#you know what else would make a cute tribe quest?

[sezja]

Do you think if I cross my fingers and pray really hard to the gods of gaming, Burmecians will be tribe quests in 7.0

[writings-of-a-daphodil]

Fire Keeper: Chapter 21

Douxie x fem reader

Masterlist in Bio!

Series Summary: You are Jim’s older sister who is taking a break from college and has moved back home to Arcadia. You end up joining Jim and his friends on their adventures.

Chapter 21 summary: You're back in the future, but things don't go well.

Warnings: temporary death and grief

A/n: Wow, last chapter for a while, cue bittersweet emotions. I hope you like it!(sorry for any typos)

Jim’s words echoed in your head. “We need an edge. I'm sorry.”

You and Claire had protested, but he wouldn’t listen. “It's the only way!”

Then he had turned into that beast and told you to run. Which you did, and you regretted it. You couldn’t have stayed, but how could you leave? Guilt haunted you and you knew Douxie wasn’t doing any better.

His aura was overwhelmed with his own guilt over Merlin’s death. “It's all gone. Everything. The Heart of Avalon, Camelot...Merlin.” Douxie looked away, but you could see tears shining on his face.

“Maybe we should say a few words?” Claire suggested.

You nodded. “That’s a good idea.”

“Yeah, okay. Ahem. Battleship. November. Fruit punch.” Steve sobbed. “Purple!”

Douxie sniffed, turning around. “Oh, what can I say about Merlin? He was... he was, uh... He was everything. He was all that we had.”

“We'll get through this, together. We need you, Doux, now more than ever,” Claire consoled, handing Douxie Merlin’s book. “The world, our friends are in danger.”

“And the Order's about to kick off an arcane apocalypse,” Archie added, nuzzling Douxie.

You took a seat next to him. “In our line of work it’s hard to find the time to grieve and now it’s harder than ever with this new threat, but we’ll overcome it. We’ll figure out a way together.” You gave him a hug.

Douxie leaned into you and opened the book. He sighed. “But Merlin didn't tell me anything. And of course, he gave us a book that I can't even read. I mean, what is that supposed to be? Orcish? Elvish? Naga snake tribe?”

Archie gasped. “It looks like...Ancient Draconic.”

“Draconic?” Steve’s eyes widened in panic. “Dracula! Oh, no, Dracula!”

Claire rolled her eyes. “No...as in dragons.”

“As in...” Douxie trailed off.

“Charlemagne, the Devourer,” Archie finished, leaping into the air and transforming into a Dragon.

“Charlemagne, the Devourer. Keeper of the most sacred stones and treasures. A vicious dragon,” Douxie elaborated for yours, Claire’s, and Steve’s sake.

Archie circled the clearing landing on top of a piece of Camelot. “Which is why we shouldn't trouble him. Maybe someone else can translate.”

Douxie shook his head. “Come on, Arch! This is clearly about the Genesis Seals. And if the Order finds them first-“

   “Yes, yes, yes, we're all doomed.” Archie proofed back into a cat. “I suppose we'll have to pay Charlemagne a visit.”

“What about Jim?” Claire asked as Douxie called the flying ship to him. “I need to find him.”

“I’m worried about him,” you added.

“Go back to Hex Tech. Research any dark magic that can help him,” Douxie advised.

“Claire, do you think you can handle that alone?” You asked. “I think I should go with Douxie.”

“Of course. I’ll save Jim and you keep Douxie from doing anything crazy.” She made a waving motion. “Okay. Let's go, Steve.”

“Aw! But the dragon quest!” Steve protested.

“What're you going to do, get eaten again?” Claire sassed and you laughed.

“If I can I’ll get you some pictures, Steve,” you promised.

“Thanks, Y/n,” he said, but you could tell he was still kinda pouting. Claire rolled her eyes and sent him through a portal.

“Also if it’s not too much trouble, could you have Toby feed Mao?” You asked her before she could disappear into her own portal. You had left your familiar back at Hex Tech with Toby and Nari seeing as it didn’t seem like a good idea to bring a kitten into the Arcane Order’s Castle. You couldn’t wait til this was all over so you could spend some quality time together.

“Will do,” Claire said, hoping into the void.

Douxie helped you onto the ship. “Well, let's hope we get some answers... before the Order does.”

   You went over and leaned on one of the rails as Douxie put his staff in the key. The ship hummed to life and flew into the air.

   “Here goes nothing,” Douxie whispered, turning the staff. The ship lurched forward and you fell against the rail.

   “Do you know who to drive this?” You asked.

   “Of course,” Douxie said at the same time Archie mouthed “No.”

   Douxie turned the staff again and the ship shot ahead. You couched the rail, afraid that if you let go you’d fly off.

   Douxie didn’t really talk and so you retreated into your thoughts. You were worried about Douxie. Sure, he was distracted now, but you knew Douxie and he was an open book. With you able to read his aura you could clearly seem the grief in it. It was so overwhelming, you were tempted to stop looking for auras, but you also wanted to understand how he was feeling.

   Not only was their grief, there was blame and you knew he was blaming himself. Douxie liked to shoulder the world, you recalled how Strickler used to call Jim ‘Young Atlas’, but to you, the nickname seemed to fit Douxie perfectly. You wished he would let you take some of the weight.

   His sadness was another overwhelming emotion and you wondered how he wasn’t curled into a ball and crying. You had a very strong instinct to go over and hug him and promise him that things will get better, but you were a little scared to let go of the rail, you would do it later though and you’d make him a pie for good measure.

   Archie shouted directions and it wasn’t long before Douxie was lowering the ship to the forest.

   You looked ahead to see a rogue tree sticking out of the canopy, but Douxie didn’t seem to notice.

“Douxie!” You screamed. “There’s a tree there!”

“I see it, love.” The ship made a sharp turn and you fell to the other railing, taking Archie down with you.

“Sorry, Arch,” You apologized.

“He may know how to drive everything from a car to a stagecoach, and he may have learned how to drive this, but it doesn’t mean he’s good at it,” Archie grumbled.

   This time you held on a little tighter and the cold rail bit into your skin. You didn’t have to be uncomfortably gripping the rail for long though. Archie gave one last direction and the ship shot down, making a surprisingly gentle landing.

Douxie helped you down and looked to Archie. “You've told me tales of Charlemagne, the Devourer, for centuries.”

Archie hopped down. “The truth may be stranger than fiction.”

   “Who is he?” You asked.

“Oh...I've heard terrible tales-whoever stole his treasure got baked alive into a blood pie,” Douxie explained.

“And burned, and singed,” Archie added. “Oh, here we are.”

“Sounds like this’ll be fun,” You muttered, shivering a bit from the cold night air.

Douxie looked down into the old well Archie had gestured at. “I really don't want to be a blood pie.”

“Let’s try to avoid that then. We aren’t here to steal his treasure, we are here to ask for help,” you said, looking into the well for stairs or a ladder.

Douxie stood on top of the well. “How do we get ther-“

Rocks slid and Douxie fell into the well. You winced as you heard him tumble.

“Oh, no!” Archie flew down after him and you hoped in as well, but instead of free falling like Douxie you levitated.

You touched down to see Douxie lying on the floor as Merlin’s staff hit him. “Ugh! All this...ugh-“ the book hit him “-for a book.”

“A very important book,” you reminded me, lighting your hands up with orange flames.

Douxie moved his staff around and screamed. You went to help him stand and you looked down to see the two of you were standing in the middle of a giant foot print. “Oh fuzz buckets.”

You heard and growl and you yelped. You and Douxie looked around for the source, ready to defend yourselves. “I do not want to be baked into a blood pie!” Douxie repeated.

THe ground shook and something stomped up from behind you. The two of you and you whirled around to see a huge white dragon.

“Oh...fuzz buckets,” Douxie whimpered and you grabbed onto his arm.

“We can do this,” you whispered. “We’ve battled a Nyarlagroth and won.”

Douxie didn’t respond, but the dragon did. “Look what the cat dragged in. Get it? 'Cat drag-in'! It's a play on words!” He laughed a big hearty laugh that made you smile despite your fear. “I slay myself! Archie? My cuddly little shapeshifter. Come here.”

“Oh, Father!” Archie touched his face to the dragon and your eyes widened. Not that you knew they were related, you could see it, they had the same eyes.

“When did you get so big?” Charlemange asked.

Archie rolled his eyes. “Very funny, yes. You don't see me talking about all those grey scales, do you?”    

“What? Charlemagne, the Devourer, is your father?!” Douxie concluded, lessening his tight grasp on your arm.

“Dad, these are my dear friends, Douxie and Y/n,” Archie  introduced and you gave a small wave.

“Nice to meet you, sir.”

“So, I finally get to meet your wizard familiar. Mm! Which one is it?” Charlemange looked between you and Douxie.

“I am.” Douxie cleared his throat. “Um, pleased to make your acquaintance, Mr. Charlemagne, the Devourer.”

Charlemagne laughed. “Please. My friends call me 'Charlie'. Let's retire to my dragon's den.”

   As you walked you gently nudged Douxie. “And you thought you were gonna get eaten.”

   “This guys is the most feared dragon out there, you can’t blame me.”

   “Don’t worry, your screams were cute.” You kissed his cheek and went to stand next to Archie.

Charlie lit the fire. “I'm sure Archibald told you all about my famous blood-berry pies.” He set a gigantic pie down in front of you and you admired the craftsmanship.

“'Blood-berry'?” Douxie asked, shaking his head. “There's no time for tea! The Arcane Order is back. They-“

“Killed Merlin,” Archie finished.

“Merlin's...dead? So, you're after the Seals, hmm?” Charlie asked.

Douxie nodded. “And we think this will tell us how to find them.”

“Hmm. Of course.” Charlie took the book and opened it. “He never wrote anything in large print. Mm. Ancient Draconic.” He gasped. “The first letter is an 'H'.”

“Aw, come on! We don't have forever! The world's at stake here!” Douxie shouted, frustrated.

“I'll need my reading glasses. Be back in two shakes of a wyvern's tail.” Charlie promised. “Where did I put those things?”

Douxie snapped to Archie. “Oh, a 'real monster', eh?”

Archie licked his paw. “You think you're the only one with father issues, hmm?”

“Archie, why did you make your dad sound like a terrifying beast?” Douxie asked.

“They're here somewhere!” Charlie yelled from across the room.

Archie sighed. “Truthfully, I was embarrassed. Dad's a walking pun factory. The legends seemed better than the truth. Then again, compared to Merlin, who was...”

“Not the type to make tea and biscuits,” Douxie finished.

“Yes. And now that he's, well, gone, I'm more worried about you. You know you can talk to me, right?” Archie asked.

“We’re here for you, Doux. I know what you’re going through,” you added.

Douxie took a seat and you followed suit, wrapping him into a hug. “I can't help but think...what if Merlin was more like Charlie? If he hadn't saved me in that alley-” Douxie sighed “-would I be a completely different wizard?”

“We don't get to choose everyone that comes into our lives,” Archie said.

Douxie looked down. “Or when they leave.”

You gave a small smile and Archie came over to join your hug. “You’re exactly who you should be, Douxie,” you consoled.

“Ta-da!” Charlie said, coming back over. “Would you believe they were on my head the whole time?”

You gave a small chuckle as Douxie held up the book. “Please. Just tell me what it says.”

Charlie looked at it thoughtfully. “Mm. 'Hisirdoux, if anyone could figure this out, it'd be you. Since you're reading this, clearly, I'm dead. I kept many secrets close at hand, but now I entrust you with this, my final one. The Genesis Seals can be reached by destroying my staff.'

Douxie jumped to his feet, retreating away from everyone. “What? Wait, destroy his staff?”

“There's no time to waste, my boy. You've got a world to save!” Charlie said

Douxie clutched the staff.    “A wizard's staff is everything to them. Look, are you sure that you translated it correctly?”

Charlie swiped at Douxie, trying to get the staff. “Uh!” He yelped, coming to the edge of a small cliff.

“Hey!” You yelled.

“Dad!” Archie scolded.

“Wait! Don't rush me!” Douxie begged, raising his hand, a spell ready.

“Douxie, Dad, play nice!” Archie called, trying to mediate.

“Guys! We can talk this out!” You added, ready to use your own magic to stop any fighting.

“Careful, boy. You're playing with fire,” Charlie growled, letting out a string to show Douxie he wasn’t kidding.

“Oh, dear,” Archie whispered.

“Never challenge a dragon,” Charlie roared. You and Archie rushed to stand between the two.

“Father, Hisirdoux, I miss him, too. But you know, Merlin's not the only family you had,” Archie pointed out.

Charlie sighed, baking down. “He's right. Family isn't only who you have. It's also who you're with. Did you know, Archibald used to be the cutest little dragon you've ever seen?” Charlie turned around and showed you a picture frame. You squealed. It was a picture of Archie as a baby nestled in what you assumed was his egg, wearing Charlie’s glasses.

“That is just too cute!” You squealed.

Archie gasped.  Father, please! Burn that!

Charlie shook his head. “Archie always wanted to explore the world, even before he took his first form. And when he chose a cat, that broke my dragon heart. He became a familiar- a lower profession. But if a cat is what he wants, a cat is fine with me. I realized I had to let him go, so he could spread his wings and soar. And accepting that set me free. And r-r-r-right now, your people look to you-to stand up, to lead.” Charlie let out a breath and a sort of brownish mist swirled around Douxie. Smiling figures of Steve, Claire, Jim, you, Archie, and Merlin appeared in it.

“I know you're still grieving.” Charlie continued. “I know this is too much. But in order to save your family-to save the world-you must let him go.”

The mist cleared and Douxie looked up to Charlie, determination burning in his eyes. “Do it. Destroy it.”

Charlie nodded and Douxie held up the staff as flames engulfed it. Douxie braced himself against the ground, tears streaming down his face. He screamed and the staff shattered, letting out a blast of blinding green light. The light faded, but Douxie was nowhere to be found.

“Douxie!” You and Archie yelled.

You rushed over to the pieces of the staff and picked up the remains. “What happened?”

“If I had to guess, he went into a wormhole Merlin created to store the seals in,” Charlie said. “We just have to give Douxie his time.”

You nodded. “Okay...”

Charlie came up from behind you. “I have more baby pictures of Archie to show to pass the time.”

“Father!” Archie complained as you moved back over to the pie.

“Feel free to have some,” Charlie called over his shoulder while he looked for the pictures. You did as he suggested and got yourself some. Honestly you were shocked when you bit into it. It was warm and gooey and utterly amazing. The crust was perfect and flaky as well. The pie was perfect and you said as much.

Charlie thanked you as he came back over and handed you the photo album. You went to open it but paused. “Could I take a picture of you please? My friend, Steve, wanted to meet you, but he had to go with our other friend, Claire. It’s a long story.”

“Of course,” Charlie beamed and you took out your phone. “Say cheese!” You called, snapping a picture of Archie and Charlie. You took a few more for good measure and then sat down to look at the baby pictures.

You had no clue why Archie was so embarrassed of them. He was the most adorable baby dragon you had ever seen, though you hadn’t seen many of them.  The pictures of him learning to fly were your favorite. Charlie was in the background of some of those, encouraging Archie. Seeing how cute baby Archie was really cheered you up.

You were only on the seventh page though, when a cloud of green fog billowed out of nowhere from the corner of the room. When it cleared away Douxie was standing there.

“Douxie!” You yelled, immediately jumping up.

“Mordrax's miracles, you found them!” Archie exclaimed and you looked at what Douxie was holding.

Charlie smiled. “Well done! I knew you'd do it, little buddy!”

Douxie admired them. “The Genesis Seals! Now we just need to get back to Hex Tech and regroup.”

~~~~

   “Um, Doux!” You called as you looked down to the street Hex Tech was on. “You need to see this.”

   Shards of ice were all over the place and bits of everything was burning. There was no sight of your friends.

Douxie gasped as he hopped out of the ship. “No! No, no, no. No, no, no! No!” You all rushed over to Hex Tech, but the lights were off and ice was everywhere. “Claire! Steve! Nari!” Douxie called.  “What happened here?”

You heard someone groan and you rushed over to see Krel. He was trapped in ice and looked on the edge of consciousness.He wasn’t the only one you saw though, Mao was licking away at the ice trapping Krel. You grabbed her and waited for DOuxie to free your Akiridion friend.

“Krel! No.” Douxie blasted the ice that was trapping Krel and you moved to heal him.

“Where is everyone?” You asked.

Krel groaned. “Couldn't stop them. Took Nari. Oh, wait! He can show you.” He stood up and grabbed the head of a glitching robot with a human face. You shivered a bit at the creepy sight.

“Wahoo! How are you, buckaroo?” The robot head asked. Krel pressed a button and a video of Krel screaming and running appeared on a big screen. There was a lot of screaming as the camera was rolled around until Toby grabbed it.

“This looks like the end!” He cried. “I leave my classic VHS action movie collection to my nana and my warhammer to Y/n!” The video was taken from Toby and showed the fiery person from the Arcane Order who crushed the camera.

With that the video cut out. “That's all fo-beep-boop,” the robot said.

You continued looking at the screen in horror. “Not them too.” You squeezed your eyes shut as tears ran down your face. You hated the Arcane order. Gumar had already taken so much from you and here they were to finish it off.

“No, no, no, no, no, no, no! This wasn't supposed to happen! No! Oh, please tell me there's something in here to help,” Douxie begged, setting Merlin’s book on a table leafing through it.

Archie put his paw on it, covering some of the words. “You don't need the book to tell you the answer, Doux. Merlin was clear. If the Order has Nari, we can't let them get the Seals, or it's arcane Armageddon.”

“But I can't just leave our friends to die!” Douxie protested.

“No we can’t,” you stated, determined. Your friends were not going to die. You weren’t gonna lose anyone else.  

“It's not easy being a leader,” Krel said.

“The Order will never stop coming after the seals,” Archie reminded and you nodded.

Douxie sighed. “We'll spend the rest of our lives running.”

“Save our friends or save the world? You have to make a decision. We're out of time!” Krel complained.

Douxie’s head snapped up. “Or maybe...time is all we have.”

   “What do you mean?” Archie asked, but it hit you.

“We send the Arcane order through time,” you concluded.

“It’s a crazy idea, but it just might work. Arch, remember how before we met Merlin we used to do the Lad of Fortune trick with the cup to earn money? We do that, but inside the cup is a smaller heart of Avalon. Krel you mentioned something about magic and Acaridian tech earlier, can you fashion something out of the heart of Avalon that will send the Arcane order through time?”

Krel shrugged. “Maybe.”

“Well, ‘maybe’ is all we’ve got right now. We can only hope this works. Let’s get to work!” Douxie exclaimed.

You turned to him. “I’m gonna go leave Mao with my mom, but I'll be back to help soon, okay?”

“Okay, stay safe.” He kissed you and you wished you didn’t have to go. You wished you and Douxie could just hang out and date like a normal couple, but alas, the fate of the world was in your hands.

~~~~

You made it back just in time for Douxie to explain his plan to you. He, Krel, and Archie had gotten a lot down in the short amount of time you had been gone and were ready to put the plan into motion.

You watched as Douxie closed his eyes, projecting himself so he could talk with the Order. “Arcane Order, Hisirdoux is here!” He spoke. ”Ah-ah-ah-ah--! Hold your hexes if you still want these.” He held up the seals and you realized how weird it was to be on the other side of astral projection. “You want them?” Douxie asked. “Well, come and get them. I'll be at the cafe.” Douxie’s eyes opened and gave you a thumbs up before he turned to walk over to Krel.

“Your designs were complicated, but I'm 98.442 percent sure that this will work.” He set the device down and it spun to life. “Akiridion tech and magic are so compatible! Who would have thought?” Krel laughed.

“No turning back now,” Archie said as Douxie picked up the little-yet very important-trinket Krel had made.

“Wasn't planning on it. Arch, pass me those salad bowls, then head out. Y/n, prep the airship,” Douxie requested.

“I'll always follow you, Doux, but this could be a huge mistake,” Archie warned.

“'A wizard doesn't make mistakes-he makes unexpected possibilities,'” Douxie quoted, courage and determination ringing through his voice.

You smiled at him nervously as you walked out the door. “Stay safe and don’t forget you still owe us brunch.”

~~~~

“Hold on, big guy. I'm about to bust you out. Agh! Cheap lighter!” Steve whined as you entered the room. You nodded to Archie and he sent his own fire to free Aaarrrgghh.

“I did it! Sir Steve is your savior!” Steve cheered and you rolled your eyes.

“Helpful as always, Steve,” Archie said as he flew around freeing everyone. You sent your own blasts of fire, but you were distracted by Jim, or what was supposed to be him. You knew your brother had to be in there somewhere, but whoever was in control of him was not your Jim.

The beast roared at Archie, ready to fight and you got ready to protect, but Aaarrrgghh stepping, punching Jim. “Please stop, Jim!” Aaarrrgghh growled. “Don't make me hurt you, Master Jim!”

“Stop it, Jim!” You scolded, your big sister instincts kicking in as he hit Aaarrrgghh .

“Wingman, no!” Toby cried as Jim punched Aaarrrgghh again, knocking him down. Toby ran over there, ready to face the beast if it meant saving his wingman.

“No!” Claire called as Jim got ready to punch Toby. You were ready though and sent a shield their way. An orange sphere blossomed protecting them, but Jim never attacked.

A guitar riff played and you knew that Douxie had arrived. Jim covered his ears and you laughed, your Jim wouldn’t enjoy this type of music either.

“How about a little music to soothe the savage beast? Is everybody all right?” Douxie asked, knocking Jim out with his guitar-staff.

You rushed over to him. “Did it work?”

Douxie nodded. “So far so good. Now we just need to get everyone out. Is everyone all right?”

“Douxie!” Toby exclaimed. “I'd hug ya, but I can't move my arms.”

“Where is the Arcane Order?” Claire asked, getting to her feet.

“I have them preoccupied.” He gasped. “What's the Queen of the Apocalypse doing here?”

   “What I should have done long ago-deal with my brother,” she said, moving past Douxie. “Get your injured to safety.”

   You moved to help Aaarrrgghh up. “We need to find Nari.”

“Nari!” Douxie exclaimed. “She's not here with you?”

Claire shook her head. “They locked her up somewhere. Douxie, did you get the Seals?”

“Uh...” Douxie hesitated. “I'll explain later. Let's go.”

“Grab Jim,” Claire requested.

Aaarrrgghh grunted. “Got him!”

You raced out of the castle and to a ledge were Douxie whistled. The ship rose out of the clouds, hitting the castle. You winced and covered your ears as metal on metal screeched.

“Whoa, whoa! Whoo-hoo! Whoa! Sorry, sorry! I'm still getting the hang of it,” Krel apologized.

“All right, everyone on board. Krel will take you down to Arcadia. I have to get Nari, see my plan through to the end,” Douxie explained.

Douxie held out his hand to help you onto the ship, but you didn’t take it. “I’m coming.”

“No, you go with them. You need to keep them safe.”

“Fine.” You took his hand and hopped on. As he walked away you could only hope that he would be safe. You hated not going with him, but you also knew he was strong and could handle himself. The Arcane Order were still going through time anyways.

   You went to take the steering staff from Krel, hoping you’d be a slightly better driver.

   “He’ll be okay,” Claire soothed and you nodded.

   “What should we do about Master Jim?” Blinky asked.

   “Restrain him,” you replied, raising your hands to perform the spell, but before you could his eyes snapped open.

“Oh, no!” Claire yelped.

“Oh! No, no, no! Go back to sleep, Big Jim!” Steve yelled, trying to whack Jim with his axe. Jim caught it and sent Steve flying over the edge.

“Steve! No!” Claire yelled as Jim sent the axe flying right at you. Toby pushed you aside and the axe hit the staff instead, sending the ship spiraling out of control.

The ground grew closer and closer and you sent a spell to slow your fall. “Hold on!” you screamed. The ship bounced on the ground and you all fell from it.

You did your best to shield everyone, but you still had a nasty fall. You were very glad you hadn’t been impaled by a branch from the tree you had somehow landed in.

"Y/n! Claire!” Toby screamed and you hopped down from your branch to see Aaarrrgghh and Jim fighting.

“Jim!” Claire cried.

“Aaarrrgghh remind Jim who he was.” Aaarrrgghh pinned Jim to the ground.

“Master Jim, snap out of it! We are your friends,” Blinky tried.

“Your family!” You added, blasting him with a stun spell. It only seemed to enrage the beast though and he threw Aaarrrgghh onto you, Krel and Blinky.

Your back hit your old tree and you felt the wind get knocked out of you.

“Oh, no!” You heard Toby gasp. “Come on, Jimbo. It's Toby, your best friend. Oh, no, oh, no!” Jim roared turning to Toby, but Claire sent a portal and Toby popped in next to you.

“Jim Lake Jr., I know you can hear me! I know you're still in there!” Claire yelled as you got up. Her eyes glowed purple and Jim’s golden outlining turned the same color.

“Get out of my head!” Jim roared, attacking CLaire who portaled away.

“I promised I'd come back for you! Now fight it, Jim!” Claire begged sending a swirling blast of magic at Jim when he continued to charge.

“No! My soul belongs to the king!” Jim growled. You got ready to take over the fight when a blast shook the ground, knocking you back down.

“Morgana!” Claire yelled, but her voice turned into a scream.

“Jim, no!” You got up again, already chanting a spell.

“Oh, no!” Toby cried as Jim squeezed Claire.

“Claire!” Blinky called.

“I love you, Jim. We all do. Please...” she begged and his markings once again faded to purple.

   You were soon distracted though by a piece of the castle crashing to the ground on top of Morgana and Arthur.

   Another blast almost sent you to the floor, but you braced yourself. As the energy faded you looked over to Jim.

“Claire? Y/n?” He asked.

Claire smiled. “There you are!”

Jim beamed, but your euphoria faded when you saw stone spreading over him.

“Oh, no!” Toby cried.

   “Claire!” Jim panicked. “Y/n?!”

“Jim! Jim!” She sobbed. “No! Jim! No! No!”

You sank to the ground. “No! Not again, This will not happen again. We’ve already lost too much.” You buried your face in your hands as sobs wracked your body. In the few seconds that Jim had been yours again, hope had built itself inside of you and now it was getting destroyed. It felt like your heart was getting ripped out of you.

Jim was gone again, and unlike last time you had seen him die. It was. over, there was no way you could get lucky enough to get your brother back again. It was over now and this time you’d actually half to tell your mom.

You sobbed harder, it just wasn’t fair. Jim couldn’t be gone, he had barely lived his life. Sure he had his fair share of great adventures, but that didn’t make it any better. You may have your memories, but all you wanted was to have Jim back.

   You only stopped sobbing when you heard a crack.

You looked over to see Jim breaking apart. You began to sob even more, angry at the world that wouldn’t let him be. You couldn’t even have his statue apparently.

After a while you felt a hand on your back and you looked up, expecting it to be Claire, Toby, Steve, or even Douxie, but who you saw shocked you even more. Jim, human Jim was smiling at you. “Y/n...”

You stood and wrapped him in a tight hug. “You’re okay! I missed you so much!”

“I missed you too.” You stayed there, hugging him for a while, trying to soak up all the happiness you were feeling from your brother. You couldn’t believe he had lived, but you were so so happy that he had.

Now to make this day even better Douxie would come. Nari and Archie had already arrived, you were just waiting on your boyfriend to figure out the next phase of the plan.

You looked up though when a blast rocketed across the sky. Your eyes immediately found Douxie’s body falling through the debris.

You barely registered Steve and Toby shouting as you and Nari took off. The forest blurred behind you as you ran. This could not be happening. You had just gotten Jim back and now Douxie was free falling to his death. The world could be so cruel.

   A flash of blue light briefly lit up the clearing in front of you and you raced to its source. Douxie was lying on the ground and you could barely sense his aura. You dropped to your knees and searched for a pulse and though you found one, it was so small there was nothing you could do, not that both you and Nari wouldn’t try.

   You placed your hands on his chest and went through every magical healing spell you knew, even trying normal things a human paramedic would do, but nothing worked.

   Your emotions were thrown right back into the dark lands of grief.

“I can’t be too late. Come on Douxie. You’re gonna be okay. You can’t leave me here. I can’t do this without you. You can’t die now. I need you,” you sobbed, tears soaked Douxie’s jacket as you mourned.

You couldn’t even process it. Your emotions had been thrown through a blender and it hurt so much. Your heart ached with the pain of knowing that this time you had actually lost Douxie. There was a small part of you that was still hoping though, maybe today was a day of miracles and Douxie would live?

The demons that had taken over your rational thoughts laughed at that idea. More tears fell as you sank deeper and deeper into despair, grief and guilt. Maybe if you had run faster or convinced Douxie that you could take on the Arcane Order with him, then he would still be with you.

You barely heard your friends talking and were only relieved from your dark thoughts by the impossible, Douxie’s chest was moving.

“Y/n...?” Archie asked and you realized that he had been on your shoulder, lying on Douxie with you.

Douxie coughed. “Eh...?”

“You’re okay!” You cried, jumping into his arms.

Archie copied you. “Douxie! You brave, foolish boy.”

Douxie groaned. “But everything hurts.”

Claire smiled. “I can't believe you're okay.”

Archie laughed. “Barely! Seems you're the one with nine lives. And don't you ever do that again.”

“Happy you're alive, Teach,” Claire said as the two of you plus Steve helped him up.

“Easy,” Douxie rasped. “I just came back from beyond the grave. But wait, where's Jim? Mordrax's miracles. It seems I've missed a lot.”

“Same, but glad to be back,” Jim said.

Douxie looked around. “What about Arthur?”

“Squished,” Aaarrrgghh grunted.

“Indeed,” Blinky confirmed. “And I'm afraid with their demise, Excalibur...”

“Is right over here!” Toby yelled, racing over to try only for the sword to not even budge. “Okay, I just had to try. It’s kinda fun. Y/n you should try.”

You chuckled. “Thanks, but I’ll pass.” Honestly you just didn’t want to let go of Douxie.

“What of you, Master Jim?” Blinky questioned.

“What?” Jim asked.

You helped Douxie forward. “Jim, Blinky's right. With Arthur gone, someone needs to wield Excalibur.”

“Who better than the Trollhunter?” Claire pointed out.

Jim looked down. “But without the amulet, am I still the Trollhunter?”

“This means nothing, Jim. If I've learned anything, it's that we don't draw strength from magic artifacts like amulets and swords. Our strength is something far less enchanted, but no less special—our friends. We are the protectors of this world. That's why I made the gamble I did: because the only way to stop the Arcane Order and save this world...is to do it together,” Douxie explained.

“Are you sure our Douxie came back from the dead? This one is super sappy,” Claire joked.

“Cheeky,” Douxie said and you all laughed, but you noticed Douxie stopped soon after. “It's time Nari and I got a move on, before the Order catches up.”

Claire frowned. “You're leaving? Already?”

“Yeah, you just finished a whole speech about saving the world together,” Steve reminded, as Douxie, Nari, and Archie got onto the slightly damaged ship.

“Where are you going?” Jim asked, coming up to stand next to you.

“I promised Merlin I'd keep Nari safe, which means taking her far away from here. Don't worry, I'll be seeing you champions of Arcadia soon enough,” Douxie reassured.

“We’ll make sure to visit, we just have to keep moving. Staying in one place too long will give them time to catch up to us,” you added, climbing onto the ship.

“We?” Douxie asked and you took his hands.

You gave a small smile. “Yeah ‘we’. You’re gonna need me.”

“What if you get hurt?”

“We’ll have each other's backs,” You said, petting Archie. “It’s gonna be okay.”

You turned to wave goodbye to your friends and family. It was a bittersweet ending, but like Douxie had said, you would see them again soon.

****

Yay! It's done-ish!! I can't wait for the movie so I can finish it!! I really hope y'all enjoyed this series and I can't wait to write more for Douxie. Thank you all so much for your kind comments and I hope y'all will have a fantastic and safe weekend.💙 And happy Halloween!!

P.S. if you want to be on the taglist feel free to ask. I hope it works and please message me if it doesn’t.

[popatochisssp]

Undergloom: AU Concept

What if...

Premise

This is a ‘verse where monsters aren’t made of hope--it’s something that they have to get the same way humans do, through positive circumstances and sturdy social support networks.

So...being trapped Underground with no real chance of escape was, in a hilarious bit of understatement, kind of a huge bummer.

In Undergloom, the loss of the Royal Family’s children was pretty much it for monsterkind’s hope.

The Dreemurrs never split—lacking innate internal hope, Asgore was never overcome by anger and never declared war on all of humanity, simply succumbing to his grief. Toriel did the same and so they never argued over war, collecting souls, and falling humans.

Meanwhile, without a goal and the promise of impending freedom to inspire them, monsters have largely given up. Physically, most are very weak and lethargic, on the verge of Falling Down—and Falling Down is a depressingly common occurrence. Monsters are all relatively uninterested in any humans that fall or pass through, making no attempt to capture them. Any Encounters are half-hearted at best.

Not being hunted and killed for their souls, all the humans who have fallen (the six souls Asgore would’ve otherwise collected) are still alive and have made a small community for themselves in the abandoned Ruins. They gradually congregated there upon realizing that there was no way to escape the Underground without killing one of two very sad and polite (if distant) Boss Monsters. Their eventual plan is to wait for seven humans, the amount needed to break the Barrier, clumsily learning what magic they can from disinterested monsters in the meantime. They’re all an assortment of ages now, and mages of varying skill-level, just biding their time until the Seventh Human falls and they can all be free.

Major Characters

Asgore and Toriel: They never officially separated after the death of their children, but the loss caused an emotional rift between them. While they remain married, the passion has gone entirely from their relationship and they stay together mostly as a formality, to best co-rule their kingdom. They perform their duties separately, coming together only for public appearances--or when Asgore is tending to the Golden Flowers and Toriel ghosts in to pick one, leaving just as silently as she came.

Flowey: Doesn’t exist. Asriel’s dust was spread on the Golden Flowers in the palace, but no DT experiments were ever done, so his later incarnation never came to be. He and his adopted sibling Chara are both resting in peace.

Alphys: Without the guilt caused by the DT experiments, the Royal Scientist is actually one of the most hopeful monsters in the Underground. She’s been very inspired by the (ultra-shoujo/shounen) anime she’s found in The Dump and keeps trying to create things that improve the quality of life for monsterkind—if they’re all trapped and can’t get out, they should at least all try to be happy and not give up, shouldn’t they? It’s…it’s hard to believe that sometimes, her hope isn’t unfaltering, but she wants to keep trying anyway. It’s what Mew-Mew would do! She…thinks…?

Undyne: The Captain of the Royal Guard is bitter and frustrated with the whole situation. She thinks that they should be (should’ve been) collecting human souls from the beginning, to break the Barrier—or at least they should’ve harvested one for somebody to absorb and go through to get more! But everybody’s such a bunch of weak sad-sacks that they won’t act, doing nothing at all about the tiny tribe of humans just about everybody knows is living it up in the Ruins. …but she doubts herself too, because it seems like she’s the only one who thinks that way. That’s what bums her out the most, wondering if maybe she’s a bad person for feeling the way she does, but at least… At least all the passion pouring out of a certain (very cute) Royal Scientist makes her feel better, on her worst days.

Mettaton: A discouraged celebrity, once very excited when Alphys built him a new body, thinking that he was finally going to be able to achieve his dreams of stardom, but..well. An Underground of very depressed monsters makes for a pretty cold fish of an audience. He still has a viewership because there’s nothing else on... but his performances just aren’t very passionate these days, getting more and more lackluster by the episode. He wants to inspire monsters to rise up and reach their dreams, but he just doesn’t know how to do that when he’s not even sure he believes in his own dreams anymore...

Papyrus: Another monster who has a little more hope left than most, doing his best to stay optimistic in the face of a really bad situation. He...may be in a little bit of denial, actually? He maintains that somehow, monsterkind is going to be free again! He just! Doesn’t know how! But it’ll definitely happen, just you wait, they’re totally not all going to die down here without ever getting to experience all the neat stuff on the Surface!!! He pretty much has selective hearing about anything related to that kind of hopelessness, tuning it out and not responding to it, mostly because he knows if he dwells on it too long, he’s going to have an existential crisis/breakdown of uncomfortable proportions and noooobody wants to see that mess, hahaha… In the meantime, he’s thrown himself into human studies and analysis, full-on Little Mermaid style because it gives him something good to focus on, and hope that life on the Surface will be good, once they get up there! He’s actually very close friends with Alphys because of their shared interest (though he’s not sure how sold he is on those cartoons…). He’s also trying to befriend Undyne, because she’s Captain of the Guard and seems really cool! And maybe if he could be friends with her, and cheer her up, maybe she could help him spread that cheer a little bit…? Or! Maybe he just makes a cool new friend and at least one person around here a tiny bit happier, which is also good!

Sans: A guy under no illusions that their situation is anything but terrible. He’s very weak and very tired, even for the Supremely Bummed Out monsters he lives amongst. His nihilist sense of humor and his brother are pretty much the only things keeping him from Falling Down at this point—that, and the humans in the Ruins. He’s met a few of them, indirectly, through his knock-knock routine, and he knows that there’s six of them in there now; knows that with just one more, maybe…maybe…? …He tries not to hope too hard, there’s a lot of random chance and timing involved, and humans just aren’t as sturdy as, say, a Boss Monster. Something—illness, injury, old age—could happen to any one of the humans at any time before a Seventh Human can fall… but he still checks on the door every couple of days, thinking that impossible, “maybe…”

Frisk: The long-awaited Seventh Human! They’re greeted after their fall by the six humans who preceded them, and are summarily tutored about Encounters and souls and The General Situation. After that, their quest is to go through the Underground, learning and mastering their magic so that they’ll be able to help break the Barrier. They’re escorted by the other mages, but are mostly on their own, as they want Frisk to learn and strengthen their abilities by themselves. Frisk is pretty safe in Encounters, since monsters aren’t really enthusiastic enough to hurt them, even on accident—but maybe, depending on what they say and do, they could reignite the hopes and dreams of monsterkind…?

Potential Outcomes

No Mercy - Frisk kills all the monsters they can on the way to the Barrier. Once it’s broken, one of the mages (randomly decided each run) will turn on them. They may only be a child, but based on what they’ve just done, they’re dangerous and only bound to get more dangerous as they get older—it had to end here. The last thing Frisk hears is the mages arguing over the morality of it before everything ends… and they have the chance to RESET.

Neutral -  Frisk only kills a few monsters, or doesn’t kill anyone but does not restore everyone’s hope (major characters). When they get to the Barrier, they find that their magic alone isn’t strong enough to help break it…but the other six mages and any befriended monsters will comfort them and assure them that they can just…live down here a little bit longer. They can try again in a couple years, when their magic is stronger, it’s okay, Frisk! That’s fine, they guess, but maybe…maybe they can do better if they RESET?

True Pacifist -  Frisk kills no one and befriends/inspires all main characters. All the monsters show up to cheer them on while they and the mages attempt to break the Barrier. When Frisk’s magic alone isn’t strong enough, the monsters lend their magic too, and all together it’s enough to shatter the Barrier and let monsters and mages finally go free!

Getting the Good Ending

Asgore and Toriel have to be convinced to split--they realize that they don’t fit together anymore, at least not romantically, and after everything that’s happened, it’s time for them to move on from one another and let go of the past.

Alphys and Undyne have to be brought together-- Alphys’ resolve to reach for better things is validated by Undyne’s admiration of her, and Alphys’ belief that she’s not a bad person restores Undyne’s confidence.

Mettaton needs an enthusiastic audience for once. A cheering crowd (even just of one) is enough to make him perform better, which improves his ratings and viewership, which makes him perform better, and so on in a feedback loop of glitz and glamour until he can believe in his dreams and the Underground’s again!

Papyrus is easy-- he just needs to be told of the humans’ quest to break the Barrier. He knew it! He knew monsters were going to be free one day, somehow! And here’s the proof, a band of mages on their way to make it happen as they spoke! Take that, existential nihilist dread, optimism was right!!!

Sans is both the hardest and the easiest-- he needs you to inspire everybody else first, but then it’ll just happen on its own. When he sees all of monsterkind rallying together, having hope for once...it really makes him believe in that ‘maybe,’ more than he ever could before. Ah, hell...he’ll be rootin’ for you, too, kid!

Aesthetic Notes

Mostly muted, washed out colors and plenty of monochrome, big The Neopets Gray Paint Brush vibes.

Monster magic is mostly shades of gray: the default is white but pretty much only children too young to understand everyone’s predicament remain white. The more hopeless a monster has gotten at their worst, the darker and grayer their magic gets. It’s easier for magic to darken than to lighten, so it will take many years of living on the Surface for monster to see their magic work its way back to white, and some may never recover completely--but they can always get just a little bit better! Even if it takes time!

Asgore and Toriel: Very neat and well put together, but overwhelmingly dour--the vibe you’d expect off a very proper and serious Victorian couple. Perfectly respectable black clothing (for mourning), with little to no ostentation. Crowns are pewter instead of gold. Asgore’s hair has faded from gold to more of a dishwater blond, and his beard shows several streaks of gray. Toriel wears Chara’s locket and plucks a fresh Golden Flower every day to place behind her ear, in remembrance of her children.

Alphys: Some of the brightest colors in the Underground--but in comparison to monochrome, even the soft pink and blue pastels she favors look bright. She wears a lot of cute dresses under her lab-coat (sometimes Lolita style), and always has some kind of ribbon tied in her crest or onto her tail-- it makes her feel cute and pretty and she likes the ego boost it gives her.

Undyne: Droopy fins, scales lacking in luster. She wears her hair down, long and loose about her face, but generally has the same fashion and body type as her canon self. Her appearance is one of those things she hasn’t given up on just yet!

Mettaton: A very Apple tech-esque look, clean white and sleek minimalist lines, basically an iPad on wheels. It’s pretty, but...also kinda boring. His Ex form is a lot more fun, still a little bit of a JJ Abrams look, but with a splash of Daft Punk--the Ex form can do rainbow lights and in comparison, it’s mind-blowingly, eye-searingly flashy...and suits him so much more.

Papyrus: No battle body, and not so much of a Strapping Young Lad--he’s a little slimmer in the chest and shoulders, and dresses like the sweet Boy Next Door he is. His magic is a pearly color, almost white but with a faint tinge of gray.

Sans: Not overly different-looking, favors soft and comfy clothes, anything that’s easy to pull on and cozy enough to sleep in. Extra Rounde™, precisely one notch up from however chubby-looking you normally imagine your Sanses to be. Deep shadows beneath his eye-sockets, and eye-lights that match the color of his magic--ash gray.

Not a major character but I had a cool idea for him so

Grillby: Mostly the same, but his flame burns low and rounded, more like a match or a candle wick than a freely flickering fire.

If you made it this far through all of that, thank you for listening to my idea! That’s all I got. :3

-

ETA some other stuff, since I’ve been asked some other stuff! XD

More about Grillby

Muffet and Napstablook

The mages’ powers

Burgerpants and Nice Cream Bunny

More about Frisk and Toriel

Various Skelebros Stuff: I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII

Monsters’ reception on the Surface

[purplerose244]

Thoughts journal Ninjago season 13!!! 🤩🤩 (3/4)

I am enjoying the season A LOT. The reveal has been thrown already, everything seems to be leading towards something special about Rock Mom and I couldn't hope for something better!! I know Lou will be back so I guess a flashback?... I'M SO EXCITED 💕💕

Alright, let's start!!

DUNGEON PARTY!

Side note, we're past the season and no Nexo Knights reference. Me sad, but me not quitting like ninja!! 💪💪

Korgran of METALONIA?!?! WHERE KARLOF COMES FROM!!! Oh you just love to feed me with good throwbacks, now do you Ninjago crew 😍

Plundar the thief, yeah, the attire gives it away although it is nice. And Fungus... huh... well that explains the mushrooms on the hat I guess 😅

Yep, there we go, a party of adventurers, the DnD situation promised 👈👈 He said loot, I saw a 20 faced dice, nice nice

In these recent seasons adventurers just won't like to do adventures for one reason or another, first uncle Powers, now these guys? I mean Ninjago is in danger every freaking time and you risk your life at every step and there's a new formidable villain every like five seconds but... huh... what was my point again?

THE ANIME STYLE IS BACK 😂😂 Oh boy I can tell we're in for a train to crazy town

I'm thinking this dude looks a lot like He-Man... of course he does, the HECK, am I noticing this just now? 😑

I do agree with mister Korgran's father reluctance about talking like that (I saw too many anime characters like that 😂), but Karlof uses the third person too. Either it's common in Metalonia, or there's a general lack of education there 😅 (I LOVE METAL BOY I MISS HIM 🖤🖤)

Talking axe that doesn't talk, nice 😂

Okay... okay, I need a moment

This is too cute. I know her head is a bit too big but LOOK AT THEM 💛���💛🤍 Has Chompy never grown?... wait he did got big that one time... okay... okay, never mind

Well that's a pretty nice party, you got your barbarian, your magic user and your rogue. Kinda misses a healer but still... tomorrow I'm doing a DnD session with my friends and I wanna sound like I know stuff 😂

I just noticed that I haven't seen hidden trap doors like that since Chen, the ABC of villains right there my friends 👆

So the King didn't become evil just because of the skull, he actually wished to obtain it and use the dark power. I get that he wants to defend the city but he is basically remorceless about everything else, so he is guilty. Also DRAGON ABUSER 😡

Poor Vania, but she overcame her Skylor situation very quickly. Proud 💛

There we go with the encouragement, you go Rocky!! We have a crazy Skull dude to turn into dust!! 👿👿

Wait, a promise he made a long time ago? Rock mom?

DUNGEON CRAWL!

ROCK MOM!!! YAAAASSS!!! FINALLY SHE'S HERE!!! 🖤🖤🖤

Oh holy FSM, my heart 💔

MY HEART HURTS SO MUCH. Cole as a kid, Lou is back, Rock Mom IS SICK AND WILL DIE, all the drawings, the picture of them together 😭😭

I cannot, freaking, this kid doesn't want his mom to be sick and he's gotten into troubles at school and she wants him to fight and be strong and right and SHE HAS HIS SAME EYEBROWS 😢😢😢😢😢😢

This scene was really heartbreaking, such a genuine situation with a kid that wants her mom to be fine and proud of him 🖤

Just looked at her VA and it's Erin Matthews 🤩 So first I'm counting it as a Nexo Knights reference just because MACY AND ROBIN ❤🖤❤🖤 Second, wasn't "the mom" going to be voiced by Jillian? Is it... is it Maya? Is she coming back? MAYBE NEXT SEASON??? NYA SEASON?!?!? 🤯🤯

Oh, we're moving on? So... so there's still the stuff about Rock Mom's past to uncover, still unsure if she was the one of the blades for the two tribes

PLUNDAR WE DO NOT DISRESPECT COLE INTO THIS HOUSE VANIA MY GIRL YOU ARE SPEAKING FOR ME TOO 💪💪

The connection between Cole and his mom is the earth itself, I'm loving this concept so much. It's true that he never found himself this deep into his element before, the Caves of Despair were mines but never this deep. This really is rock bottom... HECK YEAH

Well Cole...

Welcome to the colored eyes because of elemental power ninja team!! 💚❤🧡 (without counting the forbidden scroll moments) I LOVE WHEN IT HAPPENS!!! I'M GETTING SO PROUD AND EMOTIONAL!!! I'M PROUDOTIONAL!!! 🤯

Aww, Cole saving his son sensei, very nice. They did save each other a lot 🤷‍♀️

This place reminds me a lot of the Fire Temple where Kai got himself into trouble in season 1 but then saved Lloyd, one of my favorite and most memorable episode of the show... I'M TOO NOSTALGIC RIGHT NOW LET'S MOVE ON

NEVER MIND COLE IS TAKING CHARGE LIKE OLD TIMES HE IS FINALLY THE LEADER AGAIN I'M GONNA CRY ROCKY I'M SO HAPPY YOU DESERVE THIS 🖤

Wu's spinjitzu!! Always nice to see it 😊 And yes Adam is a good boy, and for my arachnophobia is a little freaky saying it 😅

Ah, good Plundar, Cole needs all the appreciation of the world because HE IS SUCH A GOOD PERSON AND AMAZING WARRIOR AND I LOVE HIM AAAAAA

This is probably my favorite episode for now, got Rock Mom, got elemental powers, got a lot of Cole in all of his glory: the leader with a clear smart mind able to lead even strangers, with big heart for what's important 👏👏

I feel like this season is giving him glory, I'm curious about how it will end!!

GRIEF-BRINGER

Okay I know it's the name of the dragon... and it gets me a little antsy 😅

Back to the munce! Still doing as good as ever I see! 😅 And lol, you can't blame Nya for not being nice Jay! Although she is kinda best friends with Ronin who double crossed her multiple times... okay, I see your reasoning Bluebell

There we go, Nya making them listen. I honestly could have seen her just grabbing one of them and make them fly through the the room, still cool though 😎

Back to the geckles! Also doing as good as ever! 😅 These little purple guys are so dang cute, seeing my flame babe trying to lead is so PRECIOUS, and even more PRECIOUS is Zane giving him support... and a rock in the face 🤍🤍

Gotta say

I'm more and more fascinated by their culture 😂😂

Aww little Gleck, everything had started with him after all... wait... HER NAME IS LILLY?!?! ROCK MOM HAS A NAME!!! AND SHE IS GILLIE/MILLIE!!! I KNEW IT!!! 🤩🤩

I think I saw the name somewhere, didn't think it was actually her. I always headcanoned her as Gaia, but Lilly is a very sweet name too 💕

It is pretty nice that even though we as viewers didn't know what happened to Lilly, the ninja knew. It's obvious, they've known each other for so long, but still. It feels nice to see this 😊

Oh-oh, Skull dude is up to something... and he said the title 👈👈

Zane keeps being the sweetest thing ever created, le cute dude 🤍🤍 Never thought I'd see Tin Can and Hothead discussing about lies while two slugs race each other...

I don't know if it's the new animation but the armored suits look CRAZY GOOD, the metal and the details are awesome!! I approve the suits of this season 👍

Pff, they are talking down his sister, if he knew they would be literally toasted 🔥

HUG HUG BEAUTIFUL LEGO HUG!!! And she lifts him up, omg the Smith siblings are back and they are so CUTE 😍

Yep, only he can talk down his sister... and possibly be annihilated right after 😅

Oh, the dragon that almost destroyed the two tribes... OH THE DRAGON THAT ALMOST DESTROYED THE TWO TRIBES!!! 😱😱

NO GUYS DON'T LEAVE LLOYD AND ZANE BEHIND, THEY ARE THE MOST PRONE TO SACRIFICE THEMSELVES 😭😱😭😱😭😱

The cringe Kai, the cringe never leaves you alone you beautiful idiot ❤

I cannot believe the animators managed to make Lloyd's LEGO hair swoosh, I must applaude them 👏👏👏 Also POOR BABY ON THE GROUND GIVE HIM A VACATION FOR CRYING OUT LOUD

Well aren't things getting even more complicated 😅 Where is Cole? We need season superstar pronto!

MASTERS NEVER QUIT

Awww, major throwback to the show's most famous motto right in the title! NINJA NEVER QUIT!!! LET'S GO THEN!!! 🤩

The upply team! With the lava beast back... I could easily make comment about how it could be a representation of Cole's feelings since it's LAVA with EARTH and FIRE, and he is running from them... I'M JUST RAMBLING MOVING ON 🖤❤🖤❤

Cole misses the Caves of Despair maybe, he wants to have a round with the carts like in Possession 😂 Was that why he knew it was going to work eventually? That would be histerical, especially since back then they all almost fell into the lava 😅😅

The Heart of the Mountain? Secret temple of the masters of Earth? Possibly hidden in Shintaro? Spinjitzu Burst? Wu, let me ask you this... just in case... is there... perhaps...

IS THERE SOMETHING YOU SHOULD'VE TOLD US??? 😡😡

He is definitely and officially old, only reason why he keeps forgetting to warn people about stuff 😑 I mean, it's not major like with Morro or Aspheera, I guess it's an improvement?... kinda?

So you learn spinjitzu burst if you're surrounded by your element, that sounds pretty awesome! I wonder how it could be with all the others, this can open up kinda like a quest for the true potential but with different places and lots of OP powers and I'M INTO IT 🤩🤩🤩

Okay season, I get it

YOU WANNA MAKE ME CRY 😭😭 I love this aztec vibe, so cool and appropriate she looks STUN 🖤

I didn't expect this much introspection about Cole, I thought it was going to be kinda last minute like with Jay in Prime Empire. I'm so thankful it's not like that, freaking yes. YES. GO COLE BURST OUT!!

... okay, take your time sweetie, no rush. The other ninja are just going to be fried but eh, happens all the time 🤷‍♀️

VANIA MAH GIRL 💕 I understand Wu, I mean the guys kinda learned all they needed already back when they started to train Lloyd. Ever since then, they had been not master and students, but just family. And you always need family, no matter how far you go 🖤

Awwww, Wu! You got your own development too! 👍 So nice to hear "ninja never quit" again, can't be too sure but it's been a while 😍

Let's hope the guys are doing fine resisting while Team Cole arrives 😎😎

[theorangestar]

So Skyward Sword!

Overall, I really liked it! The world is so beautiful to look at. Each area is so colorful and bright (with the exception of the Lanayru Mining Facility, but that changes when you use the timeshift stones). I enjoyed all the characters, and I liked all the different tools needed to solve puzzles and obstacles. The story was beautiful. Link’s smile is the best thing in the world. Groose’s character development, Sweet Hylia! Zelda’s genuine care for Link and Impa, and even Groose by the end. I love how the Gorons are scholars in this game, that’s so refreshing. Kikwis and the little robots are soooo cute. I teared up saying goodbye to Fi. THE MUSIC!!!

There are a few things that bugged me though. There’s a lot of “Your princess is in another castle!” stuff going on chasing Zelda. It was mentally exhausting constantly going back and forth from each section of the map back to Skyloft, back to another section, back to Skyloft, etc etc. It does feel sometimes like the story keeps stopping and starting because you have to keep restocking potions or find a Goddess Chest or fulfill a side quest every time you go to Skyloft. Also, I kept getting dragged everywhere for all these little pieces to find. Find Zelda. Find the three sacred fires. Find all these missing song pieces. No, we won’t actually answer any questions directly, why would we do that? There was a point I completely forgot my goal of finding the location of the Triforce. Like, you’re so focused on finding the pieces you lose focus as to why you need them in the first place. Also, time travel is confusing. Is this a time loop? Did we actually change history? I’m still not sure. Please, no more time travel. It’s too complicated and no one is consistent with their rules.

AND OF COURSE, the same thing I’ve been complaining about since the beginning, the motion controls. I was partially right in my very first post, in that a lot of it is something you just get used to. Yes, you do frequently have to “Reset Gyro” to get them working right, but it’s not usually too much of a problem. Flying got way better the more I did it. The biggest problems I had were with the bow & arrow and Skyward Strike. I felt like the bow & arrow shifted when you needed it most (the gust bellows did this to me a lot too, but rarely was it a time sensitive issue). And I always need to reset before a Skyward Strike. This wasn’t a problem when finding Goddess Cubes or sacred symbols or whatever. But when you have to rely on it in a boss battle, this gets super frustrating super fast. Granted, there are only two boss battles you need the Skyward Strike for, but it’s so exhausting. You really work up a sweat with those battles. And that last battle with Demise is a Doozy because of that Skyward Strike (don’t get me started on the fatal blow thing, just don’t). It took me two days to beat him (that’s probably  more of a sign of how bad I am at video games than anything else) but my arm was really in pain by the end, and even the next day my shoulder is still sore. I don’t know if anyone else had the problem or if I just suck, but it did make it hard to bask in the glory when I finally did beat him.

But would I play this game again? Absolutely! But next time, I think I’ll try using the normal controllers instead of the motion controls. Will it be easier? I don’t know, but it will at least be less painful.

Other things to note:

- I was right about Karane and Pipit, I was right! >:D I did look up online about the toilet ghost choice after I gave Cawlin’s letter to Karane, and I’m glad I didn’t. As funny as the toilet ghost falling in love with Cawlin is, I’d feel bad for cursing him with nightmares forever, even if I don’t like him.

- So apparently the remlits aren’t evil? I only found this out after I finished the game, because according to the internet, it’s finishing the Batreaux side quest that stops the evil influence, but since finishing that quest was the last thing I did before I went to get the Triforce, I didn’t see the remlits become good again.

- I gave Fledge his self-esteem!! Mission accomplished!!... And then he uses that self-esteem to scam me out of money with that pumpkin shot game with that dreaded bow & arrow, and then passive-aggressively criticize my marksmanship. Excuse you, I made you!!

- UNPOPULAR OPINION!!! I kind of ship Link with Peatrice. I think her crush on him is really cute, but he’s just a little dense to get it. (Also her dad is a little creepy to me. Just a little). Of course, Link and Zelda in this game are clearly meant to be, and they absolutely love each other, but Peatrice is still cute, and she never used me as a tool against a god of evil. So you know, she’s got that going for her.

- In the end credits, we do get to see snippets from Zelda’s part of the journey. No dialogue, but it was really nice to see. She looks so nervous and scared, but also determined, carrying her harp into the wilderness. But seriously, did Old Lady Impa not think to give her a weapon of some kind on her journey? The girl’s all alone and Ghirahim is after her, some means of defense would have been appreciated, I’m sure!

- Zelda’s loftwing just abandons her, by the way. We see it fall with her below the clouds, but it doesn’t come back until the after credit scene. Coward.

- Speaking of the loftwings, I was surprised at how under utilized they are. In the beginning, they talk about how loftwings are the other half of your soul, and how important your bond is with your loftwing, but after Zelda falls through the clouds, the loftwings are basically just glorified horses. They don’t hold any weight within the story. There’s lots of bird statues and engravings EVERYWHERE, so culturally they did hold importance even before the war, but they have no direct influence on the story except as transportation. Missed opportunity.

- The Lanayru Desert fascinates me. It’s never explained how the timeshift stones actually power things, but it’s such a cool game mechanic to hit a stone and suddenly you’re in the past. It also makes me wonder what happened between the war and Link and Zelda’s era. How long was it between these two places in time, because it would take a lot of time and some major events to change a grassland and a sea into a desert. And this means all those little robots are still there after all this time, it just makes me so sad! :’( I really want to know all that history of what was before the war and the time between the war and Link and Zelda. Also, the Lanayru dungeons have that same piano tinkle as when you chase Vah Rudania with Yunobo in BOTW, and that music. Stresses. Me. Out.

- So of all the different species and peoples of Hyrule, the only ones that survive through all 10,000+ years of the timeline are the Hylians, Sheikah (I’m not sure if they count as a separate species from hylians, or they’re just a different tribe), and the Gorons. The kikwis, the mogma, the robots, and the parellas never show up in any other game, so I guess they all just died out before the next Hero rises. That’s really sad!! (I don’t know if the parellas eventually evolve into zora, but the rest are still sad).

- The Imprisoned looked so much scarier in Link’s vision. But when he first emerges and he has no arms, he lost all that intimidation. Even when he grew arms and started flying, he wasn’t that scary. A pain in the butt to deal with all three times, but not scary. Then we just dropped a building on him Wizard of Oz style. Wow, Demise, you suck. If it wasn’t for Ghirahim’s stupid dance ritual, he really wouldn’t have been a threat.

So yeah, there are my thoughts!

[blazerina]

Hundreds of Tomorrows - (Mal x MC) - Blades of Light & Shadows

Hundreds of Tomorrows

Word Count: 3053

A/N: This is a little thing that I picture starting and happening before Nia, Tyril and MC (Raine) go behind the glass wall where only those with magic can pass. This was from chapter 11 (I think?) when they’re in the catacombs. I’m not very good at remembering details from the chapters. 

I took a few liberties to change up what exactly happened behind the wall so it’s not exactly in line with the rest of BOLAS (please don’t hate me or send me messages about how wrong I am). Also, I freaking LOVE Threep and his banter/relationship with Mal.  

This story comes at the request of @choicesobsessed  who sent a prompt for “Is that blood? ...No?” from a prompt list I posted a while ago. It fit perfectly with this idea I already had so ta-da!

Hope everyone reading this is doing well and staying safe! Please enjoy!

xoxo

--

“Kit, a word please?” Mal said inquisitively, his eyebrow raised in mock curiosity.  He motioned for Raine to follow him to a more secluded area.

“Keep your voice down.” He instructed as Raine followed him.

“Keep my voice down?” She questioned.

“You do realize the rest of the group is right over there…”

Mal sighed in agitation.

“Okay then, m’lady, let’s talk behind this here rock. Is that better?”

The two of them circled around a rather large boulder that was still not much further from the group.

“Oh much. Much better.” She smirked. “What’s your deal? We don’t have a lot of time and we need to check out what’s behind that magic wall.”

“Are you sure about this?” Mal asked, searching her eyes for the truth. “I mean like, really, totally, 100% sure?”

“Sure about what?” Raine asked, confused.

“Going behind the magic wall with only elf-boy to protect you? I don’t think it’s safe.”  Mal cut right to the point.

“Ooohhh….” Raine teased. “I see what this is about…”

She folded her arms in front of her chest and leaned back against the rock that was supposedly concealing their conversation.

“Nothing. It’s not about anything.” Mal squinted his eyes in frustration, stumbling a little bit and working very hard to make his point. He didn’t want to be obvious, but apparently he was failing miserably.

“Mmhmm.” Raine scoffed.  “Listen, I don’t only have Tyril to protect me. Nia is coming and so is Threep.”

“Raine.”

Mal looked down his nose at her, wishing she would realize this was actually not a time to joke. For him to be serious meant it really indeed was…serious.

“You cannot be serious. You think that cat-bat is going to be able to save you?”

“He is a nesper, Mal, not a cat-bat. You really need to stop calling him that. And I don’t know why you’re wasting my time right now.”

She stood up straighter, ready to confront him.

“We will be safe. Everything is fine. You’re acting this way mainly because you don’t want to be left here with Imtura AND you’re afraid of missing out on adventure. You’re upset that you’re not being included.”

Mal’s mouth hung open ready to protest, but Raine quickly closed the space between them kissed him on the cheek. She lingered a little bit and whispered in his ear.

“But I do think it’s awfully cute you’re so protective of me.”

She pulled away, looking him in the eye and giving him a quick wink, before walking away.

“Raine!”

Mal called out.

“Wait!”

She turned around, shoulders slumped, groaning in frustration. “What is it now?!”

“Just, be careful. Please. I…I don’t like not going in there with you…if anything happened – I – I –“

Raine stopped joking around, once she realized the serious tone Mal was using.                                                                                                                                        

“Don’t worry – I’ll come back to you.” She nodded, confirming what she just said.

Raine then jogged towards Nia and Tyril who were waiting at the entrance to the wall.

--

“Look lover boy, I know that you’re smitten with our very own land rat, but you have got to calm down.”

Imtura was perched on top of a large black rock while Mal paced nervously back and forth in front of her, tossing a small pebble up and down.

“If you don’t stop tossing that ridiculous little rock, I’m going to smash you one more time into that magic wall and leave you for dead.”

Mal ignored her, continued pacing, but did at least stop tossing the rock.  

“See here – there’s one thing that us sneaky humans have over your orc tribe. We have this sixth sense. This gut feeling about things. And I’m telling you something’s not right about all this. Any of this…it’s just really, really messed up…”

Mal was suddenly distracted looking deep into the eyes of a half-charred statue looking rock that had grabbed his attention.

“I mean, what the hell is that? This is not normal.” He said as he gestured to the piece of art he found.

“Nothing about this is normal. Pull your head out of your arse, boy. Look around you – has anything we’ve experienced the past few weeks been normal?

If you’re looking for normal you best leave now because it’s only going to get weirder if you ask me…” Imtura spat, picking something out of her jowls.

Mal mad a face, clearly disgusted by her behavior. “You’re one of a kind, you know that, Im?”

He wiped his hands along the front of his vest, suddenly feeling dirty. He huffed loudly as he plopped down on the ground.

“When are they going to be baaaack?!” He whined, keeping his eyes closed. “This is the worst!”

“That’s them. Mal!” Imtura was laughing, happy to see the rest of their crew. “They’re alive. They made it. Here they come!”

Threep was leading the crew, actually using his wings to fly, and hovering a little bit in front of everyone.

“Mal before you see her you need to know that…”

“I am fine!” Raine called from the back of the group leaning on Tyril and limping a bit. She was holding her side and trying her best not to grimace.

“Raine? What happened? Is she okay? Are you okay?”

Tyril gingerly helped Raine to sit down, Nia followed and tried to console Mal.

“She really is fine, Mal. I can heal her, don’t worry.  I just need a moment…”

“Is that blood?!” Mal asked, pointing to Raine’s side where a dark spot had begun to form beneath her hands.

“…No?” Raine lied, not wanting to upset him.

“Why is everyone more worried about Mal than the actual person who is injured?!” Threep squawked still flying above everyone else.

“Fix her. Fix her now.” Mal ordered, looking at Nia. “Do it. Let’s go – why are we waiting around?”

“I don’t want her to.” Raine’s voice was raised slightly and forceful.

“We do need to make a decision. We got what we came for, it’s time we head back. The longer we are here the longer we are in danger.” Tyril explained, adding pressure to the current situation.

“Mal – calm down.” Raine hissed, through gritted teeth, obviously in pain. “We need to get out of here. I don’t want Nia wasting life on me and I know I can make it. Let’s go.”

Mal tried to protest but Raine shot him down immediately with a cold and hard stare.

He resigned himself to the fact that Raine was not changing her mind.

“Let me help…” he tried to loop her arm around his shoulder, but Raine was stubborn.

“Raine – are you sure?” Tyril asked one final time.

Nia was nervously biting her lip, Imtura was staying quiet and Threep was nosing through Raine’s bag while the rest of them looked to one another to make a decision.

“Too bad jerky doesn’t make you feel better like it does me.” He chuckled, his head popping up out of the bag with a mouthful.

The entire group swiveled their heads to scowl at him.

Threep began to nervously laugh as he lowered himself back into the bag. “Wrong time to joke?” He asked, retreating quickly.

“Why does everyone keep asking if I’m sure?” Raine growled.  “First Mal, now you, Tyril. Have I ever not known my own mind?”

“Don’t answer that.” Threep instructed from inside Raine’s bag. Imtura had taken ownership of the satchel so that Raine wouldn’t be saddled with it.

--

The group walked in silence most of the way back to the Starfury house. Everyone was exhausted from the information they had found out about Kaya and the news they’d now be looking for a shard at the masquerade the next day. It seemed as though this troupe would never know a moment of rest – they continued on from one adventure to another in their quest against the Shadow Court.

Once they arrived at the manor, it was without question that each one of them would retire to their quarters in order to sleep well and rest before the ball. Without saying a word, all of them with the exception of Raine, communicated with each other, proving their trust and reliance on their teammates.

Imtura checked on Threep once more before handing the bag to Mal and telling everyone goodnight. Tyril nodded as he passed Raine over to him as well.

“She’s all yours.” He muttered under his breath.

“Raine, be well. I’m just down the hall if you need anything.” Nia cooed, almost prancing along the way to her room.

“I’ll take it from here.” Mal nodded, standing behind Raine.

She turned to look at him and arched an eyebrow. “What exactly are you taking where?”

“Lead the way, kit. I’m just gonna make sure you’re all tucked in, then you’ll be rid of me.”

--

Once to her room, Mal helped Threep out of the bag, accepting his content purring as thanks.

“Yeah yeah, calm down you crossbreed.” Mal stood up and waited by the door for Raine to get settled.

She was sitting on the edge of the bed, still holding her side.

“I’m not going to ask about it because I quite like my head being attached to my body…” Mal began.

Raine tried not to smile but she couldn’t help it. Being alone with Mal always made her feel better.

“I’ll be leaving you alone now if you’re all right. Did the bleeding actually stop?” He questioned, opening the door, about to leave.

“I’m not sure.” Raine said softly, suddenly preoccupied with the hem of her shirt. “I think…I think I need your help.”

“I’m sorry. What was that? Not sure I heard you correctly. Did you say you…you need my help?” Mal teased, closing the door and moving closer to her on the bed.

“Mal. Now isn’t the time. This is hard for me.” Raine answered, truthfully.

“Ah. Forgive me – it’s a real bucket of rainbows and sunshine for me right now too.” He tried to joke, sitting down next to her on the bed.

Silence hung in the air heavy and weighted as they stared stoically at one another. She looked at him and cursed herself for making him feel bad when all he was trying to do earlier was show he cared. He looked at her hoping she would one day understand just what she meant to him.

Clearing his throat, his voice weak and coming out more like a hoarse whisper, Mal asked, “What, um…what can I help you with? What do you need?”

“I need you to look at the wound and see if the bleeding has stopped.” Rain responded, snapping out of her silent reverie.

Her mind had suddenly travelled to the memory of Mal’s lips on hers and their skin touching together, the fire it created. This fire was not like the magic she was learning to make; it was different. Hotter. Deeper. Less fleeting. More substantial and real.

Mal nodded as Raine pulled her shirt up slightly, to reveal a small gash about an inch and a half long. The bleeding had stopped, and it didn’t appear to be deep but Mal could not know for sure.

“It’s no longer bleeding but that is the only thing I’m certain of.” He held her hand now, trying his best to be soft and caring.

“Do you have medicine?” He asked, suddenly standing up. “In your bag, the salve you’ve made before. Do you have any of it left?”

Raine was struggling to stay awake, so tired and fatigued from the day’s events and now weak due to her injury. She mumbled something as her eyes started to close.

“Raine! Raine.  Stay with me for just a little bit longer.” Mal was pulling item after item out of Raine’s bag.

“A stinger? You saved this from the Drakna?” He asked, completely dumbfounded as he pulled more and more random things from her satchel.

“Good gods you can hold a lot of stuff in here!” Mal smiled, looking at her now laying down on the bed.

“Huzzah! I found it!” He shouted triumphantly and held the small bottle up above his head as though it was the most sought-after treasure in the land.

Proud of himself, he sat down next to her on the bed as she was still fighting sleep.

“C’mere girl. Just hold still. That’s it.”

He softly applied the cream to her injury, rubbing around the edges as tenderly as his calloused fingers would allow.

“I’m sorry if it hurts.” He whispered, watching her face for any reaction. Her eyes were closed, and her breathing was steady.

Finding an old piece of cloth in her bag, Mal poured more of the salve on the rag and was able to tie it off around Raine’s small waist. She was quiet and compliant.

“I don’t know that I’ve ever seen you stay completely silent before, kit.  It’s kind of nice.” He mocked, drawing a big smile from the girl.

“Mal. That’s enough. Thank you. I’m quite settled now.”

He was now going through some drawers in a large armoir found in the corner of Raine’s room. Finding what he was looking for he tossed a long white nightgown on the bed.

“This’ll do. You need to change – I won’t look.”

“Yes, you will.” Raine challenged. “I wasn’t born yesterday, you know.”

“You’re probably right…” He scratched his chin, deep in thought about what he might see if he kept his eyes open.

Snapping himself out of it, he continued.

“…but here, I’ll help and then when you need me too I’ll look away. I promise.” He said those last two words with a sincerity Raine wasn’t sure existed in him.

“As I’ve said before, you do continue to surprise me, Mal the Rogue.”

Raine chuckled lightly, pulling the shirt she was wearing over her head. She winced a bit and Mal assisted as best he could, closing his eyes and turning his head away when she disrobed completely.

Mal helped her back into bed having turned down the covers, letting her head settle on two pillows, getting her under the blankets and stuffing her in tight.

Threep was out like a light in the corner, snoring loudly. Mal made note of it but decided against a comment, trying instead to focus all his attention on Raine.

“Thank you.” She whispered, looking up at him before her eyes closed for the night. “For all of this. I don’t deserve it after the way I treated you, today.  Really.”

“Now, now. I’m sure I’ll find a way for you to make it up to me sometime soon.”

She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply. “Will you stay with me, please?” She mumbled, falling into a rhythmic sleep almost immediately.

“Yes!” Mal fist pumped instinctively, getting what he had hoped for.

He said a silent prayer of thanks to the gods and walked around the bed to the other side. He laid down his weapons but as he took off his boots, realized again just how loud Threep was snoring. He threw one of his boots at him, waking the nesper up with a hiss.

“What was that for?!” Threep was more than agitated.

“You’re snoring!” Mal whispered harshly. “I’m staying the night and I need to get some shuteye.”

“You’re staying the night?” Threep’s eyes grew wide. “I should have gone with Imtura.”

“Yeah, you should have.” Mal quipped, “She’s the only one of the group who snores louder than you and wouldn’t be bothered.”

Threep stood up, made three circles and laid back down again, nestling against the wall and falling asleep again with a loud and dramatic huff.

Mal worked to get into bed but was careful not to disturb Raine. He stayed on top of the covers that Raine was underneath. He quickly realized in his effort to prop her up on the pillows, that meant there weren’t any left on the bed. So he got out of bed once again and grabbed the satchel to rest his head upon.

He sighed to himself with his hands resting on his stomach, content to be settled next to Raine, knowing she was okay, and most of all, that she wanted him to be with her, at least for tonight.

Realizing the adrenaline of this moment was keeping him awake, he rolled over onto his side to stare at the sleeping woman next to him.

“Will I stay?” Mal said quietly as his eyes took in her features.

He loved the light freckles that danced over her face, beneath her eyes and over the bridge of her nose. The way her lips were a soft shade of pink and her cheeks a natural rose; her golden hair in a tight braid that always rested on one side of her head, exposing the area of her neck that he knew he’d love to kiss over and over again.

Mal could not believe himself. He had never felt anything like these intense feelings. He was in shock that he already felt so strongly for someone he didn’t really know all that well.

He was completely certain that he loved the feeling of her hand in his. And he knew something was real if he was truthfully scared to think of anything happening to her when he wasn’t around to protect her.

He reached across her and took her hand once again, then softly and sweetly laced his fingers in between hers, his thumb rubbing small smoothing circles across her knuckles.

“What are you doing to me, kit? You may be making an honest man out of me…and I have never, ever, wanted to be one of those until now…”

He brought her hand to his lips and let them linger there for a while. He didn’t want to take his gaze off her for fear something would happen to change the moment, to change the way she felt about him, to change their relationship, if that’s indeed what it was.

He silently brushed a single tendril of hair off her face and leaned forward to kiss her forehead.

“Will I stay, Raine?” He whispered, smiling to himself.

“That’s not even a question. I will stay tonight and hundreds of tomorrows if you’ll have me, sweet girl.”

[cocoapeach1]

Spiritmates (M): chapter 2 (zuko x reader)

Summary: You have a supernatural and rare bond with the Fire nation heir that is beyond anything you’ve ever known... only neither you or he knows it yet. His mission to capture the avatar is the exact opposite to yours - to help them. You’ll do whatever it takes. But so will he.

Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3

FF Page

~

The prophecy

It was freezing.

So cold it almost like nature wanted to fight back in the less destructive and therefore limited ways it could.

But it would be to no avail.

Iroh supposed the Water tribe people were used to it - the chilly, bitter weather. He personally couldn’t stand it, much preferring a warm evening to relax in, and would be glad when he and his nephew eventually moved further down south to continue the chase.

Iroh sighed, warming up his quickly cooling cup of tea. He had known from the beginning that this mission was barbaric. Nearly impossible, even.

However there was something else Iroh had had his mind on. A prediction, a prophecy, that had been niggling around the back of his mind ever since it had been uttered to him.

It was almost 3 years ago now that his nephew and his crew were boarding the ship they would take for the perilous quest. People had come to see them off, give encouraging words and parting gifts.

Iroh had been the last to arrive, though only by a few minutes. Most of the small crowd had dissipated anyway, finding better things to do.

But there were two distinct people waiting for him whose presence made him wary.

Lo and Li.

“On the day the skies flow like blood,” one said.

“Our prince’s emotions will start to flood.” Came from the other.

“Time he now has to learn to hate,”

“And he will, until a special date...”

“When he meets his Spiritmate,” they chorused.

Iroh tried to act indifferent on the outside but on the inside, he was shocked to his core. A Spiritmate? That could complicate things. He settled for narrowing his eyes in suspicion at the pair of crazy old bats. He had never liked them and steered away from them whenever it physically possible. But this was his nephew they were talking about. And a potential Spiritmate of his.

“Where will they meet?” he had hissed quietly. The two siblings looked smugly at Iroh before replying. “Before a fight on icy terrain.” “And that is all we are able to say.”

Iroh shook himself out of his flashback and exhaled slowly, mentally preparing himself for the next day. It would be an interesting one, that was for sure. ~ Earlier before...

“The Fire Nation won’t win this fight (y/n).”

Your eyes widened comically at Zuko’s words. It was common knowledge between all nations that opposition of any kind was not tolerated in the Fire Nation by its citizens - the punishment for doing so was long term imprisonment.

“H-how can you tell?” you faltered.

He glanced away from you pensively, looking towards the shadowed alcoves of the courtyard.

“I just have a feeling,” Zuko replied. “Make sure you meet me and my uncle after, he’ll tell us what he knows.” I guess I don’t really have much of choice here... What if his uncle doesn’t know anything about them? What will we do? His amber eyes locked back onto yours, awaiting your response.

“Okay...” you agreed. The quicker you could get this thing removed, the quicker things would go back to being normal. Semi-normal at least. Little did you know how mistaken you were.

You sighed heavily before burying your head into Zuko’s coat for a second time, relishing in the constant warmth that emanated from his body.

Never before had you felt so relaxed than you did now and you had a strong feeling that Zuko felt the same.

For a long time the two of you stood in each other’s arms, savouring the peaceful moment you had found yourselves in, both not wanting to disturb it. But eventually, it had to be done.

“I-i have to go, (y/n)...”

You squeezed your eyes shut, heart clenching painfully.

“Be safe, Zuko,” you murmured into his chest.

Just as you were about to pull away, Zuko’s arm snaked around your waist and before you had time to react, your body was abruptly pulled flush against his.

A gasp escaped from you.

A smirk from him.

And ever so slowly, he began to lean forward, the tip of his nose brushing yours.

Your arms proceeded to slither up and around his neck, connecting at the nape before your lips met his for a passion-filled kiss.

~

He was absolutely revolted. Furious. Scarred for life.

How dare this Fire Nation scum have the nerve to even think about touching her. She was his. No one else’s. She belonged to him. No arguments. She was his and he was hers and that’s how it always would be. He had always loved her.

Ever since she had stood up to his bullies for him once when they were 7, Ali had loved her. She was strong, clever, beautiful and kind. What was there not to love about her?

Admittedly, most of this loving was done from afar but that was irrelevant. He regretted that she didn’t know what his true feelings for her were but that probably didn’t matter. Ali figured she probably felt the same for him and was too shy to say anything - just like he was.

He watched over her, was her protector at all times - just like she was for him once. Even when she slept. But that wasn’t creepy. If anything, it made his love for her grow, witnessing all the cute things she did unconsciously. Like when she would mumble things in her slumber or dribble onto her pillow.

She was the only person who could make him lost for words, make him nervous. She piqued his curiosity.

Despite this, Ali still couldn’t comprehend how his flower, his rose, his love had wound up in this shithead’s arms. Spirits above, she looked like she was enjoying it. No... that wasn’t possible... the son of a bitch keeping her captive probably manipulated her and she was confused. Or she was pretending she liked it so he wouldn’t hurt her. Ali’s lip curled up in disgust.

Poor baby. His poor, poor baby.

But why this bastard was even here in the first place, Ali simply couldn’t work out.

Her beauty was so great, Ali thought, it managed to lure him out... Yes that sounded about right. He sighed inwardly. After they’d get married he’d have to lock her away forever, keep her from people like this vile, wretched, fire nation piece of dirt. It would be cruel but it would be for her own good. He would be keeping her safe. Unlike this slob here - he didn’t even know that they were being watched. He didn’t know how to keep her safe.

Ali’s fists tightened by his sides. He ought to send him running back to his ship with the rest of his coward nation buddies, more like. Too afraid to fight while the moon was bright. Cowards.

Relief flooded through him when the object of his desire began to move away from the slimy thing. But it was not even a second later that the desperate shit had his arms wrapped around her - again - and rather suddenly since his pearl had let out a fearful squeak.

Ali fought the urge to shoot an icicle through his head. Whether the head was his own or the other man’s, he didn’t know. Honestly, he didn’t mind whose it was at this point. Temporarily engrossed in his thoughts, Ali focused onto them again, only to find the pair lip locked for the umpteenth time. His stomach roiled violently, causing bile to rise into his throat and that’s when Ali knew - he was going to murder him.

He had overheard their plans for her to meet him somewhere - where that place was, Ali didn’t know. But he’d follow her. Just like he’d been doing for years.

And with that last thought, Ali shrank further into the courtyard’s dark crevices, eager to plot his plan.

[105ttt]

So, I'm kinda new to Cookie Run, so I don't know a whole lot about the characters inpirations and all that so I hope you don't mind me asking, but what's up with Milk Cookie's design? I've seen people say it's problematic but no explanation on why it is, and I just feel a little lost and dumb lol

It’s okay! You’re not dumb! I’m happy to explain. I’m going to put this under a readmore because there’s… a lot wrong with him and his design. I’ll put a summary before the readmore in case you don’t want details.

TL;DR: Milk Cookie’s appearance, being likely based on the Crusaders and having motifs similar to the Iron Cross used by the Nazis, is antisemitic. Milk Cookie talks down to people of color and also destroys their property without their consent, even if he does not mean it in a malicious way. All of his actions are played off as cute or a joke, which is racist because it makes a white man seem like he can’t be blamed for things he did which were legitimately wrong and meanwhile makes the people of color he harasses seem like the ones who did something wrong. His contrast with Purple Yam Cookie in his release update and the other Cookies he meets is also outright racist, even if not intentional.

Disclaimer: I’m not Jewish or a person of color, so my opinions on Milk Cookie’s design as it relates to how it’s antisemitic or his character as it relates to him being racist are not important. You should consult Jewish people and/or people of color for their own opinions on Milk Cookie above all else. The things I’m about to list out are what I’ve heard from Jewish Cookie Run fans, people of color who play Cookie Run, or other minority groups sympathetic to Jewish people who have expressed their concerns about Milk Cookie’s design.

His appearance:

Milk Cookie’s physical appearance is a major problem for many people because it brings up antisemitic imagery. He is likely based on a paladin from Dungeons and Dragons, since Purple Yam Cookie and Mala Sauce Cookie are also based on Dungeons and Dragons classes. Paladins draw their imagery from the Crusaders, which is an antisemitic group from European history that claimed their religion was a valid reason to murder and oppress Jewish and Muslim people. Milk Cookie not only looks like a Crusader, but religion is a major theme in his design. The crosses, white clothing, and the fact that he is associated with Milk Angel all imply this. His story also says he is on a “divine mission” to bring peace to all Cookies, but a religious mission like that sounds dangerously close to the mission of the Crusaders. The crosses on his shield and mace are, as I already stated, also very visually close to Iron Crosses.

While all of this was likely not intentional on Devsisters’ part, it still brings these kinds of associations to mind. This is why many Jewish people in particular are uncomfortable with Milk Cookie’s design and do not like to see him or talk about him. It does not help that he is always smiling and has rosy cheeks, as it makes him seem “cutesy” and “trustworthy” compared to a character like Purple Yam Cookie, who always scowls and has slashes on his face and chest.

His character and actions:

Milk Cookie’s character is racist in that it makes him, a white man, seem automatically more likable and good as a person than any person of color he meets by virtue of how the story portrays his actions and the people around him. From his debut, he has always been portrayed as a “kind”, “gentle” person who does nothing wrong. Even when he verbally and physically threatens Purple Yam Cookie despite Purple Yam Cookie not threatening him at all, he faces no repercussions for it. Later, he stalks Purple Yam Cookie even after Purple Yam Cookie tells him to leave him alone. Rather than being punished for this creepy behavior, he gets defended by Purple Yam Cookie from a giant Jellyworm and later stays at Purple Yam Cookie’s camp (once again, against Purple Yam Cookie’s will). Later, Purple Yam Cookie nearly falls into a volcano, and Milk Cookie saves him by grabbing onto his clothes. As he does so, however, he says demeaning things to Purple Yam Cookie. Rather than Purple Yam Cookie rightfully being allowed to be mad at Milk Cookie, the story portrays them as bonding afterward. It’s very awkward for a black man to suddenly forgive a white man for his creepy, condescending behavior just because he saved his life.

The Dino-Sour Cookie update included a scene where Milk Cookie told Purple Yam Cookie to mind his manners when speaking to Dino-Sour Cookie, which is very condescending. Purple Yam Cookie is an adult, so he should be allowed to do whatever he likes. A white man speaking over a black man and telling him to “watch his manners” is very textbook racist.

In the Mala Sauce Cookie update, Milk Cookie is once again portrayed as more “kind” than Purple Yam Cookie when he scolds Purple Yam Cookie for not offering to help Mala Sauce Cookie with her tribe’s issues. This is once again a case of Milk Cookie talking down to Purple Yam Cookie, as Purple Yam Cookie is implied to have just met Mala Sauce Cookie and therefore is not close enough with her to the point where he should want to undertake the big task of helping her. In addition, Purple Yam Cookie has his own goal which he wants to stick to, and as an adult, he has the right to want to pursue it before anything else. Milk Cookie’s condemnation of Purple Yam Cookie’s choice to focus on his own goal is just plain rude. Later, after the Dragon’s Valley Squad meets Pitaya Dragon Cookie and receives their advice on how to solve Mala Sauce Cookie’s problem, Milk Cookie once again calls Purple Yam Cookie selfish for wanting to continue his quest rather than stay with Mala Sauce Cookie. All-in-all, it’s a big mess.

In the Mango Cookie update, Milk Cookie suggests that he and Dino-Sour Cookie dig into Pineapple Mountain to try to find Ananas Dragon Cookie. Mango Cookie begs him not to do so, as it ruins the island’s landscape and enrages Ananas Dragon Cookie, but he starts digging without listening to Mango Cookie. When Mango Cookie asks what he’s doing, he ignores Mango Cookie’s obvious concern and says he’ll use his shield to defend them all from the Dragon when it arrives. Thus, Mango Cookie’s concern is played off as a joke. The defilement of the island, which is inhabited by Pacific Islanders, by a white man is extremely reminiscent of imperialism in real life, and it would likely make Pacific Islanders uncomfortable that it is played off as a funny story. Ananas Dragon Cookie’s rightful rage about the whole thing is played off as ridiculous too, which doesn’t make it any better.

Milk Cookie compared to those around him:

Every important Cookie Milk Cookie has come into contact with in the Dragon’s Valley story was not white, and almost all of them exhibits traits of racist stereotypes about non-white people that make Milk Cookie look more “perfect” and “likable”. The biggest victim of this is Purple Yam Cookie, but we’ll get to him in a moment.

Dino-Sour Cookie falls into the stereotype of being animalistic. He has sharp teeth and lives alongside dinosaurs, and he even seems to communicate with Jellysaur somehow. Attributing these kinds of characters to a man of color is a classic kind of racist stereotype which tries to make him seem more alike with animals than humans. Simply put, it is dehumanizing. People call Dino-Sour Cookie “feral” because of how he’s portrayed, and that’s… not good when you’re talking about a man of color.

Mala Sauce Cookie, who would likely be Chinese if she were human because mala sauce is a Chinese sauce, falls into a similar stereotype to Purple Yam Cookie. That is, her personality centers around combat. There is also the fact that she’s from a tribe, and her Costume contains motifs like animal skins and dangling golden jewelry which are typically racist when applied to people of color. Devsisters may have been intending for Mala Sauce Cookie to be Mongolian, based on her Costume and her living in a tribe, but that just makes her even more of a stereotype as she’s portrayed with Mongolian stereotypes (like the helmet in her Costume and living in a warrior tribe). Whether Mala Sauce Cookie is Chinese or Mongolian, she is still very obviously a woman of color, and so applying these stereotypes to her is… not good. (And we’re not even getting into how Cookie Run loves to make dark-skinned female Cookies more masculine than the ones with lighter skin, which is a racist stereotype that dehumanizes women of color and invalidates their right to be feminine if they so choose.)

Mango Cookie and Ananas Dragon Cookie both are portrayed as ridiculous for objecting to Milk Cookie’s destruction of the pineapple island, which makes them seem ignorant of “the greater good at hand” and selfish when they are simply trying to defend their home and their dignity.

Purple Yam Cookie has been with Milk Cookie since the beginning, and he is by far the biggest victim of the racism inherent in Milk Cookie’s character. He has always been juxtaposed to Milk Cookie. Even on the title screen for their release update, we see Purple Yam Cookie depicted as “rowdy” and violent, looking at the player with a smirk and wielding his mace, while Milk Cookie in that same screen is partially turned away from the viewer. He is smiling politely, and his mace is nowhere to be seen; we only see his shield. This contrast alone signifies how their different characters clash, and how Milk Cookie is supposed to seem more “likable” and “pure” than Purple Yam Cookie.

Purple Yam Cookie’s character is literally a racist caricature of black men. He is angry, violent, and loud - all the time. Even when he seemingly has no reason to be angry or violent, he shouts, complains about how angry he is, and acts in such a way that the player is supposed to see him as “selfish”. His trauma about the Oven is played off as a joke, claiming that it’s the reason why he’s always angry. The game treats his PTSD as a joke for the sake of making him a racist stereotype. His loading lines in-game are all either about fighting or being angry. He yells in most of his dialogue, emphasizing words that don’t even make sense, just for the sake of making him seem grumpy and rude. He even says things that don’t make sense at all just to keep the angry personality trait! If you equip his Champion of Valor Costume, he claims that “shiny colors” and “fancy clothes” make him angry, and his Costume description contains him yelling at people for complimenting him. He is also depicted with sharp teeth in some cutscenes, which is reminiscent of racist remarks made about black people by white people throughout history, calling them “animalistic” by nature. All of this taken together, combined with the fact that his Skill is all about destruction and that his whole character motive is to fight Dark Choco Cookie to reclaim his title as Champion, makes him into a character you are “supposed” to dislike and view as mean.

Contrast that with Milk Cookie. His dialogue in most cutscenes is polite. He gives encouragement to the player in his loading lines for his Costume. Most of his loading lines are also uplifting and encouraging. He has never been shown to be unnecessarily mad except for once, when he threatened Purple Yam Cookie after hearing he was planning to fight Dark Choco Cookie - and he was not punished for this or made to seem violent by the narrative! Milk Cookie’s backstory is about wanting to thank Dark Choco Cookie, not wanting to fight them. And the fact that he has sprites where he smiles and seems happy, whereas Purple Yam Cookie only ever smiles in canon when he’s being violent, just makes Milk Cookie seem more “pure” and “gentle” to the player. Devsisters likely did not make Milk Cookie and Purple Yam Cookie this way intentionally. It was likely the product of internalized racism, but even so, that doesn’t make it okay or make the racist elements insignificant.

There is probably a lot more I could talk about when it comes to why Milk Cookie as a character is problematic, but these should be enough details to get the gist of it. As I said before, you should consult Jewish people and people of color when it comes to this topic before anything else, but I hope this explanation clears things up.

[the-baticeer-extraordinaire]

The Last of Us Part 2

So, I finished it a couple of days ago, and I’ve been thinking a lot about it. I spent about three days playing, and I plan to play it again soon. I have some Thoughts ™ about it that I decided to share, but be aware -- there are major spoilers all throughout this post! You’ve been warned! 

It’s broken into three sections: what I loved, what I hated, and what I’m mixed about. Discussion is welcome. :)

What I Loved:

In the first game, you get to see Ellie's experience with the world outside of the QZ - and most of it is new to her. She grew up in the QZ, raised by Fireflies. She doesn't know much about the world before the outbreak, but you get to see her learn about it. You see her grow up and mature in this new, violent world and the toll that it has on her. In TLOU2, she's an adult now with friends who all grew up in this new world - they don't have the experience with the old like Joel or Tommy or Maria, so they are learning as they go. They've only experienced THIS world. I really enjoy listening to their conversations about what the world is like to them, trade stories about their wildly different experiences, and point out things they find odd about the old world. For example:

Ellie grew up in a QZ, but Dina did not. They trade stories about what it was like - particularly, the horrors of living in a QZ.

Ellie and Dina comment on Joel's love for coffee, saying they didn't "get it" as it tasted awful.

Ellie and Dina discuss the first time they killed a "non-infected" and the circumstances that caused it; it's clearly something very emotionally important to them, especially as they were young. It's also likely that this is the reality for all kids growing up after the outbreak. They don't get the privilege of knowing a life where they don't have to kill others to survive.

When Jesse and Ellie stumble upon a bookstore with a kid's section, Jesse can't believe they decorated the kids area with mushrooms. Ellie says that they must have had a different meaning to people before the outbreak, and in her journal, she notes that people used to think that mushrooms were cute.

Lev points out that a kid's bedroom is painted to look like nature but that it isn't realistic, and Abby tells him that it's more a "dream-like version" meant to be cute and commonly painted by parents for their kids. She tells Lev that her own father painted her a jungle.

The uncertainty of knowing whether or not Ellie knew that Joel had lied. I had always hated that Joel chose to lie to Ellie, but I had always suspected that Ellie must have some idea. I liked the gradual revelation that she did know, that Joel had finally fessed up. There were moments when someone would ask her if she had any idea why that group would kill Joel, and I'd be saying, "Because Fireflies" but then I would have to think "Ohhh, but Ellie doesn't know that!" Because you couldn't be sure that she did until the flashback reveals.

I felt like the strained relationship between Ellie and Joel resulting from the lie makes perfect sense; Ellie placed all value of her life on being the cure, and it must have been devastating for her to hear that she could have lived up to that perceived value if it weren't for his actions. Shitty actions of the Firelfies and the unrealism of a mass cure aside, Ellie must have felt insanely betrayed by the person she trusted most. The growing gap between the two of them and her pushback against his helicoptering makes absolute sense, even if it's sad. If Ellie had just blindly accepted it without some kind of anger or betrayal, I'd have been really disappointed.

Despite the lie and knowing what he had done, she still felt a sense of injustice enough to pursue his killer. In her journal, she notes that she had suspected Fireflies all along, so she knows why they came and why they killed him.

At first, I really hated playing as Abby. I knew immediately from Abby and Owen's conversation on the cliffs that she intended to find and kill Joel, and I wasn't surprised because even though I hadn't seen any spoilers prior to playing, I fully expected Joel to die in this game. It just made sense to me that Ellie would be on a violent rampage to avenge Joel, so it wasn't hard to connect. But playing as Abby, ESPECIALLY after Joel's death, was really hard to swallow. I couldn't really get behind playing as Joel's killer, as I adored Joel as a character and I had a lot of hate for her. As I played through her scenes, I started to realize that Abby and Ellie are kind of two sides to the same coin. Both grew up in and are navigating this "survival at all costs" kind of world, both are the sort to go to the extreme to seek revenge, and both are deeply hurting from the loss of their fathers. I was slow to really appreciate seeing Abby's perspective, but in the end, I got to see qualities of Abby that I liked, even if I didn't care for her overall. It reminded me that people aren't all good or all bad - they're more of a mixed bag.

Ellie is a child in the first game, and so it's not really surprising that she doesn't really make a lot of life-altering decisions for herself. She goes with Joel and Tess because Marlene says so, and she goes with Joel because what other choice does she have? And in the end, neither Joel or the Fireflies give her a choice in her situation - she's just dragged along to whatever they think is best for her. The sequel is different - Ellie is an adult who lives on her own and makes her own decisions. She pushes back when she feels Joel meddling, and it makes sense considering how he took control of her situation before. So, Ellie's actions have a lot more weight, and she's actually responsible for them. What I love is that Ellie is unquestionably herself - even when I, the player, felt like she was doing something wrong, it was her choice to make. It makes her character all the more human that she's not some righteous saint getting revenge for Joel's death. She makes mistakes and does things that are morally questionable. It makes her like everyone else - someone who has both good and bad.

Lev. All things Lev.

Through Ellie's perspective alone, you don't get much insight about the conflict between the Wolves and the Seraphites in Seattle. Abby's perspective offers more, and it makes sense. Ellie is a visitor and unfamiliar with the territory, but it seems Abby has been a part of the Wolves for a while. It's clear that the tension has grown increasingly more violent recently, and you get to see all of that erupt with Isaac ordering an attack to wipe out the Seraphites. What's interesting to witness is that as you progress through Abby's story, you get to see the flaws of both groups and the atrocities committed by both. The real tragedy is that neither of the groups can set aside their differences to say that it's okay to live differently - instead, they constantly fight and kill each other. The Seraphites are convinced that the Wolves are sinful and need to be put down. The Wolves say the Seraphites are freaks and need to be culled. Neither side is willing to try another truce - instead, they subscribe to the "survive at all costs" idea, and the cost is the other side - who they clearly don't see as human. This is especially clear when you see how quick they are to turn on each other for "stepping out of line" like when Lev shaves his head, Danny attacks Owen for not being able to kill an old man, and Isaac is willing to kill Abby for trying to stop the Wolves from killing Lev.

Once Lev and Abby start running together, Lev constantly corrects Abby's use of "Scars" - the name that the Wolves call the Seraphites. This seems very important to Lev, and once you run into Seraphites with him, you understand his insistence as they continuously deadname him. Lev didn't give up his beliefs when be fled the Seraphites, and it's important to him that Abby not disrespect him in that way. Even more telling is that while Abby continues to use Scars for a bit, she eventually becomes more respectful and uses Seraphites instead - something that his own tribe couldn't do for him.

Holy fuck, I am in love with the aquarium. When playing as Ellie, the place had a super creepy vibe, so I wasn't feeling it. But I was genuinely excited every time I got to visit it as Abby because I LOVE that place. Except for the last time. That sucked.

Not only could you pet dogs, but you could play fetch with them, too. That's fucking awesome. 

I went into the game expecting an established relationship with Ellie and Dina, but I'm really glad I got to witness it blossom. I actually really loved how playful they were with each other, but also how comforting they could be for each other. All the little looks and touches filled my little bi soul with all sorts of warmth and happiness.

Ellie's inability to sleep, her flashbacks, and the note she makes in her journal about finally having a day that she forgets about Seattle all point to the traumatic damage that Joel's death and her revenge quest did to her. When Tommy confronts her about pursuing Abby again, Ellie seems to completely shut down at the idea, and Dina has to take control of the situation. I like the fact that they show the cost of Tommy and Ellie’s vigilante justice, like Ellie’s PTSD, Dina having to take care of Ellie on top of taking care of JJ, the failure of Maria and Tommy’s marriage, or Jesse’s parents having to live with the loss of Jesse. Similarly, Abby sees the same kind of consequences to her pursuit of revenge: she sees the loss of her Firefly friends -- something she clearly hadn’t expected to happen.

For the most part, I didn’t care much about Abby’s friends. I got pretty into Owen’s story, until he was perfectly okay with leaving Mel and his unborn child and running off into the sunset with Abby. I’m not sure how I felt about Mel in the end, and I hated Nora and Manny. However, I really did like to see their perspectives, and I especially liked seeing how much some of them struggled with Abby’s vengeance and torture of Joel. I felt like it gave me a bigger picture of the consequences of Joel’s actions at the end of the first game (and we all had to know there would be SOMETHING).

All of the cutscenes showing Ellie and Joel’s relationship over the years were an absolute delight (even the not so nice ones) because I fully expected to be able to have more Joel and Ellie interaction before his death. I’m sad we didn’t get that, but happy that I could still explore their dynamic through flashbacks. Don’t even get me started on the birthday flashback because I have so much love for that entire scene and will probably replay it more than any other part of the game.

The attention to detail in the environment was so stunning. In one the of the apartments in Seattle during Abby’s playthrough, I saw a tabletop RPG set-up and immediately screenshotted it and sent it to my gamer friend group. All of the lore notes you could pick up and read through with stories about FEDRA, Seraphites, or Wolves really hammered home the idea that each group was at fault for their predicament and contributed to the overall tension and bloodshed. I love the theme that no one is blameless, because in the post-apocalyptic setting, you really wouldn’t expect anyone to be completely innocent. Even going to view the models in extras, you can zoom in and see the level of detail they added -- like JJ actually has blemishes on his face in the one where Dina is holding him. I fucking love it, man.

What I Hated:

When you play through Abby’s story and finally get to the confrontation, the player actually has to continue to play as Abby and attack Ellie. This seemed like a particularly cruel set-up, given that most of the player base is playing this game because they loved Ellie and wanted to continue playing her story. I’ve seen comparisons of the encounter to that of Ellie and David in the first game, but I don’t feel like it’s the right comparison. The mechanics were the same, yes, but the situation is completely different. Yes, in Abby’s story, Ellie is the villain. Ellie murdered her friends. But in the case with Ellie and David, Ellie was a prisoner who then had to fight to get free of him -- Abby is not a prisoner and sought out Ellie on her own.

I understood the chronology of the story, and I enjoyed having the “so she DID know” moment after the game reveals that Ellie knew that Joel had lied before she went to Seattle, but I think that the way the game switched between Ellie and Abby felt very weird. I didn’t exactly rush through Abby’s scenes, but the cliffhanger between Abby pointing a gun at Ellie and then switching to Abby’s story years before felt super jarring, and it made me more resistant to trying to understand Abby at first. I think the switch between perspectives could have been set up differently for a more satisfying playthrough.

I swear to you, I hated the rat king with every fiber of my being. I was already so creeped out by exploring ground zero -- the sheer amount of anxiety I had as I was searching for those damn supplies was intense, and then having to constantly run from the rat king or be killed felt like complete insanity -- and I played on the easiest setting! I wish they had some sort of way to opt out of those things for those interested in seeing the story play out. I know a lot of people who struggle with the combat mechanics but who want to see Ellie’s story.

In fact, slogging through all the infected in general felt really tedious. 

Yara’s death felt like it did absolutely nothing for the plot and only served to further the pain of Abby and Lev. We had already seen how vicious both the Seraphites and the Wolves could be -- the point didn’t need to be driven home by such a senseless death. Even though I also hated Mel’s death, I could see how it played into the confrontation with Abby and Ellie -- why should Abby care about Dina’s pregnancy when Ellie hadn’t extended the same mercy to Mel? Abby couldn’t have known that Ellie didn’t know. But Yara’s death served no good purpose, and I’m still pissed about it. Also, why the fuck would you kill her after the HELL the players go through to get the supplies to save her and actually have Mel be able to save her only to kill her off shortly after? It makes zero sense.

I also really hated Jesse’s death. He seemed like such a good person and his death was so unnecessary -- especially since Tommy got to live. His family and JJ and hell, Ellie and Dina, even, didn’t deserve to lose him, especially as he hadn’t even done anything to Abby. Ugh.

When Tommy pulled out that map and started talking about having a lead, I felt every bit of Dina’s outrage at the situation. Their need for vengeance had already cost everyone so damn much, and it seemed absolutely bonkers that Tommy wanted to go after her again -- especially when he had seemed perfectly okay at the theater to pack up and go home with Abby still alive. He went from “Are you good with that?” about leaving Abby alive to “You made me a promise” to Ellie when Ellie says she won’t. Ellie had Dina, a baby, and some serious PTSD -- she had no business being set back on that path, but Tommy didn’t seem bothered by any of that. 

Was it not enough to make Ellie lose her family, but make her lose her fingers, too? I appreciated the game’s constant insistence on the consequences of your actions in this survive at all costs kind of world, but it seemed like a lot for Ellie to wind up losing her fingers in the end. Blah.

What I Have Mixed Feelings About:

I was not as upset about the ending as most people seem to be. I think it says a lot that Ellie went all that way to Santa Barbara and in the end, spared Abby’s life -- in the same way that Abby initially refused to fight Ellie. It felt like they were both fighting someone else’s fight and were finally tired enough to let it die. It did feel pretty frustrating that she went all the way out there, nearly died, and lost two of her fingers to kill Abby, only to not end up doing it and thus negating the whole damn trip, but I also feel like Ellie needed the sort of closure that trip brought. In the end, it was her decision to let Abby live -- a choice that had not been given to her years prior, when Joel took her from that hospital. I like to think that she finally understood Joel’s decision.

When Dina refused to support Ellie going back after Abby, I wasn’t surprised, and I didn’t really blame her. I was even pissed that Ellie chose to go after what had happened last time, and I couldn’t really understand why she’d be so willing to leave her family behind when this had already played out so poorly for her before. I also wasn’t surprised when Ellie returned to find an empty house -- I’d imagine that taking care of a farm and a baby at the same time would likely be too much for Dina, and I just assume she moved back to Jackson, where she’d have help. Either way, I’d love to know if Dina was fully done with Ellie for good, or if she’d accept her back if Ellie went to find her. I know that the loss of their relationship is a direct result of Ellie’s actions and the fact that she prioritized killing Abby over staying with her family, but goddammit, I just want a happy lgbt ending for once.

I was genuinely excited to have a trans character in the game. I cannot express enough how much I adore Lev. In a way, his and Abby’s relationship reminds me a lot of Joel and Ellie’s in the first game. They depend on each other, and they obviously really care about each other. One of the things that super bothered me was the storyline with his mother. We already know that he’s pretty much cast out and hunted for being trans -- so we can see the horror of it. It was rough enough to know that his own mother could turn away from him and condemn him like all the rest, but having her attack him and forcing him to kill her in self-defense felt like a lot. I just can’t imagine how triggering that might feel for trans people playing the game.

[dholwrites]

For the ask meme! What do you think of Lamitt, Lyse, and possibly Kai-Shirr if you have time/whatever wasn't repeated?

  Lamitt, Lyse and Kai-Shirr coming right up!

Lamitt

First impression

Smol!!!!!! WHM friend!!!!! Oh wait, we’re gonna have to fight her ( ´•̥ו̥` )

At first sight, I found her so adorable. I only knew her intially from the trailers and she acts and behave a lot like a beginer healer. I want to be her senpai.

Impression now

SHE CARED FOR HIM SO MUCH. LAMITT HE DOESN’T EVEN KNOW HOW MUCH YOU CARE. I felt so bad finally ending her life in the healer job quest. All she wanted to do is to help her people but she trusted the adventurers that have helped her with her goal. Now she’s’ FORCED TO LEAVE THE HOME SHE TRIED TO SAVE AND I’M JUS‧º·(˚ ˃̣̣̥⌓˂̣̣̥ )‧º·˚

Favorite moment

Level 80 healer job quest ending, the brief image of her talking so lightly and so cheerfuly got me a little emotional. I think it’s mainly because she’s talking 

Idea for a story

I want more stories of her travels, from the moment she meet up with Arbert to when they have to travel to the Source, and then her last moments before the Flood. I wonder to know if she got along with anyone else, heck how the group even splits up the inn room. 

Unpopular opinion

Don’t think I have any. I don’t even know the general opinion on Lamitt. She’s just so cute! ｡ﾟ(TヮT)ﾟ｡

Favorite relationship

It’s pretty obvious, Lamitt and Arbert are so cute together. Even just as a regular healer and tank relationship.

Favorite headcanon

Lamitt’s crush on Arbert is obvious to everyone in the party but Arbert himself. The baby doesn’t know what to do about herself. She follows the dating/courting etiquitte of her tribe but Arbert doesn’t know a thing about it and figured she’s just being nice.

Lyse

First impression

Yda? Is that you? You have a face? ━Σ(ﾟДﾟ|||)━  She’s Yda…. but not? What do you mean you’re part of the Resistance? You never implied anything like this before???? Are you doing this because you’re sad about Papalymo?

Impression now

There’s a high chance that I might get a mob for this. Personally I don’t really… care for Lyse? Some of the details of StB doesn’t make sense to me surrounding her. For some reason she doesn’t have a lot of presence when we’re going through the Steppe, at one point I forgot that she was even there. From there things only seem to go downhill. 

Favorite moment

The closing cinematic of Stormblood. It was a pretty heart felt moment as we get to see everyone together again. A little said to hear that she had to leave the Scions, but I understand why she made the decision. 

Idea for a story

A  story about her and the shoes she needs to fill with the Resistance. What was she thinking in the moment, any hesistation or doubt, or did she find the weight normal to bear.

Unpopular opinion

I prefer her in ARR? I really enjoy her lightheartedness and interacting with Papalymo. I feel like if we kept her around, she would have been able to 

Favorite relationship

Lyse and M’naago as they lead the resistance. It’s fascinating since they’re so young to be leading something like this. 

Favorite headcanon

Lyse is very quick to delvelop crush on people when she meets them, but it’s so minor that she never acts upon it. This crush usually goes away once she gets carried back into work or spends more time with her crush. 

Kai-Shirr

First impression

Holy shit, that is a thick accent on him. He’s so… stupid. Not in a mean way, more of, he is so innocent to the world around him. His friends may be in Eulmore but they still left him behind. Fuck, Kai needs protection（ ＴДＴ）

Impression now

!!!!!! He’s growing!!! I’m a crafter, so I got to talk to Kai through custom deliveries. Kai has grown so much in such a short amount of time, he’s able to learn useful skills that really helped him get a job at the Beehive. I’m so happy every time I see and talk to him. If he as so much as /joy as me, I will melt

Favorite moment

There are so many moments.

That moment when he stood up to Chai Nuzz to back off from recruiting us. His face and quick declaration got me grinning like mad, because he’s so possessive! It’s pretty much a ‘This is mine!’ move that no one expected from him. 

Then when we meet him after we came across all the people acting strange in front of Eulmore, his slang when he’s talking about Vautry returning back. What he said is so funny, but the moment of lightness is pretty much shot right out of the water the second we realize what is happened and it hurts all the more. The look on his expression

His dedication to helping out Eulmore despite everything and sticking to his friends and helping the Beehive. Just *clutch chest* precious. 

Idea for a story

I just want more Kai, like anything! I want story of how he found work in the Crystarium, him running into Alisaie while on his rounds, or even Kai feels working with the WoD in the Beehive. 

Unpopular opinion

What is an opinion other than a head canon?

Kai is a cheeky bastard even if he is really polite and well mannered to everyone. The second the lid comes off, you’re gonna get some of the strangest slang, you’ve ever come to existance. 

Favorite relationship

Kai and WoD hands down, I feel like he only get more giddy every time we agree to help him out and I’m starting to think that he might have a crush on us. 

Other than that, it would have to be Kai and Alphi. Despite his young age, Alphi shows a maturity that Kai notice and looks up to. He clearly went up to Alisaie fully believing that he is seeing his savior again, only to be a little disappointed that it actually wasn’t him. 

Favorite headcanon

(have a sad one) Kai-Shirr repress a lot of his trauma by keeping active. Nearly get eaten by a Sin Eater? Time to run all the way to Crystarium to find work. Find out that the Meol is DEFINITELY SOMETHING YOU SHOULDN’T BE EATING? Well time to help the WoD and their friends. Even now he made himself help the Beehive to keep his mind on anything but the past. 

[legendary-defender-of-fandoms]

Avatar Hunk AU Sneak Peek

So, I wanted to have a few Avatar Hunk stories ready for @hunk-appreciation-week , but I bit off more than I could chew & don’t have any of them done. To compensate, I thought I would share some backstory, Headcanon, story ideas, and other stuff that I want to put in my Avatar Hunk AU.

Part 1 - The Premise

Before I get too far, I need to give credit where credit is due. @avatarpabu97 was the one who originated the idea of Hunk being the new Avatar. I thought it was cute at first, but the more they shared about their Headcanon & the more I thought about it, the more I realized how it was a fantastic idea. It fit with the cycle of the preceding Avatar shows, it gave our favorite sunshine boi a chance to shine, and it could lead to some awesome stories that combine the best of Voltron AND Avatar! @avatarpabu97 had a lot of cool ideas for what kind of Bender everyone would be and who would be where, and our ideas might overlap in some spots. But I had a few ideas of my own for how the Voltron folks would fit in the Avatar universe.

Anyway, the Premise. For my Avatar Hunk AU, it would be set in the world of Avatar about 70-80 years after the events of Legend of Korra. The tech levels would be more advanced than what we have (given their access to Spirit Energy, Bending, etc.), but not quite on, say, Star Trek levels. Korra has died (of old age, or at least peacefully in her home), and the world has started to look for the new Avatar. But given the technological advancements made since Korra’s time, this is seen as more of a side quest by the general public. The White Lotus & the New Air Nation dispatch a few teams, and some ambitious mover producers decide to create game shows to find the new Avatar, but for the rest of the world, life moves on. A new research and development corporation, Galra Tech, starts to make serious advances in harnessing Spirit Energy. The CEO, Zarkon Daibazaal, is a suave businessman who started his company to help people. But having all this power at his disposal leads to corruption, and the chief scientist for his company - his wife, Honerva - has been performing more and more unsettling experiments. They may have plans to invade the Spirit World to reap untold power, conquer the world, yadda yadda yadda. So the Avatar will be needed once more to prevent the exploitation of the Spirit World, another Spirits vs Humans war, and possibly the destruction of the planet? Haven’t planned that far yet.

Part 2 - The Characters

Hunk - Born and raised in Zhao Fu, Tsuyoshi Hershel Seidou Garrett is the only son of Tsuyoshi Garrett, an Earthbender (and a distant descendant of Haru from the original series), and Lisa Seidou, whose family immigrated from the Northern Water Tribe after the Earth Empire dissolved. His nickname was a misnomer, since he was a very small baby, but he quickly grew into it. His parents always knew their child was special (Spirits used to gravitate towards him when he was a baby, he took to Earthbending like a turtle duck to water when he was five, he started Metalbending & helping his father in the family Satomobile shop when he was ten, and he’s always been the sort to end disputes & help those in need), but they wanted Hunk to discover his destiny on his own, let him decide if he should let the world know he is the Avatar. Hunk earns an academic scholarship to the Hiroshi Sato School of Technology & Exploration at Republic City University, where he meets a colorful group of friends & discovers the dangers of Galra Tech’s Spirit Energy experiments. When Hunk starts to realize he’s the Avatar, he’s not sure what to think. I mean, the Avatar is supposed to save the world every other week, isn’t he? And the Avatar’s always been some confident badass who can take out armies by themselves & never backs down from a fight. Hunk wants to help however he can, but he’s not sure he has what it takes to be the Avatar. Until he realizes just how much is on the line, in which case Hunk decides it doesn’t matter if the Spirits made a mistake or if someone else should be the Avatar. He has the ability to help others, and he’ll do whatever he can to save the people he loves.

Gyrgan - Hunk’s animal companion, an Armadillo Lion. Hunk saved him from poachers when he was a cub, and the two have been inseparable ever since. Gyrgan is slow to trust new people, but once he has accepted someone in his life he becomes a giant lap kitty. Threatening those he loves, however, can lead to a death more terrifying than failing an Altean linguistics class. Hunk has taught him proper manners, so he’s not a menace & is permitted to be boarded at RCU. Much like Naga and Appa, he’s huge & can be ridden by Hunk, but typically won’t let others ride.

Lance McClain - A Waterbending mischief maker from Whale Tail Island, Lance and his family move to Zhao Fu when Lance is 12 years old. The two instantly bond over their love of “Nuktuk, Hero of the South” (who, much like Captain America and Wonder Woman, has evolved past his propaganda origins into a pop culture hero with multiple reboots, spinoffs, and Saturday morning cartoons). Lance isn’t quite the scholar Hunk is, but he does manage to get into RCU on a Probending scholarship & is excited to go to his sister Veronica’s alma mater. Until he finds a certain big-eyed mullet boy is on his Probending team & in his classes (not sure how far the Klance stuff is going to go, because I have little writing experience & even less experience with LGBT+ rep. But I want it to keep true to the 30+ years of Klance sexual tension that dates back to GoLion.) Still, when the world starts to fall apart, Lance won’t be left out of the action. (Might also make Lance a descendant of Sokka and Suki, but not sure how to work that into the story)

Katie “Pidge” Holt - The daughter of the head of the Technology department at RCU, Pidge is a child prodigy when it comes to computers. She manages to skip a few grades & get into the Hiroshi Sato School of Technology at the age of 15. Pidge has a pet Owl Cat named Rover who becomes instant besties with Gyrgan. Pidge’s mother was the daughter of Air Acolytes, and Pidge is a skilled Airbender. However, Pidge doesn’t really connect well with others. Until she gets to Computer Algorhithms class and meets Hunk, the first person close to her age who not only understands her techno jargon, but contributes with his own tech knowledge instead of scoffing & calling her a nerd or teacher’s kid. She’s not so sure about his buddy/roommate Lance, but he kind of grows on her & they eventually bond over their love of Space Sword video games. Pidge’s brother Matt was interning at Galra Tech when their experiments in the Spirit World started to spiral out of control, and Pidge will do whatever it takes to bring him home. Even if it means fighting the entirety of the Spirit World.

Keith Kogane - You know how Mako & Bolin had it rough, growing up on the streets after their parents were killed by a Firebender? Now imagine if either one had to do it alone & never knew what happened to their mother because she took off when they were babies. After Keith’s father is killed in a freak industrial accident, the young Firebender falls in with the Blade of Marmora Triad. He’s caught during a raid by Detective Takashi Shirogane and his partner Ulaz, a former Blade, but instead of putting him juvenile detention Shiro decides to give the kid a shot at a new life (maybe he shows mercy to someone the Blades ordered him to kill, or he has impressive Firebending skills, or Shiro’s a sucker for mullets). Keith starts channeling his aggression into Probending, playing against a certain hotshot from Whale Tail Island over the years, and he eventually gets into the Lin Beifong School of Criminal Justice at RCU. He’s less than thrilled to be on the school’s Probending team with Lance, and after Shiro disappears Keith considers dropping out. But when Shiro reappears (backstory below), Keith will put aside his petty rivalry with Lance and help Shiro with taking down Galra Tech once and for all.

Takashi “Shiro” Shirogane - A skilled Metalbender & brilliant detective, Shiro is everything Hunk thinks an Avatar should be. Intuitive, compassionate, a great leader, skilled in a fight - is there any chance Raava can pick this guy to save the world? But one night, Shiro & his partner Ulaz (not sure if they’re just platonic partners or if they’re also partner-partners, also not sure where Adam & Curtis will come in if they exist at all) are sneaking through a Galra Tech laboratory after receiving anonymous tips that Honerva was capturing Spirits to experiment on, an explosion destroys the building. Shiro loses his partner, his arm, and six months of his life (which Honerva May or May not be responsible for). When he finally returns to his Republic City apartment, he’s visibly distraught by the lost time & a vague memory of something horrible coming. Pidge & Hunk work together to make Shiro a prosthetic he controls with Metalbending, at which point Shiro realizes Hunk is the Avatar & warns him about the Spiritpocalypse. Hunk isn’t sure what Shiro expects him to do about it, and Shiro promises to stand by his side in the coming war to defend humanity & avenge Ulaz.

Allura & Coran will also be part of the story, but I haven’t quite figured out their motivations or backstories yet. Allura will be a powerful Healer from the Northern Water Tribe (not sure if she’ll be a Princess or the daughter of Alfor of Altea Industries, a company that was bought out by Galra Tech through shady deals, corporate espionage, and some old friend backstabbing), and Coran will be Varrick’s grandson & heir to Varrick Industries.

Part 3 - The Stories

I’ve only got a couple of plots right now, but more are coming.

1) A New Beginning - this will be a prologue for the series, confirming the death of Avatar Korra & introducing everyone to baby Hunk. We’ll also get to see Tsuyoshi, Lisa, and a bit of their extended family. Expect maximum cuteness. This is the only story I’ve started so far, and I have it all figured out in my head. I just need to transcribe it.

2) The Boy and the Armadillo Lion - this will be how Hunk meets Gyrgan & when he starts to suspect he might be the Avatar. There will be some tough stuff in here regarding poaching, but most of the animal torture will be implied. One of those “this guy needs to be returned to his mother/oh, don’t worry, he’ll be with his mother soon enough” situations. We’ll see “a boy and his future pet” bonding similar to Hiccup & Toothless, lots of fighting & chasing, and Baby’s First Avatar State. Also debating if I want Old Man Meelo to make a cameo. I love the idea of Meelo deciding to be a hermit in the Swamp because the Avatar’s going to need a cooky wise old mentor in the swamp, but it may raise too many questions if he watches Hunk fight off the poachers without doing anything to help. Maybe Hunk will ride through the Swamp on his way to RCU while wrestling with his insecurities about being the Avatar, and after fighting a few Swamp Hallucinations in the form of past Korra baddies Meelo will pop out of nowhere like Rafiki saying something like “You forgot to be the leaf!”

3) A series of vignettes about young Hunk developing his Bending skills. Earthbending sand castles with his dad, figuring out Metalbending while watching him work on his uncle’s racing Satomobile (oh, he has an Uncle Filo who races Satomobiles professionally), thinking he’s using Lavabending to weld a broken pipe (but Tsuyoshi realizes it’s Firebending), healing his friend Lance when he gets scraped up after trying to pull off a Nuktuk dive while their families vacation at Lake Laogai (which, without the Dai Lee hideout, is a fairly popular vacation spot), that sort of thing.

[classpect-musings]

Witch of Breath in the land of Blizzards and Wilderness? If you have the time. :^)

Your land is the Land of Blizzards and Wilderness.

LOBAW is unmatched in its stunningly beautiful but deadly weather. The magnificent blizzards that beat down upon the land send flurries of snowflakes across the mountain tops and into the deep valleys. The deciduous trees have long since died in this eternal winter, gradually replaced by the countless pine trees that now grace the endless hills. As for the rivers snaking through the valleys, they have been frozen over for quite a long time, and the ice is so thick you can skate on it without worry.

The wind is constantly rushing through the forests, creating a cacophony of howling in the background. This, combined with the faint beat of the consorts’ drums in the distance, creates a soundtrack for this lawless land.

This land was, once, not nearly as untamed. The consorts lived in the depths of the valleys as tribes, back when there were still seasons. They found LOBAW to be on the cold side and were always a little drowsy as a result. But the denizen, Boreas, believed that their grounded and civilized style of life was far too dull for them. He sent the Squalls of Spirit to LOBAW, plunging the land into a perpetual winter. Not only did Boreas use the Squalls to create the blizzards, but they also represent a more spiritual power, giving the consorts enough reign over the ethereal versions of themselves to also affect the physical.

Therefore, the consorts have now heated up their blood levels in order to not fall asleep during the winter, which they would typically hibernate for. This also makes them ‘hot-blooded’ in a metaphorical sense; that is, they are formidable and ruthless warriors who roam the land without any qualms or regrets of their actions. Their bonds have been destroyed, allowing their spirits to know free reign. But at what cost?

The consorts, black snakes, are nomads that wander the wilds to hunt for sustenance. They appear cute but are actually capable of being intimidating, especially with the pieces of bone they attach to their small fangs in order to make them longer and sharper. They are free-spirited and difficult to control, especially if they manage to spot their prey: mice. You can sense their presence by their mysterious whispering and the thump of their tails against drums.

You, the Witch of Breath, must learn how to manipulate the Breath in LOBAW properly in order to save it. This could involve manipulating the consorts’ free wills, allowing you to control them and prevent them from being so violent. Manipulating the Breath of the consorts could also involve dealing with the power given to them by the Squalls of Spirit. This would allow you to cool down their blood, causing the consorts to finally go into a much-needed hibernation. Furthermore, you could use the environment and all its freedom to your advantage in some way, whether that would be against underlings or while dealing with the consorts. And finally, a mastery of manipulating the Squalls of Spirit would allow you to control the weather in LOBAW, determining how free the consorts truly are. In an ironic twist, you could use these sheer forces of natural power to your advantage to help you wrangle Boreas, effectively defeating him with his own creations.

Some locations in this land will lead to turning points or clues for completing your land quest. These places include:

Longfang’s Cave of Confinement

Near the top of one of the peaks lies a cave only spoken about in the whispers of the consorts. A great and terrible snake lives there– not as big as the denizen, of course, but definitely huge. The only reason it has not wreaked havoc upon the land is because it is weighed down by heavy chains bolted into the walls of the cave. If you can barter for the snake’s freedom– or at least trick him into thinking he’ll be freed, only to put him to slumber– in exchange for something else, you may be able to find additional locations for clues, information about the Squalls of Spirit, or even a weakness of the consorts…

Hall of the Mountain King

This ancient hall is located inside one of the mountains and can be accessed via a well-hidden entrance, but it has been long forgotten by the consorts. The inside is nice and warm thanks to a quirk of the mountain– it’s actually a dormant volcano, its churning magma pools only good now for heating the inside of the chamber. The snakes once used this, long ago, when they wanted to stay awake during hibernation. If you bring some of the snakes here, they will not need to heat up their blood, and they will be much calmer as a result. However, if you keep them in there for too long, Boreas will notice the disturbance in the Squalls of Spirit and will crack open a section of the wall, allowing the hall to flood with magma. This could potentially be used strategically, if you have a plan in mind.

Land Theme: I originally searched for some sort of blizzard soundtrack with a drum beat in the background, however I couldn’t find anything I felt really fit the land well? So I’m going to recommend this track instead for the more peaceful moments in LOBAW. However, if you’d prefer something from the actual Homestuck soundtrack, I recommend this track or this track.

Thanks for the request! This land was a lot of fun to design. I’m sorry about how long it took me to finish this request, but nevertheless, I hope you find this helpful!

[oathkeeperoxas]

Worldbuildingex letter

Thank you to whoever matches with me, it means you have good taste :D

Horizon: Zero Dawn

General headcanons/likes for fandom: Vala lives, Aloy interacting with Old World tech, GAIA Prime being rebuilt, TFW characters interacting with base game characters, Aloy being a big lady lover!!!

Vanasha’s Spy Ring: Okay so apparently Vanasha is head of a spy ring, right? Well… what do they get up to? How does she keep in contact with her people when there’s no way to communicate over long distances besides actually travelling? Are they spying on just the Shadow Carja, or are they more involved with Carja politics as well? I also strongly headcanon that Nakoa came to Meridian after you finish her quest, and that she got caught up in Vanasha’s spy ring. If you wrote some Vanasha/Nakoa into the fic I would adore that.

Snow Ghost Lore: I’d be great to hear some of the ‘ghost stories’ that the Banuk have – maybe Ikrie is telling one to Aloy over a campfire in traditional spooky story telling fashion. Or maybe Aloy is travelling the Cut and hears rumours of a snow ghost that turns out to be Ikrie. Anything to do with Banuk superstition or tie it into their worship of the Blue Light would be great, and Aloy/Ikrie is cute as well so go with that if you’d like.

Nora Culture: We see so little of the Nora when really they should have such a strong impact on Aloy especially since Rost raised her – did he instil any habits into her that she doesn’t realise are very Nora until someone points it out? Or I’d love to see Aloy with Varl or Vala on a hunting trip and one of them starts singing a hunting song that Aloy doesn’t know. Or anything regarding the Mother’s Marks that every Nora wears – every Nora except Aloy. What does that mean specifically for them, especially when Aloy is an outcast/Seeker/Anointed? If you’d like to do anything with Aloy/Vala as well I’d absolutely go wild for that – Nora dating/asking someone out methods, and it going over Aloy’s head to Vala’s annoyance, or Aloy having to jump through hoops to ‘officially’ date Vala in the eyes of the tribe.

 Fire Emblem Heroes

General headcanons/likes for fandom: Only they/them pronouns for the Summoner, Fjorm being OP, soft ice siblings

Leiptr the Lance of Ice: Hrid tells Fjorm that the Lance is special to those from Nifl, but why? Even if you just explored when/where/how Fjorm first picks up the Lance I’d be very interested in that.

Nifl Customs: Exploring more of Nifl and especially how the royal family interact with everyone else would be great – do they mingle or are they more formal with their subjects?

Muspell Customs: Fire is important, but I’d love to see more everyday uses for it – lighting candles, oil lamps or however they have light at night, does those things take on their own type of significance to the people of Muspell that just doesn’t happen elsewhere?

Muspell and Nifl Relations: Either post or before Book II would be fine – I’d love to see the princesses interacting though, and either them being openly hostile or hostilely polite because they’re not at war yet but they might be soon and no one wants to make attachments to someone you might be seeing on the other side of a battlefield soon enough, OR post Book II and them being hesitant and awkward towards each other.

 Kingdom Hearts

General headcanons/likes for fandom: Riku is FTM trans, Roxas or Xion or Ven or Van lurking in the background/influencing Sora’s actions while they’re still in his heart, Sora crying, drive forms, keyblades!!, Van remembering KHUX events, Sora/Riku/Kairi, Nobodies being treated like the really fucking scary/dead things that they are, Roxas being OP, the Oathkeeper and Oblivion (the keyblades and their symbolism), fight scenes and fighting banter, Vanitas/Ventus

I will have finished KH3 by the time these fics are revealed, so if you want to use KH3 info feel free to.

Oathkeeper and Oblivion's Significance: I love Oathkeeper and Oblivion so much, the represent so much within the series – Sora using Kairi’s charm, Roxas inheriting the Keyblades but making them his own, Xion implied to be Oblivion – it’s all so interesting. Something about one of the characters musing out the Keyblades would be great, or if you want to go a more practical route – they are supposed to be opposites, but what does that mean for Roxas when he’s fighting with both of them? Does Oathkeeper heal and Oblivion hurt like in re:Coded?

Nobody Lore Expansion: I’d love to see this one in relation to how the people of Twilight Town think of the strange people cloaked in black that run around all the time. Who do they think they are? What do they think they’re doing?

Nobodies' Non-existence: Nobodies are like… literally, canonically, dead people who only still exist through sheer willpower. Do they still bleed? Cry? Are their physical forms really physical or can they just… walk through walls if they want to? They do ‘express’ emotions ingame, but I like to think that’s more of a reflex/habit than anything because they still have memories of what it was to be human. Since Roxas doesn’t have memories, how does he react to things like pain, which is both a physical and emotional response?

How Nobodies Discover Their Element: They all have one but how do they know? Do they just start shooting light/water/fire everywhere randomly? Isn’t that a bit dangerous to everyone else? Is there a set process or do they just wait it out until they discover it?

Vanitas' Negativity: Anything that has more lore to do with Vanitas and what he is exactly and what the Unversed are exactly would be very good, especially if it includes VanVen.

Vanitas or Ventus Remembering Their Past: I like to think that Vanitas remembers everything, and I’d love to see him holding that above Ventus (ESPECIALLY if you go the route that Ventus is the one who killed Strelitzia). Or Ven half remembering things in dreams but he can’t grasp them when he wakes up, but that red is like Ephemer’s scarf… wait who is Ephemer?  

Keyblade Student Ceremonies: How do they formally become a student? Are there formal tests?

The Fall of Radiant Garden: If you’re going to do this one, then I’d love a focus on Lea and Isa and their last few desperate hours before they become Axel and Saix. How come they, out of everyone else in Radiant Garden, were the ones who were strong enough to become Nobodies?

[purplerose244]

Thoughts journal about Season 13!! 💪💪 (1/4)

Phew, I actually made it to the English release without spoilers! 🤩 I do know general things about little plots for the ninja, hopefully nothing major! Finally, the Cole season we've all been waiting for, with Rock Mom and possibly plenty of our Earth baby development! COLE IN THE SPOTLIGHT AT LAST!! 🖤🖤

Well, I know I'll be shooting rainbows from my eyeballs if I see even one Nexo Knights reference! For the rest I don't really know what will happen, I'm curious! 🤔

It's the 6th of July, and here we go!!

GENERAL THOUGHTS

Is it just me or the dialogues sounds better? More built up, funnier, cohesive just like in the earliest seasons of Ninjago? Maybe it's just me but I'm really appreciating 🤷‍♀️

It also doesn't feel that rushed anymore! Which was my biggest problem in Prime Empire really. The episodes seem to me like fragments of a nice movie, not a too long story forced into 11 minutes. I'm very happy with the quality so far, I feel good about this for now! 👍

No matter what season it is, you can count on The Fold to make an AMAZING intro!! Freaking awesome, it was epic and very final battle like 👌👌 I WANT THE FULL VERSION ASAP!!!

SHINTARO

I do appreciate we are not forgetting about the adventures we had until now, it feels like from season 11 forward we are building a new backstory of. But they still show stuff from the very first seasons so I'm happy anyway 😍

Pff, Cole plays Prime Empire right after being trapped in it. And Lloyd joins in! YES!! Maybe there is hope for a season without greenie being traumatized! 👍👍

Also he's doing laundry because I DON'T WANNA DO THE DISHES NO MORE~ 😎

The chicken is back 😂 The constant reference to the movie we are all kinda attached to a this point (well I am, LOOK AT THE LITTLE HAT 💕💕)

Is it me being a "I've rewatched this show way too much" type of fan to feel that Nya saying that Jay using Spinjitzu for chores will get Wu mad might be a reference to how the guys had cleaned the very first Destiny Bounty with that? You think that Wu found out and got crazy mad? That would be kinda cool 😂😂

Okay, poor sensei and all, but he's kinda right 😅 I like Wu, I really do, but Aspheera was a problem kinda because of him, they all going to another dangerous realm could have been dealt a lot better if he hadn't been so on edge and in Prime Empire he freaking got kidnapped by NORMAL PEOPLE. Maybe he is getting old 🤷‍♀️

At last, he has returned...

THE ONE AND ONLY RULER OF NINJAGO, THE POSTMAN!!! 💜💜💜 Was he missing since March of the Oni? I can't remember if he was around for the Aspheera part 🤔

Soooo, not to be that person, but a secret group of royals asking the ninja to meet them in a place that was never open for outsiders before then? Kinda... feels familiar... *SoG flashbacks* 😰

Okay, not the biggest fan of Misako, but her scolding Wu was kinda fun 🤣 Needed to change the animation for her to get a bit of personality apparently 😉

Ah, you left Pixal behind to let her do... chores. Well, if you guys are happy 😒

Ninja babies all excited ❤💚💙🖤🤍💦 Also I'm excited because there is FINALLY a white heart between the emoji! I didn't notice it until now, I just need a gray/maroon heart now 😍

Jay screaming NOT MADE UP cracked me up so much 😂😂 Gosh I love my bluebell

A bit of action scene, nice, nice, also Cole going full buddy mode to save Jay gives me my beautiful Bruise vibes 💙🖤💙🖤

Well hello Brian

Looking good 💕💕 The designs are rocking in season 12 and 13, I cannot tell it enough! Super super cool

Overall nice episode, seemed more nicely focused than usual, I don't know if it's just me. I'm happy anyway 😁

Ooohhhh, so the sails were ripped off by the bats, and they were flying thanks to the soldier guys with wings. It makes sense, I was confused by the trailer, now there's the answer!

IN THE DARK

Okay, Vania introduction, I wonder what kind of princess we will get after last ti-

Vania: I'm such a big fan of you, I was the one that insisted at having you here! 🤩

... besides the fact that she sounds and looks absolutely ADORABLE, I'm kinda with Lloyd about feeling suspicious... because that's exactly how Harumi introduced herself back then 😅 And away it goes, the possibility of Lloyd spending a season without feeling disturbed or traumatized...

Ah, there we go, Cole and Vania. Soft looks, instant attention and... that's it? Idk, Jay and Nya's meeting had that one very awkward color question (💙❤💙❤), Kai literally heard romantic music while looking at Sky (❤🧡❤🧡), Lloyd was being mocked all the way by the guys as he looked at Harumi (💚😰💚😰). This one seems a bit weak? I don't mind it actually, I'm actually a bit curious about how it will develop since it started like this 🤷‍♀️

References to Hiroshi's Labyrinth and the Tournament of Elements, my fangirl heart is happy 😍 Is it too much thinking that the maze was a reference to Shadow of Ronin, since they all went there in the game while in the show only Lloyd was at the Labyrinth? Idk 🤷‍♀️

JAY SAYING COLE IS HIS BEST FRIEND, YES!! YES!! FINALLY, HAVEN'T HEARD IT SINCE SKYBOUND!!! BROTP IS BACK 🖤💙🖤💙 Also Jay confused that Vania is interested in Cole, pff, you clearly don't know the fandom 😂

But it is a bit fishy, does she knows stuff? Now I'm into it...

Lloyd sneaking in, that was creepy 🤣 And ninja like, of course

I kinda like how this is going, Cole straight up saying dude, I just met her, calm down. Like, I do understand green bean and I'm kinda on his side, but still 🤷‍♀️

Cole: I'm not just gonna jump on the lovesick wagon like you weirdos, geez

"It felt like a cloud of warm contentment." I'm gonna use this whenever someone asks me why have I been in my bed all day 😎

I know they all believed Cole was just dreaming the purple guy, but honestly they could have just said "Cole, we had flaming snakes raining on Ninjago a few weeks ago, what are you so worked up about?". But yeah, ROCK MOM FINALLY!!! I wanna know more!! 😍😍😍

Mr Sparkles 😂😂 So cute

Vania is cool for now, she is basically the innocent Harumi without a scarring tragedy from her past changing her into a vengeful villain... yeah 😅

Did Cole notice that she talks a lot and loud, kinda like Jay? Is that why he seemed a bit annoyed? 😂😂

For now they don't seem that annoyingly into each other, they look chill, no major lovesick moment or anything. I like it, I don't know if this ship will be super important or something, but at least I'm happy they are dealing with it in a different way 👍

With all these creatures chained up and a crazy dude making them work, Cole must have one HECK of a flashback from back in Chen's island 😵

Okay, I get the drama, I get the lair which is

Legit cool, with that nice Underworld vibe, but really? A wood door with ropes behind a lava fall? Security measures who? 😂😂

So Skull dude is the bad guy, and has a mask. People with masks means big reveal at some point. I like dudes with masks 😗

Aaaahhh, figures it was too easy being in a literal mine with the power of Earth. They really can't keep their powers for more than five seconds now can they 😂😂

But this seems interesting, is it connected with the burst thing they said in the trailer? Or even Cole's mom? Is this Skull Sorcerer connected to her? I HAVE QUESTIONS PEOPLE!!!

I am legit enjoying this 👌 They are building up questions and I do hope we'll get a good flashback moment with Rock mom... or even finding out if something else happened to her... EXCITED 🤩🤩

So to be the main ninja of a season lately you have to be either without powers (Kai Fire Chapter) or trapped in an unknown place (Zane Ice Chapter and Jay Prime Empire). Cole got them both 😅

IT REALLY IS ROCKY'S SEASON FINALLY 😎😎

WORST RESCUE EVER

Mm, the king is being weird, what's up with this mountain thing? Does he know who the Skull Sorcerer is? QUESTIONS

So Vania keeps being extremely adorable, I think I really like her character 💕 We'll see what will happen with her, how she will interact with the others, especially Lloyd since he seems very suspicious... can't really blame him 😅

Kai ready to argue with a king because one of his friend is in danger, THAT'S MY FLAME BABE ❤❤❤

Okay, the conflict between the two tribes, I read about this in some plots of the season. Not sure how that will play, but

I did laughed at this 😂 Sorry Mole

Okay, seriously, have we not learned anything from letting Kai come up with a plan? The notoriously bad planner Kai? The think before talking Kai? The let's follow the sun because yes Kai? I love him to dead but really, it was meant to go bad right away even if the title wasn't that 😅😅😅

AM I THE ONLY ONE WHO GOT EMOTIONAL AT COLE'S NINJA-GO WHILE DOING SPINJITZU?? 😭😭 They don't say it that much anymore before spinning, it kinda hit my tornado shaped heart 🖤🖤

I expected at least a comment about them being similar to the Skulkin, too bad. Not fundamental though, I'm really enjoying this so far 👍

Well, all of the ninja are trapped now 😅 Is Wu going to come for the rescue? Is Vania? I know they will be separated and will all go on separated quests, and I'm kinda more looking forward to it now. Let's see what happens!! 🤩

THE TWO BLADES

Considering how big of a fan Vania seems to be of the ninja, I bet she had those figures way before this moment 😂

Wooooo, hearing someone addressing Cole as the leader, does this count as a major throwback to pilots and season 1? I would make it count 😍

Okay here Vania does seem into Cole, we'll see how that plays out 🤷‍♀️

Ooooooooohhhhhh, vengestone! This actually make more sense than the last two times they were left without powers 😅 We never actually saw where that material came from, and here there's an actual mine full of it! Very cool, I like this! Big question is, what does Skull dude need all this vengestone for? 🤔🤔

Okay, the legends fits, sounds good enough but... she? SHE?!? WAS THAT ROCK MOM??? She was clearly a ninja and she did spinjitzu!! I didn't even considered the possibility, I only saw Misako, Doubloon and Aspheera knowing Spinjitzu before!! An actual mom?? THAT WOULD BE EPIC!! 🖤

Pff, these tribes are a bunch of idiots, I actually like them 😂 I like them better than the rats of Prime Empire that's for sure, but maybe that's just me 🤔

Aww, this Mino creature is cure! Cole did pretty good with him, does he remind him of Rocky? ☹

Nice, this I was waiting for! Cole and Lloyd together, leaders collaboration 💚🖤💚🖤 It didn't last much, but I think there will be more of it? I HOPE SO!!!

So the blades must be somewhere hidden, if they really have been taken by the Skull Sorcerer. I mean, even in Prime Empire they thought for sure Unagami was Dyer, so I wouldn't jump on it right away 🤔

There we go, the divided team! I knew about Kai and Zane stuck together, I remember stuff not too promising about Nya having to fight for Jay, but I'm honestly really enjoying the season so far! I like the pace and it doesn't seem as rushed as before! I hope we get to some good plot twists and backstories soon!! 🤩🤩

[bffhreprise]

Entry 235

 James sat with me, never taking his hand from my shoulder.  My tears continued, running… drip, drip, drip.  Water running nearby as if my tears already made a puddle.  I could feel James’ touch.  There was carefree skipping in the distant, otherwise empty park.  I was never carefree even as a child.  James was with me.  I fought back the darkness when he mentioned getting shot so casually, but the tears continued.  James stayed with me.  I knew what I was avoiding.  There were thoughts too tender to touch.  What would become of me now?  The tears continued, bad thoughts avoided.  James was still with me.

 I could hear the flap of wings similar to a hummingbird.  The sound soon hovered nearby, so I glanced up to see what was there.  “James!  There's a… a fairy!  A real-life fairy!”

 “Is there?” he asked.

 For a moment, I wondered if I somehow became even more crazy, but the smile he fought to control told me otherwise.  He could see it.  As I considered possibilities, I slowly reached toward the fairy.

 Thoughts of the fairy cowering, flying away in fear, entered my head as I considered what would happen if she saw my other form.  I smothered the darkness as it tried to burn out from its hole.  Unlike me, this fairy was innocent.  I mustn't let her see.  Mustn't let James see.

 “Looks like she wants to play with you.” commented James as his smile grew.

 “What?  How can you tell?” I dubiously questioned.  “Dubious” was a fun word.  I liked dubious.  I didn't like being teased.  Was James picking on me?

 “Didn't you see that image?” he asked.

 James saw his own darkness?  I couldn't really picture something dark within him.  I was probably confused.  I never quite got the hang of communicating with people.  They could forget stuff as they spoke.  I never forgot, but I often grew distracted.  With how slow people talk, my thoughts could drift to a thousand places before they finished their sentence.  I would collect and order my thoughts, respond, and wait again, fighting the fear that would always rise.  Oh, yes.  Image.

 “What image?” I asked.  The fairy hadn't said anything this whole time, watching us.

 She was unashamed in her nakedness.  Beautiful and confident.  Her wings were translucent while her body was radiant.  Her wild hair looked perfectly natural.  I wanted to hold her and talk with her.

 He had been talking.  He was saying something about the fairy.  I continued thinking about the fairy while he spoke.  Then I arranged the pieces.

 “Huh.  Perhaps you're unintentionally blocking her out as I had done, but the Fey communicate directly with your mind, placing images, feelings, scents, et cetera directly into your mind.” he had told me.

 “Wh-what?  But… I want to hear her…” I assured him, even as I doubted myself.  I watched the fairy flutter.  “Flutter” was another good word.

 “I did too, but I… well, I suffered from too much attention when I was young and grew accustomed to ignoring a great many things.  Now I fight the urge to bottle myself up every hour of every day, because my little friend here grows quite annoyed with me when we can't communicate.” he explained.  “You have to open yourself to her, really want her inside your head.”

 Before he was finished speaking, I was cringing.  The idea of this innocent creature exposed to my mind was terrifying.  She would be terrified if she found the darkness, if she knew what I was.  Even fairies couldn't be friends with monsters.

 “I… I can't.” I admitted, certain James would think even less of me.  Maybe he wouldn't even turn me away nicely now.

 He reached out, placing his hand back on my shoulder.  When had it left?  Oh.  Back when the fairy arrived.  I felt his gentle touch, enjoying it and knowing I shouldn't.  If I transformed, his hand would be shredded by my fur.

 “Raine, don't run.  You still have an interview, and I have a feeling you'll fit in nicely here. There are other fey you'll be able to meet if you work for me.”

 Fact or fiction?  Fact: He had said those words.  Fiction: Their validity.  Monsters can't belong.  He didn't realize what I was.  I considered fleeing some more.  Fact: I needed time for those thoughts lurking in my mind.  Fiction: I could be happy here for a time.  I wanted that fiction.

 “Other f-fey?  More fairies?” I questioned.

 Smiling again, he said, “No, the others don't appear as fairies.  They come in all shapes and sizes with an equally great range of abilities.”

 I had my fingers along the grass, surprisingly lush despite the heavy snow.  Wait.  Why wasn't I touching snow?  I had sat in snow.  Things were warmer than they should be.  I saw a circle of grass where we sat, surrounded by snow beyond the circle.  Thinking back, I heard it when I was crying.  I had stopped crying!   Why was the snow melted!?

 “The snow melted!” I exclaimed as I stood, wanting James to take notice as well.

 He shrugged and said, “Oh.  Sorry.  I was worried about you catching a cold, so I heated the area around us and got the water out of our clothes.”

 Huh.  I remembered seeing the lights move faster than normal but was distracted, fighting the darkness.  I didn't consider there was a meaning this time.  I remembered wishing each pinprick of light was a fairy looking over the world when I was young.  I had underestimated the beauty of fairies.  She was wonderful in her tininess.  My thoughts continued to wander till I realized I was far afield from where I started.  Oh!

 “Y-You… you can use magic?  You're so…” I started wondering how to describe him in terms of speed as I thought about how he sounded when he ran toward me while I worked up to hitting the doorbell.  Pitter patter.  Pitter patter   People don't move that fast.  “so fast too…”  Wait.  James wasn't a person!?  I thought for a time.  No, he was a wonderful person.  He just wasn't human.  “Wh-What are you?”  I felt rude.  I asked him what he was without letting him know he stood before monster.  Monsters were allowed to be rude.

 “Human, surprisingly.”

 Anime style eye-bulging was how I imagined myself.  His pacing hadn't been human.  I checked and rechecked, imagining myself with a ruler as I measured his stride before returning to the door.

 “Apparently, one of us pops up with gifts here and there.” he insisted with such confidence that doubt would be an affront to the statement.

 Monsters were supposed the be confrontational, so I almost forgave myself for dubiousness.  I believed James, despite knowing humans weren't like him.  The dilation of his eyes hadn't changed.  His heartbeat was slow and steady.  He didn't sweat.  He didn't smell of fear.  He was certain, but he was probably certain the girl he faced was just a kitty, not a monster.

 “Most of the others living here are not human, so you really don't have to worry about species.” he insisted, obviously unaware of what stood before him.

 Other than Alma and those twins, I could probably name every species who had been in that house for the past several months by smell alone, though I knew something else now too.  Fey.  There was a similar smell to the fairy on the redhead.  Why wasn't he tiny and cute if he was related!?  Life wasn't fair.  He probably had impossible dreams of being a sixtieth his size and looking cute.

 “But…” I started, knowing I should tell James the truth.  “But…” I tried again, knowing you wouldn't want a monster in his precious home.  Something had changed.  The skipping child was much closer.  I caught her scent on the wind.  Her voice… Wide-eyed fangirling was to commence in three… I started to turn, savoring this moment.  Two… The excitement was building.  One… I could already see the skipping, singing form in my peripheral vision.  Zero… My heart beat like a war drum sounding off an engagement.  My mind raced through how I would build such a drum in Ancient Tribes of Earth.  The game's creator was skipping toward me.  I felt as if a goddess was descending despite seeing the carefree skipping over the snow.  Her socks didn't match.  The jacket contrasted terribly with her mismatched shoes.  Wild, blonde hair danced in the wind.  Her eyes sparkled with fun.

 “That's… th-that’s the princess!” I exclaimed, uncertain his “human” eyes could tell.  Could a magically imbued human still claim humanity?  She'd know!  The princess was famous for knowing.

 The fairy was fangirling even harder than I was, flying off to meet the princess before she reached us.  The temptation was real.  I could be to her before the fairy’s wings flapped again.  Would I even be able to talk?  I wasn't even worthy of talking with her.  I was a monster.  This was the princess!  Would she remember me?  James hadn't.  Well, he knew my name, but…  why did people think we had dated!?  Didn't matter.  Princess coming.  Must make words.

 “Can…” I started.  Good word.  More needed.  Must accomplish mission.  No… quest!  So many thoughts.  Words needed.  Communicate.  James was nice.  He'd help.  “Can I…”  Step closer to victory.  I can do this.  I already imagined how her hand might move, stroking a page with a pen.  Page!?  My game.  I needed her to sign my game.  Could I pay for more autographs!?  One first.  Must make with the words.  “I mean…”  So nervous.  “Please, will you…”

 James’ heart rate had risen and his scent changed.  He was nervous too.  Even James couldn't grow accustomed to being near the princess.  Nerves were fine.  Goal in sight.  I could do this.  No!  Question left unfinished!  Needed more words.

 “Autograph, please.” I finished, forcing myself to speak as clearly as possible.  Would he understand!?  The wait seemed too long.  Mission failure!?  No!  Wait.  Time was a slow thing.  Waiting required.  Waiting.  Waiting.  Waiting.

 “You want her autograph?” inquired James.

 Success!  Quest stage complete.  Onto next stage!  Multi-tiered quests could be tricky, but the princess was close in… I could do this!  Oh.  More words needed.  He had asked a question.  Confirmation required.  Must click quest box to approve stage clearance.

 Nodding, I said, “I… I'm… I'm in your g-guild.”

 Clarity: poor.  Mrs. Darfunkle frowny face.  She was my favorite teacher in grade school.  Her frowny faces were heart wrenching.  I remembered them all.  I always knew I goofed when there was frowny face.  Monsters get worse, so I survived with just frowny faces.  She never learned about the monster in her class.

 “I really doubt she'll mind.  Aaliyah acts as the secretary here, although I'm certain she's underpaid.” replied James.

 A tower of powerful i-beams fell apart in my head.  Well, steel was fragile, so I overvalued their strength.  I worked through what caused the mess.  There was something distinctly out of place here.  Words needed again.  Princess questions important.

 “But… I thought… You don't… d-don't work for her?” I questioned, reconsidering if adequate words were there.  Scenarios of James working for the princess were hovering around a trash bin.

 “I do at times.”

 Scenarios placed back on shelves and petted gently for good behavior.

 “Well, generally I'm technically working for her father, but that might as well be working for Aaliyah too.  You'll see.  She's quite the brilliant little girl.” explained James, adding to my questions.

 How incredible was Aaliyah's father?  What did they do for fun?  Did he play Ancient Tribes of Earth?  If he did, was he in our guild?  Are there actually people who don't know the princess is brilliant!?  The questions continued whirling along as James talked more.

 “Oh!  If you play Ancient Tribes of Earth, you'll love the setup we have here.  With the fastest computers I've seen.”

 His voice sounded slightly pained when he mentioned computers.  What tragedy had befallen a computer in his presence.  James deserved happiness.  He wasn't a monster like me.  Could I really stay here without telling him the truth?  Maybe for a while?  The princess was coming.  No time for monstrous truths.

 “Can I… can I really w-work… for… for y-you?” I managed to ask.

 “Well, I'm technically supposed to be giving you an interview, but I'm leaning toward 'yes’, though we'll have to work on your shyness.  What brought you here today?”

 “Mom…” I started, fighting back those thoughts I didn't have time to consider.  “My mom…” I tried again, but the thoughts came.  I wasn't with her and didn't protect her this time.  As I fought the thoughts, I felt James hug my shoulders.  He had such a pleasant warmth.

 “Were-... werewolves…” I remembered her blood in the alley.  “They…” I had fought so hard not to follow them.  “they killed her.”  The darkness called.  I could find them… kill them… I'd be gone and back next time James blinks.  Tears were coming.  The monster needed chained.  I should just leave.  I could run far away or maybe just never stop.  Could I eventually wear out?  “I… I need…”  I needed to flee.  I needed to save James from myself.  I had so many thoughts on what I needed, but I said, “home.”

 I didn't want to leave now.  I didn't want to flee.  I had nowhere else to go.  Monsters didn't belong in this world.  The werewolves belonged more than I do, but I had to be somewhere.  I couldn't stop existing, despite my existence endangering others.  The darkness stayed contained as I focused more and more on James’ warmth.  He was so kind.

 “Boss-man, sir, I see your interviews are as intimate as ever.” stated Aaliyah as she reached us with the fairy still fluttering around her.

 “This being my first one, I can hardly say that's the case.” he replied.

 “Boss-man, sir!  Don't you remember interviewing me!?” she questioned, sounding hurt.

 Smiling, he said, “Perhaps my memory’s fuzzy, but I recall you more or less giving me an ultimatum.”

 “Boss-man, sir!  That's not nice.  I'm telling your mommy on you.” she warned as she placed her tiny hands on her hips and glared adorably.

 “I'd worry, but you know I was only teasing.  Did you know Raine here as in our guild?”

 “Well, duh, boss-man, sir.  She plays Nekopawpaw, the catgirl crafter.  Everyone knows her.”

 I was surprised by the casualness with which they bantered.  These two were even closer than I had surmised when I first met them.  Even more surprising, the princess knew me.  She recognized me in real life and as my character.  I considered hugging her, kneeling before her, prostrating myself and telling her how unworthy I am.

 “Oh!” exclaimed James.  “You're that crafter!?  Wow.  I'm glad you didn't end up leaving.  Are things going well under Emma’s command?”

 I was befuddled.  Some errant dream had replaced reality.  The greatest guild leader in all of Ancient Tribes of Earth couldn't remember my name.  This life was a lie.  Good things we're rare and precious, not a treasure trove pouring out without end.  I already had seen James again, received numerous hugs, met a fairy, and even saw the princess again.  Was I dreaming in some alleyway!?  We're dreams this good!?  I tried to break back into reality.  Nothing happened.  I would try words.  Quest accepted.

 “You…” I started, not wanting to be confusing yet trying a hundred other words in my mind.  I'd stick with that one.  “You… you… noticed me?”  Clear.  Concise even?  Mission cleared?

 “Of course” he replied, sounding dream warning bells in my head.  “I couldn't have one of our best crafters leave the guild.  I'm surprised that you don't do more fighting.  You have to have great reflexes.”

 Fighting… fighting bad.  Not safe for me to fight.  I shook my head.  I wasn't a fighter.  I was a monster.  People die when monsters fight.

 “Well, we're glad to have you.  What do you think, Aaliyah?  Will Raine here be a fine best friend for hire?”

 Aaliyah grinned widely as she said, “You totally should hire her, boss-man, sir!  I came over to help you find the paperwork, since Mila’s… still dead.  How's your back?  I heard you were shot.”

 I moved slightly.  “Shot!?” I asked, remembering that was mentioned earlier.  Not a joke then.  “Who… why… James!?”  I couldn't imagine why someone would want to shoot James.  Why did people kill?

 “Stung a bit, but it's really not a big deal.  I'm fine.” he insisted.

 “Can I see the holes!?” asked the princess excitedly.

 James sighed and turned around after letting go my shoulder.  He didn't even stand.  I stared with wide eyes at the holes through his jacket and shirt.  His skin looked pristine, yet he still called himself human.

 “You… you're… fine?” I questioned, verifying that I was somehow trapped in a dream.

 “He's not the average human.” stated Aaliyah with a wink.  Then she turned to James and inquired “Did you ask if she eats people yet?  Marco will want to know who to cook for her if she does.”

 Bubble pop.  The princess knows everything.  True story.  Wait.  She knows.  James doesn't.  “I'd…”  Need more firmness.  Not a dream.  I'd never have dreamed about the princess asking such a thing.  Dreams aren't mostly pleasant.  “NO!” I asserted.  Too forceful?  The princess seemed amused.  What was happening?  I couldn't find a rational scenario.

 “Sorry, Raine.  I haven't honestly had much luck with the therianthropes I've met.  We had to know.” explained James, acting perfectly certain in his belief of my words.

 I nodded, still confused.

 Standing and reaching toward me, he said, “Welcome to Best Friend For Hire.  Sorry about the contract.  Aaliyah gets carried away writing them.”

[survivorreelsmagicwithin]

Episode 1A - “The Hufflepuffs are too nice even for me”-Ruthie

This is not the tribe I would have picked. I do not know anyone here which means I am at a disadvantage from the start. However, I am really connecting with Jules right now so maybe I can vibe with them enough to get an immediate ally. But I still need someone else. I am still figuring out my tribe so it will take me a hot minute to adjust. I hope I am not the first boot. I am going to pull my weight in this challenge and pull my first W ever!

I'm fucked, Jess knows how i play bc she literally just hosted me for Old west like a month ago. Whoops. Also joanna is in a competely different house than be so I'm crying. So far I do like my other housemates but we'll see how much of a slytherin they truly are as the days go by.

why. does. this. cast. have. to. be. full. of. icons. i'm really not that good at survivor?? hopefully i do okay??? just tryna be social and shit. (also Ravenclaw is the best)

I’m heading to bed and the boys are about to have a call... I hope an all boys alliance isn’t about to form I’m not here for that! So far I’ve just talked to Kevin and Lily one on one and so far I really like both of them! I’m going to get to know the others tomorrow. This cast is so iconic. I talked to Owen before I read that we weren’t supposed to and he and I are going to go to final two together if neither of us get voted out!

i am SO NERVOUS!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I DONT HAVE ANY INITIAL GOOD VIBES ABOUT ANYONE ON MY TRIBE!!!!!! NOT A PERSON!!!!!!!! AND I DONT WANT TO BE THAT ANNOYING BITCH ASKING THEM QUESTIONS ABOUT THEIR LIVES!!!! AND SHIT!!!!!!!!! ugh i dont want to be first boot EITHER LIKE!!!!!!! ugh. uGH.

Me and Jules are literally kindred souls. I love her so much already and she is my ride or die for the rest of the season. Fuck these other bitches!

Why do I feel like I am the only one putting in effort for this challenge. At least this means I will be safe for a hot minute, right?

Okay so... Max and Landen still haven't accepted my friend request I noticed when I just tried to message them.  I'm still talking to Kevin and Lily A LOT!  Kevin is so easy to talk to and Lily is too and she and I have SO much in common!  I really like the idea of aligning with the two of them but I'm too nervous to suggest it just yet. 

 Also, my wand was special and I got a special idol hunt out of it!  I didn't find anything but still!  I'm glad that I at least got one word??  Not sure if our team will win a reward or not but it would be nice!

Honestly, my tribe seems to be particularly inactive and nonchalant. I am the most active person here, in my opinion. It is kind of frustrating, however, to be the only one trying in this challenge except for the very few and far between exceptions. Joshua even forgot about the challenge entirely! I hope to God that these people, if we have to go to tribal because we lose the immunity challenge, do not vote me out. Honestly, it would make no sense since I am already proving that I will be a challenge asset and very active. I would make the best ally out of everyone on my tribe! I would be allies with myself!

I LOVE YOU OWEN BUT PLEASE GO SUCK A DICK. You need to stop. Wth, go back to school so we can get some points. You too Kevin DX But we're in the lead so far *knock on wood* and hopefully stay that way. Love Jess and I hope I can take her to like f4 but I think I want to take Joanna and Owen to f3 if I even make it that far

This cast.... WHOA!!!! feel like yall had to put some of these ppl under imperius curse to get them back because I havent seen these faces in a WHILE!!!! Ruthie is a queen, first thing we messaged to each other was f2 <333 love her but dont trust that she wont turn on me at some point lol. Raffy my little island of shade bro, and Autumn <3 crossroads queen.... nice to see some of my children back here. I'm glad Jess is in the game because I like her a lot but I did just disappoint her in eve's challenge game so...we will see. but i love jess regardless :) ummmm... so happy I was sorted onto the brain tribe, then immediately proceeded to fuck up several times in the spelling challenge LOL

My tribe is nice though. I'm glad I'm with Dan - we have a weird history in games, but we've both been here for 7/8 years at this point and our ancient bones will prob work together. I already think him and Jules are going to be my alliance on this tribe <3 jules is AMAZING but I can tell they (? is this correct pronouns i dont remember and it wasnt in the posts) are a social legend and are going to be on EVERYONE's good side. love them though already, we have a lot in common and it was easier to talk to them + also get into a bit of game chat.

Joanna and Miguel....not so much. I like them both fine, but they don't know how to converse. I asked them all a shit ton of questions and they didn't ask a SINGLE thing back???? Like...okay work! I can't do it all for you, give me somethin!!!! I do like them both, it's just....they don't give a shit about me! LOL

Miguel is also an awkward one because I played with him LEGIT five years ago or more, in a game where we were on opposite sides. I'd rather work with him based on that connection than not but...apparently he already told Jules that we were against each other before??? and he's barely spoken to me so whatever. I like him, he's cute and he's funny, but.... if he's telling people more about me than he's willing to even get out of me myself, it's a no from me :)

WOOHOOOO WE WON REWARD!! I DIDN'T REALLY HELP (i tried but with no success) BUT I'M STILL REALLY HAPPY ABOUT IT! THANK GOD FOR OWEN

Well it’s day 2, we just lost reward but Immunity is still up for grabs!! Hopefully it’s something we can excell it but 👀 a bitch don’t have many skills so we gon have to see on that one! Other than that we got to know our tribe mates, I have a really good tribe! First off there is Ruthie who I played an old season of TS with and I worked with her BUT also voted her out :c so maybe we can work together and look past that? She was a really good ally of mine but it didn’t work out. I’ve loved talking to her again tho <3 then there is Lily! A new person to me but I absolutely adore her I love her energy she’s so talkative our conversations have been really good! If I had it my way I would work with her in this game, but I don’t want to force anything so I’m not gonna bring that up to her this early. Then there is landen another familiar face to me, I played also a TS season with him, and we had a rocky relationship in that game, not really do in part to either of us just how the cards fell. I did NOT vote him out but we didn’t end our game relationship on the best terms. He seems the least eager to want to talk to me which is not a good sign bc I remember him being so outgoing in 2020 and that energy not being matched here worries me. He also addressed me as “mr. 2020 winner” in our first talk so <3 maybe he might target me <3 thays so fun <3 lastly there is MAX! Max is fun, kinda loud but in a good way, he wasn’t all that helpful in the challenge for reward (him nor landen were all that active) and we had a good first conversation and then it’s seemingly gone downhill? I still have to see if our momentum picks back up before I decide what my plans with him are, i wouldn’t mind working with him if possible but he is also fairly close to landen (apparent after an over 2 hour long call last night.. IN THE TRIBE CHAT) so if landen has a distaste for me he’ll definitely spread that to max if he has the choice, so I gotta tread carefully but only time will tell how I end up fairing on this tribe :o WISH ME LUCK 

It is second day of school and I already hate everyone. It seems that I actually went back to Junior high where everyone's playing PENIS on the great hall. I forgot how it felt to play with teenagers and I'm not here for it. I think I'll be a true ravenclaw and isolate myself reading a book or learning new spells cause I don't have many interests in common with these people. On a side note I'm really happy to be a Ravenclaw, and I actually like our team, I think we are strong and I hope I'm not in danger if we do lose, I'll try to work on my foreigner charm and start faking even more my mexican accent if that's what I need to do in order to stay, Jules is amazing, loved her and I hope we can work well together. Also I love the whole castle idol hunt idea , so... charming.

First things first... this cast is... BONKERS. I didn't expect it to be as stacked as it is..

I'm scared.

I hate it here.

There are sooo many weird relationships here which is kind of a good thing and a bad thing. The good thing about it is... I THINK that means some people got beef and I can maybe piggy back off of some of these relationships... IDK I'm not trying to think too deep into anything right now.

BUT... y'all put me on a tribe with someone who just single handily put me out of a game TWO FUCKING DAYS AGO and I'd like to complain to your MANAGERS @hosts.

In all seriousness I'm going to try and have fun in this game and not take it entirely tooo seriously.

ALSO.. my fucking wand gave me the option for a "quest" yesterday but it'd have to remove me from the tribe chat... so obviously... I gave the quest to someone else. Aka: Jacob.. who I knew would be a selfish bitch and take the quest. I also knew the likelihood of him telling me about what actually happened were high and I'd virtually get no weird looks my way because I WASN'T the one who was removed from the tribe chat. This basically ensured that I got to know what the quest was, its potential contents, and paint a target on someone else rather than myself in case there was virtually nothing to base the first couple of votes on... right?

I think I'm onto something with the idol guesses. There's weird storylines in them and I THINK if I can somehow get to the green house and find the other ingredients that were in Snape's writing I'll be onto something.

Also me and Jacob snapped in that Reward challenge and these HEATHENS should thank us for single-handily giving them a reward. Nick randomly slept all god damn day.. which really annoyed me. We have a reward and you are gonna SLEEP ALL DAY? SIR? I get real life happens but at least hide the fact you sleeping sis.

My tribe is literally probably the LAST TRIBE I wanted to end up on because well.. 1. Nick is shady and social. He might take the fact that I was loyal to people in the other game into account. I've tried the whole "I start off each game fresh and no hard feelings" spell but will he accept it? Tune in folks. I also technically can't explain my actions in the game to him because he is currently still in it so... PARTY!

2. Jacob is amazing and I love him. We've actually played several games together and weirdly always end up super loyal to people. He's a crackhead though so I'm gonna have to be a BIT cautious with him. I sipped dumb bitch juice and told him about Snape's writing because I want to show him some sort of token of loyalty.

3. Vi is a crackhead. I know this because I've hosted her. Kind of wanna fuck around and give her first boot from the tribe because I DO NOT TRUST HER. When she gets bored, she fucks things up, she lies for fun, and well... no.

4. Jessie seems really sweet so far. We haven't really spoken much which kind of sucks but we will get there!? I think?

I think some may have found something, because I just idol searched and I the exact same path I did yesterday, and yesterday there were three different choices and today there were only two. The only reason I could think of why one of the ending options were removed is that something was there and something was found...

12 minutes later

turns out it was a mistake, never mind

Okay it is challenge time and Max is around I think and Lily is finishing a class but KEVIN AND LANDEN ARE LATE, they are delinquents I expect more from Hufflepuffs than this tardiness.

I'm definitely kidding but... may not be able to be around for the entire challenge if they don't hurry the heck up.  Part of me wants to start but I don't want this to be on me if we don't do well.  OH Kevin just messaged me so at least another tribe member is on... WHY is he not messaging the tribe chat?? OH Lily is on now so I should stop writing and get to business...  WISH us cute little badgers luck!

I'm definitely kidding but... may not be able to be around for the entire challenge if they don't hurry the heck up.  Part of me wants to start but I don't want this to be on me if we don't do well.  OH Kevin just messaged me so at least another tribe member is on... WHY is he not messaging the tribe chat?? OH Lily is on now so I should stop writing and get to business...  WISH us cute little badgers luck!

20 minutes later

been doing this challenge for over an hour, i feel defeated

If this wasn't a team work thing I would be done by now these people are slowing me down. x_x.  DLSJFSLDFJ I shouldn't complain. They all have good ideas but it takes FOREVER to agree on something.  Also I do feel like an asset to the hufflepuff tribe because when I was eating lunch with my family Lily messaged me and told me I was the glue holding the tribe together and she wished I was back and that made me feel VERY good about my place on the tribe!

But seriously I'm just ready for the challenge to be over so low key I hope that Max stops responding for awhile again so I can just say random shit until we finish the dang thing LSDJFLSJDF.

The Hufflepuffs are too nice even for me.

That challenge went terribly. In all honesty, I would not blame my tribe for wanting to take me out because I took up the leadership role. But it was not like anyone else was taking the reigns so I needed to do something. I just hope they can see the merits of keeping me in this game. I really don't want to be first boot. I think we're going to have to go to tribal because we we took so long. God this is going to be so frustrating.

This challenge is NEVER going to end I'm trying to be patient but Max always interjects with something and it SLOWS EVERYTHING DOWN FOR TEN MINUTES.  OR MORE. I just have this window open to complain, lol, I won't send this for awhile. LOL Max is killing me. All the boys are exhausting I don't think they have been paying any attention to the notes I have been making, if we go to tribal council Lily and I SHOULD be safe.

OKAY it was fun that everyone just joined in in the end but I'm so glad that it is over and I hope that we won this thing and are safe!

me: im gonna be sneaky and not tell my alliance ALL the info i have also me: tells them info i couldnt possibly know without telling them ALL the info i have anyways.

https://youtu.be/qhfHo_Ns1xQ

Living my dream as a huff puff, no big deal. So far I’m really enjoying being on my tribe. We all communicate well and have positive attitudes about things. We also had so much fun at the immunity challenge but I can tell we are all stressed about the results. I’m really impressed by everyone this season being involved and I could tell people were on their A game during the reward challenge. I would really hate to see us as the bottom tribe having to go to tribal. I honestly don’t want to see any of these people go but I certainly don’t want to be first boot. I’m really proud of our tribe and I would hate to have a loss right now put a crack in the friendships we have been building.