#ANT THE ENDING FAIRY WAS SO COOL

[lexeees]

🫥🫥🫥🫥

[galacticnova3]

Since she has now flown off I am obligated to post the order of potato fairy extra large that I looked after for several days. Aka a gloriously chumby Polyphemus moth— the second one I’ve seen alive in over a decade— that decided to hang around our porch for most of its adult life. I saw the first live one on the same day, but he flew away when I tried to get close. But still, that’s a great sign that their population in my area is finally starting to recover! Anyways, here’s the wonderful big little creacher where I found her, which should probably make it clear as to why I moved her. Ants don’t mess around and I wasn’t gonna just leave her inches away from danger.

I was pretty glad I did, as even after her wings were fully dried and extended and everything she couldn’t actually take off. See: her first “flight”.

Big fan of the loud impact PLAP sound, really added to the already very good demonstration of gravity. Worry not, she was totally fine afterwards. Here she is that night and the day after! Very cute and fuzzy, 1000/10.

The next day I thought she had flown off, but then the day after that she was back on the porch! I could tell she was the same one because of her damaged antenna. She started laying eggs on the house and I realized that wasn’t going to be good for the caterpillars that might hatch, since it was a relatively long distance to any host plants even without including the vertical climb to reach branches of leaves. Since she clearly felt safe where she was, and I was also worried about ants and birds and possible insecticides, I ended up making a little “baby box” for her out of a thoroughly rinsed plastic container that initially held salted honey-roasted peanuts. I gave her a stick to hold on to which also gave her a route to climb out of the box if she wished, and provided various fresh oak leaves to lay her eggs on. Figured it would be a good setup because I could easily move it to a safe place once she was done, and keep an eye on the eggs until they hatched. I might even try to raise a few caterpillars if the eggs are fertile. However, during the process of me setting that whole deal up, she decided I looked like a good egg laying spot.

You can see the “glue” that sticks the eggs to surfaces! It was cool to see up close: she’d lay an egg, wait for it to dry, and then lay the next right by it. She ended up sticking four on me before I was able to gently nudge her to the egg laying box. The stick was eventually deemed an acceptable substitute, and over night she… made an egg stalactite of sorts on it? Very weird, I think, I dunno; most of what I read online said their eggs would be laid in spread out clusters of two to three on suitable host plants. I know it wasn’t because she couldn’t get out, as when I went to check on her she had already made her way to the top of the stick and was hanging off of it outside the box. I didn’t think to take a picture of that as I needed to drive to college, but source: dude trust me. Here’s a picture of the egg sculpture I took when I got home.

When I was done with that I went to move her off the porch where she had been staying safe for the last 5 or so days to the more wooded area of the yard, but she ended up flying off to the treetops on her own after I brought her into the open. I guess laying a bunch of eggs made her finally light enough to fly. Maybe she was feeling upset at me for not being able to pay child support and making her lay her eggs on a stick instead? Or she was just doing normal moth things or whatever. It was bittersweet to watch her go, but I’m glad she had the chance to soar the skies at least once before her time was up.

@onenicebugperday

[echantedtoon]

Demonstober Day 14 Fairy

A small imaginary being of human form that has magical powers, especially a female one.

Tagging: @lavenderdropp @six-eyed-samurai @trancylovecraft @shadyd3ar @cherrysuzaku

@nousija @mspurpl3

Remember if you want to be added to the spooktober taglist lemme know

Stay away from mushrooms that grow in a circle. That's where fairies dance and if you step inside a fairy ring they can spirit you away.

Or at least that's what you've always been told. And that's what you've always heard. Then again you weren't very superstitious. Don't get you wrong. You never said that there wasn't no such thing as stuff like fairies, ghosts, and demons...

But you never said that there WAS such thing as them either.

You leaned more towards that they didn't exist though. Why? Well you never saw any ACTUAL proof of them existing. The supposed ghost that haunted your parents attic for years? Turns out it was a raccoon infestation. The supposed zombie that roamed the graveyard? A homeless man taking shelter in one of the mosoleums. Imps taking your grandmother's things? Turns out she just had memory problems and kept forgetting where she had put things.

Everything always had a logical  explanation in the end.

Which was why you honestly didn't think much about anything supernatural. Sure you still left offerings at the local shrine and prayed every so while if you needed a bit of luck but you weren't sure if you believed in them. A little extra luck never hurt anyone though. Maybe that's why you weren't so concerned when you went to go pick wild blackberries with your cousin. 

It was a perfect day. The sun was shining warmly in the summer air but all the shade of the trees made it cool. The walk to your favourite patch of wild blackberry bushes was only an hour long walk into the woods behind your house and the woods was beautiful. Lush greenery. Fresh air that smelt like wildflowers. Birds singing. And the sounds of your laughter as your cousin made you laugh by her jokes and stories. You both didn't have a care in the world as you both walked all the way there laughing with your baskets and then going on to start picking the berries from the bushes' branches. There was no problems. None at all. Not until your cousin had filled up her basket faster than you had and she had come to see what was taking you so long.

That's when she froze.

Her face paled like she saw a ghost. A terrified gasp left her throat making you jump and snap to her in surprise. Her basket fell to the ground with a thud toppling over and spilling the berries all over the ground. Before with a trembling hand she pointed to the ground at your feet.

"Look at where you're standing!," her frightened voice cried out loudly. 

You snapped down terrified and worried that you might've stepped on a snake or maybe a hill of fire ants or some other great danger! But you blinked as you saw nothing... Literally nothing but a few mushrooms. Red mushroom with white polka dots to be exact. You blinked and turned your head this way and that and just now noticed that you were standing in a circle of red mushrooms with white polka dots about a yard wide. Your cousin looked like she had seen death itself but you only blinked.

"Oh. It's just mushrooms."

"ARE YOU MAD?!" She shrieked like you were actually crazy. "YOU'RE STANDING IN A FAIRY RING!!"

You blinked as you again looked down.. before shrugging it off and turned back to finish filling your basket. "Oh is that all? Don't make such a big fuss over it."

"That's the fairies sacred dancing space! You're not supposed to stand in it!"

"Next you'll be telling me not to fish in the lake because I'll anger the mermaids."

"THIS ISN'T FUNNY!! GET OUT OF THERE NOW!! YOU'LL MAKE THEM ANGRY!!"

"If the fae are angry with me standing in their circle I'm sure they're more than capable of telling me."

You almost rolled your eyes at your cousin's fearful ramblings as she babbled about waving her arms but you didn't and kept your tone polite. Continuing to pick at the berries and drop them into your ever filling basket. Honestly she was blowing things out of proportion. If the fairies were angry, considering if they existed at all, then they could tell you themselves if they were upset with you standing in their supposed circle.

"Actually I would appreciate it very much if you didn't stand there."

Your cousin shrieked out, her voice echoing over the trees as both yourself and her snapped around wide eyed and were surprised to find a third woman there. What the-..Where did she come from? The smaller woman stood there between a tree and a bush staring at you with pretty purple eyes and a small smile. Her clothes were almost big like flowing over her body. But the shining of a butterfly hair clip in her hair caught the light as her head tilted at you specifically. You both continued to stare at this new woman. It must've been a full minute before you realized that she was staring at your feet.

You looked down at your boots standing in the circle. Then back to the woman. Who still stood there staring at the ground.

"I'm..sorry? But who are you?" 

She took her time turning her gaze back to you before smiling wider. "I'm the one who planted the mushrooms you're standing in."

You blinked. Someone actually planted these way out here. With another shriek from your cousin in knowing horror, you winced as she turned and fled. Footsteps thudding against the ground as fast as she could go and brush cracking with her retreating form. You winced rubbing at you ear as you looked back up..But your cousin was gone. The only signs being there was the basket she dropped before. You just...stared at where she had been for a long time but the woman's gaze never left you. Eventually you did slowly look back to her.

The two of you staring at each other for another long moment.

"I'm..sorry about her. She's very..paranoid." You apologized on your cousin's behalf before staring at your feet...and taking a massive step back out of the ring of mushrooms. "And sorry for trespassing into your mushroom circle??" You tried apologizing. "I didn't know anyone lived out here." You raised a confused brow at the mushrooms again. "Or had a garden."

She gave a closed eye smile. "It's alright. You didn't damage any of them so I'll let you off with a warning this time."

"Um..Thank you??" You stared at her.. before holding up your basket making her blink. "Here. I know you can probably pick your own blackberries, but it's the least I can do for trespassing."

The woman tilted her head at the basket then at you before smiling wider. "That's very sweet of you but if you really want to make it up to me, then come dance."

Your brows rose higher as she nodded. "Dance?"

She walked forward until she was standing right in front of you, inside the circle of mushrooms, and held out a hand. "Yes. Dance. I'll even show you how and it's been so long since I had a partner. What do you say?"

You still stared bewildered. Dancing? Seriously? That was a strange request..but you did kinda feel bad about trespassing on her mushroom garden thing. So..one dance couldn't hurt if it made this woman feel better.

"Sure."

By the time your worried family members got there, you were no where in sight. The only signs being two knocked over baskets.

[goldyluna]

OH ALSO EMU OOTORI

First impression: oh damn, so. much. PINK. She looked as a fun, a little annoying, character

Impression now: she is a really cool and complex character. There's so much more to her. I really like event stories with her

Favorite moment: any moment when she describes any idea with onomatopeia and other weird stuff and Rui just... Understands. And that she was so afraid of Mafuyu during the Sport Festival event story

Idea for a story: the first thing that came to my mind was a wholesome one shot with really young Emu and her grandpa, where they play together in Phoenix Wonderland. At the end of the day, little Emu is so tired, but she still had many attractions she wanted to try, she didn't want to stop playing. She was there so many times, perks of being the owners of PW, but she always felt like it was the first time she had so much fun. But the sky was getting darker ad darker and the time to leave was closer and closer. She could only pick one ride before going home. Grangpa seeing her indecisiveness, takes her on Ferris Wheel. At the very top, the sky had menaged to get dark enough for the stars to shine and for the fairy lights across the whole Wonderland to look like a fairytale. She could see a lot of people, small like ants, riding on the rides, eating sweets, talking and having fun. All of them were happy. In that moment Emu knew that this were the people that she wants to make happy, to make them smile and make their day better.

Unpopular opinion: I would love to see Emu as a leader of the Wonderland x Showtime

Favorite relationship: I really like a lot of her relationships. Miku and her are so in tune, Tsukasa and her are so similar but different, Mafyuy and her relationship is so interesting to me

Favorite headcanon: she has adhd, nobody can make her feel as small and feel like crying like her brothers can, her grandpa was the one she felt the most comfortable with from the family. I love when others give her freckles

[aughtpunk]

1) Wherever a fairy tale ends with "and then the hero picked the so-and-so to marry and then they were wed" because there's never a "so-and-so was totally cool with this turn of events". The Midwife has certainly helped a number of princesses run off to escape their heroes and boxed the ears of a few members of royalty who think slaying a dragon automatically makes you husband material.

2) The Bishops as a whole probably never celebrated Christmas for the most part. Growing up their parents would have forced the holiday cheer and festive activities with the same grim determination of a military dictatorship. The Bishops would have gotten the most expensive and hard-to-find toys (even if they didn't want them) while being forced to smile for yet another picture-perfect Christmas photo, no, you're not smiling enough, smile more, you don't look happy enough, you have to be happy, this photo needs to be perfect. As adults the Bishops simply ignored the holidays and did their best to pretend it wasn't even happening.

Then Buttercup was born

What followed could only be described as a Christmas explosion in The Bishop household. Every single adult was absolutely determined to make Buttercup (who was like six months old at the time and couldn't comprehend what was happening) have a great Christmas. Not a perfect one. But a great one, surrounded by those who loved her the most.

It was the best Christmas any of The Bishops ever had. Even if the Christmas Tree did fall on Kallamar.

3.1) Leshy and Lemmy's bedroom has a real "stoned college dorm room" look to it right down to the beanbag chair and weird skunk smell. Leshy still has his nest of blankets and pillows even though his siblings keep trying to get him and Lemmy an actual bed. This is also the only room with actual potted plants in it as it's the only way to keep Leshy's plant collection from taking over the entire estate.

Heket's room is barely used. She basically bought whatever IKEA had for decorations and put them up before only using her room for sleeping. She's simply too much of a social butterfly to stay on her room all of the time. However, there's been a sudden increase in silly tchotchkes and souvenirs from places she hasn't been. Perhaps they're gifts from that cafe owner she has a thing for...?

Kallamar's room may as well be a museum for his many trophies and diplomas and what-not. He doesn't actually use his bedroom often in the Bishop estate. Instead he has an apartment downtown near the laboratory he works at. As for what THAT looks like we'll be getting into that in the fic

Narinder doesn't have a bedroom. He has a couch. He sleeps on a couch.

Shamura and Clementine's room is less of a bedroom and more of a library that just happens to have a bed in it. There's a pile of pillows and comfy chairs for reading and a slight ant problem from the sheer amount of snacks eaten in the room. There's usually someone taking a nap in the pillow pile.

Buttercup's room is actually under construction at the moment because it's currently being transformed from a nursery into a Big Kid room. Buttercup will get to pick out the colors and decorations all by themself! AND Buttercup is getting a Big Kid Bed!

Vi hasn't hatched yet but has a very lovely fairy tale themed nursery waiting for them once they do.

3.2) I don't know where you live but where I grew up there was a chain of stores called East Meets West which was a store for stoners to buy hemp hoodies and where nerds could buy shirts with like wizards and dragons on them. That's entirely what Lemmy and Leshy wear.

Heket wears very practical clothes that usually end up covered in dirt or stains from her many numerous outdoor activities. Don't tell anyone, but I'm the back of her closest there's a full knight outfit from her ren faire days that she looks absolutely amazing in.

Kallamar is, of course, Kallamar. Every outfit he owns is designed and made by his own two hands. Even the shockingly plain clothes he wears while working was made by him. He too has a secret ren faire outfit. One day he'll get his sister to start going to them again.

Narinder's clothes were all bought at a thrift store and are currently shoved into a duffle bag next to the couch he's sleeping on.

Shamura and Clementine's outfits were entirely designed by people who make Dark Academia mood boards on Pinterest. They dress in a way that says yes, I'm a professor in a way that all other teachers don't actually dress like. That being said while they're at home they rock the pj's 24/7 lifestyle.

3.3) you don't want to know what any of these freaks search for.

[mygenderisashrug]

RWBY Villains could be scarier

I'm not a writer, like at all. I have no idea how to write a show and CRWBY gets a lot flack they dont deserve. I just wanted to give my opinion on the villains in RWBY. I've had this idea keeping me up at night, I just wanna get it out. Don't worry I haven't seen the newest volume so no spoilers here.

Cool? Cool. Alright down the rabbit hole.

We have our big bad in RWBY, Salem (also the Gods suck too but that's just me.) And we have seen some really creepy Grimm.

I mean the nuckelavee

The apathy

Horrifying. Grimm can and should be scary. They are monsters who are basically immortal who can learn as they get older. How smart can they get?

They can learn when to attack humans.

They can apparently use magic.

When I first saw Salem I assumed she was some subspecies of grimm who looked like human. Maybe to trick dumb humans. Like I can't shoot this grimm it looks like a girl. And then she kills them. I imagined she was like a queen bee who could lead her armies to destroy mankind and all their creations. So what if the members of her roundtable were all grimm too. Grimm who have lived long enough to be intelligent.

It would make the Grimm more than a horde you have to get through. But a force of nature that truly wants to end your entire species.

We have a wicked witch so why not other antagonists from other Fairy Tales. Since we already have Tyrian in Canon, I'm thinking a Grimm modeled after the Scorpion from Aesop's fable. Tyrian normal, creepy. Grimm Tyrian with six red eyes, giant pincers and a stinger, nightmare fuel.

And that's not all, we could have the Big Bad wolf, the jabberwocky, the Queen of Hearts, Wendigos, any story we tell our children to make them behave. It would make those grimm extra creepy. What have they done to survive all these years. How strong must they be to never be purified by huntsman of the past. They aren't just mindless, soulless beings but an organized force. All working together with the efficiency of a ant hive. Have you seen that video of a colony of ants working together to steal eggs from a wasp hive? Like that but bigger. Without ego or any human emotions.

Just trying over and over again, learning from each failure until they succeed. Mankind's worst enemy. And if the protagonists don't get it together, Mankind's end. But that's just me.

[beardedhandstoadshark]

favourite fairytale?

Don’t really have one but I DO have these books!

This one‘s a collection of Grimm fairytales from the 60‘s, and the stories are decorated with these really stylized illustrations - most of them monochrome, but some are full page in color

They’ve got older versions of your classic Disney-fied stories too, so eg with Snow White the poisoned apple is actually the 3rd assassination attempt and the prince isn’t kissing a random dead girl but rather going "yo she kinda hot can I have her tomb be at my place“, and then the apple gets yeeted (yote?) from her throat when one of the guys carrying her coffin faceplants on the dirt. (still not sure this ending‘s less or more creepy lol)

Or with Sleeping Beauty, the whole castle gets out to sleep! Including the animals, insects, and even fire. And there’s 12 wise women instead of 3 fairies, with the evil one being number 13. Also her birth got prophesied to the queen by a frog in her bathtub. This has no relevance or impact on the rest of the story whatsoever, it just happens at the start.

There‘s a story in here called "fairytale of someone who wandered off to learn how to get scared“. That’s both the name and the plot. I like it because it reads nothing like your typical fairy tale, more like a…deconstruction? Parody? So thinking about how this story came to be is interesting.

Like. He wasn’t sure if there was a ghost in the hallway so he tackled him down some stairs and went back to bed. He‘s vibin with the talking monster cats. He accidentally save a castle from the ancient ghost and the king gives him his daughter and the entire kingdom, but he couldn’t care less because he still didn’t learn what being scared is like. He’s being so annoying about this that the princess/Queen? was fed up with it and her handmaid told her to dump a bucket of fish on him in the middle of the night. It worked. I love it. That’s the moral of the story. Fish bucket

I’ve also got this book of fairy tales from Asia and Africa:

And when they wrote that they did in fact mean the entirety of the continents; the name in brackets is the country of origin and it features all sorts of different places! So that’s pretty cool.

Fascinatingly enough, the third last one of that list kinda reads like Red Riding Hood? It’s about a girl visiting her grandma to bring her milk, but on the way a lion stops her to ask where she’s going, runs ahead and eats part of the grandma- instead of directly impersonating grannie though lion tells her to blame it on ants. Girl asks what’s up, grannie says ants, girl goes home, visits next day, less grandma is left. Repeat.

That goes on until it’s only her head and girl finally gets scared and runs away, but lion was already waiting. She gives him her cow so he won’t eat her, he chills for a bit, she runs away, lion notices she’s gone and catches up again, she offers smth new. Also repeat until she offers herself (but not before offering her lil bro first-), but this time she makes it home to her siblings, but the lion demands them to give her since she did make a deal, and they go "sure but you’re probs hungry from all that’s running, here’s some food“ they then proceed to throw hot rocks into his mouth until he dies.

Like, certain extra details aside- that’s pretty similar? Girl visits grandma to bring food, gets stopped by predator who asks her where she’s going and runs ahead, eats grandma and makes it so girl doesn’t realize what’s going on, only visible thing of grandma is her head, girl notices smth is sus right at the very end when its pretty much too late, gets saved, predator gets killed by getting his stomach filled with rocks.

The biggest difference is grandma getting multiple rounds, girl actually escaping with all limbs attached, and her siblings doing the saving instead of some random hunter. Makes me wonder if Red Riding Hood is some highly remixed version of this one, what with trade routes and oral transmissions and stuff, or if this one was rewritten to align more with RRH. Hmm

Uhh, yea. Not what you asked at all but here’s some random books I’ve got ٩( 'ω' )و

[cordycepsbian]

hey. un-bugs your fables. kirbifies those fables

the idea to draw team snakemouth as kirby species just kind of came out of nowhere and whoops hand slipped it's a whole au now

more things about this under the cut (bug fables + forgotten land spoilers there too)

so in general beetles are puffs and bees are fairies but only leif* is a chinchilla thingy

ants & everyone living in the ant kingdom is a pop star resident like waddle dees and the common enemies

the ant royal lineage is penguins like king dedede /insert masked dedede joke

the wasps are the bug people from triple deluxe, the termites are halcandrans, and the roaches are the ancients

basically the master crown replaces the vespidae mind control crown. hoaxe is one of the spider thingies like joronia/taranza and somehow got all six of his hands on the master crown and... you know how that went for the last person that tried to use it

the everlasting sapling is like nova but less cat and more plant. it grants whatever you wish for, but immortality is the most common wish so that's what it's known for

the deadlanders are dark matter, omega is a zero. the giant's lair looks like dark star

*leif and zommoth are chinchilla thingies. instead of "siblings" they're two halves of a whole like elfilin and fecto forgo, so the conclusion of leif's request looks a lot like katfl's true ending

morpho knight is just morpho knight here. wouldn't it be cool if butterfly grim reaper was also part of the bug fables mythos

about designs: yes, leif is using their ears as a cloak. yes, kabbu's sword is a visual pun on meta knight's master sword. no, we didn't think until after drawing this that vi's beemerang should look like a crystal shard but we wish we did

the literal master sword may or may not be sentient like galaxia. we have no idea what the beast is in this au so what happened to the actual master (and bit) is a mystery

and that's... all we have for now! we'll try to expand on this in the future because this idea is Captivating Our Brain

[lemonhobgoblin]

Softer than the Summer Night

Mothman X (gender neutral) Reader

Length: 2k

Genre: Slight NSFW & Fluff

___________________________________________________

"Stay don't move please," you wearily voiced into the dark.

When you spoke it worsened the strain you were feeling, your face contorted in discomfort. Even the thought of being moved was enough to get you squirming and whining. On your aching knees, hunched over, knuckles turning lighter in color, and eyes fixed ahead.

The sounds of the city outside your home were overshadowed by your ragged breath. All you could hear was breath and beating heart. You couldn't endure this any longer. You knew you couldn’t stay like this forever. You desperately wanted to move and finish what you started, and backing out now was far from being a feasible option.

"Fuck." Feeling a slight slip up on the other end. You physically couldn't take much more of this.

Your grip on the material you had bunched in your hands was loosening, and your reign on things was beginning to drastically falter.

"O fuck me" you breathed out frustrated, resting your head against a wooden frame. You could feel yourself getting tuckered out from this ordeal, feeling yourself becoming flushed with a light layer of sweat coating your skin. This was a good time as any now and fully let go. Knees and thighs sore from holding your still form, you began to move, releasing yourself of this hold.

"Ahhhh," you moaned out, watching in disbelief as the blanket slipped off the chair. Frustrated you threw yourself back onto the cool floor. You wasted your time doing that for nothing.

Heated at how the fabric refused to stay in place no matter how much you adjusted it. You flopped onto the hard floor to cool down. The cool ground felt refreshing on your steamy body. You didn't even want to look at it at the fort at the moment. Knowing you would just give up if you tried again immediately. You decided to rest your eyes and give yourself some time to collect yourself. Giving yourself some time before getting back to work on it.

Why wouldn’t it stay when you wanted it to stay.

Perhaps you should've just waited for your partner to bring you the supplies and figure out what to do from there. Of course, you being you, you got a little impatient eager.

It wasn’t a minute till you felt a presence hovering over you- watching.

Cracking open your eyes, you saw standing over you was a large humanoid moth-like creature looking down upon your disheveled form. Holding a batch of items in his arms, curiously staring at you. Tilting his head, confused as to why you were on the floor and.. sweaty?

"Hey, you grabbed the stuff I asked for?" You asked. Not wanting to get into the details as to why you were down on the ground defeated.

He nodded.

"Cool, well just give me a minute more. I'm almost done here. I still need to fix some things." Launching yourself back into a sitting position, getting back to work on keeping the blanket in place, only for it to slip off the wooden dining chair again.

Groaning over the fact that you were making a fool of yourself- especially in front of Mothman. He shouldn’t have to see in all your shame. Meantime, Mothman was just standing there completely unaware of what's going on still, but content to be part of it.

Internally wallowing to yourself, unsure whether you should continue or throw yourself into your half-done structure and call it a night.

Then it hit you.

Recalling that you asked for Mothman to bring duct tape. Looking back, scanning through the items within his arms. You successfully spotted the tape that was cradled within his right arm.

"Can you pass me that duct tape in your arms?" you pointed.

"No, not that"

"it's right there. That's not it."

Redirecting him and pointing out what you wanted, only to end up playing a guessing game. Sifting through each item, and saying no to everything he held out. How he was able to get the supplies you asked for? You'll never know.

After the first ten items, Mothman dropped all the material onto the floor with a thud. Thinking it would be easier to get what you wanted. Unsurprised, you stared at the pile straight lip. “No problem that is just as effective."

Crawling to the pile in the middle living room of your home, to grab the roll of tape.

What started as a calm night alone, became a little date night-with Mothman coming over uninvited. This wasn't uncommon he did this quite often, but you never turned him down always glad to welcome him in. That and also the fact you didn't want a seven-foot monster outside your window scratching at your window like a stray cat begging to be let in and draw attention to himself.

Bringing you up to speed now, putting together a fort. Clearly, rusty, it's been some time since you made a blanket fort. It wasn't your fault, you were always busy to do anything like this. Even if you did have the time, it just never occurred to you to do so after a long day of work. Usually, the closest thing to this, is you grabbing a throw blanket and pillow onto the floor with maybe some plushies and calling it a day.

But with Mothman in the picture, you had to get creative with things to do at home. Meaning you coming up with indoor activities and not go out in public at all. So no causal stroll by the park, or popping into a nice establishment and chat. As amusing it would be going out, you couldn’t do that for Mothman’s safety and especially those around. Leaving you both to see each other deep in the wilderness at night, in the abandoned TNT facility where the Cryptid resided and here in your home.

And you both managed to keep each other occupied- getting into ridiculous shenanigans. There wasn’t a day you were bored of one another’s company, even when you both had nothing to do. It was always a good time. And today was any different.

Tapping down the blanket against stile of the chair and now the moment of truth. Removing your hands and...

It didn’t move. It stayed.

“Finally!” throwing your arms up in triumph. Behind you, Mothman watched your mini victory pose. Unsure what you were doing with your arms in the air he mimicked your gesture.

“Alright, just a few more things.” Walking back to the heap on the ground, pushing and gathering all of it into the fort to do some final touch-ups. Leaving Mothman to awkwardly put his arms down as you disappeared inside.

Decorating and organizing the interior of the fort, striving to make it as pleasant and comfy as possible. Knowing that Mothman probably hasn't experienced this before. You wanted this to be perfect. Well as perfect as you could, given that you already used tape.

Amid you’re scrambling, a curious and impatient Mothman wanted a quick glimpse, to get a clue to what you were doing. He figured it was shelter, but why make another within your home.

As quiet as he could, he tried to lower himself onto all fours - to sneakily get a peek inside. Unfortunately, due to his large stature mixed with the old floorboard, you were alerted of him snooping by the sound of squeaky floorboards.

“Not yet." You said, popping, catching him off guard, in the act.

Surprised he just looked down, pretending he was looking at something interesting. Squinting your eyes, you went back inside.

Once you were back inside, he was back to his antics, and once more you heard his attempt. "Not yet" you reminded, poking out once more before going back in.

Of course, that didn't stop. He tried his hand again and you knew him too well, you were quick to scold him from inside without having to peer out.

Startled, his antennas and the fur on his body puffed out. How do you see him? Looking around to see if you were behind him or somewhere else in the room. Are you still in there? A valid reason for him to look inside now, he chirped eagerly. “Nice, try. I’m still in here and you can’t come in yet,” you announced.

Defeated, he deflated and resigned himself to sitting on the floor picking at the rug. Fortunately, he didn't have too long.

"Okay, you can come in" you called out.

You were content with the work you did both inside and out; well mostly inside. A couple of plush blankets laid on the ground with pillows lined against the walls of the interior and little something extra strung around. But there was still a good amount of space, that even Mothman could probably fit inside. Reaching for the electric lantern, to illuminate the area. You heard shuffling behind you- figuring it was the Cryptid making himself comfortable.

Lantern in hand you turned right around, the light flicking on, and was greeted with misjudgment.

Guess not you thought.

Seated smack dab in the middle, Mothman had unceremoniously become a support beam for the structure. His head pitching up the sinking portion of the blanket up. Clearly, this wasn’t large enough.

"I thought this would be big enough." You huffed to yourself.

You felt positive this was big enough, thinking to yourself - trying to see how you could fix this. Whereas Mothman just did his own thing and took matters into his own hands.

"Maybe if you-“You trailed off, watching him crawl further inside before rolling onto his back, laying his head against a pillow you set near the walls of the fort - stretching his legs across the entire interior and his feet simply hanging out from the entrance. “Or that. That's fine too."

Inching closer to him, you noted his pleasant demeanor, his chest rising steadily as he breathed in deeply, his fur ruffling up and flattening back as he exhaled. His limbs going completely slack, his muscles loosened. He was completely at ease.

“Comfy?” you teased.

He chirped in response.

"Well, I'm about to up the ante," you crawled over across his torso, reaching for a switch just near him.

"1,2,3" with a click, the interior light up with a soft warm golden glow of fairy lights strewn about all over. Though it may be cheap lighting, its beautifully sparkling bulbs filled the area with a warm, cozy atmosphere as well giving you a sense of awe just as it did for Mothman.

"Do you like it?" You asked.

Sitting up with wide eyes, Mothman gazed on with the utmost sense of wonder, transfixed on the lights and nothing else. As if he was in a world of his own. This wasn’t anything new, honestly, this was one of the first things you noticed when you first met him. And you’ve seen his habit time and time again. But you could never grow tired of it. It was quite adorable.

"I’m assuming so.” You chuckled.

Your laugh snaked its way into his enraptured mind, knocking him out of his trance. He stared at you, nearly forgetting you were there. As luminous and beautiful as the light was, there was something missing.

It didn't take long for you to catch Mothman's sudden change in behavior-still as statue and eyes locked on you.

"Mothman?"

Without giving you a chance to ask, he moved toward you, lifting you from your spot like some common house cat with ease; body slack and no resistance. He placed you right in his lap, before laying back with you laying on top of him-your back against his chest.

This was a surprise but not an unwelcome one. You shifted into a more comfortable position, Flipping over onto your stomach, propping your head up with one hand while the other lightly stroke at his chest- you peered down at him. "Better?"

Mothman sunk further in his spot, completely in bliss, and if that wasn't proof enough Mothman purred even louder in pure content. Now it was perfect. Wrapping his arms around you, hugging you closer to him-making you rest your head on him. You smiled, digging your head further into his plush chest.

He finally realized what you made, it was a nest for the both of you. Thats why you were so eager to make this. He couldn't wait to put this fort to good use. But seeing how hard you work on this, he could only guess how tired you were after put this together. So he'll let you rest.

The strong vibration from his purring perforated through your body. Whatever tension or stress you had melted away. It was enough to slowly lull into a nice slumber.

Well there go your movie plans in here. But that was okay because this was better.

Together you both laid there in silence. The beat of his heart keeping in rhythm with yours along with the ambiance of the city outside your home. The feeling of his chest rising and falling with you. Sheltered under a flimsy but cushiony fort. You eventually succumbing to sleep while Mothman stayed up to keep watch - enjoying whatever time he had left with you till heading out before dawn. Until the next night, when you could see each other again. So for now, you both held each other in each other's arms on this soft summer night.

............

A/N: Thanks for Reading!! <3

[bugasaurusrex]

An intro (timeline) to my personal Hollow Knight x Bug Fables au

Obviously, this au is inspired by @dooblebugs hollowfables au (They are so cool, go check them out), and the fic "A Song of Silk and Saplings" by @zennistrad, heres the link if you are interested in reading I highly recommend this to Hollow Knight and Bug Fables enthusiasts out there: https://archiveofourown.org/works/40153170/chapters/100564428 Y’all guys are so awesome!

I'll make a master list later, but for now, lets dive in! This’ll be pretty long fyi because I will be covering the beginning to the first part of the crossover that I may or may not write lol.

Also pls drop asks if you are curious about this, have a question, or want to contribute or something, I love ranting about this and people joining in is so awesome /nf <3

We'll start with the Day of the Reckoning/Awakening, an event mentioned in Bug Fables that was a start of it all kind of event. Due to lack of background of Hallownest other than ancient societies, I'll be using mostly Bug Fables lore books for this!

We know that giants are humans within Bug Fables, and it is very likely and theorized by the community that the “banishment” of giants was a nuclear war. The Day of the Reckoning was the first bomb that wiped out giants in that area, due to roaches being awakened during the time of “fires raining down from the sky and destroying the earth...” The nuclear war was still very much ongoing until it eventually either stopped due to extinction of giants or it ending due to a small amount of humans remaining. Of course, that is irrelevant as they don’t exist in Bugaria and Hallownest any more, but I could use that later for a fairy au or something :]. However, also during this time was when a certain human of the family that lived there mutated and became the Dead Lander Omega along with the lesser Dead Landers.

After this, the very first sentient bugs came to be, being the roaches and the ancient void civilization of Hallownest. Where did the void come from? I don’t know, it’s gonna be on buzz feed unsolved for now. After a bit of time though comes the Era of Deceit, where other bugs, like ants and bees evolve although some don’t. During this time, higher beings and civilizations come to be including: the Bee Kingdom, the Hive, the Wasp Kingdom, Greenpath, the Mantis Tribe, the Moth Tribe, the Spider Tribe, the Mushroom Clan, the Beetle Tribe (Northern Bugaria), The Termite Kingdom, and the Ant Tribe(Bugarian ants, will expand on later. There are many other Bug groups like the Weavers that are outside of the two areas though, and the Void civilization disappeared a bit before other bugs of Hallownest awakened.

This era takes around a thousand or so years to complete. Some time after is the extinction of the Wyrms, the last one alive being the Pale Wyrm, who then becomes the Pale King. Due to being a god, he needs worship in order to survive so he gives sentience to the some species of the remaining lesser bugs, like the beetles, butterflies, and so on. During his take over of Hallownest, the Wasp Kingdom that lived near the hive noped out due to diminishing resources and the fact that there is not 1 or 2 higher beings, but now there is around 5 and would rather not have a war while also having tension with the hive. They leave Hallownest and settle where they are today in Bugaria. Of course, most wasps are carnivores and the Bee Kingdom did not take kindly to that. After an explorer wasp accidentally violated the food policy of the Bee Kingdom (Either eat meat in private or don’t eat it at all) then started a war that after a hundred years or so was ended by their new and present queens: Vanessa and Bianca. Until the events of Bug Fables, their treaty allowed peaceful tension.

Not much happens until the infection arised in Hallownest. During this time, the Moth tribe was discriminated as a result of this. The infection didn’t affect them as much as it is said in the game because I find it quite counterproductive that the Radiance would kill her children rather than the Pale King and his follower but that could just be me asjkndjcnjk. And y’know, with prejudice comes murder and death, likely covered up by PK to just be that they are more vulnerable to the infection and that it was morally right to kill them and allow them to rest (Which could probably be one of his first attempts to stop the infection because no more moths = to no Radiance right? Wrong. Baby pit ensues.)

To add to this, the Ant Tribe that was lead by Elizant I dipped out as well. A logical thing to do considering that they didn’t need PK or masks to have sentience outside of Hallownest and doing that they would escape the Infection. Beck then, Elizant and Herrah were besties (Maybe a little more at some point, but that is a crack ship for another day) so they had matching masks since they were children and now a very sad angst event, but they both had to do what was best for their tribes. The Ant Tribe left Deepnest to go past Kingdom’s Edge, picking up a few Hallownestian families and most of the Moth Tribe along the way and starting the pilgrimage through Kingdom’s Edge and the Deadlands and eventually establishing the Ant Kingdom in Bugaria.

Now we got our current kingdoms and tribes. Awesome. (By the way, the Bugarian Bees are unrelated to the Hallownestian Bees unless you count the bees pre-reckoning lol. This goes for the Beetles, Butterflies, and Manti other than the few that tagged along.) One of our Bugarian protagonists, Leif, was born shortly after the pilgrimage then 30ish? years later he got cordycepsified. oops. Que his century long nap in which Elizant I goes into a coma and Elizant II starts to rule lol.

We are close to the present now don’t worry. The Hollow Knight got sealed and about 30-40ish years later the last Bugarian Roaches disappeared from Snakemouth aka Zommoth and the others revolted oops. Around ten years later after that, Ghost arrives in Hallownest and beats up the Radiance inside of a random person (peoples) mind in a sewer (Embrace the void ending, everyone lives au yay!!!) A few years after that time, some overpowered 16 yr old teams up with a traumatized northern warrior, finds a totally not a zombie moth in a weird cave, and the three beat up a usurper wasp (fly) with the power of friendship and ice bowling hooray!

Then in Bugaria everyone is happy too but more normal kind of happy because they aren’t post-massive apocalypse like Hallownest lol.

Of course a few years pass, everyone’s happy. Nailsmith and Sheo get married, Mato reunites with Sly and he and Oro make up. Tiso doesn’t die because he gets rescued by Quirrel and Oro, Quirrel doesn’t die because his mom wakes up, Herrah rebuilds Deepnest with the help of Hornet (mwahaha angst when she finds out Elizant is pulling a dreamer lol), Lurien is back at painting alongside tea times with his butler, White Lady gets a reality check, and Ghost and Holly start rebuilding Hallownest.... the good stuff.

Oh yeah, I haven’t come up with major angst event yet lmao but Team Snakemouth does accidentally find Hallownest, yeyyyy

[afrival]

Ranking and Rating All the Animes I’ve Watched (Which ain’t a lot)

Some of these might get me killed lmao but whatever. Feel free to judge me for my top fives

in order from least favorite to favorite

+++

15: Angel Beats: 2/10 for cool concept

- This is the only anime on here that I hate 💀 Idk why, there was just something about it. I’m not a big fan of romance so the ending was...eh. The concept is interesting as hell tho honestly

14: Banana Fish: 6/10 for Ash breaking my heart

- I know this is such a beloved show, but I just. Cant. Like it’s good, I like it, I’m just not a big fan of— idk how to explain it. Street fighting style anime? I like superpowers basically LMAO

13: Dorohedoro: 4/10 for Lizard bitch

- This is just Banana Fish on drugs and paranormal also as far as I can tell nobody falls in love here. I’m still watching and I’m struggling to get really into it, but I’m giving it a chance. The intro is one of the best ones on this list tho

12: JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: 6/10 for intros

- I made it halfway through Part 2 then I gave up because it’s so batshit, but that’s kinda why I love it even though it’s so low on here. It wins #1 for THE BEST opening songs and intros

11: Hunter x Hunter: 7/10 for having one of the best villains

- I watched this entire goddamn anime and it just did not stick with me. I skipped a lot of episodes in the Chimera Ant arc because it would be one fight dragged on for three eps, however I will say I absolutely bawled at the end of it.

10: Yuri On Ice: 6/10 for Jerry Jewell the Russian King of Funimation

- Good comfort anime I binge watch every few months, my main beef with it is how repetitive it is. There doesn’t seem to be a lot at stake besides their careers and obviously the romance. Maybe it’s just because I’ve seen it so many times that I’ve become numb to it

9: Devilman Crybaby: 7/10 for WHAT THE FUCKFJJG

- I watched this mf in one night and I have not been the same since. The ending is fucking insane and I adore it, but everything else leading up to that is kinda lame. The animation is kinda ugly too lol

8: Beastars: 8/10 for sexy deer

- Can’t believe I made fun of this furry anime only for it to be one of the best things I’ve ever seen. Amazing plot, I genuinely can’t wait for more seasons especially since the manga gets insane. Also— that INTRO IS AMAZING

7: Soul Eater: 5/10 because Kid is in it

- My first anime besides SAO 🙌 Very unique art style I love it, also lovable characters. My main thing with it is that honestly the stakes seem a little too much for a group of fucking 15 year olds to handle but whatever, that’s most shounen anime in general

6: Demon Slayer: 6/10 for Nezuko and the orange mf I know will be my favorite

- I’m still watching this and so far I really like it, it’s just slow as hell. I’m not entirely sure what the main goal is, but I’ve heard it gets really good. Looking forward to another season if we get it

5: Fairy Tail: 7/10 for power of friendship

- I’ve loved this anime since I was like 10 bruh. I know it’s repetitive with “the power of friendship” but that’s what I like about it— nothing beats good character dynamics. Also wins the award for Best Hetero Ships in existence

4: My Hero Academia: 9/10 for the characters being AAA

- Hands down one of the best cast of characters, there’s not a single one I hate (besides Mineta but that’s the point of his character). The main issue I have with it is right now in the anime it’s still a little...kiddy? Like there was a festival arc after a very emotionally intense arc LMAO. Anyways, I’m excited for it to get more gritty

3: The Disastrous Life of Saiki K: 10/10 for amazing characters and comedy

- I just like dumbass fucking satirical comedy, as you can probably tell. This show made me laugh out loud so many times. If I had to choose anything to like not like about it it would be the fact that near the end of s2 it got kinda 😳😰 out of NOWHERE

2: Hetalia: 0/10 I fucking hate this dumb country anime

- I don’t even wanna talk about it. Just repeat what I said about dumbass satirical comedy and add my love for history and you get the mold that’s been growing in my head for over a year

1: Attack On Titan: unable to be rated bc it’s so good

- Honestly this just speaks for itself. Never have I absolutely loved a story and it’s characters this much, and it’s so well written I don’t know how Isayama came up with it. The ending was genuinely amazing. I’ll be thinking about this dumbass thing for a while . Also: amazing intros

+++

I have a long ass list I still need to watch tho this list will be updated in the future

Edit: lmao maybe I should say that this isn’t a list on which anime is good and which is bad, it’s just a favorites list. some of the ones I dislike are really good, they just didn’t stick with me 🤷

[the-fandomwriter]

thinking about a full and properly modded server with all the members of the dream smp, with like mo creatures, mr crayfish, bibliocraft, biomes o’ plenty, decocraft, CIT resource packs, THE DOG ONE THAT STACYPLAYS USED IN DOGCRAFT and the ones that add all different types of foods like pies and sandwiches and soups and all that fun stuff!!

and it’s a mostly “normal” server, in which there are no tyrranical governments or roleplay nearly as angsty as the dream smp. i’m basically thinking origins smp but softer, with more roleplay, and billions of mods that used to be popular back in the shadowcraft and dogcraft days. it would be more of a “found family of people that all left their previous homes for various reasons that they slowly get into detail with as they become closer to the others and they all develop a big family dynamic, but there’s occasional conflict since they can never get along for long periods of time.” 

i’m sorry just iMagine all the possibilities???

 tubbo would own ALL the animals like he’d just run a huge fucking zoo and live with all the animals hes tamed and he’d have like 80 dogs and all the bees on the server. not to mention his house would be absolutely DECKED with cute decor stuff. he’d have a huge portal hub for all the different dimensions that would be added to the game. he’d probably dabble in some witchcraft mods too with ranboo!!

wilbur would take mass advantage of bibliocraft and fulfil his dark academiac dreams by living in a nice tudor home in a plains biome with a gigantic library and a pond out back with fairy lights and some wheat fields. but underground he would have a gigantic lair where he grows sketchy plants he gets from tubbo that’re from other dimensions, and he makes  potions and also collects various crystals and rare ores to sell illegally to other people. 

niki and hannah would build a cottagecore village together with lots of eucalyptus and wisteria logs!! they’d do a lot of exploring to find all the cool biomes so they could collect all the flowers, crops, and trees possible. they would probably have a green house shop at spawn, as well as a cafe/bakery. despite their soft aesthetic, they would actually be two of the richest people on the server, and no one would fuck with them since they had some of the best modded armor and weapons from all of their travelling. 

puffy would really like oceancraft, and also spend a lot of time travelling. she often bunked with niki and hannah, and occasionally with bad and skeppy in their own area. she just hung around spawn mostly and had a simple ocean monument inspired house on the shore, so she could access the sea easily for her distant travels. she would also love getting into the weirder parts of the mods, like the shape shifter mods and would have a massive collection of all the inverntory pets. 

dream, george, and sapnap would band together and make a huge underground lair inside of a mountain that they put no effort into making pretty, but somehow doesn’t look like shit? sapnap would have a room dedicated to all the armor sets he set out to forge, and would have great pride in them. george would like indulging in the food aspects, like harvestcraft and mo’ foods. dream would try dabbling in the prank/security mods and have minor success, aside from the few holes he blew into the mountain and sets of armor he accidentally blew up which sapnap would never let him live down. he’d also probably do a lot of collecting and make various mob farms to get lots of cool loot to sell in spawn. 

tommy would also collect lots of cool stuff, except he wouldn’t actually go out and find the materials for armor, fight mobs, or explore caves, no he would steal it. he commissioned sam to build a gigantic, overly complex and fancy house insisting it has as much detail as possible (im talking chisel mod, carpenters blocks, decocraft, mr crayfish ALL OF IT) but he never actually stays in it bc he prefers the stupid dirt mound he lived in on the first night (mainly bc he doesn’t feel like moving all of his stuff from said dirt mound into his giant mega-mansion and sam refused to do it, no matter how much money tommy offered him). he’d also wreak havoc, yk, stealing and hiding pets, burning houses, destroying crops, setting elaborate traps that don’t work but are just annoying to clean up. despite being chaos incarnate, he’d probably have a big farm and make cool foods and have a bed and breakfast at spawn. 

fundy, sam, ranboo and tubbo would all really like diving into the red stone packs (obvi) like industrialcraft and all those prank/trap mods. they would start up a business to make elaborate redstone machines for people, and would have some of the coolest houses on the smp. they’d live in a huge treehouse colony in a jungle, and they’d have elevators and secret doors and a hidden vault underground. it would look amazing, and they would spend hours working on it, and it ends up being the prettiest build on the server.

ranboo, much like tubbo, wouldn’t live just in the jungle colony. he would also have his own base a couple hundred blocks from tubbo. it wouldn’t be super big or fancy, but he would decorate his house really nicely, and probably base some of the interiors off of other video games or something. he would collect lots of cats and dogs as to all keep him company in his house. he’d have some OP armor and tools, but be really humble about it? he’d like collecting the mob backpacks and have them all on display in his house in the woods. 

bad and skeppy would live in a mesa where they would have a massive modern base where they test airplanes and helicopters n cars n shit. bad would def try to collect a bunch of animals, especially dogs (they would all be named after members of the smp based off of the vibes they give him). skeppy would be one of the richest  bc he keeps all of his rare/expensive items in a hidden vault literally hundreds of thousands of blocks from his base. skeppy would definetly take advantage of the extra blocks and supplies for trolling. 

ant would obviously collect cats, like the ones that you can pick up and they like wrap around your neck? and they have those adorable cat beds and smack you when they’re hungry? yeah he’d have a whole fucking army of them and whenever they’re hungry he’d just unleash them on anyone nearby just to piss them off. he wouldn’t have actually wanted the cats at first, since he thought it was just ironic and lame, but after he tamed his first one he just liked the company. he would build a whole separate house for his cats so that they could stay away from the workspace in his house where he would look into dinosaurs with jurassicraft. 

connor would be a wandering vagabond who collects those cool mob backpacks and keeps all of his stuff inside of them and never settles down because he doesn’t have the money to commission someone to build a house and he’s just too fuckign lazy to build one himself lmaoo he’d end up rooming with tubbo for a while, just because he has multiple homes and has plenty of room spare.

schlatt would elect himself as leader (but not in a dream smp kinda way) he’d tax everyone and use the money to commission like forty vacation homes that he never lives in because he’s never active. he also likes to just fuck around and annoy people by breaking all the windows in their houses and stealing their doors, but no one can do anything about it bc he’s technically they’re leader and he probably somehow got access to creative mode. he definitely abuses his power, but not to a concerning extent. he’d just boost the price to buy land in the shopping district by ten diamonds every month and piss everyone off. 

(i might make a part two to this with the other members if y’all wanted to see more :))

[thatslikely]

Mill Boy - F.W.

Mill Boy- Fred Weasley x fem!reader [1800s muggle!au]

warnings: mentions of child labor

word count: 3.4k 

a/n: probably part one of a minseries? y/n and fred are about 10-11 in this so part ii could possibly be a timeskip

“Mum, can I go play? Please?” you pleaded, doe eyes shiny and prominent. Your mother, a hard working housewife, was bent over the sturdy kitchen table, dousing dirty dishes in scalding water, preparing them to be piled with the beef warming in the flames of the stove across the airy kitchen.

“Fine, Y/N, just please don’t get your dress dirty. Your father worked hard to afford such a fine cotton. He wouldn’t be pleased to see it ruined, now would he?” You eagerly nodded in agreement, ready to go enjoy the meadows lying across the walls of your humble residence. It was a beautiful spring day, most enticing one yet. Birds fluttered through the lush, brilliant cedar trees, enjoying the tranquil air that comes with the season. Ox-eye daisies dotted the expansive hills, all the way down to the slowly trickling creek. 

You slipped your muddied boots over the clean, cotton socks adorning your feet, grabbing your hat to shield your youthful eyes from the golden star above right after. You slipped it over your locks, which were neatly tied into pig-tails with silky, baby pink ribbons Mother bought you for your birthday. 

You skipped through the propped back door, little giggles of delight humming through your throat. Any traces of the harsh winter that stormed the land only a few months prior were washed away with the glimmering sunlight, which coerced the wildflowers to bloom from buds to petaled cups of sweetness.

With a smile, you followed a path of vibrant, woolly blue violets, carefully plucking their stems for a nice arrangement to become the perfect centerpiece for dinner. The colour, in your opinion, complimented the pastel pinks of your dress perfectly, filling you with even more glee. How you wished that you could spend all your time out of the confines of buildings, having fun and being free of responsibility.

It was most unladylike to go splashing in the cool water of the stream, and you would surely be scolded for it if you chose to do so. You had attempted to conceal your submersion in the winding brook once before, but the liquidy footprints you left on the floors of your house quickly outed your escapade. Fearing another stern talk, which was not pleasant in the slightest, you simply skipped to its edge, astutely observing its reflective surface with admiration. 

The crystalline liquid glossed over smooth stones adorned with moss so peacefully, its pace never wavering, not even for a second. The mere idea of something perpetually in motion, never having to stop and take a break, as you did many times after a long day of running in the fields, chasing butterflies, astounded you. 

Everyone had to go to sleep, or stop for a breath every once in a while, right? Scampers, the stray which adored your family’s covered porch, went to bed at odd times, most often at noon. And yet, he still slept. The grocer down the lane kept his shop attended every time you’d visit, but the windows would soon be curtained and dim when the moon came out to rule the seemingly never ending sky.

You prodded the cool creek with your finger, letting the water continue to flow past it unbothered, as if it were nothing but another stray twig. The thirst for answers dripped down from your mind, enveloping your body in a sensation that couldn’t be mended by simply drinking the water. You were amazed, and you had to see more, know more. You followed the bends of the stream, far beyond the view of your house.

Nobody had ever outright stated that you shan’t see where it goes, where the water ends, so naturally you had to discover it yourself. Maybe you’d be met with a secret alcove, your own private pocket of the boundless world. Alternatively, maybe you would stumble across a small house entangled high up in the branches of a tree, and fly up to its entrance like a fairy from a tale recited before bed. Or even, most enticing of all, maybe there was a prince waiting for you where the water ends; a prince who’d sweep you off your feet, offering you a chance to live in a magnificent castle situated in a far away land. 

You hummed songs that your frilly-dressed peers would chime in unison during recess, filling the still air. The toes of your boots leaped from one large rock to another, balancing on their flat surfaces like a game of hopscotch. 

The soft, sweet humming echoing through his cove from a ways down the creek instantly perked Fred’s curiosity, luring him in like a siren’s song. He halted his stick-poking of the ants inching up the burly trunk of the ancient tree, swinging his gingered-head down, so his vision lay unobscured by the low-hanging branches. 

No one ever came to visit Fred when he lay slouched in the safe, knotted branches of his tree; whether it was because his family couldn’t locate him or the fact that they were aware that he needed a break, he didn’t know. Days spent in the mill were painful and excruciatingly long, so during the few spare moments he had to himself, he’d spend it talking to the lush wildlife surrounding him. He’d never be talked over by the weeds or birds, they’d just sit and listen, exactly what he needed. 

He nearly fell to the grassy ground trying to find the source of the melodic songs, curious to see who dare disturb the previously hidden Fort Fred. He imagined himself as a skillful militiaman, like his brothers, ready to charge and overtake the enemy, even if the music-maker was nothing near a threat.

Just as he was about to jump down to investigate on his own two feet, the source was finally revealed. An absolutely beautiful girl- a princess, rather, approached the tree. She was dressed in a light pink gown, as if she had just come back from a royal ball. Her singing brought serenity all around, as if she were somehow communicating with the birds and butterflies, allowing them to chirp and flutter along. At the same time, however, her well-loved boots and hat altered her look to something of a daring adventurer, exploring the unknown paths of thicket.

“Hello,” you said angelically, clasping your hands together across your waist. You were completely surprised to meet a companion on your previously solo expedition, and a dashing, amiable one at that.

You’d never seen this particular boy at school before; he seemed different than all your icky male peers. The boys at school would tug on your pigtails during tests, claim you were infested with disgusting germs at recess, and chase you around the yard tauntingly. But this boy’s features resonated nothing but kindness: the crinkles around his eyes from smiling, light orange freckles all across his nose, his shaggy, fiery red hair topped with a patched-up flat cap.

Maybe there was a prince at the end of the brook after all.

The friendly-appearing boy hopped down from his perch in the tree, smoothing out the wrinkles and leaves in his suspendered trousers and white button up with a suspicious look. “And who would you be, miss?” 

“Erm- my name’s Y/N. What’s your’s?” You couldn’t help but smile, and your cheeks prickled as if a ladybug were crawling across them.

He stepped closer to you, his composure open and honest. “I’m Fred, Fred Weasley. I live down the way, near the mill.”

“Nice to meet you, Fred Weasley.” You did a proper courtesy, just as you had been taught so many times before, then adding, “what’s a mill?”

Fred’s jaw dropped, as if it had no hinges. “You’re joking, right? You don’t know about the mill? I work there just about every day of the week.” He pointed further down the creek, opposite the direction of your house, astonishment swimming in his mahogany brown eyes. 

“I’ve never heard anything of the sort. What do you do in a mill, exactly?” 

“Well, there’re these big, loud machines that're always moving. They get power from this huge wooden wheel upstream that’s always spinning. They make tons of pieces of fabric out of wool. Maybe I even weaved some of the cloth used to make that very dress you’re wearing right now.”

You marvelled at his descriptions, even the simple way he spoke, articulated his words. Those utterly despicable boys at school would’ve just stuck their tongues out at you disrespectfully, not giving you the time of day, but Fred couldn’t be more different. He spoke to you as if you two were something of equals.

“Oh wow.” You were barely able to suppress a flustered giggle. Why were you feeling so, mushy around Fred, the sensation comparable only to the consistency of porridge? “I didn’t know you were so talented to do that.”

“Aww,” -he blushed, scratching the nape of his neck- “I mean, it’s not too difficult, you could probably do it if you tried. After a while ‘course.”

“Nonsense.” You not-so-nonchalantly rubbed your palms up and down your dress, noticing beads of perspiration accumulating on them. While doing so, the bushel of hooded violets resting in your pocket became evident. You pulled one from your stash, saying, “do you want one of my flowers? I picked them down near my house.”

Fred swore at any moment, if anything were so much as to touch him, he would burst. He’d never experienced these, admittedly strange, feelings before. It felt like his last meal wouldn’t settle in his stomach, or as if he’d just run a horse’s distance by the way his heart was pounding out of his chest. Was he sick? Should he go tell mum?

“I, erm, of course,” he stuttered, barely capable of moving his lips to form coherent words. “You have e-excellent taste in flowers, miss Y/N.”

“Thanks. I picked plenty, for a nice centerpiece at home. Mum always loves flowers.” You fiddled with the frills and layers of your dress, doing something to occupy your energetic fingers. Fred studied the flower intently with his brows furrowed, tugging on its petals and anthers. 

After Fred was satisfied with his examination of the violet, he said, “you know, there’s some really pretty yellow flowers growing down by the mill. They’d go perfectly with these here.”

“Will you take me?” 

“Of course I will. We’d best get going, though. Don’t wanna miss dinner.” Fred gestured for you to follow his lead, walking through the knee-high blades of grass as if he were wading through a river. When he quickly noticed your look of apprehension, not wanting to dirty your dress or have an unwanted animal encounter, he grabbed your palm with a grin, forcing you to trail behind him.

You two distantly followed the path of the creek, adventure flowing through both of your veins. Fred’s grip on your hand was gentle, despite the calloused patches scattered over his skin, no doubt a result of the ‘large machines’ he described working on in the mill.  

After a while of giggling and jogging, the distant outline of a building across the stream was visible. Its four walls were composed of rough, grey stones used as bricks; it’s roof was sealed with jagged pieces of slate, some out of place. But the biggest surprise came not with the building itself, but to the right of it. A humongous, wooden wheel spun through the rill, rhythmically splashing the previously tranquil water as it continued flowing. It was as if everything today was out of a fairy tale, but this was the most outlandish of them all. A giant wheel, spinning in pace through the water? 

“Well, we’re here.” While Fred usually dreaded returning back to the mill, as his time within the confines were never pleasant, tolerable at best, he was glad to be here with company and a different mission. He wasn’t going to be making fabric today, no, he was on the search for bundles of corn-yellow flowers, with the prettiest girl he’d ever laid eyes on. True royalty, a princess through and through.

“Wow. That wheel’s ginormous! How does it work?” This time, it was your mind that curiosity flooded, and it ceased to relent. 

“Erm, I don’t exactly know. All I know is that the creek pushes the wheel, for some reason. I’ll ask Dad about it sometime, he’ll know.” You nodded appreciatively, satisfied at the promise of an answer. 

 “Now what do you say we go find some of those flowers?”

“Yes please!” You started peering around the water’s edge, attempting to spot any signs of cheerful, yellow flowers.

While you continued digging through ferns and bushes, searching for gold, Fred enchanted you from a distance across the shaded meadow. “I think my brother Percy said that the flowers are called Golden Alexanders. He’s one to always go a bit heavy on books during his breaks.” 

‘You’ll have to ask your brother how they got their name. The first part’s fairly obvious, the Alexander portion not so much.”

“I’m gonna have to ask everyone in my family questions if I keep showing you new things by the looks of it,” he giggled, walking around the grassy plateau with his hand shielding his eyes from the setting sun. 

“Teacher always tells me during lessons, ‘curiosity killed the cat’-” 

“Poor kitty,” Fred muttered.

“-But satisfaction brought it back. So you best bring me back some answers tomorrow, because I don’t exactly fancy dying.” Fred’s eyes widened with his new, highly-important mission. “I’d at least wish to go out in a heroic way, not at the hands of my own unquenched curiosity.”

“That’s quite the big word.”

“I know, I learned it the other day!” you giggled, covering your toothy grin with your hand. “Isn’t it cool?” Fred responded with a handsome, wide smile and concurring nod. His eyes were filled to the brim with joy; they reminded you of warm evenings sitting around the crackling fire charring logs and embers. 

You scourged through the brush for a while longer until the soothing trickling of water was interrupted by Fred’s distinct voice, shouting, “Oh, I think I found some o’er here!”

You skipped to Fred’s direction, the toes of your boots patting the grass lightly. Fred was leaning down over a small patch of Golden Alexanders, watching a few bumblebees buzz between the central stigmas protected in the wreaths of small petals.

Without thinking, you swiftly wrapped your arms around Fred, his back pressed to your chest tightly. “Thank you, Fred. These’ll look great. You’ve got quite the eagle eye.” Your cheeks burned, and your soft arms were swept with tiny goosebumps.

“It’s no problem, really. I’m just glad you’re happy.” You unleashed Fred from your grasp, nearly tumbling to the ground with flusteredness. The porridge-ish feeling was back, and your now-wobbly legs weren’t exempt. “Your smile’s contagious, you know.” 

Fred’s reaction to your hug was slightly different, but equal in magnitude. His chest puffed as if it were fluttering with butterflies that would glide low near the grass, his neck, which tingled after your every exhale, was burning like brush, and his breath all but stopped, which he paid no mind to. 

To distract himself from the foreign sensations racking his body, he pointed to the revolving wheel sputtering the crystalline, flowing water, saying, “Do you think it's possible for me to climb the wheel? I’d wager I could.”

“You’d be a madman if you did.” You daintily trailed behind him like a curious cat, spying on his actions from afar.

“Then I guess I’ve got to do it.” He stepped one foot on one of the damp wooden beams, which proved successful until the churning of the wheel shook off his balance. He stumped to the group with an ‘ow’, groaning, “Princess, you were supposed to catch me.”

“Sorry,” you cheekily giggled, suppressing your smile with your cupped palm. You looked in all directions but Fred’s to avoid an assumed scornful glare, but instead you were met with a chuckling redhead, his umber eyes screwed shut with laughter.

Childish titter occupied the still Spring air, blending in with the trickling water and occasional melody chirped by a lone sparrow or two. Your fingers intertwined with Fred’s to prevent you from falling backwards into the puddles of sludge strewn through the sunset-soaked blades of grass.

Eventually, Fred could be your stabilizing tether no longer, and you both fell backwards, hands still locked playfully. You started to get up from the soft cushion composed of a plethora of plants before the flat-capped ginger motioned for you to remain relaxed on the ground, the large tufts of your gown and all. 

You complied, and before you knew it, you were making out the shapes of pink-hued clouds, improvising tales and fables to enchant Fred with.

“That one looks like a rabbit, doesn’t it?” you would say, or “that one looks like a mule-”

“-riding on a carriage!” Fred finished, giggling in unison with you. As your throat erupted with chuckles, you and the prince beside you clutched your stomachs which were rattling with joy.

After a while of staring up at the deepening sky, you said, “I think I’ve got to go back for dinner, Mum’ll be expecting me.” Fred immediately stood up, quick as a soldier, and he outstretched his arm chivalrously to help you sit up as well.

“I’ll walk you back, don’t worry. Who would I be to let a princess such as yourself brave the wilderness alone?”

“How kind of you, good sir,” you replied with a joking curtsy and exaggerated accent dripping with poshness. Your fingers intertwined with Fred’s again for the second time that day, and this time they felt more familiar, as if you could pinpoint every sun-owing freckle or crease in his pale skin.

Your connected arms swung rhythmically as you both relaxedly walked towards the direction of your humble residence, careful to avoid stepping on dotted ladybugs that scurried through the grass. Occasionally, you or Fred would release a clever wisecrack or randomly twirl, basking in the pink rays of sunshine that gradually depleted, but for most of the trek home, you stayed quiet, simply enjoying each other’s company: a luxury that was hard to come by in Fred’s house of nine.

When your house was finally visible on the thin line of the horizon, Fred’s eyes couldn’t help but light up. Your home didn’t look much different than the Weasley’s, save for its size being half as big. Your chimney wasn’t as crooked and worn by the elements as the gingered clan’s was either, but the young boy didn’t seem to notice. All he could see was an elegant castle suited for no one but the best.

At long last, you arrived on your back porch. The door was wide open, where your mother leaned her aproned hips against the frame with a smile. Wonderful aromas wafted from the kitchen to you and Fred’s nostrils, beckoning you to take a seat at the dinner table and dig in. “Now who might this be, Y/N?”

“My name’s Fredrick Weasley ma’am.” Youthfulness glinted his eyes as he reached his hand to shake your mother’s. “I go by Fred.”

“You’ve got quite the firm shake,” she said, suppressing a chuckle, “I hope you and Y/N had fun today? By the look of her dress, she did.”

Your cheeks burned like a tin fresh out of the oven as you looked down in horror to see brown splotches of dirt strewn across the fluff and frills. “Mum, I-”

“Shh, Y/N, don’t worry about it,” you mother cooed in a whisper, eyeing the oblivious redheaded boy next to you, who was equally smudged with mud but complemented with a sweet, wide-mouthed smile.

“Well, Y/N dear, it’s dinner time. Does your guest Mister Weasley care to join us?”

“No thank you, Miss Y/L/N, I’ve got to be on my way back to my home as well.” Fred pulled you closer to him, so that your chest was mere inches away from his’. A sudden burst of confidence pumped through his veins, and with that, he gave a light pack to your cheek. 

Your eyes widened with shock; his lips left a tingly imprint on your nerves as he turned back around towards the creek. I’ll never wash my face again, you thought, cupping your cheek with your palm. 

“Bye princess, I’ll see you tomorrow, promise?” he shouted, giving you a final wave. 

“Promise. Bye, Mill Boy. See you then!” And with that, he was off following towards the water in which he came, the orange sunlight turning his figure into a fading silhouette. 

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weasley twins taglist:

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[puppyluver256]

[Image Description: Three fan-made Pokemon made to resemble plant-themed mammoths or mastodons.

The first Pokemon is a yellow baby mammoth with brown eyes, green feet, light green inner ears and trunk tip, and green hair on its head, back, and tip of its tail. It has its front feet in a position that appears like it’s going to start walking forward, with its head turned toward the viewer and a smile on its face. Green text outlined in darker green to its right reads “Haymuth”.

The second Pokemon is a lime green young mammoth with brown eyes, dull green inner ears, grass-covered feet and trunk, small beige tusks, and green hair that resembles soy plant leaves on its head. The tip of its tail resembles a soy bean pod. It is walking towards the left of the image and holding its trunk out. Green text outlined in darker green to its right reads "Soystodon".

The third Pokemon is a grassy green mammoth with dark green grass-like hair on its head, back, and feet, purple eyes, lavender inner ears, and long pale lavender tusks. It has small purple flowers growing from its grassy bits, and a large purple flower sprouts from the tip of its tail. It is walking toward the right of the image with its trunk held up and its head turned to look at the viewer. Green text outlined in pink to its right reads "Hedeomadon".

End ID.]

-----

Haymuth - Baby Mammoth Pokemon | grass Often frolicking in tall grass, the hay-like hair on their body makes for the perfect camouflage to ensure their safety even in the moments when their mothers don’t have their eye on them. / Haymuth are incredibly playful, running around with abandon in tall grass and picking up objects with their trunks to use as toys. Great care should be taken to keep inappropriate objects out of their reach.

Soystodon - Young Pachyderm Pokemon | grass Soystodon trunks are quite nimble and can often get into things that one may not expect. This often leads those living with humans to overeat when food is improperly stored. / While they are more independent than Haymuth, it is not uncommon to see them holding onto their mothers’ tails with their trunks. They do like to distance themselves from adults a bit more, but they are still young and still feel a need for parental guidance.

Hedeomadon - Royal Mastodon Pokemon | grass/fairy The females travel in matriarchal groups with their young, while males either roam individually or in male-only groups. The groups reunite on occasion in order to breed at their discretion, usually when the pennyroyal plants are flowering. / Hedeomadon mothers are very protective of their young during early development, and separating Haymuth from their mothers for even a few minutes can be very distressing for all parties involved if done hastily. They are fine with letting trusted humans watch their young for them, however.

After a long amount of waiting to give that survey some time to garner responses before I got started working on the player illustrations, I'm finally back to posting Cantessy region content! So here's our grass starter Haymuth, now with their evolved forms Soystodon and Hedeomadon! I hope the one other person who picked Haymuth in that survey is still happy with their choice, there were two people who picked them and I only picked them because if this were gen 9 I'd be using a grass starter regardless XD

I wanted to go with the perceived theme of grass starters being based on extinct megafauna, so obviously I'm going to look at extinct animals that were around the Appalachian area in the past. and of course, the first prehistoric beast most think about when dinosaurs are taken out of the equation are mammoths. Fun fact, did you know that the first mastodon skeleton excavated and studied scientifically was found in Kentucky? It's true, and if you've heard of a place called Big Bone Lick, you know at least something about the place now because that's where they were specifically found. (it's called Big Bone Lick because there was a salt lick there that animals would get sodium from, as well as the obvious big bones found there). So with that in mind, I decided to combine mammoths and mastodons with agricultural stuff from around here. Was tempted to go with tobacco for one of them but ehhhh I don't think that'd be all that appropriate for a Pokemon, so I kinda just turned that into a name for a human character instead. (and yet the poison-type gym leader and her occupation exists...you'll find out later, hehe) Haymuth is, of course, utilizing hay in their design, while Soystodon obviously has soy. Hedeomadon is a bit more obscure. Their name comes from Hedeoma pulegioides, also known as the American pennyroyal, or "pennyrile" by local dialect. I literally didn't know it was a Thing that Existed until I started research for this project, let alone that it's a pretty big crop here. And the flowers kinda gave me a fairy vibe, so that's why Hedeomadon gains the fairy type.

In terms of gameplay if this were an actual game, the Haymuth family is gonna be more special-focused ant a bit bulky, with both special stats and HP being highest on baseline. They'll obviously learn a good amount of grass and fairy moves that take advantage of this along with some status moves, and when Hedeomadon has evolved they'll learn the move Royal Bloom, which acts similarly to Flying Press in that it works as both a grass and fairy type move in terms of super-effectiveness (and by that I mean it does double damage to the things that are weak to fairy as well as those that are weak to grass, but does normal grass damage on things that are neutral to or resist fairy). Is that broken? It might be broken, but at least the other starters get something like it so maybe that balances it out? I'unno, I'm a character designer, not a game balancer hehe. I mainly just get the visual for how it'd look, and I can imagine it being like a beam that gets fired out of Hedeomadon's tail blossom thing. That'd be cool o:

Also if anyone wants to suggest other moves for these guys to learn and some physical stats (ie. height and weight, I only have a height for the base form starters atm and no weights XD ), feel free to throw 'em at me :3 Links to their info pages will be provided in the replies!

💖🐶 Check out my pinned post for ways to support my artwork, among other things! 🐶💖

~If you like, please reblog to show your friends! Likes are appreciated, but reblogs let more people see my content! If you have something to say, feel free to give feedback in tags/comments/replies as well!~

Pokemon and related concepts © Nintendo/GameFreak Haymuth, Soystodon, Hedeomadon, the Cantessy region, and artwork © PuppyLuver Studios

[punz4lyfe]

Pokemon Journeys’ Bea.... Kinda Sucks

Hello again! After a weekend of contemplating, I’ve decided to write a little blog review of Pokemon Journeys’ version of Bea from SwSh. Originally, I was planning to do after we get a bit more episodes of Bea, but with all the leaked episode titles we’ve been getting, I’ve got a feeling we won’t see this lady until sometime at late-February, or even March, so let’s just get this outta the way now.

Also, please note that since Bea has only made two actual appearances in the anime, many of the points I will talk about will be subject to change depending on how the writers will handle her in the future, but with all that said, let’s get right to it.

Before we begin, let me just say this: in the games, I find Bea okay. And in Twilight Wings, I love her character and I feel she had a great amount of focus and depth. However, in the anime, I find her.... a little lame. Now don’t get me wrong, I don’t hate her or anything and I feel she has a ton of great potential. So much so, that she could honestly surpass her Twilight Wings variation, but as of now, I’ve got some problems with her.

Problem #1: Her Goal/Motivation

So my first major problem with her character is her goal. Like almost every other trainer we’ve seen in Journeys, Bea wants to rise her rank in the World Coronation Series so that she can battle Leon and take his place as the world’s strongest trainer. But here’s my question for though: Why? Why do you want to be seen as the world’s strongest trainer?

In many past regions, almost all of Ash’s past rivals had the “what” to their goals: Conquering a regional league. However, many of them also had different “why’s” that added to their own motivation. Paul had a brother to prove himself stronger than, Alain had his whole thing with solving the secrets of Mega Evolution for Lysandre as well as finding a way to cure Chespie’s coma, and Gladion wanted to find his dad. From Bea, I’m literally getting nothing from her. Does she have a master she wants to prove herself to? Well, we later find out she trained under Johto’s Chuck, but that’s all really. Does she have some kind of troubling childhood where she was initially seen as weak by her peers, and now with the chance in hand, she can prove everyone wrong by becoming the world’s strongest trainer? As interesting as that sounds, that doesn’t seem to be the case, either.

Without any proper motivation, I have no reason to care for her goals. Please, writers, in her next appearance, please give us the “why” to her actions and not the “what”. Bea has a really cool design, so this is your chance in giving her a cool backstory to boot.

Problem #2: Her Team Sucks

As I’ve mentioned, Bea wants to conquer her way through the World Coronation Series and take Leon’s place. And how is she gonna do that? With a team of all-fighting types? That’s not good enough!

Fighting types are awesome undoubtedly, but like all types, they have their weaknesses. Imagine if Bea faced off against a trainer who, in turn, had a team of all fairy, flying, psychic, or ghost types. She would be completely screwed and she must’ve been pretty lucky to reach her current World Coronation status with a team like hers. There’s honestly a huge list of trainers I can think of who could completely screw Bea over, like Agatha, Skyla, or Sabrina. Heck, if you really think about it, if she were to face Leon, who we know possesses a Dragapult and Charizard, she honestly wouldn’t get far due to Dragapult’s half ghost typing and Gigantamax Charizard crushing her team like ants because it’s a flippin’ half flying giant. And if she were to take Leon’s place, it probably wouldn’t last long since someone can easily identify her preferred type and screw her over with the typings I’ve previously mentioned.

As a matter in fact, let’s imagine a what-if scenario: Ash using Gengar against her Grapploct, who the anime seems to be emphasizing as one of her strongest Pokemon. Looking up her Grapploct’s moveset in the anime, Detect would only delay the inevitable and Close Combat and Octolock wouldn’t do anything due to Gengar’s ghost typing, leaving Liquidation as the only option Grapploct would have to hurt Gengar. Meanwhile, all of Gengar’s own moves can easily affect Grapploct, especially Psychic. And before you bring up the time Gengar lost to Korrina’s Mienshao, keep in mind this, he was taken down by a Beat Up attack, a dark type move that’s honestly pretty broken if you think about it. Does Grapploct know any dark type moves? Nope. Would any of her other Pokemon know some? Most likely, but my point still stands that, with the right mon, you can easily screw up her own team.

That’s why many Champions and Elite Trainers have well-diversed teams. Because if they just stuck to one type, then someone could easily take advantage of that. Many of Ash’s past rivals also had well-diversed teams to keep the stakes high whenever Ash battled them, just look at Gary, Paul, Trip, Sawyer, and Alain. Speaking of stakes...

Problem #3: The Stakes Are Kinda Small

As I just mentioned, because of how straightforward her team is, the stakes of her and Ash’s rivalry are honestly kind of small in that regard. But that’s not all. I know this might be an unpopular opinion, but in all of her battles against Ash so far, I still don’t feel the reason to take her seriously.

Going back in her debut appearance, before her battle against Ash starts, she states that she previously beaten Korrina and called her ‘weak’. And to that, all I have to say, so? Ash has already beaten her a while back, and then he became a champion, and then he beaten her again. I have no idea what you’re exactly trying to prove with that, Bea. Not to mention, we didn’t even get to see who she used against Korrina and her Mega Lucario. Was it someone in her current roster or perhaps a secret weapon? Why would you hide this from us, writers?

Anywayz, going into the battle itself, Ash lost without defeating a single Pokemon. ...Yeah, I’m still not seeing the reason why I should take her seriously, considering the only mons Ash used were little baby Riolu and newcomer Farfetch’d. If it were a three-on-three with Ash using Dragonite, but he still lost, then I would see Bea as a big threat to his goals, but no. And while the lost did lower Ash’s own rank, be quickly raised it back up off-screen by her next appearance, so I guess that wasn’t much of a big deal overall.

In their next battle, Ash used Pikachu and Riolu again and it ended up in a draw, affecting neither of their ranks. Even with a draw, I don’t see any reason to take Bea seriously. While she managed to take down Pikachu, it should be noted that it took two of her Pokemon to do the job, plus Pikachu’s one of the most inconsistent characters in history, so him losing to Grapploct doesn’t really bring in a lot of stakes. And since Riolu and Grapploct tied, that pretty much spoils the fact that Ash’s aura dog will most likely take the W in one of their next battles, especially since Riolu has now evolved into Lucario.

Most rivals in the past usually consistently beat Ash a few times in a row to really set up the stakes for their rivalry. It would add interesting conflict and dynamic in their final confrontation, but considering the recent tie and that Ash only used his two newest mons in their first battle, I don’t really care about Bea as a rival. Not to mention, it took two mons to take down Pikachu, Dragonite and Gengar’s typings royally screw her over, Lucario’s evolution and Farfetch’d’s future one might set them up to be equal or even stronger than her mons, and Dracovish has the potential to be an absolute tank.

Final Points

Overall, with what we’re given so far, Bea kind of sucks as a rival. We don’t have any motivation or depth, her team sucks, and there aren’t really many stakes. She’s pretty much the generic mean boss lady we will have to defeat by the end of the journey. I honestly get a lot more stakes from FF7′s Turks.

But is she the worst rival that Ash has ever gotten? Not by a long shot, especially since the likes of Nando and Cameron exist omg Cameron why do you exist? And like I said, since she’s only made two appearances, there’s still a lot of room for improvement, so many of my issues with her could change over time. I just wanted to get this off of my chest and hopefully provide some insight to my fellow fans on how Bea could become a better character in the anime.

Though, I kind of feel there could be some better directions with her. Even if we get more development, her team will suck by the end of the day, so why not make her a rival for Korrina? They’re both fighting type specialists who aim to be the strongest, plus you could pull off a super cool rivalry over which is stronger; Mega Evolution or Gigantamaxing, with Lucario and Machamp respectively. I honestly feel Hop would be a better rival for Ash due to similar personalities, goals, and diversity in teams. Assuming Hop exists in the anime verse, of course.

If you made it this far, thank you very much for reading my thoughts over Journeys’ Bea! Please feel free to follow for more anipoke content! (am i cool already)

[sunshinesukuna]

stuck by you

first part of the stuck series

pairing: child!miya atsumu x child!reader

genre: fluff

inspiration: Stand By Me Doraemon (2014, dir. Takashi Yamazaki, Ryuichi Yagi), Sunflower – Post Malone, Swae Lee

PREVIOUS | NEXT | MASTERLIST

[10:12]

The plush dog sits happily on your lap as you go get another cat plush to accompany it. Atsumu flips through a picture book filled with bright plants and animals. He doesn’t to be paying it much attention, much preferring to space out and observe the children around him. Not that he cared about them much either. 

“Let’s have a tea party Mr. Meow!” you say gruffly in poor impersonation of a dog’s voice. You wiggle the dog plush with your chubby 4 year old fingers. 

“What’s that?” As if listening to something it had said, you put it to your ears before nodding. The soft wool of the plush tickles your ears. 

“Sure! I’ll invite ‘Tsumu.” The cat plush bounces and down in your hand until its centimeters between Atsumu’s face. The said boy in question looked up from his storybook. He pulls himself up with chubby child limbs.

“Please come to my tea party, Mr. Atsumu!” you said. Instead of replying, Atsumu furrows his eyebrows. 

“Don't wanna,” Atsumu says. Your heart drops for a second. He doesn’t want to play with kiddie toys, does he? you think. But he disperses your doubts with a cool wave of his hand.

“You gotta play Power Rangers with me first!” He picks up a toy sword from the ground and starts poking you with it. You giggle as you pick up Mr. Meow. 

“In the name of Mr. Meow, I will never forgive you!” You pick up Mr. Meow and hold him in front of you. Atsumu taps you here and there with his toy sword, amusing the both of you. It continues on for a little while, you and Atsumu play-stabbing one another. The classroom is basked in the light of youth and laughter as the other children have fun playing. 

You bend down to pick up the the cat plush when another little hand pushes yours away. “You’re not playing with this, right?” a boy says. 

His boyish eyes are asking you “Can I have it?” all so sweetly. Foolish selfishness wins. He holds the cat plush almost accusingly in your face, like dangling a carrot in front of a rabbit. It’s unfair, but your heart tells you to go grab it, even though the horde of other toy animals behind you lay untouched. 

You reach for it, but it’s yanked away from your grasp by the boy. “Thank you!” he cried hurriedly while rushing back to his friends. They hold the poor cat by its thin tail while hacking away at it with plastic wands.

Fat tears make their way down your chubby cheeks. Stopping them is a herculean task right now. You peers notice you crying and some of them join too, baffled and worried. Has the world ended? It feels like that’s what’s happened. Without Mr. Meow, there was no one sufficient enough to host the tea party! What would the guests say? You weren’t about to disgrace Mr. Meow’s honorable family by not saving him from the malicious monster that had Mr. Meow is his grasp.

"Give it back!” your hero cries out.

SMACK! The sound rings clear and loud throughout the entire classroom. The mere sound stops the racket of chatter and play that once went on happily inside. Everyone turns their eyes to you two. As you look up, you realize that the assailant has those familiar eyes that seem to know a little too much for how old they are. Sure enough, he stands with an irritated face at the boy who took your beloved plush.

The poor thief was now sprawled on the floor. A hand was on his cheek, trying to heal the small welt that had marred his previously untainted skin. Before anything of you can do anything, a teacher comes over and separates the two of them before another brawl can break out.

“Atsumu-kun! We do not hit people!” she chastises.

“He took away her plushie before she could say anything!” Atsumu’s under-developed consonants makes his warning seem insignificant, but even an adult could see that this kid was out for blood— given the right situation.

“Well we can fix that without hitting people!” the teacher says.

Atsumu looks at the ground, then at you. Tears were still leaking out of your eyes over your jaw that was still on the floor from his sudden show of chivalry. Atsumu snatches the cat plushie off the ground and shoves it into your hands. He refuses to meet your eyes. 

“And Yuuji-kun!” The teacher moves to your other classmate, ready to grill him.

Eventually, the teacher has them both apologize to one another and Yuuji apologize to you as well. She stands them in front of the other. Atsumu has a sour look on his face, while Yuuji isn’t looking the slightest bit hurt.

“(Y/N), I’m sorry for taking your toy and hurting your feelings,” Yuuji said. He bounces back and forth on the balls of his feet while apologizing. It’s amazing that there is no twinge of reluctance in his voice. If you closed your eyes, you wouldn’t even believe that he in the act of begging forgiveness. He’s a child that’s ready to sacrifice his pride for the fun, alright.

“it’s–hic! It’s okay,” you say. The teacher gives Atsumu an expectant glare. He doesn’t budge. She sighs.

“Atsumu, apologize!” the teacher commands. Atsumu folds his hands over his chest.

“Why should I apologize?” he asks defiantly. “I was making sure she got her toy back! And he made her cry!”  He goes on another tirade, pointing out how Yuuji stole the last apple juice box when the teacher specifically said that it was going to be saved for the next day and several of Yuuji’s other kiddy sins. Tired of all the conflict, you put a hand on Atsumu’s shoulder.

“Atsumu-kun,” you say. “I’m okay.” He gives you a confused stare.

“But he made you cry!” Atsumu protests. The teacher crouches down next to him and points to you.

“(Y/N) isn’t crying anymore, right, ‘Tsumu?” she asks. Atsumu shakes his head. “Do you think you can apologize to Yuuji-kun, now?” 

Atsumu puckers his lips into a childish pout. He lowers his head, refusing to make eye contact with Yuuji. The other boy doesn’t seem to mind. He smiles apologetically at Atsumu.

“I’m... sorry,” he says. It’s a low mutter, but just enough so that the teacher and Yuuji can hear it. The teacher lets the three of you go with a small sigh before attending to the other children.

The both of you have now calmed down and are flipping through a storybook about witches and knights. You open a page which depicts a cartoon princess in a puffy pink dress wailing in fright. The colors are vibrant and the dress extravagant enough to keep you hanging on the page for five solid minutes. 

“Oi, flip the page already!” Atsumu says. You shoot him a dirty look, but you comply anyways.

On the next page, a cliche knight in shining armor comes to rescue her from the evil dragon that’s keeping her hostage. With a thrust of his sword and the help of a magical fairy, they rush into a peach-orange sunset inside a cream carriage. How cliché.

Deciding that you’re bored with the book, you throw it away. You pull your little body up to face Atsumu. 

“Hey, ‘Tsumu... Why did you hit him back there?” you ask. Atsumu looks at you like your teeth had grown five times their original size. He sits up to meet your eyes. 

“Because you’re my friend!” he says. To him, it’s the most obvious thing in the entire world. A blatant fact that everyone should know. But a fact that the person in question only has the faintest inkling of. 

If Atsumu has to scream it from every one of the mountains in the world he will. His young brain already knows that he will do it, even if the cause is an ant compared to the hulking whale of the world’s problems. Because what bigger problem is there than his best friend that doesn’t know that they’re his friend?

“And if anyone wants to hurt my friend, they have to go through me first!” He says it arrogantly, but his arrogance is rooted in confidence of his beliefs and abilities. Atsumu may be a proud little kid, but this proud little kid was going to stick by you wether you like it or not. 

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