#volo really said “you are all so interesting. i would love to study you.”

[dittydipity]

played the researcher and seeker event. this is what they are to me

[giantchasm]

top 10 pokemon characters/story arcs?

Hi! Sorry this response is coming a little late. I can take a bit to answer asks, but I swear in general I will get around to them. Life's just been hectic.

To answer your question, though (And assuming this only applies to mainline Pokemon— I'll do everyone a favor and spare you from hearing me talk about my feelings on PMD characters... unless people WANT to hear about those too?)

As a note, this is within the context of how well developed I think their characters/story were, so it's not in the order of my favorites in general. That would vary slightly. For example: I love Raifort, but her ass does NOT have that much going on. I'd also put Volo much higher up than I did on this list.

1 - N - Honestly, I had a lot of trouble deciding whether he or Lillie deserved first place. They're more or less a tie in my book. I think they both had character arcs handled extremely well in different ways. I ultimately opted for giving N this slot because I think BW is just the more thematically rich game as a whole, but I do love Lillie. N is just so fantastic, though. I love his arc as well as the different facets of his personality. He was the first character that was ever truly a "blorbo" in a fandom sense to me and with good reason. I would take Ibuprofen with him any day.

2 - Lillie - Like I said, Lillie almost made first place. I really do love her. I think her arc about learning to stand up for herself and generally carve out her identity as an abused child is extremely well done. She is my FRIEND and it made me VERY SAD when she left at the end of the game. I hope everyone who complains about Sun & Moon's story without ever having actually bothered to engage with it blows up forever.

3 - Arven - Say what you will about Scarlet and Violet- they're buggy, rushed games, but their story slaps. I think Arven's arc and the general way he's characterized is super well done. Although that goes for all of the ScarVi cast! I think they're just sincerely good characters. Blowing up everyone who didn't pay attention to the story then had the audacity to complain about it being bad with my mind here as well. [This is malice directed specifically towards Alpharad for his read on Penny, but don't tell anyone that]

4 - Silver - Silver's interesting in that he comes from a time when Pokemon character arcs weren't super defined but he has such a solid one, so he really stands out! I love him learning to open up, trust, and love his Pokemon and think the way that story is told organically through elements such as his Golbat finally evolving is wonderful. His Pokemas event with Ho-Oh made me cry.

5 & 6 - Cheren and Bianca - I feel weird separating these two because of the way their arcs parallel each other, so they're going together. They really do exemplify the way that Black and White were sincerely well-written games and I love their individual stories as well as the way they play into the themes of the overarching story as a whole.

7 - Cyrus - What a character. Cyrus is well and truly one of the most offputting yet interesting characters in the entire series. His nihilistic outlook burying what little he does seem to sincerely care about is so fascinating, and his backstory easily gives him even more depth. He's just this guy who's like... sincerely mentally unwell, and not in a cartoon villain way. He has legit psychological issues. I would love to study him under a microscope.

8 - Volo - This guy's one of my favorite Pokemon characters, but even I've gotta admit he doesn't actually have that much going on. I feel like so much of what I like about him just came from my head. That said, he has a fun charisma about him, even in canon, and I loved getting stabbed in the back. Please stab me in the back more, GameFreak. ([A flying ice-cream truck appears over my head, a la SpongeBob] IN THE STORY! PLEASE DON'T STAB ME IN THE BACK BY MAKING DISAPPOINTING GAMES...)

9 - Barry - Yet another fantastic character from gen 4. I love him realizing he needs to actually take some things seriously and the way he grapples with his failure to protect the Pokemon of the lake. For the third time in this post I'm blowing people up with my mind, specifically the people who just see him as annoying and loud and don't pay attention to the way he changes over the course of the game. ADHD king.

10 - Bede - Tbh... I don't know if Bede actually deserves to be on this list. I think it's probably a little offensive to put any SWSH character on this list. But truth is... I just like him! Even if it was ostensibly poorly executed, I'm a complete sucker for the "spoiled brat gets smacked in the face by reality and has to learn some goddamn humility" trope, and he embodies it well. I also like how ultimately he finds himself and his place in the world through embracing things stereotypically associated with femininity :) I simply think it's nice.

[shmothman]

hello! i don’t know if you’ve seen this but Bird Keeper Toby on YT has made a theory video on the meanings of the hieroglyphs from PLA. It’s really an interesting video and i thought it might be useful to you and your fics (which i fucking love btw… i legit can’t stop thinking about Volo and your fic hehe). Toby along with a discord has tried to translate many of the murals (which starts at 7:08) and has created a list of words that each symbol may mean (starting at 3:54). it’s all just a theory but it’s just so interesting (and i could definitely see Volo studying the hieroglyphs and coming up with theories like this lol).

anyways here’s the vid! : https://youtu.be/VZN5FYYUcP8

Okay I have finally watched this video and I have many thoughts 🤣 I’ll answer your asks below the cut:

First of all, thanks so much!! I’m really glad you’re enjoying the fic!!

Now, I wanna preface by saying that quite honestly, I don’t think gamefreak put *that* much thought into the murals, and I do think we’re largely (as players) supposed to take Volo’s word for it: that the murals tell the story of the ancient hero. (Pokemon has never been… uh… shall we say consistent with its own lore [which is of course a side effect of it being a series that just keeps expanding from its original concept], and it also dances around things so that it doesn’t have to engage with ideas such as, you know, colonialism, but I do think it’s fun to look into things further and make things that deep.)

THAT BEING SAID. I think the way bird keeper toby et. al. translated the pokemon symbols is interesting! Palkia and Dialga standing for space and time, uxie azelf and mesprit standing for knowledge willpower and emotion, those all make sense to me. The nobles are trickier, and I would postulate “fate” or “weird/strange” (‘weird’ comes from ‘wyrd,’ an old English word for destiny) as another meaning for Wyrdeer, given that those are its namesake in both English and Japanese, along with perhaps ‘dance’ for Lilligant and ‘continent’ for Regigigas, if we were going to really get into the nitty gritty of it—and also Manaphy as potentially meaning ‘prince,’ (or perhaps even denoting the original Hero) since the legends about it call it the prince of the sea.

Though of course Volo’s idea that the hieroglyphs tell the story of the original hero also means that they tell the story of us as the player, considering the way we’re meant to mirror the hero, especially as we’re collecting the plates post-game, (as the hero collected the plates to meet arceus) and most of the pokemon depicted were pokemon that gave us the plates. (I do wonder if anyone has looked into the plates held by each of the depicted pokemon and what they say on the back—each plate having a piece of the Sinnoh Creation Myth.)

I also wanna mention that in that video, he says that the original celestica people came from Sinjoh, but I do think that’s the other way around. (Again, not that pokemon has consistent lore BUT—) the old verses are written by someone (who I obviously think can be inferred to be Cogita) who came from the celestica people but is living in a time PAST the celestica civilization. The mention of Sinjoh (while obviously, from a doylist perspective, is just meant to call back to the Arceus event from HG/SS) is, I think, meant to imply that some of the celestica people did leave Hisui and continue their lives elsewhere, and that Sinjoh may be where the author is from.

And honestly I think there are so many cool takes on these things! I don’t have a full set of headcanons for lore, and I like to hear what other people think! I certainly am not setting out to give an answer to all of this in my own fic, though I do put forth a lot of my own headcanons, especially about Cogita 🤣

Anyway I just said a lot of incoherent bullshit but in summary: lore cool.

[matkomakto]

When and why did I choose the languages I learn?

As a break from my thesis, I want to describe my life-long adventure with foreign languages. All this started when I was 9 or 10, it was a boring summer holiday. I had nothing to do, so I rewatched all the Barbie movies. I knew them by heart, so to change something I watched them in all the languages possible. However, each language has a different story, so I’ll describe them separately.

English: I started English when I was 6, I loved it from the very beginning. In the primary schools I always scored A’s and B’s, I frequented additional classes till the age of 11. It got worsen in secondary school, I don’t know if I didn’t like the teacher or the teacher didn’t like me, somehow my grades were much worse than before. However, on the finals I scored 100% and 88%. In the high school I felt my love for this language again. I can say without doubt I was the best student in my group, even though I didn’t get engaged into competitions etc. I simply didn’t want to, but that’s a different story. When I realised I made a mistake having chosen a science class, I decided to take up a preparing course to the extended matura exam, which I managed to pass with 82% result. Then, I chose to study English at uni, and I must admit, it has been a 3-year holiday.

German: In the secondary school I had to choose a second language. My choice was German. When I struggled with English, it was German which still gave me the happiness. Actually, it was my first German teacher who noticed my talent for languages. She took care of me, engaged me into several competitions. After one year of additional lessons with her I knew as much as after 3 years of secondary school. Though, I really regret that I chose German in high school. I wasted 3 years during which I could have continued the study on my own and not repeating the basics each year. Now it’s been 9 years as I’m struggling with this hella boi. Even if I’m not as advanced as I would like to be, I enjoy learning it.

Spanish: I’m not sure if I can say that I have ever studied it. I’d rather say that I acquired it. Since I remember, I’ve been watching various Mexican telenovelas and somehow I managed to acquire it without officially learning it. I remember that once I was desperately looking for episodes of one of these telenovelas, but the only version was without subtitles or anything. However, when I started watching I realised that I can understand almost everything. After 6 months (and matura exams) I decided to buy some textbooks and start the official study. In 3 years I’m nearly fluent.

Italian: Honestly, I have no idea when my desire to learn Italian started. Maybe it was when I was 13, or when my cousin started learning it in high school. I started studying it in 2017, one month after I had taken up Spanish. In the first two years my progress wasn’t huge, it all changed when I became a fangirl of Il Volo and when I decided to go to Italy the following year. Believe me, I wanted to give it up several times seeing that I wasn’t progressing as fast as with Spanish. Now I can say that my Italian is only a bit worse than Spanish.

Norwegian: I wanted to learn a language of one of the Scandinavian countries. I lowkey neglected it now, but I’m still able to understand short texts and it enabled me to understand also Swedish and Danish.

Czech: C'mon, I’m Polish. I love the sweet sound of this language, it makes me laugh sometimes. If you ever asked yourself how Slavic languages sound for the speakers of another Slavic lang, for me Czech sounds like children’s speech. And this feeling keeps me very interested in it. A few months ago I managed to hold my first short conversation in Czech.

Hungarian: It looks so surreal. Also, Hungarian natives are very helpful people and they often learn Polish. Polak, Węgier — dwa bratanki —  együtt harcol s issza borát. Unfortunately, there are very few resources for this wonderful language and Hungarian Duolingo course is the least helpful thing.

Russian/Ukrainian: I joined them together since they have quite similar stories. I fell in love with their soft sounds and a bit hard accents and also made my Ukrainian uni friends into checking my exercises XD. I took up Russian when I finished Ukrainian, sometimes I mix both of them. For example, in Naples I had a conversation with one Ukrainian woman and we used Ukrainian, mixed with Russian, mixed with Polish and Italian (we can register it as  a conlang, I swear). 

Portuguese: I never really planned it. It was an impulse, when speaking with my friend Heloísa. She said that the next language I should pick up should be Portuguese. Here we go!

Greek: It’s my #1 on my to-learn list. The love for this language is dated back for the Barbie movies era. For now, I’m able to read short captions even though I don’t understand what they say. And I always criticised my Maths and Physics teachers’ handwriting, the most horrible thing I have ever seen.

[lichlairs]

Checkout our new post over at https://lichlair.com/daily-monster-59-nilbog

Daily Monster #59: Nilbog

Welcome to Ranger week! For this very special week we’re going to be taking a look at three monsters at different CR levels that rely on range attacks and effects for combat. Today we start things easy with a CR 1 creature…

Nilbog

The basics

I’m very excited to cover today’s monster so let’s just get started with some numbers…

Nilbogs have matching STR and WIS of -1, which is to be expected of goblinoids. Their INT and CON is also not much better at only a +0, but this particular brand of goblin isn’t only moderately superior in DEX as is to be expected (+2), but also in CHA (+2).

These creatures are pretty nimble with a +6 modifier to their Stealth and the ability to disengage or hide on a bonus action, but other than that they don’t really get much in the way of attributes. Today’s goblinoid can also speak both Common and Goblin and has Darkvision to a range of 60ft.

In terms of durability, well, it’s not much; we’re looking at an AC of 13 and only 2d6 worth of hit points with no resistances or vulnerabilities. That said, these small chaotic evil humanoids have other ways to go about this problem, as we will discuss in a second.

Nilbogs have the Innate Spellcasting feature that allows them to cast the following spells:

At will: mage hand, Tasha’s hideous laughter, vicious mockery

1/day: confusion

One of the two most peculiar traits for today’s monster is Nilbogism; an ability that makes it so that anyone trying to attack our monster will have to make a CHA save or succumb to the terrible fate of praising the Nilbog as their action instead.

While the Nilbog is able to use its Fool’s Scepter for close combat attacks, you’ll most likely end up using its Shortbow instead so you can take full advantage of the bonus action hide and the +6 Stealth bonus. That said, when the arty eventual does catch up to your Nilbog, Reversal of Fortune is bound to buy you a little more time…and groans from the rest of the table; using this reaction (we love reactions!) our goblin can not only completely avoid taking damage, but also heal in the process, which is great because the Nilbogism trait does state that these particular goblins cannot be healed in any other ways.

Far above most goblins, the Nilbog is a CR 1 creature.

The lore

What’s goblin spelled backwards? Yup, there it is.

Today’s creature has made a few rounds in popular media and films but tends to be more closely associated with goblins than our D&D version of it. When it comes to our favorite hobby, we can trace this creature back to 1st edition (1st Fiend Folio, to be more exact), which is still the place we get most of our lore from, since there hasn’t been other appearances until the most recent 5th edition version that appears on page 182 of Volo’s Guide.

From this original instance of the creature we learn that nothing is quite as it seems with Nilbogs; while to all intents and purposes they appear as any other goblin, there is a 0.001% chance that said goblin might be affected by a terrible affliction known as ‘Nilbogism’. You see, Nilbogs aren’t born, but rather made; the come to existence when a fragment of a trickster goblin god spirit decides to inhabit the recently downed body of a regular goblin. Once a goblin has been affected in such a way, he becomes a Nilbog.

While there is some study that has been done on the matter, no one knows much about this condition; even the trickster goblin god’s name is unknown so that it might remain safe from those who would see it undone. What we do know about this condition is that it seems to affect the possessed goblin in a contrary manner, for example, those who attempt to harm him will instead heal him, starving the creature result in it gaining weight instead, and healing will result in harm… it’s all a game of opposites. While this condition isn’t contagious per se, it does affect those around the Nilbog in strange ways; while succumbing to praising the Nilbog is common, some might even go as far as feeling compelled to surrender their treasure to the Nilbog.

While it is very strange to encounter more than one Nilbog at a time, it’s not unheard of for goblin tribes to appoint a jester amongst their ranks, as they know that many are fearful of coming across the real deal. Nilbogs can even be venerated as gods by some goblin communities, but this usually doesn’t last very long since the goblins will tend to grow tired of the strange aura exuded by the creature and decide to banish it instead.

Those unfortunate enough to cross paths with a Nilbog must always be cautious; it is said that the spirit of a Nilbog will continue to haunt travelers who mange to dispose of him as it continues to reincarnate in the bodies of other goblins around the adventurers.

The execution

Okay so, this monster is definitely the sort that you would want to keep as a recurring encounter, or at least that’s what I would do. Granted it will probably be more of a recurring joke than a recurring villain, but I’ll probably get some laughs and might even open some doors for interesting side quests. If you play your cards right with this one it could even be one of those memorable bits about campaigns we’re always talking about.

I think the best way to go about this and surprise your players is to have them encounter a decently sized group of goblins with nothing too suspicious about it. Let them cast their spells and lower their numbers until they eventually reach this guy at the back of the room; if they’re anything like my players, chances are that they will be very confused about the saving throw, but just make sure to play it off and keep the combat running. I’ll probably take a couple of rounds before the room is clear minutes the Nilbog, at which point your party will probably have made a few attempts on its life, even i they hit though, it’s unlikely that no real damage will be dealt, heck, I’ve even read stories of players who took turns whacking at this thing to see who would finally make it pass the saving throw.

In terms of combat I would definitely recommend you stock up on the most goblinesque insults you can muster and prepare for a lot of hysterical laughter. Once the Nilbog becomes the prime target, do make sure to try to keep this guy from getting too swarmed; remember you only have one reaction per round! You want to make sure the encounter lasts long enough for the party to figure out what’s going on. Make good use of that range attack!

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[evangelineartemiasamos]

Red Queen Fan Fiction Blood Curse part 3

Find this on wattpad

chapter 1

chapter 2

chapter 3

chapter 4

chapter 5

chapter 6

chapter 7

chapter 8

chapter 9

chapter 10

chapter 11

chapter 12

chapter 13

chapter 14

chapter 15

chapter 16

chapter 17

chapter 18

chapter 19

chapter 20

chapter 21

chapter 22

chapter 23

chapter 24

chapter 25

chapter 26

chapter 27

chapter 28

chapter 29

Final chapter

Mare POV 

I smile at myself in the mirror. A part of me resents to go back to pretending but moping and sulking aren’t an option. Not when I’m having to face Tiberias this morning. My smile doesn’t do much to hide the exhaustion, even though a skinhealer has taken care of my injuries and tiredness after the battle. I’m not a radiant beauty and I never will be, but I have other ways to be striking. 

I spin Cal’s earing between my fingers as I move to the door. Its presence is stinging. 

I don’t want to have it with me, and I don’t want to throw it away - because Tiberias wouldn’t even notice. I thought about giving it away as a present, but to whom? And what would they think about it?

I put it back into a pocket and enter the corridor. I haven’t reached the stairs when reflected sunlight makes me squint my eyes and a familiar clink rings in my ears. It’s Evangeline Samos, stopping me in my tracks. Her metal dress gleams in the morning light as voltage prickles in my fists. I meet her eyes, unwilling to back off. Her clothing is noticeably intricate today, with many layers and chains falling over her midriffs and shoulders. Must have taken a long time to create.

“Are you back at threatening me, your highness?” I ask, dripping sarcasm at her new title.

It takes her long to answer, so I almost cease expecting a vocal one. Our interaction consists of glares and a sudden wave of power emanating from Evangeline. Her dress ripples and changes shapes, until the power reaches me. I walk back half a step when I feel how the metals on my clothing – zippers, rivets, studs as well as my earrings – start to vibrate. For once I’m glad I don’t carry weapons with me, as Farley does. They would work against me among the magnetrons.

Yet I don’t cower before the newly exalted princess in front of me. I close in again and before I throw so much as a single spark, it’s over. Evangeline breaks eye contact and mumbles, “no need for this anymore, we’ve already lost.”

Then she passes me, not without taking a look over her shoulder, her face lacking her usual self-confidence completely. A strange expression for a woman who’s finally gotten what she wanted. Unless she prefers love over a crown after all.

I wonder if she noticed the earring in my pocket.

Her metal clothing drags on the floor and I ask myself how heavy it must be to carry the element of her power on her all the time, unable to draw it from within herself, as I can. What is a magnetron without their metal? It’s a tempting thought to imagine one of the mightiest Silver Houses at loss, powerless and driven into a corner.

Too bad they won’t ever let that happen.

It’s not an auspicious start in the day. But I’m long past these anyway. I join Farley in the hallway in front of the conference room. “Are we in again for a dramatic late entry?” I ask.

She shrugs. “Give the Silvers a chance to discuss among themselves.” She raises her eyebrows and I suspect Davidson has his own agents eavesdropping on the Silvers. He arrives a few minutes later with his generals, knocks on the door and enters without preamble. Farley hesitates for a moment before following him with the Scarlet Guard commanders beside her, the man and the woman who governed Corvium in the meantime. She looks at me, mouthing something, then turns around.

You’re coming with us?

I follow her yet I realize what she asks. Do I really want to do this, to meet Tiberias, the king to be? And do I want to take part in ruling and leadership? I said no to Tiberias about exactly that, because I can’t be his queen, yet here I am again, with Silver kings and Red Generals, without a pause. Once, Cal told me I ran away from leadership, and I did – I still do. It’s not what I aspire, what I wish for, but I can’t let go or stop fighting. Not when my hopes are at stakes and my presence might be a tip in the balance of keeping Cal – Tiberias – in favour of the Reds.

The room falls silence upon our entry. I see Anabel Lerolan, Volo Samos and his children; representatives of the Houses Laris, Iral and Haven; and Tiberias. He sits next to his smirking grandmother, with Evangeline on his other side. The seat between them is empty, like an invitation for me. Even more so when his eyes find me and he brightens at my sight. He smiles like he expected to never see me again. I don’t return the relief. If the corners of my mouth twitch, it must be a grim expression, and he stops beaming. His face freezes into the same stern demeanour his fellow Silvers exhibit at the table.

Davidson takes the seat next to Tiberias. The other Reds sit down opposite the rest of them.

The politicians greet each other although their dislike for one another sizzles in the air. I guess this is always the same. Mockingly polite, Ptolemus volunteers to fill in the Red faction about their previous decisions, demonstrating what a dutiful son he is. His report seems honest enough though I see how Farley has to fight to keep herself from glaring at him. I have to withstand the same urge while my face remains stony without much effort; I had six months of Maven’s company to train this.

It also holds despite Tiberias’s several yearning glances at me. After fifteen minutes of prattling, even I notice that we’ve reached a stalemate. The Silvers are their own kind of rebels and they’re loath to bow to anyone else, despite their alliances. Davidson brings himself into the conversation, dissembles, and the other Guard members fall in line, if only to claim their interest in maintaining their rule of Corvium.

Eventually, Anabel Lerolan cuts in. "Maybe we should give up Corvium.” The proposition is met by stares. I wonder if she only wants to get Reds out of their positions, away from power.

To my surprise, Farley shows a levelled reaction. “It’s not like the Lakelander-Nortan-war will be limited to the choke now. After the main reason for the fighting here is gone.” Her tone is almost sarcastic. She knows about the aspect of population control in the 100-years-war, and how the union of Iris and Maven has shifted their ways of control, with fighting the Scarlet Guard instead of each other.

“I assume with their king killed by the Nortan – separatists,” Farley drags on the words, “the Lakelands will no longer hesitate to attack Norta on other borders, like on the south-eastern frontier.”

Which would be the Rift, the newly founded kingdom of the Samos family. King Volo shows no reaction to her baiting. “Shall they,” he answers, “they won’t have much success with attacking us.” Despite his neutral demeanour, his tone is arrogant. “Though I expect you, dear Anabel, to enable our new trade routes. Your domain is rich in crops and livestock, and we don’t want the usurper to further benefit from both our products.”

The old queen sips her water, inclining her head to a slight nod. “Certainly” she agrees. Tiberias says nothing.

Ptolemus goes on explaining in his father’s place, listing gains he wishes to receive from the alliance. It sounds like he’s studied this part. Evangeline interrupts him.

“How long are we pretending to gloss over the fact that we partied instead of sending more assassins after Maven, to settle this once and for all?”

Tiberias clenches his fists, but I seem to be the only one to notice his unease. He still doesn’t want Maven to die. Though Evangeline’s outburst puts the rest of the council in disarray too. Her father boils at her insolence, but she remains determined, apart from a hand shivering for a short moment. In a way, I agree with her. Maybe I should have done exactly that, hunt Maven instead of enduring this company.

The representatives of the Silver Houses each voice their opinions about the next operations, ranging between proposing their own propaganda tour with Tiberias and Evangeline in undecided Nortan regions, conquering the land piece by piece and outright assassinating Iris and Maven, once they provided fitting candidates. Even Davidson falls in, demanding that King Tiberias openly declares his support of the Scarlet Guard and Red-Silver equality, earning him some pointed glances.

Only Evangeline leans back, her expression almost smug as she drinks her water.

“Tiberias,” Anabel calls out, “what do you decide?”

He blinks at his grandmother.

“It is the king’s duty and privilege to command,” she adds and I’m uncertain if she intends to encourage or to chastise him with that statement. His eyes fly across the room, when everyone is focused on him.

“I think,” he begins, “this task is too important to act rashly now.” He makes the words up as he goes, seeking reassurance from his audience. “Our priority is the restructuring of our joined forces.”

It’s a tactical move, not a strategical one, as usual for him. He isn’t Maven, despite their similar thirst for a throne and I’m not going to mistake them again.

“Maven will have to do the same, so we’ll have the time. In the meantime,” he stops himself and lowers his gaze as the assembly hold their breaths. All except me.

“What is it, Tiberias?” I say. “Do you need another moment outside to make a decision?”

The Silvers glare at me, but my eyes fix on Tiberias. He stares back, almost helplessly. Farley touches my hand, as if she wants to hold me back. Yet, with a small movement of my eyes, I see Davidson smile. I turn to Tiberias again, constraining him with a stare until I’ll have forced an answer out of him.

“The rehabilitation of the Scarlet Guard,” he concedes finally. “It’s Maven’s pet project to give them an ill repute and we have to counteract him there.”

It should be a success but I hardly feel it, and my face must reflect this numbness. Tiberias’s sombre expression tells me as much.

Yet, how easily I’ve influenced him, maybe I’ve been wrong to be disappointed by him. Unless he’s going to fall for anyone else’s goads as quickly. Even though Larentia Viper isn’t present in the room, I feel surrounded by something worse than her snakes.

But the queen of beasts enters ten minutes later. The falcon on her shoulder screams as if to announce her and she has her usual snake on her other side. She says nothing and walks to her husband, to whisper in his ear. Volo Samos isn’t perturbed by the animals but by her message. There’s the smallest crack in the unreadable armour of his face. It vanishes as he speaks, turned into vindication.

“Apparently,” he starts, “my daughter has been right.” Shocks spreads on Evangeline’s face at this concession. “The usurper Maven sends his regards, mocking us, who have vanquished him, who have the true king of Norta on our side. Tiberias lowers his head and I wonder if he’s biting his lip. His knuckles are white from clenching, his bracelets sparkling. I feel frozen yet I long to hear the rest of Larentia’s report.

Only the central message stays in my mind. Maven has sent some of his remaining Newbloods into the Corvium tunnels, burning, shattering and wrecking whatever they could find, until these ten persons died because of the own mess they created, leaving behind their charred bodies and those of 30 guards stationed there. Maven’s message is clear enough.

I can get anywhere and I’m willing to sacrifice as much as it takes to win.

Commentary: I’m so, so sorry for the long wait -.-° I hope you’ve enjoyed this anyway. I had to make some guesses on the political and geographical issues, so I’m not sure if the Lerolan Delphie region has a lush agriculture but I thought it would make sense. 

If the Silvers, especially the women, don’t appear in a good light, it’s because Mare is biased against them. Just as she mocks Ptolemus because has to work hard to keep up to his father’s expectations. He isn’t a born and scheming king either, IMO.  

@evangelinesamo5 @queenmareena @maudthebookeater @lilyharvord @clarafarleybarrow @redqueenfandom @thomaven @mikey-waysjawline @myeyesonthehorizon @universegamer @maven-notmyking @tiygreen37 @didmavenkillyou--metoo

[creativemorningsvancouver]

Our September speaker paper artist, Tara Galuska will be talking on the topic of Creativity and Compassion.

When Tara Galuska was five she wanted to be either an artist or a unicorn. The unicorn plan didn’t come to pass but her dream of being an artist did! Tara is a paper artist whose delicate and intricate miniature paper plant artworks explore interior spaces and the plant owners themselves.

Born in Zimbabwe in 1984, Tara spent her early childhood in Zambia before moving to Australia. She now lives in Vancouver, Canada, with her husband and two cats (and many plants).

Over the last two years Tara has built a thriving art practice and business and creates artworks for clients from all over the world. In addition, she works with select brands to create custom work for their projects including Urban Outfitters, The Land of Nod and last year she lent her paper engineering skills to a commercial for Tide. Tara also works with THRIVE Art Studio a place that creates community and support for female artists. She facilitates groups, hosts events and mentors women in achieving their art and business goals.

Tara would still like to be a unicorn.

How do you define creativity and apply it in your life and career?

Creativity is such a gift in my life as having it on my side means that anything can be figured out.

One of the first things that comes to mind when defining what creativity means to me is problem solving. Maybe this has something to do with a background in studying design or maybe it’s because the first creative people I knew, my parents, were excellent creative problems solvers. I don’t see problems as a negative but rather as an opportunity to really flex my creative muscles

In my artwork right now I am really diving deep into asking myself why I do what I do. This means my work now is filled with opportunities for creative problem solving and for the most part I am loving looking at everything from the visuals to the core of who I am and what is important to me.

Where do you find your best creative inspiration or energy?

I think my best creative inspiration and energy finds me but I have to be ready and receptive. When I focus, listen and pay attention all the creative ideas, information, and resources I need are right there in front of me as a source to tap into.  Being consistently in this ideal state can be hard for me sometimes as a Type A personality who loves goal setting and doing all of the things but that’s what makes life interesting!

What’s one piece of creative advice or a tip you wish you’d known as a young person?

I wish I had known about self compassion! Surely I must have heard about the concept along the way, I mean I watched a lot of Oprah. But somehow it wasn’t until I was 26 and having a very hard time that I heard what it was and my mind was b-l-o-w-n. It changed not only my creative life but everything in between. I heard what I need to hear about self compassion at the right time but super young Tara really could have used it too!

Who (living or dead) would you most enjoy hearing speak at CreativeMornings?

There are so many amazing artists here in Vancouver I’d love to hear speak! I know you’ve already had our THRIVE Mastermind members Danielle Krysa and Ola Volo speak at CreativeMornings but we’ve got a whole lot more who I know would be amazing. Sandeep Johal, Aimée Henny Brown, Nomi Chi… the list goes on and on!

What did you learn from your most memorable creative failure?

No one else cares about what I do as deeply as I do. They don’t even care half as much as I do! It was so freeing to realize this and really helped me understand what people meant when they said there is no such thing as failure. I now push myself to fail fast, fail often and use it to learn and grow.

What’s your one guilty creative indulgence?

I am not into guilt. I don’t see feeding or exploring my creativity as something to feel guilty about so I am guilt free. I feel the same way about chocolate cake too!

How does your life and career compare to what you envisioned for your future when you were a sixth grader?

She’d be so excited and blown away! I honestly didn’t have a clear or even slightly hazy vision for my future as a sixth grader or even young adult. I didn’t see example of the kind of life I live now so would not have known to dream it. My main strategy was just to try do the next thing that felt right and it’s lead me right where I need to be.

What was the best advice you were ever given?

Do the work! We say it to each other here all the time at THRIVE but honestly it is almost the answer to everything.