#they really stuck to the title

[wackus-bonkus-maximus]

I’ve kinda been having second thoughts about watching the movie because so far season 5 has let me down as a ladynoir shipper sooooo I’m not asking for spoilers per say but which side of the love square do you think the movie highlights best?

🚨 THIS MOVIE BELONGS TO LADYNOIR! 🚨

[chickenstrangers]

ONLY FRIENDS | EPISODE 4

YOUR EMERGENCY CONTACT HAS EXPERIENCED AN EMERGENCY by CHEN CHEN (2022)

[thicc-astronaut]

AMAZING DIGITAL CIRCUS EPISODE 2 IS OUT

And I am LOVING the continued references to Raggeddy Ann & Andy: A Musical adventure! Not only is Ragatha based on Ann and Jax's voice is based on an impression of Andy, but The Fudge from the new episode is clearly an homage to The Greedy! They're both enormous gluttonous candy blob monsters who like to eat candy and threaten to eat the heroes!

[lordsecondsenju]

Part One Here

“You’re a Senju!”

Madara pushed back on the white haired sage’s blade with his kunai, before he found an opening to jump back and get distance. As he did, his hands were automatically weaving signs. On the last sign, he took another jump back and brought his right hand up to his mouth. “Fire Style: Fire Ball Jutsu!”

As he breathed out a large fireball, he watched as his opponent fired back with a water jutsu, his gruff voice calling out: “Water Style: Water Dragon Jutsu!”

The eruption of steam from the two jutsus colliding coated the battlefield, and Madara had to train his sharingan on where his opponent stood. His stance was braced, his sword up in front of him for protection.

Feeling he had the advantage, Madara took a few steps to the left, but he froze when he realized that the other man was turning towards him. He frowned, weighing his options. “I just want the Three Tails. I don’t want to fight you.”

“You can’t have Isobu. Turn around and leave.” Isobu? The Three Tails had a name?

“How did a Senju even get here?” Madara called out. It really was confusing. How did anyone know to come to this specific location to train in nature? Where did this man learn the Three Tails name?

“As if I would tell you?” The young Senju called back. Alright, so he wasn’t going to let go of any secrets. Madara should have expected nothing less from his opponent.

Time for a different approach. As the steam began to dissipate, Madara began to recall everything he knew about the Senju clan. Butsuma was the current head, with his eldest son, Hashirama having gone off on his own to train. The second son, Tobirama, had taken over for a bit before disappearing. The youngest two sons had died, so, logically…

“You’re Tobirama Senju.” He stated with a matter of fact. “You became a sage after disappearing from your clan’s home ten years ago.” Hashirama had also disappeared, but, as Madara remembered, the eldest Senju child had dark hair and used the mokuton, an extremely, extremely rare release. Perfect for taming Tailed Beasts as well, if the rumors were true.

Tobirama’s entire body tensed, before he launched himself at Madara. He didn’t seem to like that his identity had been discovered. He raised his sword above his head before swinging down to attack, but Madara jumped back just in time to avoid a direct attack. Tobirama’s sword barely missed- slicing off a tiny bit of Madara’s long hair- and Tobirama pulled back to weave signs. “Sage Art: Water Bullet Jutsu!” Madara didn’t have any time to react and was hit with a sharp stream of water. It sliced across his right shoulder and he brought a hand up to cover the bleeding wound.

The moment he was distracted, Tobirama moved in and began to strike with quick movements, attacking with closed fists and the handle of the sword. A very strong strike threw Madara back, and the Uchiha landed on his back, a tiny dribble of blood dripping down from the corner of his mouth. As he was catching his breath, something clicked in his brain. While he was clearly defending, Tobirama was not actively striking to kill.

Tobirama watched as Madara dragged himself up to his feet, wiping away the blood from his mouth his the back of a gloved hand. He gave a confident smirk when he saw Madara with a busted lip, but it quickly fell into a controlled, neutral expression. “I knew they would send an Uchiha sooner or later. The Land of Fire and its hidden village cannot leave well enough alone.”

Madara rolled his shoulders, wincing as he was sorely reminded his other shoulder was still injured from the earlier attack Tobirama had landed.

“Are you realizing you are in over your head yet?” Tobirama growled, his brilliant red eyes narrowing at Madara, watching his every move.

And he was… Madara was very in over his head. He wasn’t ready to fight a sage! Let alone a Senju sage. The environment was not conducive to his fighting style. Surrounded by water was not ideal, but at least the space was open, more than ready for plenty of big attacks. Okay, maybe he could get somewhere with this, after all. But he needed a bigger weapon.

Grabbing a scroll from a pouch on his waist, he opened it with one hand and laid a hand over the summoning symbol, before a large, fan-like weapon popped out in a puff of smoke. He caught it by the handle and twirled it. The chain made a surprisingly quiet clinking sound as Madara settled with his new weapon in hand. “Not yet.”

[littlekingbergara]

just learned that Steven Lim is CEO - which explains why he’s been mostly behind the camera. Shane is CCO, and Ryan isn’t in any technical leadership role beyond co-founder. hoping this isn’t reason for concern

yeah steven's busy behind the scenes! he handles most of the financial stuff too i believe. he's on camera when he wants to be but he's also said it's really time consuming when he could be doing other things. i'm glad we'll be seeing more of him soon though!

not sure why that would be cause for concern. ryan's still a co-founder and the creator and face of their most popular shows. he's not going anywhere. and iirc he hated being a manager at buzzfeed so he probably didn't want to take on a managerial role at his own company.

[dolorousvale]

❦ a reintroduction to shape and color

closed starter | @thomasicism

—

Perhaps Dolasach should’ve known better when she agreed to be play bodyguard for a rather… eccentric personality.

She wasn’t a stranger to world-renowned artist Rafayel’s odd quirks, or to his occasional apathy towards coming off as unreasonable. Whispers of those facets of his personality made rounds among her circles in university and never failed to be mentioned in his interviews—artists are stereotyped as strange and anti-social for a reason. Even in her brief encounters with him prior to the arrangement, she could already tell that he wasn’t an exception to the trope.

So why then, she asked herself, did I agree to be his bodyguard?

The answer echoed in her mind in the form of a coral stone and a dark blue envelope. She sighed and kept walking along the city sidewalk, paying little mind to the passing cars or passersby.

Almost as if in mockery, today’s weather brought a slight drizzle, too. The soft pitter-patter of the rain making contact with Dolasach’s umbrella did little to soothe her mood.

Nearing her destination, Flux Arts, she pulled out her phone and reviewed her conversation with her employer from last night.

Noisy Oarfish: im still saddened by the fact that my own bodyguard cant identify my work at a glance. if word gets out and youre called “incompetent,” ill be devastated

Noisy Oarfish: you need to improve your artistic sensitivity

Noisy Oarfish: tell you what. ill leave those forgeries at flux with the original and you need to tell me which one is the real one

Noisy Oarfish: but not only do you have to pick the correct painting, i need you to analyze. no point in this if you just get it right by guessing or asking thomas

Noisy Oarfish: think you can get it done by friday?

Me: Fine.

Something about the whole situation sparked such a deep annoyance in Dolasach that had her determined to get the assignment done as soon as possible. Rereading the messages rekindled that flame, and she felt all the more eager to get started as soon as she entered Flux Arts.

Thomas better be here.

The sudden shift from noisy city sidewalk to quiet white cube gallery made her feel a little too aware of how upset she was. After taking a moment to try and collect herself, she approached the receptionist.

“Excuse me.” Her tone was calm and even. “Is Thomas around? I’m here to run an errand for Rafayel.”

[cheddar-baby]

people taking that compilation of photos of a cat licking a womans face as sexual / calling it full on zoophilia is more revealing of how they think than anything in the artwork L0L like why are YOU seeing it that way....

It does speak to a very strange world view. Like the piece is intentionally supposed to be uncomfortable because its a wall sized collage of poorly lit photos of a woman pretending to makeout with a cat but its a really big stretch to go from oh thats strange and uncomfortable to "this is zoophilia" this is pornographic. This is animal abuse at the highest level. The lack of recognizing its both just clearly not porn and that its clearly being presented in a gallery space, spaces we all know often host illegal porn.

Like i fully get being uncomfortable because it gives you very good reason to be, the piece is baiting you to be uncomfortable as a means to begin unpacking why that is. Its using the viewers assumption of photography as truth against them. The lighting is intentionally dark, amateurish on camera flash, and framed in extreme closeup (used often to show intimacy or claustrophobia). Then it has the scale (it is like 8-10 feet high) and repetition of the kissing to really cement the feeling. All of which is intentional on the artists part. Its a pretty normal thing for cats to lick peoples faces or sniff your face (idk what the cat was actually doing i wasnt there while it was shot) no one really questions this outside of it being gross that pets lick themselves clean its a pretty accepted thing. But you add that bit of posing to make it look like for that split second you took the photo that you were kissing the cat back and it transforms the entire thing.

Its really smart in how it instantly cuts through people to immediate disgust and discomfort. When i saw it in person i sat there stunned infront of it for 10 minutes because its genuinely incredibly striking and punctures you right in the gut. But when you peel away at it you get a really great lesson on photography theory. These photos aren't real at least in the sense that no photos are real, they are manufactured and sculpted by the artist. This is what photography is about it isnt a document of truth its a heavily manufactured object that just happens to look real.

The piece is asking you to be uncomfortable its baiting you into discomfort. Which in itself is a fun emotion for art to envoke but the real beauty and genius of the piece comes out of unpacking that emotion and peeking behind the curtain.

[hel7l7]

No one ever said that it was gonna be easy

[skleech]

I have nothing left to prove 'Cause I have nothing left to lose See me bare my teeth for you See me bare my teeth

[horrorlesbians]

i've been realizing how a couple of my future film ideas are more thrillers with horror elements than actual horror movies but I'm okay with that. gone girl is my favorite film for a reason

[pansyfemme]

i have succesfully gotten my mom into exactly one song and she doesnt even know what its called. she’ll just say ‘can you please play me my nice song again.’

[raiiny-bay]

there is something so fun about just putting my boys in Situations

[amethystpath-writes]

Excuses

NOT A PR0MPT

******

“You are not welcome here.” The words were punctual. Strict. Demanding. Maybe they would have been intimidating if Hero hadn’t been shaking beneath her covers.

“Trying to cast me away like a spirit? It won’t work.” A glowing smile emerged from the darkness, one so bright that it was nearly blinding, but so direct that it was far from illuminating the room. The smile was all Hero could see.

“You are not welcome here.”

“Did saying it again satisfy your fear?” The smile grew. “I’m no spirit, Hero. Only a shadow in the dark and a smile to haunt your dreams.”

Why? the hero wondered. Why did her brain punish her like this when she only killed one man? Villain killed tens of people every day- for information, for revenge…for fun. Hero only took out a threat.

“Did they haunt you?” she asked, voice so quiet that Villain would not have been able to hear it- even if he were human laying beside Hero in bed. “The people you killed, did they haunt you?”

His response held no callous, no maliciousness. It was calm, matter-of-fact. “No.”

Hero shook her head. Of course not. Villain had no remorse, no nagging part of his brain which told him ‘You’re better than this.’ Villain, she thought, was evil. Maybe he hadn’t always been that way, but he sure as hell was now, even now that he was a dead, opaque shadow of a man.

“What was there to feel guilty about? I had my own means, and they were all expendable.”

Knowing Villain, Hero imagined that slow blink he used to give. Arrogant, careless. She used to admire that; his ability to ignore everyone else, to do things for himself- and himself only. Not many people knew how to take care of themselves, but Villain sure did. It only became too much when Hero realized she was as regular as everyone else to Villain. She was just as replaceable.

***

“You are taking this too far. How many people have to die for you to make a point!”

Villain’s hands were bloody, and they had been for as long as Hero could remember anymore. Red, always red.

“As many as it takes.”

Hero wasn’t even sure what the point was. Villain was- he was a murderer, and the explanations he was giving were starting to become dull. Did he ever have a true purpose?

“Someone does you wrong and you have to destroy everyone for it?” Hero questioned, voice uncontrollably raised. It was a simple and unfortunate situation that Villain was so worked up about, that he killed multiple undeserving people for.

“It was hardly everyone. You’re still alive, aren’t you?” He walked to the sink and Hero shuddered when his red hand touched the handle. She would disinfect it when he was done.

“You might as well have. So what if she got the promotion and you didn’t? Do you really think she had it out for you or anyone else who applied for it?” Hero swallowed. “What if it had been me instead of her?”

“It wasn’t.”

She argued, “But it could have been. Answer me.”

He turned the handle back, stopping the water flow, and not able to find a rag, shook the excess water onto the stovetop. The water hissed against the burner as Hero had had soup there just before Villain arrived.

“What if it had been me instead of her?” 

How was it that Hero had been putting up with this for so long? Why did she let any excuse to kill another human become an excuse? There were none for what Villain was doing. He was killing. He was killing for the sake of killing.

“I would do whatever I felt like doing, just like I’ve always done. And if you had a problem with it”- he shrugged, then didn’t finish.

So, he would kill her, if the time arose- if he felt like it, if he felt angered enough, if something happened which wasn’t her fault, if he felt like something was her fault. He would kill Hero.

“I love you.”

“I love you, too.” His voice was neutral, with no trace of harm like there had been last he’d spoken.

“You don’t mean it. You’re saying it because it suits you in this moment- because you know I would leave right this moment if you didn’t say it.” But what did it matter? Hero didn’t mean anything to him anyway if he was willing to kill her for nothing. “I’m your coverup,” she said. “You’re using me to avoid suspicion.”

His response was as chilling as winter’s first breeze. “You think so?” he asked, and it would have seemed so innocent if not for his straight, unchanging face. Hero suddenly felt nervous being in the kitchen- so many sharp knives and scissors and meat mallets and...and he was grabbing a glass cup. Glass was breakable, harmful, weaponizable.

***

That night, it was Hero’s hands covered in blood, and that blood belonged to Villain.

***

"Am I as entertaining to you now as before- asking questions you’ve been waiting for me to ask?” Hero wouldn’t let Villain’s ghost bother her. She would suffer her own guilt in her own time.

“It’s all I’ve looked forward to.”

Hero’s chest tightened. After declaring she wouldn’t be affected, she still was. Villain was a ghost, a paranormal being she used to make fun of at the mention of it. “Then I’ll stop asking.” She pulled her blanket up to her lips. “What will it take to get rid of you?”

“Maybe a kiss goodnight would do,” Villain said. “You can blow it to me if it makes you feel safer, more comfortable.”

Sinister. Villain was sinister, and evil, and every negative adjective in the dictionary.

“You’re powerless right now- a white sheet with eyes and a voice. You’re nothing else.” Hero said this more to herself than Villain. “When I close my eyes, it will be like you were never here. Your voice will be a nightmare that I’ll forget in the morning.”

She did close her eyes, and when Villain persisted that he be her waking nightmare- not only her sleeping one- Hero ignored him. She was already dreaming, she told herself in the confines of her own mind. Villain was practically see-through; he couldn’t hurt her. He would taunt her and make her feel intimidated, but he couldn’t truly do anything. He had no power.

Hero wouldn’t say goodnight, but she would say the guilt she felt was fading. The fact she killed someone no longer mattered.

She had an excuse.

But didn’t Villain have excuses as well?

[claire-starsword]

Child, listen well to these words.

The twilight of the gods' era was a long time ago. It began when the gods decided to create new gods with their own hands.

The Ashen Gods combed through their own knowledge, and created the Light Gods. However, this very filtered knowledge was what also made it possible for Dark Gods to be created.

At last, a war broke out between the Light and Dark Gods. The Ashen Gods fought too, on both sides.

At the end of this long, long conflict, the Light Gods used their power to seal the Dark Gods in pillars of this world. Because they were not capable of destroying them.

To seal the Dark Gods, who would later be also called Demon Kings, the Light Gods used up all of their power. As the price for putting the Dark Gods in a deep slumber, they too had to fall asleep.

Most of the Ashen Gods perished in the war as well.

The few remaining ones began to plan for the future. The future of their children, of the children of the Light Gods, and of the children of the Dark Gods… In short, the future of all that lived on in the world.

After a thousand years, power would return to the Light and Dark Gods who slumbered. Once they opened their eyes from their long sleep, they would once again fan the flames of war. And the Ashen Gods knew they would be no more in that age.

The Ashen Gods kept watch over the lands where the Light Gods slumbered, and where the Dark Gods had been sealed. They built towns there, which grew into countries.

To pass on their knowledge, the Ashen Gods wrote many Manuals, books containing their secrets. In these books brimming with light were recorded the way to unleash the legacy of the gods, and how to seal it as well.

And, to protect the Manuals, and properly instruct those who came to seek them, the Ashen Gods created a new form of life.

They created the noble race of the Sacred Dragons. They created us.

To protect the manuals is the Sacred Dragons' one and only duty. For a thousand years, they have done it well. Everything was for the sake of this duty, and the duty was everything to them.

However, there was but a single problem. At that time, the race had no children. Looking back at it now, it sounds very strange, but back then, they did not know the concept of children. They didn't even think of unions between men and women. It was natural after all, since they had been given birth by the hands of the Ashen Gods. They never knew a mother or father.

Their numbers would decline as the years went by, and nothing could increase them in return.

For Dragonia, country of Sacred Dragons in East Rune, that was a serious problem. As things were, their tribe would face extinction. They began to harbor this primal fear for the first time.

That's when they appeared. The humans of Rudo Village.

They worshiped the Sacred Dragons as children of the gods, with blind devotion. Our race was confused at first, but came to accept them. It quickly became clear that they had no evil intentions, and also, the dragons did not worry over anything besides their duty, so they thought nothing of it.

The people of the village learned much from the dragon tribe, and the dragons too learned much from them.

Finally, after almost a millennium, the first child of the tribe was born.

The dragon child had a completely white body, and was named Bleu. His birth brought great happiness, and also a final hope.

Years later, he became the last Sacred Dragon.

Bleu's first adventure was exactly a thousand years after the Ashen Gods had created the Sacred Dragons.

In order to break the seal on Dark Dragon, a man named Darksol stole a Manual. Bleu became a member of the Shining Force fighting against the demon army, and left Dragonia. That's a tale full of honorable deeds.

Thanks to Bleu and the other heroes of the Shining Force, Darksol and the resurrected Dark Dragon were defeated in the end. However, during the war, the Manual was lost, and could not be returned to the dragons' hands.

Bleu and the other members of the Shining Force went separate ways. He returned alone to Dragonia, and lived a quiet life there for ten years.

And then one day…

From beyond the ocean, a new adventure called out to him. A great adventure, to decide the fate of our Sacred Dragon blood…

Shining Force

Bloodline of the Sacred Dragons

To Chapter 1>

Translation notes:

I took some liberties with the gods' titles. The text refers to them as White (白き), Black (黒き) and Gray (灰色) Gods. However, 黒き is already the term used in Dark Dragon's name (and the reading Dark Dragon is not just a localization, but used in the JP text as well), and everything in this series is a light vs. darkness thing, so I felt it flowed better to call them Light and Dark Gods. And with that it felt right to give a similar flair to the gray as well, so I went with Ashen which fits well for a ruined civilization. Also, the kanji for ash is in the color name already.

Sign. The Manual. You might remember that I once boldly proclaimed that the game's wording, 秘伝の書, is more accurately translated as Book of Secrets (like in the GBA localization) than Manual of the Ancients (like in the Mega Drive localization). I even brought up this very novel as reasoning (for no good reason now that I look back at it). Come this book, and... "Manual" is given as the actual reading, even though the kanji used is the same. So yeah! This is why we don't make assumptions based on books we didn't read! I'll be sticking to Manual from here on.

And finally, let me stop pretending this is a regular thing to toss on your dash without introduction. Welcome to what I believe is the first ever translation of Shining Force - Bloodline of the Sacred Dragons, the official novel written by Sami Shinozaki and illustrated by SUEZEN, Shining Force 2's character designer. These scans were given to me on the same day the encyclopedia scans were. It was like it was my birthday or something. I was so busy with everything I didn't even have to celebrate here, and then I thought, what if I really don't tease or announce this in any way? What if I just drop it on them? And yeah, I hope you enjoyed the surprise, I'm absolutely full of joy to finally read and share this. And eternal thanks to the person who offered the scans in the first place.

All translation posts will be tagged as #shining force novel translation. Also please note, this is a rough translation as I don't have full scans yet and thus haven't read the full book, this might get updated as I get more context.

Also, the pages were scanned with only a phone camera, so I did some editing to smooth over some stuff and enhance contrast. You might notice the smell of digital print but don't worry about it, the contents are unchanged. I made a folder with more versions of the pics, as well as other illustration scans I've found across the internet.

[Update Feb 10: there are now scans in better quality, so I've updated the post, but my original folder remains. I'll be using both sources as I see fit.]

Now let's get to some initial stuff I skipped for the sake of surprise, such as, you know, the cover.

After that war, Bleu lived alone in Dragonia. But his destiny as a Sacred Dragon calls him to the battlefield once more. A survivor of a shipwreck, Camallia, washes up in the shores of the harbor, claiming to be seeking the Manual of Secrets to save the Sacred Dragons of Parmecia. Searching for the Manual, Bleu and his friends are off to adventure! Monsters come to attack them from the distant land of Parmecia. What is their true goal… A new Shining Force is born, running across the two continents of Rune and Parmecia. An original side story.

The map of Rune is cool, but has nothing of note. While all locations from the game are pictured, only a few are labelled: Dragonia and Rudo Village in East Rune, and Rindo, Manarina, Bustoke, Pao Plains and Uranbatol in West Rune.

The map of Parmecia depicts only the southwest part. While the kingdoms of Granseal and Galam can be seen in Grans Island, the only label there is for the land itself, Ground Seal. Mt. Volcano is also labelled, along with Hassan at the southern coast, and finally, the triangle of mountains to the west, Fire Dragon's Tail. It seems it is not yet known as Devil's Tail. It also has a big volcano on it.

Worth noting, this map is quite squished to fit all of this in a single page. In the actual game, the path to Devil's Tail looks a bit longer, and the same goes for the distance between Grans and the mainland. Devil's Tail also has no sign of a volcano in the actual game, and has some desert ground within the mountains instead.

Also, there is a town here in the western coast of the mainland, but this is many years before SF2, so it can't possibly be New Granseal.

Finally, let us finish with the preview of what's to come.

Chapter index:

An Old Tale.......................................................................7

Chapter 1: The white Sacred Dragon of Dragonia...19

Chapter 2: Chasing the Manual... ....................64

Chapter 3: Wind and Light crossing the plains......136

Chapter 4: Sacred Continent.....................................191

Chapter 5: Origin of the Light...................................245

Chapter 6: Bloodline of the Sacred Dragons.........330

Long, Long Ago...........................................................338

Afterword......................................................................339

[wingedarrows]

Kintsugi for the Wounded Soul

Should I probably have actually posted more of my art of Valor before posting this? Yeah probably. Am I doing that? No. Woe, album art and playlist that tells the story of my grimwalker oc Valor Firemantle be upon ye, whether you have the context or not.