#they mysteriously disappeared after red became champion

[cassioppenny]

the current champion of kanto loki. is definitely not an ancient shapeshifting trickster god/ancestor of all mortal life cat thing that decides to ruin the lives of a group of children because they were bored

[charcherry-weekly]

Charcherry Weekly - Issue 179

Hey everyone, its Mage of Light Nick Card. Its a new year and its cold outside! Lets warm up with some news.

On the first of the year, Starter Planet officially appeared on maps as it became publicly reachable! Previously, this world was held under a veil of secrecy, due to having been created by the SBARGv2 players after claiming the Ultimate Reward. It was unknown at the time that not only were there multiple successful sessions that had looped around and wound up also making an instance of Gene, but also that the cosmos contained wonders that would easily match our own. With the secrecy becoming a liability, a vote was tallied with a unanimous result. It is expected that Starter will gain a great amount of poketourism, so measures have been taken to make sure that visitors are safe upon arrival.

This move, of course, coincides with the opening of the pink line under the Desertian Transit Authority, which leads to a variety of locations on and off of the planet. The ones located on Starter Planet are Charcherry North, Neon City, and The Park. As a note, Charcherry North is a very small station, and it is expected that those wanting to go to Unity Village can take the train to Desertia Town and use the transportalizer pad in Gene's Garden, if a multi-mile walk past Lake River Rose and Mt. Phoenix isn't desired. The main Neon City station is apparently larger, and is set to also have a green line which will eventually go to a variety of locations within the megopolis, before departing for the Land of Cities and Neon, where Neon City was originally separated from. LoCaN is currently located somewhere in the furthest ring, and once had a void player before she disappeared to parts unknown. Reportedly the denizen, Nyx, may still reside on LoCaN, having last been seen singing at a jazz lounge at least a cycle ago (cycles being a count of cataclysmic incidents in the furthest ring). The station for The Park has been designed for easy evacuation, in case of dinosaur incident, or some other sort of assumed calamity. Other stops along the pink line include Desertia Town, Spaceport mall, Sea-Saw Resort, and Poketopia (the place where pokemon battle revolution took place). So far there are two branches from Poketopia, one which leads to Ancient Quarry, apparently located in the Hisui region (though oddly enough not the instance that Heir of Time Rise has been adventuring in), and one which leads to the "Mystery Zone" of Goldenrod City, located in the Johto region (most likely the instance that PKMN Breeder HAZEL had been adventuring in before she returned during the holiday season). On the other end of the pink line, there is the soon-to-be opened red line, which serves a number of towns on Planet Korous. As a note, Korous has yet to enter the federation, due to an important timeloop yet to be fulfilled.

In regards to this timeloop, Pokemon Champion Brae Emit has successfully captured and trained the legendary pokemon required for the timeloop. The earliest that she will be sent back to the expected date to complete her part of the mission will be on January 15th. As a reminder, the other part of the mission will involve dropping off an archive terminal, asking about any desired links to the surface (such as rail or transportalizer pad), and anything else that Heir of Time Thoren Emit will need to do in order to ethically gain the trust of the squidfolk. Currently open stops which are on both pink and red lines include the korosian capital and Endcroak City. Currently planned to open on the red line include Squidlantis, Snake's Mouth and a station for each upper and lower Alcove. Reportedly, an order was sent in because a surveyor fell down the stairs that lead down to lower Alcove. Overall, it is very likely that all of these stops and stations will greatly improve the economies of the places it connects to.

In other news, Prince of Heart Red has recently been released from observation hold. It has been hotly debated how she ought to be treated, knowing her unsavory past. There are reports that there may or may not be a bounty hunter from Plit that seeks damages for her past actions. This has yet to be confirmed beyond bar gossip, however.

This week’s known market stands in Desertia Town:

Katie’s potion stand (Not available to plitlanders due to regulations, available to all others however)

shinyjiggly pokesnacks stand (ran by Rufus)

DTA model train stand (has all line train types in stock!)

Pokeball stand (has the three basic strengths, as well as a few specialty balls in stock. May or may not have Ball Guy running it)

Pocketwatch stand

Desertia Town glitter snowglobe stand

Specialty Book Stand: - Book, cypher (150 gp) - Stationery (1 gp) - Ink, stink (5 gp) - Book, footprints (50 gp) - Book, Dungeon Guide (“Grave Journal“) (4,600 gp) - Paper, glue (1 sheet) (1 sp) - Book, obsession log (25 gp) - Ink, invisible (good) (25 gp)

And that does it for now. Work on left beef and your dear newsletter writer's current game project is going slow lately. Maybe its the weather? Maybe its my lighty senses distracting me from work beyond my librarian stuff? Either way, I hope I get a chance to do some solid game work soon, even if Left Beef is waiting for me. Stay warm out there! https://letssosl.boards.net/thread/414/charcherry-weekly-issue-179

[brodenbarrelborror]

Task 8: Alternate Universe ⇒ Dungeons and Dragons

Backstory

Broden is a Reborn, Grave Domain Cleric. Broden was said to be a gift of the Raven Queen, the goddess of death, after he survived a rather traumatic premature birth. Despite the miracle of his survival, this did not stop him from being placed in foster care. It was there that he would eventually meet Logan “Lock” and Saaiqa “Shock”, his psuedo-siblings. The three of them dubbed themselves “The Unholy Trinity”, nicknamed Broden “Barrel”, and ran away from their home to live on the streets.

They learned to adapt to survive. As street urchins, they became masters of thievery and sneaking around. Although there were many close calls, the three of them always had each other’s backs and were able to get away from even the most persistent guard. They were not always the smartest, however. When they got on the wrong side of the local Thieves Guild, it looked like it would be the end for them. However, the leader of the guild--a man named Oz Borror--saw the potential in the trio and decided to take them in as his own.

Now official members (some would argue heirs) of the Thieves Guild, the trio were able to harness their abilities in a way they never had before. Lock and Shock particularly took to magic and rogue-like abilities, but Barrel was never able to keep up. While he had his proficiencies, he started to fall behind them in strength and ability. The only reason they seemed to keep him around was because of his know-how of the healer’s kit. Other than that, they gave him the jobs that no one wanted to do. Not that he ever complained--he was just happy to be included.

One day, they were approached by a rival of their father’s, who beseeched their help in a top secret mission. They were to go to another plane of existence, capture a mysterious creature, and bring it back. The creature was Skabatha Nightshade, a toymaker hag from the magical realm of the Feywild. They agreed, but were of course planning on double crossing the rival to give Skabatha to Oz instead.

At first, it seemed like an easy mission. The rival took them to the portal to the Feywild, and they began their search. However, things took a turn for the worst fast. They were not strong enough to subdue Skabatha, nor her army of Red Caps--small elven-like creatures crazed with bloodlust. The ensuing battle was more than the trio could take. This was especially the case for Barrel, the weakest of them all, who fell to Skabatha’s might. The remaining trio gathered Barrel’s body and retreated back to the world of the Material Plane.

They knew that there were magics capable of bringing a person back from the dead. However, they did not know anyone capable of such powerful necromancy. Heartbroken but determined, the Borror family left Barrel in a secret location and began their journey to find someone who could bring him back to life.

What they did not realize was someone already had their eye on doing just that. When Barrel met the Raven Queen--ready to move his soul to the next plane of existence--he did not regard her with reverence or fear. Instead, he treated her like a long lost friend, chatting her up in a way that few mortals ever would. She was intrigued by him and decided that perhaps it was not his time. And perhaps she could use a Champion to do her bidding on the Material Plane.

One day, in the darkness, Broden opened his eyes. He had no clue how much time had passed, with no memory of his death, nor his life before it. All he had was the name Broden, and the whispers of the Raven Queen, tempting him to do as she commanded. He was able to escape the place he was kept and began a life of adventuring, totally unaware of the family who would one day return to find him disappeared.

Broden now wanders the lands, dipping in and out of various adventuring parties to act as a cleric and support. He’s happy to do whatever is placed in front of him and will rarely turn down an opportunity. Somewhere in the back of his mind are foggy visions of his past life, though he’s not sure what to make of them. He feels like he should be looking for somebody. But in the meantime, he’s fine with his carefree, adventuring life.

Stats

Proficiencies: Medicine, Religion, Stealth, Sleight of Hand, Healer’s Kit

Feats:

Healer (ability to stabilize and heal even without magic)

Tough (Gains extra hit points with each level)

Fighting Style: For the longest time, Barrel didn’t have a fighting style. He was best utilized as a scout and a healer, told to stay to the side while his siblings did all the fighting. With his rebirth and descent into cleric-dom, things have changed. Broden’s new strategy is to survive so all his allies can too. With his armor, shield, and insane amount of hit points, he can act as someone who either doesn’t get hit or can absorb hits easily. From there, he spends most of his efforts in battle healing, buffing, and protecting others with his grave domain abilities. However, do not be fooled--he has grown tremendously since his days as Barrel. Armed with a war mace, he can land hard hits when needed. This is useful because--as a low wisdom cleric--his magic is not always as strong as it could be. Clutching the holy symbol that he found around his neck upon rebirth, his specialty is necromancy magic, which he has taken a particular interest in.

[elliemarchetti]

Could you do a jealous fremione onehsot pls?

I hope you like it and if you want a sequel or any other story, please just drop an ask because I’m soooo happy I’m slowly able to go back to writing.

Words: 1833

As the most varied kind of rumours about the Yule Ball were spreading everywhere, the last week before Christmas break became increasingly turbulent: some professors gave up teaching them much when their minds were so evidently elsewhere, but others, like Binns, McGonagall and Moody weren’t as generous. Professor Snape seemed to have made his personal mission to contain the enthusiasm, and from what Fred understood of Ron’s complaints, he had even scheduled them a poison antidote assignment for the last day of class. If in other circumstances it wouldn’t have bothered the most charismatic of the Weasley twins, at that specific moment it was a huge problem se he intended to invite Hermione Granger, who now spent all her free time divided between the library and the Common Room, her head perpetually sunk between books and notes. He had subconsciously begun to think of her as something other than his brother’s friend about a year ago but only came to terms with it at the end of the previous school year. During the summer, he had found every way to catch her attention, but on balance, it was only stolen time, spent at a safe distance as she certainly didn’t seem bothered by his presence, but neither was actively looking for it. The Yule Ball was his opportunity for a more direct but still cautious step, if only Hermione, in her rare breaks, wasn’t always surrounded by friends: she never went anywhere alone, not even to the bathroom, so his only chance was to ask her to speak alone after the end of the Potions test. When she turned to look at him with her big, hazel eyes, Fred could’ve sworn his stomach jumped, like when you miss a step down the stairs, but he regained enough composure to ask if she had a few seconds to spare.

“It’s a private matter,” he added, glaring at his brother as he realized he was going to try to get involved, as usual. Ron had a good heart, it was undeniable, and unlike him and George, he didn’t do anything maliciously, but he could sometimes be a real meddler, and now he had no time to handle it tactfully.

“Sure,” she replied quietly, just a hint of bewilderment in her voice.

“See you at dinner,” Ron muttered, before sneaking off as if he had interrupted something. Whether he wanted to invite her or simply had no desire to be alone, as Harry had bolted out of the classroom so quickly he hadn’t even noticed him, Fred truly couldn’t care.

"Did something happen? If it has to do..." she began, but he interrupted her abruptly, asking the fateful question, words coming out of his mouth without the usual funny streak that distinguished him. He could feel his ears and cheeks warm, and he suspected his skin had become a chromatic whole with his red hair.

After a moment of embarrassed silence, she too started to blush.

“I’m so sorry,” she began, and somehow her tone was sincere. “But I’m already going with someone else.”

“Oh, okay,” he replied, hoping his disappointment wouldn’t be noticed too much, especially by Professor Snape, who was just walking out of the classroom; he was a mean man, and he certainly wouldn't miss such a glorious opportunity to make fun of a Gryffindor.

“I’m really sorry,” she repeated, when the Professor was no longer within earshot, but before it could become really awkward, Ginny, who looked far too happy for her standards, almost run to meet her friend, calling her from the end of the hall. Too heartbroken to notice, Fred didn’t even raised his head when the girl he’d just been turned down by looked over his sister’s shoulder, the sad expression of someone who wishes they could go back in time. Too curious to resist temptation, that same evening he joined the pleading chorus of Harry and Ron, who desperately wanted to know who their friend's mysterious escort was.

“It’s not my place to tell you,” Ginny replied peremptorily, ending the discussion for good before disappearing into the girls dormitory. The only ones who knew of his intention to invite Hermione were George and Angelina, so he let the latter take care of finding him a lady. Katie Bell seemed more than thrilled to accept his invitation and George tried to distract him with the booming Canary Cream sales. Their housemates constant hype and the spasmodic need to get out of his head the thought of Hermione’s secret date led him to focus more on another product, and even as the snow fell thick on the castle and park, making the Beauxbatons carriage look like a big cold pumpkin glazed with frost, he secluded himself in his bedroom with his twin, going out for longer than a meal only when the most awaited moment of the year came. Katie Bell wore a bright turquoise dress, while Angelina had chosen a decidedly more sober outfit. As always, he and George were in identical clothes, and the four of them went down to the Entrance Hall crammed with students just a little early. The students who had to meet with partners from different Houses made their way through the crowd, looking for each other, and since there was no sign of Hermione, Fred started to mentally go over the names of the Gryffindors not yet present, distracted only when the oak front door opened and everyone turned to look at the Drumstrang’s students entrance. Victor Krum was leading, accompanied by the girl Fred so desperately wanted to have beside him. Hermione had done something to her hair, now straight and flowing, tied in an elegant knot behind her head, and she was wearing a soft periwinkle blue dress that gave the impression she even had a different bearing, but probably it was just the absence of the twenty or so books she usually had hanging on her back. She was smiling, albeit rather nervously, and soon she began talking to Harry and Parvati. She had attracted everyone’s attention, more than Fleur Delacour, and it didn’t escape him how many guys let slip a few lewd glances as the pair of champions advanced towards a large round table where the judges had already taken their seats. By the end of the little parade, his blood was boiling, making him unable to enjoy the walls of the Great Hall covered in glistening silver frost and the hundreds of ivy and mistletoe wreaths crisscrossing across the black starry ceiling. When he took place for dinner at a table set with gold plates in which food would appear on command, the only thing running in his mind was the amount of possibilities the tradition of kissing under the mistletoe on Christmas Eve also existed in Bulgaria. For the whole dinner they chatted so closely that Fred was sure they were going to kiss right there, making him throw up the pork chops he was picking listlessly, completely oblivious to the fact that the worst was yet to come. When all the food was consumed, Dumbledore got up and asked the students to imitate him: with a stroke of his wand the tables shot away and arranged themselves along the walls, leaving a clear floor, where an elevated platform equipped with a complete battery, several guitars and bagpipes, a lute and a cello appeared. Not even the Weird Sisters’ entry managed to change his mood as he knew that soon they would start with one of their most slow song, the perfect excuse for Krum to hold Hermione tightly in his muscular arms. Just as he had feared, the two separated only after several rounds of dancing and Lee, who hadn’t lost sight of his friend for the whole time, surprised him by saying he could still invite her to dance, even if he wasn’t her escort.

“Look at Parvati,” he nearly yelled to be heard above the noise, gesturing across the room. Their housemate was spinning with a tall Beauxbatons guy wearing a perfect light blue suit, someone who definitely wasn’t Harry Potter. Even her sister wasn’t dancing with Ron and as sorry as he was that his brother had lost his partner, it seemed to give him some kind of courage, something he usually never lacked. When he finally found her at the drink stands, Hermione was looking for her escort, so shaken that she seemed to force herself to avoid his gaze.

“What happened?” he asked, jealously suddenly forgotten, replaced by the familiar need to protect her. It was something he had felt since the first time they met, and even if he had mistaken it for a different feeling maybe for too long, the truth had definitely revealed itself at the Quidditch World Cup, when he thought he was going mad not seeing her arrive at the meeting point. They were deep feelings, still too fresh to forget them because she accepted someone else’s invite to a stupid ball.

"Don't worry," she reassured him once she took a long sip of Butterbeer, "I’m being emotional over a silly fight with your brother. I just wanted everything to be perfect tonight, you know?"

All too well, he wanted to answer, but as it was evident that she wanted to let off steam, he let her talk freely. Almost without realizing it, they found themselves in the rose garden, where the dancing lights of the fairies flickered and sparkled, illuminating bushes artfully positioned to create winding ornamental paths, a temporary home for large stone statues and fountains. They ended up talking about other things too, like how Fleur Delacour had seemed unable to stop comparing Beauxbatons to Hogwarts for the whole dinner.

"I have to admit the champions table hadn’t the best company,” she let out with a sigh, but before she could continue, one of her diners turned the corner, with Severus Snape by his side. The Potions professor was blowing rose bushes away with the hostile frown he’d been wearing since the Yule Ball was announced, hissing reproaches and punishments at the dark shapes emerging from their hiding places.

“And what are you two doing?” he asked Fred and Hermione inquisitively. His companion looked rather annoyed to see them there, and rolled his goatee a couple of times around his index finger waiting for their response.

“We were looking for Viktor,” replied Hermione, who had gotten pretty good at lying to professors over her time spent with Harry. Fred felt his stomach tighten again. He had almost forgotten, so great was the joy of being there chatting with her, that inside the castle’s wall there still was a party, and partners to whom they owed dancing and entertainment. Again, that was just another stolen moment, a memory he would keep forever and which she would gloss over describing the evening to her friends.

“Then I advise you to go back inside,” replied Karkaroff. “There is no Durmstrang student in the garden.”

[uwua3]

Hello, can I please suggest a childhood friends to lovers troupe with Banri? Thank you so much!

of course! i put this off at first because i wanted to understand banri’s character a bit more and what direction i wanted to go with this! it might be a little bit opposite of what you wanted but i hope you like it~ ♡ i hope you don’t mind childhood enemies to friends to lovers ;)

summary: all your life, you wanted to beat settsu banri, just once

warnings: arguing, breaking the law, bullying(?), injuries, physical fights,

author’s note: this is definitely much more different from anything i’ve written! please enjoy it~

being naturally good at everything = wanting to compete at everything once’s there’s someone worthy and i think it’s a complex we need to address. honors students who get burnt out often give up because it’s not easy at first. setting children up to be the best and putting them against one another instead of encouraging teamwork is evil and a flaw in the education system. so take risks, and take down any institution that disrespects you :)

word count: 4,298

music: hot girl bummer – blackbear, preacher man – the driver era

childhood champion.

🍁🥇 settsu banri

banri was the most insufferable, annoying kid to ever walk the face of this earth

everyone picked him first for their sports team in gym, he always knew the answer even when the teacher caught him sleeping in class, and he knew what a multitalented threat he was

it was so unfair! even as a child, you had to spend countless hours studying the next topic to stay ahead but banri did it without even trying

you were second in class, he never even wavered or was worried about his valedictorian position

banri was so, so annoying

you two were the first picked to advance to honors–level classes the next school year in middle school

you actively rose your hand in class to get the answer correct. you sat in the front and kissed up to your teachers so they would submit more than just “a pleasure to have in class” on your report card

banri would doze off in the back if he was forced to attend school. it would take multiple tries to get him to wake up and even then, he could’ve summarized the entire class lesson with no effort. he didn’t care about other people’s opinions

which must have been nice, considering how everyone either loved him or fully hated him

you two were never aware of each other’s existence throughout elementary; it wasn’t until your teachers constantly compared you to banri’s perfect grades and banri to your model student behavior that you began to despise each other

to you, banri was your #1 rival and competitor. everything you did, you wanted to beat him at. but to banri, you were just another tryhard that wouldn’t survive in the real world

it was when you were the only student getting every question right that you talked to him for the first time. you rose your hand again, a pleasant expression on your face as your teacher looked around, sighing as everyone averted their gaze

before the teacher could call your name, you felt a wadded–up paper ball hit the back of your head and a snicker. the class went dealthy quiet for once

you whipped your head to the back to see banri’s egotistical maniac of a smirk staring right back at you

“nerd.” banri dropped, his arms behind his head and feet propped up on his desk. his bag wasn’t even open and his pencil was stuck behind his ear. what a troublemaker

“mr. settsu! apologize this instant, we do not tolerate name–calling in this classroom.” your teacher reprimanded maturely, watching as banri shrugged and put his feet on the ground with a loud thud. leaning forward, banri put his hands together with an exaggerated sad face as he batted his eyelashes

“i’m so sorry~” banri laughed, his mocking tone making you narrow your eyes, plastering on a fake smile as you simply nodded and turned around. it wasn’t worth it to fight with someone who didn’t even care

anger boiled in your blood, all you wanted to do was turn around and give him a solid punch

yet, you straightened your posture, answering each question precisely with a tight grip on your pencil as you felt more spitballs land near you

no boy was going to get you to stop focusing, and especially take class time away

banri didn’t know why he bothered trying to piss you off anymore when you didn’t react. it was boring him, to say the least

when he “accidentally” stole your lunch, you just used your allowance to buy something from the lunch ladies (who absolutely hated that they had no evidence he stole from the fruit bar). when he knocked your books over off the desk with a bang, you just picked them back up and moved to a different table. hell, he even started a grade–wide game that pretended you weren’t there. you didn’t care, you kept doing your schoolwork

you were so, so boring

banri was on cleaning–duty for vandalism or whatever, something that didn’t follow the school guidelines. he was assigned to his homeroom classroom and had to wipe down the desks, sweep the room, and scrape off gum under any surface

“what the hell...” 13–year–old banri cursed, kicking at the dust pan as he didn’t want to start. he didn’t clean, he was good at it, he just didn’t like doing it

turning on his heel to ditch the classroom and deal with the consequences later, he was face to face with the fakest smile ever as you leaned against the doorframe (seemingly satisfied with his predicament)

“sorry, settsu. i’m here to supervise you to make sure you’re cleaning, today.” you dropped your sweet, quiet tone and revealed the truth: a tough, tired attitude that was ready to snap at any point. banri raised his eyebrow, crossing his arms as he scoffed, looking to the side

this should be fun

“oh yeah? what will you do to stop me? can you even handle me, i’ve seen how you don’t score shit in gym.” banri spat, your lip twitched at the swear as you had an incredulous look

two could play at this game, you weren’t backing down

“i’m not here to fight, settsu. i want you to hurry up so i can go home and do my homework.” you heard his sickening laugh throughout the empty hallway. it echoed, reminding you how he had no filter or manners whatsoever

“homework?! imagine needing that to pass. even i don’t do my work... and i’m at the top. how sad.” banri fueled the flame on purpose, eyes glinting with something of boredom and a wicked evil found in prepubescent boys

“you wouldn’t know what that’s like, though, right?”

you clenched your fist, all the pent–up rage you withheld in to have the higher ground was beginning to turn your vision red

“come on,” banri grinned, finding fun in driving you insane as he lazily moved into a fighting position, not expecting anything. “hit me—”

you didn’t remember what happened next, but you had to sit next to banri who had a black eye with an ice pack up to it in the principal’s office

both you and banri received a weeks worth of suspension for having a fight on school grounds

you hated settsu banri. and he found you interesting, so he didn’t say anything when he came back, letting the rumors die down

banri wanted to be your friend. your punch wasn’t even all that bad, maybe he could teach you how to hold your fist

but you avoided him at all costs now. he started going to school more frequently, and played impractical jokes on you in between classes just to get a reaction

you didn’t do anything. you just requested a schedule change and had classes on the opposite side of the building

classes became boring again, no one wanted to fight with him because they knew they’d lose, and he stopped attending classes out of spite

banri couldn’t believe he may have finally met someone who had some balls to do something to his shitty attitude and you just left

but throughout the years leading up to his first year in hanasaki, banri had immense respect for your 12–year–old self who landed a nasty hit (it totally would’ve k.o.–ed him if this was a video game)

banri had his eye out to see if you were in the front row with your hand up, or if you were hiding in the library behind towering shelves, or if you were even just moving past him in the crowds of people in the hallways

but it’s like you disappeared out of no where, how boring

you kept a secluded, mysterious reputation. no one had anything to say about you because you did nothing to get attention. so banri couldn’t even track you down through the grapevine of gossip

you disappeared and remained second (behind banri, of course)

as school went on and the summers cleared his mind, banri slowly forgot all about the young kid who gave him a black eye

as he passed the exams to qualify for entry in hanasaki, he didn’t even think twice if you were gonna be there

second year at hanasaki academy. 16–year–old banri nearly dropped out because of his own insatiable boredom. he got into more fights (he always won), ignored his classmates, and just kept being a huge jackass even unprovoked

school was so, so boring

class rankings were released after finals, banri remembered strolling up to expect his name at the top spot but watched as the crowd of students nervously parted to let him through

his eyes automatically landed at the #1 spot (he never checked anyone below him, they were dumb) but it wasn’t his name. instead, he saw yours. you were beating him

letting out a sarcastic laugh, banri backed up and left without another word, leaving the students to breathe a sigh of relief they weren’t the next victim of an infamous settsu roundhouse

how long had you been at this? how long did you study just to see your name printed over his? he must’ve been a big deal to you

banri ditched school early, about to hop the back fence before he noticed a flash of the academy’s school uniform above. halfway up the fence, banri looked behind him. no one. looked up, and you were sitting at the edge of the rooftop, swinging your legs casually

after all these years, and banri found you on accident

“hey.” banri drawled, waving up to you who seemed lost in your own world. you had a loose grip on some textbook, staring off into the slow clouds. you must’ve missed the lunch bell signaling the end of eating. you? skipping class? it was almost too funny to be true

banri bristled under the lack of attention. it’s been years and this was the response he got? he was ready to start shaking the fence to alert everyone within a one mile radius he was here. yet, banri noticed the hardcover textbook that must’ve cost hundreds begin slipping from your fingers. you didn’t care to notice

“hey! hey! what the fuck!” banri tried to make you snap out of it, but he swore as he leaped from the fence as soon as the book started falling. you shook your head rapidly like you just woke up, nearly falling over as you watched banri catch the heavy textbook with one hand as he rolled onto the rough pavement. it was a move out of a superhero film, like he was a professional stunt double

you gasped, scrambling to get off the edge and jumped. banri was about to yell a very inappropiate curse, but you grabbed onto the tree branch nearby and climbed down easily. it was like you did this countless times... what the hell happened to you and who was this that replaced you?

“oh my god! i am so sorry, i wasn’t paying attention at all.” you apologized sincerly, offering your hand to help pull him to his feet. banri ignored the pain in his shoulder and hip as he pushed himself up, the scrapes on his palms and rips in his uniforms making him wince for a moment. you noticed

“you idiot! what were you thinking? you could’ve died!” banri snapped, pushing the textbook to your chest as you stumbled back, eyes wide. you huffed, feeling aggressive as every instinct to fight with him came back as strong as ever despite banri’s heroic act

“don’t act like you know everything about me! i said i was sorry, what else do you want?” you fought back, pushing him back even harder with your book. banri felt something burn inside him for the time ever since you punched him: excitement

“let’s settle this. you. me. right here. right now.” banri got into a battle stance, pretending to be very serious when he didn’t even hit girls. but, he wanted to piss you off so bad. he was so bored of his life being on super ultra easy mode (it was like you were the final boss)

he didn’t even get another word out before you sighed, put your backpack and books down gently, rolled your eyes, spun around, and kicked him straight in the jaw

you had used the infamous settsu roundhouse kick against him

this time, he was much stronger than he was before at thirteen. he straightened himself up, stared at your clenched fists, and laughed

“after all this time, you never learned how to throw a real punch?” banri taunted, but the playful tone of his voice gave himself away. you slowly backed down, going back to your normal position as you revealed a tired smile. you ran your hand through your hair, seeming to contemplate on whether or not you should respond before shrugging

“never really had to fight losers like you before.” you retorted and banri gave an impressed look that you even made a comeback. rubbing his jaw and feeling the bruise about to form, banri watched as you stuffed your books into your bag

“by the way, that was for everything you put me through in middle school.” you stood up, flipped him both with hands confidently, and left. turning the corner, you winked and shot him a finger gun, showing you didn’t hold any grudges anymore for his stupid behavior

“wait—dammit.” banri rushed to catch up with you, but you were already gone the moment he went over. there was no trace of you and banri kicked the wall out of frustration, regretting it immediately when he forgot about his injured leg

“mr. settsu!” he heard from one of the classroom windows and looked up, seeing his maths teacher glare at him. uh oh

banri put his hands up, knowing security would have to come drag his ass to class

he could’ve swore he heard your laugh as he got yelled at for getting caught, making him subconsciously smile

(banri got into more trouble when the teacher thought he saw it as a joke)

gossip was exchanged as banri came into class sporting a bruised jaw and ripped clothes. they said the gangster was finally taken down by someone who he was no match for, it was almost laughable

i let them win, banri thought, barely paying attention to whatever his teacher was writing on the blackboard

but banri wanted more competition. he couldn’t just let you hit him even if he fully, 100% deserved it

banri closed his eyes, falling asleep with his hand in his cheek. you better not have any plans this afternoon

it was 5pm. you were heading out of school after finishing all your extracurricular duties. it was exhausting pretending to care, faking a smile just so your superiors thought you were the perfect leader. whatever gets you into university, right?

you needed a break. you stepped up to the rooftop after sneaking into the locked stairway. oddly enough, it was already open. you tip–toed in on guard, preparing to hit someone with your bag before you noticed a shadow against the pavement

but as soon as you stepped out, banri was waiting

it was nearly sunset, and banri was playing some game on his phone against one of the benches against the border

you paused, not sure what to say before he casually looked up and did a double take, rushing to pocket his phone and standing up

silence. like you two had nothing to say after all these years. you didn’t expect to see him again, you stopped caring about his laziness and focused on yourself even if you didn’t have the motivation anymore

banri awkwardly put his hands in his pockets, the blazer elbows almost torn to shreds. a strand of his hair fell in front of his face, you wanted to reach out and push it back

here you were, with a perfect appearance with nothing out of place, as expected of a model student. your uniform was ironed to perfection and had no creases despite your tree jump. you learned how to get rid of the evidence

when nothing seemed to be happening, you almost turned around before banri spoke way too loudly

“i’m sorry.” banri choked out, like he was saying it against his will. you froze, not wanting to turn around as you gripped the strap of your backpack. was he being serious?

“i’m... sorry for basically picking on you in middle school. it was dumb of me, i was stupid.” banri explained, appearing cool but his fingers were clearly fidgeting in his pockets. oh, he was serious

a part of your child self felt like it was healed, knowing you had one over settsu banri. you nodded, turning slowly to face your childhood rival. your childhood competitor. the childhood champion of everything

this time, you were the winner, but it didn’t feel like it

“yeah? i’m sorry for beating your ass twice then.” you joked, seeing the tension leave his shoulders as he naturally laughed. it was almost therapeutic to finally not fight for something for once

“truce?” banri put his fist out, and you didn’t even have to think about it before moving forward and fist–bumping him

“truce.”

you and banri became close after your so–called peace treaty. you put all the rivalry behind you, you forgave him

banri surprisingly understood you had a “perfect reputation” to uphold despite all the secret trouble you got in. in public, he stayed away and pretended like you didn’t exist. in private, you two snuck onto the rooftop to have lunch and stay until night, talking about nothing and everything at once

you even tried getting him back on track, using the temptation of competition to trick him in doing his work (it at least worked half the time)

(“i definitely could finish this faster than you!” banri protested, scribbling his answers and he always finished first. he never realized what you were doing when he was in the heat of the moment)

banri had never stayed at school this long, his attendance was making a come back and he was even looking forward to times he could see you in between classes

(he never put this much effort in, he didn’t want to find out he wasn’t naturally good at being your friend)

everything was good. you two were compatiable friends who cursed every middle school teacher who set them up to be enemies. you swore at teachers who now abused their position of power and laughed about leading a revolution. you two were young, dumb teens who wanted change. you wanted anarchy, he knew enough about it to get behind it

banri texted you screenshots of his elite gaming status in the game he recommended to you, getting a response the next day proving you were almost at his level. damn. he could respect that

banri took you to his favorite local arcade, (believe it or not) after you claimed you could at least tie him at something. when he saw you get frustrated, he pretended to stumble on the arrow pad for DDR and feigned annoyance as you beat him for once. he even gave you his spare coins once he got bored and watched you, adding unnecessary commentary you’d kick him for

(“not again!” banri pretended to cower, protecting his jaw that was already healed)

you guys would even raid 24/7 stores after leaving school, stocking up on snacks and energy drinks so you could stay awake throughout the day after game night

but his favorite thing to do with you was sneaking out and returning you back before curfew. banri was naturally a homebody that didn’t find the outside fun, but when you confessed you never had a late night drive before, he arrived a block away and nearly gave you a heart attack when he knocked on your window

(you two agreed to have a special code and banri would knock to the beat of your favorite game’s theme song)

that night, you sat on the hood of his car and watched the stars, unaware of how banri couldn’t tear his eyes away from you

when banri dropped you off and helped you back in with his hand at your back, he nearly fell off the tree as you made your way onto your second–floor bedroom

you smiled, a strangeness to your windswept hair and messy clothes. you didn’t care what you looked like around him

banri gulped, forcing himself down the tree as he ran to his car, heart racing a mile a minute

what the hell was that? banri took a deep breath in the driver’s seat, rubbing his forehead as he groaned. why did he feel like this? did you do something to his soda or something?

as banri drove home, he flipped on the radio. teenage dirtbag by wheatus blasted on the inner roads

“how does she know who i am? why does she give a damn about me?”

banri braked, the car halting in the middle of the road. it was 3am, the street lights gave way to the empty, deserted road

oh my god. he liked you

he liked the person who gave him a black eye, got him a week suspension, kicked him in the jaw, and got him caught by his teacher

teenage dirtbag faded out on the street as banri sat there, listening to the lyrics

“fuck.” banri deadpanned, knowing things wouldn’t be good if he kept acting up like this

well, everything was good, until that night

banri arrived at midnight sharp like always. you rolled out of bed with full clothing ready for any night activity he planned

he took your hand to go down even though he knew damn well you didn’t need the help. sneaking out was like second nature at this point, it was a miracle you two hadn’t been busted yet

you two were stealthy, avoided all the cameras your parents put in place after noticing there were footsteps imprinted on the grass (it didn’t bother banri, he liked the challenge)

speeding off, banri slowed down to the speed limit once he saw you push the roof down and stick your upper body out into the wind. he shook his head, lowering the windows as well. he heard you scream along to whatever pop song was on at the top of your lungs

in that moment, you forget you were hanasaki academy’s perfect model student. you were just a person having the time of their life with their best friend

pulling into an abandoned parking lot, banri stopped in the middle as he tugged your shirt down. his wolfish grin seemed electric, like he was high on a predictable adrenaline rush already

“hey, do you trust me?” banri revved the engine, one hand on the wheel and the other out as a fist

it felt like that day back on the school rooftop where you made a truce with your middle school rival. like everything was about to change

without a second thought, you bumped your fist to his. “i do.”

banri shifted to level one as he turned the wheels to a full direction. you held onto the edge of the door as you realized what he was about to do

“you’re joking!” you yelled over the sound of the engine, banri flashing you a quick wink before the car started spinning. he was doing donuts because you said you wanted donuts the other day, this was not what you meant!

“you knew i didn’t mean it like this, you jerk!” you protested, but couldn’t help but laugh along with banri as smoke rose from the tire tracks on the concrete. you felt dizzy, but you never felt more alive laughing with your best friend in the middle of the night

banri suddenly stopped, his foot on the brake as a distant shout made you freeze

“hey, who’s trespassing?!”

“go, go, go!” you yelled, pushing banri’s arm as his foot triggered the gas and changed the speed. you guys zoomed out of the supposedly “abandoned” parking lot, hearing the random owner attempt to chase after you before tripping on his own feet

“holy shit!” you exclaimed, not feeling sorry you were laughing at the man who was now shaking his fist at you. you knew it was too dark to even see banri’s license plate, you were fine. you felt your energy peak as you couldn’t help but turn around with a wide smile

“did you see that guy’s face, he looked like he was ready to kill—” you started but banri braked again, both hands tightly gripping the wheel. you almost lurched forward but banri stuck his arm out against your chest, holding you to your seat as he glared at you

“how is this funny to you? we... you! you almost got caught! your future would’ve been ruined, do you understand how severe that situation was?!” banri ranted, sweating as he had to practice controlled breathing to prevent himself from saying something he’d regret. he was so worried, he never cared this much

“so what at this point? what’s there to even live for after college?” you scoffed, crossing your arms as you looked away. banri’s arm started retracting, but he randomly grabbed your face and pulled you over the divider, looking you deeply in the eyes like he never wanted to let you go. like he wanted to remember this forever

“me. live for me.” banri muttered, before he closed the distance between you two. your childhood rival, competitor, and enemy liked you

high on adrenaline, you kissed back. you were on top of the world

and suddenly, everything was good again

you both won

[skrimcats]

Paju

Dragonborn Ysmir, the Dragon of the North Champion of Meridia Champion of Azura Nightingale of Nocturnal Master of the Thieves Guild

They were born in Riften, Skyrim. Their father, Ri’yppy, is the Arch-Mage of the College of Winterhold, and their mother, Daro’ruis, was a member of the Thieves Guild. She disappeared when Paju was a child and their father became distant.

Masser

Paju and their twin sister Pujo have always been very close. Their family occasionally refers to them as “twin moons”, Paju often associated with Masser and Pujo with Secunda

Amulet of Articulation

Paju loved and admired their mother and thus they joined the Thieves Guild in order to find out what had happened to her. Daro’ruis had devoted almost her entire life to the guild and following her footsteps, Paju restored the guild to its former glory and became both a Nightingale and the Guild Master.

Thu’um

Despite their parents’ magical abilities, Paju’s magicka reservoir is almost non-existent. The only form of magic they can use effortlessly are dragon shouts. Their favorite shouts to use are:

Animal Allegiance — Makes travelling through the Rift less time and energy consuming when the bears are your friends. They also use falcons to carry out messages: letters to the family while they are adventuring and orders to the guild while they are at home.

Elemental Fury — While their magicka is low, their stamina is endless. They are always running around and they are fast at their feet, fast at shooting, fast wielding the blade, and fast at thinking. And almost unstoppable when they call wind to carry their attacks even more effortlessly.

Ice Form — They are almost always cold and so ice shouts come more naturally to them. Ice Form allows others to experience their cold hands while also allowing Paju a few precious seconds to escape.

Slow Time — They freeze the flesh, they freeze the time. Slow Time gives them extra time to aim their arrow and lessens their enemy’s time to avoid it.

Clear Skies — While the night hides them, they also love the sun and it’s warmth.

Vampirism

Paju has been a vampire twice. The first time they turned from Alva’s attack in Morthal. The second time Serana turned them so they could survive the Soul Cairn. They loathed themselves as a vampire and even after that because the cure required a black soul. Still, with Serana, they decided that life would be better for them and Paju’s family if they were mortals. Together, they sought the cure. After that, Paju offered her a new community from the Thieves Guild.

While Paju has been able to process some of the traumas and memories caused by the vampirism, they still avoid eating red meat and blood.

Chidna Mine: Paju was thrown into the jail of Markarth after unfortunate events as a vampire. They don’t really talk about that time, but it left them with a Skooma addiction (that their sister Pujo helped them to overcome) and a fear of tight underground spaces. They still keep the shiv they used to break out alone in their office’s locked coffer.

Dawnbreaker

Paju found Meridia’s Beacon from a small and remote cave when they were unknowingly becoming a vampire and weren’t feeling well either mentally or physically. As they picked up the beacon, a ray of light shone to their face through a crack in the ceiling and Paju felt like there was someone watching over them.

A day after they had returned the beacon, they became a vampire. They had already sworn to be the wielder of Meridia’s cleansing light and thus their own undeadness caused an identity crisis. They continued to use Dawnbreaker even though it burned their skin as well and they refused to drink blood, starving themself. Eventually, they no longer trusted their self control around human settlements and the pain started to become unbearable as they withered away. They had to seek a cure, even when it required sacrificing someone’s soul.

Despite the rather traumatizing events, Paju continues to believe that Meridia guards them, and Dawnbreaker lights their steps in dark and tight caverns they nowadays fear.

Letters From a Friend

Paju also believes that Meridia is the one behind the mysterious “letters from a friend” as the “friend” always seems to witness their deeds and the first one of such letters pointed them to Mount Kilkreath.

Nightingale Bow

Their mother’s old bow that Paju inherited. Daro’ruis was a legendary sniper whose every arrow was said to hit its target. Paju wanted to be like their mother in this too, but no bow seemed to fit in their hand — before this. Still, they cannot help feeling that they are unworthy of it.

Auriel’s Bow

During the years they spent seeking their mother, Paju also hoped to find their mother’s most treasured artifact: a circlet that seemed to give its wearer a magically accurate aim. They dreamed that it would aid them reach their mother’s level in archery. While searching it, Paju trained every day, completed Angi’s archery trials, and found and earned — not inherited — Auriel’s Bow. They never found the circlet, but although they do not fully realize it, they are more skilled than their mother ever was.

Nightingale Blade

Paju has one bow and one blade for dawn and day, and another ones for dusk and darkness. Through them they honor all their princes. The weapons also visualize Paju’s desire to not live contained within one of the opposites, but rather in both, neither, and in between.

Invisibility

Paju avoids killing people because of their personal morals and the convenience of leaving little as possible traces behind. That is why they have perfected the arts of stepping lightly and blending into shadows. More than that, they often literally disappear into thin air. While Paju is usually terrible with magic, at best they could switch between visible and invisible almost indefinitely. (with Shadowcloak of Nocturnal, the Shadow stone, Embrace of Shadows, and potions.

Jaska

A tame gray horse Paju found roaming Skyrim alone. He was a loyal friend until bandits killed him. The two were reunited when Paju found him again from Soul Cairn.

Tea

or infusions. After Chidna Mine and Skooma, Paju doesn’t really want to touch any addictives — including alcohol. Unfortunately, there aren’t many drinks in Skyrim that do not have alcohol in them. Fortunately, they are resourceful and after reading about the teas of Morrowind, they decided to try to brew their own.

I may write another post where I introduce more of their fave recipes because honestly they were fun to make, but their absolutely favorite is canis root and elves ear tea that is flavored with juniper berries.

Books

Paju’s library is one of the biggest in Skyrim and there is a copy of almost every book available in Skyrim. Collecting books is their passion and they are fortunate enough that their spouse, Nauris, is enthusiastic to help (even though she doesn’t really pay attention what books she brings and whether Paju already owns two of them). Paju’s career choice has also helped them to acquire rarer books that actually weren’t on sale.

More than collecting books, they enjoy reading books while relaxing at home or taking a break with them while travelling. Their favorite books are:

A Dance in Fire series

A Game at Dinner

Advances in Lockpicking

Beggar, Thief, Warrior, King series

Chance’s Folly

The Firmament

Herbalist’s Guide to Skyrim

Incident at Necrom

The Locked Room

Mystery of Talara series

Purloined Shadows

Three Thieves

Vernaccus and Bourlor

Words of Clan Mother Ahnissi

2920 series

Solstheim

After Alduin was defeated, they decided with their wife Nauris and their sister Pujo and her wife Lydia, to leave the Windstad manor they had built in Morthal and move to Raven Rock. Some born in Skyrim and other in Solstheim, with them also came the children of Paju and Nauris — Lydia (II), Jone, Jode, Ruis, Ulfric (‘Lilfrick’) — and the adopted son of Pujo and Lydia, Briar. The twins had also reconnected with their father, who retired and came with them. Together the two couples (occasionally with the help of Ri’yppy) can hopefully live in peace and rise their six children to a happier home than the twins had.

After the world was saved and the twins had found their mother, Paju felt a moment of emptiness with no pressing responsibilities. They continue to run the Thieves Guild with the help of messenger falcons and occasionally travelling to the mainland themselves. They have also started to write a biography of Daro’ruis with the help of their father, and an autobiography of the twins.

Trivia

Their name means ‘willow’

I omitted the “the last” from their Dragonborn title because in this universe they weren’t the only dragonborn. Their wife Nauris, their friend Lydia, and Pujo were all the last dragonborns simultaneously.

I tried to avoid Paju’s death while playing and while I did not succeed 100% I got relatively far. I gave them their scar after the first death (they were ambushed by bandits between Morthal and Dawnstar)

Their eyes are actually so narrow that whenever they are in combat and they squint slightly, their eyes just seem closed. They are just… so mad at mudcrabs…… they don’t want to even see them...

[klaradox]

THE LANNISTERS: ROHANNE WEBBER

Rohanne Webber, known as the Red Widow, was the Lady of Coldmoat and head of House Webber during the reign of King Aerys I Targaryen. She was the daughter of Lord Wyman Webber. Later, she married Lord Gerold Lannister and became Lady of Casterly Rock.

Lady Rohanne was short, slim, and had strawberry-blond red hair and grey-green eyes. She had a dimpled chin, a snub nose, and freckles. Rohanne usually kept her hair bound in a braid that reached down to her thighs, and she frequently played with it.

Rohanne tried hard to appear ferocious to other lords and knights. She enjoyed archery.

During her childhood, Rohanne was fond of young Addam Osgrey, who served as her father Wyman's page and later squire at Coldmoat. The two had an innocent romance, though it never went past a few kisses. Because of this relationship, Addam's father, Ser Eustace Osgrey, proposed that they marry, but Lord Wyman refused him. Instead, Rohanne was married to a different squire of her father's. During the First Blackfyre Rebellion, her father and husband fought in the Battle of the Redgrass Field in 196 AC, on the side of House Targaryen. Rohanne's husband, twelve years old, was slain in battle, and she became a widow for the first time at the age of ten. Addam also died during the battle, fighting on the side of House Blackfyre as his father's squire, which caused Rohanne to develop a grudge against Ser Eustace.

At age thirteen, Rohanne was married again to a fifty-four-year-old man, who soon died of a chill. Six months after his death, she gave birth to their son, who was weak and died within three days. Her third husband, Ser Simon Staunton, choked to death on a chicken bone, while her fourth husband, Ser Rolland Uffering died of the Great Spring Sickness. Rohanne bore a daughter by either her third or fourth husband, but the girl did not live a year. Because of the unfortunate deaths of her husbands and children, Rohanne was called the Red Widow, and the smallfolk accused her of poisoning her husbands and being a witch who sold her unborn babies to the Lord of the Seven Hells so that he would teach her the black arts.

Before his death, Lord Wyman attempted to marry Rohanne to his castellan, Ser Lucas Inchfield, but she refused him. As such, Wyman stated in his will that Rohanne had two years to marry after his death. If she would remain unwed, Coldmoat would be granted to her cousin, Ser Wendell Webber. On his deathbed, Rohanne's father charged Lucas to scare off unworthy suitors, though in the two years that would follow, Lucas would attempt to scare off all who traveled to Coldmoat. Lucas's behavior, in addition to the rumors concerning the deaths of Rohanne's four husbands and the two children who died, caused the number of suitors to be lower than would have been expected based on her beauty and status, but she did have several suitors. Among them were Cleyton Caswell and Simon Leygood, both rather persistent, and Ser Gerold Lannister, who sent her flattering letters from Casterly Rock, but whom Rohanne did not believe to be willing to leave the westerlands and his position at his brother's seat.

Lady Rohanne continued to rule Coldmoat in 211 AC, though she had only until the new moon to marry in order to keep her seat. When her people built a dam on the Chequy Water, Ser Bennis of the Brown Shield, working for Ser Eustace Osgrey, assaulted one of her workers. Ser Duncan the Tall came to Coldmoat on behalf of Eustace to pay the blood price, but she rejected the offer. Lady Rohanne brought her forces to the Chequy Water, where she was confronted by Duncan, Eustace, and Duncan's squire, Egg. She accepted a trial by battle, choosing Ser Lucas Inchfield as her champion to fight Eustace's champion, Duncan. Lucas Longinch was killed in the trial, however, and the valor of Duncan reconciled Eustace and Rohanne. Rohanne visited Addam Osgrey's grave at Standfast, and when she began to weep, Eustace comforted her. They married the next day, allowing Rohanne to keep Coldmoat.

During Duncan's attempts to defuse the feud between Eustace and Rohanne, he and she developed a certain attraction. When he woke after nearly being killed in the trial by combat and found Rohanne had married Eustace, and then never visited him while he was recovering, Duncan felt rejected. On the day he left Coldmoat, Rohanne tried to offer Duncan a place as captain of her guards, but he refused the offer. She then offered him one of her horses to give him something to remember her by, but Duncan refused that as well. At the conclusion of their argument, they kissed passionately, and Duncan cut off her famous braid to keep to remember her by.

Rohanne later married Lord Gerold Lannister and had four sons with him, twins Tywald and Tion, Tytos, and Jason Lannister. She was the grandmother of Lord Tywin, Ser Kevan, Gerion, Ser Tygett, Lady Genna, Lady Joanna, Ser Stafford, and Damon Lannister. Lady Rohanne disappeared under mysterious circumstances in 230 AC, less than a year after giving birth to Jason.

To spite the widowed Lord Gerold, Lady Ellyn Reyne named her first daughter, Rohanne Tarbeck, after Rohanne Webber in 240 AC, according to a semi-canon source.

This image will be featured on my upcoming map of the Westerlands.

[justforbooks]

The Italian publisher, editor and collector Franco Maria Ricci has died at the age of 82.

In sumptuously produced art books, and as editor of the bi-monthly art magazine FMR, Ricci published writing by Jorge Luis Borges, Italo Calvino, Umberto Eco, Roland Barthes and many others over the course of his long and distinguished career. In 2019, Susan Moore visited his estate at Fontanellato, near Parma, where in recent years Ricci had constructed the largest labyrinth in the world out of bamboo; they discussed Ricci’s notable collection of largely 18th- and 19th-century sculpture and paintings, as well as his library of books published by the great typographer Giambattista Bodoni, whose works Ricci had reprinted in his first foray into publishing. The interview is published in full below.

Collecting may be read as a form of autobiography written with works of art rather than words. In the case of Franco Maria Ricci, his is a life composed of both words and pictures. He has not only published the most lavishly produced art magazine – FMR – and art books in the world, but also spent the last 50 years amassing a peerless collection of volumes produced by the great Italian typographer, compositor and publisher Giambattista Bodoni (1740–1813) and a rich, eclectic collection of some 500 largely neoclassical and baroque paintings and sculptures. Both collections are at the heart of his most recent and extraordinary venture, the creation of the immense, star-shaped Labirinto della Masone, near Parma, the largest labyrinth in the world – and surely one of the few planted with bamboo.

There is something surreal, and slightly disturbing, about turning off the autostrada and suddenly encountering this majestic bamboo structure rising 10m or more above the plains of the Po valley. For all its elegant calligraphic stems and angular leaves, this is not the sparse specimen bamboo of Chinese ink-painting, but a forest. Here, more than 200,000 of these fast-growing bamboos arch upward in their quest for light. Once I turn into the drive of what was originally Ricci’s grandfather’s estate at Fontanellato, the brilliant azure June sky all but disappears. By the end of my two-day visit, it seems that the contrasts of light and dark are an apt metaphor for the book and art collections – and for the entire complex of maze, museum, archive and chapel, the latter built in the form of a pyramid. Ricci has always been part rationalist, part visionary.

Ricci’s story begins with the book. ‘I grew up surrounded by my father’s books. Reading Shakespeare, Homer, Joyce and Dante saved me from bad taste,’ he once said. ‘It made beauty simple, familiar and immediate in my eyes.’ It was a book, too, that transformed his life and launched a long and successful career: Bodoni’s Manuale tipografico, first published in 1818. Before his discovery of Bodoni’s works in the Biblioteca Palatina in Parma in the 1960s, a career in publishing seemed unlikely. The stylish Ricci, a racing driver and a dandy with dark cherubic curls, was best known for patterning the snow in the piazza around Parma Cathedral with the wheels of his E-type Jaguar. Even Bernardo Bertolucci remembered that car.

As a young man, Ricci had wanted to study archaeology, but an uncle in the oil world persuaded him to sign up for geology instead. After three months in Turkey spent looking for oil that was not there, he realised the oil business was not for him. Yet his education proved critical in unlikely ways. He spent weekends exploring the mysterious, labyrinthine underground tunnels and caves that are a feature of the Romagna region of Italy. He also designed posters for Parma University’s theatre festival that caught the attention of an American curator preparing a show of Italian design in New York. He became, inadvertently, a graphic artist, and went on to create striking graphics for everything from Poste Italiane to Alitalia.

Ricci has long insisted that ‘Bodoni was not only a typographer. He achieved modernity and elegance through graphic art. He was, like Canova, a champion of neoclassicism but in two dimensions. I immediately fell in love with the proportions, the concept of beauty.’ Bodoni’s genius was not simply the freshness, rigour and precision of the typefaces, with their dramatic contrasts between thick and thin line, but also his sense of how to lay out a page. Texts are set with extravagantly wide margins and with little or no decoration.

Ricci decided to reproduce the master’s Manuale tipografico, although everyone told him he was mad to do it. He bought two early offset typography machines which, he noted, were ‘as expensive as a Ferrari, which I wanted to buy but never did’, and had the highest-quality paper made exclusively for the project by Fabriano. It took a year to publish the three volumes in 900 numbered copies (1964–65). ‘So I became a publisher. It became a bestseller.’

Much to his mother’s horror, Ricci decided to continue to publish very expensive books – art books printed in Bodonian style – and later, literary editions, several series of which were edited by Jorge Luis Borges, whose presence looms large in library and labyrinth. At a time when Arte Povera dominated the Italian avant-garde, Ricci chose opulent black silk covers embossed with gold, and printed on costly pale blue Fabriano paper with handmade plates. He wanted his books to be rare – printing small editions – but also surprising. He gave Roland Barthes, Umberto Eco, Italo Calvino and Borges free rein to write accompanying texts.

His wife Laura Casalis remembers having been struck by the originality of Ricci’s 1970 book on the then little-appreciated Erté – text by Barthes – before she met the publisher himself in 1975, and soon found herself working on a book on red paper-cut portraits of Mao, accompanied by 39 of the Chairman’s own poems printed in Chinese characters. ‘Little by little I slipped into publishing with him – Franco was a workaholic and I realised that was the only way I would see him. Those Mao paper-cuts were typical of the practically unknown subjects that he would seek out all his life, and we sometimes show them between loan exhibitions in the museum. Franco has l’occhio lungo – he can see beauty in something which may take others a long time to recognise.’

It is in the library I find Ricci and, indeed, where he is to be found most mornings and afternoons. It is part of a cluster of picturesque 19th-century stone buildings surrounded by lush and increasingly exotic gardens. He had begun renovating the dilapidated stables behind his grandfather’s long-abandoned villa as a summerhouse and library in the 1970s, and its enormous hayloft still serves as an idyllic open-air dining room and entertaining space, even though the couple have now moved into the main house. Inside this romantic half-ruined folly, Ricci created the unexpected: two neoclassical library rooms lined with bookshelves and marble busts, their domed and coffered ceilings reminiscent of those in the Biblioteca Palatina.

As soon as we arrive in the inner sanctum, the Bodoni library with its more than 1,200 volumes – missing a tantalising three or four tomes but otherwise complete – Ricci is immediately up on his feet and pulling down and opening cherished volumes, eyes blazing. Despite the heat, he wears an elegant embroidered linen waistcoat but not its jacket, which hangs nearby, bearing the synthetic red flower that became in effect his iconographical device. (Tai Missoni gave him a cardigan as a present: Ricci declined the gift – he does not wear cardigans – but declared that he would always wear the red flower from its packaging thereafter, which he did. Once, when he had forgotten the flower, an officer at the Alitalia desk at Milan airport said: ‘I see you are travelling incognito today Mr Ricci.’)

Now Ricci deftly presents Bodoni’s Essai de caractères russes… of 1782, and his 1789 edition of Torquato Tasso’s pastoral play Aminta, exquisitely illuminated for the Prince of Essling. These are dear friends and the joy as he handles these pages is self-evident. This is the only significant part of the collection not to have been moved down to the museum and archive complex, a short bamboo-lined drive away. It is clear that he could never bear to live apart from these books.

The impetus to create the long-imagined labyrinth, and a museum and library to house his collections and publishing archive, was a diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease. The couple sold the publishing house in 1982, and their house in Milan, and moved to Fontanellato. There is a fierce pride in Laura Casalis’s voice as she explains: ‘Franco wanted to do it, he imagined it, and he found the right team of people to help him realise it.’ We are sitting over coffee in the Labirinto courtyard surveying the sharp-edged geometries of its rose-pink brick buildings, a place that already has the air of a lost ancient city discovered in a jungle. Laura describes the evolution of the museum collections within, and recalls the words of the late Italian publisher Valentino Bompiani, who described Ricci as a man of courage and fantasy.

‘Whenever he fell for some subject or artist, Franco would try to buy.’ Laura continues. ‘He was never concerned with what was or was not fashionable, and never bought to decorate a house. He collected pieces that he liked that were strange or unconventional.’ He began with Art Deco, first buying inexpensive little bronze and chryselephantine dancers by the likes of Demétre Chiparus (1886–1947), as well as Guiraud-Rivière’s dramatic figure of Isadora Duncan with two bears, which dominates the central space of the 20th-century gallery in the museum.

Here, too, are three paintings by the outsider artist Antonio Ligabue (1899–1965), a tormented soul who had led a tragic life, painting and wandering around the Po valley when he was not confined to a psychiatric hospital. Ricci published the first monograph on the artist in 1967, two years after his death, a work that helped catapult the artist from provincial to national and then international fame. Two years later, he bought two of the artist’s bold, visceral close-up heads of roaring tigers, painted in the 1950s, including the key work that had been selected for the book cover. A no less bright and richly impasted self-portrait in the guise of Vincent Van Gogh followed a year later.

Ricci also championed – and collected – the work of the third dominant presence in this space, Adolfo Wildt (1868–1931), often described as the last Symbolist but one whose reputation was, as Laura puts it, ‘tarnished by Fascist association’. Ricci published a monograph in 1988, the same year that he acquired the strange masterpiece that is Vir temporis acti of 1913, a virtuoso marble bust of a Greek or Roman soldier reimagined through the combined lenses of Michelangelo and the Secessionists. The expressive anguish of this head may be seen as a symbol of the nobility and redemption of sacrifice, but it is the refined and gleaming silken surface that led to Brancusi.

Ricci has a penchant not only for sculpture but also portraits, and portrait busts in particular. ‘I have hunted portraits all my life. I never get tired of looking at them,’ he confesses, ‘and in turn, I feel observed by them.’ In the 1990s, he began following the art market and collecting in earnest. Ricci had an office, bookshop and apartment in Paris and there and in Monaco he was to acquire many of his largely French 18th-century terracottas, some of the most compelling by less familiar names. A superb example is the bust of an intense, low-browed individual, signed by one A. Riffard and given the Revolutionary date of ‘9. Fructidor an 3e’, from 1794–95.

Another naturalistic tour de force is one of very few known terracottas by Francesco Orso, also known as François Orsy, a Piedmontese sculptor also active in Paris. Orso is responsible for the rarest sculptures here: the disconcerting life-size polychrome wax portrait busts of Vittorio Amadeo III of Savoy and his wife Maria Antonia Ferdinanda di Borbone, complete with painted papier-mâché clothes. The revolution destroyed the sculptor’s courtly patronage in Paris, and he diversified into the more overtly commercial world of the waxwork with a show featuring an effigy of the aristocratic revolutionary leader the Comte de Mirabeau and popular tableaux on themes such as Marat’s assassination by Charlotte Corday.

Unsurprisingly, given Ricci’s passion for Bodoni, the neoclassical looms large. At the centre of the Napoleonic gallery, lined with marble busts – Italian, English and Danish – is a model of Canova’s ideal head of Dante’s muse Beatrice, first conceived as an idealised portrait of Mme Récamier. The display offers a witty face-off between Wellington and Napoleon on opposing pedestals, but the emperor prevails with a sequence of classicising family portraits. Above hangs the second version of Francesco Hayez’s The Penitent Magdalene (1825). Here the Romantic artist has transposed the chilly perfection of Canova’s marble surfaces into pigment.

An unusual and endearing mid 18th-century Italian group portrait presents the family of Antonio Ghidini, a cloth merchant to the Bourbon court in Parma, painted by his friend, the court artist Pietro Melchiorre Ferrari (1734/5–87). In this Zoffany-style conversation piece there is no doubting Ghidini’s business, as he points to documents mentioning his association with his trading partners in Manchester and his wife sits stiffly under her salmon-pink stomacher in sprigged and striped silk finery.

Yet it would be misleading to suggest that Ricci’s ever-curious eye never ranged beyond the 18th and 19th centuries. He owns a number of 17th-century marbles, including that of the all-powerful prelate Cardinal Paluzzo Paluzzi Altieri degli Albertoni, who effectively ran the papacy under Clement X – irresistible in profile. In the 2000s Ricci also added, for example, Ludovico Carracci’s handsome three-quarter length Portrait of Lucrezia Bentivoglio Leoni (1589), executed two years before the sitter’s death. Flanking the same door is Philippe de Champaigne’s Portrait of the Duchesse d’Aiguillon (c. 1650), and viewed beyond is an unusual sensual and erotically charged work by Luca Cambiaso (1527–85), Venus Blindfolding Cupid.

Yet Ricci has also always been attracted to what he describes as the art of visionary madness, by the surreal, and by what is prosaic and popular. The museum’s cabinet of curiosities includes a narwhal horn, once thought to have belonged to the unicorn. Its walls are lined with particularly gruesome vanitas paintings and sculptures. Centre stage among the skulls is a decomposing head by Jacopo Ligozzi (1547–1627), its flesh and rotten teeth seething with maggots and flies.

Only superficially more benign are the drawings of the Codex Seraphinianus, first published in two volumes in 1981 – Ricci’s most extraordinary publication. These meticulously detailed explications of the bizarre and the fantastical illustrate an encyclopaedia of an imaginary world conceived by the artist Luigi Serafini in the 1970s and written in a language still understood only by its creator. Certainly its pages are at home in the Labirinto della Masone complex – another visionary creation, in effect a Gesamtkunstwerk, an all-embracing art work expressing the life and taste of one man.

Daily inspiration. Discover more photos at http://justforbooks.tumblr.com

[shadowtongued]

long headcanon about the duality of love and the mahjarrat condition pertaining to it from his point of view. if you read all this babble i swear to god, i love you, i hope you have a good day. cw: sex addiction, child neglect, unhealthy coping, unrequited pains. reason for writing: hi i want to die bc of angst.

i think we all know even without playing medieval xp grind lore game, runescape, that sliske is old. very old. he tells us in endgame there's not much he hasn’t done with his life over thousands of years, even traveling to other planets and realms to just see what was out there and how far he could get. i’ve always projected his age as somewhere between more than 8,000 or even more than 10,000. we’re never given a timeline to how long the children of mah have lived. sliske has done a lot with his time; he’s killed a god, had quite a few elder relics in his grasp, SPOKEN to a elder god and managed not to die, mastered shadow magicks, has an excellent grasp on the shadow realm. he’s good with biology, chemistry, has a fair understanding of soul magic which is kind of a rare brand of knowledge, he’s tricked probably thousands into bad contracts to become wights in his army, understands the psychology and bad morals of people. he was a playwright, a high ranking officer, a spymaster. dude is just a determined polymath. you know what he hasn’t done? love. he’s never got to play with love.

mahjarrat are explained as having emotions, but dulled ones. they feel rage and pride apparently better than others. kharshai said after years of really believing he was a human, that when he came back to his true form he states “i  feel raw power coursing through my veins. i don't feel pain like i used to, and i'm sure my intellect has increased. but somehow there is something missing. a capacity for emotion that i can't quite put my finger on.” they aren’t equipped for the same range of positive emotions as others are. they feel it, but they don’t understand it fully, it has been said by developers. this whole bit is sadly funny considering in canon, sliske catches feelings. he doesn’t realize he’s attracted to the player character. it’s stated many times, in his journals, in dialogue, etc. he believes their fates are tangled no matter what. and the saddest bit is he probably doesn’t understand these feelings and it confuses him to the point of anger.  “ love! a mahjarrat in love? ... i almost wish that were true. it would certainly make the universe a more interesting place. ” “ so perhaps i have loved you. but that doesn’t mean i have to like you.”  sliske’s main goal started off as to take the players immortal, unable to be crushed by the divine, soul and give it to himself so he could live forever, as mahjarrats do not have afterlives, once they die they are done, evaporated into energy. but in endgame we learn something from him hidden in masks that refutes that;

“I love you for more than your soul.”

you STUPID fucker, you’re in love.

the remainder of this is a lot of NON-CANON, personal headcanon interpretation that pretty much only works on this blog. as a rough summary: sliske’s ol’ mum was not fond of her kids, half-brother wahisietel or sliske since she did not see them as powerful as herself and was disappointed that's what her legacy came out to. a short, beefy, average at magic son, she had another go and was still disappointed with this spidery, scrawny, gifted but absolutely annoying stick underweight child. his father, saw him once or twice in his life and that was it. dyeosuthua wanted nothing more than to make them disappear and try again until she got offspring she didn’t want to throw into a lava pit in secrecy, infanticide was against tribal law due to population issues. sliske’s mother’s neglect was so severe, ( by the absolute boundless joys of rp development and mutual heacanons ♥ ) that wahi and nabor had an attempt at raising him and keeping him from freezing to death. why is all this jargon important? because while all mahjarrats are raised by tough love, sliske’s attention deprivation from his mother was so severe, he grew up and still has a slew of reactive attachment, psychological, and social issues he still carries as an adult. several times she threatened to kill him and almost made good on it more than twice. when wahisietel had proven he was a survivor of the first ritual of rejuvenation, sliske became dyeosuthua’s  main target for abuse despite his gift for magic at a young age. nothing he did could impress her enough. and it left him constantly seeking approval and validation to an insecure mind.

the more he grew, the more confident he became mainly out of spite and to get attention. he’s loud, charming, makes you the only person in the room when he talks to you. he has an innate silver-tongued ability that persuades people to do just about anything. it was a front for his insecurities that he kept very very closed up. in the second age/senntisten capital, sliske had a pretty severe sex addiction as it was one of the few ways he felt validated and was able to get affection in a way he could digest. people with reactive attachment disorders often have sex addictions to fill the space of acceptance without having to commit.. easy, feel good intimacy without having to open up and let someone learn about your vulnerabilities and commit. it was pretty severe, considering mahjarrats find any kind of breeding or intimacies outside their ‘superior species’ as downright foul. sliske had always been the black sheep of the tribe and with his status as praefectus praetorio; head of secret police, really nothing put a damper on him trying to fill the void for affection he had. there wasn’t a species or individual he wouldn’t bed. he would easily take up propositions even for people who just wanted to fuck a mahjarrat because it was ‘exotic’ or because of his status as an officer, he now looks back on this and it bruises his insecurities even more that he allowed himself to do that. not out of pride for his species. but himself, being just a thing to be had because of rarity. azzanadra and his brother, wahisietel found out about it and while disgusted, partially understood what he was doing to negatively self soothe. at one point sliske and azzanadra, the champion of their god and head of the church, as well of one of the strongest living of their kin, had a lasting tryst for a few years and for awhile it made sliske feel very much self important in a way and alleviated his need to be needed so badly, this did not end well when sliske grew tired of their empire and wanted freedom. once childhood best friends and lovers had become absolute enemies once sliske became too unstable and azzanadra became too zealous. 

sliske gave up his sexcapades for a long time, thousands of years, his libido dropped when he became interested in other projects and self healing when he was hit with the idea that he hasd essentially allowed himself to be an exotic fling and still burned over becoming his god, zaros, scapegoat after all he had done for him. love was a weird concept to him and still is. despite being adamant love doesn’t exist for his kind, and his belief that he is flawed, unstable, and embraced the idea of ‘you want a monster? fine! i’ll be the monster!’. he expects no pity, not be forgiven to things he has done and even in game when you sycophantically try to cozy to him, he straight up calls out your text choice was awful considering some of the shitty things he might have done to you. to sliske, all attention to him is attention, whether you’re praising or insulting him. he’s on your mind, he exists, that’s all he wants.

backstory aside the real part of this headcanon is that sliske actually wants love. it’s the only thing aside from an immortal soul he hasn’t had. sliske actually has an attraction to humans because they are empathetic, curious, passionate, and determined. he has an easier time assimilating and being around them since he has ALWAYS had a better sense of humor, socializing, and happiness than his kin. he feels emotions a lot stronger than his fellow mahjarrats. it allows him to talk to and connect to humans and humanlike species better. others of his kind have told him there’s “something wrong” with him for that. he’s actually a romantic, even if he’s just mimicking romance stories, movies, and actions from others. he thinks the idea of settling with one person and loving them is both mortifying and interesting. opening yourself up to someone and giving them the hammer to smash your cherry-red painted porcelain heart and seeing if they do, to him might be the ultimate form of trust and biggest gamble of russian roulette. the stakes are so heavy he’s high on the idea. but it’s also horrifying. mahjarrat are prolific for not opening up, not allowing others in, vulnerability out in the open is a death sentence. they live in a kratocracy/meritocracy where they kill off the weakest link. it’s not pretty. being soft is a useless, unnecessary, weak gene to them. it dampers survival. 

but yet sliske keeps reading romance novels, writing his own confused poetry, and getting into unrequited one sided loves but practicing a backstabbing betrayal when one gets too close. i have to hurt them before they hurt me, betray and cut them down before they can do it to me. i think he wants to be loved. i think he kinda wants to be taught to love, for the emotions and the sake of knowledge. ( brb james newton howard’s ‘true love’s kiss’ from maleficent just came on spotify and i think i’m going to die bc i did not ask for background music thanks!!! ) he wouldn’t be the best at it, maybe a little too possessive with you, codependent, but very nurturing and fun loving. will sepnd a whole week spooning you.. people who hurt you past, present, and future may end up dead in mysterious ways or turned into a wight for you to beat the shit out of. but he’d try. he’s still got a broken child sitting behind his third rib. i think he would snarl the first few times someone genuinely got close to him, it would terrify him, being known on such a skinned, raw level. having gentle touches that are real and not a come hither to the bedroom. being known for something other than the confident, ego he has is death. he could be taught to be gentle for a crumb of consistent attention. might even cut down the murders and god killing down by 15%. love is not going to fix him, it’s not going to forgive the actual shitty things he’s done. it should never do that. but it will turn the lights on in a dark house.

love could really break him. i think so. i’d type more but this has gone on too long and i feel sad-happies. 

[touhou-gensoudairantou]

Lea Makes a Comeback!

Background: Once a young boy from the world of Radiant Garden, this firebrand and his best friend Isa were transfigured by the ambitious Terra-Xehanort into Nobodies, with Lea becoming Number VIII within Organization XIII, the Flurry of Dancing Flames known as Axel. His days in the Organization, between getting stuck with the occasional icky jobs, were spent with new recruits Roxas and Xion as a big brother figure. Having been re-completed after he aided Roxas's Somebody Sora, he soon became the wielder of the Flame Liberator Keyblade, training under the wizard Merlin and Master Yen Sid.

Gameplay Overview: Lea's techniques revolve around rapid strikes and a game of keep-away on the ground. Of course, given he's a Kingdom Hearts character, he has strong combo game, and may go flying easy if he gets caught up in your own combo. Wouldn't be a big deal to him normally, but if he goes too far… well, this is Smash, right? Lucky you that he's got plenty of acrobatics. His lightness on his feat, hus floaty jumps, and his variety of options give you plenty to work with. Got it memorized?

Gimmick: Using his Down B uses Formchange. Allows Lea/Axel to alter his attacks in big ways by transforming Flame Liberator into his Nobody's chakrams, the Eternal Flames, and vice versa. Of course, they're not so much “chakrams” as much as they are “wind-and-fire wheels”. See, chakrams are throwing weapons that have smooth but sharp edges that originated in Sanskrit-speaking areas, while wind-and-fire wheels are melee weapons have cross-guards and flame-like blades that come from China. It may say a lot about the skill and strength behind these weapons that Lea/Axel can throw them so well. For the sake of convenience, I'll be referring to the Keyblade techniques with Lea and the Chakram techniques with Axel, and you can pick which weapon you start with on the character select screen. Got it memorized? Anyhow, this takes a three second execution and has a whopping ten second cool down, so you'd best plan ahead.

Jab: A five hit Continuous Attack with the Keyblade.

-With the Eternal Flames, it becomes a left-to-right slash and finishes with Axel throwing them forward.

Dash Attack: Lea performs a spinning slash and skids to a halt.

-With the Eternal Flames, Axel surfs on the ground, with a flame sparking up from beneath. This is taken from one of his fights in KHII.

Side Tilt: Lea/Axel throws his Keyblade/Chakrams with a fair bit of spin before recalling them.

Up Tilt: An upward jab/a juggling move.

Down Tilt: Causes a small jet of flame to erupt at your feet.

Side Smash: Lea will yell “Get Back!” and cast a Fira spell with a swing, damaging everyone within its arc.

-The Eternal Flames favor a circular pattern a meter or so in front of Axel, kinda like a yoyo.

Up Smash: An overhead swing of your weapon. Eternal Flames has a bigger hitbox, but the damage is a bit less.

Down Smash: Slams down the ground and summons a few plumes of flame.

N-Air: A series of swings of the Flame Liberator much like his Continuous Attack.

-A right-to-left slash with the Chakrams. It gives Axel a bit more air time.

F-Air: A cast of Fire that burts on impact with opponents. A great tool to keep back threats.

B-Air: Lea throws the Flame Liberator in a way that it circles behind him.

-Axel throws the Chakrams in a similar manner, only now there's two smaller hitboxes.

U-Air: An upward swing of the held weapon covered in flames.

D-Air: A meteor strike that busts out a few blasts of fire on impact. The Eternal Flames variant is taken directly from the second boss encounter, while the Flame Liberator’s is a logical variant of the Shock Dive Flowmotion attack from Dream Drop Distance.

Neutral B: Firaga. You call several jets of flame out of the ground with a “Burn, Baby!”

-With Eternal Flames, it becomes the Firetooth Sleight. From his Chain of Memories fight, of course. He throws both Chakrams at high speed with slightly diverging angles towards you. Fully charged, he tosses four instead of two.

Side B: Fire Raid. A Magic Sleight Sora can use in Chain of Memories. It's got plenty of reach, and hits hard.

-Firaga Cutter. Axel repeatedly tosses the Eternal Flames at the enemy for rapid damage, finishing by temporarily changing back to the Flame Liberator as Axel dashes forward to deal a final blow. It's good to use in the air too. Taken from KHIII.

Bomb: Fire Wall. With a snap of your fingers, a huge wall of fire closes in on your opponents. It disappears at the end of whichever platform you're on.

Up B: Flowmotion Jump. Lea performs a high jump. If he comes into contact with an opponent, he'll whip around them, smack them with his Keyblade, and bounce off of them.

-Axel throws the Chakrams up, and dashes uo after them. Modified from KHIII.

Final Smash: Flurry of Dancing Flames. “Burn, baby!” Lea covers the stage in magma, rapidly damaging all opponents on it for an agonizing 10 seconds. During this time, Lea’s special moves gain additional i-frames and a much stronger fire effect, and he can even dodge for longer distances! This is of course taken from his KHII fights. At the end, the Chakrams combine into an extra large one that Axel then throws for extra large damage. This is the Final Limit of his 358/2 Days Limit Break, Explosion.

-Firaga Slicer. Axel throws the Chakrams up and dashes after them.

Shield: Time it just right, abd you can reflect.

-Dodge: A simple teleport, like in his fight in Chain of Memories.

Taunts:

Up: “Got it memorized?” No further explanation needed, I feel.

Side: A shrug and sigh of "Icky jobs..."

Down: You enjoy a delicious Sea-Salt Ice Cream~!

Alt. Costumes: This was a fun one. By default, Lea wears his Black Coat, but just the next one you can get a good look at his current casual outfit.

The next coat has the same palette of the Assassin Nobodies, and his next casual threads resemble the Red Nocturne Heartless. His Keyblade takes the appearance of the Bond of Flame from KHII, while his Chakrams become the Mystery Gear Conformers from 358/2 Days. Did you know that the Mystery Gear draws forth its users' personalities?

Then you have one resembling combined elements of Roxas and Xion. The Keyblade resembles their Maverick Flare Keyblade formed by the Champion Gear, while the Chakrams resemble the Prometheus created by the Lift Gear.

There's also one resembling both the younger and older complete versions of Isa. The Keyblade now resembles Saïx's Crater Claymore created by the Lift Gear, while the Chakrams look like the Double Edge created by the Champion Gear.

Then finally you have a reference to his younger self. His Keyblade now resembles the Frolic Flame from Birth By Sleep, and the Chakrams become his Bomb-like flying discs.

(@spooner-the-trinity. To answer your question, no. The hiatus is over. I'm comin' back.)

[shining-red-diamond]

1. The Arena

A/N: Dialog in italics mean they’re speaking in Korean, and listen to “Crazy Train” by Ozzy Osbourne when reading the actual fight. It makes it more epic, in my opinion. Hope you enjoy the series.

--

Darkness was all that surrounded them. No windows, no sunlight, nothing. They had no idea where they were. One minute they were figuring out a mission they were to complete, and the next minute they were inhaling silvery-white smoke, which caused them all to black out.

Seunghwan was the first to open his eyes after what felt like hours of a deep slumber. However, he knew he and his team were in danger, and he wasn’t about to waste any time by just sitting around.

“Kangmin,” he called to the youngest member. “Howl if you’re awake.”

He did so. It wasn’t one of his loud ones, but it was one that said he was in the same area as his leader.

“Couldn’t you have just done Marco Polo?” Minsung groaned, his voice groggy from waking up.

“Why is it so dark in here?” Milo asked.

From where their voices were echoing off of, it sounded as if they were in some confined space. Despite the pitch-blackness surrounding them, they seemed to be in some large room of some sort. Seunghwan felt around the space until his hand felt something hard and cold. There’s one wall, he thought. Placing his ear on it, he could barely make out what sounded like a large crowd cheering.

“Hyung, where are we?” Hyunkyung asked.

“I’m not sure,” the leader replied. “But I hear what sounds like cheering.”

“Ladies and gentleman!” a voice boomed over a muffled speaker. “Welcome to the arena!”

“ARENA?!?!” the team repeated.

“Just this morning, we received not one, not two, but seven new challengers to compete against all seven of our champions!” The crowd roared in excitement.

“What are we competing for?” Kyle finally spoke up.

Seunghwan didn’t answer but kept listening to what he figured was the emcee of whatever was going on. However, a low rumbling sounded from the wall he pressed against, and he quickly moved back. Bright light began to fill the dark room, and the boys shielded their eyes. Once they had adjusted, the other side of the wall, or doors, reveal a large stadium-like structure with thousands of people sitting in the stands.

“And here are your challengers!” the emcee’s voiced announced.

“Is that us?” Milo asked just before all seven of the boys were pushed into the arena.

The arena was a spherical structure with wood and metal railings. Dirt covered the ground, and scraps of old car parts littered the surrounding area. The air was thick with tension and excitement as the audience kept cheering.

Each of the boys looked at each other in confusion as to what was happening.

“We’re fighting someone,” Hyunkyung spoke up.

“Challengers, meet your opponents and our champions!”

The crowd roared even louder as double doors on the opposite side of the arena opened up. Seven young women emerged from the darkness, each of them very beautiful but also walked with a sort of confidence with each step they took. The look in each of their eyes told the boys they weren’t damsels in distress.

Three of them were Caucasian with red hair, but all three had different shades of red: strawberry-blonde, auburn, and fiery. The strawberry-blonde was the tallest out of all of them; standing at about what Minsung could guess was around five feet and six inches in height. She was dressed in different shades of pink, her crop top and shorts a reddish pink hue and thigh high bubblegum pink boots. Kangmin took note of the auburn girl, who looked like she was some tiger humanoid with stripes on her face and feline eyes. The fiery girl was dressed in a dark shirt and maroon jeans with dark brown boots covering her feet. A long dark coat covered her body, and she made eye contact with Kyle, smirking as she eyed him up and down.

The other four were Asian decent. The second to the smallest one had angel wings that framed her small figure. The smallest girl wore an indigo cape and dark makeup, giving her a mysterious aura and sending chills down Milo’s spine. One of them had purple streaks in her hair and kept eye contact with Yunsung, and the fourth girl caught Seunghwan’s eye as she had her jet-black hair tied up into a bun and wore a white cape. He immediately noticed her artificial left leg. It was white and covered with diamond-like jewels, giving it an icy look.

“Champions and challengers,” said the emcee, “this is not a fight to the death. This is only a test of strength. Use your abilities well, but whatever you do, do not kill your opponent. To the audience, let’s start the countdown!”

The crowd shouted, “3! 2! 1!”

A bell sounded.

All contestants simultaneously began to fight.

Kangmin howled and began to run towards the tiger girl, and she immediately growled loudly as her sharp canines flashed before him. The wolf boy ran the opposite direction, eventually jumping behind a bumper and yelling, “Nice kitty!”

“Woah! Looks like we have one of our challengers, Fang, already surrendering to Tora.”

Yunsung made himself disappear and began to run, but the dirt on the ground became his enemy. The girl with the purple streaks began to chase him, following his footsteps that appeared on the ground. He quickly learned what her abilities were when she began shooting lightning bolts at him. Yunsung ducked behind a desolated truck. The lightning bolts suddenly stopped. He peeked out of the corner and breathed a sigh of relief as he made himself visible again.

Suddenly, his body felt hot and pinpricks all over, and he shook uncontrollably as if he had a seizure. Falling to the ground, Yunsung couldn’t move, but still felt electric shocks running through his veins.

“And a sneak attack from Glitch has brought the Phantom down!” the emcee announced as the audience roared again.

Glitch waved to the crowd, and then knelt down by Yunsung. “Sorry about that,” she apologized in a calm voice,“but you’ll be okay in about two hours. Just try not to move. I’ll stay by you until the fight’s over.”

Milo used his super speed to try to outsmart the mysterious girl, but no matter how many times he ran around the arena her eyes remained locked on him. She stood still for quite awhile, before she did something unexpected. While everything seemed to be still as he ran up towards her in an attempt to knock her down, her head unfroze and followed him. Wrapping herself in her cape, she disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

“Uh-oh, looks like Indigo is up to something,” said the emcee, his voice sounding almost amused by her actions.

Milo stopped in his tracks. He looked around himself, but couldn’t see her anywhere. He ran again. Not a trace of her. Once more he ran. This time he felt a pair of hands gently turn him in another direction. Before he could process what had happened, his face met the wooden wall, causing him to fall to the ground.

“And Turbo just got outsmarted by Indigo,” the emcee chuckled. The crowd cheered again as Milo’s head felt as if a ton of bricks were weighing it down.

Kyle attempted to battle the fiery haired girl. He tried to conjure water from the air, but it was to no avail. To his horror, he realized what climate they were in. It was dry. And she was approaching him with a fireball ablaze in her hand.

“Oh dear!” he panicked.

She stood in front of him, her blue eyes meeting his. He couldn’t help but notice the dark red lines that pointed down from her eyes, but they didn’t hide how pretty she looked. They seemed to almost mimic pained tears.

“What are you looking at?” she asked, her tone sharp. She spoke in Korean.

Kyle decided not to answer and make her mad, so he got on his knees and his hands up in surrender.

“Well, this is a first,” the girl said before waving her hand up, diffusing the flame.

“And Triton has surrendered to Flamethrower,” the emcee commented. “Fear was the only power she’s inflicted on the challenger.”

Flamethrower looked disgusted at the comment. Kyle wasn’t afraid of her, he just felt empathy for whatever pain she was probably feeling.

Seunghwan and the girl in the white robe had been battling for quite awhile. He wasn’t willing to hurt her; he just wanted to see what she was made of. Something about her fascinated him. Was it how she moved around so well with her artificial leg? Her ice powers? Her beauty? He couldn’t tell. Using his telekinesis, he levitated the car parts one by one and tossed them at her, and she either dodged or froze them. Seunghwan also dodged or redirected the ice blasts. 

However, she got the best of him. Once more, he directed three car doors towards the girl. She staircase ran top of each one with ease, and Seunghwan began to run. An ice blast fell in front of him and he ran right through it and fell face first with a thud. His body was now covered in ice. His body temperature began to drop.

“Snowflake has now frozen the Guardian,” the emcee called out. More cheers from the crowd.

Seunghwan felt hands turn him over until he was staring up at the girl known as Snowflake.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered. “You’ll be unfrozen soon.”

“Th-Thank you,” he replied with a shiver. He couldn’t move his body, but he could move his eyes and mouth and he could breathe. Snowflake had beaten him, but she had gone easy on him.

Hyunkyung was another member to surrender easily. He had tried to use his energy blasts, but his opponent’s wings were titanium deceiving the eye with a soft and feathery appearance. No matter how many times he tried to penetrate her, she kept strolling towards him gracefully, each wing protecting her from harm.

You’re quite strong, Hyunkyung, she spoke to him in his mind.

The same could be said about you, he replied.

“What else can you do?” she verbally asked.

“That’s it,” he shrugged.

“Do you want to continue fighting?”

“Not really.” Hyunkyung held up his hands in surrender.

“Fauna and Neuroblast have made a truce,” the emcee commentated. “However, we have to declare Fauna the winner since the challenger surrendered.”

Minsung and the strawberry-blonde girl just stared at each other for a solid minute until he decided to draw his sword and approach her. Once she was right up to him, the tip of her index finger lightly pressed the tip of his double-edged weapon down.

“Put it down,” she commanded, her voice sweetly high-pitched. “I only work in hand-to-hand combat.”

Following suit, he placed his sword on the ground and posed in a beginning fight stance.

“I’ll go easy on you,” he promised.

“Aren’t you a gentleman!” the girl smiled, her curled locks bouncing as she chuckled.

Her hands quickly met his chest, and he was pushed with barely any force. Minsung went flying and landed halfway across the arena. It took him a few seconds to catch his breath after having the wind knocked out of him.

“I’m not going to go easy on you, honey,” she stated.

Minsung chuckled as he stood. As angelic as this girl appeared to be, she wasn’t afraid of some competition. She was a tough one, but a cutie.

Not the time, he scolded himself.

He didn’t want to hurt her. Although, she revealed to have super strength, he wasn’t going to allow himself to cause her any harm with any moves he made.

The two began their spar. Punches were thrown, some wrestling moves were thrown, and the girl even roundhouse kicked him at one point. Both were equal in strength and self-defense, but Minsung secretly hated it.

It wasn’t that he didn’t enjoy putting his skills up for a challenge; it was the fact that he was using it on a woman. Even more so now that it was on one he was beginning to like, despite having met her just seconds ago. Yes, she had a beautiful face and a model’s figure, but she was more than that. Minsung could tell she was a sweetheart; she just had extra physical strength.

A punch to his face made him stumble backwards. He felt a rush of urgency to finish the job, but he was done. He couldn’t fight her anymore. However, he knew the other girls had taken out his entire team. They were counting on him to try to defeat the champions.

“Give up yet?” the girl joked as she held a hand out.

Minsung straightened himself as the emcee announced, “I think Cherry Bomb’s about to call a truce. Will Warrior surrender?”

Taking her hand, he grinned and pulled her into him close. “You wish,” he whispered into her ear.

In swift move, his free went to her waist, and his foot kicked hers out from underneath her. She began to plummet, but just before she could hit the ground, Minsung caught her.

“Oh my goodness!” exclaimed the emcee. “Warrior just pulled a fast one on our strongest champion! Has he just become the new champion?”

“I honestly thought you were going to throw me for a second,” Cherry Bomb giggled as she stared into Minsung’s eyes.

“I was tempted,” he admitted as he set her down gently. “No more fighting. I don’t want you hurt.”

Cherry Bomb said nothing but gave him a soft smile. She left go his hands and held up her arms in surrender.

“LADIE AND GENTLEMAN!!” the emcee shouted in excitement. “MEET YOUR NEW CHAMPIONS!!!”

The crowd went nuts as Minsung helped the girl up and waved.

“What’s your real name?” he asked as they began walking out of the arena, his arm around her waist to help her walk in case she was injured.

“I’m Kelly,” she answered.

[lucyhblack]

Chapter 3: Red/Cherry

Red / Cherry

Nº: 004.057

Species: Poket Monster (Pokemon)

Genre: Pokesans (can also be called Sans only)

Family: Fell

Class: ---

Type: Fire

Size: Normal size

Evolutionary Stage: Final

Special Ability: Flash Fire

Attacks: Pound / Protect (Normal) Fire Fang / Flamethrower / Fire Spin / Hell (Fire)

Furnace Pokesans.

A burning core burns within these pokesans. The flame that born in your soul, springs up like a flame at the tip of your tail.

***

Born in a Daycare he was given as a starter to a young skeleton Monster named Edge who named him Red.

Despite being a Fell and the personality Edge had (or perhaps for her), Red liked his new master's face (not that he showed it at first, he is a Fell after all).

Edge makes Red quickly learn the best combatable fire-type moves (or at least the ones he could learn at that stage) and for the next two years they are the undefeated champions of the village. In this period Red is an annoying little monster who likes to tease and take advantage of other smaller/weaker Pokemon.

When they set off on the training trip, after Edge gets his official license, both are certain of his success. That impression doesn't last long.

As he faces new, stronger and more experienced Pokemon, Red realizes that all of his past training can only take him so far e unfortunately your master refuses to see your mistakes and insists that the problem is Red and not your training method.

This stubbornness of Edge ultimately damages their connection with Pokésans and no matter how hard Red tries, he start losing fight after fight. It is after another defeat that they receive an invitation to join a mysterious team that promises to help Edge achieve their goals and Red to reach their full potential.

Hopeful that they have a "magic formula" that allows him and Edge to be champions again (and eventually make the fragile bond back as before) he ignores his suspicions of all the false flattery and promise of greatness and power that the Monster paints for them.

Red accepts the grueling drills, the missions bordering on crime and finally the painful experiments. Each time he finds himself more desperate to please his coach and at the same time more tired and terrified of what the Team wants from them.

Although he now has several wins, this is increasingly eroding him (and Edge as well, even if he doesn't want to show it). He begins to become slack and "lazy", fumbling in combat and missions (often unconsciously and sometimes only his mental/physical state does not allow to give his all).

He listens to the whispers (and not so whispers) of other Team members to get rid of him, but he is sure his master will not.

Until he does.

Red is abandoned by Edge to a cave in a blizzard after losing a fight and nearly ruining a mission. Even though snow can be almost deadly in its current weakened state after combat, he goes out into the storm in search of his trainer. Almost on the verge of death he is saved by Prof. Stretch a Pokesans researcher.

He is then renamed Cherry (since he refuses to give his real name so as not to incriminate Edge) and goes on to live with him, and other pokesans, in his lab.

Like another pokesasn in the Teacher's care, Cherry is in Fall, but unlike Geno her condition seems to fluctuate, as if her body and magic do not agree (and therefore time clearly showing magical symptoms of Fall, time not), leaving Stretch intrigued and confused by his exams.

Over time it will open with the Teacher who rescued him and the other pokesans from the lab. He ends up being extremely attached to Stretch, almost never leaving him out of sight (but still expects Edge to come back to him one day).

To his delight he will meet his trainer again, but to his despair he will be on opposite sides in combat. It is in this struggle that he evolves and comes to terms with his situation and that of his former master.

Red has a long tail with a burning tip. Initially, his long-sleeved jumpsuit is black with red markings that do not cover the tail and ending in shorts. It has a very fluffy, often raised-up hood that wraps around your face.

As it evolves it gets bigger, the jumpsuit stays black but with less red marks (still long sleeved) and the hood disappears, becoming a furry collar, its tail shortens slightly, its claws on the hands and feet become more pronounced and when irritated the hairs of his collar let out small flames.

At first it is a kind of bully, teasing and abusing smaller and weaker Pokemon. As he faced (and lost) he became more nervous and less confident. This only got worse with joining Team Rocket, which began to develop anxiety attacks and mild narcolepsy.

When rescued by Stretch, he is a nervous and shy pokésans more likely to run away when challenged than battle, but when it evolves he is more confident and quarrelsome (but no longer the bully he was) and with an even more jealous attitude toward Stretch and the other pokemons in the lab (though never admit of course).

Curiosity: Due to the Team experiments, your statistics (Def, Attack, etc.) are a mess and it is because of those same experiments that your Fall frame doesn't advance.

When he evolves your statistics stabilize (although your DEF remains very low) and your Fall state disappears (this is due to the resolution of your situation with Edge rather than evolution).

When evolved it is called Red again (since its story is revealed to Stretch, but it sometimes slips and calls it Cherry).

Despite choosing to stay with the Professor in the end, Red still hopes that Edge will rediscover his path and this one day will bring him back to him.

[magicalgirlfumiko]

2. An early OC I remember making

I am a loser nerd that has been on the RP scene since 2006 in various means. It really wasn’t until 2009 that I can say that I established a strong world setting and character feel. So I’ll just post two of my main characters from a science fantasy thing I should be writing on as a book but I don’t feel like it:

"We all have to endure crap. No matter the form it takes, no matter what species you may be, hardships come with the territory."

"When it all comes down to it, I'm just a brat who, having spent most of her life doing for others, just wants to live her own life and make her own choices and mistakes. WHO JUST WANTS TO HAVE FUN!"

"There are times I feel if I were to vocalize what really went through my head at times people would look at me much differently. With either awe or disgust or a combination of both. Heh."

"The biggest thing I've ever wanted out of life is to become a strong, ever-evolving person who is more than capable of following her curiosity, exploring and meeting head on whatever comes her way. I definitely have the fire inside of me to do so, but until recently...what I realize what I lacked most is a specific focus for all that energy."

GENERAL CHARACTER STATISTICS

Character Name: Skie JungbluthName Meaning: Simply from the English word sky, which was taken from the old Norse word for “cloud.”Alias: NoneGender: FemaleClan: AetherAge: 24B-Day: March 21Zodiac Sign: AriesPlace of Birth: Eternium, Zeledin

Current Residence: The airship, Ethereal (she did not wish to name it that. Skie lost a bet with her boyfriend Mel. It marks the only time she has ever lost one). Skie is almost always on her custom airship which serves as her main home since her 'assignments' take her all over the known world. As a result, most of Skie's work takes place on her ship.

Occupation: Smuggler, Aryeh's mentor. Professional Gambler.

School/Grade: Finished College

Family: Joshua Jungbluth (Father), Lassilsa Jungbluth (Mother), Bill Jungbluth (Brother)

Gemstone: Diamond

PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS

Height: 167.64 cm

Hair: She has brown hair. Her curls help to soften her square face shape, while the long side-swept bangs bring the focus to those piercing yellow eyes. Skie keeps her hair shoulder length or just a little below. Before she became a smuggler, she often wore her hair long and flowing just like her mother but has shortened it to be look less like a kid in her mind's eye.

Eyes: Yellow and catlike. The reason for this is because of her usage of arcane magic. Unlike Rane, who used external energy from others, Skie is attempting the same kind of mysteries but at the cost to her own body.

Distinguishing Marks: None

General Appearance: Skie’s eyes are usually sharp, alert and often almond shaped. She typically flushes when she feels excited. When Skie hears good news, red color will flood her face. Angry: You can always tell when she is truly angry because she will turn quite red. She also flushes when she is embarrassed or when she over exerts herself such as when exercising. She is handsome and she knows it. Skie is powerfully built but still has a womanly body.

General Clothing: Skie likes to dress classy but comfortably. Her normal wears are a white button shirt, a brown waist length jacket, black slacks, and sometimes a tie. In colder weather, she wears her father’s old brown leather trench coat which is held shut by short leather tabs.

Strengths: Skie is very adept with Aether magic. This is the power from WITHIN. It is based upon the soul, the powers that are deep within the essence of who you are. The lesser known of the styles, Aether powers are often channeled through emotions and desires.

As a swordsman, Skie's abilities are lackluster; however, those around her have noted that her fighting style, however unrefined, is heavy hitting and vicious. As it turns out, Skie's style and progress mirror that of her father.

Weaknesses: The weakness of her magical style is that it comes completely from her own body, so if she is injured or drugged or unconscious, those powers can be interrupted. It is also based upon strong desires, so her emotions must be in tune with what she wants. One of the fundamental issues with her is that she literally has a well of power inside herself. She has to constantly use magic to prevent too much from building up inside her at once.

Skie is prone to have headaches, particularly migraines, and depression because of these powers.

More: Weight: 51 kg, Breast: 81 cm, Waist: 53 cm, Hips: 84 cm

MENTAL CHARACTERISTICS

Allies: Mel and Aryeh. Skie is a good friend, she always looks out for her friends with caring and generosity and will protect them should the need arise and encourage them with her natural optimism.

Enemies: Medus and the Yellow Brother's are her main rivals, but Rane is the bigger danger.

Current Goal/Purpose: She is sent out to find Medus by her brother. He has promised her a lot of money to do so.

Aspirations: She wants to succeed where others have failed. Skie wants to explore the world, change it to fit her whims and do her best at life.

Hobbies: Skie likes activities that involve mobility and less concentration like war games, fast sports, motor racing, gambling, and vibrant music. However, she also likes to grill and come up with meals.

Likes: Action, Coming in first, Challenges, Championing Causes, and Spontaneity

Dislikes: Waiting Around, Admitting Failure, No opposition, Tyranny, other people’s advice

Talents: She’s skilled at games of chance. Skie is also skilled with fixing up and redesigning airships.

Inabilities: Selfish and quick-tempered, Impulsive and impatient, Foolhardy and daredevil, if confronted, Skie can turn to be quite childish; she will fight back with her aggressive nature.

Fears: Feeling that her identity is threatened. Self-preservation is a primal instinct and goal for her.

General Personality: Skie loves to explore new ground. She reminds her friends that every moment is new and that life is about experimentation and discovery. It is through experiences that we develop and mature. We are here to advance our soul growth. We are not here to find a static, comfortable situation. We are here to go for the gold and to answer the call of our soul. We are engaged in an on-going process to release our resistance and to transmute all forms of fear into courage and compassion.

Skie is a courageous leader with a genuine concern for those she commands. Being a responsible lady, it is rare that she will use her subordinates to obtain her own objectives as a leader, but occasionally it does happen. She does not make a very good follower because she is too "taking charge".

Skie may be unwilling to obey or submit to directions for which she can see no reason, or with which she disagrees. She is much concerned with self, both positively and negatively - self-reliant but also self centered (sometimes) and concerned with her own personal advancement and physical satisfaction. Her immense energy makes her aggressive and restless, argumentative occasionally, headstrong, quick tempered, easily offended and capable of holding grudges if she feels affronted.

Skie is intellectual and objective, but can be in rare situations bigoted and extremist in politics. She is a champion of lost causes and last-ditch resistance.

Inner Personality: Skie is quick-witted but sometimes foolhardy and over-optimistic, lacking thoroughness and the ability to evaluate difficulties regarding the undertakings into which she often rushes impulsively. The great need of Skie is to exercise an iron self-control, to discipline the qualities and tendencies of her character to the advantage, not the detriment, of the society in which she moves.

Fondest Memory: Winning all the money out of the casinos that are present in Eternium.

Biggest Regret: None so far, she has lived a pretty good life so far and rarely decides to focus on the past.

Secret: She also loves the color pink.

SPECIALTY CHARACTERISTICS

Special Items: The Ivory Cross that Skie wears. It is the symbol used on Chenoan flags. This is used to show her support of the Chenoan cause against Rane.

Magic: Aether Lightning, Skie’s only usable combat spell as an arcane magus. Raw Aether magic arcs from her hands as lightning allowing limited ranged combat capabilities.

HISTORIC BACKGROUND

General History: Skie's upbringing was fairly typical for an upper middle class family in post-war Zeledin. After the Zeledin War, her father stayed out of the limelight. While Joshua was one of the founders of the Category following Rane's disappearance, he never sought a lot of personal wealth. He believed that it was better for his children to grow up modestly. When she was younger, it never crossed her mind that she’s the daughter of Joshua Jungbluth. Most of her childhood she moved around a lot since Lassilsa didn’t want to stay in the former capital of her queen. Skie and her brother didn’t get along even from this early age.

Lassilsa was her main teacher, since Joshua himself never mastered any magical abilities. Like her father, Skie’s genes were “overspecialized” with a connection to Aether. Thus, with her magical prowess in aether magic allowed her to attend the Eternium Military Academy. At age 22, she graduated with Study in Arcane magic. It was attending the school that she became close friends with Mel Rogero. They have been dating ever since.

Shortly after her graduation, Skie enlisted into the Category's AeroCorps, in Zeldin's capital city of Eternium. She wished to distance herself from the legacy of her father while enlisted, so she was made a junior officer on the CAC Drake. It was an unremarkable time for her on the airship. Her time in the military was very short. She was kicked out for being too hot headed.

At age 24, Skie left the AeroCorps and enlisted herself to be an aging bounty hunter. He gave her a new task; being a pilot and mentor figure. Her new role was to train Ary Fairwater in Arcane studies, which puzzled her. She dislikes being a teacher and doesn’t want a teen getting in her way. To this day she continues to indirectly train Ary. Though, it seems that it is Mel that does a lot of the mentoring.

Skie was recently hired by her brother to force Medus Tenpenny into the Category's Elite Unit. In response, Mel Rogero was hired to be her bodyguard by Lassie. Skie is more than aware that The Category might have plans to make Medus their trump card when they finally intervene on the war between Chenoa and Rane's forces.

Why not? One's gotta feel confident in a uniform."

"Because Skie is amazing. She has been putting in so much hard work and it payed off big time. It doesn't matter if she's not considered a "real" magus by Category standards. She is amazing as her own kinda woman."

"Once, I had a fortune told to me and usually I never take them into thought...This one I did. It said,"Greet your friends with open arms and happiness will come to you." I seriously sat there, frozen while reading it. I took it as, I should stop being so distant and accept my friends...Bring them back into my life, even if I'm not with them. I hope I can though."

"Don't you hate when you really want to say something,but don't know what?"

GENERAL CHARACTER STATISTICS

Character Name: Mel RogeroName Meaning: Mel is a pet name of Maethelwine, which means “Meeting Friend.”Alias: NoneGender: Male

Age: 25B-Day: 2/26Zodiac Sign: PiscesPlace of Birth:ChenoaCurrent Residence: Skie’s AirshipOccupation: Skie’s Body Guard. Seat of Water, Unit ZeroSchool/Grade: Finished High SchoolFamily: MJ Rogero (Sister). Other relatives not mentioned.Gemstone: Moonstone

PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS

Height: 180 cm (5’11”)

Hair: Mel wears his black hair (almost violet) really long, which is considered the sign of an unmarried warrior in the Moon Clan. It is kept braided by white wraps.

Eyes: Blue

Distinguishing Marks: He wears one beaded earring in his left ear.

General Appearance: Mel is a gentlemen and not sloppy in his overall appearance.

General Clothing: Mel loves the color black and wears a military inspired tunic and trousers. When not in combat, he wears a purple cape to add to the ensemble, the sign of his family. This has more to do with tradition than anything else. Since Mel is the only male son in his family, it suggests that he’ll inherit the title of his father someday. It also keeps him warm in the colder regions of Mirabella.

Strengths: Some think of him as weak because, like water, he takes the path of least resistance. But by flowing on, resisting nothing, Mel overcomes all and his freedom from self (his greatest secret strength) provides him with limitless access to imagination (his second greatest secret strength). His emotions are known to guide his heart and his mind. Mel possesses a great trait that allows him to come in contact with a variety of emotions and not pass judgment on an individual.

Weaknesses: Mel does not have many combatant spells, since he put most of his focus on using overclock and natural smarts. Mel is also very meek, while this could also be considered a merit; Mel cannot take the life of an enemy, for he is a very religious follower of the Moon Goddess.

MENTAL CHARACTERISTICS

Allies: The Category

Enemies: None.

Current Goal/Purpose: Mel is Skie’s bodyguard and boyfriend. He is a man who enjoys helping and serving others. Mel is very observant and examines each person and situation closely. He is a dreamer, which allows him to relate intimately to Skie. Mel gives to her, a certain peace and security. He always tries to avoid all possible arguments with her.

According to Ivy Veyado, Mel makes Skie more docile and convenient. He shields her against her enemies and is able to pacify her fears and give her the emotional security she needs. Mel often possesses the fiery command and gentle nature which makes a perfect blend to keep her satisfied and affectionate.

Aspirations: To help everyone he meets to the best of his ability.

Hobbies: Mel finds infinite pleasure in the simple things, like the smile of a stranger, the touch of a child, or the tweet of a bird as it feathers its nest. Mel likes telling stories, painting, cooking, watching good cinema, and collects clothes from foreign nations.

Likes: Solitude to dream in, mystery in all its guises, anything discarded to stay discarded, the ridiculous, likes to get 'lost'

Dislikes: The obvious, being criticized, feeling all at sea about something, know-it-alls, and pedantry.

Talents: Healing magics, cooking, making tea, etc.

Inabilities: Escapist and idealistic, secretive and vague. Can sometimes be bossed around by Skie.

Fears: Upheavals are abhorrent to Mel, and stay with him for days but, it is not always understood, that he absorbs all kinds of atmospheres like a sponge and, just as the power of the sea takes time to settle after a storm, so Mel needs to be allowed time and space alone, to recover his inner calm.

General Personality: Mel possesses a gentle, patient, malleable nature. He has many generous qualities and is friendly, He is good natured, kind and compassionate, sensitive to the feelings of those around him, and responds with the utmost sympathy and tact to any suffering he encounters. Mel is deservedly popular with all kinds of people, partly because his easygoing, affectionate, submissive nature offers no threat or challenge to stronger and more exuberant characters.

He accepts the people around him and the circumstances in which he finds himself rather than trying to adapt them. Mel patiently waits for problems to sort themselves out rather than take the initiative in solving them. He is more readily concerned with the problems of Skie than with his own.

His nature tends to be too otherworldly for the practical purposes of living in this world as it is. He sometimes exists emotionally rather than rationally, instinctively more than intellectually. Mel longs to be recognized as greatly creative. Any rebellion he makes against convention is personal; however, as he often times does not have the energy or motivation to battle against the Establishment.

Inner Personality: Mel has an intuitive and psychic ability more than any other character in the series. He trusts his gut feelings and if he does not, he quickly learns to because he realizes that his hunches are usually correct.

Mel’s downfall is his sensitivity and his inability to reject another person. He does not like rejection and se tries to treat others the way they want to be treated so he will rarely say no to a person for fear of hurting their feelings.

He will help another person with their problems and like to do so because making others feel good in turn makes him feel good.

His inner conflict is extremes of temperament and conflicting emotions. He wants to learn to use his powers and his imagination in a positive, productive way.

Fondest Memory: He has many. But in reality, his fondest memories always involve spending time with Skie and making sure that she is always smiling.

Biggest Regret: He has a tendency to act like a “savior” and these are a number of times in which he was not able to help everyone that he deems needed his help.

Secret: Mel loves Skie with all his heart and secretly wishes to marry her someday. She is one of the few people who have faith in his dreams. His qualities create an excitement within her and she respects Mel whole-heartedly. To him, Skie has enough fire to spark his desires and lead him to great accomplishments, and give him the faith he needs to stand for dreams and wishes. She has always fiercely defends him in the past against those who judge him inaccurately due to his dreamy nature. She brings excitement and vigor to his life and teaches him to be a bit more practical.

SPECIALTY CHARACTERISTICS

Special Items: The Purple cloak that he is often seen wearing. It is a sign that he is from a long family of knights that work for the crown family of Chenoa. While this is more of a honorary role in the present, he is still proud of his background.

Weapons: A blade for back-up. Mel is a technical pacifist; meaning he is willing to beat people up as much as he wants. He may even get a few fatalities through. However, once it comes down to a choice between killing and not an opponent, Mel will not kill. He uses his sword in non-lethal ways to defeat his foes and to defend Skie.

Whip of the Rip Tide: A whip forged from the strongest batch of ather ever found thus far, it is a Class A weapon that is capable of causing major flooding and water spouts. It is a highly dangerous weapon that only Mel can wield with proper effect. It can also be used as a normal whip or lasso.

Magic: Mel’s magic is focused on using Overclock as his main area of study. In this case, he can separate the processes of his brain and excels at multitasking on things like paperwork and cooking. This is how he is able to use his sword effectively.

Mel does have access to using the powers of Dark Flames, which are a purple flames that extend from his palms and quickly engulfs foes in a cold binding chain. Mel’s other magic includes portal openings and displacements of weapons.

The common belief is that no one can best Mel in non-lethal combat.

HISTORIC BACKGROUND

General History: Mel is the youngest child in his family. His mother went out of her way to spoil him and make sure he excelled at something other than the normal soldiery activities of the Rogero family. Though, in the end he still chose the mantle of being a knight.

Being a member of Chenoa’s court, he had access to many of the best schools in the nation. There Mel learned all the trades to be a Knight in the royal court. However, he soon decided that he’d be better off working within the Category, since Chenoa didn’t have all the fun of the modern world like Zeldin did.

After finishing up his basic schooling, he went on to the Military Academy. During his time off, Mel would wander around the city day dreaming. It was on one of these walks that he first met Skie following one of her storming off from her barracks. She was a very different girl from the ones in Chenoa. One could almost say that she was exotic to him. .

Mel would then become an acquaintance of Lassi, Skie’s mother. Lassi’s goal was to attempt to get them to become a couple. Her greatest fear is that Skie will die a soldier. When Skie left the military, Lassi requested that her daughter be barred from Unit Zero. Skie was then recommended to become a mentor, a job not suited for her fiery spirit. Knowing that her daughter might try to run off and doing something foolish, Lassi has hired Mel to be her bodyguard. Mel was more than happy to take the assignment. While still very shy to Skie, they have known each other for a long enough time that he feels that he can get closer to her this way.

[lukes-writing]

Chapter 1: The Man from the Trailer

Project introduction | Previous chapter | Next chapter

Word count: 4000 Warnings: Mild violence, profanity

September 21st, 8:55 PM, Casino Northstar, Trinity Gate

The young man strides towards the casino’s main entrance, keeping his head down. Several people notice him - wealthy gentlemen in expensive suits with fine cigars in their hand, leaning against a luxurious car, trying to make a good impression on the women who accompany them, usually young enough to be their daughters.

They give him just one quick glance and continue to pay attention to the beauties by their side. Why should they care about some sketchy figure dressed in unkempt street clothes, walking with a heavy limp? His posture is hunched up, with hands in the pockets of his hoodie. Tall, but neither athletic or muscular; even though he has to be in his early twenties, he is still lanky like a teenager.

The casino in the Confederation District is built to resemble an ancient Roman building - white, with numerous pillars, a triangular pediment above the entrance, even a dome on the roof. There are several marble stairs leading to the glass-filled front door.

The sketchy man draws more attention as he starts to climb the stairs. The wealthy visitors presumed he’s there only to inhale the atmosphere of luxury and beauty. That he’s some kind of miserable homeless man, or possibly some trailer trash, just continuing his journey with no goal. But now, it seems this otherworldly man wants to disrupt their social bubble and invade their territory.

Some of them take his mere presence as an insult. This is no place for such lowlifes.

As the man conquers the last stair and starts to make his way to the main entrance, a large bouncer blocks his way. He’s shorter than the mysterious visitor, but much larger and stronger, dressed in a suit and sunglasses. “Hey, where do you think you’re going in such clothes?” he barks at the man.

The bouncer has mixed feelings about that guy. Of course, he looks unbecoming to say at least, but he’s not filthy and neither he does smell bad. There’s also nothing weird about his face. It’s completely forgettable, neither attractive or ugly. Long and thin, just like his body and limbs. A short stubble of facial hair, shaggy, short brown hair, prominent nose and tired, almost black eyes.

“I think I’m going inside for some gambling,” the limping man replies with a gruff voice. He seems not to be afraid of the big thug at all.

Subconsciously, the bouncer wants to get rid of the man, mainly because he just doesn’t belong here. His youthful appearance, however, can offer a reason to kick him out. “May I see your ID, please?” the bouncer requests curtly. “I am not allowed to let in anyone under the age of twenty-one.”

Annoyed, the man reaches into his pocket and hands the guard his ID card. The bouncer notices his name: Skellinger, Parker. Twenty-three years old. Parker receives his ID back, secretly enjoying the distress he caused. Inside, he’s laughing at the bouncer’s attempts to get rid of him. Outside, his face stays emotionless.

Sure, Parker is wearing a hoodie with a logo of some metal band almost nobody knows, well-worn jeans and durable army boots. However, he made sure the casino has no official dress code before he decided to go inside. The bouncer has no valid reason not to let him in.

The heavy finally gives up and steps aside, making room for Parker. “Thanks,” Parker utters and hands the man a five-dollar bill, confusing the bouncer even more. Then he walks in, his boots resting on the red carpet which covers the floor.

The casino’s inside is a display of luxury, just like the outside. There are men in suits everywhere, chatting, playing a variety of games the casino offers, drinking fine liquor and, if they have no official escort, flirting with waitresses dressed in splendid Roman gowns.

More and more people stare at Parker as he limps towards the big poker table made of heavy, dark wood like most of the furniture in the casino. Some with revulsion, some with amusement. Who does he think he is? Probably another lowlife trying to gain a fortune by gambling. It won’t take long and he will leave even poorer than he came. That’s how it goes.

To everyone’s surprise, Parker reaches into his pocket and pulls out a pack of banknotes. “Ten thousand,” he says. “Give me tokens, please.”

The surprised croupier does as Parker requested. The sketchy man nods and continues towards the poker table, now enjoying the attention of the whole casino. The regular visitors play for such amounts of money rather frequently, but nobody expected this particular guy to step up the game like this. The desperate souls are usually willing to bet only about a hundred dollars. However, this guy doesn’t look desperate at all.

His determination and confidence unsettles even the most famous gamblers.

The players around the poker table aren’t playing yet. They are up for a friendly talk and a glass of nice Scotch, enjoying the golden glow of the casino’s interior. Parker takes advantage of it and takes the free seat. The men stop talking immediately. Their body language now shows the man in a black hoodie makes them uncomfortable. However, they don’t ask him to leave. He has money - money they can possibly win from him. One of the men tells the croupier the game can start now.

“Would you like something to drink, Sir?” a waitress asks Parker as she passes by.

“Just a glass of Coke, thank you,” Parker replies, provoking even more mockery from his soon-to-be opponents who all enjoy glasses of fine alcohol.

The wealthy men see Parker and his money as easy prey. After all, they are the elite. The young gentleman wearing a fashionable crew cut is Trinity Gate’s poker champion. The overweight man with a mustache was able to start a renowned company thanks to the money he won in this game. And the remaining three men also aren’t amateurs. It’s something like a VIP club.

It’s no wonder they tend to underestimate Parker. But how justified their feelings are?

Parker would smile at the naivety of the men who play with him (or against him, as it seems the VIP players ganged up to bleed him dry as soon as possible), but he has full control over his facial expression. This is not only a result of countless poker games. He was just born with a natural talent for this.

What the men don’t know is that Parker has no chance of losing as he knows which cards do the men hold. He sees clear images in his mind. His sixth sense, as he calls it, has never betrayed him so far. Acquiring this kind of extrasensory perception was a painful, tormenting experience. So Parker doesn’t consider it wrong to use it for his own benefit, even though some may consider it cheating.

He intentionally lost a few rounds to keep the men’s guard down. They already started to snicker at his apparent lack of skills. But that’s what Parker wants. Calm them down, then strike.

The image in his mind is clearer when he closes his eyes, but he keeps them open to brush off any suspicion closing them may cause. The image is still bright as day. The young upstart has only three-of-a-kind - four of spades, four of diamonds, four of hearts. However, the fat man has a flush - five clubs.

Parker has a straight, so he has to fold and wait for the next opportunity.

It comes soon enough. First, he carefully starts to win some rounds when his hand is good enough. Then he steps up the game and in the end, there is only him, the young gentleman and the fat mustache man playing. The men have started to be suspicious about his skills which seem to get better with every round.

He finishes by going all-in when his pile of tokens is already considerably big. He already knows he has much better cards than both his opponents, so he ends up claiming the whole pot for himself. Not minding the shocked expressions of both men, he casually takes the tokens, exchanges them for dollars and walks away.

By then, he already has the attention of the whole casino. All the gamblers stopped playing for a while to witness the local poker champions getting obliterated by a random kid who came here for the first time. Before leaving, Parker generously tips the waitress who gave him the Coke he requested - the girl stares at the ten hundred-dollar bills in her hand in disbelief.

Nobody objects. This weird guy won the money fair and square… at least that’s what they think.

Parker’s sixth sense reveals everything. Which gamblers are armed. Who and what are they texting if they are on their phones - that guy over here with a young woman by his side definitely isn’t at work despite texting this lie to his wife. He’s aware of all hidden security cameras. To some degree, he’s also able to sense the mood and intentions of the people staring at him.

If he ever talked about his supernatural abilities, he would find it hard to explain them to a person confined to their basic five senses. They became a natural extension of himself. He sees things without his eyes, hears without his ears. That way, he can perceive things hidden from other people.

Some people notice the tattoo around his wrist. It’s a chain of five symbols - a circle, a square, a star, a plus sign and three wavy lines. Some of them recognize them as the symbols present on the so-called Zener cards which are used in the research of extrasensory perception. It could give them an idea about the true nature of this guy’s otherworldly luck, but they are all too hesitant to accept there is an actual psychic among them.

Parker finally steps out of the casino and slides the bouncer who let him in another pack of banknotes. Then he disappears God knows where.

Even though he’s gone, the other gamblers still find themselves unable to enjoy their night out as much as before. They have to constantly think about the young man who just invaded their territory, humiliated local champions, won a great sum of money and left like nothing happened.

The ones affected the most are, naturally, the two men who lost their money and dignity to Parker. They worked hard to earn the respect of the community and now, this random stranger made them a laughing matter. Some of their friends have already started to mock them for losing to such a lowlife.

The young businessman and the fat man with a mustache, who are best friends through thick and thin, exchange looks. They know there’s only one way left to regain their reputation. They don’t even start a new game. The duo just pays for their drinks, leaving a generous tip, then leaves the casino.

Parker can finally put a smile on his face as he counts the money he won from these two upstarts. The bigger they are, the harder they fall. It’s not that Parker is a poor man - he already has about a million dollars locked in a strongbox in his trailer. This isn’t the first splendid poker victory he achieved.

However, because of these magnificent victories, he can’t visit the same casino twice. He knows that the renowned gamblers tend to hold grudges against weird guys who just show up and scoop the pot, even if they (at least seemingly) play fair. When it comes to big money, a lot of people turn into sore losers.

Parker walks down the alley which is almost empty during this hour. This is not his first time in Trinity Gate - he grew attached to this place since it offers the best of all three American territories in just one city. When he turns around, he can see heavy industrial buildings, factories and functional high-rise buildings which can be found in most of the major cities in the Central Confederation.

However, if he drove a few kilometers to the northwest, he would end up among vast fields, greenhouses and ecological houses typical for the Commonwealth of Great Moors. And a look to the northeast offers a skyline of futuristic white skyscrapers of the Republic of Northeast.

The city of Trinity Gate was built near the end of the second civil war to serve as a neutral ground for negotiation. Now it consists of three districts, one for each territory, and the “Core” which is completely neutral. A simple map of the city resembles the Google Chrome logo.

Trinity Gate is located at the point where Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky meet. After the United States divided, Indiana joined the Great Moors while the Confederation claimed Kentucky and the Northeast got Ohio. However, that’s all Parker knows since he’s not much into politics.

He already started to make plans for the rest of the night. He will probably drive to the Great Moors district to get something good to eat. Since the Great Moors are mostly agricultural territory, their food has the highest possible quality and is always fresh.

The food here, in the Confederation district, usually tastes like military rations. What can you expect from a heavily industrial, militant area which is like a bomb with a short fuse?

As Parker walks through the park which is basically just an alley with trees and several benches, his sixth sense warns him. Someone is behind him. Two people. One is slimmer, the other one rather heavy. Parker smirks. His two friends from today’s poker night.

He pretends he’s not aware of them and just walks casually.

Later, he finally hears a voice: “Turn around. Slowly.”

He complies and stands face to face with the young businessman with a butch cut. He has a gun in his head, its muzzle aimed at Parker’s head. The fat guy is behind him, expecting what will come next. “The money,” the younger man hisses. “We know you didn’t play fair. Give them back.”

Parker just smiles at him. “Sore losers, huh? How can you prove I was cheating?”

“The money! Now!” the man barks. Parker stays calm, infuriating him even more. The man’s finger is trembling on the trigger and his face turned red. Wow, I guess I really pissed him off, Parker thinks.

“How are you gonna force me with an empty gun?” Parker asks casually.

The suited man cocks the gun. “What are you talking about? It’s loaded and ready to blow your fucking head away. Are you really gonna risk your life for some money?”

“I’d give you the money if you had some actual ammo in that guy, but if you don’t even bother to load that gun, I can only tell you to piss off,” Parker utters without a sign of nervousness in his voice.

“So you still believe the gun is empty,” the man grins. “Are you willing to bet your life on it?”

Parker shrugs. “If it’s necessary.”

The casino gambler just keeps pointing the gun at Parker’s forehead. Even without his sixth sense, Parker would be able to spot the man’s anxiety - trembling hand, droplets of sweat on his forehead, clenched teeth. “Come on, pull the trigger,” Parker taunts him. “I ain’t gonna give you the money. If the gun is loaded, shoot me.”

No response.

“Come on! Shoot me!” Parker raises his voice. “Prove me I’m wrong!”

The man finally gives up and lowers his gun. “Fuck,” he mutters, furious that this weird guy humiliated him once again. Of course, Parker knew the gun is empty. His sixth sense never disappoints.

Then, the men from the casino hear a rattling sound. The younger man’s face turns pale as he notices an iron chain in Parker’s hand, hanging from his wrist. Parker keeps this weapon wrapped around his forearm in case things get tough. Even though the men are already about to turn tail and leave, Parker can’t turn down some good beating when there are good targets.

He steps forward and cracks the chain like a whip. The young man screams in pain as the chain whips him and creates an ugly gash on his arm and back. Then, Parker turns around and strikes again, this time hitting the man’s head. The man collapses on the concrete pavement.

His overweight companion tries to run away, but Parker swishes the chain again. It wraps itself around the man’s leg. He trips and falls to the ground face first. Parker strikes him with the chain two more times - the metal lands on his back, then on his butt. The man wails in pain as Parker finally turns around and leaves.

“That’s what they deserve,” Parker mutters to himself as he wraps the chain around his forearm again. Then, he forgets about the incident and continues thinking about his late dinner in the Great Moors district.

September 22nd, 9:20 AM, Serenity Park, Trinity Gate

Wiccan Salisbury carefully examines the travel trailer parked in one of the nice parks in the Great Moors district, that kind of park with ponds, playgrounds and decorative fountains. The rising sun shines through the treetops above the man and a gentle wind makes them sway back and forth.

The trailer is large, big enough to substitute a house. He raises his eyebrows when he sees the car which belongs to the trailer - a matte black Jaguar convertible, elegant and beautiful. Definitely not a car for a regular person. It had to cost a fortune.

Wiccan knocks at the trailer’s door.

The resident takes an eternity to open and Wiccan starts to lose patience. He knows someone’s in there since muffled sounds can be heard from the inside. He knocks once again. This time, the resident opens the door.

When the door open, Wiccan hears loud music - soft female vocals accompanied by violins which gradually grow into aggressive screaming and heavy guitar riffs. Then he also sees the resident - a tall, scrawny young man wearing a black hoodie. He has an annoyed expression on his face. He takes a drag on the cigarette in his hand and blows the smoke in Wiccan’s direction.

Then he points somewhere in the distance. “Woodstock is this way, old man,” he says, his voice as annoyed as his face. Then he just slams the door shut.

“Just why did I sign up for dealing with another Skellinger?” Wiccan sighs. The young man’s remark leaves him calm - he’s already used to people making fun of his long dreadlocks and youthful clothes he’s wearing. He knocks on the door again and then two more times until the trailer’s resident opens again, this time angry.

“What the fuck do you want?” he spits out.

“Let’s be polite for a moment, okay?” Wiccan replies. “My name is Wiccan Salisbury. And you are Parker Skellinger, I presume.”

“Mhm,” the young man nods. The metal music still screams in the background, making the talk even harder.

“Let’s say I have a job offer for you,” Wiccan continues.

Parker cackles. “Look, old man. I have this car, this trailer and about a million dollars. What makes you think I’m all eager to get a job? If this is all you wanted, you can piss off.”

The older man tries hard not to snap at the condescending expression and tone of voice of the brat in front of him. Parker takes another puff from the cigarette and once again blows it in Wiccan’s face. “It’s not some kind of everyday job offer,” Wiccan says. “We’re looking for special people with special abilities. And, according to my files, you possess an ability someone might consider unnatural.”

This remark changes Parker’s cocky smirk into glare full of anger and disbelief. “Who the fuck are you?” he hisses. Wiccan smirks; he succeeded at disconcerting this man. Wiccan would never recruit this guy voluntarily - his physical condition isn’t ideal and his attitude is even worse. But he’s one of the few possible recruits roaming close to Trinity Gate, so it seems he has no choice.

“I’m just a man who seeks talented people for a special job. I know you’re a nomade - a guy made for adventures. The job I’m offering you would get you a lot of thrill. And you would also find yourself while doing it. No more pointless roaming and living as an outlaw. We would give your life a purpose.”

“Not interested,” Parker retorts.

“In that case, I have another motivation… and you won’t like it much,” Wiccan looks straight into Parker’s eyes which is enough to unsettle the younger man even more.

 Wiccan opens the folder full of papers he’s carrying. “Okay, Parker,” he says. “See these papers? This is evidence of every fraud, offense and crime you committed since you turned fifteen. We know you cheat in casinos to win money. We know you beat people up from time to time. The minor offenses like speeding or breach of the peace are also there to spice things up a little.”

“Prove it,” Parker barks. His face, however, turned pale. Wiccan knows he’s on the right trail.

“Just yesterday,” the man with dreadlocks reads from one of the papers. “You cheated in the Casino Northstar in the Confederation district to win a large sum of money. Then you used a chain to injure two men.”

“It was a self-defense!” Parker objects. “They had a gun!”

“Maybe it could be taken this way… but what about this?” Wiccan takes another sheet of paper. “About a month ago, St. Louis, the Great Moors territory. An armed robbery. Parker, you’re a really naughty boy. You cause trouble wherever you go.”

“How do you know?” Parker blurts and Wiccan smiles in satisfaction when he hears the panic in his voice.

“Well, we have means the FBI can dream about. We know about every move you make, every website you visit, every thing you buy. So let’s make a deal. If you don’t come with me, I would have to hand this folder to the police. And trust me, I can make them follow you wherever you go until they catch you - we have a million ways to track you. You wouldn’t have peace for the rest of your life. But if you agreed to go with me…”

Parker’s face scowls in anger. “Are you blackmailing me?”

Wiccan shrugs. “Call it whatever you want - I need you to come with me and we can both benefit from that. These files say you’re intelligent. Reckless, yeah. An asshole, definitely. But you’re smart. And if that’s true, you’re not going to refuse. Not when I can offer you something much better than years behind the bars.”

The younger man still doesn’t look convinced. “How can I trust you?”

Wiccan comes up with his trump card. “I used to know your older brother.”

Parker’s face grows cold once again. “I don’t have a brother,” he says with such ire in his voice even Wiccan backs off. The older man realizes it probably wasn’t the best idea to mention Gerard Skellinger, the former member of Team Menhir.

The man has to find a way to get Parker on his side again. “So I guess your relationship wasn’t really warm… well, Gerard never spoke about his siblings and he isn’t among us anymore, so I guess you can forget what I said.”

Parker frowns. “Not among us anymore? Does that mean he’s…”

“No, not dead. He just left us and went his own way.”

“Leaving people,” a bitter smirk appears on Parker’s face. “That’s what he knows best. Anyway, back to the topic. It seems that I don’t have many choices other than doing what you say, right? Can’t say I’m overjoyed about it, but it can be fun, I guess. Do I have to go right now? Can I take my car with me?”

“No, not right now,” Wiccan says, relieved that he made Parker comply. “I will tell you the exact time and place where you need to be. And having a car is actually a benefit.” Then, when he notices the arrogant smile returning to Parker’s face, he adds: “If you think you’re smart enough to just drive away as soon as I leave, think again. In the second I would find out you didn’t arrive at the meeting, I would inform all the law enforcement units and the hunt would begin.”

The smile on Parker’s face slightly fades, but it seems the young man wouldn’t attempt it anyway. “Understood,” he says. “So when and where?”

Author’s Note

I wholeheartedly thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed the chapter, and if you did, please leave a comment, send me a message or share and let more people know about this story! You can also consider a small donation at www.paypal.me/lukassladky. Have a great day and stay tuned for the next chapter!

@notquitenovelist

[undertheinfluencerd]

https://ift.tt/3yIWIFS #

Warning: This article contains SPOILERS for Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.

Marvel’s latest, Shang-Chi & the Legend of the Ten Rings, has dozens of MCU Easter eggs hidden throughout; here they are broken down. Created as the “Master of Kung Fu,” Shang-Chi is a somewhat unusual character in the Marvel Universe in that he traditionally doesn’t possess any superpowers at all. Rather, he’s simply a martial artist so skilled he can go toe-to-toe with gods and monsters. The MCU’s Shang-Chi is very different from the comics, where he’s not connected to the Mandarin at all, but rather to another crime lord, Fu Manchu, who Marvel don’t have the rights to – and probably wouldn’t use if they could, because he’s a problematic racist trope.

Marvel has toyed with introducing Shang-Chi to the big screen for over 20 years. He was one of the 10 properties Marvel originally planned to build the MCU upon, although he was dropped when the studio reacquired the film rights to Iron Man and headed in a very different direction. Still, for all that’s the case, there’s a sense in which Shang-Chi answers mysteries that have been there in the MCU from the beginning; it reveals the truth about the Ten Rings, a terrorist organization from the Iron Man films, and even features the real Mandarin after the fake version in Iron Man 3.

Related: Shang-Chi 2 News & Updates: Everything We Know

Like all MCU films, Shang-Chi is packed with Easter eggs and cameos. Some of them are easy to spot, others are a lot more subtle – here’s every Marvel Easter egg and notable pop culture reference in the movie.

Let’s start with one of the more amusing, tongue-in-cheek nods – in one scene Katy remembers her first meeting with Shang-Chi, when he expressed a vocal objection to being considered a Korean. This is a nod to Kim’s Convenience, where Simu Liu played a Korean character named Jung. Liu has suggested this was something of a challenge; as he observed on Twitter back in 2016, “everyone is Korean except for me, and I’m trying very hard to fit in.“

Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame were the two most spectacular events in the MCU; in the first film, the Mad Titan Thanos snapped his fingers and erased half the lives in the universe, and in the second, the Avengers brought everyone back. The five-year period between these two events has been dubbed “the Blip” in the MCU, and the Marvel Disney+ TV series have been exploring the chaos of the aftermath, with WandaVision focusing on the personal cost and The Falcon & the Winter Soldier on the geopolitical issues arising from the Blip. The Blip is referenced twice in Shang-Chi, once when Katy points out they live in a world where half the people on Earth can disappear. It’s referenced again more subtly on a poster outside her home. “Post-Blip anxiety? You are not alone,” the poster declares, suggesting there’s understandably still a lot of trauma in the world.

The Ten Rings have been an established part of the MCU from the beginning, as the terrorist cell that captured Tony Stark in Iron Man was one of them. They were fleshed out as the trilogy continued, appearing numerous times in tie-ins such as the Iron Man 3 Prelude comic book that revealed War Machine was dealing with a particularly nasty terrorist plot on the other side of the world when the Chitauri invaded New York in The Avengers in 2012, explaining why he didn’t help out. They were subverted in Iron Man 3, but Shang-Chi serves as something of a course-correction on that, playing them straight and liberally using the logo.

Related: Shang-Chi Cast & Character Guide: All New & Returning MCU Actors

The Ten Rings catch up with Shang-Chi on the bus, and their initial confrontation is observed by a familiar face. Played by Zach Cherry in Shang-Chi‘s cameo, the vlogger Klev first appeared in Spider-Man: Homecoming, when he asked Spider-Man to perform stunts as he filmed them, and he returns in Shang-Chi when a fight breaks out on his bus. “Yo, whaddup y’all, it’s your boy Klev, coming at you live on the bus,” he declares, before stating his intention to rate Shang-Chi’s martial arts as he apparently practiced when he was younger. It’s really something of a shame Klev doesn’t appear more, because he gets some great comedic lines in this welcome cameo.

In the comics, Razor Fist is a low-level thug who typically works for more prominent villains – including the likes of the Mandarin and the Hood. He’s gone head-to-head with a wide range of superheroes, such as Shang-Chi, Wolverine, and Deadpool, but – although he was initially treated as a dangerous threat – he’s increasingly been seen as light comic relief compared to more deadly foes. Shang-Chi‘s version is a little different, with only one of his hands replaced by a razor-stump, which is frankly a lot more practical; the comic book character has often been mocked with questions about just how he gets dressed when both his hands are blades. Amusingly, it’s soon clear the character still likes to call himself “Razor Fist,” with that name sprayed on his car.

Shang-Chi is heavily inspired by Jackie Chan and Chinese wuxia films, and it wears its love of these martial movies on its sleeve – literally. The opening bus fight between Shang-Chi and members of the Ten Rings features a tremendous moment in which the hero uses his jacket as a weapon, a move that will be familiar to any Jackie Chan fans. All in all, Shang-Chi boasts some of the best fight choreography in the entire MCU to date, appropriate for the character who – in the comics – is called the Master of Kung Fu.

Shang-Chi’s origin story has completely changed from the comics, but certain elements of it still link to his first appearance in Special Marvel Edition #15. There, he was brought up by the crime lord Fu Manchu as an assassin but believing his father to be a humanitarian who only killed evil people. He did indeed complete his first mission for his father – before being told the truth about Fu Manchu being evil, and going rogue. The similarities end there, though, because Shang-Chi’s first mission in the MCU was a lot more personal.

Related: Shang-Chi Ending Explained: 6 Biggest Questions, Answered

Shang-Chi seeks out his sister Xialing at the Golden Daggers Club in Macau, unaware it is a superhuman fight club or that Xialing owns it. In the comics, the Golden Daggers were a criminal organization led by Shang-Chi’s sister (named Leiko in the comics), who established them as a rival empire to her father’s. Shang-Chi originally thought they were working for Fu Manchu, but gradually learned he was caught between two rival criminal gangs.

Keep a close eye on the Golden Daggers fight club, because it includes a number of cool Easter eggs. One particularly interesting fight is between an Extremis-powered soldier from Iron Man 3 and a Black Widow, giving a sense of the superhuman scraps that take place there. The Black Widow is a character named Helen, played by stunt performer (and World Wushu Champion) Jade Xu, and it seems she has found her way to Macau after being freed from the Red Room’s control in Black Widow. The Extremis soldier is particularly curious, as they were all supposedly killed, so it’s possible someone has begun experimenting with Extremis again.

Of course, the star attraction of the Golden Daggers is the Abomination, a classic Hulk villain who’s changed substantially since The Incredible Hulk. Tim Roth’s Emil Blonsky was exposed to Gamma radiation in The Incredible Hulk, transforming him into a monster who rampaged through Harlem, but according to the Marvel One-Shot The Consultant he was viewed as a hero by the military, with the World Security Council even wanting him to get involved with the Avengers Initiative. SHIELD knew better, and manipulated events so as to ensure the Abomination was dropped from their potential Avengers roster, and (with the exception of one episode of Agents of SHIELD), he hasn’t been seen or referenced since – until now. The Abomination now sports a much more comic-book-accurate appearance, clearly having mutated significantly over the last decade. It’s difficult to say for certain, but when he is teleported away he appears to be going to the Raft, a prison for superhumans introduced in Captain America: Civil War. Blonsky will return in the She-Hulk Disney+ TV series.

The Abomination’s opponent in the Golden Daggers is Wong, one of the more prominent members of the Masters of the Mystic Arts. It’s unclear why Wong is at a fight club, but he appears to be a regular and has a friendly relationship with the Abomination. Wong is playing a major role in Phase 4, likely because he’s operating from Kamar-Taj, meaning he’s responsible for overseeing mystical events across the entire world – while Doctor Strange appears to have become the guardian of the Sanctum Sanctorum in New York, thus being geographically limited. Wong returns in a delightful cameo in Shang-Chi‘s mid-credits scene.

Related: Shang-Chi End-Credits Scenes Set Up 6 MCU Movies & Shows

It’s easy to miss, but the Madripoor flag is painted on the walls in Xialing’s fight club. In the comics, Madripoor is basically the Mos Eisley Cantina of the Marvel Universe, a notoriously corrupt and crime-ridden island nation. It made its MCU debut in The Falcon & the Winter Soldier when the titular heroes traveled to Madripoor and learned Sokovia Accord fugitive Sharon Carter had made her home there. Interestingly, Marvel set up a promotional Welcome to Madripoor website that did initially feature Ten Rings Easter eggs; they were swiftly removed.

In the comics, Li Ching-Lin was an MI6 agent who secretly worked for Shang-Chi’s father, Fu Manchu. A skilled and brutal warrior, he was anointed Death-Dealer by Fu Manchu and became one of his most prominent henchmen, clashing with Shang-Chi on countless occasions. The MCU has completely reinvented Death-Dealer, who is apparently a key member of the Ten Rings, responsible for training them. He was a harsh mentor to Shang-Chi but did not train his sister Xialing, as she was a girl and women were not allowed to be members of the Ten Rings.

A captured Shang-Chi and his friends are taken to Wenwu’s fortress in China’s mountainous Hunan province. This is based on Fu Manchu’s home in Special Marvel Edition #15, which was indeed situated in Hunan, and it has returned in recent Shang-Chi comics. Recent Marvel comics have rewritten Shang-Chi’s history, naming this as the House of the Deadly Hand, but these retcons were carried out while the film was in production so are unlikely to be important at this stage.

Shang-Chi introduces viewers to Wenwu, the true leader of the Ten Rings, whose identity was appropriated by actor Trevor Slattery in Iron Man 3 when he dreamed up the character of the Mandarin. Slattery’s Mandarin was a composite of a hundred legends, but Wenwu is the real deal, a complex figure who has been tortured by grief over the loss of his wife years ago. The film spends a surprising amount of time explaining the Mandarin twist, with Wenwu even discussing it at length, mocking the citizens of the United States for being so terrified of “the Mandarin” – amused so many people were afraid of him.

Related: Shang-Chi Confirms The MCU Timeline Is Completely Broken Post-Endgame

According to Wenwu, he has been known by many names over the millennia; the Warrior King, Master Khan, and the Most Dangerous Man on Earth. The second of these titles is the most important, because in the comics “Master Khan” is indeed an alias of the Mandarin. In the comics, it denoted a connection between the Mandarin and Genghis Khan, but in the MCU the timeline may instead hint Genghis Khan was himself Wenwu.

Down-on-his-luck actor Trevor Slattery returns from Iron Man 3, once again played by Ben Kingsley. As seen in the Marvel One-Shot All Hail the King, Slattery was broken out of prison by the Ten Rings, with Wenwu intending to kill him for the audacity of appropriating his identity in this way. Slattery apparently forestalled the execution by launching into a terrified performance of Macbeth, and was thus spared death, instead becoming Wenwu’s jester. Trevor plays a surprisingly important role in Shang-Chi, helping the heroes get to the mystical realm of Ta Lo before Wenwu, and he even survives the battle with the Dweller-In-Darkness in hilarious fashion.

Ta Lo exists in the comics, where it is a small pocket dimension numbered among the so-called “God Realms.” This is a seriously deep cut into Marvel lore, with Ta Lo only appearing in a single issue – Thor #301 – and actually explored more in Marvel handbooks than in the comics themselves. According to these handbooks, there are five interdimensional nexuses that lead to Ta Lo, each found at the foot of a sacred mountain. It is home to the Xian, a race akin to the Asgardians who have inspired China’s Taoist gods; Shang-Chi wisely ditches this idea, aware it would be culturally insensitive.

As noted by Mateo, Wenwu claims the gate to Ta Lo opens only on Qingming Jie, allowing viewers to precisely date Shang-Chi in the MCU timeline. Because this happens after Avengers: Endgame, Shang-Chi must be in 2024, and this Chinese festival day will happen on April 4 that year. The events probably take place from approx. March 29 through to April 5, which means the timeline for MCU content post-Endgame currently looks something like this:

Loki

Marvel’s What If…?

WandaVision

Shang-Chi & the Legend of the Ten Rings

The Falcon & the Winter Soldier

Spider-Man: Far From Home

Shang-Chi features a wealth of mythical Chinese creatures, including:

The unicorn-like qílín, the horned creature with the body of a deer and the tail of an ox, which lives in places of peace and serenity and only appears in the real world to presage the emergence of a great, benevolent ruler. Ta Lo is presumably supposed to be the origin of the qílín.

There’s also a glimpse of the fènghuáng, an immortal bird sometimes incorrectly called the Chinese Phoenix, another auspicious creature. Interestingly, both the qílín and the fènghuáng are symbols of balance, incorporating both the male and female elements; balance is very much the theme of Shang-Chi, so the presence of these two mythological animals is very appropriate indeed. Both the qílín and the fènghuáng are associated with Ta Lo in the comics.

The beautiful húlijīng, a mythical nine-tailed fox that has absorbed the natural energy of the world over many years.

There are also shíshī, the Chinese guardian lions, sometimes called foo dogs, who assist the residents of Ta Lo in their battle against the Ten Rings.

The longma is a legendary winged horse with dragon scales, another creature whose presence is symbolic of the rise of a sage ruler.

The most prominent creature in Shang-Chi is Trevor Slattery’s Maurice, a dìjiāng – often seen to represent cosmic confusion. It makes sense a dijiang would associate itself with Trevor.

Related: Every Marvel Cinematic Universe Movie, Ranked Worst To Best (Including Shang-Chi)

Dragons do exist in Marvel Comics, the most famous being the alien Makluan dragon creature Fin Fang Foom; however, the Great Protector seen in Shang-Chi is nothing like a Makluan. Rather, the creature is based on Chinese mythology, where dragons – or lóng – serve as protectors rather than destroyers, and the dragon has become a symbol of status and power. Shang-Chi is likely set in the year 2024, which seems amusingly appropriate, given that is the Year of the Dragon in the Chinese Zodiac.

The Dweller-in-Darkness is lifted from the comics, although he’s been adapted quite significantly. In the comics, he is one of the universe’s Fear Lords, beings who gain sustenance from the fear of creatures on other planes, and he considers the more famous comic book Fear Lord, Nightmare, to be his cousin. Dweller-in-Darkness was a terrible threat to the Earth millennia ago, in the days of ancient Atlantis, and derived great pleasure from the conflict between the Eternals and the Deviants that led to the sinking of that continent. He grew too powerful, however, and caught the attention of the Atlantean sorceress Zhered-Na, who cast the Dweller-In-Darkness into an eternal slumber from which he only awoke in the modern era – only to find himself contested now by Doctor Strange. The MCU’s Dweller-in-Darkness has been changed a lot, and is now some sort of demon, blended with the Chinese myths of the Wangliang, a malevolent spirit in Chinese folklore. The Soul Eaters serving the Dweller-in-Darkness in Shang-Chi do exist in the comics, but they too have been heavily modified. In the comics, a Soul-Eater attaches itself to a victim and preys upon them for a lengthy period of time, consuming their soul little by little. The process of soul extraction is vastly accelerated in Shang-Chi.

Shang-Chi‘s post-credits scene reveals the superhero holo-conferences conducted by Black Widow during the Blip (as seen in Avengers: Endgame) are still ongoing. This is the first time there’s been a hint Earth’s protectors are still organized in Phase 4, and it’s likely Wong only called in the people he wanted involved in discussions about Shang-Chi’s Ten Rings; Captain Marvel, with her knowledge of alien worlds and civilizations, and the scientific mind of Bruce Banner. Neither has ever seen anything like this before, with Banner confirming they’re not Vibranium.

Something has clearly happened to Bruce Banner between Avengers: Endgame and the events of Shang-Chi; the last time he was seen, the Banner and Hulk personas had combined into “Professor Hulk,” and he was stuck in that form permanently, but now he’s back as a human being. This will probably either be explained by the upcoming She-Hulk Disney+ TV series, or else it will be setup for it, explaining why Banner’s blood is used in a transfusion for his cousin Jennifer Walters. His right arm is still in a sling, meaning the injury he sustained when he used the Infinity Gauntlet hasn’t been healed. It seems Marvel are honoring the Russo brothers’ wishes for the Hulk to have a permanent injury; “It’s permanent damage,” Joe Russo explained in one interview. “The same way it was permanent damage with Thanos. It’s irreversible damage.“

Related: Every Upcoming Marvel Movie Release Date (2021 To 2023)

Wong references Kamar-Taj during the holo-conference, revealing the Masters of the Mystic Arts were able to detect whatever “signal” was emitted from the Ten Rings at the moment control of them passed over to Shang-Chi. This is pretty impressive, given Ta Lo was described as being in an entirely different universe, meaning the energy surge generated by them must have traveled through the entire Multiverse.

The MCU has always loved to incorporate classic music into its films, and the Eagles’ “Hotel California” crops up throughout Shang-Chi. The theme of the song works perfectly for the movie, as Shang-Chi has attempted to “check out” of the family drama, but he can never leave. The mid-credits scene of Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings puts a more positive spin on this, though, because now Shang-Chi has checked in to the world of superheroes, and his life will never be the same again.

More: Where Was Doctor Strange During Shang-Chi?

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Beyblade Burst God: Character Intros

Long time no post ^^;  sorry about that~ 

ANyway... I was on the Beyblade Burst official site downloading one of the free wallpapers when I wondered vaguely if anyone had translated the character introductions on said site. Then I thought, why not do it myself? 

So... this may be a work in progress, if more characters are added. There are more than 10 character intros atm, so... I’m putting them under a cut. 

AOI VALT CV: Inoue Marina

Affiliation: BC Sol (Spain)

Bright and energetic, this boy is the type to be positive in everything. He tends to act before thinking things through. He brightens his surroundings and makes other people smile. He dreams of becoming the world’s Number 1 Beyblader. Inspired by his rival Shu, he went overseas and joined Spain’s BC Sol. Worldwide, he’s still an unrecognized Blader, but he grows with each battle and becomes someone who influences those around him. Beyblade: God Valkyrie 6V.Rb

Special Techniques: - Bound Attack - Bound Jet Shoot - God Reboot - God Slash

SISCO CARLISLE CV: Terashima Takuma

Affiliation: BC Sol (Spain)

Called a genius, he’s a powerful person who’s commanded numerous tournaments. He always thinks about battling strong opponents, as he believes that will help him improve. An overbearing sort, he thinks there’s a place somewhere just for him, though in reality he isn’t confident in this. He’s honest and calls things as he sees them, with no malicious intent.

Beyblade: Kreis Satan 2G.Lp.   

Special Techniques: - Roller Drift - Roller Defense - Cyclone Loop

KIYAMA RANTARO CV: Okabayashi Fumihiro 

Affiliation: BC Sol (Spain)

His nickname is “Kumicho” (Boss), and he’s close friends with Valt. The embodiment of justice, he can be foolishly honest. Laughter, tears, joy –his exaggerated expressions convey his emotions perfectly. Because he acts roughly, he’s often misunderstood. In reality, he’s a simple and nice person. Following Valt, he went to Spain and passed BC Sol’s entrance test.

Beyblade: Blaze Ragnaruk 4C.Fl. Special Techniques: - Ragnaruk Zone - True Ragnaruk Zone

FREE DELA HOYA CV: Shiraishi Ryoko

Affiliation: New York Bulls (America)

The Number 1 Blader in the World Rankings currently playing for the New York Bulls. Originally from BC Sol, he became the top player through training and player promotions. He speaks bluntly, whether his opponent likes it or not. He has a certain saying for when a battle isn’t enjoyable for him. “A match is fun if you win. I always win, so I always have fun.”

Beyblade: Drain Fafnir 8.Nt.   Special Techniques: - Drain Spin

KOMURASAKI WAKIYA CV: Kobayashi Yuu

Affiliation: Real Sun Bat (Spain)

The only son of the head of the conglomerate known as the Komurasaki Group, he’s intensely self-confident, believing he will win. This belief is because he trains as hard as he can. Shu going overseas to face new challenges lit a fire in Wakiya’s heart, and he bought the Spanish team Real Sun Bat with the intent to challenge the World League. He’s decided that both he and his team will become the best in the world.

Beyblade: Tornado Wyvern 4G.At. Special Techniques: - Hyper Shield Crush - Tornado Shield - Super Tornado Attack

COOZA ACKERMAN CV: Takeuchi Junko

Affiliation: BC Sol (Spain)

A Blader playing for BC Sol. With both parents working in a circus, Cooza has been traveling the world from a young age. He’s good at acrobatics, having good reflexes and being exceedingly nimble. While he’s very cheerful, in battle he becomes a cold, indifferent warrior, as though he were a different person. A parrot named Carl always accompanies him.

Beyblade: Alter Chronos 6M.T.   Special Techniques: - Slide-on Shoot - Slide-off Shoot - Tightrope Dive 

KUROGAMI DAINA CV: Takagaki Ayahi

Affiliation: Paris Bladers (France)

He joined France’s Paris Bladers and rebuilt it into a strong team. He’s extremely fixated on victory, which prompts some to call him the Grim Reaper. Bursting an overwhelmingly strong opponent’s Bey after thorough research makes him happier than anything. He has an endearing side that loves small animals, but he hates for anyone to see it.

Beyblade: Killer Deathscyther 2V.Hn. Special Techniques: - Hunt Shoot - Doublestrike

GHASEM MADAL CV: Hamazoe Shinya

Affiliation: Royals (England)

A Blader with England’s Royals. Originally from Thailand, he’s also a practitioner of Muay Thai. When his fighting instinct shows, he’s like a beast. This sparked the rumor that he was raised by beasts, frightening opponents so much they couldn’t gather their wits in time, let alone face him properly. He’s extremely hostile towards Sisco Carlisle, who destroyed the Bey he’d received from his father.

Beyblade: Maximum Garuda 8F.Fl. Special Techniques: Unknown

RED EYE

Affiliation: Unknown

A top Blader at the mysterious training ground known as the Snake Pit. His true identity is a mystery, since his face is hidden by a mask. Decidedly reticent, he’s the type who’ll risk everything in order to strengthen himself.   His goal is to become the strongest. In order to achieve that, if he thinks there are opponents he has yet to beat, he’ll target them.

Beyblade: Legend Spriggan 7.Mr. Special techniques: - Axe Shoot - Upper Shoot - Counter Break

KURENAI SHU CV: Enoki Junya 

Affiliation: Unknown

The masked Blader Red Eye’s true identity. After losing to Shirasagijou Lui, he returns to the Snake Pit to surpass his limits.  He throws Legend Spriggan away, and goes through the Requiem Project, leading to the creation of Spriggan Requiem. Now, Kurenai Shu discards the past, seeking only strength.

Beyblade: Spriggan Requiem 0.Zt. Special techniques: - Requiem Spin - Requiem Slash  

JOSHUA BOONE CV:  Furukawa Makoto

Affiliation: New York Bulls (America)

A super Hollywood star known all over the world. Talented at Beyblading and ranked No. 5 worldwide, he’s one of those called the “Big 5”. He believes he’s the best in everything. Full of confidence whatever he says and does, he’s a natural entertainer who delights those around him.

Beyblade: Blast Jinnius 5G.Gr. Special Techniques: - Cyclone Whirl - Cyclone Counter  

XHAKUENJI KAIZA CV: Koyama Rikiya

Affiliation: Brazil Rios (Brazil)

More popularly known as Xhaka. He's a bright, cheerful, big-hearted sort, a parent-like figure whom everybody likes. He's childhood friends with Aoi Valt. He heads for Brazil and joins the Brazil Rios in order to become stronger. He possesses superhuman physical ability and strength, which helps him excel in martial arts. His Beyblading ability is also on the world level, leading to him quickly becoming one of the Big 5.

Beyblade: Sieg Xcalibur 1.In. Special Techniques: - Double Impact - Triple Impact

SON RUWEI CV: Sawashiro Chiharu

Affiliation: Brazil Rios (Brazil)

One of the top Bladers in the world known as the Big 5, he’s a member of the Brazil Rios. He’s able to predict where his opponent’s Bey will land as well as calculate its movement, thus defeating them calmly. A master of Chinese martial arts, especially with the staff. In the world of martial arts, he has a rivalry with Xhakuenji Kaiza.

Beyblade: Shelter Regulus 5S.Tw. Special Techniques: - Fang Attack - Shelter Defense

BOA ALCACER CV: Kaida Yuki

Affiliation: Unknown

A Blader originally from Mexico, he’s been thoroughly trained at the organization called the Snake Pit. He became stronger with the goal of catching up to and then overtaking Red Eye. Having overcome extremely difficult special training and tests, he’s made Arc Bahamut his own. Now he accompanies Red Eye on his “Blader Hunt”.

Beyblade: Ark Bahamut 2B.At. Special Techniques: - Final Guard - Final Crush

CLIO DELON CV: Amano Kokoa/Ishii Kokoa

Affiliation: Paris Bladers (France)

Originally from Romania and a self-styled descendant of Count Dracula. He’s always drinking tomato juice. Both parents are magicians, and he’s been interested in magic since he was young, resulting in his old-fashioned manner of speech. He really likes his childhood friend Cooza Ackerman, and is convinced they’re best friends.

Beyblade: Deep Chaos 4F.Br. Special Techniques: - Lift Shoot 

SHIRASAGIJOU LUI CV: Park Romi

Affiliation: Unknown

Though Japanese, he grew up in America. One of the Big 5, he’s called “The White Tyrant”. He sees only Flee dela Hoya, the top-ranked Blader in the world, as a worthy rival. He has talent yet puts in more effort than anyone else he knows, so he’s confident that he is the strongest. He really is one of the strongest Bladers, and is an overwhelming presence.

Beyblade: Nightmare Longinus Ds. Special Techniques: - Metal Dragon Crush

KURTZ BALATIER CV: Okawa Genki  

Affiliation: Unknown

A former world champion, also called the Emperor. Thanks to a long ripcord almost 2 meters long and his incredible jumping ability, he can perform a strong launch.  When he felt like there were no other opponents stronger than him, he disappeared from the world stage. Then, he started battles in a place where underground Bladers gathered, now  known as the Underworld. Now he seeks more thrilling and exciting battles.

Beyblade: Beat Kukulcan 7U.Hn. Special Techniques: - Thunder Attack - Trigger Attack NORMAN TARVER CV: Wakabayashi Yuu Affiliation: Unknown While he was a Blader with at the Snake Pit, he was called Gold Eye. Before Kurenai Shu appeared, he was the strongest of all the Bladers, acknowledging no one. He has a strong sense of rivalry with Shu, and joins the God Bladers Cup in order to regain the title of the Snake Pit’s strongest. Beyblade: Twin Nemesis 3H.J. Special Techniques: - Smash Hammer - Upper Crush