#plus a wild squid

[ddeck]

fshz

[saturna625]

You work at the Mystery Shack in Gravity Falls.

It's no big deal, really. I mean, every once in a while, you realize that it's gotta be a front for something. A cult, the illuminati, or the mafia, you weren't really sure.

You weren't paid enough to care, honestly.

But the job was fun enough, and the customers were cool to screw with, and it paid the bills, plus your coworkers were pretty cool.

Your boss was.... an odd man, sure. A good con, a great sense of humor, and a mouth that could make a sailor blush, but you wouldn't say he's evil.

He's got a great nephew and niece, who come up every summer. They're chill, too. Mabel sends you home with at least two new stickers every day. Your binder is getting too full. But you didn't mind, the kid was sweet. You'd find a use for these stickers, later.

Gravity Falls was an odd town, but you didn't really seem to mind that either. A little town, barely even a dot on the state map, hidden behind back roads upon back roads in the great state of Oregon. It had its moments, and it's stories.

You were decently sure the lawn gnome in your garden moved on its own, and your attic was definitely haunted (you regret mentioning that to the kids– you've found that Dipper kid trying to look up where you lived), but it was cheap and homey, and a great place to live after scraping past college.

Then your boss– who was really your boss's brother? Who had taken up his name, when he disappeared, the ultimate con, you actually admired him for that– Stanley, and his twin, the original owner of the Shack, Stanford emerged from behind the vending machine, you knew that you were maybe in a little too deep. Mafia ties, for sure.

Then quite some events happen: ie, the sky splits open, you become a statue for a hot minute, and then... aren't, anymore (dude, the squirrel that you treat as your therapist is gonna go wild when he hears this) and you're back at the Shack.

The building is warmer now. Pointdexter– or Ford, the actual one, is a pretty good man. A little blunt, with not much common sense for the amount of books smarts he has, but good.

If you find anything weird, or out of place, it's his.

If you see him fighting an interdimensional squid, and then you're told there's seviche in the kitchen, you don't question it.

And you take some seviche to go.

The shack is a little louder since Ford's arrival. Stan seems happy. Dipper too. And Mabel, well, she still gives you stickers as you leave your shift.

You're on a walk, something you read that could help with coping, through the woods. The weather is nice today, and for once, it's not raining, and even better, the air is crisp and cool.

You decide to take a new trail. It leads into a bit of a clearing, you can see a rock piling, some flowers, and a creek. It's pretty.

You take your journal out, a small, leatherbound thing (the inside cover is coated with stickers. Mabel, please) and begin to sketch it, a hobby you've picked up in the last months.

You're not the best, but you're not the worst, either. As you're finishing up, you spot a weird shift in the rocks.

Weird is normal here.

So you get up to go investigate, holding your journal at the ready, like a defensive position.

The statue does not move.

It looks like the illuminati symbol. Like the top of the pyramid on the back of a dollar bill. It's overgrown with moss, but you do not recognize it. It's hand is held out, like it's ready to shake yours.

Heh. That would be pretty funny.

If you shook the statue's hand.

It's what it wants. Shake it's hand. Shake the hand.

You draw the statue. It's a shoddy deal, but you actually enjoyed how it turned out. It looks cool.

The hand is outstretched.

You leave one of Mabel's stickers on the statue. It looks a little less intimidating that way.

Your shift starts in twenty minutes, so you tuck your journal in your jacket, and you're off to it.

Maybe you'll come back later. There's a bit more you want to do with the drawing.

Shake the hand.

You've gotta fix the angle on it. You wonder how the sculptor got it to be that way.

You clock in, and pull your journal out again, as Dipper walks through the doors, followed by Ford.

The younger twin asks what your journal is about. He's got a few of his own.

"Kind of random." You tell him. "I draw things I see on my walks, or write down recipes, or stuff like that. Dude, wait until I show you this statue I found in the woods. It'll fit right in with those notebooks you keep..."

[ghostie-gengar]

the way i got so into splatoon is so wild. one day i just went "huh, i wonder if the funny squid game is fun" and now a year later i have dozens of splatoon drawings, an 83 page google doc of just splatoon fics (plus more other places), headcanons upon headcanons in the notes app of my phone, a whole ass neo 3 cosplay, various squid sister things, a haircut inspired by default inkling girl, and a handmade smallfry plushie

what happened. how did i get here. i used to be normal i swear

[daiohficblog]

By the Shoreline, but…

Zach: (while holding William) Oh, big whoop! I still got the tubby baby! Give me the pearl!

Martin: Uhm Zach, you really don’t want to be holding William right now. He’s been eating squid all day.

Chris: Plus, it’s not a good idea to get between a wild animal mom, and her baby.

(William starts to bark)

Zach: What’s the matter, baby seal thingie? You still want your- (notices an female elephant seal flopping to him)

Mrs. Li: (translated from barks) GIVE ME BACK MY SON!!!

Zach: AAAAHHH!!! (Let’s go of William and runs away.)

[invertebabe]

The Bigfin Reef Squid, or Sepioteuthis lessoniana, otherwise known as the squid in animal crossing.

They’re widely distributed throughout the info-pacific. We know more about them than any other squid because they are so easy to observe! They live in shallow water, mate during the day, and eat more at night. Making them the perfect study species.

Plus they’re so angry and cute how can you not love them? Pulling up on a dozen of these cuties out in the wild is 100% a dream I’ve had since I was a child

[honey-minded-hivemind]

For the Infected!AU, we have a few choices for platonic yandere/s. I've mentioned how different mutations will influence how the infection affects the mutant/human/being. For now, I want to explore how it affects the feral mutants, and how the bby reacts (plus possible mutations for the bby). And the thing is, the bby has backstory with their yandere/s. So, the infected's previous life and relationships can influence them, even after the infection has taken effect and obscured their past memories into a haze of blurred emotions and fragmented thoughts. For now, we will discuss some possible mutant variants of bby.

Possible mutations for their bby include, but aren't limited to:

Harpy!bby: they have a small pair of functioning wings, sharp talons akin to Sabretooth, and act a little feral. Acts like a bird sometimes, collects shiny stuff and rocks and bones. Their wings fluff up when they are highly anxious or scared, and they remind the platonic yan of a baby bird trying to look threatening. Has seen some sh*t, and lived to tell the tale. Can swallow food almost whole, inhaling it quickly as though it will disappear into thin air. Some nicknames for them given by the platonic yanderes (the feral, or anyone you want to imagine) include: fledgling, chick, hatchling, nestling, birdie, Tweetie

Empath!bby: a bby who can feel the emotions of those around them, and possible branch-offs of their mutation could include things like sharing memories between themself and another person, influencing emotions based on their current feelings and mood, feeling someone else's pain and letting someone feel their's, etc.. Very loving and warm, wants hugs all the time, spends a lot of energy trying to help who they can. Possible nickname for them given by their platonic yandere/s (feral or otherwise) include: bleeding heart, sweet stuff, love,

Pyrokinesis!bby: a bby who could be anything from a walking ember (pretty much can warm up like a heated stone), disco-inferno where they can set themself on fire or become a fire being (can be any color of flame, and might look like a light show), flame thrower (where they can generate flames and aim them at enemies), or any other flame ability. Maybe they can even start fires! They are passionate, enjoy marshmallows, and survived by cooking or boiling anything they consumed. Nicknames for this bby given by the platonic yan/s (feral, otherwise, or something else) include: Hot Stuff, Flaming Hot, Lava Lamp, ember, little light

Eldritch!bby: a bby who is a bit... unsettling. Perhaps their teeth are too sharp or too many. Maybe they have tentacles or whisps or limbs sprouting from their back. They could have multiple eyes, a larger and mind-warping form, hypnotic abilities, or anything that fits something eldritch and unimaginable. They love sea food, water, and nighttime. Can be cranky if they haven't slept for over 36 hours. Nicknames the yans could give them include: squid, H. P. Lovecraft, moon eyes, favorite (kid, friend, sibling, elder god)

GemBody!bby: like Emma Frost, they can become a living, breathing organic gem person. Perhaps they are opaque; or marbled; maybe they are two-toned; color-changing; they could look like any gem imaginable, from bumblebee jasper to obsidian to ametrine to amber to agate to any type, really. Maybe they have sharp crystals sprouting off of them in that form. Or perhaps they can find gemstones in the wild. Mayhaps they even can consume rocks in that form, and turn those rocks into gems. This bby is the sort to hit someone too hard, and apologize profusely... even if that person was someone who they were just fighting with. Keeps band-aids on hand, as well as water. Nicknames for this bby from the platonic yan/s can include: jewel, gem, diamond in the rough, gold-heart, geode

There are many other mutations that the bby could have in this au, or any others. But for now, we have these options to satisfy our craving for choices. These were some honeycomb thoughts on different mutant!bby variants!

[frozenhi-chews]

Okay then this is your opportunity to infodump about sharks, I'm listenin'

FECK. SHARKS!!

THEY'RE FREAKING AWESOME YA KNOW?! My favorite shark, since I was like, three or something, has always been hammerhead sharks. Theyre just so COOOOL!! And did you know there's different types? Yep! There'd 9-10 different species of hammerhead, my favorites being the greater hammerhead, scalloped hammerhead, and bonnet head.

Greater hammerheads have been known to eat stingrays, and are immune to their stingers. Some have been caught with ip to 74-109 barbs in their mouths. They can also tan!! When they're living in more coral reef areas, closer to the sun, they'll turn brown. They just got a sun tan!

Another favorite are thresher sharks. Gorgeous sharks with long tails they use to smack their prey with

Pretty huh?

Tiger sharks are another favorite, mostly cus they eat trash. Some have eaten unexploded bombs from World War ||. Crazy huh? If they don't like something, or their stomach says no, they'll just regurgitate the item in question. Stuff like tires, license plates, boots, and other things have been eaten, so it would take a LOT for them to not like something.

Plus I love how they look. With their striped bodies and blunt noses. Some even like to be pet! Being some of the more docile sharks. (Still be careful with them though. They are wild animals)

Goblin sharks are also freaking awesome!!

Sharks from the deep with elastic unhinged jaws that can snap up their prey in less than a second. Their large paddle-like noses are used to detect electrical currents. Inside of every shark they have what's known as a lateral line and the ampullae of lorenzini. The lateral line goes through the shark, whereas the AOL is on their snouts. Able to detect electrical currents from potential prey. (Fun fact, i apparently taught my mom about this and I don't have any recollection of it. Ask her and she'll tell you though)

Imagine the sheer amount of animals a goblin shark would be able to detect!!

Another favorite, one many of you probably haven't seen (and if you have, congrats!!!) The frilled shark!

These guys also can live in deep waters, and have six gill slits, making them REAAAALLLY old. Modern shark species only have five, these guys have six and haven't evolved in millions of years. They have trident teeth, perfect for catching their primary food, squid. The first gill slit also cuts around the entirety of their head, and the gills themselves have frills. Giving them their name.

Another deep-sea shark I love is the broadnosed seven-gill cowshark

Cowsharks are like hammerheads, there's different types. And this one is just cool! Lookit it, it looks like a puppy!! Sixgill sharks and Greenland sharks are also examples of cowsharks, having more than five gill slits. They're just. So cool!

[sunshinemoonrx]

Dynaman 16-20 is a wild ride because they're like "we now begin a series of episodes filmed in Kyushu!" and set up some recurring locations and new summer outfits and then they do...two episodes there and go home. And then a couple episodes later they remember they promised more and contrive a reason to go back? I dunno what went on there

Anyway the theme of 18 is "fuck this specific set"

You can see pieces flying off the faux machinery, it's great. I've seen plenty of toku heroes come crashing through the walls of evil bases but I think this is the first time I've seen one on a surfboard

(Continued after the cut: Wet man-tits, horribly unsafe stunts and sapphic duels)

Shima's always been the weakest characterised of the team but I've now realised he's here to be the fanservice guy. I mean at least I assume that's the reason he has all these scenes dripping wet in swimsuits of various sizes.

Kinda wish they just leaned harder into making him a swimming obsessive and just made the wetsuit his default outfit because his default summer outfit with the sweater is really boring compared to everyone else's. Oh well!

Well, sir, you're in luck!

Anyway in 19 Dynaman must defeat a bunch of sticks of dynamite, which feels kind of rude because that's their whole thing. 20 is the real shit, though

Ryu dangles off a midair cable-car for a good few minutes, and because this was the era of the combined face actor/insane stunt performer, the show goes to great lengths to show you yes, Junichi Haruta is really doing that

We have fun here

It's a big day for fans of Princess Chimera (me), as we get to see her try a bunch of disguises and getups:

Plus a POV shot of her stepping on you, if that's what you're about, like a sensible person

So then as usual as soon as she sees Rei she goes all TARGET LOCKED and they start to duel again, and uh, a low flamenco track starts playing while they strip each other with their weapons and look really pleased and excited about it?

Like hello? Ladies? What is this? Do you need a room? Because these are some serious bedroom eyes

Finally: I know there's only so many ways to turn a squid into a tokusatsu monster, but like, this is just Ikadevil. Right?

Anyway! Show's good!

[castletown-cafe]

Castletown Café Episode 25: Darkburger

This recipe has been a long time coming. A whole year, in fact. I didn’t get around to it last summer, but this summer, it’s finally here. Lots of work went into these as both the buns AND patties were made from scratch, meaning this is another double recipe episode!

Although the Darkburger is, according to Ralsei, a little on the burnt side, these vegetarian burgers are a different kind of dark. Black beans are an essential ingredient to these flavorful patties, and squid ink is used to make the buns pitch black.

Using squid ink to dye food black is not that unheard of in many parts of the world, from Japan to the Mediterranean. I knew from the get-go that I wanted to try this out to make these burgers look like they came from the Dark World.

The ink doesn’t really change the flavors of the buns much, although it may give them a slight umami taste. I didn’t find it all that noticeable, however, especially when combined with the burger’s fillings: the black bean burger patty, the creamy Kewpie mayonnaise, the crunchy lettuce, juicy tomato and the sharpness of the Swiss cheese.

Since I ventured into new territory with burger buns and black bean burgers, both things I’d never made before prior to making this episode, the recipes are not mine at all and I take no credit, even if I did take liberties with Sally’s Baking Addiction’s black bean burger recipe (I omitted the Worcestershire and feta cheese, while adding jalapeno, a little ground cayenne pepper, and a tablespoon of Kewpie mayonnaise).

Now I just mentioned Kewpie mayo twice. It’s my favorite mayonnaise brand. This Japanese mayo comes in a squeezable bottle and uses only the egg yolks as opposed to the whole egg. It’s so flavorful! It may not be easy to find at your local grocery store, however, so you may have to go online for it, or look for it at an import store.

I even found a recipe for squid ink burger buns, and I’m glad I did, because it wouldn’t have been fun or easy to figure that out myself! Baking is an exact science and requires every measurement, technique, and ingredient to be just right! One mistake and the whole thing can come out wrong. Especially with yeast!

Fill these burgers up with whatever condiments you like. Ketchup? Mustard? Pickle? Onion? Go wild. Personally, I’ll only take onion if it’s caramelized or pickled...anyway, my fillings of choice will be featured here in this recipe, but you add what you prefer!

What I did was make the black bean burger patties first, then stored a couple in the refrigerator while freezing the others. The next day, I made the buns, and froze most of them. This way I can always thaw some buns and patties whenever I feel like fixing one for dinner! And also because I wasn’t making them for a party.

When it’s time to fix em, I just reheat the patties over the stove, or even in the microwave. It’s amazing how well they take in the microwave...because the beans are dry, they don’t explode!

DARKBURGER BUNS

Based on: Squid Ink Burger Buns by Alpha Foodie*

1/2 cup warm milk

3/4 cup warm water

1 tablespoon squid ink

2 tablespoons sugar

1 & 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast

3 cups bread flour

1 & 1/2 tsp salt

2 eggs

100 grams softened butter (a little over 7 tablespoons)

Sesame seeds, for topping

*This recipe also called for 1 & 1/2 tsp star anise powder, but I omitted that.

Heat up the milk and water until warm, but not too hot. If it hurts a little to touch, that’s too hot. Combine your milk and water in a bowl and add the sugar, squid ink, and yeast. Give it 10 minutes to bubble and ferment. It’s fun to watch!

Combine the flour and salt in a large mixing bowl, then add in ONE of the eggs plus the squid ink mixture, and keep mixing until a dough begins to form.

Stir in the butter, a little at a time, until fully incorporated. Your black dough will now be slightly glossy.

Grease another large mixing bowl with softened butter and place your black dough in it. Cover with a tea towel or cheesecloth and set aside in a warm place for about an hour and a half.

Once your dough has finished proofing, divide it up into 8 to 12 balls. It’s recommended to weigh them with a kitchen scale to get a desired weight to keep them all the same size. I divided them into 8 balls and ended up with humongous buns - but unfortunately I didn’t write down the weight and so I don’t remember what the weight was....I suggest about 100 grams, though.

Place these balls on a parchment-paper covered baking sheet and cover again, leaving them for another 30 minutes.

Preheat your oven to about 392 degrees Fahrenheit or 200 degrees Celsius (my oven is colder by a few degrees so I rounded up to 400 degrees F), and beat the remaining egg with some water. Brush the egg wash over each bun so it’ll be nice and glossy, then top with sesame seeds.

Bake for about 15 minutes, depending on the size of the buns. While you won’t be able to see any browning as they’re pitch black, it’s a good idea to check anywhere after 10 or 12 minutes have passed.

Once the buns have coole, place in the freezer for later use, or enjoy right away. These don’t have a long shelf life, but the freezer preserves them well, and they should thaw just fine.

DARKBURGER PATTIES:

Based on: Sally’s Baking Addiction’s Black Bean Burgers*

*I made a few slight modifications from the original recipe!

2 cans canned black beans, oven-dried

3 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 yellow onion diced

1/2 to 3/4 bell pepper, diced and finely chopped

1 jalapeño, minced

1 & 1/2 tsp cumin

1 tsp chili powder

1/4 tsp paprika

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

2 eggs

1/2 cup panko

1 tbsp Kewpie mayonnaise

1 tbsp barbeque sauce

1/2 tbsp ketchup

1 heaping spoonful flour

Salt and pepper, to taste

Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit, open cans of black beans and drain (easiest by pouring the beans into a spaghetti strainer). Spread on a baking sheet. Bake for 15 minutes or until dry. Let cool.

Chop garlic, onion, pepper, and jalapeño. Sautee in some olive oil over medium heat until soft, about 6-7 minutes. Let cool.

With paper towels, blot out excess moisture and oil from the veggies. Add veggies, spices, condiments, panko and eggs, stir to combine. Mix in the black beans, mashing with a potato masher but not thoroughly smashing EVERY bean. Stir in flour.

Form patties using 1/3 cup of mixture on a parchment-paper lined baking sheet and bake at 375 degrees F for 20 minutes: 10 minutes on one side, flip burgers, and bake for another 10. Serve, refrigerate, or freeze once done.

DARKBURGERS:

Squid ink burger buns

Black bean burger patty

Iceberg lettuce, washed and dried

Thinly sliced Roma tomato

Pre-sliced Swiss cheese

Kewpie mayonnaise

Ketchup

Heat up black bean patties however you’d like. For the stove I recommend medium heat, with a touch of olive oil for moisture. Trap in heat by placing a lid over your pan, which will assist in the re-heating process. I suggest giving it at least 10 minutes. Give it another 5 if it’s still not hot enough! At the last minute, top your patties with the cheese to get it nice and melty.

Slice bun in half horizontally. Spread insides with a mixture of ketchup and Kewpie mayonnaise. Place the patty with melted cheese on the bottom bun and top with lettuce and tomato.

Top with the top bun and enjoy!

Sources: 

Samira, Alphafoodie, “Natural Squid Ink Black Burger Buns - Alphafoodie”. Link: https://www.alphafoodie.com/natural-squid-ink-black-burger-buns/

McKenney, Sally, Sally’s Baking Addiction, “The Best Black Bean Burgers I’ve Ever Had - Sally’s Baking Addiction”. Link: https://sallysbakingaddiction.com/best-black-bean-burgers/

[againstthegrainphoto]

man, I've been so busy I've hardly had time to process that the Kraken season is over...so buckle up, this gon be a long one...I'm so grateful to have found hockey, which has taken the place as my main source of serotonin since the music scene has become such a shit show and my favorite bands have become accumulating disappointments. I'm so grateful to have met the people I have because of this team. I'm grateful that I have personally grown as a photographer because of this team. I've never photoed sports of any kind prior to this....aside from my mom making me photo my sister when she did collage basketball....and it's such a completely different monster from concert photog, but also super fulfilling. Plus, I am literally just a fan with a camera, I have no obligation to share anything, I owe no one any of the shots, I take these photos for 127% of my own enjoyment. If there is a shot of my Favorite™ I want to keep for me, I can and will keep it for me and my close friends only. Which is surprisingly freeing and a good feeling. That considered.....I took a few minutes to throw together a photo summary of my Kraken encounters this season. I've been hoarding photos all season to hopefully get me through the off season with minimal withdrawals....so you can expect more photos to trickle through this account as the offseason wears on.

11/8/22: kraken v predators. lars doing lars things. unfortunately geeks was clearly caught in friendly fire. W 5-1.

11/9/22: Tanev at practice.

12/17/22: Geekie and Burky at practice.

1/16/23: Kraken v lightning. kraken ice is so pretty. L 1-4.

1/21/23: Eberly and Jones at practice....jonesy says gtfo.

1/22/23: Kraken Skills Challenge: Lars & Dunner. I just think they're neat.

2/20/23: Sharks v Kraken: McCann. Being able to visit my best fren and have her take me to see her team play my team in her city was the highlight of my year. The score, however, was not. L 0-4.

3/9/23: kraken v senators. I absolutely would not want to be that guy. lol. but it was such a frustrating game. L 5-4.

3/29/23: Gourde having a good time at practice.

4/1/23: My favorite Dunner doing my favorite Dunner things at practice.

4/3/23: Kraken v coyotes. After a team celly I some how caught Matty tripping over his own skates....don't worry, in the next shot he was laughing so hard about this. W 8-1.

4/6/23: Kraken v coyotes. Being at this game was memories I will never forget. From the people in front of me lifting an infant in my line of view, to the row of girls behind me who were there for I'm not sure what reason, but clearly had no idea hockey was even a sport before this day, to the dude on my right man sitting next to me, to the fact I was sick af and snotting in my mask(not covid, I tested like 80 times that week)....none of that hindered my joy of seeing the squid squad clinch a playoff spot. So much happy. big W 4-2.

4/13/22: The last practice this season I was able to go to. so you get some love for Gru.

4/24/23: kraken v avalanche game 4: I didn't think I'd ever be able to be able to go to a playoff game, but my haunting of the apps plus the fact I got an alaska check in april allowed me to be able to see this game in person. It was a wild ride. Seeing Canner get hurt was one of the worst things ever. Seeing Ebs score the ot winner one of the best things ever. By this time in the season I acknowledge that Sprong's absolute madman, cryptid, gremlin energies have grown on me like mold and I've become overly fond of him. I will be very Sad™ if they don't keep him. (and I wonder where that gum ended up....) W 3-2.

5/13/23: Kraken v stars game 6. I thought my personal season had ended and I wouldn't get to see them until next season. But because they lost the game prior it caused ticket prices to plummet and I was able to scoop one up for an insanely low price. I'm so very very very glad I did. It was probably my favorite game I went to this year. It was the win that forced game 7. It also ended up being the last home game of the entire season. So special. W 6-3.

I'm so thankful to the Kraken for giving everyone...the fans, the city, the team, the game, THEMSELVES....the season they did. Seeing them the first year while not even knowing what a power play was....but also knowing that those passes should probably connect to other kraken players.....to seeing them fucking dominating like they did this year has been one of the funnest things I've taken part of in the city of seattle in the past decade. Being able to roll out of bed and drive down the street to see (and photo) them practice is one of my favorite things to do. And the game skates.....also one of my favorite things. And buoy....boy did I have some questions and concerns when they first unveiled him....but now, I'm completely smitten. I adore him. He's perfect. A perfect ball of high strung anxiety that is just right for seattle.

And I'm thankful for all you kraken/hockey fans who have followed and interacted with me here. It was an awesome season and I can't wait for the next.

[workingonit-currently]

Waters, waters, waters

Well Courage needs to get a medical check up but refuses to take her armour off. -Yeah it's going to need to be by her friends, she might be internally waterboarded

Convincing a weird god Si made a deal with to portal them to Courage

Silas is being kind and nice

Aleris arguing against the portal being near water

Dragging Aleris away and through the boat to the portal to get Courage.

Kitty Aleris gripping onto Silas' head

Can they row a boat?

Dristen's just failing to exist. I love Silas' bf.

Bringing Shop and Courage back

Courage meeting Catrain.

Our mission: To go to the Deadlands and investigate someone settled there, suspected cult member.

Alsus is the figurehead of the snake cult -purpose is to turn Alsus into a god. Silas was meant to be a sacrifice to make this happen.

Asha is his second/possible-lover: Non-magic to the point of creating a dead-zone of magic.

Esia is a funding-source of the cult, not sure where she gets it from. -Not sure if she's even magic -not sure where she is

??? -Third member of those close to Alsus, likely a very strong wizard -Person residing in The Siintae Deadlands.

Siintae Deadlands are full of wild magic and such.

Walking through the Etherial Plane

Being immune to demigod that was meant to frighten us

Blink-dogs and Link learning to Blink.

Seeing giant shiny moths.

Arrive in Araxi in the evening

Heading to the tavern to find a place to sleep

Silas just wants to perform and drink in the tavern

Aleris wants to sing

Renting a big room for all of us

Weird bar rule:

"Don't ask about the squid head."

"Please clean rooms after use, we don't want to deal with your bodily fluids."

Silas and Aleris performing.

Aleris got a 18 with a minus 1

Silas got a 8 with a plus 6.

In the corner there's 2 people discussing the origins of a folk song that becomes a fist fight

Retiring to our rooms.

So funnnnnn. This will be fun.

[sunnis-shinis]

Being attracted mostly to your own ocs is so wild

Like yeah the two characters i simp for the most are

a) hot blue elf gf who is half dragon who runs a fantasy drug mafia and also burned down her gfs church out of jealousy

b) a star wars character whos species is based off fish/squids, also the guy sees the future is a plus-sized transmasc king who can step on me

[cap-ironman]

Marvel Adventures: Avengers Month: Cap-IM Universe Medley Fest

It's the 15th, so welcome to the next month of Cap-IM's Universe Medley fest!

You can create as many works as you like across as many different mediums as you like! This is a no-pressure, low commitment challenge to encourage you to try something new, stretch your creativity, and check out other versions of Steve and Tony.

For our full fest guidelines, including our annual schedule, please click here.

Coming up, Marvel Adventures: Avengers Month!

A universe in which everything is joy and fun and nothing ever hurts, Marvel Adventures: The Avengers is where there's a dating service run by Batroc, a lovesick planet, tiny aliens attacking New York, criminals sending spam through Iron Man's helmet, Hulk and kittens, Tony forgetting he owned a lake cabin, and the team ragging on Steve about his WWII movies. Ever wondered which canon the famous Stevetony basketball date came from? Look no further! Tony throwing Steve's shield after they have lunch in the park is also a lovely highlight.

And the team? What a great bunch of superheroes to work with — Bruce, Jan, Ororo, Logan, Tigra and Peter, plus a rotating cast of additional team-ups including Clint Barton, Luke Cage and others.

It's the perfect universe to go wild in. Need the team to fight giant squid? Marvel Adventures. Need the team to go back in time to fight dinosaurs and armies of ants? Marvel Adventures. Have a story featuring the superhero Captain Internets? Or the team is turned into MODOKs?

Visit the lovely and crazy world of Marvel Adventures this month.

WAYS TO PARTICIPATE

If you would like to earn a badge for Marvel Adventures: Avengers Month, you must submit your work before the end of 21st March.

UNIVERSE MEDLEY:

If you post a Stevetony work set in Marvel Adventures: Avengers canon in the next month, congratulations! Share it on a Cap-IM community platform, add it to the AO3 Collection and BAM! You've participated!

UNIVERSE THEMED PROMPT FEST:

Got inspiration? Fill out our prompt form to inspire creators! You can also come along and fill a prompt for the universe of the month, or two, or three… the sky's the limit! We have plenty of past prompt lists to browse through.

Don't forget to share your work with us, and post in the AO3 Collection!

RUN A MINI-CHALLENGE:

Love a universe with all your heart and have an idea for a flash challenge? Let's do it! Get in touch with the mods to claim a month (or contact us on discord in the #universe-medley-challenges channel) and you can run it on 's community platforms! The cap-im mods can also support you in setting up and/or modding the mini-challenge.

CLAIM YOUR PRIZE!

This is a fest encouraging fun exploration in various Marvel universes, and we'd like to invite you to share your milestones with us! Badge Milestones

I created a work this month!

I created my very first work in this universe!

I created something for each of the 12 months!

I participated for the second year!

I hosted a mini-challenge!

I submitted a amnesty fanwork!

If you do any of the above this month, let us know by filling out our Prize Claims form.

If you have any questions or comments, read our event guidelines, email us at cap.im.events@gmail.com, or get in touch on tumblr, on contact us on discord in the #universe-medley-challenges channel.

[a-dauntless-daffodil]

by the GODS i wish i was rich and could just make the medieval fair / amusement park of my dreams.... call it The Dragon’s Keep and

Have a sleeping dragon head sculpture at the front entrance, minimal animatronics, neck vanishes under nearby wall/hill.

Lore is the dragon used to guard people in it’s younger days and collected them all in a small village, but now it’s old and tired, so the villagers built a castle on top of it so they could protect their friend while she naps.  

Dragon watcher staff member real job telling people about park lore, encouraging interaction with the dragon, and keeping anyone from damaging the sculpture- in world job of basically the same thing.

When rubbing on nose, sculpture’s ears flutter and corners of the mouth smiles. Speakers in sculpture and around park emit happy purring rumble sound.

Sculpture regularly snores small puffs of steam/fog.

Little bits of dragon made to look like they’re poking out of the stone work around the park, a giant clawed leg here, the tip of it’s tail there.

One wing also visible, on very sunny or rainy days the ‘wing’ is folded out to cover main park center, so people who don’t want to get wet / roasted can still enjoy the main food stands, some games, a nice view of the other areas, and the ending show.

Inside park divvied up into sections called “way paths”, lore explains these are magical gateways the dragon set up in it’s youth that let people from other places visit the village (or ehem let the dragon collect more people from there).

This excuse lets park have

A small orchard, the Fae Wood (serving more non-historical “fantastical” food and drink like gummy worms, fizzy drinks, frozen yogurt, fresh fruit and berries) where staff are dressed as fauns, centaurs, elves, fairies, gnomes, dwarves, includes flower garden and events like educational nature walks or small performances of scenes from plays that involve magical beings (think puck in a midsummer nights dream), bubble shows, dances, make up artists who'll paint your face to look like various animals, fantastic creatures, or even leaves.

A small lake/pond with a few fake ships tied up at dock and one (small) real one floating around (serving casual street foods like fish and chips, and foods from distant lands) where staff are dressed as sailors, pirates, mermaids, sea people, includes small toy sailboats you can rent to sail with regular small races for prize earning, sirens preforming bardcore rock on some actual rocks, a rowdy tavern, ship tours explaining actual sailing facts and techniques, gate way is through a wrecked ship on some rocks (rocks are hollow and connect to the tavern so staff and performers can seem to come out of the ship wreck from nowhere), forced perspective "distant" view of the open sea where sma ship puppets float around and sometimes get into sea battles maybe with giant squid tentacles seems to drag one down sometimes, plus one animatronic tentacle that emerges from the water at odd moments and the staff urges people to jeer and heckle it back into the deeps.   

An open field, the Battle Field, where performers do stage fights and instructors teach the basics of using various weapons, kids can grab foam swords to combat performers dressed as warriors or beasts, a few times a day half the performers leave to change costume and an enemy force (the same actors in disguise) uses the moment try attacking the town through the field’s gate, staff prompts the patrons to rally together and scare them off again by looking fierce and waving their weapons.

A tower building, the Toad Mage’s Tower, (serving modern food treated as if it was some strange new thing and the people who eat it are brave for testing, rumor has it a few people have turned into frogs as a result), featuring staff dressed as sorcerers and wizards hosting light shows, explaining actual basic chemistry, or showing off small puppets of fantastical creatures they’re helping rehabilitate so they can go back to the wild (baby griffon, sick unicorn, sea serpent), maybe a room full of cool science things kids can poke or mess with, occasionally a magic duel breaks out and the audience can give the fighters spell scrolls found around the tower letting them remember how to cast different spells and win the duel or mess up and accidentally swap their own voice for a chicken's.     

A central square, with peaceful pub serving medival themed food and small stalls from the other areas to tell people whats going on there, give lore, show some samples, three or so buildings with actual crafts people (blacksmith, seamstress, leather worker, woodcarver, painter, weaver) who you can watch at work and buy things from, lots of places to sit and take pictures, views of all the other park sections, a fountain, and small model of the town where kids can play in. Groups from the other sections walk through regularly to stage small scenes with each other.

Town center also hosts two shows every night- the Legend of the Dragon’s Keep, preformed by different groups on rotation (puppeteers, light show, actors, musicians) retelling the story of the dragon (at the climax speakers around the park let out a low growling sound and the animatronic parts all stir) interrupted by an evil group from one of the park sections (different every day) trying to steal the dragon’s treasure, only to be shocked when the magic they use to find the treasure leads to the people in the park (compass points to people, light spell lights up the audience, diving twig likewise, ditto magic sword) revealing that the dragon's actual treasure are the people of the town, not gold- And then the Dragon’s Lullaby, a procession back to the entrance accompanied by soft music where everyone is asked to join in lulling the dragon back to sleep and promising to always protect it the same way it protected them.

People are encouraged to pet the dragon’s snout on the way out at the day’s end (speakers play a keening crooning noise, the song of the dragon, whenever people do so).

Since this is a world full of centaurs, mermaids, gnomes and such, accessibility for wheelchairs, size differences, hearing and visual impairment are built in everywhere and openly.

benches also EVERYWHERE. im so sick of not being able to sit down. And Trees.

The only multistory building also being a place of magic means the lifts can be made to look like magic circles or floating furniture or the invention of some crazy young mage who claims to have discovered and tamed a magical entity named "gravity".

At the front gate people are warned that mortal minds aren’t used to the magical anymore, so they try to make sense of strange things in strange ways- a centaur might look like a person in a puppet suit, for example, because the idea of an actual centaur is too much to comprehend- Magicians use spells to help people see the ‘true’ magic of  the world.

Costumes available to rent at the front gate, (cloaks, dresses, robes, tunics, hats, all with a patch of the parks logo stitched on front) with the option to buy part or all of it at the end of the day (park badge will be removed, can be replaced with another different kind of just left off all together).

Exchange money for town coins (tokens) if you want, inside businesses accept both that and actual money.

Security staff dressed in guard uniform equipped with 'magical enchanted' scrolls (radios) that let them keep in touch with each other. Some of them patrol the park walls, like sentries.

One common prize are ‘dragon scales’ collected from the actual dragon (not really) made out of colored metal. Others include cloth or wooden versions of the dragon and it’s friends, poster ‘scrolls’ illuminated with drawings of the dragon’s various adventures, or small teeth or claws the dragon dropped as it grew up.  

park emblem is a shield with a human and a dragon standing facing each other, holding hands.

realistically less than 50% of this would get made- but thats FINE. I just want a BIG FREAKING DRAGON and a castle built to keep the giant dragon baby SAFE. and then I want. TO PET IT

[missguomeiyun]

Homecooking [May ed]

Be proud of me :P  I cooked more this month haha

I also did some night shifts. .. & lived thru over a week of really poor air quality. I shouldn’t be complaining, considering ppl have lost homes, businesses, & community facilities/shops but it was just so bad. It’s bad for me, so I could only imagine what it’s like for ppl with respiratory or heart problems. Every yr there are wildfires here but I read somewhere that this is the 1st time AB beat BC in ‘starting’ of wildfires. Like our Albertan wildfires aren’t supposed to start yet but we had a few days where temperature was 10degrees above average, plus the winds. .. Yikes!!

^ that’s the sun at 0815h o_O !!!!

Now that short track season, primarily the World Championships ended. .. the sports event I was looking to was the Sudirman Cup for badminton. It’s held every 2 yrs & this yr, the venue is was in Suzhou - China’s 1st international badminton event in over 3 yrs! Can’t say much about the venue bcos I only see the inside & it’s focussed on a court lol but BWF inserts travel-themed clips in the opening of every live so I got to see some of the views in Suzhou. I’ve actually been there! Anyway, what a wild ride!!! I won’t give spoilers but the CHN vs JPN semi-finals. .. YOU NEED TO WATCH IT! At least the highlights. So much drama!! The finals... I was a little disappointed. I thought KOR vs CHN would be a tight battle but . ..

Alrighty, let’s get to the food~

Random flour noodle with choy sum & egg.

The same package of noodle with choy sum & Busan fish cake.

lol you can tell these were my post-night shift meal... I tend to go for simpler stuff, & in smaller portions bcos I eat 6 times when I’m working nights...

Air fryer egg plant. You may think it’s weird.. . but I really like it.

Fettuccine with tomato + vegetarian sausage

Udon with capa cabbage & grey squash. Another one of those night shift stretch meals.

Mom’s air fryer chicken

vs .. my air fryer chicken

*she added Chinese soy sauce to it for a better colour hence why it’s so dark

There were not as good I thought. It’s gotta be the plain Costco fries :P

Thick rice noodles + egg + cucumber, seasoned with Korean tartar sauce & fish sauce (the green cap squid one). This is probably the most randomest thing I ‘put together’ this month haha! Usually the thin vermicelli noodles are used but I used the thick soup kind of rice noodles. Then the combo of tartar sauce + fish sauce... But trust me, it was good!

Using the raclette grill for the 1st time this year

Air fryer ribs with a hamburger bun

A closer look. I used the Montreal steak spice with some extra fresh ground black pepper. Yum~

Sujebi with baby bokchoy, seaweed, white beech mushrooms, & an egg~

Udon with napa cabbage, carrot thins & egg.

May book #1: The Obsession. It was quite an easy read (recommended to me via Chapters recommendation based on my purchase history lol). I didn’t think it was ‘thrilling’ enough for be called a thriller but that’s bcos this is a YA fiction novel so the intended audience is YA. The storyline itself was well thought out but was predictable. I thought the ending was a bit rushed. Read it for relaxation~ I rate it 7.8/10~

May novel #2: Just Haven’t Met You Yet. A rom-com that could easily be made into a movie or drama. I thought the main girl was a pathetic - the type that “I don’t know what I want; my life has been a lie”. You know, the aimless, not driven type of lead that you can’t relate to. Or maybe you can *shrugs* I bought it bcos it begins with “suitcase switch-up” & I thought, “ooooh totally K-drama plot”. I enjoyed it overall; with some slow moments. I really like the main girl’s boss. 8.0/10 (lower than expected)

May novel #3: the Eighth Girl. What a fantastic debut novel by this author~  this novel was very thrilling & dark. It’s about a girl with DID & she goes through things.. . The plot itself is simple to understand but I love twists & novels that make me think. This was one of those. It’s better to start reading without reading up on it so I will leave it here!

K ttyl!!

[paranoidpoltergeist]

Transformers: Cyberverse Review (2/2)

So I finally watched cyberverse and figured I'd kill two birds with one stone and do my review while I was at it instead of having to rewatch it later. This ended up being so much longer than I expected and I tried to look back over it to the best of my ability but I wrote these directly after finishing each season so at some very odd hours of the day if anything is worded weirdly sorry about that. Please keep in mind this is my opinion and you might not agree:) Season 3:

Lemme start this off by saying I was so excited to see G1-Esque Laserbeak again but the absolute BUTCHERING of my boy drifts character. I was so sad dude, let him have his redemption arc:( plus Hot Rod, Cheetor, and Shockwave dying?! Not even right. I also lied because episode 5 of this season is the most confusing thing I’ve ever seen. I am so completely lost. How is Hot Rod back? What is even happening? Is that squid thing a Quintessons? Two of which were partially answered. Next episode we find out what happened with Hot Rod and you’ll notice one great detail here that was missing from season 2 THEY EXPLAIN WHAT WAS GOING ON.

 So far the pacing feels a lot better even if the random time skip is a bit odd, BUT WIRL IS HERE AND HE’S GREAT. STUNTICONS well Stunticon, Dead End is great, I love his design even though I had no idea it was him at first. I don’t know if Hot Rod's voice actor had a cold or something while they were recording this but he was just constantly whispering and it made it so hard to take him seriously bc he’d be yelling somebodies name and it just sounded so flat. I didn’t think I’d like Perceptor at first but I ended up liking him a lot, Soundwave as always was great. I figure I’ll have a soft spot for this version for a long time, now if they’d just let him have all his cassettes back.

 As of episode 12, Skywarp has been name-dropped once, and while I think I know which one she is she hasn’t been introduced yet and I’m on my hands and knees absolutely begging rn PLEASE let us have Skywarp. SPOILER ALERT SHE NEVER SAYS ANYTHING. I am devastated, Skywarp has got to be one of my favorite characters so every time I hear his name mentioned anywhere near a show or movie I get straight giddy bc we see Skywarp less than TC which honestly is a feat so you can imagine how sad I was when after being name-dropped AS THE COMMANDER she doesn’t get a single voice line. Finally, get TC and Warp and have them ripped away. L. In other news, have I mentioned that Starscream’s upgrades are the goofiest yet? Because they are. Judge Starscream has got to be the single worst thing to come out of any piece of transformers media like ever.

 When I tell you I gasped when Megatron admitted he mistreated Starscream, never in a million years did I see that coming. I mean part of it is that Screamer got power-hungry, that his ambitions were too large, that he went a little crazy along the way, but part of it was that he was hurt. Does that excuse him deciding his entire world needed to be destroyed? No definitely not. I feel a character study coming along, but this isn’t the time or place so instead, I’LL TELL YOU HOW HYPED I WAS TO SEE ASTROTRAIN AND THE INSECTICONS. Hey, I’ll let you guess which faction is my favorite lol. The rest of this season is straight goofy and it’s mostly filler. Wild Wild Wheel, in particular, is one I want to touch on. It’s surprising how often the media does this but, as hurt as I know I’d be if I was left behind by my team I feel like you’d also have to realize well it’s war and casualties are in abundance. Someone goes missing and you usually have to assume they’re dead.  The last episode was a bit weird but it was alright. In the end, this season wasn't bad at all but I do wish they'd cut it off at episode 18 and said the rest was season 4 or something. 7/10

Season 4:

This season was weird and I loved it and hated it. The first episode was great but the second one dude I’m so sad. I wish Astrotrain had more screen time I feel like he could have been a super cool character but alas he’s the 207th Decepticon gone. They killed the entirety of high command I was clinging to Soundwave and they VAPORIZED HIM. The way he went out was so sick but man you could have let us have at least one. 

 Now to the actual review part. I loved the Dinobots it was a different take on their story and I liked it. Letting them be an actual combiner was cool but Soundblaster destroying literal planets over a beatbox competition is the funniest thing I’ve ever witnessed in my life. The story flowed pretty well honestly, though I almost immediately knew what they were doing when Tarn showed up. The look my mom gave when I screamed “IS THAT TARN?!” was great but I did NOT expect the Megatron bashing they had him do lol. It’s a little hard to compare this season with the others because it's so different but I liked it, it was enjoyable. 6.5/10

  

How my system works:

When I do these reviews I base them on a couple of things 1.) What made it different 2.) How enjoyable is it 3.) How’s the plot, pacing, character designs, etc? So while I might really like a character there’s still a chance I’ll dock points because they didn’t just create a new character altogether instead of just stealing a name.

What makes it different?

Most of the changes they made were good. I loved 90% of the design changes, I even really liked the way they used the plot and what we already know from the original story. As confusing as our initial time skip is, it's not hard to fill in the blanks with any other continuities time on earth. So we skip the stuff we already know and instead get new stuff, which kept me interested! However, this part could have been really hard to understand for new viewers. Their approach to the Quintessons was a tad weird but it worked so I’m not complaining. 7.5/10

How enjoyable is it?

It was pretty good. I liked it and despite them killing off half the characters I liked I never felt like throwing my phone down and not watching anymore. It kept me interested and for the most part, it wasn't way too easy to guess exactly what was gonna happen. The number of characters they’d name-drop just to never use physically hurt me and sometimes I’d get frustrated with how they used certain characters or how they set something up or their weird time skips but so I’d pause it, get up to grab some water or something and get right back to it. Which for me is pretty good. 6.5/10

How’s the plot?  

Despite the plotholes, the plot was good. They made it different but close enough I’d still be able to tell it's Transformers if they took away the name. Sometimes the way they won *cough* cybertroniansunitething *cough* was odd but all in all, it's fine. I thought the parade loop was creative and interesting to watch. The apocalypse part was honestly my favorite but I wish Hot Rod's frustration led to something. You win some you lose some ig. 6.5/10

How was the pacing?

The pacing was ok in most episodes. (I’m looking at you Sea of Tranquility) They managed to bring back the absolute mess I feared season 2 would be so I’m giving them points for that. Again the time skips can be weird but close to every episode BUT SEA OF TRANQUILITY THE BANE OF MY EXISTENCE did a pretty good job closing up those gaps for us. 6/10

How were the character designs? 

I’ve already partially touched on this but it usually needs its own section so without further ado. Two-thirds of Starscream’s upgrades are the worst, most terrible horrifying things and I hate them with a burning passion. His original design however I liked and his voice actor did a great job. I liked almost everyone's designs until the Allspark got involved EXCEPT FOR JETFIRE whose design was just ok. I’m just kinda sad he wasn’t our gentle giant. That and he was really annoying, sorry anybody who liked him. 8/10 

 Overall: I think I have more conflicting feelings over this show than I do Micheal Bay's first TMNT movie, except its none of the low expectations or nostalgia and all mild confusion. This show is… weird, it was interesting and enjoyable despite Hasbro's never-ending fear of new characters. They took an old premise and made it new even if I can never forgive them for Judge Starscream, they kept the character designs reminiscent of G1 but still kept them fresh and I really liked it. I wish they used the Titans and Insecticons more or expanded on the multiverse part and it could have been interesting to see some of the other combiners. They might have had plans to use some of that before the show got canceled but we’ll never know. 

Overall score: 6/10