#like 4 people i know immediately started their own Fruit Adventure

[songofsaraneth]

every time i ask people if they do any new years resolutions its all ooooo i dont like making them bc i fail or ohhhhh no i couldnt keep up wiht that and then when they ask me and i tell them about Pasta Quest (i am eating as many different pasta shapes as possible in the space of a year) or when i did Fruit Adventures (every time i saw a fruit i had never eaten before id get one and eat it and read the wikipedia article about it) theyre like hang on i forgot you can make Fun Ones i want a fun one

[emelinstriker]

Wukong ♢ 'Vacation'

Heads up, I haven't seen the sleep bug episode, or any other season than 4 in general, in a while and just remember the general plot moment of the episode. Also the moment of MK trying to get in contact with Monkey King while flexing his new abilities.

All's based in an AU anyway so we shall strife away from the canon timeline- whoo :D

I just know Monkey King doesn't fully return till like the end of season 2, so this shall have major timeskips-

♢ ~ Angst ~ ♢

"Sun Wukong! Where are you?!", your slightly irritated voice rang from behind some trees as you moved past some foliage, looking for your monkey boyfriend. He was supposed to train MK today and you wanted to pay a visit to Flower Fruit Mountain, but then you caught MK training on his own as his mentor was nowhere in sight.

MK told you that Monkey King decided to take a sudden vacation and that he apparently sent you a message just minutes prior. You didn't notice the message however as you were busy trying to get the sleep bug game notification off your phone. It didn't work, so you ended up just turning off your phone so you could deal with it later at home.

But the fact that he outright left not only you but also the kid like that was quite upsetting.

Knowing the stone monkey, he didn't actually immediately leave. He was probably still somewhere on Flower Fruit Mountain to collect everything he would need just in case while being away. And it seems you were right on the money. You found the Monkey King packing up some leftover things that weren't behind the waterfall or near his and MK's designated training area. The items seemed to not be for a relaxing vacation to be honest.

"Wukong! Why are you going on vacation out of the blue?!" You asked as you approached him with quick steps.

He froze, his tail stiffening for just a second to let you know you startled him. The monkey quickly turned to look at you rather nervously. "A-Ah h-hey heeey, peaches! Wh- Well, what a surprise to see you all the way out here!"

"Mhm. Same to you", you started, glaring at him, "But don't avoid the question. You should be all the way on the other side of the forest and training your successor right now, y'know?"

He waved his hand dismissively, "He's got the basics down and knows how to train himself. I did train for the most part on my own as well. He'll be fine. Besides, it's not like I'll be gone forever. I'll be checking in from time to time." Then he continued to pack two more items.

You were still quite mad at him despite the explanation. "But why are you going on vacation right now and without me?"

That seemed to catch his attention, but not in the way you expected. The simian's ears seemed to twitch a little at your words, but he refused to look at you as he packed another item.

"Listen (Y/N), I simply need to get away and be alone for a while. I'll be visiting some people I know from the past. I'd love to have you on another vacation, just... not this one." His tail lowered itself until it was tucked between his legs. That didn't stop you from feeling left out of yet another mini-adventure. It was far from the first time he insisted on you staying behind due to you being a regular human with nothing more than verbal strength.

This time was no different as you noticed that whatever he had planned, the seriousness in his voice told you enough that wherever he was heading to was not a simple vacation. But that was even more of a reason to at least tell you where he was going!

You clenched your fists in frustration. "Can't you just tell me what's wrong? It's not like you to be this secretive! I know you're off to doing something alone again because of whatever bits of a hero complex you have left, but-" "I can't tell you, okay?!" He snapped back, finally turning to you with the snarl of a feral monkey, catching you off-guard.

"Ugh, that's why I need a vacation right about now too! Gods, you're so pushy in moments like these, I just need a break!"

Tears pricked in the corners of your eyes at his words, but you turned around quickly enough so he wouldn't see. You took a deep breath to calm your nerves and keep your voice from cracking.

"Fine. I hope you have fun on your vacation, Monkey King", you responded as you started to walk away, your back facing him the entire time while tears began rolling down your cheeks.

The simian was still annoyed as he began hopping onto his cloud and taking off. Only halfway to his destination did his brain finally register that you referred to him by his title. That's when the reality of the argument you two just had a few minutes ago hit. And so did the memory of how he described you, followed by you tearing up.

He did notice.

"...Shit", he muttered to himself dreadfully as he facepalmed. As much as he wanted to go back this instant and embrace you before you left Flower Fruit Mountain, his mission had to take priority as the fate of the world was in danger. He would have to apologize to you later...

"Later" turned into several weeks however as he fought to obtain information on how to beat the Lady Bone Demon. Occasionally he would check in on MK, of course. He did ask about you at least once everytime he got in contact with the boy though, even while being in the middle of battle. The guilt that was eating at him was a lot more bothersome than getting his hands on the Samadhi Fire's map.

MK noticed how often his mentor would ask about your well-being and at first thought that it was sweet of him to ask about you... But then he realized he could just get in contact with you directly too. You had a charm in form of a necklace that let you transport to Flower Fruit mountain, as well as open the waterfall and get in contact with your lover.

That's when he started to catch onto the suspicion that something must have happened between the two of you.

"Monkey King, why don't you just talk to (Y/N) directly? They still have the charm you gave them, right?"

The golden image of the Monkey King crossed his arms before scratching his cheek with a frown. He seemed suddenly very much uncomfortable.

"I... Uh... I don't have the time for a lengthy talk with them right now. I still need to visit another friend in a bit! Right! Yeah! Okay, see you later, bud!" "Monkey King, wait-"

And then the connection cut off. Feeling upset and abandoned by the one who was supposed to mentor him through his journey as hero, he decided to give you a call.

The phone rang until he heard your voice. Your recorded voice.

"Hi! This is (Y/N)! Please leave a message if you need anything and I'll listen to it as soon as possible!"

He hung up and tried to call again, but it also only went back to voicemail.

Raising an eyebrow at your sudden unavailability, he decided to just send you a text instead, believing you were busy at work and put your phone on silent.

'monkey king keeps asking about you btw, but doesn't seem to wanna talk to you directly :('

'tell me if you wanna talk to him and i can try get you two in contact'

'if he hasn't talked to you recently that is'

'he acts kinda weird rn tbh'

You should be able to read those messages once you got time. Probably after work.

And yet he never received any text back.

What he didn't know was that you weren't at work. In fact, you were being held captive by the Lady Bone Demon's servant, the Mayor. Him and his Lady knew about your relationship with Sun Wukong and how fragile you were compared to the rest of your friends.

"I don't have anything to offer you!" You yelled out as the Mayor held your arms effortlessly behind your back, forcing you to simply talk to his Lady's glowing image in front of you.

She giggled ominously, "On the contrary, (Y/N). Your destiny has been sealed the moment you agreed to a relationship with that damned simian and befriended his successor."

"What the hell am I of use for to you?! I don't have any special abilities you could even benefit from!" Your voice cracked towards the end from the amount of anxiety you had.

"Well, unfortunately for your frail body, your destiny involves succumbing to your wounds."

Before you could question her any further, the Mayor moved your wrists swiftly, breaking your arms in the process. You cried out in pain, breathing heavily as tears began to fall.

"For you see, the charm Sun Wukong gave you will aid us in creating the New World. Contact him through it." She smirked down at your quivering form. "And even if you decide to be uncooperative, destiny will catch up sooner or later..."

And as suspected, you were being very much uncooperative. So much so that you ended up with more injuries than you could keep count of. Probably half of which included several broken bones from the Mayor's raw demonic strength.

While the Lady Bone Demon wasn't so fond of your refusal to call your boyfriend, she merely saw it as a minor delay. She knew Sun Wukong and the rest of the crew would get suspicious and try find you eventually.

Even if it took days upon Wukong telling the crew to find the three four rings...

And find you they did.

But not in the shape they had hoped.

You were completely bloody and bruised, your limbs were mangled in a rather disturbing way.

The crew was horrified- Not only at the sight, but also at the realization that you were lifeless, dead...

The Monkey King felt the most broken. The memories of your forever last conversation being one big mess of an argument... He thought he was keeping you and the others safe...

He mourned over your dead body, letting his tears fall as he carefully cradled you in his arms, his fur and armor now having bloody spots. MK was struggling with telling his mentor to focus because he himself couldn't fully focus anymore at the sight of a close friend's body. However, the thought of other people, including his other friends, ending up in the same position as you were in was terrifying.

And that was all the motivation they both needed to keep moving. The Great Sage wiped away his tears, looking at your resting form one last time before glaring into the distance.

He would avenge your death, no matter what.

And if possible, would try find a way to bring you back... Even if it involves fighting the Heavens once more.

> Link to Masterlist <

[celinegabor]

Spring Detox Challenge

Spring is right around the corner everyone which means more germs as people head outside again - but also NEW opportunities. Let’s utilize this time to prepare with a 30 day detox.

This isn’t your normal “detox” that does nothing but leave you feeling fatigued and starved. This detox is all about moving our bodies and giving our immune systems something it can work with.

We’re taking spring cleaning to an entirely new level.

This guide is broken down into 4 weeks where each week will build upon the previous. The goal is to slowly introduce habits at a relaxed pace so that you’ll gain confidence in your ability to follow through without burning yourself out.

You don’t need any equipment for the workout portion but you will need a means of travel and some finances to grocery shop.

Ready? Let’s go.

Week 1: Movement

This week’s primary focus to movement. Your goal is to move your body Monday - Friday for a minimum of 45 minutes. The workout should get your heart rate up and you should sweat. That’s your metric for working hard. The type of movement is completely up to you.

Here’s a schedule you can follow that I put together should you not know where to start:

Monday - https://youtu.be/UItWltVZZmE

Tuesday - https://youtu.be/UBMk30rjy0o

Wednesday - https://youtu.be/b1H3xO3x_Js

Thursday - https://youtu.be/ZiQh8jA5tVM

Friday - https://youtu.be/cC-kKj-ZQ-Y

No need to track weight nor measurements unless you’d like to. I’m a numbers girl - so I will be but it isn’t necessary.

You should also be stretching after each workout for 15-20 minutes and be sure to breath. Bubble baths are also great after a workout.

Week 2: Nourish

This week is all about food. Food is nourishment and enrichment. The goal for this week is to improve our diets.

You have two goals this week & they are the only ones you’ll need.

1. Portion control

2. Nutritional Value

Why? Because eating proper portions allows your body to digest appropriately and allows it to use the remaining energy it does have to take care of your immune system, muscle repair, etc.

You’ll also be focusing on nutritionally dense foods. So a quick tip, stick to whole foods. Fruits, veggies, lean proteins, and root vegetables like sweet potatoes. Have fun cooking! Make it a show!

You’ll want to watch how much salt and sugar you add to your foods or that are in your foods so make sure you look at your nutrition labels.

Week 3: RESTore

Where do you want to be by the end of 2022? Really take a lay of the land that is your life. This week is about sparking up old ideas and new adventure.

This week’s goal is to try something new and fun. Something you’ve always wanted to do. I know you’re probably thinking “What does this have to do with detoxing?”

EVERYTHING. Fun is so necessary to rid the body of stress & stress makes us sick, adds on the pounds, and really harms our mental health.

Each day this week you are to do something you’ve always wanted to - it doesn’t have to cost a dime.

Week 4: Recover

It’s been a long 4 weeks. Your body is tired! This week is about learning to rest when you can - ALWAYS.

In life, we tend to try to do everything on our own and some of us truly have to. This week, I want you to try to actively notice when you’re tired - mentally or physically and then I want you to take immediate action to rest.

Whether that’s asking a friend to help you pick up your home, asking for a day off from work, taking a break from your studies, or going to bed every night at the same time.

That’s it. I hope you’ll all join me. And before I go, I wanted to clarify that each week builds on the last so for example in week 2 - you should be nourishing your body but still working out.

I can’t wait to hear about how you all feel come spring!

x, Celine G.

[victorluvsalice]

Sims Challenge Wednesday: Vampire The Masquerade Bloodlines!

Hi all! We’re putting the usual Newcrest Adventures updates on pause for a week because I recently finished a little project I’ve been working on for a little while now -- doing Sims 4 challenges for two of my other favorite video games, Vampire: the Masquerade -- Bloodlines and Fallout 4! Yes, I’ve mentioned wanting to do this before on the blog, and now, finally, I’ve completed the initial drafts of each challenge! And I figured, who better to share them with than all of you. :) So let’s start off with the VTMB challenge!

(Oh, and note -- yeah, I just saw in the tags that someone’s actually come up with a VTMB-inspired Legacy challenge for The Sims 4. Mine’s a completely different one-generation challenge, but I am intrigued to see what’s going on with the Legacy version!)

VTMB SIMS 4 CHALLENGE

Premise: It all started out so well – a night out at the clubs, a flirtatious wink across the dance floor, a trip back to a seedy hotel room to get it on with your new partner. . .and then suddenly, in a mix of pain and pleasure, you find yourself lacking a heartbeat. And then some other people storm in, and you find out that:

A) you have been changed into a vampire

B) the person who changed you did not have permission to change you into a vampire

Your “sire” is put to death for disobeying the laws of the vampire underworld – but the rulers of your local city decide that you can be allowed to live. So long as you run a bunch of errands for them, of course. . .your only way out? Make some allies, make some money, gain a ton of power, and keep your head down until you can kick every one of these people’s asses personally. That is, if you (un)live that long. . .

This is a challenge loosely inspired by the experience of being the Fledgling PC in the video game Vampire: the Masquerade – Bloodlines. The goals are to become a Grand Master Vampire, graduate from a shitty apartment to a decent one, and defeat a bunch of other vampires in duels to prove yourself.

Packs required: Vampires, Get Together, City Living, Eco Lifestyle, Island Living, Cats & Dogs/Cottage Living

Your Sim: Create your “Fledgling” in CAS. Your Fledgling should be a Young Adult. You may start them out as a vampire to start the challenge immediately, or start them as a human, make a sire for them, then have them changed in-game to gain a few days to build skills and enjoy sunlight. (Remember that the sire must be killed after your Fledgling starts their change! I recommend locking them outside in the sunlight.) The challenge starts the moment the Sim transforms fully into a vampire.

Each Fledgling vampire in Bloodlines belongs to one of seven clans – Brujah (clan of rebels and brawlers), Gangrel (clan of loners and animal lovers), Malkavian (clan of mentally ill people and oracles), Nosferatu (clan of warped looks and computer specialists), Toreador (clan of lovers and artistes), Tremere (clan of magicians and scholars), or Venture (clan of leaders and those of rarefied tastes). Pick one clan for your Fledgling and assign them an appropriate personality trait –

Brujah – “Hot-Headed”

Gangrel – Either “Cat Lover,” “Dog Lover,” or “Animal Enthusiast”

Malkavian – “Erratic” (you may sub in a custom trait for mental illness if you have one)

Nosferatu – “Geek”

Toreador – Either “Art Lover” or “Music Lover”

Tremere – “Bookworm”

Ventrue – “Snob”

Optional: Also assign your Fledgling the “Kleptomaniac” trait as, in the original Bloodlines game, you do end up stealing a lot of stuff to sell to vendors for quick cash.

Optional: If you’re strictly following how vampires work in Bloodlines, leave your vampire’s Dark Form identical to their normal form except for their fangs (except if you’re playing a Nosferatu – then instead customize the Dark Form to look like their post-transformation Orlockian-self (think Straud’s Dark Form) and have the “regular” form be the disguise they wear around humans to fit in). However, if you really want to do a custom Dark Form, I’m not going to be the one to stop you.

Their World: Set up the rest of the save file according to the below guidelines:

Your fledgling must live in a terrible apartment in either San MyShuno or Evergreen Harbor. This apartment must have a low-quality bed, a low-quality kitchen, a small low-quality bathroom, a TV, and a desk with the cheapest laptop. It must also have at least the “Filthy” lot challenge. Upon moving there, set their starting money to $100 (this is the amount they got for expenses).

Make or download at least three or four other vampires (depending on if you want to use the premade Vladislaus Straud or not) and make sure that they live in nice apartments/houses and are at least Master rank (cheats are totally allowed for this). These vampires must all be part of the same club (your choice for the name), with one chosen as the leader – this is the club that “rules” over all the local vampires and is making sure your Fledgling doesn’t step out of line. Set them up to meet regularly either at one of their homes or at an appropriately-kicking nightclub. Club activities are at your discretion, though remember – if they’re in public, they shouldn’t break the Masquerade by showing off powers or drinking plasma!

Make one “Independent” vampire and set them up however you wish, though they must be at least Master rank as well. They may be important to your Fledgling later!

Make sure you have at least four nightclubs (obviously they don’t have to all be in the same world) for your Fledgling to visit on the regular.

Goals:

Your Fledgling is looking to complete the following:

Become a Grand Master vampire, with all the power and perks that entails

Complete the Master Vampire aspiration (they may work on other aspirations as well)

Earn at least $5,000 simoleons

Move into better digs (either a better apartment or their own house)

Defeat all the members of the ruling club of vampires in Vampiric Duels

Rules:

Your Fledgling is not allowed to get a normal job, as per the rules of the council. Your Fledgling is only allowed to earn money by selling items they have made or found (or swiped, if they have the right trait) to other Sims, or by doing Odd Jobs. Any Odd Jobs that your fledgling finds that come from the ruling council (that is, if you see their picture by the job description) must be prioritized.

Your Fledgling may drink from plasma packs both purchased and homemade, but cannot use plasma fruit while the challenge is ongoing. (This means no doing the Good Vampire aspiration until you’ve completed your goals!)

Your Fledgling may drink from Sims, but must not break the Masquerade in doing so. They must either isolate the Sim they choose to drink from and compel them for a drink; or they must isolate the Sim and flirt with them at least five times before asking for a drink (to make it seem like they’re asking to make out or woohoo instead of drink their plasma). Either way, they must not be seen feeding by other Sims. The Fledgling is allowed five slip-ups – after that, the challenge is failed and they are put to death.

Your Fledgling must get to know the ruling vampires – a friendly relationship, however, is very much not necessary. They are going to be battling them sooner or later for the right to live life on their own terms!

Your Fledgling must follow the rules of their clan when purchasing powers: All vampires may purchase the Garlic Immunity, Vampire Creation, and Child of the Moon powers. Brujah vampires may purchase the Detect Personality, Vampiric Strength, Vampiric Slumber, Supernatural Speed, and Influence Emotion powers. Gangrel vampires may purchase the Bat Form, Vampiric Strength, Vampiric Slumber, Dampened Emotions, and Beyond The Herd powers. Malkavian vampires may purchase the Cast Hallucination, Command, Irresistible Slumber, Deprive Needs, and Influence Emotion powers. Nosferatu vampires may purchase the Eternally Welcome, Vampiric Strength, Irresistible Slumber, Odorless, and Mist Form powers. Toreador vampires may purchase the Eternally Welcome, Vampiric Charm, Mesmerize, Supernatural Speed, and Influence Emotion powers. Tremere vampires may purchase the Occult Student, Command, Manipulate Life Spirit, Deprive Needs, and Immortal Pleasures powers. Ventrue vampires may purchase the Detect Personality, Command, Mesmerize, Dampened Emotions, and Beyond The Herd powers. No vampires may purchase the Sun Resistance or Tamed Thirst powers.

Your Fledgling must also follow the rules of their clan when it comes to weaknesses: All vampires must purchase the Withered Stomach weakness – human food is indigestible to them. Brujah vampires like to rebel and fight – they should get into a fight with another Sim at least once every three days. They may fight the ruling vampires, but it doesn’t count as “defeating” them until they do it in an official vampire duel. They are also encouraged to purchase the Sloppy Drinker or Insatiable Thirst weaknesses. Gangrel vampires prefer open spaces and animals to being around people – they should have at least one pet (probably a cat or dog, although if you think you can fit a chicken coop or animal shed into their final home. . .) and prioritize socializing with that pet over socializing with other Sims. They are also encouraged to purchase the Uncontrollable Hissing or Undead Aura weaknesses. Malkavian vampires must deal with their madness – they should indulge their whims as much as possible (no matter how little sense they make – hell, the less sense the better), and you’re encouraged to let them do their own thing as much as possible as well (full autonomy on, people!). They are also encouraged to purchase the Uncontrollable Hissing or Fitful Sleep weaknesses. Nosferatu vampires are all warped by their curse into visions of pure ugliness – they should stay in their Dark Form as much as possible and only “put on their human disguise” to go to a club – and even then, they can only “keep up the illusion” for four hours. Being seen on a community lot by a large group of mortals in your Dark Form is a Masquerade violation, so keep track of the time! They are also encouraged to purchase the Dayphobia or Undead Aura weaknesses. Toreador vampires are mesmerized easily by what they personally consider beautiful, and are also a little more sensitive to the fact that they’ve become undead monsters – they should spend as much money as they can on beautiful artwork for their homes every three days, and spend most of their time admiring lovely objects and/or Sims when they’re out and about. They are also encouraged to purchase the Guilty Drinker or Eternal Sadness weaknesses. Tremere vampires are insular and ill-trusted by other vampires, and are so focused on their scholarly pursuits they lack physical fitness – they should not bring any of their relationships with other vampires up above “Acquaintance” (barring the Independent, see below), and should not improve the Fitness skill (or any other physical sport-related skill) above 5. They are also encouraged to purchase the Sloppy Drinker or Dayphobia weaknesses. Ventrue vampires may only drink from certain kinds of people – they should pick a distinguishing feature (hair color, eye color, personality trait, etc) and then only drink from Sims with that trait. They may drink regular plasma packs, but cannot drink ones made from fish or frogs. They are also encouraged to purchase the Guilty Drinker or Insatiable Thirst weaknesses. Optional: Your Fledgling can take the Thin-Skinned weakness no matter their clan, but I actually wouldn’t recommend it – while it fits with the World of Darkness lore, your Fledgling is going to have to be active during the day for their Odd Jobs most likely. Basically, take that one at your own risk!

Your Fledgling may befriend your Independent vampire – in fact, this is encouraged, as the Independent vampire can teach them a new power! Upon becoming friends with the Independent vampire, your Fledgling may learn one “out-of-clan” power that does not conflict with any of their weaknesses.

Your Fledgling must visit a nightclub once every three days to socialize, dance, and generally pretend to be human. If they can find a way to make money at the club or discreetly feed, even better.

Your Fledgling must “officially” defeat all members of the ruling vampire club in Vampiric Duels in order to break their hold on their unlives. Once this is accomplished, they may get a Freelancer job or sell things direct from inventory instead of to other Sims to pay the bills, as they are no longer under the club’s thumb.

Optional Hard Mode – Four Factions: There’s not one club, there’s four – and none of them like each other! Make three extra clubs, each with at least four vampire members, to represent the four main factions of the original game – the Camarilla (the “official” vampire government, kind of stodgy), the Anarchs (rebellious and looking for more freedoms), the Sabbat (want to revel in their monstrous nature), and the Kuei-Jin (Asian “vampires” who are trying to take over the area; feel free to make them a different kind of occult altogether!). Your Fledgling may choose to join any one of these clubs, or none of them. If they join a club, they have to defeat the leaders plus one member of each of the other clubs in Vampiric Duels to earn their freedom; if they go Independent, they just have to take down all four leaders.

Optional Hard Mode – Limited Map: Your Fledgling can only travel between the worlds of Evergreen Harbor (Santa Monica), San MyShuno (Downtown L.A.), Del Sol Valley (Hollywood), and Mt. Komorebi (Chinatown – it’s the closest we’ve got, just stick to the more city-like neighborhood). Their initial bad apartment must be in Evergreen Harbor, and they must upgrade to one of the best apartments in San MyShuno.

Optional Hard Mode – The Sequel: Your Fledgling is actually the protagonist of the ever-in-production Bloodlines 2 – aka, they’re a Thin-Blood, and their Embrace was REALLY illegal. Adjust the rules as follows:

Thin-Bloods often don’t show signs of any clan, but they are generally hunted and killed just for existing. If you have StrangerVille, I would recommend the “Paranoid” personality trait, but otherwise, customize them as you see fit.

After buying their shitty apartment, you must set their starting funds to zero – they did not receive anything for expenses, because. . .

They’re not under the thumb of the ruling vampires, they’re on the run from them. To be caught is to be killed, so your Fledgling must avoid their notice. Do not attempt to interact with them before you’re powerful enough to take them on, and avoid any Odd Jobs that come from them. (They may still talk to the Independent vampire, who doesn’t care about the politics.)

Their lack of clan means they may choose from almost any of the available powers (aka, anything but Sun Resistance and Tamed Thirst), but must have double the points needed to buy them before they can purchase them (due to their weak vampire blood). They also cannot sire new vampires, so they cannot take Vampire Creation. Befriending the Independent vampire allows them to purchase one power for normal cost.

[jokerfan99]

My Top 10 Favorite Anime Villains (Updated) by DarkChild316

In a different time and a different world, I did a list of “My 10 Favorite Anime Villains”. I am older now, and hopefully much wiser and now thanks to the global pandemic and my new subscriptions to Hulu and Funimation I’ve had the opportunity to go back and revisit so many classic anime that I feel like I should re-do it. Plus I’ve gone back and looked at my previous list and shook my head thinking to myself: “My God man, what in the f**k were you thinking with some of these choices!” So, I’ve gone back and redone the list, now this list is strictly for the men only. If you want to see a list dedicated to my favorite female villains, check out my list of “My Top 10 Favorite Anime Villainesses.” But for this list, here is my updated list of My Top 10 Favorite Anime Villains:

#10. Shishiho Makoto (Rurouni Kenshin): Growing up as a kid, Ruroni Kenshin was one of the first anime I had ever watched, and this guy was someone who I hated with a passion. Looking back at it years later, I realize now what an amazing villain and foil to Kenshin that Makoto was. Unlike a lot of villains on this list, Makoto wasn’t just evil for the sake of being evil, Makoto’s evil came from the worst type of trauma: betrayal! In this case the betrayal came from Makoto’s own government, where Makoto survived not only multiple gunshots, but being doused in oil and burned alive, leaving him in complete and utter agony. What puts Shishio on my list is what he manages to do after surviving death. He compiles an army of the best fighters Japan has to offer and plots to overthrow the entire Meiji Government. While in complete agony. Who else can claim that? Did I also mention he’s topping the list of the best fighters in the show? His swordsmanship is second only to Kenshin himself as he proves in their absolutely epic fight.

#9. Hisoka Morrow (Hunter x Hunter): Hunter x Hunter is a show with several great villains that truly stand out, and while Meruem was memorable, pardon me for believing that Hisoka was the standout villain from that show. A devious killer and master Nen user, Hisoka is driven by little more than his desire to find and kill strong opponents. Be they young children or master criminals, he’ll pursue them to the ends of the Earth with a bloodlust on par with that of a wild predator. Likewise, he doesn’t care what happens to himself or others in this pursuit. Mass civilian casualties, the loss of his own villainous allies or even the loss of his own limbs barely phases him, so long as he gets to fight with someone that tests his limits. As a result, he more often than not embodies chaos incarnate, wreaking havoc in his pursuit of battle and leaving a mountain of corpses behind him. Needless to say, this puts him at odds with the series’ protagonists at regular intervals. Not only do Gon and his friends fit the bill for what he seeks, but they often take on enemies that prove to be exactly what Hisoka is looking for. And yet, this also serves to make him all the more interesting. Where other villains might strike out at the protagonists and heroes immediately, Hisoka schemes, allies himself with and double-crosses people regularly, always finding the best angle to work in order to reach his goals. He may not be a world-ending anime villain on the level of a Meruem with seismic ambitions, but he’s undeniably the most interesting and brilliant villain in Hunter x Hunter to see at work.

#8. Izaya Orihara (Durarara!!): If you think of a list of top anime villains and this guy isn’t one of the first people who comes to mind, please raise your hands so I can have a few words with you in private with no cameras or eyewitnesses. The crazy thing about Izaya is that he doesn’t even realize he’s evil, and that’s what makes him great. He loves humanity; from the depths of his bones he loves us all. This is why he makes it onto my list; he does progressively more cruel acts against humans, putting people in situations that generally lead to their deaths. He is also a master of parkour and highly skilled with a switchblade in his hand (as evident in the above picture), which he generally only uses in dire situations or fights against Shizuo. In short, I absoulutely love this guy. I thoroughly enjoyed the way he manages to manipulate an entire populous, and that’s why he’s more than earned a spot on my list.

#7. Dio Brando (Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure): You might have thought it was someone else, but it was me, Dio! All meme-worthy jokes aside, Dio Brando is unquestionably one of the most iconic anime villains of all time and, thanks to his series’ late-blooming popularity outside of Japan thanks largely to the 2012 anime adaptation, one that still feels modern in our minds. Dio is a tenacious bastard that takes advantage of the generosity of the Joestar family to further his own power, being intolerably dickish to Jonathan by constantly tearing him down, trying to make him look bad in front of his dad, spreading rumors to sully his reputation, and sabotaging his relationships. This escalates into killing his dog (his f***ikg dog of all things!), poisoning and later stabbing his adoptive father (I mean WTF!), and becoming a freakin vampire. Even after decapitation, Dio gets his revenge and sets in motion many of the events of the series, making a formal return in Stardust Crusaders as the main villain once again. With raw ambition taken to the extreme, iconic lines, poses, and outfits, incredible abilities from Aztec mask-induced vampirism and the time-stopping power of The World, Dio’s menacing presence towers over his series and over anime as a whole, which makes him MORE than deserving of a spot on my list.

#6. Light Yagami (Death Note): Yes, he’s a VILLAIN, get over yourselves Light Yagami fanboys! Anyway, there are a number of different adjectives and superlatives that could be used to described the lead character of Death Note: Diabolical, calculating, and determined to make the world in his own image all describe Light who was easily the most clever man in  Death Note, as evidenced by the layers upon layers that composed his elaborate plans.  Light started out as a good kid, doing well in school and heading to a bright career in police work like his father. But when he gets possession of the death note, he begins a remarkable descent into a disturbing mastermind who becomes judge, jury, and executioner for the entire world. But what truly makes Light's character stand out remains complicated throughout the story. His ultimate goal is to make the world a happier, safer place; a noble but perhaps misguided goal. His idealism and nobility still shine through when he doesn’t have the Death Note. When he temporarily relinquishes ownership of the death note to throw L off his trail, Light loses all memory of the death note and he reverts to his normal personality. His sense of morality returns and he shows more compassion for those around him. He even refuses to use Misa Amane to get information out of her when L asks him to. These qualities help to create a complex character who ends up being a detestable villain, yet you still kind of root for him to come out of this story as a winner. Light’s progression through the series is marked by his sheer brilliance. He's got a calculated and strategic mind that would make the great philosopher Machiavelli jealous, and the power of the death note adds a callousness that makes him free to use people in whatever way necessary to accomplish his goals. It’s highly entertaining to see his intricate plans play out. But Light’s messiah-like ego is just as big as his brain, and that arrogance ultimately leads to his tragic downfall.

#5. The Major (Hellsing): An evil Nazi Scientist, I know everyone is just rolling their eyes right now thinking I’m reaching for the low-hanging fruit for this one, but just hear me out here. While he may seem like an obvious pick for a list like this, The Major’s goals, however, are somehow far more unhinged than what may first appear. Despite being an impassioned orator and uncompromising strategist willing to sacrifice countless soldiers, the Major himself had no especial loyalty or passion for the cause of Millennium. His sole obsession is to plunge the world into an unending conflict to the point of endangering not only the lives of others but also his own. The Major’s leadership of Millennium, his decades espousing the genocidal ideology of fascists, and subsequent war against the Hellsing organization, the Vatican, and the entire world serve only as a pretext to satiate his insatiable bloodlust. The Major is one of anime’s most insidious villains, a charismatic, nihilistic sociopath driven purely by his sadomasochistic death wish.

#4. Shou Tucker (Fullmetal Alchemist): Now, you may be recalling that in my previous version of this list, I had Envy listed as my choice as my favorite villain from this show. Well after careful reconsideration, I’ve had to reevaluate my decision and give that spot to this creep, because while Envy’s actions were despicable to a point, they PALE in comparison to this guy! He only really appears in one episode if I remember correctly, yet in that one single episode, he made more of an impact then most villains make in a lifetime, which really says a lot about this guy’s character. What was it that made him so memorable you ask? Well, it could have something to do with the fact that this man transmutaed his own dog and daughter to create a talking chimera, which hadn’t been done before, and for what other reason…all in the name of recognition in the world of alchemy! That mere fact alone made this guy the most hated man in all of anime, the fact that he sacrificed his own family for the sake of fame, with absolutely no hint of remorse, made this guy the definition of an absolute living piece of shit and the only thing worse is how the episode ended, but I won’t spoil that one for you if you haven’t seen it.

#3. Gendo Ikari (Neon Genesis Evangelion) Up next is a man competing with the likes of Medusa Gorgon for the title of “Anime’s Worst Parent”, Gendo Ikari, please step up to the front of the congregation. Now Gendo is a man who’s list of atrocities throughout Evangelion is far too many to name, but I’m going to try my best to list them here: You have being actively complicit in the premature instigation of a biblical apocalypse, resulting in a near extinction-level event that caused the death of nearly two-thirds of the human population. Emotionally neglecting his own son Shinji estranging himself from him for over twelve years, only to offer him up as a sacrificial pawn in his bid to artificially bootstrap humanity’s ascent into evolutionary godhood so that he could be reunited with his dead wife. Cloning said wife’s DNA into a harem of emotionally dependent albino ingenues who share a dogged infatuation for their creator. And that’s not even mentioning the horrific emotional abuse and mental manipulation he inflicts on Dr. Ritsuko Akagi and her mother Naoko. All-in-all Gendo is proof positive that love not only has the capacity to overcome any obstacle, but sometimes it can truly make monsters out of us all.

#2. Griffith (Berserk): Griffith did nothing wrong; at least, not by his own drives and ambitions. A peasant who grew to become the leader of his own mercenary band, Griffith was a self-driven man who pursued his desires with unparalleled efficiency. No matter the situation or obstacle, he found a way to overcome them, whether that meant facing down an army of thousands or assassinating a country’s leaders. All the while, he amassed a legion of friends and followers who would follow him to hell and back, caring for him as much or more than he cared for them. As a result, they were dragged down with him when his ambitions saw him imprisoned, tortured and maimed. They cared little though, risking life and limb to save him and help him salvage a life with what he had left. That wasn’t enough for Griffith though. When given the option to become a demon and continue the pursuit of his dreams, he whole-heartedly accepted it; even though it came at the cost of sacrificing the lives of each and every one of his friends and allies. But that wasn’t the worst of it, to further spite the early desertion of Guts, Griffith proceeds to rape Casca, Guts’ love interest, in front of him as Guts is held down by demons. So yes, Griffith did nothing wrong by himself. By everyone else though, he did them the worst of injustices, and continues to do so with each breath he takes, all of which makes him a compelling and infuriating villain.

#1. Johan Liebert (Monster): I’ve covered a wide variety of monsters (pun fully intended) on this list, but THIS monster (again, pun FULLY intended) truly takes the cake when it comes to anime villains. A serial killer who would fit in well in any blockbuster film, Monster told the story of a man who had truly become monstrous; a charismatic, intelligent sociopath with no other goal than to kill everyone else in the world. Johan didn't just kill people, he made other people into monsters just like him. This skill of his corruption is first displayed in his youth, when he used stories to convince the other boys in his orphanage to kill all the staff, and each other. Johan is often compared to Light Yagami of Death Note, but the two couldn’t be any more different. Light's fatal (and genius) flaw is his own ego, which leads him to put his own life above all else, even his goal of changing the world. But Johan has never been afraid of death. Quite the opposite, he welcomes and embraces it, being more than willing to put his own life at risk, and one of his signature traits is how he challenges people to shoot him. Another of Jonah’s signature traits is his skills as a masterful manipulator. Where Light and other on this list had to resort to supernatural means to get what they wanted, Johan just used his own wits and knowledge of human nature. He's easily the most frightening villain on this list because he’s the truest to life villain on this list and he exposes the base human nature of his victims and of human society. Monster's remarkable story was almost entirely due to Johan alone, and it’s why he’s #1 on my list.

So that's my updated list, what did you guys think about it? Love it, hated it? Go on and tell me what you think and let me know who your favorite anime villains are. See you soon!!!

Deviantart: https://www.deviantart.com/darkchild316

[dweetwise]

a short one this time, ft. a lighthearted breakfast together <3

ship: felix x ace warnings: none word count: 2350

[previous] [next]

Where there’s smoke, there’s fire (part 4)

Ace had a pretty good feeling about this morning.

He'd tried to slip away gracefully to avoid the awkward morning after, but Felix had stopped him. In Ace’s opinion, getting in some silly chatter and morning cuddles was much preferable to a walk of shame before the sun was even fully up. At the very least, it beat going to his room to start the day with a shot of gin from the mini bar like he’d originally planned.

Felix had seemed much more relaxed this morning, though he was still awkward; at this point, Ace just accepted it as part of his charm.

Suggesting to get breakfast together was a spur-of-the-moment idea—as if Ace ever had any other ones. As soon as the opportunity to spend time with Felix in a casual setting where Ace didn’t smell like week-old-liquor presented itself, Ace took it, and Felix happily accepted.

Which is why Ace wasn’t really nervous when returning to his room to get more presentable. He even had time to start cleaning his messy room in preparation for Felix's visit for tonight, because after only a quick shower and even quicker internal debate between two different shirts, Ace was ready to go.

And from the way Felix's gaze immediately drops to said shirt, he seems to have made the right choice.

“Fancy meeting you here,” Ace offers with a grin, pleased with picking the navy blue button-up with a pineapple print.

It's cute how quickly Felix's nervous demeanor seems to calm down in Ace’s company. He goes from tense and running a hand through his hair to smiling in just a second, whatever he was fretting about momentarily forgotten.

“I was worried I'd be late,” Felix says, stepping into the elevator and coming to stand way closer to Ace than is appropriate.

But this time, they don't have an audience that would make it awkward.

“You really do worry way too much,” Ace offers with a carefree smile.

“I've been told that,” Felix smiles sheepishly, before his eyes are drawn downward, to the second button of Ace's shirt that he deliberately left unbuttoned.

Following suit, Ace lets his own gaze roam appreciatively over Felix's outfit, a sadly not as tight tee with a tasteful, open vest and snugly fitting washed denim jeans. His hair is loose and looks even softer than it was in the morning.

All in all, he looks extremely kissable.

“I like the look,” Ace says, meeting Felix's eyes. And if he tilts his head up in silent invitation, nobody can prove it.

“Me too,” Felix says, returning a small smile, before flustering. “I mean—your look. The outfit,” he explains.

And somehow, the awkward floundering makes him even more kissable.

Sadly, the elevator ride isn't infinite, and they arrive at the lobby floor before Ace can instigate a make-out session.

“Shall we?” Ace offers with a smile.

“After you,” Felix agrees, oh-so-polite.

They give their room numbers at the restaurant counter, and then are off to the breakfast hall that’s somewhat crowded despite the late hour. Ace isn't surprised that people decided to sleep in after the rude wake-up in the middle of the night, but the crowd does make it somewhat of an annoying experience.

Luckily, he has company to keep him entertained while they wait in line.

Felix trails after him, which Ace doesn't mind in the slightest, but it's only when the German stops in front of the cereal section and looks at him meaningfully that Ace cocks his head in confusion.

“You were supposed to help me pick,” Felix says, deadly serious.

Ace tries not to laugh that Felix seemed to take his earlier invitation literally. He really shouldn’t be surprised at the man’s quirks anymore.

And that's how Ace ends up improvising a three-minute lecture about why corn flakes are superior to muesli.

“I see,” Felix says, nodding in understanding, reaching for the cereal—

And choosing muesli.

“Hey!” Ace exclaims, mock offended. “Didn't you listen to any of what I just said?”

“Yes. I just don't agree,” Felix says, way too nonchalant, spooning the cereal onto his bowl. “I like this one better.”

“It has raisins!” Ace exclaims, flabbergasted.

“I like raisins,” Felix points out.

“Oh, babe,” Ace sighs dramatically, shaking his head. “And here I thought you had taste.”

Ace quickly peeks back up at Felix, needing to make sure he didn't take the joke personally.

“Shut up,” Felix snorts, elbowing Ace. “Come on, let's go argue about juice next.”

After a brief conversation about juice ("Who the hell drinks apple juice!?" "I don't like the texture of orange pulp") followed by going through the rest of the breakfast selection together, Ace discovers that Felix is an incredibly picky eater.

When they sit down at a table, the difference between his and Felix's servings is hilariously prominent.

Felix's plate holds two pieces of toast, a fried egg and some sliced fruit, compared to Ace's overflowing plate featuring 90 % of the entire breakfast selection.

Usually Ace wouldn’t care about other people’s eating habits, but the knowledge makes him a little nervous about their dinner.

“Really adventurous with the white toast, I see,” Ace teases.

“At least I don't have bacon with pancakes,” Felix shoots back.

“I ran out of room on my plate!” Ace protests, but Felix only smirks behind his cup of coffee. “So, what kind of food do you like?” Ace prods, digging into his meal.

“I don't really have a preference,” Felix says diplomatically.

But Ace can smell the bullshit a mile away.

“Really?” Ace asks, raising an eyebrow. “So you wouldn't mind if I picked the place for dinner tonight?" he teases, only to realize something. “Uh… we're still on for that, right?”

“I hope so,” Felix says, smiling bashfully.

"Good, just checking!" Ace grins. "Well, since you're not picky… how about a Mexican place? What about sushi? Or an oyster bar?”

Predictably, Felix cringes at his suggestions.

“I'm… not great with spices or raw fish,” Felix admits.

“Or?” Ace pushes.

“Steak, shrimp, mushrooms, tofu, kebab, or greasy food in general,” Felix lists and Ace tries not to look too confused at how someone can so nonchalantly rule out entire food groups.

“What about Italian?” Ace asks.

“I don't like pizza, either,” Felix says apologetically.

“I'm not taking you to a pizza place for a first date!" Ace protests, while simultaneously trying to figure out how someone can not like pizza. "I was wondering how you feel about pasta or risotto?”

“That…” Felix considers. “Actually sounds nice.”

“Italian it is!” Ace grins victoriously. “I'll find a nice restaurant, just leave it to me.”

“Alright,” Felix says with a small smile.

“Now…” Ace says, realizing he's been running his mouth instead of actually eating. “Excuse me while I stuff my mouth with bacon pancakes.”

Felix huffs out a quiet laugh before following his example.

They eat in silence, or as much relative silence as a bustling dining hall allows. Ace does his best to not eat like a pig, feeling Felix’s stare on him as the other sneaks glances. After not having had any food for 24 hours, Ace is kind of surprised he didn't pass out in the parking lot, especially after the bright idea to have a few drinks on an empty stomach.

“So, how…” Ace trails off mid-sentence as he suddenly notices a couple of pigtails sticking up right beside him, narrowly missing the kid’s head when he reaches for his coffee.

“Good morning!” the kid, a little girl, beams up at him.

“Uh, hey there,” Ace says, a little taken aback at why this random child is approaching him.

“Hello,” Felix jumps into the conversation, getting the girl’s attention. “We meet again.”

Ace shoots Felix a weird look; does he know the kid?

“Did you remember to give him your number?” the girl asks Felix, tilting her head in curiosity.

A grin spreads over Ace’s face in realization, while Felix only clears his throat self-consciously. Ace didn’t really pay much attention to their company in the elevator last night, but the girl clearly remembers them.

“He did, yeah,” Ace says, shooting Felix a smug look over the table.

“Good,” the girl huffs, before turning back to Felix. “You need to stop being so forgetful, mister!” she accuses, hands on her hips.

Ace bites his lip to stop from chuckling as Felix flounders for an excuse to this sassy eight-year-old.

“You’re right,” Felix settles on. “It was silly of me, I’ll try to do better.”

While Felix is talking, the kid seems to get distracted, standing up on her tiptoes to peer into Felix’s now empty cereal bowl.

“What did you eat?” the girl asks, like a typical nosey kid.

“I had some yogurt with muesli,” Felix explains, way more patient than Ace would be in his situation.

“Do you like Froot Loops?” the kid asks.

As Felix calmly explains that the cereal in question isn’t his favorite, Ace starts discreetly scanning the room for the girl’s mother. He tolerates kids just fine, but he’d rather not have one ruin his unofficial date with Felix. Hopefully, the girl isn’t lost or something—

“There you are!” a woman appears from the crowd and gives the kid an exasperated look, Ace distantly recognizing her from the elevator last night.

“Hi mom!” the girl interrupts her cereal debate with Felix to greet the woman.

“I’m so sorry, I swear she was right behind me a second ago—” the woman glances at Ace and Felix apologetically, steering her daughter away with a hand on her small shoulders.

“No worries,” Ace defuses with a smile. “Kids, huh?”

“Always getting into trouble,” the woman agrees with a sigh, grabbing the girl’s hand. “Come on now, let’s go back to our table.”

“Bye, misters!” the girl calls.

“Goodbye,” Felix offers, and even Ace forces a smile and wave as the pair disappear into the rush of the dining hall.

“So, you got any kids?” Ace asks, having noticed how patient Felix was with the girl.

“No, I… maybe in another life,” Felix says, sounding melancholy, and Ace realizes there's probably more to that story. “Um. You?” Felix asks, clearly not wanting to elaborate.

“Nah,” Ace says. “I have a niece, though. She's a real demon. Great kid.”

“That sounds accurate,” Felix says, smiling. And somehow, Ace gets the overwhelming feeling Felix would be a great dad. “At least she has an interesting uncle.”

“Oh, you don't know the half of it!” Ace grins, taking the opportunity to tell Felix about some of his more memorable moments with his niece.

All too soon, they finish the last of their breakfasts and Ace offers to walk Felix to his room.

“Thanks for the company,” Ace says when they’re coming up to Felix’s door.

“You as well,” Felix says.

“See you tonight?”

“I'll call you,” Felix promises. “I should be available around five."

“Can't wait,” Ace grins.

Felix turns to his door, but then almost instantly whips back around to face Ace. His gaze flicks obviously to Ace's lips as he swallows.

“I have an hour before I need to leave for my meeting,” Felix says. “If you want…”

Ace's gut flutters at the implications, but then he remembers he has things to do. Though he'd much rather make out with Felix than go find a fence or shady pawn shop that will buy his shit, now is not the time.

“Sorry babe, I've got some errands to run,” Ace says good-naturedly, pretending not to see how Felix deflates in disappointment.

“I see,” Felix says.

“I'll make it up to you later,” Ace promises.

“It's okay, I should prepare for my presentation anyway,” Felix says, and upon the mention of his work, instantly seems more tense.

“Well, good luck with your work thingy. I'll be waiting to hear from you!” Ace says with fake cheer.

“Right,” Felix says, reaching for his door. “See you later.”

When the door closes in front of his face, Ace can practically feel the anxiety radiating from within the room. Ace really has his hands full, if he's going to get the guy to relax and forget about his work like he promised.

In the next thirty minutes, Ace ends up turning his own hotel room upside down while he scours it for valuables. He finds the watch he was looking for, as well as an earring behind the headboard, and some spare poker chips in one of his jacket's pockets.

He can’t help but smirk as he runs his fingers over the poker chips; it looks like destiny is trying to point him in the direction of the casino after all. And who is he to deny fate? After all, it's what brought him this far.

Ace thinks back to a couple months ago, where he—or well, his alias, Diego Sanchez—had still been living a somewhat stable life. Over the course of a year, he’d managed to pick up a few part-time jobs to fund poker tournaments and talk himself into more than a couple of loans. But as with most things, Ace had gotten too cocky, and his associates had figured out he wouldn’t be able to pay back the debts he owed.

At this point, uprooting his life and starting over was something Ace was very familiar with. For the last few weeks, he’d been motel-hopping across the country, having shaken the debt collectors off his trail while he tried to figure out the next place to settle down—at least for a little while.

Meeting Felix was just the kind of morale boost he needed right now. Even as Ace opens his wallet and finds a whopping two dollars among the handful of stolen credit cards, he knows he’s going to be okay.

He grabs his things and throws on a blazer along with shades and a hat; even if he should be safe, it doesn't hurt to protect his identity.

Finally, he heads out into the city, with an agenda of restaurant, pawn shop, and casino.

[sockablock]

(start) - (previous) - (next)

Chapter 4: Just a Parlor Trick

“—and this is your room! Or it will be, soon, once we get your stuff moved in.”

A blur of curls flew past Nott and dove headfirst onto the bare mattress. Two-feet-two of little halfling boy sprung up, danced around in a circle, and surveyed his new kingdom by bouncing on the bed.

It was—as Nott would be the first to admit—pretty bare at the moment. Caleb had already taken all of his belongings, but there hadn’t been that much to begin with. Aside from the bed-now-turned-trampoline, there was just an oak wardrobe, and a rug. The only other fixture of note was the window, framed by thin blue drapes, currently open and letting in the sea breeze.

“What do you think, Luc?” Yeza grinned from the doorframe. “How do you like it?”

“The ocean is so cool!” Luc’s hair flew around in a storm as he jumped. “And the people—there’s so many people, Dad! That big turtle at the restaurant—his back had a pipe in it!”

Nott felt the ghost of a touch on her arm. When she caught Yeza’s tentative expression, she forced herself to relax into it.

The illusion had held so far, hadn’t it? And besides, her husband already knew the truth.

“It’s okay,” she said quietly. “It’s okay. I’m okay.” Then she gave her son a smile. “And what do you think about the house, sweetie? Do you like your room?”

Luc, mid-air, gave this some thought.

“It’s smaller than my old room,” he said. “The window is bigger. Can I put my pictures up?”

There was a box of posters somewhere in the moving van. Apparently, some time in the last three years, Luc had gotten incredibly invested in a semi-popular cartoon series featuring a team of adventurers who solved mysteries in the Marrow Valley. Yeza had told her during one of their rare reunions that the clerk at the store was all but giving them away; something about increasing promotional awareness.

“Of course you can put your pictures up, Luc.”

He beamed a freckled, toothy smile.

“I like it, Mom! Can I put them up now?”

— — —

Jester hummed cheerfully to herself as she made her way through the streets of Nicodranas.

The novelty of such an act was not lost on her, and not just because she’d spent most of her life indoors—the last time she’d hurried down a road like this, it’d been under much less enjoyable circumstances.

But Jester had more tricks up her sleeves these days, and skipping between street merchants and bustling crowds, weaving through the Opal Archways in the middle of rush hour, she was certain she could hide from any watching eyes.

She squeezed the picnic basket in her arms, packed tight with the best pastries money could buy. She’d keep an eye out, too, for that little sidewalk café that did the strawberry-mango drinks Momma liked, though Jester suspected that her mother was just feigning enthusiasm to get her to eat more fruit.

The stoplight above flickered twice, then turned green. She looked both ways, then skipped across the street.

Maybe she should make a stop for sandwiches. And flowers, while she was at it—and over there, a book sale! Now that Jester was finally back home, with the Chateau such an easy walk from her apartment, every weekend she did her best to bring the whole city to her mother’s boudoir.  

Not that—and here she giggled at the thought—Momma needed any help there.

The Ruby of the Sea was busy, after all. Just not too busy for her little sapphire.

— — —

The thing was, Essek’s mother was busy.

She was always busy, and with good reason at that; for longer than Essek had even been alive—and how much longer before that, gods knew—Deirta Thelyss had been the Umavi of Den Thelyss, and therefore a permanent and immovable fixture in the intricate political dance of the Kryn Dynasty.

In another life, perhaps, Essek might have followed in her footsteps and joined her in running the country—though, if she got her way, there was a good chance that he ultimately would. But, as the Dynasty and Empire so far had managed to maintain a tenuous hold on peace, currently there was little need for a person of Essek’s particular talents.

The irony of that statement occasionally made him want to laugh, though he didn’t much feel like laughing now. It had taken a considerable amount of willpower to even drag him over to his desk, and there he sat with his forehead to the surface, lamenting that going back to bed hadn’t solved his problems.

Why was Mother bothering to attend the upcoming Clovis Concord Gala? Not a single one of these coastal cities was closely allied with the Dynasty, and the sheer geographical distance between them made the two nations vaguely aware of each other at best. In fact, Essek had chosen Nicodranas specifically because of how little the Bright Queen cared about it.

Which meant the unavoidable fact of the matter was that Mother was coming just for him.

The wood of his desk was cold on his head. If she were here now, she’d tell him to sit up.  

Actually, she’d probably say much more than that. If Verin was telling the truth—and his brother had always been on his side when it came to Mother— fending off another round of her attempts to force him home would only be half the struggle.

He kicked his chair back and listened to the way his wheels slid across the floor. Distantly, he could just make out some muted shuffling coming from the kitchen, and he had to remind himself that it was probably not a burglar, but Caleb.

Today was his second day in the apartment, and the man would probably need a few days to settle in. Though, Essek noted with a hint of satisfaction, Caleb seemed like a very efficient person. He’d actually…quite enjoyed their negotiation last night, despite how long it ended up being. For just a few hours his fear of an impending maternal maelstrom had been staved off by the way Widogast sometimes quirked his eyebrow while he was reading, or by the way he’d gently tap the clip of his borrowed pen with his thumb…

Essek had let him keep it, afterwards. He hadn’t even considered doing otherwise.

And as that thought crossed his mind, his restful silence was shattered by a crash.

— — —

“Knock-knock, Momma!”

“Ah, Jester! Come in! Close the door behind—oh, bother.”

This was immediately followed with the sound of air snapping to fill a void, then another minor explosion accented by four scrabbling paws.

“Nugget! Oh, Nuggy, I’ve missed you so much—”

Marion Lavore hiked up her skirts and gently side-stepped the slobber on the floor. She made her way back to her chaise lounge just a moment after Jester peeled herself from the dog.

“He’s getting quite big,” her mother said, artfully removing the exhaustion from her tone. But two decades of living under Momma’s roof gave Jester all the hint that she needed.

“Oh, I want to take him back, I really do, but the apartment doesn’t let us have dogs.” Jester sank into a plush sofa with Nugget wagging his tail at her heels. He put his head in her lap and drooled.

“And…your luck with finding a…a new apartment?”

“We’ve all been busy, Momma,” Jester sighed. “Beau is working all day long to set up a new library by the Quay, and Yasha disappears all the time even though she’s…feeling better now. I think it’ll be a while until everything’s calmed down and we can look.”

Marion pointedly did not think about the many curtains that Nugget had already eaten in three months.

“Ah, well. I understand. And how are you doing, my sweet?”

Jester giggled. “I’m doing good! I’ve been drawing and painting a lot by the sea, and keeping busy with other arts and crafts. Did you know people on the Internet will buy dozens of tiny clay dick statues? The Traveler thought it was very funny.”

Her mother’s expression was an ocean of calm. “Oh, is that…is that so? Well, I’m glad to hear you’re finding ways to…spend your day.”

“I brought some to show you!”

“Oh, how...lovely…”

“Some paintings, Momma.” Jester set aside the picnic basket and fished around in her knapsack. The bag was a horrifically pink mess of burlap and loud, jangly pins. Jester had to shove aside quite a few rolls of brushes and capped paints as she searched.

Marion watched her work with interest. “Well, even if you had brought a…the statue, I would—oh, Jester. It’s beautiful!”

Jester beamed as her mother took the canvas, gingerly like it was—and it was—fine art.

In her hands, a stunning landscape of the sea beside Nicodranas at dawn, pale pink light glancing off the tide and a thin breath of sun just above the water.

“It’s for you, Momma!”

“Oh, Jester, I couldn’t possibly—”

“Take it.” She laughed. “I have lots more at home, but this one’s my favorite so you should have it.”

Decades of living with a burgeoning artist had taught Marion not to hug the piece to her chest, though she quite wanted to.

“I’ll hang it up, then. In a place of honor,” she said seriously. “Maybe heading up the stairs? The light there is lovely, and that way I know the most important people will get to see it.”

Jester’s smile could have swallowed up the world. “Thanks, Momma.”

“No, thank you, my sweet. Now, come. What else have you been doing? What’s new and exciting with your…what did you call yourselves? The Mighty Nein?”

Jester helped her mother lay out a feast’s worth of pastries across the coffee table. Nugget eyed the bounty like a lit fuse until Jester also produced a chewing bone, which he gleefully snapped up and began to gnaw.

“I wanted to make sure we didn’t have a repeat of last time, so I stopped by a pet store,” she explained, munching on a strawberry tart. “And we’re all doing good! Caleb’s move went well, and Nott’s family just landed.”

“Oh, that’s wonderful,” her mother said. “You know, it would not have been a problem for them to stay with me. At least while they got settled.”

“I know, I know, but I think since she already had a place, she wanted them there, you know? And anyway, she said she didn’t want to impose.”

“Of course,” Marion nodded. “And perhaps the Chateau is…it would be a bit unconventional for a family to stay here, hm?”

“We did it!”

“We did, but we are an unconventional family.”

Jester laughed, then brushed a few crumbs off her skirt. “What have you been doing lately, Momma? Any news? Any interesting clients?” She waggled her eyebrows for emphasis.

“Well,” her mother smiled faintly, “actually, I…might have something interesting to tell you. I was, ah…well, I was invited to a party. To sing, but also as a guest.”

“What?!” Jester threw her hands in the air. “Oh, Momma, that’s amazing!”

“I, ah…might decline.”

Jester’s elation vanished instantly. “Oh, Momma. Is it…the outside…?”

Marion shrugged. It was a decidedly unrefined gesture, and left a little crinkle in her robe. “I’m just…well, you know I’ve made a little progress since you got back, but…I don’t know. I’m not sure I’d feel so comfortable being in a place like that alone.”

Jester reached across the table to pat her mother on the hand. “I understand. It’s probably just a dumb party anyway, I’m sure you won’t be missing much!”

“It’s…well, it’s the 400th Anniversary Gala of the Clovis Concord.”

“Oh, man.”

“Tell me about it, dear,” Marion sighed.

There was a moment’s pause, filled with the sound of thoughtful chewing.

And then:

“What if we went with you?”

Marion blinked twice.

“I beg your pardon?”

— — —

They left Luc in his new bedroom happily slapping tape to the wall. Yeza had been worried that this would damage the paint when they’d eventually have to take down his posters, but Nott reassured him that getting back the safety deposit for this apartment was already a lost cause.

“There was a…small incident,” she said, as he poured her tea, “involving electricity. And…a mild fire.”

“Oh, man. Did you guys blow the fuse box or something?”

Nott debated whether or not exploding a microwave with voltaic bolts fell under that category.

“Mm, yeah, it was something like that.” She watched him sink into the chair across the table, paying special attention to the way his glasses bounced on his nose.

He hadn’t needed glasses three years ago. He hadn’t been quite so pale, either.

“So, how is your friend Caleb?” Yeza asked, tilting his head slightly at her silence. “Is he alright? Settled in and everything?”

Nott quickly scrounged up her smile. “He is! Actually, his place is really nice. Cheap, too, from what I’ve heard.”

“Oh, that’s great,” Yeza sipped his tea, leaving a little half-crescent above his lip. “I was worried about him. You told him for me, right? How much I appreciate this?”

“Of course I did. And I told him plenty that he didn’t have to, but he really insisted, and…well. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t happy that he did.”

Yeza put a biscuit in her hands. “We’ll send him a fruit basket, then. With pineapples! Heck, I should send one to all of your friends, for pitching in for the plane tickets. They’re really kind.”

“They are pretty great, aren’t they?” Nott took a bite, coating her tongue with chalky crumbs. “They’ll probably be around at some point—they want to see you and the boy again.”

“Is the tall one still around? With the pink hair? I liked him.”

Nott gave a laugh. “I’ll tell him you said that. It’s been quiet these last few days, you know, so it’ll really be great to have the company back. Not that—oh, gods, not that you and Luc aren’t—”

“I get it, I get it,” Yeza shook his head. “Don’t worry. Like we said over the phone, right? It’ll take…there’ll be an adjustment period.”

Nott set her mug down on the table. Her smile was a little less firm now.

“You and Luc are here,” she said again, quietly. “You’re here, but I…I’m talking about my friends, I shouldn’t be saying those things, should I? I…should focus on you two—”

“Hey, no, Veth. Not at all.”

“But it is unfair,” she sighed. “I…sweetie, I’m so happy to see you, and the boy, but now that…Caleb’s gone, and the two of you have moved in, a…a part of me, an awful part of me, already misses—”

“Veth, it’s okay—"

“It’s not, I mean we’re married—gods, wait, I’d never betray—”

“Veth.”

A hand touched her shoulder. Yeza’s voice was low and soft. “Honey, it’s okay. It really is okay, and I…I know. It’s complicated. I know. We haven’t been a family for a while—and none of that is your fault, it just isn’t. It’s just…been a tough few years, for us, but also especially for you. I doubt I could’ve survived what you’ve been through, after all. And things have changed—I’ve changed, I mean—I snore again, and I’ve gotten used to Edith helping around our house, and…I guess what I’m trying to say, is that it’s only natural…it’s only fair, that you’re allowed to change too. It’s okay. We talked about this, right?”

“Right,” Nott murmured.

“So it’ll be okay. We’ll make it work. And it’s still you, right? You still love me, right?”

She felt herself nod. Then, gently, “I didn’t stop loving you.”

“Well, that’s good. Neither did I.”

This time, she risked a glance up, and saw his smile. Yeza’s smiles were always a little lop-sided, smushing his freckles, and crinkling one eye. She’d made fun of that when they were younger, and let go of a breath when she saw that hadn’t changed.

As she exhaled, she gave a nod. Then a chuckle.

“Right. Right. Of course we will. We’re…probably going to have to enroll Luc in school. It—it’s summer now, but when autumn swings around…what is he? In first grade? In second?”

Yeza laughed. “This fall will be his first year of school.” Then his eyes widened. “Oh, gods, it’s his first year of school. He…I don’t even know if he’s ready, if he’s…wait, is it different in Nicodranas? Are there tests? Is this a good school district, I—I didn’t even check—”

This time, it was Veth who stopped him. “Relax,” she said, and poked Yeza’s nose. “His dad is the most brilliant chemist in the world. We can look up all that other stuff.”

She brushed his cheek with her other thumb. “Like you said. We’ve got this. We’ll make it work.”

— — —

It had started with a recipe for blueberry muffins.

It had ended, more or less, somewhere around the time that Caleb realized neither he nor Essek owned measuring cups—and anyway, the blueberries were looking a little mushy so maybe he should wait until next week to surprise the Brenattos, that way he’d have a chance to get better ones, even though their move-in day was technically today—

And at that point, Frumpkin had jumped into the cabinet, dislodging what sounded like years’ worth of unused pots, knocking down an avalanche of dusty pans.

The last skillet clanged like thunder as it spun to a stop on the floor.

“Mist. Frumpkin—”

Ever the cat, Frumpkin deftly wove out of Caleb’s grasp and darted for the counter. He perched himself unblinking at the edge of the sink and licked his paw, as if for emphasis.

Caleb sighed. He crouched down to reach for the nearest displaced kitchen implement, a stock pot.

“You know,” he began, exasperated, “you could at least help me out with this mess.”

“Is that so?”

He whipped around so quickly that his head hit the handle of a drawer. One hand flew up, he startled, “Miste—Essek?”

His landlord raised a curved eyebrow. With the mid-afternoon light streaming in through the windows, the purplish tint to Essek’s complexion was something akin to a dusting of twilight. His hair was half-tousled, like it’d been mussed by something, and his hand lingered on the doorknob.

“I…my cat,” Caleb managed. “That is, er. I apologize. Deeply. For the commotion.”

Essek looked him over. “I thought we had agreed on silence last night, no?”

Caleb hung his head, and he could feel disappointment coming, undoubtedly with despair on its coattails.

“I have broken the terms,” he said mutely. “I…I am sorry. I understand what that means.”

His gaze clung to the polished floor. Which was why he missed it when the heavy stock pot took on a faint, shimmering, blueish glow. And then the saucepan began to shine. And then a wok, a spatula, a bowl—

All of the fallen cookware slowly began to rise through the air. As they moved, a parade past Caleb’s amazed expression, slipping by Frumpkin’s outstretched paw, each individual pot righted itself, formed into lines, then were quickly and neatly whisked away into the cabinet above.

The doors clicked as they shut.

“I…but that—what spell was that?”

Mentally, Caleb kicked himself. He should’ve apologized.

But Essek only chuckled. “Oh, that was just a parlor trick. An idle curiosity about the…shall we say, limits of gravity. Particularly regarding how easy they are to break.”

Caleb scrambled up to his feet. “But I have never seen control like that on such a grand scale before. Your spell, it—Telekinesis only controls one object at once.”

“Well,” Essek allowed himself a smirk. “Telekinesis is a watered-down version of what true dunamancy can accomplish. I will say, even getting that far was impressive. I have seen your documentation.”

“Gods,” though, Caleb noticed, there was not a trace of resentment in his tone. “Here I thought our transmutative literature was the most advanced there was.”

Essek shrugged. “Please, do not misunderstand me. It is good, for Empire wizards, especially. Until then, I had been under the impression that your lot only excelled at evocation.”

“We are a dab hand at necromancy too,” Caleb said dryly, “if the stories from twenty years ago are believed.”

This actually won a laugh. “Maybe I am the one being too cruel. It was your people who pioneered the earliest manipulations of air elemental magic, no? It is truly an interesting method for conquering gravity.”

“Yours is better,” Caleb said, before he could stop himself. “If you think that a parlor trick, my friend, I hesitate to ask else you could accomplish.”

“Why hesitate?”

And then, Caleb blinked. Somewhere in the distance, Frumpkin nudged his shoulder, but in that moment, all he could focus on was Essek.

“I…excuse me?”

And with that, the spell was broken. Essek slid into a kitchen chair.

“Nevermind, nevermind,” he waved his hand. “And please. Do not worry about that mess. I am not so unreasonable to think that accidents can never happen. Just, ah…you have been a wonderful roommate so far. In the future…?”

“You have my word,” Caleb said. He slipped the carton of slightly-mushy blueberries behind him.

“Excellent,” Essek nodded. “Well. If that is settled, I might sit here and, ah…get some work done?”

Caleb, dense as he was, got the message. “I just—of course, I will be gone in a moment, I’ll just put these things away—”

“No rush at all. I am not in any hurry.”

And indeed, whether or not Essek was just being polite, it did seem like the man was…a bit distracted. Caleb had no right to poke into his business, which was a violation of Section II, Subsection IV anyway, but he couldn’t help but ask Frumpkin to take the tiniest peek at Essek’s face.

Something was bothering his landlord. And for once, still basking in the afterglow of powerful magic, Caleb was almost sure it wasn’t him.

He found out just as he was heading to his room.

“Might I, ah, ask you a question?”

Caleb had enough composure to turn around at a normal person’s pace.

“Yes?”

Essek ran a hand through his hair. “Actually, it…it is more of a favor.”

“Oh,” said Caleb. And when more was required, “Yes?”

“Yes already?” He blinked. “But I did not say what it was.”

“I meant,” Caleb amended, leaning against his doorframe, “please describe this favor to me.”

“Ah,” said Essek. “Right. I, er…”

How in the gods’ names was he supposed to phrase something ridiculous as this?

“I wonder…” he tried, “that is…if you might…would it be…are you perhaps…are you busy this weekend?”

Whatever he was expecting, this absolutely was not it.

“I—no?” Caleb said, out of pure shock. Then he shook his head and added, “I do not think so, no.”

“Ah,” said Essek. Somehow he seemed even more uncomfortable now. “That is…excellent.” It did not sound excellent. “If…well, if that is the case, then…do you think you could…help me with something?”

Caleb waited patiently. “With something?”

“A date.”

“A what?”

“No—not—oh, gods, I am doing this wrong.” Essek actually put his head in his hands, and Caleb once again had to throttle his own surprise.

Then, in a move made by a part of him so bold he didn’t even know he still had it, Caleb re-entered the kitchen and down in the seat across from Essek.

“I think, perhaps you should start from the beginning.”

Essek nodded miserably. He breathed in.

“You are right, Caleb.”

He breathed out.

“So. It’s like this…”

— — —

✨ Ko-Fi Link in Bio! ✨ | Requests are OPEN

[fizzingwizard]

Episode 6 was AWESOME. Finally it really and truly felt like Digimon Adventure!!

This episode plus the last one makes me eat my words of despair over the blandness of episode 4. I’m counting that one as just a miss. I’m hoping that it doesn’t bode for the tone they’ll take with all Sora episodes though. Sora’s easy to overlook because she’s already kind, brave, and responsible - the main things the other kids need to work on. Still she never bored me in old Adventure. I only ever wanted more of her and that was my hope for 2020 Sora. Her intro episode wasn’t a great start, but guess what, she got to be pretty darn cool in this episode, and overall the tone of this ep was such an improvement on ep 4 that I’m back to thinking we will absolutely get a modern, cool girl Sora who rocks her spotlight episodes in the future. Pray with me friends.

By the way we finally got some decent animation in this episode. So I took gratuitous Taichi pics and I’ll post a couple to start us off bahahaha

Okay, so this was the much-awaited MIMI episode. Heck yeah. It’s called “The Targeted Kingdom.” Who is the queen of the kingdom, I’ll give you three guesses, eh what’s that Mimi? like WOW you got it on the first try!

More below!!

^ So I’m not quite sure what’s going on here. I think Sora is standing on Taichi’s back and Piyomon is helping lift her (them?) up into the trees so Sora can look around? They are trying to find the way to the ocean. This seems like the most awkward way possible to go about it but you do you kiddo...

See, Adventure Taichi would be making jokes while this is happening. 2020 Taichi is thinking about The Big Picture, at least as much of it as he knows of. He’s turning into such a pensive type. Yamato’s gonna have to work hard to keep his lead brooder status.

Also I was thinking... there’s a few times in this ep, and more in others, where I feel like the animators don’t show us enough... Idk what to call it, movement? The fall out of actions? Like why don’t we see them climb into the tree? Why are we zoomed into so close when they fall out? Later during the big fight scene, there’s stuff going on that could definitely be shown in a clearer, and also cooler to watch, way. My theory of course is it’s all budget issues but what a bummer.

The kids’ first intro to the bottomless pit that is a Digimon’s stomach. They have no food (seriously? in that pack of emergency supplies Sora brought by pure happenstance there is NO food??) so they go... steal some. But they don’t know they’re stealing.

Not that SHE cares.

Mimi: Bahaha... you’ve fallen into my trap! *cutest maniacal laugh ever*

^The trap

There is another trap that comes later in the ep and I’ll just say here. It’s some Jessie & James level shit. Way to go Meems!

ugh soooo cuuuute I want twenty

Introducing... Queen Mimi! Yes, Queen. They’ve upgraded her!

Honestly, I love how she’s introduced as royalty, but she’s dressed as a cowgirl. No one would ever ask Mimi to pick just one theme. Like her kimchi fried rice with whipped cream and strawberries, Mimi is not afraid to mix genres!

Like I said, the animation in this ep is a cut above what’s it been recently, which is a relief. And everyone’s appearance is so much like Adventure that I wonder why they changed anything xD But I’m just so grateful everyone kept their unique eyes. It was the one thing I missed in the animation of Tri, even though I wouldn’t have wanted high school kids to have baby eyes. But the eyes really highlighted each character’s individuality. Glad that’s still a thing even if not every animator pays attention to it.

Taichi & Sora: Were those your fruit trees? Uhh sorry? My Digimon was close to death and we were starving...

Mimi: You will starve again unless you learn the meaning of the law!

that’s a little les mis interlude for ya youre welcome

So Mimi arrived in the digital world, separated from the others, and immediately became Queen of the Tanemon. I SENSE A TREND.

Mimi doesn’t come across as ditzy and selfish as she did in early Adventure. I am not sure if that side of her’s been erased in favor of simply making her reluctant to fight because she’s soft-hearted, or if we’ll see her self-centeredness appear later on. I hope so. Right now the 2020 story is very focused on the plot and not on the children’s growth, which is a huge departure from Adventure, but I don’t think it will remain that way. I hope not at least. But I do think it’s possible that they’ll rewrite Mimi to be a bit less self-centered and/or airheady, and I’m not exactly against that. After all, post-Adventure Mimi showed her cool side more when she was willful or opinionated, and I’m on board with more of that in the 2020 show too. A better balance would definitely be a good thing in Mimi’s case.

She kind of made me think of Sailor Moon in this episode, lol

GASP! We are all Chosen Children! Mimi immediately says NOOO WAY i’m queen of the Tanemon!! But not because the Tanemon are catering to her every whim (they’re not, as far as I can tell! Though they did make her a throne!). Because she honestly feels a responsibility to look after them. Again, pretty different from old Adventure.

Pocket Koushirou returns and Taichi tries to absorb him into his brain!!

Taichi: *grunting* HNNNNGGGG!! Give me me your curiosity!!!

Koushirou: Are you Vademon!?!?!

Koushirou shows video footage from the human world that shows the effect the power outage is having. Though it’s not a complete blackout yet, some places like hospitals have already lost power and are in trouble. 

Mimi sees her grandfather, the president of Tachikawa Industries, on the TV helping people in trouble. VERY DIFFERENT. VERY COOL. I approve

Koushirou also points out that there is INDEED a time lapse between the human and digital worlds. I’m not exactly sure how different the time lapse is from old Adventure. At first, I thought it was much smaller, but thinking about it... given how slow the video from the human world was moving, it might be sizable. But I don’t think it’s as big as old Adventure. At any rate, Taichi and Sora figure out this means Mimi was on her own with Palmon and the Tanemon village for longer than they realized.

Also makes me wonder just how much time Yamato’s spent in the digital world...

Mimi feels torn between wanting to help her grandfather and needed to protect the Tanemon village! Naturally Taichi suggests they work together!

And a Tanemon rudely kicks him in the face!! Just kidding. But it was too cute not to cap

Mimi brings the waterworks like three or four times this episode.

Mimi: Alright! You work for me now!

Taichi: ...??? Okay I guess????

Yes, Princess or Queen, Mimi is still Mimi <3

So they join up and uhh... get ready for war I guess??

I MEAN HOW CUTE IS THAT

So this is the second Team Rocket trap, a giant hole in the ground. How did they dig it? How did the build that raft two eps ago?? Inquiring minds want to know

Greymon is surprisingly limber for a chubby dinosaur.

Taichi does what he does best in battle scenes: stand in immediate danger and look up a dinosaur’s bum.

OGREMON MAKES HIS BIG APPEARANCE IN A MIMI EP. I totally called it last week. Okay, technically he already appeared in episode 5... but we barely saw him okay! He uses Soundbirdmon (who may indeed not be sentient?) to mind-control other Digimon to find and apparently kill?? the children. Ogremon honestly sounds kind of mind-controlled himself but not sure. If he is, it’s a different kind of control. He may just talk like that because he’s an ogre and not very articulate...

I guess I capped this because CUTE CUTE CUTE

So speaking of rushing into immediate danger... Not only is Sora right in the middle of the right, she’s HANGING OFF BIRDRAMON’S LEG. This show is SO not promoting child safety hahahhahaha

Cute Taichi. Cuter still - Taichi and Sora tag teaming it. PLEEEEEASE give me more of this!! I want nothing more than for Sora to join Taichi and Yamato as a heavy-hitter. I always headcanoned her that way growing up. Let Sora kick ass 2020!!

^Palmon’s method of rescuing Mimi... effective, yet questionable

Capped because Cute.

Sora and Birdramon take down the blue bird digimon (sorry... forgot its name... will likely forget the name of every other Digimon not from old Adventure as well. i am a senior citizen). Taichi cheers for them and says “You nabbed the best bit from me!” SO CUTE. Come on, they are the best team!!

Meanwhile, Palmon: *screams bloody murder*

Mimi: Palmon! Noooo!

Episode 6: Palmon friggin DIES

I mean she is like glitching in and out. So it totally FIGURES it would be a Mimi ep that tells us “yeah kids we’re not Pokemon!” I mean. Keep watching...

Mimi recalls being all alone in a strange world when she meets Palmon. Btw they totally revamped the Pyokomon Village for this Tanemon village, I dig.

EVOLUUUUUTION!!

Boxing!!! Cactus!!! Eat this Precure!!!!

While Togemon takes out Drimogemon, Greymon rushes in to protect the kids from Ogremon...

... AND FREAKING SAWS HIS HORN OFF.

Like I said. THIS AIN’T POKEMON, KIDS.

Isn’t this actually darker than old Adventure? I mean I guess at least no one dies (I think? uhh...) and I suppose that’s less dark... but sawing off body parts... Idk man... I’m down with it, I just don’t know that it’s any nicer than old Adventure... hahahaha

POW! Err, Drimogemon’s drill ain’t looking too good either...

More waterworks as Mimi tells Palmon she loves her, and Palmon says it right back. Foreshadowing for Mimi/Koushirou tiffs in the future!? It was lit last ep that Koushirou tried to say he loves his partner and choked on it. Something tells me these two are gonna butt heads again ;)

Ugggggghhhh so cute I can’t staaaaaaand ittttt

Mimi decides to go with Taichi and Sora and leave the Tanemon village, Idk, I guess they’ll be safe now???  at least they won’t be targeted for having a human child among them.

Also I like her leaf bag. The Tanemon totally made it for her.

We end with Ogremon gripping his broken horn and fricking sobbing. This... does not bode well.

I want to hug him

so cast your votes, who gets the first hurt/comfort scene with Ogremon? Will it be gentle chastisement from Mimi while she patches him up with stuff from Sora’s pack? Or will it be Jou and the toilet paper you know he brought even if it makes no sense?!? hahahaha

I give this ep a 7/10 WELL DONE. That’s what a Digimon episode should be. Very close to VERY VERY GOOD.

I missed the trailer for next week so have more gratuitous Taichis instead.

[lucyoftheabyss48]

Top 6 Spring 2020 Anime to Watch

I was going to make this a Top 10, but it got way too long, so I cut it to 6. (Also above pic is from BNA)

Anyway, these are the Top 6 Spring 2020 Anime that I personally think will be worth watching. For all of these included in the list, I have watched at least the first episode. But of course, this list will be very biased, because my beloved Studio Trigger finally has another show again.

I won’t be including sequels (but I’m watching Fruits Basket S2, Ascendance of a Bookworm S2, and I’m trying to catch up on Kaguya-sama and Tsugumomo)

Let’s start from Number 6. May contain vague spoilers for the first episodes of these shows. More below!

6. Gal to Kyouryuu

This one looks like trash. I know. I know, but give it a chance. Maybe all you’ll get out of it is its comedy and strangeness, and its wacky live action second half. But just let me tell you the best part of this show, and why it’s so high on my list.

First, a quick summary. A gyaru (gal) girl takes in a dinosaur that she found one day, and they spend their time just living life together. That’s it.

That is it, but I think there’s more to it than just that. This gal girl, Kaede, from what I can tell, has just been going through the motions in life. She felt bored and uninspired and unmotivated. Her life was just work, and whatever fun things she could find to fill up her free time.

But when she brings in the dinosaur, despite her many complaints, she still cares for him and thinks of him and is considerate towards him. And for her to have someone by her side, and looking to her as a companion to face life together, side by side, creates a little more fun and a little more motivation in her own life.

This isn’t a deep show or anything. I don’t think there’s some dark hidden message, unless you want to look at it that way. It’s a sweet little show about the relationship between two lost and lonely people, finding their way in life together. One of them just happens to be a cute dinosaur.

Which amazingly, no one seems to question. I think that’s great, because it just cuts out that whole obstacle of others coming to terms with the dinosaur’s existence, and goes straight to him as just an individual character, and his relationship with Kaede.

It’s just really sweet, I can’t say this enough. It might be a little subtle. But just watch out for the things that Kaede does for the dinosaur, like how she seriously thinks about what she can do to help him. I also think the dinosaur definitely helps Kaede let down her guard and be more relaxed about some things. Both their lives are just brighter with each other than without.

(Edit after seeing Episode 2, SPOILERS: Never mind about this not being deep or dark, the ending of Episode 2 has changed my mind!! Please watch it, and let’s discuss theories!!!)

5. Arte

If you’ve read any of my past essays, maybe you’ve found out by now that I live for the dynamic between really great and supportive partnerships. And maybe you’ve also found out by now that most of this list consists of said partnerships. Arte definitely has one too.

So Arte is about a noblewoman who wants to be an artist, but everyone is against that, because she’s a woman, and women at that time don’t become artists. And moreover, she’s a noble, and so she needs to be ladylike and get married so she can continue to live a comfy life.

Basically that’s the premise, and Arte goes about trying to find her path to becoming an artist. She eventually becomes the apprentice of someone we all know: Leonardo da Vinci.

If you like art, if you like history and historical figures (read: if you’re a Fate fan like me), or if you just like a cool and determined female MC, then this is for you. I would say this is comparable to Ascendance of a Bookworm, or the anime movie Miss Hokusai. It’ll probably have equal parts lighthearted comedy and darker seriousness, and plenty of coolness from Arte and Leo both.

4. Gleipnir

I read a good chunk of the manga a year or two before this came out, so I’ve been looking forward to this. The animation in this first episode was really good quality, and it’ll probably only get better from here. The story is basically, one day, our MC Shuichi suddenly gains powers to turn into a big stuffed animal suit. Everyone who has these powers to transform has entered into a big battle royale to the death to collect the most coins.

Shuichi just wants to live a normal life and get rid of this animal form, and Claire wants to find a certain someone (among other things). Shuichi doesn’t want to fight, doesn’t want to kill anyone — but he can’t do nothing because then he’d be killed. And he doesn’t even know yet why he was turned into this monster.

That’s where Claire comes in. She has a goal, but she doesn’t have powers like he does. She’d be killed instantly on her own, just as he would because of his hesitation. Just so you know, she gets it into her head that the best way for them both to live, and get what they both want, is for her to get inside his animal suit form, and control him from the inside.

They’d both die on their own, but together, they can survive.

I think the story is interesting and plenty mysterious. There’s a lot of good stuff to sink your teeth into. But like always, the core of the show, to me, is the dynamic between Shuichi and Claire, and how they both find purpose and motivation because of each other.

Also Shuichi’s VA is the same as Tanjirou. And Ikuto in Runway de Waratte. So that’s a plus.

3. Princess Connect! Re:Dive

So it might be easy to dismiss this as another fantasy adventure harem with the lackluster MC, but I’m going to argue for our mostly silent and robotic protagonist. We find out in the first episode when he wakes up that he lost his memory, so I would say that that’s the reason why he’s pretty emotionless. So as he interacts more with Kokkoro, and learns more about the world from her, he becomes more expressive.

I think the best example of this is his last line at the end of the first episode, which sounded a little more emotional and personal than any lines he’d said earlier.

On another note, the animation is top notch — way, way too excessively pretty and beautiful and detailed, but I ain’t complaining. The grass. The grass. Watch it, and you’ll see what I mean. And the lighting. The lighting.

The action animation and comedy both are pretty reminiscent of Konosuba. A certain character’s finishing move is pretty similar to Explosion. And like Konosuba, a lot of the appeal of this show will probably be the female characters, their wild personalities, and all the shenanigans they get into.

But also like Konosuba, there’s a small, hidden sweet side sprinkled throughout, in how their ragtag group finds friendship and companionship with each other, when they couldn’t find it elsewhere. If you look at it that way, I think this show can be sweet and deep in its own way.

2. Tower of God

This is a big one that I know lots of people have been looking forward to, as it’s an adaptation of a popular Webtoon. I haven’t read the webtoon yet, but I will eventually. I’ll just say that first, the art and animation here is really, really good. In particular, the scenery and background art is amazing, and really creates the whole atmosphere. A single change in background can change the mood in a second. You’ll see what I mean immediately in the first scene with the big door. Or a little later on with the blood splatter.

The animation of the movement in action scenes is smooth and fluid, no problems there. The art style may take some time to get used to for some people who may not like it, but it’s personally just the kind I like. Honestly it reminds me of a Shaft work. So if you like the Monogatari series, the use of art style and background art here gives a similar vibe, or at least I think so.

As for the story, it starts with Bam getting separated from Rachel, and he starts his journey to climb a tower so he can meet her again. We get pretty much no reason for why she left yet, but I think we’re in for something really good with this story.

(I’m planning on making a separate analysis essay entirely on a certain scene in the first episode, so look forward to that.)

1. BNA

Brand New Animal. Trigger’s latest work, the last few being SSSS Gridman and Darling in the Franxx, and their first movie, Promare. I am a huge Trigger fan, and I’ve been excited for this one for a while.

Our MC, Michiru, is a human, but she suddenly gets turned into a tanuki person. She seeks refuge in Anima City, because (surprise!) the humans don’t like the animal people. But not everything is as it seems in Anima City, and she teams up with the wolf person, Ogami Shiro, to find answers — thus getting caught up in something way bigger and stranger than she ever expected.

First off, if you’ve been missing the crazy and cartoonish animation from Trigger’s earlier stuff, then you’re in for a treat. This has an undeniable Kill la Kill vibe, but with Promare’s amazing popping colors and backgrounds.

If you want to say it’s another animal show, like Beastars and Zootopia, go ahead. Let’s just get that out of the way.

Moving on, Michiru escapes to Anima City, expecting it to be a place where all the animal people can live freely and be themselves. But it turned out to be a free-for-all, strongest wins type of society, where animal people are quick to betray their own kind for their own personal gain. And even side with the humans who discriminated them in the first place.

Michiru’s character will probably be a hit or miss for most people. Some might find her annoying, others charming and endearing. I like her, as I tend to like these types of characters.

But I think what’s great, is that she gets challenged. Her ideas and beliefs about both the animal people and humans are put to the test, and her suddenly becoming an animal person herself means that she’s in a unique position of being able to understand both sides. But she’s also still an outsider, and she finds that maybe neither side was really quite like what she once believed. And so, her place in either side of society will come into question for her. There’s a lot to dig into here, and I’ll probably make separate posts for BNA alone later on.

If you like Trigger, watch it. It’s probably more of a mix between Gridman and Promare than it is Kill la Kill, despite sharing many animation similarities (even a certain sports match that’s basically torn right out of Kill la Kill). If you want something that’s a little more different and subtle and intriguing than their usual works, then this is for you. If you liked Beastars, give this one a try too.

Some Extras

--that I wanted to add to this list, but I’ll just briefly put them here so this post doesn’t get any longer:

My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom!

Shironeko Project: Zero Chronicle

Listeners

If there’s more you think I missed, feel free to put ‘em in the replies!

Upcoming Essays:

Analysis on Orb Scene in Tower of God Episode 1

Navigating the numerous Fantasy-Adventure genre anime of the Spring 2020 Season

Various BNA essays (I’ve seen episodes 1-6 already, will be tagged for spoilers)

Gal to Kyouryuu Theories

Maybe something Fate related, it’s my recent obsession

[santalsaburablog]

Adventures of Santal. Chapter 4: New Planet

There is boundless hope in the only chance.

     It's finished! By a lucky coincidence, Santal manages to escape from captivity and avoid an unenviable fate! Now, traveling like a hare in a box on a Rodian ship, she is filled with the hope of returning home. Meanwhile, on Coruscant in the Jedi Temple, life goes on as usual ...

     The massive building of the Temple towered over a kilometer above the rest of Galactic City, built on an ancient source of power located inside the mountain. There was a free space around, the Street of Processions, from which the best view of the Temple opened. From the outside, the building looked like a tall, stepped ziggurat with five spiers at the top, symbolizing the Jedi's pursuit of enlightenment.

     The central and highest spire, surrounded by four smaller ones, is also known as the Temple Spire. It is considered the main one: it contains the ancient texts of the Jedi founders, and in this sacred place the Jedi indulge in meditation.

     In the first of four smaller spiers, the twelve members of the Jedi High Council sit on various affairs of the Republic. The High Council plays a vital role in that it has the power to decide the fate of the entire Jedi Order and thus to a certain extent influence the Galactic Republic as well.

     It was there that Grand Master of the Jedi Order Yoda went early in the morning. He walked slowly, leaning on a cane.

     “Good morning, Master Unduli.

     “Good morning, Master Yoda.

     Both masters bowed respectfully to each other. And then each went his own way.

     When Yoda entered, everyone was already there. Seeing the green head, everyone immediately stood up. The twelve councilors bowed their heads. Someone clasped his hands behind his back, someone folded them in front of him. Someone simply lowered freely on the sides. Together they began:

- May the Force be with us all. And may the peace of our Temple be with us. An abode open for thought and conversation. The sphere of mutual respect and the dominance of a noble goal. Let each take his place as an equal among equals. May our work be done in trust, Free from the shackles of conceit and envy At this and subsequent meetings.

     They all sat down. You could start.

                                                             ***

- What is it? - Elina Sabura lamented. Nobi almost ran next to her, afraid to leave behind his bustling wife.

     In the morning, the poor summer girl could not find a place for herself. Her named niece is missing! Elina sensed something was wrong in the morning. On ordinary days Santal got up before everyone else, walked a little in her room. And then she went to them and woke them up if, in her opinion, they fell asleep. And today she and her husband woke up in a calm atmosphere. Nobody touched.

     The aunt went into her niece's room and froze on the threshold. The bed is not made. Not a trace of the girl. Letanka was about to faint. What a fool she is! I didn’t look! But Elina even at night through her sleep heard some shuffling, but did not attach any importance to it. And my husband muttered, they say, don't worry, it's just the wind. But she calmed down and did not check! Fool tailhead! Lecca would have been cut off for her stupidity!

     - Calm down, Elina. It is not your fault. - Nobi, distinguished by his dark green skin, put his hand on his wife's shoulder. “I’m ...

     - Do not say anything! You didn’t make a promise to your pregnant girlfriend that you would take care of her baby if something happened. So most of the responsibility lies with me! O Strength, what to do? What to do?!

     - Maybe the police? Or call the Jedi? Nobi suggested.

     - No! - Elina barked. The husband staggered back. - You can't call the Jedi! They are already busy all the time. And generally speaking. If they find Santal, they won't give them back! She's got ... - Letanka stopped short.

     Despite this, her husband added two and two without difficulty.

     "So is she ... a Jedi?" - The man was surprised to learn something new about the girl he raised for three years.

     - Yes. More precisely, she can become one. All the essentials - sensitivity to Strength and character traits - she has. - Elina decided that there was no need to deny it. If the husband already understood everything. - But I will not allow this.

     - Why? Why are you doing this? - In fact, Nobi had a lot of questions, but nevertheless he decided to ask such in order to find out everything he wanted.

     “You see, when I was younger, two Jedi saved me from a terrible fate. These were her parents. If not for them, I would have been a slave to the Hutts to this day. Low bow to them for that! We became friends. And two months before the death of Adir, that was the name of Santal's mother, she said that she was expecting a child. And then, on my own initiative, I decided to become her nanny. Although they wanted to raise the baby themselves. But I still gave my word that if something happened, I would take care of her or him. How she looked into the water! - Letanka sobbed.

     - Well, if you are so good to the Jedi, then why the "little ones"? - Nobi still did not fully understand. “And you didn't tell me that you were a slave!

     Twi'lek was shocked: how bad it was! And his wife was silent, keeping everything to herself! Well, how can you ?!

     “I'm ashamed of what happened. I still remember how difficult it was for me to come to my senses at first. I felt dirty and humiliated. You have no idea what I endured there!

     - So tell me! I will listen to you! Don't think that I will love you less! Nobi exclaimed hotly.

     Elina was dumbfounded. Never before had her husband been so determined. And she made up her mind. She told how she had to dance in a meager outfit, live in mud, eat scraps. But that's not the worst part. She was once beaten for disobedience. On the very first day of slavery, the Hutt wrapped its tail around it and held it for some time. Sometimes, he hugged and licked. Or he could just try to stick his tongue in his mouth or in his ass. It took a long time. Elina felt like a whole year. It was owned by two Hutts. The first one lost at cards. Bastian killed the second one.

     After that, she became very suspicious. She began to lead a sedentary lifestyle. After the miraculous return, she vowed never to leave her home planet again. Never! Enough! Seen enough of the world! This is what she wanted to teach Santal: to be a homebody, to hate and be afraid of the Hutts. That's why I told her several times before going to bed almost every night that there were giant slugs on Tatooine that would eat her. And Santal believed, although she still ran away during the day to observe nature. A bully, but such a nice baby! Letanka always wanted to lightly pat the girl on the cheek.

     Elina thought about it. Oh, how she would like to kill at least one slug! Well, okay. Bastian fulfilled the dream for her. We must be content with what we have.

     Most of all, she was afraid not so much of Santal falling into slavery to the Hutts, as of the fact that someone would catch her, take her away to no one knows where, beat her, and she and Nobi would never see their niece again! Such thoughts made me want to cry.

     - Look. - Nobi made to pay attention to himself. - No shoes. Maybe she ran away?

     - What for? What have we done to her? - Elina threw up her hands.

     - Nothing. But you know how curious she is. I saw something and went to look. And I was lost.

     “If you're right, then she’s here somewhere. 

But on the other hand, she would find her way home. Santal is not stupid. She must have been stolen after all. Lured and stolen! Poor thing! It can be anywhere: in a slave market, in slavery, in space ... Suddenly, somewhere on the street, freezes and cries? - Letanka grabbed her head, sat up and howled.

     Nobi walked over and gave his wife a weak slap in the face, wanting to revive her.

     - Calm down! I think I came up with it. Actually, I don't understand why you don't want Santal to become a Jedi. Not everyone can be one. This is one of the noblest professions. These wonderful creatures help people disinterestedly. Keep peace in the galaxy ...

     - I know without you! - Elina interrupted him. - Yes, they are wonderful. Should I not know. But it seems to me that everyone, except for Adira and her husband Bastian, is a little bit. Jedi steal children! The parents probably disagree, and they take it away. To join your ranks.

     - Yes, where did you get it?

     - My grandmother told me so. Until she died when I was five. Only mother and father remained. Glory to the Force, while they are healthy.

     - And here I am an orphan almost from birth. From early childhood by itself, - said sad Nobi. - How did yours bless us? I am still surprised.

     “You made a good impression on them. They saw before them a simple but noble Twi'lek with a kind heart and a pure soul.

     Nobi blushed, but almost immediately turned serious.

     - So how will we look for Santal?

     - We ourselves will walk down the street. And at the same time we will write an ad that a three-year-old human girl has disappeared. Name is Santal Sabura. Let's describe the appearance in detail. Let them search for her throughout the galaxy.

     - Well done, dear. - In Elina's soul, hope flared up with a bright flame.

     - Thanks. Just a question. Will we write about the reward?

     - I do not know. I personally think no reward is needed. Let them return for free. Santal is not a thing, she is the daughter of the great Jedi. It means that it is priceless.

     - I agree. Let's start. Where is her picture?

     - In a drawer.

                                                           ***

     Santal woke up from hitting her head on the wall of the box. It felt like she realized that they had arrived. Without waiting for anyone, the girl wanted to get out of the box. But - what an attack! - did not work. Santal was frightened. She began to feel like she was suffocating.

     However, the Force was kind to the baby. Firstly, there were fruits in the box, and they were quite tasty. So the girl who woke up ate ate, although she got her nightie dirty, because she crushed two pieces. Secondly, not so little time has passed since the lid was opened. Realizing that she had a great chance, Santal got out with a little difficulty and jumped to the floor. And then, quietly stealthily, she walked to the exit, while no one sees.

     - Hey! Who are you? What are you ... - Still, one of the two noticed her. Namely, the one with blue pigmentation.

     For Santal, this call was like a signal. The baby started at full speed. Stopped only two blocks later. When I first turned around, I realized that they were not running after her.

     In an amicable way, one could ask to take him home. But Santal was already a scientist. She couldn't get caught a second time! In the end, there are two of them. And she herself barely fought off even one uncle. What can we say about two! Suddenly, they also want to give somewhere. No! What did he say? Pv ... pl ... no. How do they growl? Rrr ... prrr-give birth! Right! Pro-give!

     Santal almost jumped for joy. She learned a new word! Hooray! Then, deciding not to stay in one place, having a snack with fruits from that box and leaving three in reserve, she went wherever she looked. Wander around the city.

     That uncle showed her how prudent he is. She may have run away from him, but all the same. He tried with all his might to keep her. And his: "I had to make sure that nobody was following me." And she, Santal, is it worse? It means that it is also necessary to do so. Try to predict who will do what. It seemed to her an exciting game.

     The girl all the time looked around and watched the world around her. How interesting it turns out to be! But dangerous too, she remembered to remind herself. So my aunt was right and wrong at the same time.

     In general, Santal Sabura took a lot of steps during the day. I went to many places. I saw a lot of things. By the evening I was completely exhausted. And this despite the fact that she sat down and rested more than once. And all the same, the legs were erased. All in red pieces! The girl even took off her shoes and saw a bubble on each foot. Santal put on her shoes again and went. Oh, how hard it was! And it hurts to come.

     At this point, the girl despaired. She is on an unfamiliar planet, all alone. And she rubbed her legs. And it was already getting dark. And if someone sticks to her? Here her aunt told her that during the day it is dangerous for young children to walk without adults. And even worse at night. All sorts of monsters wake up. Remembering this, Sabura was seriously scared. Now and then look, he will cry again.

     But here I wanted to turn my head to the left for some reason. And there, very close, there was a blue stripe. This conclusion was drawn by the eyes. The strip was so attractive that the girl decided that it was her parents who were giving her a sign: she had to go there. And she went. Slowly, but went.

     I got there in about an hour. During this time, the girl kept looking around her, shuddering, reacting to the slightest rustle. I was afraid to meet a monster or that uncle.

     Santal stopped and ... was stunned. She had never seen such beauty before. So it was not in vain that I suffered. After all, there was a lot of water in front of her! So much so that the opposite bank was not visible. The water formed a white line as it approached. And sounds are a delight to the ears.

     Santal was so happy that she took off her shoes and started jumping on the soft and light earth. The girl really enjoyed running and jumping - it seemed to her that the pain had subsided. And then she climbed into the water, but, however, immediately got out - it's cold, and the nightie got wet. I had to take it off and put it next to the shoes. The girl entered slowly, ankle-deep, then knee-deep and finally waist-deep. She began to walk, jump and wave her arms, causing the spray to fly in different directions. And when she got tired, she went out, sat on the ground to dry. And so for the whole night more than five times. Santal could no longer count.

     It is worth noting that the girl was thirsty all the time away from home, and upon arrival on the new planet she was generally burning. Therefore, after seeing so much water, she could not resist and filled her mouth. And after a couple of moments she spat it out. Salty water turned out! But at least she rinsed her mouth.

     And also at the very edge of the water Santal found a very beautiful and unusual thing. The girl decided to take it as a keepsake. Then she ate the last fruit, because I couldn't stand it anymore.

     From malnutrition over time, she began to feel sick at times. Santal even began to think that he would die. However, in this situation, there was one plus: she will be able to meet with her parents. If they are there. But she didn't know if it was so or not. And since she didn’t know, then she had to fight for life.

At dawn, Santal noticed three things. First, at this moment the landscape became even more beautiful. The earth turned out to be not only soft, but also white. And the water is pale blue. The place looked like Tatooine. But there are two suns that burned mercilessly. And here is one thing, and it is very pleasant to expose a naked body under it. You will immediately get warm.

     Santal decided to play enough one last time and go in search of food. But at the same time she firmly decided that someday she would return here. The main thing is not to forget.

     The girl walked calmly through the streets. Having stolen five fruits, I went on for a walk. No, this planet is much better. There are trees, grass. Yes, Santal knew the meaning of the word “nature” and everything connected with it: “landscape”, “tree”, “leaves”, “mountains”, “plains”, “hills”. Only she hadn't seen it before. My aunt once mentioned that the terrain is different on all planets. Somewhere there is snow all the time, somewhere solid forests. And on her home planet there are mountains, a desert, even an ice cap somewhere, but she never saw it.

     After walking in a picturesque place - which was called a park, but the girl found out about it later - Sabura sat down next to a tree to rest and eat. Then she did not notice how she dozed off. I woke up only when someone began to poke something hard at her. The girl roused herself to answer, but the stranger began first:

     - Hello, child.

     Santal looked around until she found the owner of the voice.

[jujuoh]

Slimebodies!

This post is for a bunch of fun history and anatomy stuff! In the Goo AU, I haven’t decided yet if there were natural slime people originally, but the googioh characters are actually using slime bodes as avatars of a sort. They’re created via various slimes, oozes, and gelatinous cubes, and various secret magic-science known only to the Kaiba Company. 

Gozuburo Kaiba, a human merchant who had no problems dabbling in necromancy for his own gain, started out initially trying to make a new (or at least temporary) body for his dying son, Noa, but quickly veered off into using the research for soldiers/weapons that could live indefinitely and heal from almost any common battle wound - to be created en masse for the highest bidders. Noa’s mind and soul were uploaded with technomancy to an isolated machine in the back of a warehouse and forgotten until Gozuburo’s death, and his adopted son Seto Kaiba inherited all of his possessions and assets. Even though Seto is ridiculously competitive and appreciates a good fight, he detests anything resembling actual warfare and wants to use the technology and magicks to create rather than destroy.

Seto is a human technomancer Warlock, who’s magical sugardaddy is the lightning dragon goddess, Kisara. Mokuba is still in training. Their parents were killed in an avalanche, later discovered to be caused by one of Gozuburo’s weapons. The man adopted them after Seto showed off his intricate knowledge of electrical runes.

Seto goes back into the original slimebody research and tries to give Noa the body he was always meant to have. To do this he had to start the spells and potions over almost from scratch, trying to steer it away from necromancy and into artificery, and while doing so discovered that adding fruit extract made the bodies more stable and less.... unsettling, more sentient rather than living weapons or mindless beasts like they were under Gozuburo’s direction. The type of fruit didn’t seem to matter beyond what colour (and bizarrely, flavour) the resulting body had. 

After this success (and with a new whiny, but clever, slimy, green-apple-and-mint brother in tow), Seto decided to do more test trials for others in need of a new (or spare) body. Along with everything else he was making in terms of technomagical supplies and creations, the Kaiba Company was rebranded into a force for good. The slimebodies could be used when traveling or doing work underwater or hazardous conditions, or for people who are in magically induced comas to promote healing or are unable to move, in order to keep their daily lives going and their minds healthy and active while their bodies rest. They’re especially handy for disembodied souls like Noa, though ghosts specifically seem to have a harder time possessing them than flesh-and-blood bodies.

Now we finally get to use the infographic up above! Here it is again:

Humans, elves, dwarves - Any of the races can use slimebodies, even non-humanoid ones, though the transition will be more difficult the farther away in similarity the body plans are. All you need is sentience and the ability to give consent (that last one isn’t technically necessary but Seto won’t do it without it unless it’s an absolute (medical) emergency and the affected party physically isn’t capable.) The comparisons here will all be to humans for simplicity’s sake.

1. Auricles - In place of both ears and noses, the auricles are little triangular protrusions on the side of the head, that sense vibrations (and thus sound), chemicals (smell), and also electricity. This makes them highly empathetic. All three of these senses are stronger than those humans have, but sensitivity to bad smells is much lower, and sensitivity to bad sounds is much higher. 

Piercings aren’t permanent and will close up immediately upon removal of piercing jewellery, but they are easy and nearly harmless to redo. Jewellery and jewels can be simply stuck into or onto the bodies as well, and is a unique form of accessorizing available to the slimes (though I suppose one could glue jewels to the body, this is much more secure, and there’s no threat of sweat loosening the gems).

2. “Hair” - Nobody knows why, but the slime on top of the head seems to mimic hair growth, down to the specific hairstyle the embodied prefers. Mobuka’s answer is “It’s magic, dummy.” It can be changed as well, and sometimes even grows out the way actual hair would, but other times it doesn’t. Mokuba’s answer still holds. Long natural (A), cut/blunt end (B), short and spiky (C), and pulled back (D) styles can be seen here. For some reason - *coughmagiccough* - any “extra” flavours like mint or honey end up in the hair, as can be seen in Noa’s pale, minty bangs, and Yugi’s golden bangs.

3. Eyes - Slimes have vision nearly identical to humans, though they have no trouble seeing underwater without goggles, and with no limit to their pupil size, have a wider range of light they can see in. The main differences are in purple (or approaching purple) eyes, which can see in ultraviolet as well, and in red (or approaching red, like orange) eyes which can see in infrared. They don’t need to blink, and can see through their eyelids even though their irises are obscured from outside view. Blinking is just a residual habit or an emotional response. 

4. Mouth - Slimes don’t have teeth. Not permanent, solid teeth, anyways. Hard ridges form in the mouth while eating or in response to emotion. While slimes technically can be able to taste (and eat) with their entire bodies, reminiscent of their oozy progenitors, it is something that they must actively concentrate to do. The mouth area and the tongue do these passively, and it’s more habitual for one to eat with their mouths and no, say, shove food directly into their digestive center. It’s also pretty rude to taste your friend when giving them a hug - you wouldn’t go up to your bestie and lick them, would you? Or would you...?

5. Organs - Or rather, lacktherof. Slimes breathe through their skin, much like frogs do, and can breathe in the air and underwater. Fresh water is preferred, but they are able to stay in salt water for quite a time as long as fresh drinking water is available. They also need to absorb a lot of light - slimes are capable of photosynthesis through the presence of chlorophyll (green-blue) and rhodopsin (red-purple). Due to this, slimes try to wear as little clothing as possible without feeling or appearing naked or inappropriately dressed. They do, and must, however, eat actual food. Anything from hamburgers to non-toxic minerals can be digested in the cores of slimebodies. Need to hide a corpse?

6. GenitaIs - Slimes only form temporary organs between their legs during certain times, which can be uncomfortable at first for those inhabiting the slimebodies. Others use this as the perfect excuse to forgo underwear.

7. Nails - While the ends of fingers and toes are firmer in order to  function properly, there are no nails. Slimes that find this uncomfortable or just want to decorate themselves use stick-on nails (no glue required. While the sticking-to isn’t permanent, it’s more like semi-permanent, like a perfect vacuum seal.)

8. “Skin” - As you can see, slimebodies are overall semi-transparent and heavily tinted. Depending on the lighting, the position, and the slime, objects might show through the bodies clearly or be barely visible. While the outside has a shiny, slick appearance, to the touch the “skin” of a slimebody feels no different to an amphibian (or perhaps a damp, sweaty person). While slime droplets occasionally drip down or even off the body, not much is lost throughout the day, no more than a flesh-and-blood body loses from sweat, dead skin cells, and other passive loss. Slimes wear clothes and shoes not for concealment (though hiding the digestion process is considered polite), but to keep themselves clean, like any other being, though slimes tend to pick up much more lint than anyone else due to the constant slight moisture at the surface.

Mostly made of water, even more so than FnB bodies, slimebodies are immune to water attacks, strong to fire attacks, weak to ice attacks, and are immune to electric attacks as long as they have contact with the ground. Slashing attacks can cause damage, but unless it’s magical or elemental, the cuts will heal quickly and completely. Crushing attacks cause more damage and are hard to reform from, but it is possible.

In times of high, unstable emotion or high damage, the shape of the bodies way denature temporarily and turn partially or entirely into a slimy puddle. This is reversible, and not harmful in and of itself, but it will certainly feel very, very strange. Should a body be cut in half, the two halves can either be cleaved back together, or the bigger half will reform into a new body with rest and food. The bodies can stretch and melt through conscious effort as well, and many slimes can even be seen “melting into each other” during particularly snuggly hugs. Any foreign residue will eventually be converted or replaced by the original slime, so any colour or flavour changes are not permanent.

The way young Yugi came to inhabit a slimebody is quite an adventure. The short-ish version is this: 

Sugoroku Mutou in his youth was a human adventurer, a budding merchant-slash-warrior that would go on quests for rare, expensive items, either for a wealthy client or to expand his own collection. Whilst in Fantasy Egypt looking for an ancient cursed game board (the very one he would later use against Mr. Otogi, an eladrin bard), he stumbled into a lost tomb. From what he could tell, it was the tomb of an Aasimar prince, 3000 years gone, and yet the only thing in the burial chamber was a box on a pedestal, and you know the story from there... 

A powerful, but gentle presence urged Sugoroku to take the box, filled with what appeared to be a magical, solid-gold three-dimensional puzzle out of the tomb and back home. Having had many, many, MANY experiences with cursed objects, Sugoroku could tell this thing was deeply and powerfully cursed, but not in potentia, the trap had already been sprung long ago. There was no danger, here, just a lot of loneliness.

He returned home and kept the box shut, having given up on solving the puzzle himself after a few decades, got married, had a kid, his son got married to a spritely elf, and they, too, had a son, all before the puzzle was even thought of again.

Yugi, a half-elf with the makings of a great hero, solves the puzzle one year after finding it at age 7, and he suddenly has a second shadow. The shadow is always there, though sometimes it hides in his real shadow, and it does its best to protect Yugi throughout the years. Slowly, ever so slowly, the shadow gains sentience, and sometimes Yugi sees the shape of smiling eyes, and Yugi always smiles back. 

On Yugi’s sixteenth birthday, several years into his magical training, he can suddenly hear his shadow friend’s voice, and his friend can possess his body, and everyone realises that this poor ghost has been trapped sealed in this piece of metal for millennia. He doesn’t even remember his own name. 

Yugi decides to set off on a quest to discover his friend’s past and try to find something to help him, but Mr. Otogi shows up to exact his revenge before he even gets the chance to ask his friends along on the quest. Yugi’s body is burnt to ashes, but his shadow clings to his soul and hides it in the puzzle alongside his own.

Seto hears about what happened, and Jounouchi is the one to suggest that Yugi might be in the puzzle with his shadow friend, and Seto makes them both slimebodies and hopes for the best. It’s a huge adjustment for everyone, especially poor Atem, suddenly in a body, remembering scraps of his past thanks to Yugi’s brief presence in the puzzle. Unlike the other slimes, Atem can’t stay in his body unless the puzzle is encased in the goop - why is he so different?

The slimebodies were always intended to be temporary, and now with three different people in need of new, actual flesh-and-blood bodies, their adventures are only beginning. What - there are other ways to create slimebodies? Somebody is trying to compete with Kaiba Co? There are groups calling this blasphemy? Must they foray into necromancy in order to return Yugi, Atem, and Noa to their actual bodies? Who cursed Atem in the first place? What caused the lost prince to become lost? There are other cursed golden items with souls hidden inside? Why does Seto choose everyone’s fruit so carefully? It’s because he’s gay

[astrology-with-charu]

7-11 August - Under the first quarter moon & the last in decade meeting of Sun in Leo & Jupiter in Sagittarius, we begin to grow the seeds planted by the New Moon in Leo. Energy, confidence, vitality rise as we are given a strong guidance & a sense of support as Jupiter turns direct from 11 August💫

7-11 August #Astrology #Horoscope

Under the first quarter moon & the last in decade meeting of Sun in Leo & Jupiter in Sagittarius, we begin to grow the seeds planted by the New Moon in Leo. Energy, confidence, vitality rise as we are given a strong guidance to start new - with a sense of support that’s about to be given to us mentally, physically & materially as Jupiter turns direct from 11 August.

It’s a revolutionary rise & it’s only the start. First gift is illumination from within - the knowing of what we truly want to pursue notwithstanding the hindrances, resistance, doubts, chaos we face cause Leo is fixed fire that burns through any obstacle through sheer will & desire of the heart.

It’s soul’s growth enlightenment - where our next growth chapter is, how we want our ambition to unfold, what steps we need to take, what doors we need to knock & more importantly what’s our unique journey of which we are the leader - what’s our masterpiece - what do we wish to perfect & deliver - what makes our heart break all barriers all glass ceilings - what’s the true hearts desire. It’s the time we come out of darkness as Guru - Jupiter illuminates our path.

We straddle the wall of catabolic action & creative intensity for there is an urgency to deliver our life’s best work. These 3-4 days of good cheer ease us into clarity as Jupiter touches our mind, body & heart illuminating us from within.

Travel, study, read, write, interact with people different from you, find your mentor, a guru, seek support for your ambition, influence boldly, expand your outlook & mind in best possible way - do all you can do to activate Jupiter’s energy in your life - the Guru - the teacher, the end of darkness & the beginning of doors opening.

Review Leo New Moon themes for your rising/sun/moon sign as that’s where our first doors open - where we have opportunity right now to breakthrough. [Link to video for each sign](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLv3tUTLu8-MT9MHp0tw6kgV1dB0Cq65MF)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

♌️ #Leo

Your self identity, how do you want to show up in the world, your external identity, your body, who you are when it comes to your physical reality - your personality. Jupiter meeting Sun in your sign illuminates your “I am” - the awakening of who you are, faith in your unique gifts, your unique self expression, your unique personality - enabling you to take a chance on you. It’s a rebirth of your self identity, your physical body, of the very frame of your life as you look at yourself, your own identity in a different way. Life’s too short to not be all you can be unapologetically - A Lion can’t live happily in skin of a sheep, that fact is made clear to you. Jupiter expands your ambition, self love & confidence giving you impetus to be all you can be, to deliver your God given gifts without hesitation. Release your internal resistance, your own doubts & need for security as your foundations, your family, your home, your sense of security needs to shift in line with your new identity.

♋️ #Cancer

Self worth, networth, material resources, values. Jupiter illuminates from within helping you understand your value & true worth of your talents so you can claim your rightful share of material resources. The shift in perspective makes all the difference in how you go about creating material value from your talents & you ask for more as you deserve more. Gates of abundance open with this illumination - take the first step - invest, Ask for a raise, start a new source of income, start working on a skill set that you know will generate more material resources for you, start investing in you - your body, your talents more than ever before. Faith in your skills, confidence is who you are is boosted as we move boldly towards more abundance inside out.

♊️ #Gemini

Communication & commercial skills, sales, marketing or communication project, short travels. Jupiter illuminates your mind, your words - infusing faith, positivity, impact in your speech - internal & external. It’s time to open yourself up to more people, to learn from them, to interact with them, open the flood gates of words & new knowledge . Socialise be out & about, share your ideas, negotiate, sell, write, take short trips - get your messaging out & get an expansive messaging out. Positive messages are received & given under this influence as your courage & belief in your own skills is boosted. Immediate environment at home & work becomes pleasant & easier to navigate through.

♉️ #Taurus

Home, family, inner world, support system. Jupiter illuminates your foundations, reinforcing replenishing sense of security, refueling you from within through a positive new phase in home, family, emotional wellbeing. Taking a few steps to make things more positive with family, enhancing value of real estate or buying new one or relocation can turn into a very expansive & positive experience. Entertain at home, spend time with family, friends, parent, start a new phase in parenting - see your inner life grow to support you more than ever.

♈️ #Aries

Joy, creativity, passions, love, romance, children, Creative pursuits & business risk. Jupiter illuminates your passions prompting you to take more risk in your personal & professional life. Starting new creative venture, new chapter in life of your child, taking more investment risk, going for a passionate romance, enjoying yourself like a child - all of this are supported & encouraged as you see tide of positive karma & luck turning towards around for you. It’s time to have a little bit of fun 💕

♓️ #Pisces

Work environment & health routines. Jupiter illuminates your house of work, opening new expansive opportunities of work through new projects or new job offer or new team - you feel supported in this work environment as you look to work on projects that you could be proud of & possibly lead in. You are an independent self driven worker who likes to do unique projects & bring creativity in daily life - you shift your work environment to be in line with your desires. Ask what you need at work & initiate concrete bold steps in that direction. Health shifts initiated now can be very beneficial.

♒️ #Aquarius

Commitment , contract - personal or professional. Jupiter opens the gates to a new contract, client or committed partnership or a new phase in your existing commitment. The new partnership can be exciting, Creative, bold & visible taking you to places your heart desires to go professionally & personally. This is a critical moment - sharing your life & ideas with others especially in one on one partnerships, putting yourself out there both in professional & personal partnerships boldly, negotiating, presenting to clients, initiating a new Creative contract, handling your critics in a bold way - are all supported under this aspect.

♑️ #Capricorn

Proceeds of partnership, healing, Phoenix moment. Jupiter illuminates your transformation, it supports you coming out of a phase of imbalance to one of boldly asking for what you need in joint relationships/ partnerships both personal & financial. Detoxing your life, body, mind to move to a more positive, expansive & healed place is supported under this aspect. Being out in the sun with your loved ones, with children, doing what you love, creatively expressing yourself helps heal you, especially if past few months have felt hard on health. Aspect supports having a constructive discussion & steps to manage imbalance in partnerships where the proceeds of the relationship in intimacy & finances, don’t match your efforts. This is a phase of healing & return to power, vitality & vigor. Detox.

♐️ #Sagittarius

Adventure, travel, education, publication, legalisation, leap of faith. All the things you love & are - your ruler Jupiter illuminates & supports. It wants your faith to be embolden for you to take the leap you have been waiting to take. Aspect supports travel for a purpose, expanding your mind through higher education/ on job training / interaction with foreign people or people of different walks of life / publication of substantial impact / teaching / finding a mentor / finding a new purpose, new meaning to life. As life opens up in dramatic & surprising ways, this aspect gives the requisite jumping ground to allow you to leave any hesitation in proceeding forward onto a more adventurous journey. Leaps & bounds ahead!

♏️ #Scorpio

Career, public image, authority. Jupiter illuminates your life path, the knowing as to what you want to be in the world & the tools to achieve it. First step is knowing in no uncertain terms what you are aiming for & with support of Jupiter this month new avenues open which are in line with who you are as a leader, as a professional, as a creative person who likes to give it all with all their heart to what they do. Lead & not follow, be in the light, ask for what you need in your career, take a bold career move, discuss your promotion, your next step with the authorities or better go in independent as much as you can leading your own charge. Light is on you & in your mind & heart you know impending shifts are here finally.

♎️ #Libra

Friends, social network, vision of big wealth. Jupiter illuminates what’s your Long term vision in life & who is going on that journey with you as you start a new phase in your social network, social status, presence in business network. Initiating bold steps to launch something at wider scale, breaking through a business network of influence, breaking through a friendship, forming new circle of people with common goals who support you in this journey or your own fan base, feeling inspired with a new dream or idea which helps you create your legacy / big wealthier all supported here. We could make some very fruitful, fulfilling friends & business contacts here so put yourself out there, socialise, network & feel the inspiration rife in the air.

♍️ #Virgo

Regeneration, Long distance travel, behind the scenes activity. Jupiter illuminates your karmic release house which moves you out of old situation & propels you into the light in your season. But for now it’s better to keep matters wrap under covers as you perfect what you are proudly working on behind the scenes. Healing, regeneration, faith, service to others,charity & taking a private moment through Long distance travel or just being away from the busy energy - helps you achieve what you want ahead of your brand new start end of August.

[this-is-a-love-story-fleabag]

Fork you, then (7/?)

Fleabag saves her friend Boo’s life and earns a spot in the Good Place, but is everything here really so perfect? And what’s up with the hot priest next door? 1010 words. Chapters: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. Also on ao3.

It's my third day in paradise and honestly, I think I might be bored of pornography.

I'm feeling slightly more at home in my house than I was, partially due to the aforementioned pornography, but mostly because I've turned all the photos on my mantelpiece face down. Checkmate, feelings.

It's my third day in paradise and honestly, I think I might be bored of pornography.

I'm feeling slightly more at home in my house than I was, partially due to the aforementioned pornography, but mostly because I've turned all the photos on my mantelpiece face down. Checkmate, feelings.

I'd still prefer to be spending the night next door, but I suspect that option isn't on the cards for now. In retrospect, finding a priest that secretly wants to fuck you and then literally handing him a piece of forbidden fruit is probably a bit on the nose. I don't know if he wants to talk to me, but I haven't left the house in order to find out.

I've been trying very hard to keep my mind off things, but there's only so much time that you can fill with bottles of wine and adventurous wanks.

It turns out my magic TV screen can show me what my loved ones are up to on Earth right at this moment, which is probably the worst thing ever. Boo has so far composed five different songs about my death, which she has been playing on the ukelele to our guinea pig and any hapless customers that foolishly wander into the café.

Some of them are actually quite catchy.

Dad's stoic, but I caught him having a little cry into his muesli this morning. My godmother has not been able to wipe the fucking smile off her smug face, except for when she's wailed theatrically in public and rended her garments. I bet she'll make an exhibition about this. I bet it'll be successful, too. For fuck's sake.

I flick the channel over to watch Claire striding through her office, somehow having made herself even busier than usual. She's got new ombre highlights since yesterday, which I strongly suspect is her own way of mourning me. It's quite sweet, really.

I hear a knock and have to pause the screen to go and investigate. I open the door and Tahani swoops in, kissing me on both cheeks and sitting down daintily on my sofa, settling her skirts around her like a fainting Victorian romance novel heroine. "Oh, is that a family member?" she asks, noticing the screen. "She looks just like you. What an unusual choice of hairstyle!"

"My sister," I say tightly, clicking off the screen and hoping that she'll change the subject. She does not get the hint and carries on talking.

"I never got on with my sister. I was always too jealous of her, to tell you the truth. I wish we'd been closer. Were you close?"

I snort. "Well, I don't think she was jealous of me."

"Do you miss her?"

"Yeah," I say, surprising myself. "It's like she's... dead. Like they all are. I don't know what to do with all my unfinished... everything."

I could never quite find the right way to be close to Claire. I was always needling her or making jokes, or just generally putting up emotional barriers. She tried to tell me that she loved me, once, and I just made a loud farting sound and left the room. I could have bridged that gap if I'd just tried being sincere for five minutes but it's a bit fucking late now.

Dying is the worst fucking thing that's ever happened to me.

"Why are you here?" I ask, a little more sharply than I mean to.

"I just came over to see if you would come and join me for a spot of frozen yogurt. I feel like I've barely gotten to know you yet."

"Oh, I wouldn't recommend getting to know me."

"Come on, let's try out some of the new flavours. They've got sprinkles that taste the way it feels to perfectly dip a Rich Tea biscuit into your tea so that it's soft, but it doesn't fall in."

Sold.

Tahani seems entirely at home as we walk through the neighbourhood arm-in-arm, and she starts telling me a long-winded story that is probably supposed to impart some life advice, but mostly is just a litany of the names of famous people she was acquainted with on Earth.

"It's like I said to my friend Andrew Scott and my best friend Phoebe Waller-Bridge," she's saying. "Sometimes you just have to sit down in a Quaker hall and think about tits."

"OK?"

"On reflection, that might not be a universally applicable piece of advice. Still, there we are." She brightens as we approach the restaurant and begins to describe to me the flavours available and what she thinks various members of the British royal family would think of them.

My eyes alight on the priest, who is sitting under a sun umbrella and gingerly poking at a bowl of frozen yogurt. He notices us and gives a sheepish grin.

"Oh look, it's Father," Tahani coos, and swoops in to kiss the priest on both cheeks. "How lovely to see you here."

"Hello," he says, giving me an apologetic little wave.

"Hi," I reply, feeling just as uncomfortable as he looks. "I'm just going to-" I make a move to walk inside the restaurant but Tahani stops me.

"No, no, sit down and relax, I'll pick up yours for you. I know exactly what you'll like." Tahani boops me lightly on the nose, making me go cross-eyed, and strides inside the restaurant, leaving us alone together. I perch on the chair opposite him and eye him expectantly.

"I'm sorry about yesterday," he says after a moment of awkward silence. "I shouldn't have... I was just having a bit of a metaphysical mind-fork of a day."

"It's fine." I'm being magnanimous today. "What flavour did you get?"

"It tastes like beating a traffic warden to your car just when they're on their way to give you a ticket." He picks up a little bit of it on his spoon and holds it out to me. "Here, try some."

I'm really not trying to make eating frozen yogurt off a spoon look sexy, but I guess I just can't help it. His eyes catch on my lips before he clears his throat and looks away.

"Mmm," I say after licking it clean. "Tastes both relieved and a little bit smug."

"Yes," he says in a strangled tone. "It's, uh, it's quite distinctive. You've got, um-" He gestures to my lower lip, where I've left a smudge of yogurt, entirely deliberately.

"Did I get it?" I ask, wiping at my chin.

"No, let me," he says, and reaches over to swipe his thumb over my lip. His hand lingers there, fingers stroking over my jaw, and my lips part ever so slightly as he drags his thumb over them. For a moment, I think he might be about to...

Tahani bustles back over, and he snatches his hand back. "Here you go, darling," she trills. "I went for mint choc chip with a swirl of waking up without a hangover after a night of heavy drinking."

I cannot help the obscene moan I let out on taking a bite of this particular concoction. "That's amazing."

"Oh, I'm so glad you like it!" beams Tahani. "Personally, I went for the flavour of the bee pollen acai bowl my dear friend Meghan made for me once at her home in Frogmore Cottage."

The priest and I make eye contact and he stifles a laugh.

"It doesn't really matter what she's the Duchess of," she finishes lightly, in a way that she probably thinks is self-effacing. "Now, I must go and ask Eleanor something. I'm so glad you could come out." She kisses us both on the cheeks and departs in a cloud of perfume and self-assurance.

"I guess I should be-" I say, just as he says "Do you want to go for a drink?"

"Oh," he says, immediately deflating. "If you've got somewhere else you need to-"

"No," I reply, a small smile growing on my face. "A drink... a drink sounds good."

[victorluvsalice]

AU Thursday: Tell Me Where To Find Shelter -- Weird And Complicated Video Game Crossover AUs Strike Again

Okay, so last week I offered you all an updated rewrite on my old Fallout 4 Sole Survivor!Victor AU, Tell Me Where To Find Shelter. And at the very end of said update, I let you know that I had an idea for fitting Alice into the AU --

Specifically, my Malkavian Alice from Vampire: the Masquerade -- Bloodlines.

Look, the fact of the matter is, Fallout 4 and Bloodlines have been rather closely connected in my head from day one of my purchasing them -- hell, I got them during the same Steam sale! (Along with the BioShock series entire, which is why I had a couple of posts about Tell Me Where to Find Shelter back in 2016, then it dropped off the face of the earth -- I played Bloodlines first, and followed up with that series.) And my “Londerland Bloodlines” playthrough of Bloodlines was done concurrently with my starting up Fallout 4, so -- yeah. Me wanting to figure out how to cross the two over was probably inevitable.

I know what you’re all thinking, of course -- “how the hell do you make this sort of crossover work?” Well, I have had a few ideas:

-->This version of Malkavian Alice and her adventures in 2004 Los Angeles would be much more like the standard fledgling’s, given that the Corpse Bride characters are now born in the future. So the person she saves in the hospital is Heather (who she does manage to send away in time to save her life), and the Giovanni party goes down without dragging an undead version of Lizzie into the mix. Obviously the story and setting would have to be tweaked to fit better into Fallout’s alternate history (though given what the computers in the original game are like, maybe that’s easier than expected). She still goes Independent, and escapes from Los Angeles in the wake of LaCroix’s explosive death, making her way slowly but surely to the East Coast because she has had enough of California and everyone there.

-->She manages to get on with her unlife, watching the growing tensions with China and the Resource Wars with unease, but keeping to herself and doing her best not to let her humanity slip as she gets older. When the bombs fall, she’s sleeping the day away in a basement bunker she set up in Boston -- but the destruction from the explosion ends up collapsing part of the ceiling, burying her in rubble -- with a chunk of timber piercing her heart. She ends up in a staked torpor. . .

-->Until Victor shows up at her location at night to clear out a few raiders who are taking over the place as a base. One of the raiders yanks out the stake to use as a weapon, has three seconds to wonder why it’s got fresh blood on it -- then Alice explodes from her centuries-long hiding place and drinks him dry. Victor is too stunned at first to actually shoot her, and once Alice’s blood thirst has been quest, she immediately puts her hands up and does her best to show she means him no harm. They talk, Alice explains what happened (and goes ahead and admits she’s a vampire when Victor explains about the nuclear apocalypse -- who gives a shit about the Masquerade when the world has ended?), she offers to help with the remaining raiders to prove her good intentions, Victor accepts, and they take down the assholes together.

-->Obviously, Alice isn’t immediately “unlockable” as a companion -- she’s still got her sunlight thing, after all! She and Victor chat about it, and Victor, feeling bad, offers his assistance. Alice accepts -- she misses the sun -- and says that she’ll stay where she is for the moment (after finding a non-partially-collapsed basement to stay in) and keep raiders and monsters out while he searches for information. And so the “Here Comes The Sun” quest begins, with Victor searching for a way to counteract the sunlight curse! I’m thinking this would end up interacting with the Cabot family stuff, because I don’t think it would be hard at all to change the source of their immortality, and the artifact upon Lorenzo’s head, from something alien to something vampiric. Maybe Lorenzo’s partially possessed by the spirit of an Antediluvian, and it’s turned his blood into something close enough to vitae it can make ghouls? At any rate, Jack manages to whip something up after examining some of Alice’s blood (which, naturally, she’s kind of nervous about, but what choice does she have?), and it successfully stops her from burning up in sunlight (though she is weaker in it). A grateful Alice thanks Victor (and Jack) and agrees to travel with him to experience the Commonwealth.

-->As they go on together, they end up getting closer -- Alice likes that Victor is generally a good guy and sympathizes with the story of his lost family; Victor likes Alice’s snarky wit and strong sense of justice. As they share more details of their lives, help out the settlements, and battle monsters together, they realize they’re growing feelings for each other, and eventually get together, facing off against the Institute as a couple and parenting Synth Shaun/Chester together afterwards. (Alice jokes a lot that it took both her dying and the end of the world in general to finally get a domestic happy ending.)

-->Alice’s starting clothes would be a simple blue dress and apron with black buckled boots (the dress would naturally have a big bloody hole right over her heart when she first wakes up; she patches this after you leave her to her own devices for a bit), and she’d have the Tal’Mahe’Ra Blade (her prize from her storming of the Hallowbrook Hotel, taken from Andrei’s lair) as her standard weapon. She has a unique bite attack, being a vampire, and can still use Obfuscate (turning invisible to sneak past/sneak attack enemies) and Dementation (inflict debuffs on enemies so they’re confused and can’t shoot straight, or kill a single enemy from fear alone), though both have a cooldown so Victor can’t rely on her just spamming that to take care of every raider for him! XD Her perk would allow you to drain blood from enemy corpses (which other companions would find less disturbing than outright cannibalism, but still fairly creepy) and/or increase the healing capabilities of blood packs. I’m thinking, once romanced, she’d also have a unique variation of the “Lover’s Embrace” temporary perk, “Love Bite” -- Victor wakes up with HP not fully restored, but the XP boost is greater than “Lover’s Embrace” (+20% vs +15%).

-->Other vampiric elements of the Commonwealth would include:

A) That blood bank you can find? Those bags of blood are warm and fresh because there’s a Tremere there who has built up their power and knows some rituals for preserving the stuff. Unfortunately, they’re also very low humanity by this point, so they end up being a nasty surprise fight.

B) There’s a secret settlement of vampires that is made up of all the various fledglings you could pick from in Bloodlines, having learned to live together after the destruction of vampire society along with human when the bombs fell. The local Tremeres managed some blood sorcery that infused a mutfruit tree with human blood, so plasma fruit, a la The Sims 4, is a thing for them, and allows them to live in relative peace with their human neighbors (though they’ll happily drain anyone who attacks them). They’d probably have a quest revolving around either talking down or killing some vampire hunters who have been eying their base, and they could be persuaded to allow Jack Cabot and family to study them in exchange for vitae to help them stay in their immortal states. Also, the Malkavians openly call Victor the “Sole Survivor” and offer roundabout tips on his quests -- if he can decipher them. XD

C) This is just one that amuses me -- this universe’s Mysterious Stranger is none other than good old Caine! He’s trying to be a little more helpful to mortal and Kindred alike in the post-apocalypse, and has decided this means “showing up randomly to help people out of tight spots before vanishing again.” Alice, upon seeing him, jokes that the cabdriver thing didn’t work out, huh?

D) I’d kind of like to make stimpacks developed from vampire or ghoul blood to explain just how it is they can heal crippled limbs so fast -- the wiki didn’t provide much of an answer there! Which means anyone who uses them is at least slightly a ghoul. . .which might explain a few things about carry weight and why some enemies are so tough. (Legendaries have more vitae in their system, prompting the power-up, maybe?)

So yeah -- that’s how I’d get Bloodlines and Fallout to work together, and thus have my Malkavian!Alice and Sole Survivor!Victor be a couple in the wasteland. Because why make a crossover simple when I could make it way more complicated than it needs to be? XD Look, I just like the mental images I have of them together -- and of Alice taking out a whole army of baddies by hitting them with Voice of Bedlam to throw them into absolute chaos.

[theeyethatbinds]

Five things? Oh man...

Five things that make me happy??? What a question 😨😹🤔

Thanks for the lovely, lovely tag @pseudofaux , and all the thoughts that come with it 💞I can’t tell you how loudly I squealed when I scrolled through your post and saw my name at the bottom haha; your posts are always a treat, and even if I’m lax on tagging when I reblog them, please know that you hit me right in the 💘with them every time.

So, forgive formatting errors and the lack of shine; I pretty much never actually make a post, so I guess we’re Utilitarian now 😅

1. All the green directly outside (and inside) my window. I live in the middle of the woods in the middle of nowhere, and my house is completely entrenched in evergreen forest. That, plus my fruit trees are starting to bud and flower, and it’s long-ingrained habit to glance outside my window when I’m at my desk (which is all the time 😂) and to have my corneas seared with the blast of pleased, dignified elders surrounding me 🌲🌲🌲🌳🌿🍁🍂🌱🍃 My gardens have all started rioting with blooms and every time I go outside I feel like a school Principle looking out over her graduating students like “You did it! Yes, I gave you the tools and the guidelines, but you yourself did this! You brought yourself to flower and you look gorgeous doing it. I’m excited to see where you go from here.” 🌷🌼🌻🌺🌹🏵🌸💐 Also, all of my indoor plants are growing like crazy, which is both fun to watch and also mildly concerning in the case of my money tree, because it just keeps getting bigger and omg what am I supposed to do when it finally touches the ceiling 😱 I call that a problem for another day haha.

2. The way my cats settle down for bed 🛌. We have a nightly ritual, my two fur children and I. Whenever it’s time for bed, I’ll get up and turn off the ambient lamp in my living room. As I do so, I’ll say to my boy Tiki “It’s bedtimes! Bedtimes, Tiki! It’s bedtimes!” 😺 and then both him and my orange, long-haired girl Smalls will lead me through my nightly routine, then we’ll head to bed. They’ll let me get settled, then Smalls will chirp 📣 her way to climbing onto my hip (I’m a side sleeper lol) and drape herself over me like a very fluffy pancake, all legs hanging over me. Meanwhile, Tiki will take himself to the pillow at my face and stare 😾, very gently touching my nose with just the tips of his beans, until I lift the blanket so he can climb in and settle behind my knees. This happens every night, nearly without fail, and I’ll wake up in the morning to my feet/legs being pinned between them. And then in the morning, they’ll only get up with me if I tell them both “Good morning ⏰🌞” and rub their ears. Otherwise, well, it’s not morning then, is it? 🌛

3.The official Discord that I’m a member of for Tailor Tales. ...Seems a little weird, right, to be so happy for a Discord for an otome game? Well, weird or not, it’s been a blessing and a helping hand for me, right when I needed it the most. I’ve been out of work since September (for various reasons), and job hunting has definitely not been kind. I was experiencing increasingly extreme self-doubt as time went on with no interest or response to my applications and inquiries, to the point where things had gotten hazardous to my health. My closest friends had left the area for further education and job opportunities, and I had effectively been left behind. I was very alone and desperately lonely with it. One day, I stumbled across an otome game I’d heard good things about but hadn’t tried, and I fell in love immediately. I decided to support the creator on Patreon, and gained access to their Discord. It was hard to talk at first, from months of self-loathing and doubt, but I received one of the warmest responses from an online community I’ve ever had the pleasure of being part of. I found like-minded people who were more than happy to discuss anything and everything that might come to mind, and in the process made some friends that I desperately needed. I can say absolutely, that without the online family I fell into, things would be very dire for me right now indeed. I cannot physically express how grateful and happy I am that I’m able to be myself around them and not feel vilified because of it.

4.The beach, specifically at low tide. When I was a kid, I was alone all the time, because my parents worked very hard and for long hours. So the vast majority of my time was spent at the beach and our local marina, fishing, turning over rocks to see what was under them, swimming in the ocean, and so on. I come from a small town, so while I was alone, I was constantly monitored by the locals while I adventured, and at any point would be glad to talk about my findings. The beach at low tide has a very particular smell; damp, decay, salt, thick mud and eel grass, oyster and clam and barnacle, which all mixes together into a sort of bouillabaisse of life in a water cycle. It’s a smell I’d recognize anywhere, and whenever I drive by the water it always hits deep in my chest, like a deliberately-aimed goosedown pillow.

5. The bi-weekly phone calls from my best friend. He and I have been friends for 20 years, and I love him dearly. We’ve helped each other grow and ‘mature’ (ha), with quips and biting comments and excited gushing and commiseration over the dumbest things. We’ve had so many adventures (read: near-death experiences), witty repartee, arguments... like a Newton’s Cradle of camaraderie. He was there for me when my parents and I had a major falling out when I was a teenager, and I am still humbled that I was who he chose to call when his own family situation came to a semi-violent head a few years later. He’s moved to the other side of the country at the moment, pursuing his Master’s degree and working his tail off while doing it, and I couldn’t be prouder (while also being more than a bit lonely). We talk over Discord a lot, but when he’s able to find time to actually chat, it’s like we’re in the car on the way to Walmart at 2 in the morning again, just because we can. Boy do I miss that idiot.

Well this turned out a little more emotional than I’d planned 🙄😂🥰 But the heart is there, at least. Again, thank you so much for the tag, Pseu! I’d thought I wouldn’t really stand out with my thirst over prime Seteth content (mostly found elsewhere) and also just my general thirst levels 🤣🥵👀💦

I guess I’ll tag a couple people who might need a pick-me-up, and be interested: @towa-no-yume , @toreii No pressure if you choose against! Just sending love 💓 

[slothgiirl]

shadowplay ch 4

You finally go grocery shopping after work on friday, grabbing plenty of bread and fruit and mostly yogurt that doubles as both breakfast and a snack and some beans while your at it. Nothing like homemade beans.

This part of adulthood was awful, not just working but actually having to come home and do things. You better understood why your mum and dad got annoyed when they got home and you still hadn't done the dishes.

You think of texting Alex this but think better of it. You weren't quite friends. So you send a text to Sam instead.

Her succinct reply is grow up babes.

You'd last seen her an hour ago during work and she'd gone to get drinks with Matt and Vy but you'd been an adult and gone to get groceries.

And then you get home and eat toast with jam and one of the apples you got. Hardly an actual meal.

Your phone buzzes. Alex <3 flashing on the lock screen. want 2 gt drinks. Which is so unAlex you immediately call him.  

"Who are you and what have you done to Alex," you joke and hope he picks up on it. Maybe he was right about calling being better after all. Not that you'd ever tell him that. He'd be unbearably smug.

"Love," he answers with a laugh, "just Zack here thinking he was being funneh. But the offer still stands if your up for it? I know works been busy." It was nice of him to give me an easy out. But staying in on a Friday night was terribly depressing.

"Where?"

You take the tube over to a more fashionable area of east london, over in Hackney. The bars themed like a seventies magazine interpretation of a living room, playing early Bowie.

Alex greets you with a kiss on your mouth, soft and lingering just enough that you feel off kilter, unable to hide the stiffness in your shoulders. Here where everyone can see.

And then your taking a seat and shaking Zack's hand. Alex ordering you a cranberry vodka. The same drink you'd been buying since you realized beer was gross. "Working on some stuff here in London," he shrugs.

"Still quite offended you didn't ask to stay at mine," Alex pouts, clearly on his way to drunk, hand resting on your tigh. You can't not be hyperaware of his touch, electric against your skin.

"I did think of you," Zack protests, "but Allison, my old roommate asked first and I said yes. Besides man you like dropped off the face of the earth. Holed up."

"I like to decompress," he states, sipping at his beer. "And this one here has me flying back."

You snort, "well you offer," you lie because you refuse to be a fake bitch. If this is all fake, then your going to be the fake version of yourself you teenage self would've been proud of. "And I'm not going to say no Al!"

Alex smiles boyishly charming, and really does anyone buy his cool guy act when he's so obviously a sweetheart. You can imagine him going out of his way to help an old lady carry her bags upstairs.

"Ahh," Zack laughs, "and he said he didn't want to bhover you," he finishes in a terrible cockney accent. Americans. "This is exactly why Miles and Matt didn't invite you on our little getaway we have coming up."

Suddenly alert, Alex goes, "what! What trip!"

Zack giggles. "Just a little boys trip. Breanna was going to go but she said it'd be too much testosterone for her to stomach alone."

"And I wasn't invited?"

"Guess you were too busy," Zack says smugly. Before turning to you, "Forgive me for texting you under false pretenses but it's Alex. Gotta get things out of him somehow."

"Really," you wonder out loud, "I've never had any trouble with that. He just rambles a bunch."

"Oi," Alex protests, looking faux betrayed at you, like a puppy when you refuse to give them more treats, "you going with them?"]

Zack nods. "I'm guessing you know about the bands?"

"I do," you reply, finishing your drink and feeling the drunk giddyness bubble up in you, Alex's hand on your tigh warm as he rubs circles into your skin. It had been brilliant of you to change into a mini skirt that had survived many a trips to the club. "Which one are you in?"

"The last shadow puppets though it's really Alex's and Miles' baby." You make a note to listen to some songs.

You turn to Alex, catching him staring at you with the dreaminess of the blissfully drunk, face flushed, "Have a favorite child?"

He shakes his head, "that's comparing apples to oranges darling."

"Least you could do," you tease him, exciting laughter out of him.

"You guys should both come though," Zack offers, "bet Breanna would come then and that would make Helders happy as fuck!"

"When's the trip," you ask, curious though by then this will be over. Maybe you and Alex can be amicable fake exes. You'd never managed to stay friends with any past lovers. But that was because a) you lived in different places and drifted apart and b) they were assholes though that was only really your last boyfriend.

"In two months. We've rented a cabin in Northern California. There's a lake. It looks sick."

You look at Alex and hope he's not too drunk to say something plausible, smiling in amusement as he taps in tune with the beat to the music playing. You would recognize Donna Summer anywhere.

"I don't know mate," Alex shrugs, looking over at you, his eyes meeting yours, trying to gauge your response, "probably can't get work off with this late of a notice?"

That wasn't true at all. And you had so many saved up vacation days apart from the mandatory ones. But it was nice that Alex had already found an excuse. "I'll have to see," you add, making sure to look adoringly at Alex, not a hard thing to do, it was much harder to keep a straight face, to keep from laughing when you felt so light and bubbly after a few drinks, his leg bumping into yours as he taps the beat playing, like you were heartbroken over the idea of not being able to go with him and his friends.

"Just let me or the boys know," Zack tells you both. "Breanna would probably love too come if she wasn't the only girl." Then orders a round and you all proceed to get comfortably drunk.

Zack telling you all about his touring misadventures and a memorable skinny dipping adventure where the band had forgotten where they'd hidden their clothes. Alex chiming in about his and Matt's adventure to procure weed "or something with a bit more of a kick," in the early days and spending one hundred dollars on bunk acid.

"Fooking wankers," he mutters.

"In college someone got some prerolled joints and a bunch of us were all psyched to go smoke it after school," you tell the boys, blushing at the memory of your dumb antics, "all nerdy kids who did not know how to roll a joint and we forgot to get a lighter."

"No fooking way love," Alex laughs in delight. "I would've rolled you the best joint."

You wrinkle your nose, "I prefer edibles if I'm being honest. Or shrooms. Did you see how microdosing blew up all of a sudden?"

Zack slaps the table, "and among moms of all people!"

"Mums be getting lit!"

You offer to go order the next round, two more beers and a cranberry vodka. Asking politely if there wasn't a strokes song that would fit into the theme.

The man behind the bar hands you the drinks and waves you off with, "drag queen works."

The song starts as you get back to the table, placing the drinks down.

"The strokes," Alex drunkenly proclaims, "what kind of witchcraft 'ave you done love?" He pulls you close against him before kissing you madly, tasting of beer and tobacco against your mouth, not a hit of pretending about it, as you stiffen in his arms in surprise before melting against his touch not even a second layer.

To your surprise, instead of feeling relief when he pulls away, singing along with Zack who also knows the words, it's a sharp yearning, the sudden prick of a needle in your finger. It's stupid. You're being stupid.

Alex would've never given you a second glance if it hadn't been for Arielle. And why would he when he went around dating girls like Arielle, models who were sweet on top of being insanely beautiful.  

And now you just want to go home.

Instead you laugh it off, "I just asked nicely Al. Works wonders."

Zack snorts, "their new stuff is so underrated."

"It is," Alex cries out.

"Oh my god you are drunk!"

"And happy! I'm so happy you came love! I wasn't sure you would."

"Only for you Alex." Which is true in more ways than one. You doubt you would have agreed to all this with just anyone. No. Alex was special. Enough charisma to charm the whole world.

He leans into kiss you again, with the same hunger as before and reluctantly you pull away, still unsure about that thrum of want running through your veins and what to do about it. Now was not the time to figure that out. "Time to go home," you suggest and hope Zack goes his own way. As funny as he's been, you need a cold shower and to remind Al he's not actually dating you.

Alex nods eagerly, sliding cash on the table and waving a hastily goodbye to Zack.

He flags a cab down for you both and gives the driver your address, his arms still wrapped around your shoulders, holding you close to him. It's too much. He's just drunk. And you don't want to do anything stupid with him. Not with the lie. You'd much rather be good friends at the end of all this.

"Al," you protest, slipping out of his hold as he goes in to press another kiss to your lips, "no."

He looks like a kicked puppy, wide eyes and pouty lips, but doesn't make another move, gaze focused on you with an embarrassing amount of earnestness.

"You can't-," you start, "you can't have things both ways. And we agreed. There's lines."

With obvious reluctance he nods, "sorry love," he slurs, slumping in his seat, looking out the window of the cab.

"It's okay," you tell him, because who hasn't been drunk and made bad decisions, settling down next to him again. The heat of his body doing wonders to take the edge off.

It's just Alex.

You both come up into your flat.

"You sure it's alright," Alex slurs, wavering in the doorway looking as unsure as you feel, "I'll be fine at home."

"I'll sleep a lot better knowing your fine," you tell him, "come on rockstar," and drag him in. He's drunk. And you care about him too much to just let him go off on his own.

You both collapse into your bed, fourteen minutes past three in the morning. "I haven't been out so late in ages," you tell him. "My ex, Tom, he always said it was because I'm not fun." It had made you feel like shit but having just gotten your job, you had worked hectic hours and as the newbie you hadn't been in a position to ask for whatever schedule suited you best. And after a long day at work, going out was not something you wanted when you were home.

"You're loads of fun love," Alex whispers back, taking your hand in his, rubbing circles into the back of your hand with his thumb, "I always have a hell of a time when I'm with you. That's what matters. Not snorting a few rails of coke though that can be fun too."

"I've only ever done shrooms and that was in Amsterdam. In the tulip fields."

"Rockstar love. I've got you beat."

You roll your eyes, "what happened to not wanting to sound like a bloody twat?"

Alex laughs, sending heat down your spine. It makes you glad for the obscurity the dark lends, making you a mere outline when you feel like a burning star.

It doesn't take long for you to fall asleep once you lapse into comfortable silence.

Alex is gone by the time you wake up. A glass of water on your bedside table thoughtfully left by him.