Next, we went on a day trip to Luxembourg. This small but charming country has so much to offer. We visited the Cathédrale Notre-Dame, which was breathtaking. We also walked along the Alzette, a picturesque river, and enjoyed an amazing view of central Luxembourg from a sky tower. What I think was the craziest part was when we went to this random park with a lot of kids and we were asked if we wanted to play soccer with them. At first I was like yeah sure we’ll take it easy and play around, but when my friend said “yep sure! We’re not that good though” and that lil bro said “I know.” I knew we had to obliterate them. Long story short, we did. 6:3 while playing 4 against 11 was hopefully enough to make them think twice about trash talking the next time they see tourists.

Our study abroad program, CEA CAPA, hooked us up with a two-day trip to the Loire Valley, one of the most beautiful spots in France. We checked out a bunch of castles, including the amazing Château de Chenonceau and the Château de Chambord. Each castle had its own unique vibe and history, and exploring them felt like stepping back in time. The gardens, the architecture, and the sheer awesomeness of these castles were mind-blowing. Day one started at Château de Chambord, the biggest castle in the Loire Valley. Seeing Chambord from a distance was breathtaking. Its unique French Renaissance architecture, with tons of turrets and chimneys, showed off King Francis I's grand vision. Inside, we wandered through massive halls and spiral staircases, each room giving us a peek into the luxurious life of French nobility. The double-helix staircase, supposedly designed by Leonardo da Vinci, was super cool and showed off the creative spirit of the Renaissance. Throughout the trip, we got soaked in the rich culture of the region. Our guides told us awesome stories and historical facts that made the past come alive. We learned about the political drama, artistic achievements, and architectural breakthroughs that shaped these famous landmarks. Next, we headed to the Château de Chenonceau, aka the "Ladies' Castle" because of all the famous women who lived there. The castle's arches spanned over the River Cher, making a crazy reflection on the water. There were quite a lot of  fancy tapestries, decorated rooms, and detailed artwork on the walls inside the castle, which was pretty cool. The gardens were just as amazing, with perfectly trimmed flower beds, sweet-smelling roses, and lush greenery that made the place feel like a fairy tale. In the evenings, we chowed down on delicious local food, including rillettes, goat cheese, and the famous wines of the Loire Valley.The trip was not just a visual treat but also an educational experience that made us appreciate French history and culture even more. Each castle visit left us in awe and gave us a deeper understanding of the historical stories that still influence modern France. The Loire Valley, with its stunning castles and beautiful landscapes, was the perfect setting for our study abroad adventure.

Photo 2: Another tuff photo I got of my friend in Loire Valley

Finally, my friends and I took a three-day, two-night trip to Amsterdam. The city’s vibrant culture and lively atmosphere were a joy to experience. We wandered through the charming streets, visited the Van Gogh Museum, and explored the Nemo Science Museum. The nightlife in Amsterdam is fantastic, with numerous bars and clubs that kept us entertained. Amsterdam’s blend of history, art, and nightlife made it a perfect destination. We also checked out the Anne Frank House, which was both sobering and incredibly moving. It’s one thing to read about history in textbooks, but standing in the actual rooms where Anne Frank and her family hid was a whole different experience. On a lighter note, we took a canal cruise that was super chill and gave us a cool perspective of the city. It was pretty awesome to just sit back, relax, and float through the picturesque canals while learning random fun facts about Amsterdam from the tour guide. We also rented bikes one afternoon and joined the locals in biking around the city. It felt a bit like we were part of a giant, two-wheeled parade, weaving through the narrow streets and parks. The food in Amsterdam was also a highlight. We indulged in stroopwafels, which are these amazing caramel-filled waffle cookies, and tried herring from street vendors (it was actually like lowkey crazy good). Overall, Amsterdam was a total blast, mixing deep history with artsy vibes and a killer nightlife. We left feeling like we’d truly experienced the best the city had to offer.

Photo 3: Just a chill street in Luxembourg

Fun in Paris

Paris itself has so many places and events that are incredibly fun. The tourist attractions, despite being well-known and possibly a bit boring to think about, are actually very interesting to visit. The Louvre, the Eiffel Tower, and the Centre Pompidou are just a few examples of places that you must see. Each visit offers something new and exciting, whether it’s discovering a hidden piece of art or seeing the city from a new perspective. I got this crazy photo of the Eiffel Tower at night with the Olympic rings on it, as shown below, which made me think boy was that one hour long wait at that same bring spot worth it.

Photo 4: Probably my favorite photo I've taken of the Eiffel Tower ever

For those who love to stay active, Paris is an awesome place. The streets are perfect for running, with beautiful views and cool landmarks everywhere. There are also ping pong tables all around the parks, so you can always find a spot to play a quick game with friends or even strangers. Plus, there are basketball courts where you can hop in and join a game anytime. It's a great way to stay fit and meet new people while having a blast.

Photo 5: Bus

And let’s not forget the cool places around Paris. Disneyland Paris is a magical place for both kids and adults. The Loire Valley, as mentioned earlier, is a must-visit with its beautiful castles. The Castle of Chantilly is another gem worth exploring. Each of these places offers a unique experience that adds to the charm of being in Paris.

Photo 6: Is that a Supra?!?!

So, that about concludes this blog. Thanks to those of you who actually came and read this monstrosity of a post! Whether it’s traveling to new countries or exploring Paris itself, there’s always something exciting to do. And as always, I’ll be sharing random photos I took along the way. Enjoy!

Hsien-Cheng Chou (Andrew Chou)

Mechanical Engineering

Engineering in Paris

[liarsandthieves22]

Hiya there! I’m on like my 7th reread (no exaggeration) of How a Resurrection Really Feels, and I’m wondering - what’s your process to get from a premise to a plot, especially ones as long as that and It’s Good to See You Back in a Bar Band, Baby? It’s always the part I’ve struggled with the most, and you mentioned along the way in the notes for Resurrection that it started as just the dead kid support group and grew from that, so I’m hoping you have some insight!

Thanks, and don’t worry if you take a while to get to this - the average time of an ask in my inbox is weeks lol

-Cyrene

haha omg well i'm very touched you've re-read it so many times!

my writing process is sort of a weird frankenstein of plotting things out meticulously and writing by the seat of my pants to be totally transparent. with resurrection i started with the very bare bones idea of "dead kids support group" and then sort of worked my way back to the beginning from there -- what could happen logically in canon to make everyone come back? that's where the timeline re-setting came from. then i wrote, like, the first five chapters, started to get a feel for where the plot was going and that i liked writing the main cast too much to just focus on the dead kids, and began writing down the major plot points i knew i wanted in bullet points. but i changed the plot a lot as i wrote -- fun fact, initially the phone call that interrupted steve and eddie's kiss was going to be billy coming back, and steve was going to leave to go confront him with max, but then that scene felt so needless and clunky so i changed it.

in fact, as an example of how much i change plot as i write, here' the original bullet point chapter breakdown of bar band which a bunch of minor detail stuff that i ultimately did not do:

so you can see where the major story beats stayed the same -- the mark story, the photos breaking, murray showing up -- but i changed a lot of stuff around it (steve breaking his phone felt like anger that came out of nowhere, nancy showing up meant i couldn't find a space for jonathan or barb in the story). there's a whole draft of bar band where chrissy and barb are both dead, but that bummed me out too much to stick with, so i scrapped it.

my premises usually have a very clear beginning and end -- we start here and we end here -- and then i just sort of have to work out the middle, which i tend to do by writing the scenes i like and know i want to happen first, and then pulling the rest of them together around those scenes. for me, those tend to be the scenes with the broad comedy moments or the scenes with the big emotional beats -- you know, the juicy stuff! (scenes i wrote first for resurrection include: steve's present tense demodog dream, jonathan's "stop being an asshole, man," line, and the first dead kids support group scene. scenes i wrote first for bar band were steve and robin's starcourt story, eddie's story about chrissy, steve's monologue about loneliness, the chiquitita dance scene, the mark story, and steve's dad showing up to practice. and then i built the fic around those emotional beats!)

all that said: truthfully i have so so many ideas that never make it past premise stage. i think i said in the author notes of resurrection that it's the first writing project i've finished in years; it was the first one where i really could see the plot happen in front of me in a way that made sense and didn't frustrate me so much i quit. which is something i'm trying to be better at! part of my currently sort of long fic hiatus is that i'm having trouble getting the middles done of some other ideas i have; the question is really if i like them enough to put the effort in.

so, basically: i'd be charitable to yourself! write the scenes that seem the most fun, or the scenes that come to you as you're, like, about to to go to bed or shower (why is it always then, seriously) and then you can build the rest of the plot and the big emotional beats around those moments. writing this way means that i have to kill my darlings a lot, but it also keeps me in the story because i'm writing the parts i want to write, so it feels less like work. and also, transparently, this super might not work for you! everyone's process is different, but i find a mini-road map is the best to keep me going, especially if i know i can detour down the line.

[sacred-stanning]

Chapter 15 Part 6: He's coming right at us!

So just when I thought I was out of the woods because the Pegasus Knights had stopped appearing, now some mages begin to appear up top!

There are two over here too.

I equip a bow on Gerik and have him wait in range of one.

Eirika moves up and tries to take out a mage, but she would've needed a 4% crit to do it, so she leaves him at 1 lousy HP instead.

Ephraim moves up here and gets rid of the Shaman.

Tana helps out her friend, Eirika, and finishes off the mage.

Down below, there are a bunch of enemies, though most of them aren't that dangerous. I leave Lute here in range of a mage. I also put Vanessa next to Lute, and Franz stands...somewhere? I don't remember where, and it appears I didn't take a photo, but he's not in any immediate danger.

On enemy phase, things mostly go as expected. Gerik makes a pincushion out of this mage...

Eirika is in range of a Shaman, but she's fine...

And then...

HOLY JESUS WHAT!?!?

Caellach moves!?!?

After a whole game of bosses never moving, I didn't even think to check his range, but apparently Ephraim, A LOSS CONDITION IF HE DIES, was in Tomahawk range.

Yeah...he does some big damage too. This was NOT part of the plan.

So we end up like this. Another mage has appeared right next to Eirika. The Shaman who attacked her is next to Ephraim, unhurt. Caellach is unhurt and up in our faces. And anyone who attacks the Shaman or Caellach will need to keep the Axe Fighters in mind.

I check out a bunch of options, and honestly Innes is pretty much the best. Eirika has swords, so her hit and avoid rates are boosted, but she does very little damage. Cormag and Tana only have lances, so they suffer from weapon triangle disadvantage. (Ironically, I forgot to even consider giving Cormag a sword, despite his promotion opening that up as an option.) I think Ross's hit rate was bad, and he probably got doubled. And I think Moulder also suffered from getting doubled too.

Innes's hit rate still isn't great, but at least he can double and do pretty good damage.

There will be no critting though thanks to Caellach's Hoplon Guard item.

Innes hits both shots, but also gets hit.

But a heal from Moulder and a dance from Tethys give Innes two more shots at finishing off Caellach, and he only needs one.

Got it! That's one boss down!

Ross can't double either of these Axe Fighters, but he has a Killer Axe and the built-in crit skill from his class, so I I do this and hope for a crit.

I have him attack the Axe Fighter who doesn't have a hammer, because I figure the one with a hammer will have a much worse hit rate.

Since Ephraim is still really hurt, Cormag attacks this mage, which removes that threat, and blocks off the last Axe Fighter from getting to Ephraim.

In the upper right, Marisa, Gerik, and Saleh team up to take out these three mages.

And at the bottom, Lute, Vanessa, and Franz take out three enemies. I have Vanessa throw a Javelin at the mage so that Lute can attack the Mercenary from behind Vanessa and not expose herself to the physical attackers further down. Again, Vanessa is protecting Lute. :)

Next time: "Fun" side objectives