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tosikoarts · 5 years ago

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SFW Alphabet | Light Yagami

Haven’t seen anyone doing this alphabet thing so here we go. Warning: there’s a lot. Check tosikowrites tag for more.

A = Affection (How affectionate are they? How do they show affection?)

Light is not the best when it comes to affection. It usually served him as a method of manipulation so in the beginning it might take some time for him to separate affection as a tool from affection as a sincere feeling.

When he finally does his affection will depend on the point of timeline:

If it is before the L’s death, he would be extremely cautious with everything and everyone. Nobody would know about relationship and all of affection would be in virtual form. Morning texts, good nights, deep conversations or just a daily check-ups – Light would try hard to show that he cares through words since he can’t do it in any other way. He would occasionally send flowers with a box of chocolate or other traditional gifts when circumstances allow him to do so. After the memory loss, Light probably would find one calm evening for a candlelight dinner in inconspicuous but cozy restaurant.

If it is somewhere between the L’s death and rise of his successors, he would shower his dearest with affection, both verbal and physical. He would stay classy but choose more expensive gifts like wristwatch, or bracelet, or book, or box of ideal fruits. He never asks what someone wants, but will pick every single hint to make a guess. Light prefers kisses to hugs, particularly hand kisses and kisses in the corner of the mouth. He would be the ideal traditional dating type, sweet-talker, but only where all his plans for day are accomplished and Misa is not around.

If it is after the rise of successors, Light would become distant. He would get back to texts. They would be rare, short, but full of reassurance everything will okay soon. Light would send single “I love you” before going to before going to Yellow Box Warehouse.

B = Best friend (What would they be like as a best friend? How would the friendship start?)

That smartass friend that knows they have to stop you from doing stupid thing but still watches you doing it. Then they help you to deal with consequences and tell you how dumb you were but they wanted you to learn on your own mistakes. Yes, that’s Light.

It’s difficult to become friends with him unless he is truly interested in your personality, skills, or social position. Friendship with Light has to be built on mutual benefit of some sort.

If he helps you, you must help him as well. No excuses. Even though he is demanding, he is ready to do a lot for his best friend too.

Also, he is the type that still talks to you like nothing changed after a long pause in communication. Once you get to some level of trust there’s no turning back. Oh, and he will make sure to keep his best friend as far from all Kira-related stuff as possible.

C = Cuddles (Do they like to cuddle? How would they cuddle?)

Light doesn’t initiate cuddles ever. The chance of him initiating cuddles is around 5% on the day when all stars lineup and both of your horoscopes say something grandiose is about to happen.

Nevertheless, if someone else decides to cuddle him in private, he will not reject them. Prefers spooning and being big spoon for sure.

Definitely needs cuddles after stressful day but, again, will never admit it. The best cuddle session has to include rainy day, cold room, and freshly washed sheets.

D = Domestic (Do they want to settle down? How are they at cooking and cleaning?)

He doesn’t think about settling down. Light may be mediocre at cooking but, boy, he won’t leave a single speck of dust in the house. Not on his watch. Laundry? Nobody does it better. Not a clean freak, Light just likes to keep things in order where he can find everything in seconds. Probably has specific schedule for cleaning too. He hates doing dishes and still does it anyway. Can you imagine what power of will he possesses?

E = Ending (If they had to break up with their partner, how would they do it?)

It doesn’t really depend on circumstances. Light will do it tête-à-tête somewhere where person feels comfortable and safe. He is cold and blunt with explanation, very convincing too. Light’s words turn everything upside-down so in the end you think it’s only logical to break up with him. How does he feel? Nobody knows. He probably suppresses all feelings, emotions, and dives into killing criminals with even more passion.

F = Fiance(e) (How do they feel about commitment? How quick would they want to get married?)

Well, if we talk about serious commitment, not a temporary contract for the sake of New World, it would take from 5 to 8 years for someone like Light to propose. He wants to be sure it is the right person by his side. At some point, he also will confess about him being Kira and make sure his loved one is okay with that. If they’re not he would try to manipulate them into accepting his mission. If it doesn’t work he will eliminate them. They don’t have to support his actions but they have no right to get in his way. After hearing “yes” and putting proposal ring on their finger, Light will go and finish all his previous affairs i.e. with Misa.

G = Gentle (How gentle are they, both physically and emotionally?)

Oh, he can be gentle if he really wants to. It is a luxury few can afford. Pecks on the cheek, holding hands, back rubs – he is more about physical side of affection and gentleness. He will be extra caring and loving if his loved one did something special for him (like present for a Birthday) or made him proud. Anniversaries are another reason for Light to shower them with love.

H = Hugs (Do they like hugs? How often do they do it? What are their hugs like?)

He is not really into hugs due to the constant need to keep everyone at arm's length. If he sees that a person can go without hugs, he will prefer to avoid them. If they are needy, he may give up and wrap hands around their waist for a brief moment. His hugs are tight at first but he will loosen them as soon as he feels person is satisfied.

I = I love you (How fast do they say the L-word?)

Not a single time until the Yellow Box Warehouse meeting. At least in the way it is meant to be. Until then he sticks to “I really like you” or cheesy “you make my heart skip a beat”. He expects person to understand his feelings from everything he does for them and sticks to “actions speak louder than words” philosophy. If he had another chance he would go back in time, pull them closer, and whisper every single thing he fell in love with them for in their ear.

J = Jealousy (How jealous do they get? What do they do when they’re jealous?)

Why would he get jealous? You have to try really hard to make this man jealous, he is too arrogant to even think that you can choose someone over him. Moreover, even if you do, he can always pull a piece of paper from the inner pocket and erase another poor soul from the face of the earth.

K = Kisses (What are their kisses like? Where do they like to kiss you? Where do they like to be kissed?)

That’s an interesting topic. Kisses are perfect choice for Light: they are faster, more diverse, and way more symbolic. As said, he is fast kisser. Sometimes his kisses may feel empty or light as a flap of the butterfly's wings, however, the angrier/stressed he gets the more demanding they will become. He prefers hand kisses, kisses in the corner of the mouth or cheek pecks during the daytime, and lips/neck kisses during the nighttime. If we talk, where he likes to be kissed, the answer is everywhere, especially when the whole process is accompanied by merciless teasing and/or flattering.

L = Little ones (How are they around children?)

To everyone’s surprise, Light is great at babysitting and will keep kids entertained for hours. It doesn’t mean he will have tea parties with them or run around playing tag, but more likely give them a specific task and an exciting reward for finishing it. The best option for him would be working on the laptop while kids are doing something by themselves in his field of vision. He never screams at child not matter how annoying they may be, he never recourses to physical punishment either. That one person who reads every reachable book about parenting and strives to be The Best Dad in the eyes of his children.

M = Morning (How are mornings spent with them?)

Morning is the most productive time of the day in the Yagami’s house.

By the time you’re awake, Light has already got ready for a day, watched morning news, and wrote down some names too. Kitchen smells like freshly brewed coffee. If he has to leave early in the morning he would put a sticker note on the refrigerator with grocery list or anything important you need to know. If there’s no reason to hurry, he would greet you with a morning kiss to the temple and cup of coffee with savory tamagoyaki.

On the weekends, morning routine is a little different. Light gives himself half of hour to stay in bed to enjoy mild drowsiness and warmness of person next to him. Expect some neck kisses and burnt coffee.

N = Night (How are nights spent with them?)

They are very… normal. Most of the times he will ask you if you want to stay inside or go out to eat. When he is too tired or just not in the mood he will suggest watching movie together until you both start feeling little drowsy. Sometimes he will start asking you random questions that lead to deep conversations and additional material for him to analyze.

O = Open (When would they start revealing things about themselves? Do they say everything all at once or wait a while to reveal things slowly?)

Light and opening up do not go in one sentence. He gives you information he wants you to believe, in the form that suits him at the moment. Is it truth? Is it lie? You never know but it always feels like he is frank with you and it is all that matters. There is a pinch of sincerity in his words but you still have to take everything with a grain of salt.

P = Patience (How easily angered are they?)

So, have you ever seen picture with a breach in the dam? This breach is critical and dam will fall under the water pressure in minutes, right? This is Light’s anger control. It is difficult to piss him off, but it does not mean that he forgets your wrongdoing. His anger fills a cup of patience drop by drop and once it’s filled to the brim, catastrophe is irreversible. Until then he is great at self-control and keeping a cool head.

Q = Quizzes (How much would they remember about you? Do they remember every little detail you mention in passing, or do they kind of forget everything?)

Light remembers the most important pieces of information you give out about yourself. His brain keeps filtering your words, connecting them to your facial expressions, slight changes in tone, previous conversations so day by day he learns new ways to excite you. In his head there’s a huge detective board with your name in top of it. Red threads spreads from photo to date to quotes to another photo and whenever he sees blank space he is a little confused. Did he forget anything?

R = Remember (What is their favorite moment in your relationship?)

The next evening after he finishes all the business with L, his assistants (Aiber and Wedy), and Yotsuba group. An intoxicating feeling of freedom and all-encompassing power got to his head so fast he had to share overwhelming euphoria with someone. He would take you out to secluded romantic place like Meguro River where he will be unusually talkative and cheerful. He will constantly cling to your hand, squeezing it playfully, and stroking your knuckles with his thumb. At some point, he will just stop and plant a sweet slow kiss on your lips. Future that finally starts to look like he always wanted it to be will never feel complete without you.

S = Security (How protective are they? How would they protect you? How would they like to be protected?)

People who decide to threaten his loved one are those who need to be protected. Light starts acting like a personal guardian angel only in situation when he clearly sees approaching danger though. Even with the precautions taken, he always remembers the possibility of an unforeseen situation, and if it comes, he doesn’t mind putting few more names in his Note. Also, no, no one can protect Light better than Light himself and bunch of his fanatic minions, so we’ll leave it up to them.

T = Try (How much effort would they put into dates, anniversaries, gifts, everyday tasks?)

His everyday effort goes from 0 to 100 and back in a second like metronome needle. Today Light gives you everything and tomorrow he will send you few messages just to check how you are doing, but, generally, you both try to keep it 50/50.

Goes 100% and beyond spoiling you rotten in the most elegant ways on special occasions like Birthday, Christmas, anniversaries. Always tries to find new ways to surprise you. He doesn’t have this huge detective board in his mind for nothing, you know.

U = Ugly (What would be some bad habits of theirs?)

Even if you do not know that he is the notorious Kira (which makes him so full of himself obviously), sooner or later Light’s bloated ego will become noticeable. He won’t rub his genius into your face. It’s the small things in your chats that constantly point to his superiority, and, honestly, it can be really annoying.

Besides his screaming megalomania, Light is prone to periodical ghosting. Not because he lost interest but because intricate schemes occupied all of his time once again. After few days of radio silence, a message with the deepest apologies would pop out of nowhere, slightly embellished with details to make it more believable. He always tries to warn you about going mute but sometimes he simply forgets.

I don’t know, if it can be considered bad habit, but he is, like, Kira. Just saying.

V = Vanity (How concerned are they with their looks?)

Light wants to look presentable so it’s not uncommon for him to stare in the mirror in search of imperfections. He is not obsessed with being Mr. Handsome but he tries to be always clean-shaven, with his nails short and his clothes well ironed.

W = Whole (Would they feel incomplete without you?)

So let’s be clear:

If it is not related to Kira’s case, he would be shocked. Light is not used to rejection so it would confuse the hell out of him. After keeping poker face for a whole day, he would eventually have a huge temper tantrum at home, making Ryuk say “aight, I’m out” while he flies out of window for an hour-long trip around the block. For a few weeks he will feel like someone tore a part of him, mad and disappointed, but this feeling would fade away after 2-3 months.

If he has to end relationship because of Kira’s case, for example, they still didn’t agree on his views after exquisite persuasion, Light will have to eliminate them. In this case he can’t get rid of unpleasant thoughts swarming in his head for almost a half of year, he tries to convince himself it was right decision but some doubts keep emerge now and then.

If they were killed because of their association with Kira, someone will have to pay. He may drag responsible person into his scheme and play them until the perfect execution time comes. Probably will feel mix of sorrow, dull rage, and incompleteness for indefinite time.

X = Xtra (A random headcanon for them.)

Light prefers long distant relationships to regular ones. They do not require a full commitment from him and do not occupy his free time: he can send a compliment + heart emoji while serving justice at the same time.

For a long time I have a headcanon that Light is asexual. He just… doesn’t feel like it. He doesn’t care about sex, and the scene where he reads adult magazine is awkward not only for his father, but for him too.

He wishes his loved one could see Ryuk, but since he has to explain it somehow, he will never allow them to touch Death Note or a page from it. Ryuk needs new people in his life, goddamit.

Y = Yuck (What are some things they wouldn’t like, either in general or in a partner?)

Stupidity. Inability to understand obvious things drives him up to the walls. Not in Matsuda or Misa style, but hopeless stupidity in which person fails to use their logic and imagination in everyday life.

I can see Light rolling his eyes at double texts. Any form of clinginess kind of irritates him.

Z = Zzz (What is a sleep habit of theirs?)

Сonstant stress, world's best detective on his tail, responsibility for someone's life migrated to his dreams in the form of nightmares. He often wakes up in a cold sweat and stays up for quite some time, discussing different topics with Ryuk in complete darkness.

In addition to this Light has problems with falling asleep. He usually goes to bed after his partner, so he can prepare the room (turn off everything, leave the window wide-open) and himself (take some pills) to sleep. It takes him up to hour to stop thinking and finally drift off.

#death note #light yagami #death note headcanons #light yagami headcanons #death note headcanon #tosikowrites

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igirisuhito · 4 years ago

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Title: Your love is a fraction, and it’s not adding up Relationship: Kamukura Izuru/Matsuda Yasuke Rating: Mature Summary: Mundane tasks bore Kamukura Izuru. Incompetent children who don't know how to take care of themselves piss Matsuda Yasuke off, apparently. Trigger Warnings: Eating Disorders

[Ao3 Link]

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"How many days has it been this time?!"

The door slammed against the wall with a bang, and there stood a slightly out of breath Matsuda with a deep scowl on his face. His eyebrows were so furrowed that you could barely see that icy blue glare beneath them. If Kamukura's guess was correct (and it always was) he had just come out of his weekly check in with the steering committee.

"Please specify what it is you're asking." Kamukura spoke, his soft tone contrasting heavily against the booming voice that left the other boy.

Removing his hand from the door, Matsuda crossed his arms over his chest and tilted his chin up to the ceiling, flicking his hair back out of his eyes in the process as he looked down at Kamukura. "Don't act stupid, you know exactly what I'm asking about you fucking greasy troglodyte."

"I don't think the person keeping me here has the right to call me a troglodyte." Kamukura's eyes flickered down to the manga in his hands. "However, if you're inquiring how many days it has been since I refreshed myself, the answer is five, rounded down."

"Five days?” Matsuda snorted, “You’re shitting me, no wonder Kobayashi was so bitter. You know it's me who has to touch your disgusting self, right?"

Kamukura brought his hand to his mouth and quickly licked his thumb before turning the page with a loud flick. "I'm aware."

“You dick.” Unfolding his arms, Matsuda took a few long strides that made his sandals snap against the vinyl floor before snatching the manga from Kamukura’s hands. “Stop licking my manga, you’re disgusting. And stop being such a spoiled brat, it’s an unbecoming trait in troglodytes.”

“Again, I believe it’s--”

The manga was slapped hard against the top of Kamukura’s head, how unfortunate that he was reading an extended edition of Ponpon, because that one actually hurt a little. “I don’t give a shit about what you believe . Go wash up before I take away one of your five senses.”

Kamukura sniffed the air, staring at Matsuda’s crumpled Hope’s Peak shirt. There was a toothpaste stain just below his sternum.

A loud scoff left the older boy. “What? Are you pretending to cry? I already know you’re incapable of that you emotion deficient sack of--”

“How long has it been since you bathed?”

Twack. The book hit Kamukura’s cranium once again. “This isn’t about me, Kobayashi was complaining about you.”

Ah, Kamukura had hit his mark, perfect. “Perhaps I should start complaining to the Steering Committee that my doctor is unprofessional and fetid. Surely they would be willing to give me another who has higher standards for personal hygiene and knows how to wash his shirts.”

“I know how to wash my fucking shirts. I’m so sorry that I don’t have a personal maid waiting on hand and foot to do my laundry every single day.” Matsuda hissed, glancing down at himself and tugging at the hem of his shirt.

“You’ve been wearing the same toothpaste-stained shirt for three days now.” A slow blink passed as Kamukura looked up to meet Matsuda’s eyes. “I’m willing to speculate that you haven’t bathed for longer than that.”

“Yeah? And so fucking what, Sherlock?”

“You know I don’t understand your references to Western media…” Kamukura mumbled. “But my point is that your accusations hold no weight, for I will not bathe for a hypocrite who cannot uphold his own standards of cleanliness.”

A hand reached out, securing a fistful of ebony hair and tugging harshly in a way that forced Kamukura's head to jolt forward. “Actually, yes you will, because I am your supervisor and you will listen to what I tell you to do.”

For a second, Kamukura said nothing, turning over the possibilities in his mind. With an impatient sigh, Matsuda allowed him a second to process and gather his thoughts. Matsuda Yasuke may be an asshole, but he was sympathetic to the poor kid who he gave capabilities much too big for his brain to handle.

Only a little, though.

Once finding his words, Kamukura gave Matsuda another slow blink, seemingly unbothered by the hand in his hair. “I do not have to obey your demands, however, I am willing to yield if you admit to the fact you are a hypocrite.”

“That’s not happening. Come on.” With a sharp tug, Kamukura was yanked up to his feet, no pain showing on his face but it definitely hurt more than he would have liked. “The safest place to take you would probably be the communal baths in the old building, because you are not setting foot in my dorm.”

Kamukura followed obediently as Matsuda began to drag him along. “This is likely due to the fact it is as dirty as you are, am I correct?”

"Shut your filthy mouth."

At some point during their walk to the old building, Matsuda had politely let go of Kamukura's hair, probably out of laziness and a fear of being questioned by any passer-bys. It was dark outside, judging by the angle of the shadows and the height of the moon, Kamukura was able to determine the sun had only set an hour ago. There were few students wandering the campus, those who did notice Matsuda didn't seem to acknowledge Kamukura. As they shouldn't, after all, he was very good at hiding his presence.

Matsuda's face had an unhealthily pale glow in the moonlight. It reminded Kamukura a little of his own sun-deficient complexion. Those cheeks seemed to have thinned out significantly since they had first met, something that caused an unfamiliar sensation to swirl in Kamukura's chest, a sensation that weighed heavy on his jaw and heart.

"Did you eat dinner? It's not healthy to skip meals."

A soft "Huh?" left Matsuda's lips as he turned to the boy to his left, glancing down at him. "That's a stupid question for a troglodyte to ask. Shouldn’t a troglodyte such as yourself be able to at least ask me something interesting?"

Kamukura pursed his lips together, before separating them with a soft pop. "Being a troglodyte is unrelated to the question."

"So you admit that you're a troglodyte then?"

"I admit that you need a better insult."

Matsuda tipped his head back as a loud snort of laughter escaped him. Kamukura merely clenched his teeth more tightly. "You avoided the question."

Huffing, Matsuda pushed open the door to the old building, stepping inside and propping it open with his foot whilst he waited for Kamukura to follow. “Like I said, it’s a stupid question, why would I bother answering it?”.

“When placed in situations that are stressful, some people resort to binge eating, whilst others tend to eat less frequently.” Stepping into the building, Kamukura glanced around at the familiar sight of the lightly coloured halls. “This is because one who is stressed may desire to distract themselves, or be so troubled by their worries they no longer notice the signals their body is sending to the brain.”

“I went to fucking med school, I know this. Who’s dodging the question now huh?” Shoving his hands into his pockets, Matsuda stepped around the small seating area and turned right down the hall, heading in the direction of the old dorms and cafeteria.

“I’m expressing that you may be one of those people, Matsuda. You have lost a significant amount of weight in the last month.”

Matsuda rounded a corner, his pace quickened slightly. “I’m on a diet. I could afford to lose some weight.”

“But you are within the healthy weight range for your age? Even if you are leaning slightly towards the ‘overweight’ category, there’s no need for dieting.”

“See, you just admitted it, I could stand to lose a few kilograms.”

A soft inhale could be heard from Kamukura. “Is this why you haven’t been eating the snacks I give you?”

Finally, Matsuda stopped and glanced back at the other boy. There still was no emotion painted on Kamukura’s ever stoic face. Beautiful and apathetic, like a porcelain doll to be perched upon one’s collection. The thought made Matsuda’s throat tighten in an unpleasant way he refused to acknowledge.

“Yes. I haven’t been eating your snacks because I’m trying to lose weight.” He thread a hand into his hair with a sigh.

“I see. So why have you still been eating your own?”

Shck! Matsuda could hear the sound of Kamukura’s keen argument cutting through his flesh. Those burning scarlet eyes were digging into his soul, slender fingers reaching towards the truth of his lie. It was a nauseating sensation, one that could have been completely avoided by just telling the truth to begin with.

But Matsuda was in too deep, as was the case with most of the lies and secrets he had picked up since beginning his studies at Hope’s Peak Academy. It was a realisation that shook him to his core.

A slow blink, “Matsuda?”

He snapped back to reality. “Let’s just get you cleaned up you gross weirdo. I don’t think I can stand being in the presence of someone so smelly for much longer.

Kamukura opened his mouth to argue, but his hair suddenly being pulled in the direction of the bathrooms distracted him. He knew better than to question Matsuda’s motives, no amount of interrogation seemed to get anything out of him. Besides, he was sure whatever deep rooted issues Matsuda was hiding would bore him anyway.

With Matsuda’s arm parting the curtain, the two of them stepped into the change rooms. Within moments, Matsuda was already pulling off his tie and tossing it into one of the lockers.

“It seems like a worthless choice to leave this building still functioning.” As he shrugged off his jacket, Kamukura watched the other’s movements closely.

“Not really, I’m pretty sure there’s a few people still staying here and using the facilities for convenience sake." Those precise fingers undid a few buttons on his shirt. "Not students, though, teachers, personnel.”

“I see.” In a swift movement, Kamukura pulled off his tie and placed it into the locker beside Matsua’s along with his blazer. “You do realise we won’t have clean clothes to change into after this?”

“There’s a few spare uniforms in one of the lower lockers. I had someone bring some here after our last incident.” The inflection on the last word would have made most people feel somewhat guilty, but Kamukura didn’t care in the slightest.

Matsuda pulled his shirt off, exposing his bare chest to the open air. Kamukura’s eyes immediately darted to the small pouch of baby fat sitting on his stomach, he wasn’t as chubby as Kamukura recalled.

A flick against his forehead brought him back before he could get too deep in his thoughts. “Stop fucking ogling me and get undressed, creep. Or are you such a useless weirdo that you need me to help?”

Before Kamukura had a chance to answer the question, Matsuda had begun undoing the buttons of his shirt, starting from the collar. He went to reject the help, as he was perfectly capable of doing it himself, but something about the other boy being so close in his vicinity just made him close his mouth again.

Once all the buttons had been undone and Kamukura’s mouth was thoroughly dry for a reason he didn’t understand, he shrugged the shirt off his shoulders and placed it with his other clothes. He realised he wasn’t getting any further assistance when Matsuda took a step back and kicked off his sandals, reminding Kamukura to slip off his own socks and shoes as well.

The click of unclasping metal seemed incredibly loud amongst the silence of the room, along with the following shuffle of Matsuda sliding his pants off his legs. As Kamukura began to unbuckle his own belt, he couldn’t help but glance at Matsuda’s underwear. Something deep within him was so curious about what Matsuda’s underwear looked like, and he didn’t quite understand what that was.

The answer was unsurprising. They were rather faded and thin, with an incredibly distracting striped pattern. Kamukura could see the globes of his ass through the fabric, which also meant they were much too thin.

He reverted his attention back to the task at hand, undoing the button and fly of his slacks before pulling them down and stepping out of them. He then hooked his thumbs under the waistband of his boxers before tugging them down at well.

It didn’t feel too strange to be so exposed next to Matsuda, after all, he was frequently stripping down to his underwear for examinations. He would go naked had Matsuda not insisted on him not doing that. Kamukura could recall how he very clearly stated that he does not want to ‘see another man’s junk.’

Unfortunately it is inevitable that such an event will occur, especially if you’re often dragged into one of the science labs and forced to bathe under the cold water of the chemical rinse shower. Such a punishment would have taught most people a lesson about refusing to bathe, but not Kamukura.

“Oi, hurry up, I’m cold.” A harsh voice cut through Kamukura’s moment of recollection.

He turned to Matsuda just as he was closing the locker he shoved his underwear into. Matsuda had a pair of white towels in his hands, one extended towards Kamukura. Taking it with a steady hand, he then watched as Matsuda turned and headed into the men’s bathroom.

He's rather attractive from behind.

But like many other of his worthless observations, Kamukura shoved the thought into the deep recesses of his mind as he followed the boy closely behind.

The bath was rather humid, a thick layer of steam coating the room and leaving everything slightly damp and sheeny. The air was warm, implying that this place was used more recently than he had originally expected. “It appears you were correct.”

Matsuda tossed his towel onto one of the wooden seats near the corner of the room as he entered. Following suit, Kamukura dropped his towel there next to Matsuda's.

“Of course I’m fucking correct, I always am.” As Matsuda hissed, he pointed towards the row of showers and stools along the wall. “Sit down and I’ll wash your hair, it’s going to take too long to do yourself.”

“You understand that--” Before Kamukura could finish his sentence, a pair of hands slapped hard against his shoulders.

Matsuda spun him around and pushed him towards the showers, Kamukura walking along obediently. He didn’t speak a word as Matsuda forced him to sit down. “I understand that it’s difficult, Kamukura. You have a lot of fucking hair.”

He didn’t give Kamukura a chance to ask any more questions, as cold water was suddenly being blasted into his face from the shower head in Matsuda’s hand. He must have flinched, because Matsuda snorted and started cackling. “Oh the look on your face! So betrayed!”

Kamukura was certain his expression didn’t change, but Matsuda was acting strange. Like he was forcing a mood, deflecting, distracting Kamukura from his multitude of questions about the upkeep of his personal health.

Ah, he understood now.

He decided to play along. “To splash me with such cold water, how very cruel of you Matsuda Yasuke.”

Running the water onto his hand for a while, Matsuda allowed it to heat up and adjusted the temperature before bringing the stream of water back to his scalp. The warm water made Kamukura’s muscles feel as if they were turning to jello as a pleasant tingle creeped down his spine.

Lithe fingers threaded into the dark strands, spreading them in a way that allowed the water to completely rinse through. “Too hot?”

“Not at all, I prefer it hot.” Relaxing into the soothing touch, Kamukura allowed a soft sigh to pass his lips.

“Good, at least you’re not a complete freak. Still a little bit of human left in that big brain.” Matsuda tugged at a bit of hair, a small smile barely visible reflected in the mirror in front of him. It was a rare sight, he must be enjoying himself.

Kamukura considered returning the smile, but couldn’t quite bring himself to it, it felt wrong, foreign.

“You’re praising me for preferring hot water, yet I recite hundreds of digits of PI and you are not impressed.” He tilted his head slightly, allowing the warm water to trickle down his neck and onto his chest. “I do not understand, what is it about my intelligence that bothers you?”

“See, you’re asking stupid questions again.” The water was suddenly taken away, the tap switched off as Matsuda stepped forward to hang it back up. “Nothing about your intelligence ‘bothers me’ it’s just easier to fucking- to relate to you when you’re not whipping out a talent.”

He reached for a bottle of shampoo that had been left in a small tray on the floor, jumping when Kamukura spoke up again. “You would prefer if I was normal.”

Matsuda angrily snatched the bottle and uncapped the lid before tipping it upside down over the other boy’s head and squeezing hard.

“If that was the case, I never would have given you those stupid talents, would I?” His words were contradictory to his tone. And within them held a bitter truth Matsuda seemed to not want to be confronted with.

“You don’t understand your actions and resent yourself for it.”

“And you need to stop trying to psychoanalyse people. Nobody wants to talk to a weirdo who makes them uncomfortable.”

Once Matsuda has squeezed out the entirety of the bottle’s contents, he tossed it aside and began to lather up his hair, bringing the ends up and wrapping it in a soapy mess on top of his head. He was rather rough in his technique, but Kamukura didn’t mind.

Deciding to keep his mouth shut, he hummed softly in contentment. Trying to get anything out of Matsuda always proved difficult; he was stubborn. For a guy with such a deep interest in neurology you would think he’d be able to acknowledge his own psychological issues. It was just another one of Matsuda’s many self-destructive personality traits.

A strong tug on his hair perked Kamukura’s attention. “Oi, stop watching me like that. You’re going to get it in your eyes.”

He made a soft noise in response, allowing his eyelids to settle over his eyes. With one less sense active, Kamukura found himself melting into the sensation of blunt nails scraping along his scalp and massaging gently, almost as if they were seeking out something.

Slender fingers rubbed soothingly over the bumpy scars lining Kamukura's scalp, coaxing a soft huff of satisfaction from the boy beneath him. Matsuda made a noise like he was about to comment, but merely sighed instead. “Put your head down so I can get the hair at the back.”

Carefully, Kamukura craned his neck forward, uncovering his nape even further. It was an incredibly vulnerable position; completely naked with his eyes closed and neck exposed, yet he couldn’t find himself feeling worried. If Matsuda did have any intentions of killing him, he probably wouldn't mind dying by his hand anyway.

Matsuda's fingers threaded into the sensitive hair resting at the back of his neck, eliciting a shudder from Kamukura. He worked the shampoo into the knotted hair, grumbling softly as his fingers got caught multiple times.

“You really should try to brush this mess more often you know. If you just took better care I wouldn’t have to deal with it when it gets this bad.” A soft hiss could be heard as he yanked at some more strands, however, the sound hadn’t come from Kamukura. “It’s like you enjoy making my life a living hell.”

“That is not the case. Brushing my hair is a mundane task with little reward, I do not enjoy it.” Kamukura explained.

“Yeah, and neither do I.” A loud groan left Matsuda as he contemplated the best way to clarify things. “Most things involving general upkeep are mundane, but you still have to do them you spoiled brat.”

Those comforting hands left Kamukura’s hair and he found himself instantly missing the sensation. Leaning over his shoulder, Matsuda reached for the shower head once again and turned on the tap.

“Keep your eyes closed.”

A torrent of warm water hit Kamukura’s face, rinsing the shampoo from his bangs. He pursed his lips together and squeezed his eyes closed a little tighter to keep the soap out. Matsuda stroked through the wet strands to ensure they had been thoroughly rinsed, an uncharacteristically soft sigh escaping from him into the tense air.

When Matsuda moved to working on the back of his hair. Kamukura spoke up. “Something is on your mind.”

“Get out of my head freak.” That scathing tone quickly returned. “You just look weird like this, like a drowned rat.”

“Ah, I see. This amuses you?”

Another sharp tug on his hair. “No, brat. It annoys me how much of a child you are, completely incompetent. You know I don’t enjoy cleaning up your fucking mess.”

Grumbling something that sounded an awful lot like, “Dumbass.” Matsuda stood up again and turned the water off. “You can finish washing yourself, learn to be more responsible.”

Kamukura nodded. “Thank you, Matsuda.”

With a final sigh, Matsuda sat down in the stool to his right and reached for another bottle. Kamukura turned back to the dish in front of him, picking up the bottle of liquid soap before uncapping the lid and pouring some into his hand. He lathered it up between his hands to bring it to a light foam before beginning to scrub at his skin, starting with his arms.

Beside him, Matsuda was working shampoo into his roots. It was rather odd to see him with his bangs slicked back, exposing his forehead and thick eyebrows. He couldn’t help but admire how nice of a look it was on Matsuda, to have his face exposed to the light for once instead of hidden beneath dark bangs and poor basement lighting.

He really was as pretty as the reserve course girls rumoured him to be.

Turning back to what he was doing, Kamukura focused on the sensation of soap rubbing away the thin layer of grime that was clinging to his skin. As much as he refused to bathe, he truly did understand why people did it. It’s refreshing, makes one healthier, relieves feelings of fatigue. What he didn’t understand was why it seemed so difficult to motivate himself to engage in a task that rewarded him greatly.

It was strange. If someone desires to do something, they should do it, correct? Yet he had no desires.

They had been surgically removed by Matsuda’s precise hand.

Was his lack of proper hygiene habits only skin deep? Was there truly any point in analysing and fussing over it?

But, there was always that small chance, the chance that it was something more. Perhaps was there even something wrong with his brai--?

“Are you done? Or you can’t even do this?” Leaning his hands onto his knees, Matsuda pushed himself up from the stool and turned to Kamukura.

Ah, he had spaced out yet again.

With a nod, Kamukura reached for the shower head and began to rinse the soap from his body, avoiding Matsuda’s steely gaze all the while.

Once clean, he hung the shower head back up and looked to the other boy, eyes instantly wandering downwards in a moment of distraction. Huh.

“It’s smaller than average.”

Matsuda blinked hard a few times, processing the words. His face twisted into a scowl and his cheeks quickly flushed with a bright red colour as he followed Kamukura’s gaze, “What?!”

“Ah." He pulled his eyes back up. "Nevermind. It’s unimportant.”

With a huff, Matsuda turned on his heel and made his way over to the large bath. The other boy followed at a short distance, careful not to slip on the tiled floor that had been coated with a thin layer of condensation.

Once he reached the bath, Matsuda leaned down and sat on the wooden edge that rimmed it. He dangled his legs into the warm water, a rather gentle smile perking on those thin lips at the sensation.

“Oi, weirdo, get in.” He waved a hand, beckoning the other to join him.

Obeying, Kamukura sat himself down next to Matsuda. He then pressed his palms into the polished wood and shifted his weight, slowly lowering himself into the hot water. The water was a perfect temperature, and he couldn't help but let out a quiet sigh of pleasure as his torso became submerged in a blissful heat.

“It’s good, huh?” A soft chuckle escaped Matsuda, “Why would you ever deprive yourself of this?”

“Hmmmmm, I don’t know.” Closing his eyes, Kamukura sunk further into the water until it rose up past his lips and sat just beneath his nose, nearly impeding his breathing.

Matsuda slipped himself into the water beside Kamukura with a smirk. “Oh? So Mayor Dumbass of 'I Was Wrong To Not Listen To Matsuda' -ville admits he's at fault? You mean to tell me he isn’t a perfect being? Shocking."

Shaking his head, Kamukura pushed himself up out of the water a little. “No, I am a perfect being.”

With an exaggerated eye roll, Matsuda raised his arms over his head. He groaned audibly as he stretched the muscles and tried to work the tension from his shoulders.

Keeping the other in sight, Kamukura sunk back into the heated water, reveling in the feeling of being surrounded by such pleasant warmth. It made his skin tingle and his limbs feel like they were floating, much like his hair beside his face.

Moving through the water, he eventually came up the wall of the bath and leaned his back against it, allowing his eyelids to flutter close before taking a deep and relaxed breath.

With the environment being so calm, it felt as if his brain was finally beginning to slow down. Concerns about Matsuda’s wellbeing, anxieties of the past, confusions of the present; they all melted away into the muggy atmosphere, leaving his head filled with nothing but a pleasant foggy sensation. It reminded him too much of the drug induced haze that was settled over his mind for the first few days after his birth.

“Matsudaaaa.” His weak attempt to whine came out more like a monotone groan. “I think I might fall asleep here.”

“Don't be a moron.” Matsuda splashed a bit of water in Kamukura’s direction, smirking when it hit his cheeks. “I’m not going to save you if you drown in the bath. You're on your own this time."

“Mm…” With a soft nod, Kamukura submerged the lower part of his face again, indicating he was tired of talking. The pleasant warmth kissed at his lips, a sensual feeling that made every bone in his body soften beneath its touch.

He felt as if he were floating endlessly through space.

Logically, he wasn’t, it was merely the buoyancy of the water giving that illusion of sensory deprivation. But that didn’t matter, all that mattered was the enticing pitch black void beginning to swallow him whole.

Kamukura let go.

“Oi, troglodyte…”

“Kamukura?”

“Izuru-! What did I say?!”

#Danganronpa 0 #Danganronpa #Matsuda Yasuke #Kamukura Izuru #Matsukamu #Ficgiri

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jaybug-jabbers · 4 years ago

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Flick’s Complete Bug Guide

Hi, all! Do you feel a wave of disappointment whenever you bring Blathers a bug and he spends all his time berating the poor creatures? Want to learn more about the buggy friends you find in Animal Crossing without all the snide remarks?

Look no further– this is Flick’s Complete Bug Guide! Learn about these amazing creatures from the perspective of a true bug fan!

You’re encouraged to visit every time you capture a new bug so you can learn more about it!

This guide is written in the theoretical universe where you can approach Flick during a day he is visiting and there is a dialogue option “Tell me about this!”

Upon being asked to tell you about a bug, Flick would say:

“Oh my gosh! A <name of bug>! I can hardly even gaze upon its sheer beauty and magnificence!”

“Ahem. I-I mean, um … thank you for bringing this to me!”

He would then tell you about the bug, and finish his speech with the following:

“It has been an honor to spend time in the presence of your <name of bug>. I hope you enjoyed hearing what wisdom I could share about it!”

Now, onward to the bug guide!

Common Butterfly (Pieris rapae)

The Common Butterfly, also known as the Cabbage Butterfly or the White Butterfly, is a widespread species of butterfly with pretty white wings and black spots. A large reason this species has grown so widespread is because its caterpillars love to eat plants in the cabbage family, including kale, broccoli and bok choy, plants that humans grow plenty of. While these caterpillars are considered serious crop pests, it’s interesting to note that these little grubs will move around a lot when feeding, avoiding damaging any single part of the plant too much. This may be to avoid predators from easily spotting the caterpillars, but they also might be trying to share the crops with us! With that in mind, maybe we can learn to share our crops with the butterflies, too.

Yellow Butterfly (Colias erate)

Ever wonder about a butterfly’s wing? Such delicate, beautiful structures? Well, the scientific name for the family of butterflies and moths is ‘Lepidoptera,’ which means 'scale wing.’ Butterfly wings are coated in thousands of teeny, tiny scales made of chitin. These scales help insulate a butterfly, as well as allow butterfly wings to get their coloration through pigments or iridescence. The scales also allow for a very neat trick– if a butterfly gets captured in a spider’s web, there’s a good chance some of the scales on their wings will detach, allowing the butterfly to slip away. That’s why if you handle a butterfly, sometimes you hands are covered in a fine powdery substance. That powder is some of the butterfly’s scales rubbing off on you. I have to admit, I envy butterfly scales a little. They seem much more beautiful and functional than my own lizardy scales.

Common Bluebottle (Graphium sarpedon)

This vibrant black-and-blue insect is a type of swallowtail butterfly, and lives in tropical rainforests as well as some drier, subtropical environments. Like most butterflies, they feed on flower nectar, but Bluebottles are also commonly seen drinking from mud puddles. This helps them take in salts and minerals from the ground. In search of nutrients, Bluebottles may even occasionally feed from animal droppings or dead animals! Although this may change your image of butterflies as sweet, lovely insects, it’s actually a really smart move for the butterflies. Good things can come even from wastes!

Tiger Butterfly (Papilio machaon)

The Tiger Butterfly is named for its dramatic yellow and black-striped coloration. It’s also sometimes called a Yellow Swallowtail, because of the long tails on its hindwings that resemble the tails of swallows. When Tiger Butterflies are caterpillars, they are covered in brown, white and black spots– ingeniously camouflaged as bird droppings! As the caterpillars get older, their colors change to a lovely green with black and orange markings. They also gain a new defense against predators, called the osmeterium. This is a forked, retractable organ that the caterpillar can inflate when feeling threatened. The osmeterium releases a foul odor, warding off ants and other predatory insects. As you can see, caterpillars have all sorts of tricks to avoid being eaten– which is a good thing, because that means more beautiful butterflies!

Agrias Butterfly(Agrias claudina)

This superb little butterfly is considered one of the most beautiful species to exist, and with its iridescent pink and violet set on a black background, I find it hard to argue. The glorious colors you’re witnessing are thanks to the teeny, tiny scales that coat the butterflies’ wings. Male Agrias Butterflies also have small yellow patches of scales on their hindwings, and these patches are special. They’re actually made of something called androconial scales. These scales help release pheromones for attracting a mate. Butterflies communicate with each other through these pheromones, as well as those colorful, glittering wings. Of course, with such eye-catching looks, these butterflies may gain the unwanted attention of predators, too, but they’re in luck: Agrias Butterflies are incredibly swift and agile fliers. It takes a lot to get ahold of one of these little gems!

Queen Alexandra’s Birdwing (Ornithoptera alexandrae)

Oh, wow! You caught a Queen Alexandra’s Birdwing? Those are rare– they’re an endangered species! They live in rainforests, but habitat destruction from oil palm plantations has really damaged their populations. (It didn’t help that a volcano erupted around the 50s, destroying much of their habitat as well.) These days, it’s illegal to trade this species worldwide. Hopefully, with habitat protection and captive breeding programs, the species will make a comeback. It’s a really special species– did you know it’s the largest butterfly in the world? Its wingspan can reach up to 9 inches or larger! The females are the larger of the species, while males are smaller but more brightly colored. They love to fly quite high up, and have few natural predators due to their size. That fact gives me hope! I want to see these birdwings thrive once more.

Emperor Butterfly (Morpho menelaus)

The charismatic Emperor Butterfly– also commonly known as the Blue Morpho– is a wonderful example of iridescence. The shimmering cerulean shades of this species do not come from pigment but instead from wing scales that have a special microstructure, reflecting the light in a special way to produce the color. As the butterfly flies, you get flashes of bright blue, and other times see the dark wing undersides. It makes for quite the dazzling display. This butterfly’s wings don’t only look lovely, but also are able to repel water. As a result, it’s one of the few butterflies that will fly in the rain! Because of its beauty, the Emperor is popular with collectors, but over collection and habitat destruction threatens this species. It’s essential that we protect and preserve nature and its incredible insects, so future generations can enjoy them as well!

Rajah Brooke’s Birdwing (Trogonoptera brookiana)

The regal Rajah Brooke’s Birdwing is the national butterfly of Malaysia, and it’s easy to see why. This butterfly makes for an impressive sight; it has a wingspan over 7 inches long and has shimmering, electric-green and black wings. It dwells on rainforested islands where it feeds from flowers such as orchid trees. Interestingly, the males love to gather at hot mineral springs to sip the water, while the drabber-colored females are seen far less often, living a more mysterious life in the trees. The caterpillars of this species are white and brown, covered in defensive spines called tubercles. These larvae feed on the poisonous leaves of vines, storing the poison in their bodies so they are toxic to predators that try to eat them. Laws have been made to protect this popular species, attempting to limit the trade and export of these butterflies. Unfortunately, people sometimes still try to smuggle this species to sell to collectors. It’s an important reminder that we need to protect and respect these beautiful creatures, and not let collecting get out of hand.

Great Purple Emperor (Sasakia charonda)

The Great Purple Emperor is Japan’s proud national butterfly, due to their refined beauty and their wide distribution across Japan. They are black or brown butterflies speckled in white and yellow, with the males covered in a gorgeous purple sheen. They like to dwell in the upper canopy of trees but will come down to feed, sipping up tree sap and occasionally seeking minerals from animal droppings or animal carcasses. They are quick, strong flyers and are said to look like birds when they fly. The caterpillars of this species are adorable green larvae with a pair of horns that I think makes them look absolutely charming. These caterpillars enjoy the leaves of hackberry trees, and when winter comes, the fellows will turn a brown color and crawl to the ground and hide among the roots and fallen leaves. When spring arrives, they immerge from hiding and continue to feed until they are ready to pupate and become adults in the summer. Then they take flight with their strong wing beats– truly the kings of the summer forest!

Paper Kite Butterfly (Idea leuconoe)

The Paper Kite Butterfly is known for its slow, graceful flight, looking much like a handkerchief drifting in the breeze. With their silvery white wings, decorated in dramatic black stripes and spots, it only adds to the loveliness of the picture. However, it’s important to note this species is not simply beautiful; it’s also highly poisonous. The caterpillars of Paper Kites feed on a number of toxic vines, and store the poisons in their bodies as they eat. This poison remains when they transform into adults, so any birds that happen by and try to eat this butterfly are in for a nasty surprise. The bird usually survives these encounters but learns a valuable lesson– avoid snacking on these elegant creatures!

Peacock Butterfly (Papilio bianor)

The Peacock Butterfly is a type of swallowtail butterfly, which means its hindwings have extensions that look very much like the tails of swallows. These colorful 'tails’ are actually great defensive mechanisms. If a bird tries to attack the Peacock Butterfly, it may focus instead on the eye-catching tail. This may end up with a bird grabbing a chunk of wing, but the butterfly’s vital body parts are still intact, and it can escape. Next time you’re admiring the gorgeous sparkling tails of the Peacock Butterfly, you can appreciate they aren’t simply for show but can also help protect these insects!

Monarch Butterfly (Danaus plexippus)

This particular butterfly is well-known for its epic migrations. Because Monarchs do not tolerate the cold, each year when winter begins to approach, they migrate en masse southward to Mexico, where they overwinter. They do this by taking advantage of air currents and thermals, traveling amazing distances in the process– sometimes up to 3,000 miles! During this migration, when the butterflies are resting, they gather together in large groups to roost on trees, huddled for warmth. A group of migrating monarchs is a truly incredible sight to behold; the air thick with fluttering wings, the trees absolutely covered in bright black and orange. Once winter has passed, the monarchs begin a return migration, but this one is different, as it spans multiple generations. The butterflies that eventually return northward in the spring are the grandchildren of the ones that left in the winter– in fact, it takes 3-4 generations for the monarchs to return to their northern territories again! Their journeys are truly inspiring.

Moth (Order Lepidoptera)

Time for a little lesson! Want to know the difference between butterflies and moths? A lot of people might think the difference is that moths are nocturnal and rather duly-colored, while butterflies are colorful and active during the day. But the truth is, there are actually a lot of daytime-flying moths, and many of those species are extremely colorful! A better way to tell them apart is to look at their antenna; generally, butterfly antenna are thin with 'clubs’ at the end, while moth antenna are fuzzy or feathery and lack clubs. Also, you can look at their wings when they’re at rest: butterflies usually like to hold their wings closed when they rest, while moths usually hold their wings flat. However, these are just rules of thumb, and there are exceptions. Ultimately, they’re both very closely related insects in the order Lepidoptera, and both equally enjoyable creatures.

Madagascan Sunset Moth (Chrysiridia rhipheus)

It is positively euphoric to gaze upon the Madagascan Sunset Moth, with its wide wingspan of 3 to 3 and a half inches, its eye-catching tails, and its glittering kaleidoscopic colors of red, green, blue and black. This day-flying moth species sips nectar and flits about the forests of Madagascar. Their caterpillars, white larvae clad in black spots and stripes, like to feed upon highly toxic shrubs, and then store the poison in their bodies. When they metamorphose into adults, they retain their toxicity, so predators quickly learn to avoid these dazzling insects. This species is considered one of the most beautiful moth or butterfly species in the world, prized among collectors and sometimes used in the making of jewelry. Of course, I feel the best way of appreciating this moth is the same way you appreciate a sunset; just be present for the moment you’re living in. Thank you for sharing this moment with us, Sunset moth.

Atlas Moth (Attacus atlas)

What a beautiful creature! The Atlas moth is one of the largest moths in the world. Do you see how its wings are massive compared to its little body? And here, the tips of its wings have these large extensions that look like the head of a snake! When potential predators disturb this moth, it flaps its wings and uses these false snake heads to try and spook animals away. It’s a clever tactic, because the Atlas moth must be careful about conserving its energy– it cannot afford to fly great distances. Why? Because it has no mouth. Adult moths simply never eat and live off of the fat reserves they built up when they were feeding as caterpillars. Like the bloom of a flower, the life of the Atlas Moth does not last long, but our worlds are all the richer for having them in it.

Rice Grasshopper (Oxya japonica)

The Rice Grasshopper is considered by people to be an agricultural pest, because it loves to eat crops, especially rice crops. However, the Rice Grasshopper is also considered by people to be, um … a very tasty snack. I have a sad story about Rice Grasshoppers. I was a pretty young hatchling at the time, and I was playing outside. I had been chasing a grasshopper for over an hour. When I finally captured it, I was so excited and proud! It was a beautiful Rice Grasshopper, probably a female, since it was quite large. I brought it back home to show my father. I … I gave it to him so he could look at it, and . . . he ate it in one gulp… . I cried a long time after that. He hadn’t realized I wanted to keep it. But, um … yeah. We don’t always get along so well. I can’t possibly imagine wanting to eat such beautiful, amazing creatures.

Long Locust (Acrida cinerea)

This fantastic-looking grasshopper has an incredibly long, triangular head, with two long antenna on top. They also have amazingly long hind legs, which they use to bound away from predators. They feed upon various grasses and especially have a taste for rice plants. The females of the Long Locust are much larger than the males, and can often be mistaken as a separate species. In Japan, these grasshoppers are known as Shouryou-batta, or “Spirit Grasshopper.” Because the grasshoppers appear in summer and autumn, around the time of the Bon Festival, and the grasshoppers’ bodies are boat-shaped, they remind people of the boats used during the festival to carry the souls of the departed. Quite an honorable reputation for this little locust!

Grasshopper (Infraorder Acrididea)

Grasshoppers come from a family of insects that have ancient roots, all the way back to the Triassic period. They have been chomping away on grasses and other plants for a very long time! They have powerful hind legs they use to spring into the air in order to evade predators. In the moment they leap, they may also flash their brightly-colored wings to startle their enemies. Since you’ve captured this grasshopper, I’m sure you know how surprisingly far and fast they can jump. Actually, if you and I could jump as well as a grasshopper, we could leap the length of a football field! Grasshoppers are also known for their chirping, which they produce by rubbing their powerful hind legs against their wings. Those impressive legs are thus useful for a variety of purposes. To be honest, our legs are pretty boring in comparison.

Migratory Locust (Locusta migratoria)

Locusts are a type of grasshopper that can engage in an absolutely fascinating event: locust swarms. Normally, locusts live a solitary, humble life; green insects that slowly creep about, calmly feeding on grasses and generally avoiding fellow locusts. However, if locust populations start to become too crowded, especially due to high rainfall increasing the food supply, then locusts change rapidly. Their appearances change and they gain bright, colorful markings; also, their behavior switches to being highly gregarious, which means they are drawn to each other in large crowds and they start to act as a single group. They begin to reproduce rapidly and eat voraciously, and will travel over long distances, stripping the land of vegetation. These swarms are sometimes called locust plagues, because they can devastate farmer’s crops and even cause famine! There is some consolation, though … locusts are a good, protein-packed food for people to eat.

Cricket (Family Gryllidae)

The soothing, relaxing song of crickets is produced when crickets rub their textured wings together– this is called stridulation. They sing to attract mates and to mark their territories, and some crickets even have a specific tune they sing after a successful mating. These musical insects are also affected by temperatures; most crickets chirp faster as the temperature increases, and they can be so reliable that if you count the number of chirps, you can estimate the temperature. The language of crickets is actually quite complex and compelling! Crickets hear each other through ears located on their front legs, just below their 'knees.’ Cricket hearing is very sophisticated, actually, and may even rival our own hearing. The next time you hear that gentle chirping in the night, you should stop to really listen to it. Who knows what secrets they could be whispering to you!

Bell Cricket (Homoeogryllus japonicus)

Like most insects, the Bell Cricket has two pairs of wings; the hindwings are membranous and meant for flight, while the front wings are leathery and protective. Bell Crickets make a beautiful chirp by rubbing their front wings together, and many people liken the sound to the chiming of bells. These crickets can change the sound of their songs by vibrating their bodies as they chirp, making the sound of each cricket unique. These lovely musicians are popular pets, traditionally kept in bamboo cages. What’s more, there’s actually a Buddhist temple that raises thousands of Bell Crickets each year, so that people can go there to meditate to the melodious sound of Bell Cricket chirps. It sounds divine to me!

Mole Cricket (Family Gryllotalpidae)

Mole crickets are remarkable little critters, adapted perfectly to a life underground. They use their powerful shovel-like front legs to dig rapidly in the dirt, excavating tunnels in search of food such as roots, grasses and worms. The males will construct horn-shaped tunnels and then chirp inside them, so the tunnels resonate the sound of the chirping. This means while you may never have seen a mole cricket before, you’ve likely heard one without realizing! Mole crickets do occasionally leave the earth, however, and can fly or even swim, if needed. Generally they come to the surface at night, so if you’re particularly lucky, you may get to see one!

Mantis (Order Mantodea)

The mantis is a mighty ambush predator, stalking their prey before seizing them with their spiked, raptorial forelegs, using lightning-speed reflexes. They have huge compound eyes, and their heads can turn 180 degrees as they survey the world for food. They feed upon many insects, and can even take down hummingbirds and rodents! Their hunger will sometimes even extend to eating their own kind; it’s not unheard of for female mantises to consume the heads of the males after mating. This is perhaps not as terrible as it sounds; the male’s sacrifice helps provide nourishment for his future offspring. Still, I must admit, if I am to be reborn as a mantis in the next life, I’d probably prefer to be born a female mantis.

Orchid Mantis (Hymenopus coronatus)

This resplendent mantis is perfectly disguised as a white and pink flower, down to the very petal shape itself! The camouflage helps protect it from predators as well as draw in potential prey. The mantis lies in wait among the bushes and flowers for an unsuspecting butterfly or other insect to wander by, and then snatches it up. Such deadly beauty– a clever mistress of blossoms! These mantises are so skilled at disguise, they can even gradually change color to reflect their environment. To be honest, I feel a certain kinship with the orchid mantis’ camouflaging ways. Perhaps someday I will master the art of flower mimicry, just as they have!

Honey Bee (Genus Apis)

The humble honeybee, a hard-working partner of ours for thousands of years. Cave paintings up to 10,000 years old show people eating honey, and beekeeping in clay pots began around 9,000 years ago in Africa. Because of this long-term relationship, we know quite a lot about our buzzing friends. For example, bees communicate with each other through the medium of dance! When a worker bee finds a great patch of flowers and wishes to tell her sisters about it, she returns to the hive and performs a waggle dance. The dance tells the bees the direction of the flower patch and its distance from the hive. As an artist, I can empathize with the bees. Words often pale in comparison with other methods of expression. Truly, the bees are not only diligent workers but brilliant performance artists.

Wasp (Polistes rothneyi)

Wasps! One of the most misunderstood and amazing families of insects to exist! Did you know there are over 30,000 species of wasps? They come in all shapes and sizes, from the fairy wasps that are around the size of an amoeba to the massive asian giant hornets that are almost two inches long. While some are well-known for constructing papery or mud nests and living in hives, many other species are solitary and live in single, tiny burrows. As a whole, wasps tend to be predatory, preying on a wide range of insects, including many species considered harmful to crops. Wasps also dine upon nectar, however, and can be important plant pollinators. It’s difficult to try and summarize the sheer variety and glory of wasps, but know that they play vital roles in the ecosystem and are truly wondrous creatures!

Robust Cicada (Hyalessa maculaticollis)

Aaaah, the sweet, sonorous cicada. Nothing quite says “summer” like the hypnotic sound of cicadas singing. Cicadas are well-known for their loud, rhythmic songs, but how do they make these sounds? The answer is the tymbals– drum-like organs in the abdomen that males flex back and forth. The sound then reverberates throughout the cicada’s abdomen, magnifying the sound. Robust Cicadas in particular are known for their especially loud chirps. I find these musicians to be deeply inspiring, and it’s always a transcending experience to hold witness to one of their performances!

Gaint Cicada (Cryptotympana holsti)

Did you know that cicadas are seen as symbols of rebirth and immortality in Chinese lore? Just as the cicada lives underground for many, many years and then rises, reborn from the dirt, we hope to emulate such glory. Cicadas were also seen as creatures of high status, as they subsist on dew and perch upon their thrones in the treetops. Because of this symbolism, Chinese royalty has borrowed fashion ideas from the great cicada. Even their crowns were decorated with the image of a cicada, eyes shining bright! A fitting homage to this noble bug.

Brown Cicada (Graptopsaltria nigrofuscata)

While most cicadas have transparent wings, the Brown Cicada sports opaque, brown wings, so it’s pretty easy to recognize. Another recognizable trait is their cry, which is often compared to the sound of hot oil sizzling. These bugs are fond of sipping the sap of trees, including fruit trees. As a result, some people consider the Brown Cicada a pest. Hah! Imagine having the audacity to call these little marvels a pest! The cicadas are only doing what comes natural to any of us– eating to survive. I’ll gladly share the fruit trees with my insect brethren for that.

Evening Cicada (Tanna japonensis)

The males of Evening Cicadas sing a mournful song in the mornings, at dusk, or when the weather turns cool or cloudy. Among the many different cicadas, the sorrowful song of the Evening Cicada is possibly my favorite. But why do cicadas sing? Are they expressing some deep-felt sentiment? Actually, yes. They are expressing perhaps one of the most deep-felt sentiments there can be; loneliness. Evening Cicadas, as well as their cicada relatives, are calling for a mate. Males usually pack into rather large groups and call together, creating quite a large collective sound. Females can hear these calls from around a mile away! It’s a nice thought that because of their mournful cries, the Evening Cicadas are able to happily unite with each other.

Walker Cicada (Meimuna opalifera)

While some cicadas are associated with summer, the song of the Walker Cicada traditionally marks the end of summer and the start of autumn. It has a very characteristic cry, which in Japan is heard as “Tsukutsuku … boushi!” However, the song of this species actually differs depending on the region it is in. That’s right– insects have dialects! Speaking of dialects, the Walker Cicada is actually native to China, but it’s believed it hitched a ride on wooden brooms and was imported to Japan. Now it’s widespread in both countries, in addition to Korea and Taiwan. I wonder what a Walker Cicada would sound like with an Australian dialect? Or an Indian one?

Cicada Shell

This is truly a treasure– a perfectly intact cicada shell! These shells are proof of a wondrous transformation that cicadas undergo. You see, it all begins when a female deposits an egg in a little groove on a tree. The young feed on the fluids of the tree for a while before dropping to the ground and digging their way to safety. They then spend years underground, exploring the depths and dining on roots. Eventually, the young rise from the soil, finally seeing daylight once more, and climb the trunk of a tree. There, they shed their skins, emerging as glorious, winged adults! This shell represents their touching life journey. I hope that it might inspire you, as it does for me.

Darner Dragonfly (Anax parthenope)

Dragonflies are one of my favorite species! Did you know dragonflies were some of the very first winged insects to evolve and have been around for millions of years? Ancient dragonflies had wingspans of up to two feet long! The Darner Dragonfly isn’t that large, of course, but it’s still an impressive creature. They’re powerful predators, capturing their prey mid-flight, kind of making them the hawks of the insect world. Their flying skills are fantastic, and they can fly in all directions, hover, and even fly backwards, so they have unparalleled agility. Because they hunt by sight, they also have amazing eyes, among the best in the insect kingdom; they have up to 30,000 lenses in those enormous compound eyes pointing in all directions, and can detect light in color spectrums well beyond what we can see. If you want to have some fun, just sit back and watch the dragonflies hunt for a while!

Red Dragonfly (Sympetrum frequens)

Ever wonder why dragonflies are usually found near water? They love to hunt in these environments, snatching up and devouring midges, mosquitoes, moths and many others. But dragonflies are also fond of ponds and lakes because those are their breeding grounds. You see, dragonfly larvae are aquatic. The female lays her eggs on plants near the water or will skim the surface of the water with her abdomen, dropping eggs into the water. The nymphs that hatch are active, hungry hunters, devouring mosquito larvae, other aquatic insects or worms, and even tadpoles and small fish. The nymphs enjoy their aquatic lifestyle for a long time, up to five years, occasionally climbing onto a reed to shed their old skins and grow, before eventually molting one last time into a winged adult. Because of their reliance on these ecosystems, dragonflies are great indicators of the health of our wetlands!

Banded Dragonfly (Anotogaster sieboldii)

There has been a very wide range of associations with dragonflies among different cultures. European cultures have historically viewed dragonflies in a very negative light; some have called them “devil’s darning needles” and folklore casts them in villainous roles. Fortunately, other cultures view dragonflies in a very positive way. They are celebrated in some Native American crafts and may symbolize pure water or swiftness; in Japan, dragonflies are strong symbols of courage, luck and happiness, as well as signs of autumn’s arrival. Dragonflies have been used in traditional medicine as well as for food, so some cultures simply associate them with a meal. It’s actually really hard to summarize the many different ways people view dragonflies. Personally, I admire dragonflies’ incredible flying and hunting talents, their sheer beauty, and their tenacious spirits. What do dragonflies mean to you?

Damselfly(Ischnura senegalensis)

The Damselfly is a close relative to the dragonfly, but damselflies tend to be smaller, thinner, and hold their wings along their body at rest. You can also tell by looking at their eyes; damselfly eyes are always separated while most dragonfly eyes are touching. Like the dragonfly, damselflies are talented predators, nabbing flies, mosquitoes, moths and others right out of the air or plucking them off of plants. Males display elaborate courtship dances to impress females. If the male is successful, the damselflies will mate in a complex shape called a mating heart or mating wheel– which is the shape their abdomens make when they curl around each other. The female then lays eggs along the stems of underwater plants. The young that hatch live under water, breathing through feathery gills on their abdomens and feeding on aquatic insects, sometimes molting so they can grow larger. When they’re ready, they immerge from the water and cast off their old skin to immerge as graceful, lithe adults. The coloration of dragonflies and damselflies can range from just about every color of the rainbow, and they often shimmer beautifully in the sun. The next time you’re by a pond or marsh, keep an eye out for these quick, flittering gems!

Firefly (Family Lampyridae)

Fireflies are appealing little beetles with an extraordinary ability: a beautiful bioluminescence located on their backsides. The lights that fireflies produce are chemical reactions that take place inside their transparent abdomens. This light is cool to the touch and is yellow-green in color. Fireflies control their luminescence at will, and will flicker their lights in rhythmic patterns that are unique to each species. This helps males and females locate each other for mating. While many fireflies feed on pollen and nectar, some are carnivorous. Sometimes, females of these carnivorous fireflies will use light signals to their advantage, mimicking the patterns of particular firefly species simply to lure them in so they can eat them. These are femme fatale fireflies, so males need to be careful of them– the mesmerizing displays of fireflies can be a complicated language!

Pondskater (Family Gerridae)

This graceful bug skates effortlessly across the surface of the water, a magnificent feat that us silly vertebrates can only dream of. The pondskater’s body is carefully built to transfer their weight perfectly across their long, slender legs, which are lined with hairs that help repel water. The insects will row across the water with their middle legs and steer with their back legs. Their front legs are shorter and have claws, to help them seize insects that have fallen into the water. They pierce their prey with a proboscis to feed– all while staying on the surface of the water! Pondskaters do pretty much everything on top of the water, even mating. They communicate with other pondskaters by creating ripples in the water; some ripple frequencies are threatening signals while others are mating signals. They are truly masters of their craft. I’d prefer to watch the pondskaters’ dances rather than an ice skater any time!

Giant Water Bug (Family Belostomatidae)

The Giant Water Bug is indeed very large– the largest true bug, which can grow to be around four inches long! They have flattened, oval bodies, with oarlike back legs for swimming and raptorial front legs that are designed for seizing prey. They also have tubes on their abdomen that they breathe through, much like a snorkel. Water Bugs stalk and capture a wide variety of prey, including fish, frogs, and insects, and may even grab turtles and snakes! Once they capture something, they inject it with venomous saliva, then wait for their food to digest before sucking up the liquefied remains. Although these bugs are efficient and aggressive predators, they’re also caring parents; in some species, the female will lay her eggs on the back of the male, and the father will carry them about until they hatch! It’s nice to see father insects taking an active role in parenting as well.

Diving Beetle (Family Dytiscidae)

Diving Beetles are sleek, flat beetles that cruise through the water with ease, using their powerful, hairy back legs to paddle. Although they’re aquatic they still need to breathe air, and actually store air bubbles under their wing cases before diving, breathing the air through tubes in their abdomens. The Diving Beetle is an active predator, hunting a wide variety of prey including insects, tadpoles and fish. The young of Diving Beetles are also carnivorous predators, and are sometimes called Water Tigers. When the larvae are ready, they bury themselves in the mud to pupate, and immerge as adults. Adult Diving Beetles are surprisingly very capable fliers, and will take off at night in search of new watery habitats. They search for the bright reflection of moonlight bouncing off of bodies of water to help guide them. If you ever find Diving Beetles in a small pond or puddle and wonder how they got there, that’s how!

Stink Bug (Family Pentatomidae)

Aww, a Stink Bug! I love these fellahs. Stink Bugs are a great example of true bugs. Technically speaking, a lot of things we call bugs aren’t really bugs. All bugs are insects, but not all insects are bugs! So what makes a true bug? Well, true bugs like Stink Bugs have beaklike mouthparts called proboscises. They use them to pierce plants (or animals!) and suck up their food. Unlike butterfly or honeybee mouthparts, true bugs can’t roll up their proboscises. True bugs also often produce a pungent defensive spray, like Stink Bugs! People argue over what stink bug spray actually smells like– some say it’s very earthy, others call it woody or oily, and some say it’s bitter and fruity. Although it’s designed to ward off predators, I have to admit I’ve grown quite fond of the smell.

Man-Faced Stink Bug (Catacanthus incarnatus)

The markings of the Man-Faced Stink Bug are bright and colorful, and some people think these markings look like a face. With such an appealing, dramatic appearance, you’d expect these bugs to be popular pets, but actually, people have had a little difficulty raising them in captivity. The challenge is in raising the nymphs. What exactly are nymphs? Well, some insects undergo what’s called complete metamorphosis– for example, butterflies first hatch as caterpillars, then transform into pupae before immerging as adults. Other insects, such as stink bugs, undergo incomplete metamorphosis. Their young are not grubs, but instead are nymphs, which are basically miniature versions of the adults. Our hope is to eventually raise these baby Man-Faced Stink Bugs to full adulthood. If we succeed, we can share the joy of stink bugs with more people!

Ladybug (Family Coccinellidae)

These bright red little beetles actually come in a variety of colors with a variety of spots or stripes. Many cultures consider the ladybug a symbol of good luck, and if one lands upon you, good fortune is sure to find you. Part of the reason they are seen as lucky may be because of their voracious appetites for aphids. You see, aphids are tiny little bugs that love to eat people’s crops, but ladybugs eat aphids by the hundreds and help keep crops safe. Thus, some cultures consider ladybugs to be a divine gift. Next time a ladybug lands upon you, try making a wish. Whether you get the wish or not, you’ll be blessed by the presence of this charming little friend!

Tiger Beetle (Subfamily Cicindelinae)

Tiger Beetles are named because they are powerful predators of the beetle world. But it might be more accurate to call them Cheetah Beetles! The fastest Tiger Beetle can run 5 miles per hour, or 120 body lengths per second. A Cheetah, in comparison, can only run 16 body lengths per second– so when you really think about it, Tiger Beetles are the clear winners. In fact, Tiger Beetles move so fast they have to stop in the middle of running several times to reorient their vision before running again. Even when stopping in the middle of a chase, the beetles have no problem capturing their prey!

Citrus Long-Horned Beetle (Anoplophora chinensis)

The Citrus Long-Horned Beetle has a glossy black body with white spots, and has an impressively long pair of antenna. You’re likely to find it hanging out among the trees, as it’s fond of dining upon the leaves, stems and bark of a wide range of tree species, including citrus and hardwood trees. The females will drill little holes into the bark of a tree to carefully deposit her eggs, one at a time. When the eggs hatch, the larvae will dig into the tree, feeding on the nutritious inner bark. To be truthful, the Citrus Long-Horned Beetle is not very popular among a lot of people, because it’s capable of killing many healthy trees when it feeds and reproduces. Of course, there are natural enemies of these beetles that can help keep populations in check, such as parasites, ants and fungi. Nature does try to keep things in balance!

Violin Beetle (Mormolyce phyllodes)

This elegant beetle has a very narrow neck and head, a wide, flat body and marvelously curved wings, looking very much like a tiny violin. In truth, it is probably not imitating a violin but a brown leaf, which helps it blend in with its environment and avoid predators. Its flat body also helps it slip in between layers of mushrooms and tree bark, where it actively hunts for other insects, especially larvae. If startled, this beetle can release toxic fluid as a defense. This is likely to deter anything that tries to stuff it into their mouths! The Violin Beetle lives in tropical rainforests in Malaysia and other islands, and is threatened by the destruction of its habitat. We must strive to preserve our rainforests so precious creatures such as the Violin Beetle can thrive.

Jewel Beetle (Chrysochroa fulgidissima)

This dazzling little beetle is named after the splendid jewel-like shine to its exoskeleton. This coloration is known as iridescence, and the colors shift depending on how you look at them. Like little drops of sunlight, Jewel Beetles are so prized among people that their shells have been used in jewelry and other crafts. There is also an expression in Japan, tamamushi-iro, that refers to the ever-shifting colors of the Jewel Beetle, and the term can also refer to language that can be interpreted in multiple ways. Personally, I draw a great amount of artistic inspiration from the Jewel Beetle, and from my efforts to capture their ever-changing rainbows of power and vitality!

Rosalia Batesi Beetle (Rosalia batesi)

This enchanting long-horned beetle is a beautiful shade of blue, is covered in black polka dots and sports an impressive pair of antenna that can be almost twice as long as its body. Its entire body is also covered in a velvety, fine hair, including cute little tufts of hair on the antenna. The adults enjoy eating pollen, fruits and sap, while the larvae rely on dead wood for food. While Rosalia Batesi bothers some people because it may feed on crops, many people adore this beetle for its attractive appearance, and it’s commonly featured on stamps and other designs. I think if we all learn to share the land and its bounties, then we can be very happy to share the world with this sprightly spirit of the forest.

Blue Weevil Beetle (Genus Eupholus)

The Blue Weevil Beetle comes in many stunning shades of blue and green, and are so bright and beautiful that some people will use them for jewelry. But beware! These sparkling hues are actually warning signals! The Blue Weevil uses its long beak to bore into leaves, and builds up toxins in its body as it feeds. Anyone who’s hoping to chow down on these effervescent insects will end up getting poisoned. It’s far better to respect and admire the Blue Weevil than to eat it!

Dung Beetle (Familes Geotrupidae, Scarabaeidae)

Dung Beetles come from a number of insect groups, including the earth-boring dung beetles, the scarab beetles, and the small dung beetles. What they all have in common is that they feed upon dung! This is an incredibly important job, believe it or not. Without dung beetles and other feces-feeding insects, we might be buried up to our necks in animal droppings! The Dung Beetles break down these wastes and return nutrients back to the earth, recycling these materials. Many of them do this by shaping dung into a carefully compacted ball, balancing on top of it, and rolling it away to a safe place so they can feed. Dung Beetles like to roll in straight lines with their balls, and they use the sun and moon to help them navigate– and even the bright stripe of the Milky Way! It’s no wonder many cultures respect and even revere this talented beetle.

Earth-Boring Dung Beetle (Family Geotrupidae)

Like some of their scarab brethren, the Earth-Boring Dung Beetle has a glittering, jewel-like luster to its exoskeleton. This is a very special kind of color! Unlike most colors in the animal kingdom, called pigments, the shells of Earth-Boring Dung Beetles are colored by iridescence, or teeny, tiny structures that bounce light in a particular pattern. The result is stunning to gaze upon! As these beetles spend much time burrowing into the soil, spotting them is truly like finding buried treasure.

Scarab Beetle (Family Scarabaeidae)

The sacred scarab! Truly, you are fortunate to have come upon one of these little deities. You see, scarab beetles were revered by the ancient Egyptians. When the scarabs rolled balls of dung for their precious young to feast upon, the Egyptians saw them as symbolically pushing the orb of the sun across the sky. In fact, the Egyptian sun God, Ra, was believed to have taken the form of a scarab beetle, named Khepri, and pushed the sun across the sky just like a ball of dung. The Egyptians even placed amulets shaped like scarab beetles over the hearts of mummies to protect them in the afterlife. Scarabs are protectors, bringers of light and of life itself!

Drone Beetle (Pseudotorynorrhina japonica)

These handsome creatures are a type of scarab beetle, a powerful group of beetles revered by the ancient Egyptians as sacred. The antennae of scarabs are special, and can be folded out gracefully like a fan to better detect odors, or folded back up into a club shape to serve as a weapon! We can only dream of possessing appendages so adaptable and so magnificent in design!

Goliath Beetle (Genus Goliathus)

This mighty beetle is named after the legendary giant Goliath, and it’s easy to see why. This beetle can grow over four inches long, making it one of the largest beetles in the world! It also can weigh over three ounces when it’s a larva, although the adults are only around half that weight. The reason for the difference is because the larvae gorge themselves on decayed leaves, wood and proteins, preparing for their metamorphosis. As adults, they enjoy a lighter diet of tree sap, fruit juices and other sugary substances. To help with foraging, each of this beetle’s legs ends in a pair of hooked claws that are great for climbing and clinging to trees. If one of these beetles happens to attach itself to you with these feet, you’ll need to gently guide them off. If you just grab and pull, the claws might remain attached, and we don’t want their little feetsies to get hurt!

Horned Elephant (Megasoma elephas)

This hefty beast is absolutely gigantic when compared to most beetles– in fact, it’s one of the heaviest beetles in the world. Males have big horns on their heads, which they use mainly to battle with other males for mating privileges. Another feature you might have missed is that their bodies are covered in fine, delicate hairs, making the beetles appear yellow in color. Sometimes, when I’m feeling anxious, I, uh … I pet the Horned Elephant beetles. It’s very soothing. You should try it sometime!

Horned Dynastid (Allomyrina dichotoma)

These proud warriors have heads shaped like a samurai helmet, and make good use of those horns for battle and for digging. While embroiled in territory disputes, a male Dynastid can actually launch its competitor straight into the air! When they aren’t fighting, they can be found calmly hanging out on trees, sipping sap or drinking from ripe fruits. Their young live underground, eat rotting wood, and take a long time to mature– around a year. Then they immerge, as a fresh new batch of warriors of the woods!

Horned Atlas (Chalcosoma atlas)

The Atlas Beetle is named after a titan from Greek Mythology who held up the heavens on his shoulders. The comparison to a Greek God is appropriate, as the Horned Atlas can reach sizes of up to five inches long and can carry hundreds of times its own weight. That makes it one of the strongest animals on the planet, for its size! Personally, it would not surprise me if we found out that a great celestial Atlas Beetle has been holding up the skies all of this time.

Horned Hercules (Dynastes hercules)

The Hercules beetle is named in honor of the roman god Hercules, famed for his great strength and heroic feats. I can think of no greater name for this heroic beetle. The Horned Hercules can carry up to 850 times its own weight, and can grow to be 7 inches in length, making it the longest species of beetle in the whole world. A lot of that length is in its massive horn, which males use to challenge each other to win the affections of female beetles. Once they have mated, these massive beetles produce, as you could guess, massive babies. In fact, the young of Hercules beetles are probably the largest larvae in the world!

Rainbow Stag (Phalacrognathus muelleri)

Oh! My eyes have been blessed, to be allowed to gaze upon the splendor of the Rainbow Stag. This beetle appears to change color depending on the angle you view it, shifting from emerald greens to ruby reds to glittering gold, all with a luscious metallic sheen. This magnificent color fades when the beetle dies, just as a rainbow will fade in the sky. I like to think the Rainbow Stag reminds us of the ephemeral nature of beauty and life, and teaches us to value things while we can.

Golden Stag (Allotopus rosenbergi)

The Golden Stag’s exoskeleton is a breathtaking, metallic gold, making it highly prized by bug lovers and collectors. The shimmering beetles live in tropical jungles at high altitudes, using their short, sturdy mandibles to dig into wood and dine upon tree sap. Collectors have struggled to breed this stag in captivity, as it’s sensitive to temperatures and the young have strict dietary requirements. However, in recent times, there has been more success with captive breeding. Personally, I derive deep joy and satisfaction simply basking in this creature’s presence, regardless of how long it lasts. Come. Let us enjoy this golden moment together.

Cyclommatus Stag (Genus Cyclommatus)

The mandibles of this stag beetle are staggering, often as long as their body. These amazing jaws are used to mine tree sap as well as fight other stag beetles for the right to mate. In fact, males will often throw each other off of trees in their competitions! However, do not be too intimidated by the Cyclommatus Stag; it can be tender as well. They chew through decaying wood to lovingly craft a home for their young. I’ve actually been considering taking inspiration from this stag and adding more rotting wood to my bedroom. I think it would give it a cozy touch.

Miyama Stag (Lucanus maculifemoratus)

This handsome stag has a thick, bumpy exoskeleton and powerful-looking mandibles. However, despite its tough appearance, the Miyama is a gentle beast. In truth, you can easily injure one if you mishandle it, so care should be taken when interacting with this delicate soul. Miyamas are popular with children, and are widespread in their native lands, in both mountainous places as well as plains. Actually, one of my very first friends was a Miyama Stag. They helped me learn the deep and mysterious art of communication with insectkind. Thus, I will always have a soft spot for these gentle giants.

Saw Stag (Prosopocoilus inclinatus)

Saw Stags are popular pets in their homeland, and it’s easy to see why. Those handsome reddish brown shells, those magnificent saw-like mandibles, those curious little eyes, those hook-like claws! As they grow, that pair of jaws grows along with them, gaining more teeth and a larger curve. You needn’t fear, though; this beetle is unlikely to bite you unless you stick your finger directly into its mouth. In fact, when this beetle feels vibrations, it may freeze and feign death as a defense mechanism. They clearly prefer to avoid a fight unless it’s necessary. The Saw Stags that I take care of certainly will never have a reason to fight– I spoil them rotten with all the bananas and beetle jelly they could possibly want!

Giant Stag (Dorcus Hopei Binodulosus)

The Giant Stag is probably the most popular stag to keep as a pet! They’re very large, docile, easy to breed, and live quite long for a stag beetle, up to five years! People also find their mandibles to be very appealing, which have a single tooth on either side. They will rarely use these jaws to bite, unless you go out of your way to bother them. In fact, these are shy beetles, and they will spend a lot of their time just hiding away in holes inside of trees. They will peacefully sip tree saps and fruits, and prefer to be active at night. In the wild, Giant Stag populations have decreased due to over collection, although fortunately people are turning more and more to breeding in order to keep wild populations safe. This serves as an important reminder– bugs need to be treated with care and respect, even when we’re acting out of love!

*Giaraffe Stag

Walking Stick (Order Phasmatodea)

Walking Sticks are excellent examples of the art of camouflage in its purest form. Not only do they mimic twigs and branches, all the way down to the very knots in the wood, but as they walk, they mimic the sway of branches in the breeze. They have truly become one with their environment. I hope to achieve this level of focus in my own life someday, as I surround myself with all that is arthropod.

Walking Leaf (Family Phylliidae)

These incredible insects have taken camouflage to the next level. Their bodies so closely resemble leaves that they include the veins and even nibble-marks on leaves, and they can even fool leaf-eating insects! As they walk, they sway back and forth, imitating a leaf blowing in the breeze. They enjoy munching on leaves, because the Walking Leaf not only disguises itself as leaves, but eats them as well. They are truly immersed in leafhood.

Bagworm (Family Psychidae)

Bagworms are not really worms, but are the caterpillars of a special kind of moth. These charming little larvae construct themselves beautiful 'bags’ made out of silk and bits of things they find in the environment– twigs, leaves, lichens, sand, and even bits of plastic! They wear these protective bags as disguises as they crawl about and feed on leaves or lichens. When they’re ready to pupate, the bags serve as the perfect cocoon! Males will immerge from the case and spread their wings and fly away. Females, however, are a different story. Bagworm females often are wingless, and may spend the rest of their lives inside their childhood casings. Males will visit the females in their bags to breed. Imagine being so attached to your mobile home that you never leave! Considering how artistic some of these bags are, I guess I can’t blame them.

Ant (Family Formicidae)

The extraordinary ant, a species that has existed for millions of years and currently lives in all corners of the globe. These creatures form complex colonies, often made up of hundreds or thousands of individuals, and have a division of labor: worker ants, soldier ants, fertile male drones, and an egg-laying queen ant. It would be erroneous to think of ants in individual terms, as really, individual ants come together to form a super-organism, the ant colony. They always cooperate for the wellbeing of the colony as a whole. Individual ants are marvelously talented in the ways of chemical communication, and they produce all kinds of scents to help communicate with their sisters; signals to signify food, warnings signals for enemies, and so forth. This is how ants are able to act together as a group. With this kind of communal power, ants can accomplish amazing things. They’ve been known to build bridges with their own bodies for their sisters to cross; some species will create and tend to underground fungus gardens; other species will herd and tend to honeydew-producing aphids as if they were tending cattle! Ants teach is something very important– the power of cooperation.

Hermit Crab (Superfamily Paguroidea)

O-oh! It’s a Hermit Crab! These aren’t insects, but they are arthropods. What defines an arthropod is that they are invertebrates with segmented bodies and jointed limbs, as well as a chitinous exoskeleton. That means Hermit Crabs and insects are relatives! And they’re very charming relatives, too. Hermit Crabs have ten legs, inquisitive stalk eyes, and soft bodies protected by a shell. But these crabs don’t grow their own shells! Instead, they borrow empty shells they happens to find, which are often sea snail shells. As this type of crab ages and grows larger, it must find new, larger shells to borrow. Sometimes, when a Hermit Crab is looking for a new shell, and finds one that’s too large, it will sit and wait by the large shell. Other hermit crabs will pass by and join the first, waiting in an orderly line. Then, when a Hermit Crab passes by that is a perfect fit for the shell, all the crabs will quickly exchange shells in sequence! All that shell-trading may be a lot of work, but in the end, it’s worth it for such a cozy home.

Fly (Musca domestica)

Aah, the common house fly. While this species of insect is rarely adored by people, the fly still has plenty of things to admire. This little scavenger plays an important role in breaking down wastes and organic matter, returning them to the earth. But the fly feeds on liquids, so how does it eat feces, carrion and rotting fruits or vegetation? Well, it regurgitates saliva from its stomach, which helps dissolve the food, and then sucks it up! You might also have observed that flies like to wander around a piece of food quite a bit before feeding. They’re likely tasting the food with their feet! This is also why you can often see flies carefully cleaning their feet. They need to stay tidy so their taste and tactile receptors work well. True, the fly can transfer diseases to human food by landing on something contaminated and then landing on human food. Yet there’s no denying they still play an important role in waste disposal– not to mention a vital role in the food web, as they’re food for many, many animals!

Mosquito (Family Culicidae)

Little mosquito, oh how your reputation precedes you. This tiny fly is known for being a blood-sucker, but did you know only the females suck blood? The males feed upon nectar. The females seek a blood meal so they can produce eggs. Female mosquitoes are able to narrow in on a person or animal by detecting body heat and the carbon dioxide of their breath. The mosquito then lands, inserts her long proboscis, and injects saliva into her target to help with blood flow, and feeds until she’s all filled up. The itchy bite that she leaves behind is actually because of the mosquito’s saliva. Now, mosquitoes can transmit some bad diseases when they bite people, there’s no denying. But mosquitoes are also very useful to scientists, who study the germs that can live inside mosquitoes. By studying them, we can learn to better control the diseases that they can cause.

Flea (Order Siphonaptera)

Fleas are teeny, tiny parasites that hunger for a blood meal. They have smooth, flattened bodies that help them move through fur or feathers with ease, hooked claws to help them cling to their hosts, and extremely powerful hind legs for jumping. A flea’s jump is incredible, and they can propel themselves around 200 times their own body length, making them one of the best jumpers in the world. While many flea species are very picky about their hosts, some fleas are generalists and may feed upon a variety of animals. Females will lay their eggs on the skin or the bedding of their host animals, and they will produce hundreds to thousands of eggs in their lifetime. The eggs hatch into little wiggling larvae that feed upon organic matter and their parents’ feces. When they mature into adults and take a blood meal, they can mate and begin the cycle anew. I can understand why people wouldn’t be terribly fond of fleas feeding on them, but luckily for me, fleas don’t care for reptile blood.

Snail (Phylum Mollusca, Class Gastropoda)

Our slithering, slime-coated companions are not actually insects! Instead, snails are mollusks, close relatives of clams, oysters and other shellfish. They have soft, mucous-coated bodies– the underside of the snail is actually one big 'foot’ of sorts that pulses rhythmically to propel the snail forward. The slime that coats a snail helps it glide efficiently along the ground, and also stick to surfaces. Additionally, this slime helps protect snails from a number of hazards, such as harsh sunlight, sharp objects, and even bacteria! I’m actually a little jealous. Being coated in slime has an awful lot of benefits, as it turns out!

Pill Bug (Order Isopoda, family Armadillidiidae)

Oh yes, the Pill Bug is something special! They’re actually not bugs at all but land-dwelling crustaceans– related to crabs, lobsters, and shrimp. They still retain their fondness for damp environments, so you’ll often see them under rocks or in tree stumps. In these wonderfully wet and dark places, they go about their business, eating decaying plant material and playing a vital role in decomposition and returning nutrients to our great earth. If you try to pick one up, it’s likely to roll into a ball– its plated armor allows it to curl into this protective posture. Wait a little while, and the Pill Bug may stop feeling shy and uncurl again, and you might get the chance to feel its many little legs walking in a gentle rhythm. It kind of tickles!

Wharf Roach(Ligia exotica)

Wharf Roaches are not actually cockroaches– they’re not even insects, but instead are isopods, relatives of crabs and lobsters. They love to wander along rocky coastlines and harbor walls, and scavenge organic debris and algaes, acting as little beach cleaners. You might already be familiar with a close cousin of the Wharf Roach, the Pill Bug. There are some quick and easy ways to tell them apart, though. The Wharf Roach doesn’t roll into a ball, and the Wharf Roach has large, bulging eyes and lovely, long antenna. Another fun fact about Wharf Roaches is that often, the females will carry around their eggs, holding onto them with specialized egg-carrying appendages. If you have appendages custom-made for parental care, you know you’re gonna be good with children!

Centipede (Scolopendra subspinipes)

My multilegged little marcher! The name 'centipede’ means '100 legs,’ but a centipede doesn’t actually have exactly 100 legs. Instead, it has anywhere from 30 to 354 legs, with one pair of legs per body segment. But because they always have an odd number of leg pairs, they never reach 100 exactly. Centipedes also have a pair of modified legs on their heads called forcipules, which inject venom into their prey. Be careful when interacting with centipedes, though! The centipede may bite more than just prey– it can bite anyone that it feels may be threatening them. This bite isn’t usually fatal, just painful, but it does mean you should respect the centipede’s boundaries, as with any creature. While centipedes can be aggressive, they can also be very kind; a large number of centipedes are very attentive mothers, wrapping their bodies around their eggs and remaining until they hatch. That tender, maternal embrace … those baby centipedes are very lucky to grow up so loved!

Spider (Order Araneae)

The bewitching arachnid! With their eight legs and eight eyes, their fang-tipped chelicerae and their wriggling pedipalps, how could you not fall in love? Spiders can produce silk, an amazing substance that’s flexible yet strong, and very versatile– they often use it to weave wondrous webs they wander like wizards, detecting the faintest vibrations when an insect has been captured. Other spiders are ambush predators, and can chase prey down at great speeds. Whatever method a spider chooses, they are truly masters of the hunt.

Scorpion (Order Scorpiones)

Behold, the scorpion! This dapper predator is an arachnid, which means it has eight legs and two body segments. Scorpions also have pinchers for grabbing prey and tails with venomous stingers. Fear not, however! Of the 2,000 or so scorpion species, while all are venomous, only a handful of about 25 or so have venom that is any real danger to humans. Even with those species, if you treat them with care, you should be safe and sound. The truth is, scorpions simply want to go about their lives, roaming around at night and finding insects to eat. They’re excellent hunters, and also excellent eaters! They can eat a great deal in one sitting and store food, so they can survive for long periods without food if needed. Scorpions are also caring parents. The females give live birth, carefully cradle their newborns, and then carry their babies on their backs. It’s honestly adorable.

Tarantula (Family Theraphosidae)

I’m told that a lot of people fear this sublime arachnid, due to its imposing size and its many legs. But tarantulas are actually very gentle, easygoing spiders, overall. While they do have venomous bites, those bites usually aren’t any worse than a bee sting. In fact, you should be more careful about their urticating hairs– that is, itchy hairs on their abdomens that they will fling at predators that frighten them. If you don’t give the tarantula a reason to fear, though, then they will leave you alone too. Actually, quite a few people keep tarantulas as pets. They like to dine upon insects, although they’ll occasionally eat larger things, like frogs, mice and even birds. Tarantulas are very good at sneaking up on their prey because each of their legs are tipped with furry, adorable little paws, which help them climb and sense their prey. Eight little fluffy paws! That’s four times the adorableness that cats and dogs have!

This is a repost on a new blog. The original post was on Aug 13, 2020.

#bugs #animal crossing #flick #acnh #animal crossing new horizons #insects #spiders #scorpions #the anti-blathers #long post #mycontent #video game discussions #real animals that inspire games

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cutegirlmayra · 4 years ago

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When your tired after a 16hr shift yesterday so you rant about Sonic and explain why aggressive writing vs. neutral writing helps with sharing ideas

Me and my online Sonic friend talking about Belle. (I’m skipping some dialogue throughout the chat, this was lazily put together lol)

WARNING: It’s long, and it’s a rant. So please note that I’m blatantly aware of how wrong my aggressive, sleep-deprived rant was and that I’m stating “DON’T PRESENT YOUR IDEAS LIKE THIS!” because this is not a healthy nor effective way of sharing ideas.

ALSO, ALL THE MENTIONS OF WHAT I BELIEVE MY FRIEND IS FEELING OR THINKING DURING MY RANT ARE ENTIRELY MY OPINON. If she tells me to delete something or change it I will without hesitation but I find it funny, as I look back, to insert what I think might be going on in her mind XD She might have been oblivious to me but I’ll get her thoughts and change anything if necessary.

It’s also how most trolls and antis and even some ‘not experienced writers’ write their ideas out, and it can be easily avoided by using Neutral Writing Methods. So this is a ‘don’t do this, but try this’ post. Enjoy my badly written, sleepy aggressive rant~<3 (Also, my friend gave me permission to share this lol)

Me: She could be for entertaining little kids. But we already have too many OCs, and they're not 'dying off' any time soon so...I smell a mini-series backup plan...and I don't like what that means for Sonic. And it is cute, sorry, my brain is off the hook right now, I'll keep things to myself cause you may not like what I'm predicting and I'm getting sad thinking about it ;-; so, want to be wrong.

(Friend mentioned “Tinker Bell” spin on name.)

That's precious, but can I get a link to the reference sheet plz? Reference sheets can tell a lot about a chara's functionality if you compare it to the 'needs' of the casts. it can help predict their role. I think she's meant to help but also entertain the kids, maybe planted with a secret. Her goal could be to come back to Mr. Tinker but Eggman abuses that and tricks her into a new robot. I got a weird theory about her but I'll just say that she's probably gonna go a bit dark. But be cute and make the audience go, "Aww, poor thing! She's a cinnamon roll" at first, wonder if they'll equip her with 'happy backstory, tragic ending' kinda thing to switch the usual 'tragic backstory happy ending' but I feel this is a tragic character meant to pull emotion out.

(Friend understands my concerns but mentions there hasn’t been a ‘Bad’ Oc for the comic)

No one sets out to create a 'bad character' especially professional writers like these guys. But what makes a character 'bad' is if you ruin or oversaturate their purposes. If she's a main character that over-shines others with too much story then the audience feels 'betrayed' because they want that screen time for the main casts to express themselves and shine through. That's just an example. When working with IPs like Sonic casts, you HAVE to remember the fanbase is expecting things Do you like my OCs? be honest lol Not from my prompts. There's a specific way to handle a OC that helps the main cast shine and reveals their characters more. AU Ocs help Canon Characters in many ways.

(Friend admits they have not seen my OCs in some of my fanfictions, they’ve only really read my prompts.)

Oh, well, some of my fanfictions have OCs, not Lavinya, she's just a mascot. My Sonic OC that retried XD Sorry, I'm misspelling a lot but I hope you don't mind, my spellcheck sucks and I've given up on it lol Oh, so you don't know Harmony, Ol'Wizzy, and Data?Or the Metal Series? Well, there are specific Ocs that my readers like and they express/compliment the canon characters to where even though they're a main character, they don't intervene with the Main Cast's goals. They actually help. Then everything I'm gonna say won't have much merit so I'll just focus on waiting to see if my predictions for Sonic IDW will come true, but I really hope they don't do what it looks like they strategically might be pulling... I hate SEGA marketing-

(The beginning of my aggressive rant, please note that I’m not thinking about my image and am writing tired and lazy. This is an example of how NOT to express your opinions in negative ways. It doesn’t influence good at all.)

Their ploys are outdated and frankly, do not work for their IPs market. They target the wrong age group, they have no idea how to organize themselves, and they don't have a leading 'elder' so to speak (just a professional among them) to make good calls. So you have young adults (not super professionals, this might be their first real company job) trying to target internet culture and failing their IPs. They're doing outdated Nintendo tactics that only worked for NINTENDO! Also some other companies that have DIED so why are you copying their marketing strats!? stop! lol

Friend: Did you study marketing because this entire convo kinda flew over my head in terms of understanding (This should have indicated to me that my words were coming off too factual and had too many ‘jargons’ going on. I was losing my ‘reader’ through my rant, but my tired brain would not cease!)

Sonic's trying to morph into something he's not and they're following outdated college course books and it's not gonna help... they're leading Sonic further down and the creators in japan have no power cause all the power is in the stock holders who are stupid money-hungry americans who have lost faith in American SEGA leading SEGA of Japan to move on to other things

Friend: mostly just got you don’t like the marketing (Huge red flag! This means my friend is starting to tune my info out, it’s because I’m presenting my ideas in a slightly aggressive writing style. There are trigger words here that lead an reader to start doubting you. This is why, in most of my answer posts, I make sure to write Neutral writing methods, but I’ll mention that more after my rant lol XP)

It's just bad. Lol I have a Frankenstein degree, (Now I’m justifying myself, which was caused by my aggressive approach. If I simply stated this in a more ‘neutral writing method’ then I wouldn’t have to worry about creditability claims because I’m not trying to sell my idea as the high authority on it.) which means I have knowledge on many different fields. I never took a fully -dedicated- 'marketing class' I took a lot of different communication classes that went to my overall major. One was directly about how you present, sell, and look at marketing tactics. So I have my fingers in many different fields, my major was "Creative Writing for Fiction and Film with an Emphasis in Video Production and a Cluster in Theatre Arts." So I can be on camera, off camera, post and pre production, creative table and actual filming. Does that make sense? (I’m not fully awake to realize what I’m writing, but it’s clear at this point I’m starting to wake up and realize I’m ranting and tossing my ideals of how to present ideas out the window, but let’s watch my follies and learn from them, shall we?) I have theories on what SEGA is going to do, and I have my worries because it's all outdated. It worked for older companies but those companies also targeted a varying audience, which SEGA refuses to see themselves as for a 'teenage audience' which is exactly why they boomed in the 90s. Their target audience is now 20s.

Friend: There are Kids who also like Sonic, even if they don’t play the games though. (Due to my aggressive tactics from not thinking clearly about, not just the what, but the HOW I’m writing, it has turned my friend into a ‘contrasting neutrality’ which is amazing by the way that she did this! She noticed my writing was turning aggressively ranting, and being my friend, didn’t want to be rude about what she was noticing. -I’m guessing lol- so instead, she took the commentary approach, which is to state the good as well. This is a terrible position to put your reader into, and you should make sure to always have good examples and good praise mixed in to contrast any opposing or aggressive statements you ever make. -though you should avoid aggressive writing at all times- Sadly, this does put the reader, in this case my friend, in a very vulnerable position. It leaves them open for attack... but thankfully, she’s a wonderful friend and had trust that I wouldn’t hurt her on her counter-follow-up.)

So instead of using their 40 to 50 year old charts, start with looking at early millennial trends and desires. They tried for 'angst' to 'adultify' Sonic but it busted because we are STICKLERS for animation. Because their story was so scrapped together and had no actual character depth, motivation, or even emotional growth to develop for future game lore, they went for the 'easy made game' (Easy baked oven quote lol that’s just mean XD) We loved the trailer, it was well made, but they threw their animators elsewhere and made the programmers (WHO BLANATLY ADMIT THEY DONT KNOW HOW TO DO STORY/GRAPHICS) and made them do things they aren't trained in. Those micro-head movements and mouths took them A LONG TIME to figure out.

(My friend is now agreeing with me several times through my rant. This is a tactic that is used as ‘avoidance’ but also for ‘appeasement’. She’s probably tuned out by now, but respects what I’m saying but is also incredulous at it as well. It’s fair, I’ve cornered her into my sleepy-time rant, and being the lovable woman that she is, she is simply waiting for me to realize my follies lolol I wish she would have told me but I think she knew I was beyond ‘logical reasoning’ at this point and was just letting me get it all out lolol What a good friend TDT)

Animation can't be learned that fast AND expect them to program a game AT THE SAME TIME. Sonic Forces was a 'split up SEGA' trying to get those who survived and said, "Yeah, I'll stay in this job." to do things that THEY AREN'T EVEN TRAINED IN. you put a game programmer on animation and some other stuff they didn't know what to do with and expect it be a top-notch seller.

Friend: (in more attempts to join in and be a ‘participant’ of the conversation I’m clearly dominating -MY ABSOLUTE BAD- she tried to engage normal conversation flow into the discussion again. At this point, she probably did notice I wasn’t my usual self, and just decided to play along and enjoy the ride lolol I’m just guessing this tho, but it’s a good chance to reflect on what ‘wrongs’ I was doing and what ‘rights’ she was doing during this situation ;)b) My big issue with SEGA is that they rush everything. A lot of things would’ve been better if they had the proper time.

That was resolved actually.

Friend: Oh? It was? (Although this looks like an encouragement, it’s actually just another avoidance tactic to help me ‘get the venting out’ but it’s clear she’s not fully onboard anymore. When you write to discuss, you have to leave room for other’s opinions to shine through as well. Healthy conversation doesn’t mean forcing the other person to comply to you. A lot of this is educated guess based on past research, she knows this, and it’s clear she’s got her own research. Please remember to never shoot someone down when they try to engage you in your conversations. But again, this is the ‘don’t do this’ and me upset at my tired self for not waking up fast enough to contemplate how I was coming across in my wordings. Let’s continue to investigate and dissect the train wreck, shall we?)

That was an issue a few years ago but SEGA is taking their time, it's just that they can't organize themselves and hire the right professionals. They have old tactics, they have rookies that aren't 'Fresh Blood with professionalism' like they need. They don't need an old fart who knows his stuff, they need a new guy who is dedicated and passionate about their company who will remain there, learn them in and out, and knows his stuff SPECIFICALLY for the things SEGA needs. You have to grow that. You have to hire a very talented and young spunky and fresh professional, have him work with you for 10-15 years, and start training others. But SEGA is already recognized as a 'established' company.

(Friend is still agreeing with me, but is aware of my way of presenting it isn’t “As nice as I usually present it” so she starts mentioning the symptoms of Japanese Work Culture. A wonderful, insightful point to mention! But let’s see how I butcher this as well...)

It's not Japan though! (Again, shutting her down. Tsk tsk, sleepy me. Wake up, you lazy bum.) They won't let Japan interfere! They're all really rude to japan actually. The guys in charge, anyway. We all respect the officials, but SEGA of America people just want results. They are just funders, they don't actually work the company.

Friend: So you blame them for everything? (She’s trying to help me see that my writing is coming off as ‘hate’ which is because of my aggressive writing follies I’m doing so bluntly. Let’s please all admire my friend’s patience as she lets me rant and kindly waits for me to realize how bad I’m handling my 16 hr shift from yesterday lolol)

Look, business is really unfair, and I get that, but if I have to rant (I’m starting to wake up more, oh goodie.) I'd say they really need to humble themselves and ask Japan to please take ownership again. They kicked out people due to a money crisis but they need a game that will be 'safe to secure money but get enough excited momentum to help us push on and continue.' which isn't Japan's strategy usually. Japan likes risks, they also like money too. They trust America too much (especially in the beginning) because America is a HUGE consumer. For the world in fact. But I think they sacrificed too much for the company (common in Japan) and trusted America too much in making decisions. The officials are too nice to say that America screwed them over because America wanted full control. Well guess what? They have too much control now and their product is sinking..

Friend: You’ve got a lot of fire about this topic. (After I completely disregarded reading her follows-ups and continued to rant, my unconditionally kind friend finally threw in the towel, realizing I was no where near my usually ‘present’ self and was probably just flopped back in her chair smiling at my idiocy of not understanding her kind and subtly hints.) Go ahead and rant it out. (BOOM! Obvious right!? I should have corrected myself but at this point, I was writing like wild fire with droopy, waking up eyes and didn’t even read it during my long paragraphs...)

Sonic won't ever fade away due to it's fans, but the company is struggling to figure itself out for YEARS now. I just worry what they plan to do next. But I have a theory that they are really putting the next game in Japan's hands, a lot of activity is happening in SEGA of Japan, and they're spending WAY MORE TIME on the next installment of Modern Sonic (or Classic, still unsure which one it is yet.) I really think they need a remake game to give them profit, then use that profit for their next big installment. But so far, I think they are working on a game BUT corona might have effected production so I'm sure they are working but I'm concerned if Corona helped manage 'time and quality' or is helping to ruin it...That I can't investigate yet :( I just wish for the best (I’M FINALLY WAKING UP FULLY AS I STOP AND REALIZE-) Sorry for my rant! My theory talk showed through and I don't usually like doing that so forgive me. I'm tired and that's why T-T

Friend: It’s cool we all need to rant sometimes. (My friend’s going to make it to Heaven TwT she’s so kind.)

(Then I profusely apologized a billion times cause I realize how badly this all went down. lol)

(But the terror hasn’t ended... she mentioned some youtube videos mentioning other opinions as well. -which I’m usually cautious of cause some of them can be fanon.-)

OHhhh did he mention the arcade crash??? the literal WORST event in SEGA history??? That's literally where they sank the titanic, SEGA has never recovered from selling off their stocks. (I’M BACK AT IT AGAIN. -facepalm-) Shareholders are everything now and it's the biggest loss ever. Also, the problem is that kids don't play the games, (Rereading my follies and wanting to answer but still only just waking up...) but SEGA can't figure out why they like the characters and can't seem to take the FREAKIN' TIME to learn their lore. (Overwhelming the conversation again.) My easy steps: Re-establish Sonic lore CANONLY AND CORRECTLY, Re-gather the Japanese Officials original plans and notes, guides and study art, Re-make some popular games with the most details on Animation, Fluidity of motion graphics, and with modern Technology incorporated into the game. Once that is accomplished, they will have enough money to then- Create a continuity. Only with a flowing story and relevant past lore can they start moving forward. Animation will target their audience, Story and character re-established arcs will bring nostalgia and new blood to the field of their games, and then Japan's influences will keep it authentic for the continuities so we don't have fandom mixing with canon NEARLY AS BADLY as before anymore. Ugh, it does matter their sales, but I literally bought a book on the history of SEGA, and read a really compelling history article about more then just the Console Wars... I know SEGA has survived literally the edge of extinction on multiple fronts, but someone needs to take charge of their Sonic branch, and it's... it's just too outdated. kk, sorry for the rant.

Friend: (After being multiple times ignored, even after my brief moment of clarity, is still an angel. Frustrated, maybe, but an angel.) And your steps sound really good. Also mostly just listen to his vids if you ever do. It’s ok we all need to rant. (THE WORLD DOESN’T DESERVE THIS GURL T-T)

I'm tired so my 'angry' is showing and it's not professional XD do you mind if I post my rant? lol Actually, no. (Realize how awfully I delivered my ideas, this is where I begin to see my errors and where the clarity comes into play. -we all have our off days lol- )

Friend: Go for it

I want to but it's too aggressive. I'm too lazy to rewrite it out so I'll just save that for another day XD You got a rare treat

Friend: (This is actually interesting and fascinating to her. But she realized then that I finally did see my error.) Concerned you’ll get aggressive responses back?

Honest opinion is sometimes too blunt and I need to be careful about that

Friend: I mean it’s always good to try and get most of the anger out so you seem more professional (Saint. Literally. A saint. She’s puts up with too much of my crap XD)

That, and also the war of 'But this is Cutegirlmayra? She's so sweet and constantly puts her answers in supportive, positive lights so that if SEGA were to see it, they would feel empowered to try it instead of threatened and throw it off as hate or something unprofessional.' I have an image too. I can't post something super aggressive or I'll lose trust. You're right.

Friend: I’m glad you put a lot of thought into everything you post

I apologize for it tho T-T I didn't mean to dominate with such opinions...lol I worry who I influence, you know?

Friend: Most people don’t and trust me they get into trouble cause of it. And yeah.

I don't want to create trolls or heated arguments. I want to teach people they can safely express an idea without using such awful communication. Exactly, it's professional fanism. lol Positive writing is what companies and their employees actually read. (I’m almost fully awake now lol, realizing my blunder and starting to explain why I was in the wrong. Good on me, pat on the back, admitting I was coming off as aggressive is the first step to changing and getting better lolol Also, I’m including her more, and I’m saying “You’re right.” and she’s going “And yeah.” which is a indicator that the conversation is slowly returning to an enjoyable and healthy one. ;w; happy endings lol) That's why I skip the aggressive stuff, even if it's passive, I write in a neutral setting so everyone feels safe to read, even someone who works at SEGA.

Friend: (Mentions some nintendo youtuber rant and also news as well, then says-) It was honestly very professional sounding and not rude. (MY HEART, YOU KNEW THAT WAS AN AGGRESSIVE RANT lololol So nice to me TDT)

Lol you had to have seen how slightly aggressive it was tho. (I’M CALLING YOUR BLUFF, BESTIE lol) You literally asked, "You blame America for it?" which is not always true but semi-true. They were way too prideful (Aggressive word) and haughty (Still aggressive terminology) about their success in other Japanese products that they wanted to completely change Sonic to their own wishes, pushing out Japan's creative "licenses" (I use this word loosely, and this gives a slightly aggressive feel but is also more dumbed down so it's more 'passionate' than just aggressive)

Friend: Yeah I saw it was slightly aggressive (Either is starting to realize it or at last admitting it now that I am fully aware of how I was coming across. I also used indicators to show what words were aggressive to help illustrate my point. This is showing I’m much more awake now :)b)

Gotta use those neutral tactics or no one will feel comfortable just reading your idea and instead, will constantly look for a place to intercept with aggression back, whether they agree or not, they're looking for ways to self-insert their aggression if you are also aggressive. I can't write something that doesn't somewhat support and uplift SEGA of America. Why? Because like I said, they literally have survived EVERYTHING and have stuck around. Without them, there wouldn't be an American branch and the money issue would have ended SEGA. Some might say, "But they've done so much harm than good! Why is the money thing such a thing to be praised for?" But it's huge, it's so big, it kinda does offset the wrongs. (Now I’m doing the healthy thing, doubling back and mentioning the good to try and recover. The damage may be done, but she did recommend some videos for me and was polite, so I’m just trying to smooth things over and leave on a ‘wrapped up’ conclusion. But... I should have just left it there in all honesty xD Some things you can’t double-back and correct lol) America is a great business-influenced mindset. None of us would be fans of Sonic without them.

(Friend continues to agree but realizes I may slip into ranting again. She just asks if I can watch the videos.)

America does have it's advantages in some fields and areas, but their biggest most redeeming quality is that they saved SEGA which gave us our biggest love and obsession: Sonic. Now, my usage in that writing was still off neutral, but combined with the slightly aggressive statements, made a GREAT contrast. It's still slightly praising

Friend: And they stopped Japan from giving him a human girlfriend right away.

Me: Exactly.

Friend: I will always thank them for that. (She’s still a sweetheart, working herself into the conversation so it stays healthy. lol Such amazing follow-ups too!)

So although I don't like what's happening, I'm also grateful... to a degree lol We need SEGA of America, which is why I think Japan just ignores them now lolol they know they owe them a lot.

(Friend mentions videos and as I go to save them to my ‘watch later’ sees that one of them is about Nintendo.)

Yeeeahhh I've noticed that Nintendo is starting to trail into 'cash grab' tactics and that's sickening (MORE AGGRESSIVE WORDING??? HAVE YOU NOT LEARNED YOUR LESSON CHILD?! It takes time to fully wake up lolol) cause before, I literally thought, "Nintendo can do no wrong" their marketing was ON POINT! but the stuff they said about Peach and now... I think new, unprofessional blood (like SEGA) has entered Nintendo and the older guys are either 'training' or 'retired to other ventures'. Nintendo is having it's own 'we used to not be prideful but now we're getting a little too pompous (Another aggressive wording... This can easily trigger people to comment with further aggression either against you or for you, but no aggression is the ideal. Which is continuing to show my lack of remaining conscious lol) about ourselves' and they're starting to act like Disney before their big crash. Disney also had 'limited time offers' with their VHS movies. Now, Nintendo is doing that. They'll make money, but at what cost? When you lose your costumer's trust...

Friend: And yeah the 35th Mario thing immediately reminded me of the Disney vault

Me: Yep. I'm worried for Nintendo. Don't get me wrong! Disney is really good with money grabs, but they... they also act high and mighty (More aggressive statements, wake up, darn it!!!) and their fanbase literally calls them 'an empire' so the fan-trust is gone. That makes you 'lame/outdated' and fans begin to look for 'what's cool?' instead.

(Friend is now re-realizing I’m ‘in and out’ so is trying to use a effective avoidance tactic by asking about different things to help my ranting fully stop.)

Sorry, I'm tired, I get on these rants and I don't mean too. (Trying to shake myself awake again.) I'm sorry.

So we returned to a healthy conversation, but I hope this interesting insight has revealed how to and what not to do about Aggressive Writing. Always stick to Neutral writing if you can, putting in a compelling counter-argument. In this aggressive writing demo, you saw that I tried to cover up my follies by saying counter-praise, but praise writing can be just as bad as aggressive writing. Passive writing can sometimes be annoying (aggressive word choice) too if you come off as disinterested or uncaring, which can still result in negative comments coming at you, or someone overly praising in their writings.

This has been all I’m showing you cause it’s kinda embarrassing ^^; but I hope it helps you in what ‘not to do’ while writing your ideas out :)b

Learn from my sleepy-time mistakes! lol

#cutegirlmayra #aggressive writing #what not to do #sonic #nintendo #marketing #sega #commentary #rant writing #an example to help teach #sonic the hedgehog #sonic idw #sonic comic #sonic rant

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simschallenges · 4 years ago

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Chinese Zodiac Legacy Challenge

(note: because the original poster has deactivated, i am reposting an archived version of the challenge rules retrieved with the wayback machine. all of the following text is a copy of the original post by @autumnalpixels.)

Thanks to the idea from an anon on tumblr, I’ve decided to make a second version of my zodiac challenge that focuses on the Chinese Zodiacs.

For those who don’t know, the Chinese Zodiacs are representative of an entire year, not a month. So, for example, I was born in 1997 and I am born in the year of the Ox. Twelve years in the future (2009) was the next year of the Ox. The zodiacs are similar in the way that they each have certain personalities and whatnot, but unlike the Western Zodiac, the Chinese Zodiac uses animals to represent each of the twelve main personalities, rather than planets.

As far as I’m aware, I don’t think this challenge has been made, and I’m thankful for the anon’s suggestion to make this! The original was really fun to make, and I hope that everyone enjoys this challenge as well. This is also going to be a 12-generation legacy, with each generation representing one of the different Chinese Zodiacs.

Side note: This legacy is not meant to misrepresent or offend anyone. The generations are being based off of descriptions of the zodiacs from this website. Feel free to read up more about each zodiac to get a better sense of your sim’s personality! I greatly encourage you to research the signs more because they are very interesting.

Starting out:

Feel free to make your founder however you’d like. Traits for each heir will be listed in their section, but their looks are up to you so feel free to get creative! You’ll start out like a traditional legacy on one of the 50x50 lots (or 64x64 if you’d like). Here is a link to Pinstar’s legacy rules.

General Challenge Rules:

Honestly this is the only way to fail the challenge, other than not producing an heir.

Generation One: Rat

“With strong intuition and quick response, those born in the year of the Rat always easily adapt themselves to a new environment. With rich imaginations and sharp observation, Rats can take advantage of various opportunities well. Rats have strong curiosity, so they tend to try their hands at anything, and they can deal with it skillfully. A lack of courage, as well as good command skills, Rats are not capable as leaders. Opportunistic and picky as Rats are, they do not have broad minds, but a narrow view. Rats are kind, but sometimes impolite to others. People of the Rat zodiac sign usually sleep late, for mice are nocturnal animals.”

You can say you’ve never really been the time of person to commit yourself to a certain thing. Whether it be a romance, a job, a hobby, whatever; point is, you get bogged down if you’re forced into doing the same thing too often. You are intelligent and talented, but you bore easily and like to learn and experience many things at once, despite how overwhelmed you get. You can be kind of insensitive sometimes and can come across as rude or that you think you are better than others, but in all reality you are a bit of a coward and are just shy and prefer to avoid confrontation. You’ve always wanted a family, but can you handle it?

Traits: Noncommittal, Genius, Loner Aspiration: Renaissance Sim Career: Due to your aspiration, you’ll be changing your job a lot, so you can pick.

Goals:

Complete your aspiration

Max four skills of your choice

Don’t get married, have at least two children with different partners.

Date around a lot, go on at least one date a week. Each date can be with the same person or different people, up to you!

Feel free to have a hobby that can make money (painting, writing, gardening); you won’t be making much money at the beginning of this generation due to needed to job hop

Generation Two: Ox

“Oxes are known for diligence, dependability, strength and determination. Having an honest nature, Oxes have a strong patriotism for their country, have ideals and ambitions for life, and attach importance to family and work. Having a desire to advance and great patience, Oxes can achieve their goals by consistent efforts. They are not influenced by others or the environment, but persist to do things in accordance with their ideas and capabilities. Before taking action, they will have a definite plan with detailed steps and add their strong faith and physical strength. So people of the Ox zodiac sign enjoy great success as a result. The most disadvantageous trait in Oxes is poor communication skills. They are not good at communicating with others, and even think it not worthwhile exchanging ideas with others. They are stubborn and stick to their own ways.”

Stubborn, persistent, overbearing. Many of your classmates would have described you that way, but you personally like the words ambitious, overachieving, and powerful to use for yourself. You can be a bit of a know it all and tend to stick to your beliefs, even when they’ve been proven wrong. However, you have grown to learn how to convince others to believe what you say (even bordering on manipulation at times). Outside of convincing people of things, however, you loathe conversing with others and would much rather spend time doing the things you enjoy, which includes working hard at your career. You grew up in a family that didn’t have the greatest time with careers, as your single parent had several careers throughout your childhood. You don’t want that. You want better for your children; to have enough money to see them succeed. But although you do truly love your children, you don’t get attached to others easily and they are no exception. You want them to succeed and do well, but you aren’t there for them when they need you because you are working. How will this affect the white picket fence family that you wanted?

Traits: Ambitious, Self-Assured, Loner Aspiration: Successful Lineage Career: Critic

Goals:

Complete your aspiration

Max your career (either branch)

Max the Logic skill and one creative skill (painting, cooking, guitar, whatever you’d like)

Get married at a young age to your high school sweetheart. Start having kids immediately, four in total. You don’t get along with your spouse and fight a lot, but you’re not allowed to divorce them. It would ruin your white picket fence fever dream.

Never become more than “friends” with your children (i.e. good or best friends).

Make your children do their homework every night and all school projects; children must have A’s in school before they can age up to teen.

Teens must have a job and at least a B grade in school before they can age up to YA.

Become good friends with all of your grandchildren.

Generation Three: Tiger

“People born in the year of the Tiger are brave, competitive, unpredictable, and self-confident. They are very charming and well-liked by others. But sometimes they are likely to be impetuous, irritable, and overindulged. With stubborn personalities and tough judgment, tigers work actively and boldly express themselves, and do things with a high-handed manner. They are authoritative and never go back on what they have said. With great confidence and indomitable fortitude, they can be competent leaders. They will not make preparations for anything, but they can handle anything that comes along.”

Even though you don’t want to admit it, you grew up a lot like your parent. You’re stubborn and confident as well, but you tend to want to work with others and crave social interaction. You want to be the best, but not in the same way as your parents; you want to have it all: a good career, a loving spouse and children, and a great social life. You enjoy get togethers and parties, and you are very popular amongst your coworkers and friends. Some would even say you were the leader of the pack.

Traits: Outgoing, Self-Assured, Hot-headed Aspiration: Party Animal Career: Detective. Once you reach level five of the career, quit your job and become a politician.

Goals:

Complete your aspiration

Max the Politician Career

Have at least a silver medal on each kind of party

Get married, have a kid, then get remarried and have more kids (number is up to you.)

Have 1 BFF and three Good Friends

Be the leader of a club with eight sims and buy all of the Clothing and Decor perks, display them around your house

Generation Four: Rabbit

“Rabbits tend to be gentle, quiet, elegant, and alert; quick, skillful, kind, and patient; and particularly responsible. However, they might be superficial, stubborn, melancholy, and overly-discreet. Generally speaking, people who belong to the Rabbit zodiac sign have likable characters. When meeting trouble, Rabbits can handle it in an orderly way; when encountering tough difficulties they are never discouraged, but are persistent to seek solutions. So they eventually achieve enviable success. Rabbits are faithful to those around them, but reluctant to reveal their minds to others, and have a tendency to escape reality. They are too cautious and conservative, which means they miss good opportunities.”

If there was ballet, you would have done ballet since you were a child. You are graceful and calm, but you have your moments where your insecurities take over you and you can become a bit gloomy. You love the arts and are more of a homebody than your parent, and love spending hours reading and writing stories and poetry. You are generally a positive person and enjoy having a small group of friends that you can go get coffee with and discuss books, rather than attending parties. You can be a bit skittish, though, and you like the finer things in life. There’s a side of you that you hide from the people you know, however; you may just not be as sweet and innocent as you seem.

Traits: Bookworm, Gloomy, Materialistic Aspiration: Mansion Baron Career: Criminal

Goals:

Complete your aspiration

Max the your career (either branch)

Have two good friends

Marry and have five children with the same spouse

Do not let anyone find out about your career. If they do, you need to get rid of them. Threaten them, erase their memory (if you are an alien), or kill them off. No one can know who you truly are.

Buy something new (worth at least 500 simoleons) every week

Generation Five: Dragon

“Among Chinese zodiac animals, the Dragon is the sole imaginary animal. The Dragon is the most vital and powerful beast in the Chinese zodiac, although with an infamous reputation for being a hothead and possessing a sharp tongue. In ancient times, people thought that Dragons could control everything in the world with their character traits of dominance and ambition. Gifted with innate courage, tenacity and intelligence, dragons are enthusiastic and confident. They are not afraid of challenges, and willing to take risks. However, the dragon is sometimes regarded as aggressive, and angry dragons are not open to criticism. They don’t consider themselves irritating and arrogant. Instead of following tradition, they strive for a smooth future.”

Your parent made you sick. Being a criminal and being so materialistic was not how you wanted to be like, so you rebelled at a young age and, as a teen, ran away to start your life anew. The only things you took with you were a few photographs of you and your siblings, and some things of your parent’s that you could sell for cash. You can be a bit reckless and impulsive, and you don’t like thinking things through, tending to follow your gut rather than your brain. You want a big family like what you came from, but you were going to make the money to raise your kids honestly.

Traits: Hot-Headed, Good, Outgoing Aspiration: Big Happy Family Career: Retail Store Owner

Goals:

Complete your aspiration

Max the your career (either branch)

Max Charisma skill

Run away as a teen, starting over. (You don’t have to bring family photos with you, but you do have to bring the Knight of the Octagon Table and other things with you that you can sell. Do not sell the Knight of the Octagon Table.)

Cannot go to school except on Wednesdays and Thursdays. Must do homework every night, however, and remain at least a C grade in school.

Open a retail shop once a YA (can sell whatever you’d like)

Get married halfway through young adulthood to a friend from high school

Have four kids

Have a garden with at least four perfect Dragonfruit plants

Generation Six: Snake

“In Chinese culture, the Snake is the most enigmatic animal among the twelve zodiac animals. People born in a year of the Snake are supposed to be the most intuitive. Snakes tend to act according to their own judgments, even while remaining the most private and reticent. They are determined to accomplish their goals and hate to fail. Snakes represent the symbol of wisdom. They are intelligent and wise. They are good at communication but say little. Snakes are usually regarded as great thinkers. Snakes are materialistic and love keeping up with the Joneses. They love to posses the best of everything, but they have no patience for shopping. Snake people prefer to work alone, therefore they are easily stressed. If they seem unusually stressed, it is best to allow them their own space and time to return to normal.”

You grew up to be a very laid back and easygoing person. You love nature and you know the value of a dollar, which can sometimes lead you to being a bit frugal. You are also a bit of a hoarder and love collecting things, and if someone even brings up getting rid of something, you aren’t too pleased with them. You are seen by many as wise and intelligent, and you definitely are. You are in tune with yourself and the natural world around you. You are very mysterious and a private person however, so while people spill their problems out to you and you help them, you don’t tell anyone about yourself.

Traits: Vegetarian, Materialistic, Loves Outdoors Aspiration: The Curator Career: None

Goals:

Complete your aspiration

Max Wellness skill

Keep all of the plants from the last generation and expand the garden to include at least four perfect orchid plants

Do not hire any services; everything must be done by your sims. (Exception: babies can be sent to daycare while your sims are at work/school or on another lot.)

Complete any collection.

You must be BFFs and know all of your partner’s traits before you can be romantic with them.

Have two kids.

Generation Seven: Horse

“People born in a year of the Horse are extremely animated, active and energetic. Horses love to be in a crowd, and they can usually be seen on such occasions as concerts, theater performances, meetings, sporting events, and parties. With a deft sense of humor, Horses are masters of repartee. They love to take center stage and delight audiences everywhere. Sometimes, the Horse is a little self-centered, but it doesn’t mean that s/he can not be interested in others’ problems. Horses are really more cunning than intelligent, and that is probably why most Horse people lack real confidence.”

You were that kid in school. You know, the one obsessed with horses. Your favorite toy was a horse, and you carried it around with you everywhere. Eventually you grew out of this horse phase (thank god) but you still loved the roots that the past few generations had of living off the land and running a farm. You are energetic and fun to be around, and you love to joke around and make people laugh. You found out by the time that you were a teenager that the farm life wasn’t for you, and you decided to focus on something that you were good at: bringing joy to other people through witty jokes and karaoke fails. You love seeing others happy, but at what expense?

Traits: Goofball, Gloomy, Active Aspiration: Joke Star Career: Entertainer

Goals:

Complete your aspiration

Max your career (either branch)

Never get married, have a one night stand that results in pregnancy

You can have a live-in datemate, however, but you two can never actually get married

Write in a journal every night

Go jogging for an hour every day

Max comedy and charisma skills

Pass down your favorite horse toy to your only child

Generation Eight: Goat

“People born in a year of the Goat are generally believed to be gentle, mild-mannered, shy, stable, sympathetic, amicable, and brimming with a strong sense of kindheartedness and justice. They have very delicate thoughts, strong creativity, and perseverance, and acquire professional skills well. Although they look gentle on the surface, they are tough on the inside, always insisting on their own opinions in their minds. They have strong inner resilience and excellent defensive instincts. Though they prefer to be in groups, they do not want to be the center of attention. They are reserved and quiet, most likely because they like spending much time in their thoughts. Goats like to spend money on fashionable things that give them a first class appearance. Although goats enjoy spending money on the finer things in life, they are not snobbish.”

You are not a snob, per se, but you definitely have an eye for the expensive, lavish ways of life. You love to spoil your spouse and your children, and enjoy giving gifts. You just can’t help that you want to appear wealthy, even if you aren’t. You are kind-hearted and love volunteering with your family to make the world a better place.

Traits: Good, Creative, Art Lover Aspiration: Painter Extraordinaire Career: Painter

Goals:

Complete your aspiration

Max your career (either branch)

Become an art collector (have one room on the house dedicated for all of the pieces of art you’ve either made or bought)

Master Painting skill

Volunteer with your family once a week

Paint a portrait of your spouse and your children

Marry and have three kids

Generation Nine: Monkey

“People born in a year of the Monkey have magnetic personalities and are witty and intelligent. Personality traits like mischievousness, curiosity, and cleverness, make them very naughty. Monkeys are masters of practical jokes, because they like playing most of the time. Though they don’t have bad intentions, their pranks sometimes hurt the feelings of others. Monkeys are fast learners and crafty opportunists. They have many interests and need partners who are capable of stimulating them. While some like the eccentric nature of Monkeys, others don’t trust their sly, restless, and inquisitive nature. Although they are clever and creative, Monkeys can’t always exhibit their talents properly. They like to accept challenges and prefer urban life to rural.”

Traits: Goofball, Genius, Foodie Aspiration: Chief of Mischief Career: Tech Guru

Goals:

Complete your aspiration

Max your career (either branch)

Move to San Myshuno as a Young Adult (take the Knight of the Octagon Table statue with you)

Max the Programming, Mischief, and Handiness skills

Learn all of the new recipes from City Living

Earn the Spice Hound and Chopstick Master traits

Marry and have two children

Make sure all of your children learn all of the recipes you’ve learned

Generation Ten: Rooster

“People born in a year of the Rooster are very observant. Hardworking, resourceful, courageous, and talented, Roosters are very confident in themselves. Roosters are always active, amusing, and popular within a crowd. Roosters are talkative, outspoken, frank, open, honest, and loyal individuals. They like to be the center of attention and always appear attractive and beautiful. Roosters are happiest when they are surrounded by others, whether at a party or just a social gathering. They enjoy the spotlight and will exhibit their charm on any occasion. Roosters expect others to listen to them while they speak, and can become agitated if they don’t. Vain and boastful, Roosters like to brag about themselves and their accomplishments. Their behavior of continually seeking the unwavering attention of others annoys people around them at times.”

Traits: Self-Assured, Active, Dance Machine Aspiration: Vampire Family Career: Entertainer

Goals:

Complete your aspiration

Max your career (opposite branch from generation seven)

Make and run an athletic club, purchase all of the energized mood perks and the fitness skill perk

Max fitness and dancing skills

Become a vampire because you are obsessed with your eternal youth

Only have one biological child, but adopt twins

You can choose to get married or not

Generation Eleven: Dog

“Dogs are loyal and honest, amiable and kind, cautious and prudent. Due to having a strong sense of loyalty and sincerity, Dogs will do everything for the person who they think is most important. As Dogs are not good at communication, it is difficult for them to convey their thoughts to others. Therefore, Dogs tend to leave others with the impression that they have a stubborn personality. Born with a good nature, Dogs do not tend to be criminals or seek dishonest gains. They just need a quiet life and a good family and, therefore, forget the ugliness and evil on Earth. Dogs are always ready to help others and do not care about their own interests, but if they find themselves betrayed by cunning people they will feel shocked and hurt. When thrown into doubt, Dogs think the world is evil and complicated. Then they criticize sharply when giving comments on something, and infer all things are according to their pessimistic point of view.”

Traits: Bro, Good, Gloomy Aspiration: Soulmate Career: Athletic

Goals:

Complete your aspiration

Max your career

Fall in love with a human and cure your vampirism to be with them

Stay married to one person, no matter what

Own several dogs (Pets EP)

Have a “pack”, aka four to five friends that you can really trust

Be BFFs with your spouse

Have four kids

Generation Twelve: Pig

“Pigs are diligent, compassionate, and generous. They have great concentration: once they set a goal, they will devote all their energy to achieving it. Though Pigs rarely seek help from others, they will not refuse to give others a hand. Pigs never suspect trickery, so they are easily fooled. Generally speaking, Pigs are relatively calm when facing trouble. No matter how difficult the problems are Pigs encounter, they can handle things properly and carefully. They have a great sense of responsibility to finish what they are engaged in.”

Traits: Good, Glutton, Loves Outdoors Aspiration: Soulmate Career: Culinary

Goals:

Complete your aspiration

Max your career (either branch)

Have a garden with one of every plant (excluding plants from GTW and OR)

Max cooking, gourmet cooking, and baking skills

Host a gold level dinner party every Friday

Have a large amount of friends (at least three)

Never marry, but adopt one child

Oh wow, we’ve made it to the end of the challenge! I hope you enjoyed. Feel free to show me pictures or update me on your playthrough on this if you’d like (tumblr: autumnalpixels.tumblr.com/twitter: @absoluteking8). You can also use the hashtag #autumnalchinesezodiac so I can see your posts and reblog some of them!

If you have any questions or suggestions, feel free to tell me and I’ll take them into consideration. <3

#challenge: chinese zodiac legacy #challenge rules #challenge rules: chinese zodiac legacy #challenge type: all #challenge type: gameplay #challenge type: legacy #game: ts4

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void-knights · 4 years ago

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Hygge : Chapter One

Pairing: Loki / Original Character,

Chapter Rating: Teen

Tags: Slow Burn, Romance, LGBT Themes, Oc has ADHD, injury mention, Standard Tragic past, Mentions of Loki's past toture, Mentions of past child abuse (OC), Sickness, Near Death, Body Dysphoria, Gender Dysphoria, Prosthesis, Eventual Romance, Eventual Smut, Extremis 616, Starboost Armour, Strangers to Friends, Friends to Lovers, Loki cooks, Loki teaches,

A/N: Right hello! I need to WARN YOU.

This fiction deals with an OFC that eventually realises that they is Genderfluid, using all the pronouns, but is assigned female at birth (AFAB). There will be mentions of body AND gender dysphoria due to a tragic childhood™ under the care of her biological mother/grandparents that occurred before she was in the care of Tony Stark. I do not go into graphic detail with the abuse, but it is mentioned.

This is a slow burn fic planned out to be a LONG story so the OC and Loki will not get together until a little into the story. Instead, I wanted to focus on building their friendship at first. Eventually (if all goes to plan) I intend to have the OC identify as Genderfluid, but unlike Loki the OC won't have magic and therefore will always be female in terms of physical sex.

While this might seem like a bit of a spoiler I like to forewarn people about these things as they can be potential triggers!

Anyway I got the idea of a character in Iron-Man style armour, and then I thought it would be fun to just have a Stark OC. I've got the timeline lined up so the ages to allign with canon. Masterlist | AO3 Link |

The avengers weren’t sure what they should do with Loki, Odin in his infinite wisdom had ‘bestowed’ his younger son upon them in a long-winded speech that left Barton spacing out, Tony disinterested and distracted and Bruce trying to work out how such an old man seemed so strong.

Only Natasha and Steve were paying attention by the end, the TL; DR was that Odin didn’t want to deal with Loki, so now he was the avenger's problem.

Nick Fury suggested locking him up, only to retract the idea a few minutes later, Loki was dammed persuasive, he could seduce any guard sent to keep him under lock and key. They did not know the full extent of his magical abilities and while he was bound (somehow, Odin didn’t bother explaining what they had done to Loki and merely assumed the Avengers wouldn’t care to know the finer points) they didn’t know the limits of the binding.

Thor claimed his brother could shapeshift, so a prison would need to be airtight otherwise a snake or spider could happily slip out. Then there was the issue that he was a god with god strength and probably the second smartest person in the room, or maybe the smartest, but Tony wasn’t about to admit that to the god.

All in all Odin had left them with a mess and the only support came in the form of a confused, angry and betrayed Thor. Which was never good.

This was compounded by the inescapable feeling that they only had half the story, why did Loki invade Earth? Tony had theories, theories that would make Clint punch him, but he couldn’t shake a feeling that something was off about the god of mischief.

Thor would agree, or not. Their relationship was never explained, it turned out communication was not a gift the gods of Asgard possessed much to the chagrin of the Avengers.

So this was the plan, Loki was to stay locked up in the tower, well only on certain floors. He would share a floor with Thor, where he would have his own bedroom with en-suite bathroom, but Fury was rather insistent that Loki shouldn’t be made too comfortable.

Tony was starting to wish he had never gotten involved he would make a poor jailer. He wasn’t responsible enough, Jarvis as amazing as he was would be worse, Loki had tricks, he could trick Jarvis.

It was a fucking mess, made much worse by not having the facts nor support to keep Loki. What were they supposed to do with the god? He was going to outlive them all, did Odin expect them to pass Loki off to other people? To keep him locked away for the rest of his life?

He would rather face the Chitauri again, or Vanko and Hammer or even Stane. Loki was more dangerous than all of them combined and what made it worse was the fact that Soleil was also living in the tower now.

He shouldn’t have suggested she live here, Fuck, he needed a drink or a whole bottle. The billionaire found Natasha and Bruce already at the bar, her with Vodka and Bruce with something fruity looking.

Tony settled for whisky and wondered what the fuck he was supposed to do now.

Loki was still chained up when Soleil walked onto the floor, the god recognised the human mortal from his research leading up to the invasion. He had gathered information on mortals who may pose a threat to his plans and worked to see them brought together (in brief moments of clarity before once again the mind stone seized control of him), Stark’s life was short as it was (by Asgardian standards) was quite fascinating.

Naturally Loki looked into every aspect of the potential avengers lives seeking weaknesses that would bring the avengers to him. The easiest targets were family, friends, loved ones who could be exploited as they had few or no protections. Soleil quite literally was the weakest link in the Stark equation.

Though he had come to realise she could have been a great asset to him should he have had need of an engineer with a deep and vested interest in space. Rather odd that SHIELD would have such detailed files on Soleil, almost as if they had been considering her as an alternative to her father and Iron-Man. Though what use such a fragile human would be was beyond the god.

She hadn’t noticed him, to busy tapping away on a screen and wrinkling her brow at something that vexed her. He watched her as she grabbed herself a bottle of water, she was halfway back to the elevator when she finally paused and turned to him.

“You look like shit,” she said after a moments pause looking him up and down as he remained trapped and bound.

He’d be offended if he had the energy, he felt like shit, months, years? Trapped in the clutches of Thanos and his black order, leading the invasion, not resting or sleeping in weeks, months, his meals just enough to keep him alive but never satisfied, he could not even recall if the paste he had been given (and reluctantly eaten after too long starving) had even had a taste to it.

“As you mortals say, that is pot calling the kettle black,” he attempted to sound above her, casual to the point of nonchalance.

“Yeah but I have an excuse for looking like shit, what’s your excuse?” she asked him sipping her water, he tried not to look hopeful that she might share something with him. Even lukewarm tap water would be bliss compared to whatever liquids the Black Order had supplied him with.

“The beast you call Hulk,” Which was partly true.

“Ooo, that explains the hole in the floor,” she cringed, “How the fuck are you still in one piece?”

“I am a god,” he reminded her.

“I had just assumed that was all a lie, you know psychological tactics?” She paused thinking it over, “Make us believe the gods are real, and you’re one of them, so you can claim dominion over us.”

“That would be a fair assumption to make,” he said leaning his forearms on his knees, “But I can assure you that I am in fact one of your gods.”

“Well you’re not my god, I don’t worship you or any gods,” she shrugged.

“We had noticed the loss of faith from mortals,” Loki nodded.

“Blame the Abrahamic religions, as soon as they went mainstream you pagan lot were more or less kicked to the curb,” she answered, before he could ask what she meant she asked, “So are you hungry? You look like you’re hungry.”

“I am in no risk of starving Stark,” he insisted.

“How’d you know I was a Stark?” she asked him suspicion finally creeping in, for someone who was supposed to be one of Midgard’s greatest minds she was rather stupid.

“SHIELD have files on you,” he said her lack of surprise told him all he needed to know, “That and you resemble your father.”

She brought a gloved hand to her jaw, “It’s the chin isn’t it?” she asked taking a couple of steps towards him, a glass and metal table separated them as she set her glass bottle down upon his surface.

“The general area yes, and you share his eyes,” he confirmed now that he could see her up close he could see the partial heterochromia, showing chocolate-brown flecks in each soft brown eye. She shared his jaw, lip and chin shape and brow colour, her hair was tucked up inside a hat, and he thought that her ears might resemble her father as well.

“But that doesn’t answer my question, never mind I’ll assume you’re hungry, what do gods eat?” she asked.

“You would feed your enemy?” he asked surprised by this, Asgard had a policy of giving their prisoners food, but basic food, food that would keep their enemies alive and nothing more. He was able to empathise with those trapped forever in those dungeons now.

“Yes because I have basic human decency,” she said shifting her weight mostly onto her left leg, “So food, what do you eat? Can you eat earth food being an alien and all that?”

“Of course I can,” now that she had brought the matter up he wondered if he could, there were some things that an Asgardian was told to avoid eating on Vanaheim and Alfheim, not that he was biologically Asgardian.

“Well if you die of an allergic reaction please don’t haunt me,” she said pulling out another device, a phone, a smartphone he recalled one of the scientists under his command using a similar device.

While she typed out whatever it was she needed Loki observed her. She was atypical in her physical body, her clothes hung from her, not because they were ill-fitting but because of sudden loss of weight. They were designed for a woman larger than what she was now, despite her rather cheerful demeanour she looked quite exhausted. She looked how he felt.

The leather right sleeve to her jacket shifted in a most bizarre manner, he watched as a small(ish) serpent poked its head out resting contently on the back of her hand. It flicked it’s slick tongue out at the air scenting Loki, she could taste him, she knew he was there.

“I think it’s safe to just get a range of food,” She said slipping her phone back into her pocket she rose her fist to her eye level, “You doin’ okay?” she asked the snake who slid back into the sleeve. “She’s shy,” she said to Loki who had not asked.

“You carry a snake on your person?” he asked curios, he could not imagine anyone in Asgard doing that. Snakes were dangerous creatures, not pets. Humans however seemed to ignore that rule quite often.

“Yeah she’s my ESA, but I make sure she’s some place warm, otherwise she’ll get ill,” Soleil explained.

“ESA?” he asked.

“Emotional support animal,” Soleil said which did not really answer Loki’s question, she needed the support of an animal for her emotional state? “They are animals to help calm and relax people. I wanted a cat, but dad says a dog would have required to much training and looking after, so he got me Macbeth.”

“How does a snake provide emotional support?” he had to ask, the concept baffled him.

“She’s a reassuring presence when the world is overwhelming,” Soleil answered.

To the god it was still a strange concept, but his curiosity got the better of him, “May I see her then?” he asked.

“Um, sure?” Soleil gently shook her arm, Macbeth got the message, as loathed as she was to leave the warmth of the jacket she was all too happy to slither her way around Soleil’s shoulders until she was hanging lazily.

Gently lifting the snake off her shoulders she set the snake down on the sofa, wise to keep a distance from the god of mischief who remained shackled and bound. Macbeth lifted herself up fascinated by this new thing, this god in her home, she stared at Loki curious to know why he was here.

⸢You are not human⸥ said the snake curios to know what he was, he smelled familiar, like kin yet was clearly more than that, more human, more than human.

⸢No I am not⸥ he answered utterly amused when the snake did a double take, stunned that the god would be capable of speaking her language. He detected the barest hint of offence on her next words.

⸢Then you are a lie, a false thing, I do not like false things⸥ the snake replied studying him closely, ⸢You are a danger to my human⸥

⸢I am a great danger to many a human, yours however has done nothing to earn my anger⸥ Loki replied, the smart little snake thought on this for a while.

⸢You claim that now. But my human has a way of frustrating the surrounding humans, they are so easily brought to anger⸥ came the serpent's response as she finally slithered her way over to him.

⸢There are many creatures brought to anger easily⸥ Loki responded lifting the snake up into the air to prove his point the snake hissed angrily.

⸢Unhand me liar, I shall not be handled by the likes of you!⸥ the snake protested with a rather loud hiss.

Up close, she was a rather pretty thing a mixture of soft pastel colours with the blackest eyes he had seen on a snake. A thick uneven stripe of orange and lavender ran the length of her spine and top of her head. Her belly was an off-white, her most dominate colour a rather fetching shade of yellow. She was indeed a strange patterned creature but lovely to look at.

⸢But you are so pretty, I think I may keep you⸥ he teased the snake who managed to throw him such a filthy look that it took him by surprise.

⸢You, are unworthy of me liar⸥ she snapped back.

⸢I am a good little serpent, far beyond your mortal caregiver⸥ he pointed out.

⸢Indeed? You must be the god of pomposity to say such things⸥ the snake complained turning her head away from Loki, ⸢My human is good and kind even as the sickness weakness her, you cannot compare to such a charitable and loving being⸥

⸢For something so small you certainly have a rather inflated sense of ego⸥ he said lifting her up to eye level, she turned her head away from him.

⸢Says the creature that wreaks of despair, I might be small, god of pomposity but at least I know happiness⸥ he’d never been tempted to toss a snake out of a window before tonight.

Soleil shifted on her feet confused, “Are you talking to her?”

“Of course, I am a god,” he answered petting the snake who recoiled deeply offended by his touch.

⸢How dare you touch me!!⸥ she hissed in discontent before slipping herself free from Loki’s hands and slithering back to Soleil who collected her up into her arms. ⸢You are unworthy pomposity, be gone!⸥

“That is a rather charming pet you have mortal,” Loki answered deigning to ignore the snake and her uppity attitude, “Though she might be pretty she has a rather terrible attitude.”

Soleil looked at Macbeth who looked at her, “Riiight she has the terrible attitude,” smugly the snake turned back to him beaming brightly.

⸢See my mortal understands, she shall not be easily swayed by a false serpent⸥ the snake happily slithered her way back up Soleil's sleeve.

“I have never before laid my eyes on a serpent with such markings and colours, is that typical of Midgardian serpents?” Loki asked leaning back on the sofa which had become uncomfortable thanks to being pinned down in one fixed spot.

“Uh, well ball pythons are kinda common I suppose, they are docile in nature,” Loki did not believe that for a second, “So they’ve been bred as pets for a while, some breeders try to create unique colour and pattern styles. Morphs. Macbeth is a Banana Cinnamon Blade Clown Ball Python for instance.”

Loki knew what each of those words meant individually but strung together like that they may as well have been pure nonsense.

His disbelief or confusion must have been evident on his face because she instantly launched into the details of snake breeding, how morphs came about, what each word meant and the genetic factors that went into selecting the right snakes to breed together to create the perfect offspring.

Trust humans to meddle in things that needed no intervention, he thought as she went into detail to explain a subject he had long since lost any interest in. She was passionate about her pet, about snakes in general, and so she babbled making her obsession quite evident.

It was no wonder her dammed pet was so smug, she probably praised it at every opportunity, it’s inflated sense of self coming from an overindulgence of love and flattery.

“Bee,” Jarvis cut her off saving Loki the indignity of having to amuse her babbling for longer, “The food has been placed in the elevator, do you require assistance in moving it?”

“I’m not that weak, Jarv,” she grumbled half stomping her way across the floor towards the elevator. Loki could feel the AI’s eye roll somehow.

It took her some time to set out the food given the ridiculous quantity that she had purchased. He did not recognise half of what was laid out but to Loki none of that mattered, all he could do was feel his mouth water at the prospect of finally having food that did not taste of grit and nothing.

“So we got Korean, Indian, Italian, Greek, American, Japanese, Ethiopian, Thai, Arabic, Mexican, Balkan, Caribbean, Chinese and Jamaican,”

“Bee,” Jarvis said.

“Yeah I over ordered,” she grumbled slipping her phone back into her pocket, but she hadn’t known what a god might like to eat.

It didn’t seem to matter, Loki was already tucking into a container of whatever was nearest to him.

He almost wept in pure bliss as he devoured the Tokushima ramen without haste, even the strangeness of a raw egg in a soup alongside pork belly and noodles (which he had never had in life) did not slow him down. The god did not slow down even as Tony Stark, Steve Rogers and Thor walked onto the floor slightly confused.

Jarvis had alerted them there would be food and that Soleil was apparently friendly with Loki. Jarvis had been somewhat right, Soleil was keeping a great distance between herself and the god, but she had ordered him a lot of food. Enough food to feed an army in fact.

“I don’t know what gods eat,” she immediately said as defence before her dad could ask, she did the same thing whenever he caught her doing something she wasn’t supposed to be doing. “So I got whatever, if he dies of an allergic reaction you’re not allowed to blame me.”

“You’d be doing us a favour Bee,” her dad joked, she grinned a little unsure while Loki finally slowed down. That was good, just watching him devour container after container was giving her indigestion.

“We do not suffer the aliments of mortals little Stark-”

“Little stark?” Soleil whispered at Steve and Tony both of them grinned sympathetically.

“-This is quite the feast,” Thor beamed at her and all of a sudden she could see what Jane Foster might see in the glorious blonde bastard, though if she had to go for a blonde she’d still choose Captain America.

The avengers and Soleil watched as Thor easily sat himself down beside Loki acting as though nothing was wrong, even Loki was a little on edge about that, Steve and Tony shared a look™ one that suggested they were in on something. Something Soleil was not allowed to be part of.

Thor without hesitation (must be a god thing) dug into the food complimenting Soleil as though she had laboured over the meals, she hadn’t.

“What is this?” Thor asked as the others finally settled, Tony made sure Soleil was one super solider and a father apart from the god of mischief.

“Curried goat,” Soleil answered taking the carton of Tom Kha soup for herself.

The look of betrayal startled her as he was torn between heaving his stomach into the nearest container or eating what was a delicious meal. Loki being the sympathetic brother he was grinned from ear to ear watching Thor have an internal meltdown.

They did not eat goats on Asgard due to Thor’s love of them, they were scared in some strange way. Loki suspected interest in eating them was already so minimal that Odin had no issue outlawing their slaughter and consumption.

“Are you okay Thor?” Steve had to ask as Thor gingerly put the container down.

“Yes Captain, I… find I cannot in good conscience eat a goat,” Thor said picking up another container and studying it.

“That’s chicken,” Tony reassured him passing a box that contained a triple cheeseburger with plenty of onions, “Try this it might suit you.” Thor immediately approved of the burger, it wasn’t easy to go wrong with a good burger.

Though the company was unwanted Loki found a sense of comfort in the noise and activity, listening in as Thor and Steve asked questions about the food for the Starks to answer. If the Starks did not know then Jarvis would provide information, Loki cared not about the province of food or what it contained, food was food and this was the best food he had tasted in a dreadfully long time.

He listened into the varying conversations, Soleil debated baseball with Steve, apparently he took offence at the LA Dodgers, none of this made sense to Loki, what made even less sense was Hockey, even the Captain did not seem to understand her love of Hockey.

The older Stark chimed in once in a while or talked at length to Thor about various things, places the god should see since he would be spending time on Midgard and perhaps the acquisition of a phone – communication device. Loki knew how that would end, Thor had never been great at keeping in touch.

The four talked at length about everything and anything, Loki was more fascinated by the Korean barbecue than what was considered the best dessert.

According to Steve Rogers you could not beat a good apple pie with a dollop of thick cream or ice cream. The older Stark insisted on Tiramisu which combined alcohol and coffee. Whereas the younger Stark insisted that New York style cheesecake was the best dessert, though ice cream (of any type) was a close second.

He noticed that Rogers was rather experimental with his choice of food, wishing to try everything at least once. Thor ate whatever had the most meat, Stark knew what he liked and stuck to that while his daughter seemed filled by the small tub of soup she had half-eaten.

“Jane has mentioned you little Stark,” Soleil did not appreciate Thor’s new nickname for her.

“Okay?”

“You are an engineer?” Thor asked.

“Yup, my main focus is space, aerospace engineering if you will, but I am not confined to one area of study,” She said setting her half-eaten carton down.

“Jane had mentioned that you are attempting to colonise your moon?”

“Me personally no, but I wanna find a way to make the moon liveable, so we can continue our research,” she said taking a long sip of water.

The floodgates were opened up and Thor could only sit uncomfortably as she prattled on about her designs on space, how they might once again reach the moon and this time stay there. She had ideas with regard to terraforming, to establishing a liveable base, not just on the moon but Mars as well. They would be the first destinations in this new space race she dreamt up.

Loki recognised the blank look on Thor’s face, he had long since lost interest and Soleil quickly realised. Twiddling her fingers she fell silent, ashamed even, this made Loki frown. Her father wrapped an arm around her whispering something, she perked up a little.

Thor turned to Steve to start an entirely new conversation, which made Soleil wince. Tony reassured her all was well and rubbed her arm, only to annoy Macbeth who popped her head out to see who it was that was rubbing her.

“Sorry my scaly grandbaby,” Tony grinned at the indignant snake.

⸢Oh another one, what is this one the god of the farm?⸥ the snake complained looking a surprised Thor over.

⸢I am the god of thunder, serpent⸥

⸢I stand corrected oh great and powerful goat fucker⸥

“I do not recommend getting into an argument with it, it thinks anything other than the younger Stark is beneath it,” Loki said trying a slice of pizza, he found the combination sweeter than expected.

“So they’re both Dolittle’s?” Tony asked Soleil who shrugged she didn’t get it either, but apparently they could understand Macbeth in some way. She certainly reacted to whatever they said back to her.

“I don’t get it either,” she admitted.

“So she doesn't like me?” Tony asked Loki while Thor continued to glare at Macbeth, the snake in return glared back at Thor (somehow).

⸢You may tell him that I enjoy his company, the red machine is most comfortable for resting on and he is a delight for a human being!⸥

“She thinks your armour makes the perfect place to rest,” Loki translated.

“Well it’s good to know I’m useful for something,” Tony grinned rubbing the snakes chin as she leaned up to him.

⸢You did not tell him that I enjoy his company nor that he is a delight tell him, tell him!⸥ Macbeth snapped at Loki

⸢It must have slipped my mind dull scales⸥ Loki grinned.

⸢Pompous false serpent⸥ she complained slithering her way onto Tony’s shoulder, Steve wasn’t as sure about the snake, but Tony was used to her by now.

“She’s tame and a pest if you let her loose in a workshop but tame,” Tony assured Steve who still wasn’t sure meanwhile Macbeth curled herself up on top of Tony’s head, she liked to feel tall.

“She’s inquisitive not a pest,” Soleil insisted gently cooing at Macbeth wondering how it was that the gods communicated with her.

“She likes to nap in places she shouldn’t,” Macbeth was not pleased by this, it wasn’t her fault she found nice warm places to rest in his workshop. She slithered her way back to Soleil deeply offended, Tony rolled his eyes.

“Well maybe you shouldn’t leave your workshop unlocked,” Soleil argued as the serpent coiled herself around her right arm once again.

“Dum-E likes to roam the house, you know this Bee,” Tony argued, yes she did know, she had spent a childhood learning to know when Dum-E was out and about. She loved him, she really did but Dum-E was not built to handle fragile things, especially fragile children.

“Yes but should he be trusted to roam the house?” Soleil asked grinning when he failed to find a suitable answer. Everyone knew it wasn’t a good idea, Dum-E lived up to his name and while he was adorable he vastly overestimated his own skill and abilities.

Tony blinked several times, nope a reasonable argument still failed him, there was no good reason why Dum-E should be unleashed within the house, “So Point Break, what’s this about coffee and pop tarts?”

Thor lit up with a glorious and adorable smile, “My lady Jane introduced me to such wonderful refreshments.”

“And you were worried about feeding them actual food,” Tony whispered to Soleil who grinned to herself, “Well Point Break we do have coffee-”

“-Dad you can’t feed Thor your coffee,” Soleil protested as her dad made his way over to the coffee machine.

“What’s the worst that can happen?” Tony joked.

“It comes with a health warning!”

“It’s not that bad,”

“By buying it you accept all the dangers that coffee presents, you have to sign legally binding documents on the website, you can’t give it to an alien!” Tony wasn’t seeing the issue, those aliens were gods, “It literally killed three people last year.”

“You shouldn’t have said that,” Loki muttered at the exact same time Thor lit up, “Let me test this coffee!”

Soleil buried her face in her hands, Steve offered her a spring roll in consolation, she took it, to exhausted to care that she was full up. Trust her dad to find the one alien that would enable his terrible habits. Fuck this was going to be a long year.

The avengers (well Tony, Steve and Thor) discussed what they should do with Loki, the god of mischief had no say and Odin had decided to leave it in their hands. The obvious answer would be to lock him up, lock him away where he could cause no harm.

There was no place suitable on Midgard that the avengers were aware of, Loki knew of several places but would rather not assist any further attempts at incarceration. He watched them struggle amongst themselves to come up with the ideal solution.

“I can’t keep him here,” Tony protested to Thor who insisted this was the best place, “I have staff and my kid to consider.”

“You have a goat here?” Thor asked.

“Soo, allspeak translates things literally?” Tony asked perplexed, Loki rolled his eyes, no it didn’t, Thor had simply mistaken the context of the word which would have supplied the answer.

“Kid is slang for child, he’s talking about his daughter Soleil,” Steve told Thor who stood there just realising what Soleil was to Tony, “You didn’t know?”

“The big fella showed up in the middle of this mess, I don’t think he got the briefings,” Tony reasoned, “Sol’s my kid, child, offspring whatever you wanna say, point is while Bumblebee’s here I’m not hosting Loki.”

“Loki shall not harm your daughter Stark,” Thor half lied, in truth he might harm Soleil, Loki had done a lot worse in his past though usually that was for the sake of Asgard or the protection of his family.

“Look all you have to do is sneeze at my kid and boom, in hospital,” Tony argued.

“Your daughter is that fragile?” Thor wondered if it were an age thing, Darcy looked to be of a similar age and seemed hale.

“Yep kid’s a medical wonder, impossibility even, so unless I have proof that Loki can’t hurt my kid you’ll have to have him live somewhere else,”

“Why not call SHIELD?” Steve offered, Thor considered this, but Tony had the most peculiar expression one that made Loki take note.

Tony shuffled on his feet, “I’m not saying that… look Loki took out quite a few SHIELD agents, Phil included, everyone loved Phil. I’m not sayin’ he’d approve out loud, but I’m sure Fury would be willing to turn a blind eye if anyone… took advantage of Loki’s situation.”

To Tony’s surprise Steve agreed, “What other options do we have? Thor are there any other territories, realms or worlds that would take Loki?”

“The majority of the nine realms are overseen by Asgard, they would not be willing to risk Odin’s ire by inviting Loki – even as a captive – amongst their numbers,” Thor reasoned.

“Why do I get the feeling when you say overseen what you really mean is-” Steve elbowed Tony in the ribs to get him to shut up.

“Can’t you build a containment around a single floor in the tower?” Steve proposed.

“Yeah and then what happens, he tricks Jarvis or someone else to let him out. Hell Bee would let him out if meant she could learn some weird alien shit, or fuck, she’d let him out to… you said Puente Antiguo?” he turned to Thor.

“Yes?” the god of thunder blinked confused. “I landed there, it so happened that Jane Foster and Agent Phil were also there.”

“Riiiight, well fuck,” Tony ran a hand through his hair, “If he stays here… how much do you two know about engineering?”

“The sciences were Loki’s subjects not mine,” Thor answered.

“We can’t keep him here,” Tony insisted to Steve who was just as confused as everyone else.

“Tony the tower is the best option-” Steve was about to argue, but Tony was adamant against the idea.

“-No it’s not because if Bee finds out-”

“-If Bee finds out what?” Soleil asked, Tony jumped curing Natasha (back when she was Natalie) for teaching Soleil how to be sneaky.

“I do not see why Puente Antiguo is so important to my brothers confinement,” Thor frowned not understanding what was going on at all.

“Did you say Puente Antiguo?” Soleil rounded on a surprised Thor, he did not understand.

“Is this some mythical town I should visit?” Steve asked it had been mentioned a lot in five minuted.

“No, no Bee he didn’t, he said-” Tony tried to correct not realising Thor did not like to be called a liar.

“-Do not make me a liar Stark,” Thor threatened.

“Yeah Dad how dare you make the most venerable god of thunder out to be a liar, honestly have you no shame?” Soleil said placing her hands on her hips, Thor nodded in complete agreement.

Loki rolled his eyes at how quickly Thor soaked up the praise and attention, it was honestly embarrassing how easily the fool could be manipulated and it had taken a mortal one afternoon to discover this weakness.

“Puente Antiguo was where I met my Lady Jane, Darcy, Selvig and your beloved Agent Son of Coul,”

“You mean Coulson, he’s American, we don’t use Patronymic or Matronymic surnames. At least not in the way you’re probably thinking of them,” Soleil corrected, “He was just Coulson, His father was probably not named Coul. Like how I am Stark and not Anthonysdóttir.”

“I see,” Thor muttered, “That explains the oddity of Jane’s family name.”

“Yep so if you and Jane married on Earth, and she decided to take your name, just as an example off the top of my head-” Tony and Steve finally caught on, she was buttering up the god of Thunder, and he was eating it up, “-She would be Jane Odinson, which I suppose would be awkward in Asgard but normal here.”

“That does seem odd?” Thor admitted hating how it sounded, it made her sound his like his sister.

“So you met in Puente Antiguo, I once read it’s romantic to get married where you met your love, but a desert town seems… inappropriate for a wedding to a god, especially with it still in need of repair.”

“Yes, the destroyer created so much damage when it walked through the town,” Thor turned to Loki who sat back utterly amused that Thor had so easily fallen into Soleil’s trap, of course Thor read his amusement wrong.

“The destroyer?” Soleil asked.

“Yes, The Destroyer Automaton is a weapon and guardian of Asgard, it was sent by Loki to kill me,” Thor glared at Loki again, “I wonder if it is still where we left it?”

“You really think SHIELD would have left something called the destroyer alone after what we saw with the tesseract?” Steve asked not understanding Soleil’s interest.

“How dangerous is this thing?” Tony asked.

“It levelled a town Tony, it’s dangerous,” Steve reasoned.

“Hush that’s not important, so the destroyer was sent by Loki to what attack you? Did you defeat it battle then?” She asked.

“Yes, with my godhood and power restored I used my strength and lightning to best the destroyer in combat,” Thor proudly announced.

“That’s sooo amazing,” Loki rolled his eyes the falseness wet unnoticed by Thor, “So like, it’s no longer functioning?”

“No, I knew I could not best it if I attacked the body, so I attacked it’s core it’s power source, rendering it inoperable,” Thor answered.

“Amazing,” Soleil continued, “So, any random idiot can command it?”

Thor laughed at the jab at Loki, Loki just sat deeply disappointed in his brother who allowed his ego to be bolstered like this, “No, it can only be commanded by the king of Asgard.”

“Loki was king?” Tony asked.

“What Asgard’s never had a queen?” Soleil asked.

“How do you go from being King to invader?” Steve asked.

“Expansion of the empire?” Tony proposed, “One land beneath the Asgardian sun and all that.”

“So what, you get named ruler of Asgard, and you’re in automatic control of its weapons? How does that work?”

“Through the Odinforce, Gungier acts as a tool to harness this power and through the Odinforce any ruler can command the destroyer,” Thor answered wondering why she was asking this, “Why do you ask little stark?”

“But I imagine Steel or iron would easily break under the strength of Mjölnir right? So how did the destroyer withstand your combined might?”

It was hilarious how quickly Thor turned from suspicious to eager to explain just how incredible he was.

“The metal from which the destroyer and my Mjölnir is forged is known as Uru, it can only be forged in the megastructure that surrounds Nidavellir. The dwarves harness the power of their sun Nidavellir to forge Uru, they are the only race capable of such a feat,”

“Only because they guard their secrets like paranoid dragons,” Loki muttered.

“Dwarves?” Steve asked.

“Did he say megastructure surrounding a sun?” Tony asked

Soleil vibrated, actually vibrated.

“Soo how does someone get into Nidavellir?” Soleil asked.

“With charm and plenty of gold,” Loki answered

“I can get gold,” Soleil whispered loudly, “How much gold do you-”

“-Bumblebee I know all this is very exciting,” Her dad began to steer her away from the gods, “But this can wait until tomorrow when you’ve had your ten hours now go, sleep.”

“Ugh fine, oh,” She pulled out a piece of paper from her jacket pocket and read out loud, “Pepper says pick up the fucking phone, or she’s leaving you for a man called Seamus.”

“Shit,” he’d forgotten to call Pepper to reassure her he wasn’t dead, he still made sure to push Soleil out toward the Elevator, “Stick him on your floor for now Point Break.”

“My Floor?” Thor asked.

“Oh, oh right, you all have your own floor Jarvis will send you to the correct ones,” that was that. The Starks were gone.

“Why do I feel manipulated?” Thor asked.

“You are catching on much faster these days' brother,” Loki grinned.

Steve sighed, he wasn’t getting paid enough to deal with this bullshit.

#Loki/OFC #LokixOFC #Loki Odinson #Loki #Loki Fic #MCU Loki #Loki/OC #Stark OC

2 notes · View notes

miraculouscontent · 5 years ago

Note

You mentioned a one-sided reveal for the LadyBugOut AU. I’m both intrigued and apprehensive about how that would go. I also would like to know how Master Fu feels about all this in regards to Chat Noir/Adrien. You mentioned that he wouldn’t be very supportive of a ChatNoir blog but not much beyond that. If it would help to break up this post into two separate ones that works for me, I just really want your thoughts on my thoughts.

Well, by this point, you guys know that Chat yelling at Ladybug ended up being live-streamed.

Fu heard it, and he... wasn’t very happy about Chat’s behavior.

As Miraculous Ladybug spread over the city, Ladybug waved as the bee heroine whisked off the former akuma victim into the night.

This left only her and Chat, as the area they were in had been thoroughly cleared of people due to the akuma’s powers.

Ladybug glanced over at Chat, but he avoided her gaze. He’d been doing so ever since the “yoyo recording” (as people had been calling it) had been streamed for all of LadyBugOut’s followers.

Her followers knew it hadn’t been Ladybug’s fault. Even Miraculous Ladybug had been selective in its healing before. People were honestly happy that Ladybug’s powers were looking out for her.

But that didn’t leave Chat in a good position.

Ladybug sighed. It was fine. The lack of flirting had honestly been a relief; gave her more time to focus on the task at hand.

She could deal with it. She–

“Chat Noir.”

Ladybug stiffened, then jerked her head back. Standing only a few meters away from there was Master Fu, who was staring unwaveringly at Chat.

“Master?” Ladybug and Chat asked in unison.

They looked at each other–a first in a long while–then back to him.

Chat blinked. “Is something wrong?”

Master Fu said nothing, but he certainly wasn’t smiling. He glanced at Ladybug. “I’d like to talk to Chat Noir alone. You may go.”

Chat may not’ve seen it, but Ladybug noticed the way Fu’s eyes briefly darted over to a nearby alleyway. She got the message.

“Um–yes, Master.”

Ladybug turned, hopping off to the roof of the nearest building. She felt Chat’s eyes on her, but the feeling left as she disappeared among the rooftops.

When she was sure Chat had thought she’d gone, she dropped down into the alleyway Fu had directed his gaze towards.

“Tikki, spots off.”

Her transformation fell, Tikki taking form in front of her.

Slowly, Marinette peeked out of the alley, knowing it was safe since Chat wasn’t looking her way. Tikki followed suit.

“I don’t get it,” Chat said. “Don’t you usually visit me when I’m at home? Is there an emergency or something?”

“You could say that, yes,” Fu mused. He looked away, taking a breath, then glanced back at Chat. “Return the cat miraculous.”

“W-what?!” Instinctively, Chat covered the hand with his ring. “Why?!”

Master Fu closed his eyes, looking as though he’d expected this. When he opened them again, his gaze was stern. “Because I have clearly made a mistake in choosing a holder,” his voice lowered as he added somberly, “again…”

“B-but–” Chat shook his head, unable to process this. “–what did I do?”

Fu gestured to him. “That response is exactly the problem. You have been woefully oblivious to the feelings of your partner. You have neglected Ladybug and brought her into meaningless debates over your own feelings, whether intentionally or otherwise.”

Chat was clearly trying to remain polite around Fu, but his words fumbled out anyway. “What about Ladybug? Ever since she made her blog, it’s made me look bad!”

Fu just stared, unblinking. “That is not, nor has it ever been, Ladybug’s fault. All of this has been your actions and your actions alone. Do not blame another for what you yourself have done.

“Your life does not exist within the confines of what has been put online for everyone to see. The good that you do does not erase the bad, and whether or not the public has seen your behavior, I still cannot allow you to hold the cat miraculous any longer.”

Chat opened his mouth to protest. “I–”

It happened in an instant.

Fu reached out.

Chat jerked forward.

A bright green light engulfed Chat’s feet, slowly moving up Chat’s body. Orange and white shoes appeared where Chat’s boots once were.

Fu’s fingers closed over a ring that was slowly turning white. A black blur flew out, taking the form of a cat kwami.

From their hiding spot, Tikki whispered, “Plagg…”

Marinette could only watch, mouth dropped open as Chat’s de-transformation moved all the way up his body.

Adrien is Chat Noir.

Adrien was Chat Noir.

Fu said nothing as Adrien looked down at himself, then at Plagg, then back at Fu.

“I don’t get it,” Adrien said, a mixture of upset and offended. “I did–”

Fu held up a hand, silencing him. “I’m not finished.”

He sighed, looking regretful. “Admittedly, I gave you the ring because I wanted to give you a chance to be free. I saw what your life was like and thought that the ring would be beneficial to you.”

“It was!” Adrien interjected. “I loved being Chat Noi–”

“But, there is more to heroism than being an effective hero or even tending to the lives of civilians.

“You have to be able to communicate with your partner. You have to respect your partner’s boundaries.” Fu’s gaze hardened. “You have to be prepared to protect civilians, even if you felt you were being treated unfairly.”

Adrien straightened. “What–you mean–Syren?”

“Plagg,” Fu said, keeping his gaze locked on Adrien. “How did you feel as Adrien was about to relinquish his miraculous over a secret that was not yours to tell?”

Adrien looked up at Plagg, eyes practically begging Plagg to side with him.

Plagg didn’t. “I… I-I mean…”

“Plagg.” Fu was patient.

“…Pretty bad, yeah,” Plagg admitted.

Adrien’s face fell.

Fu continued, addressing Adrien, “I was willing to let you keep your miraculous then due to the perilous state the city was in. Ladybug trusted you wholly and completely, so I tried to do the same.

“However, it seems that Ladybug has been mistaken, or is at least too forgiving for her own good. A reckless cat is normal, but every time you have not thought ahead and been taken control of, you have left Ladybug to fight on her own.”

Adrien tried to speak up, but Fu talked over him.

“And yes, perhaps your love for Ladybug has blinded you, but ladybugs are not meant to be left alone, just as cats are not meant to be left alone. They are meant to work together, balancing each other in the act of creation and destruction. Miraculous Ladybug may heal the recent damages caused by the victims of akuma, but you chose to become distracted and allow Ladybug to take on the task of leader.

“Your downfall was seeing Chat Noir as a different person; someone that was free to do as they pleased. I gave you the cat miraculous to allow you to feel the freedom of the outside world, not to feel the freedom of having nothing affect the one underneath the mask.

“And even then, you have failed to be a hero as Adrien. I’m not aware of everything, but I know you have ignored poor behaviors and not stood up for the right people. You allow your relationships to blind you, leading you to neglect those you should be protecting.”

“Who?” Adrien asked, not even coming close to understanding. “I’m always trying to do a great job, with or without the mask!”

“Are you?” Fu challenged. “Or are you only enabling those with ill intent, in fear of inciting conflict amongst your peers? You remain passive and devoid of conflict as Adrien Agreste which only causes aggression as you transform into Chat Noir.”

Adrien’s mouth remained open, clearly in the midst of planning a response.

He had nothing. Instead, he glanced hopefully to his kwami. “Plagg?”

Fu remained patient, but his eyes were sharp. “Do not ask for sympathy from a kwami that is no longer by your side.”

Adrien recoiled at the command. He then threw his hands up, eyebrows furrowed. “Well, how was I supposed to know any of this?” he asked, clearly desperate and grasping for anything he could to save himself.

“When you were told. When you were shown,” Fu answered. “You react as things affect you or when they relate to you. When your partner is uncomfortable, you do not notice until you are told. You joke when it is a time for comfort. A hero is meant to be aware of the emotions happening around them, and you merely choose which emotions you pay attention to.”

The streetlight nearby flickered. Plagg said nothing, almost looking as if he knew this was inevitable.

Fu stored the miraculous in his pocket, then placed his hands behind his back.

For one final time, he met Adrien’s gaze. “My decision is final, Adrien Agreste. I hope you might one day realize the error of your ways.”

Fu turned, then walked the other way. “Come, Plagg.”

Plagg gave a fleeting glance back at Adrien, then followed after Fu.

Adrien stood there. Silent. Unmoving. He was like a statue.

The streetlight flickered again. Finally, Adrien looked to where Fu once was, then turned around, ready to go home.

His eyes locked with Marinette’s. She’d stepped out onto the sidewalk without thinking.

Adrien’s eyes went wide. His expression said it all: you saw that?

After an agonizingly long second, his mouth moved. “M…marinette?”

Marinette turned, immediately running in the other direction.

She didn’t look back, and Adrien didn’t chase her.

#((Strike three.))#((You're out... Adrien.))#MC's Collabs #collab: LadyBugOut AU #other: ask and answer #category: long post #word count: over 1000 #MC's Writing #writing: story

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nightshadedawn · 5 years ago

Text

Persona 6, anyone?

{Next} {Last}

PERSONA 6 CONCEPT PART 1

You ever just get an idea that you HAVE to put into words? Well, that happened. And now I have put myself into a miserable position considering I’m not on the Atlus team. And you all have to suffer with me.

Before I get into this, check out this video because it’s where most of my ideas, the grounds for me thinking about this in the first place, started from. With that in mind, I changed a few things because I didn’t like them or thought they didn’t make the greatest sense. With that out of the way, click to read more if you’d like to see what I’ve come up with! (Very long, mind you)

I do recommend you watch the video first because there’s a lot my brain just decided that the reader should KNOW, and it’d be hard to amend what I’ve written at this point.

The Mechanics

Main Character - This time around, you’ll be able to choose between being male and female. For a new spin, you will be a third year.

Battle - Battle mechanics will remain the same as Persona 5, including negotiations, baton pass, and Shadow negotiations.

Romance - With both male and female options for a main character, there are male and female options for love interests. Out of the 22 Major Arcana, there are 10 available love interests. 5 male, 5 female. You will be able to date everyone, no matter your gender.

Harem Romance - Unlike previous games, if you date more than one person, there is the chance of them coming together to make it a triad, allowing for group dates. However, if you choose to date all ten love interests, none of them will be happy with you. It also requires select grouping to allow for triads. Moon-Sun; Magician-Lovers; Hierophant-Tower; Star-Death; Hanged-Devil. If you manage to date both before select days and get the communication across to form the triad, there may be special scenes to include both (ex: school trip, Valentine’s, Christmas, school festival, ect)

The Velvet Room - It’s a hospital this time around. That’s really all I’ve got to say on it for now.

Setting

Characters

MC - Will be able to choose your gender. As a girl, her placeholder name is Hikari Iyashi, derived from the ‘light’ meaning for Hikari and ‘healing’ for Iyashi. As a male, the place holder name will be Hikaru Iyashi for the same reasons. Unlike previous MC’s, this MC is a third year. They moves to a small town to live with their estranged father and younger sister, two people they has not seen since before they can remember, after their mother’s tragic death due to an incurable illness. If you are male, it will be commented that you look like your mother, while if you are female, they will comment about your similarities to you father. It will be exclaimed that after the MC’s parents separated, their mother took back her maiden name and changed the MC’s to that to avoid confusion while they were growing up. Their first Persona will use wind and healing spells. This Persona is possible to be either Achelois or Persephone, and whichever one it isn’t, will likely be a Persona you can later pick up.

Melee: Mace

Ranged: Bow/crossbow

The Arcana

The Fool Arcana - Igor joins once again by incorporating the Fool Arcana. He warns MC of a mysterious illness infecting the town that will not only continue to infect it, but eventually spread to infect the rest of Japan, the world, and every other world in existence.

Upright - Beginnings, innocence, spontaneity, a free spirit

Reversed - Holding back, recklessness, risk-taking

Confidant Ranks

1 - 10 Unknown

The Magician Arcana - Masaru Kazama will be available to talk to at the beginning of the game, though his social link will only be available at night. The closer you get to him, you will discover that he is college age, but was unable to attend anything after graduating high school due to lack of money and resources. He suffers from insomnia, and several meet ups will result with him falling asleep on you because he feels comfortable enough to do so. He is a romance option.

Upright - Manifestation, resourcefulness, power, inspired action

Reversed - Manipulation, poor planning, untapped talents

Confidant Rank

1 - 10 Unknown

The High Priestess Arcana - Persona 3 had a dog, Persona 4 had a bear, Persona 5 had a cat. So why can’t Persona 6 have a bird? Avis will be the MC’s guide through the other world in the beginning. In the real world, she appears as an elegant green parrot with golden trimmins, while in the other world she’s a silver phoenix with green trimmings. She is confident, elegant, and wise. She is easily capable of leading the party through difficult battles or where to go next. Unlike previous counterparts, she is neither cocky nor condescending. Her link will raise as the story progresses.

Upright- Intuition, sacred knowledge, divine feminine, the subconscious mind

Reversed - Secrets, disconnected from intuition, withdrawal and silence

Confidant Ranks

1 - 10 Unknown

The Empress Arcana - Either their father’s girlfriend or their stepmother doesn’t matter, but Haruka is the new woman of the house and there to stay. She’s a writer, famous for her theories on other worlds and the supernatural. But she doesn’t know how to be a mother. She can’t replace the MC’s own mother, but as they grow closer, she can grow to be a second one.

Upright - Femininity, beauty, nature, nurturing, abundance

Reversed - Creative block, dependence on others

Confidant Ranks

2 - Occasionally asks for more money or items during negotiations.

5 - Allows you to ask for large amounts of money during negotiations.

8 - Makes Shadows less way of you, so it lessens security level increases, and decreases security level more overnight.

10 - Allows you to form contracts with higher-level Shadows.

The Emperor Arcana - Yuuki Kawaguchi is the MC’s estranged father; a stern, hardworking teacher at the high school, and the MC’s English teacher. He has a notoriously weak immune system and tends to forget to get rid of his teacher facade at home and outside of school. The closer you get to him, the more you’ll find out about why he and the MC’s mother split and why the MC went with their mother and their sister stayed with their father. He will also start to loosen up and be not as strict.

Upright - Authority, establishment, structure, a father figure

Reversed - Domination, excessive control, lack of discipline, inflexibility

Confidant Ranks

1 - If you ask him at night, he will make you an extremely unhealthy bento for the next day (it will be shit and not do much for health, but it works for the beginning of the game)

2 - Allows lax study time in class to do something else

4 - Later curfew, allowing you to do more than one thing at night

6 - Gets other teachers in on lax study time

8 - Will make a better, healthy bento, which will greatly up your SP and HP.

10 - Will occasionally allow you to play the ‘sick card’ for ‘personal reasons’ and giving you the ability to do more during the day.

The Hierophant Arcana - Sayaka Ito will be the MC’s first friend, and first possible romantic interest. She’s carefree and kind, and much unlike all of the others of the town the MC will first meet. It’s quickly found out that this is because she is also a transfer student and was moved into a foster home in the town. Part of a small band/music club. She admits that she suffers from Imposter Syndrome from time to time, only lately, it’s been getting worse.

Persona: Atlanta

Skills: Ice and physical

Melee: Axe

Ranged: Dual wield pistols

Upright - Spiritual wisdom, religious beliefs, conformity, tradition,institutions

Reversed - Personal beliefs, freedom, challenging the status quo

Confidant Ranks

1 - Baton Pass: Allows Sayaka to use Baton Pass

2 - Follow Up: Allows Sayaka to use a Follow Up Attack if MC doesn’t down the enemy

3 - Mediation: Allows Sayaka to step in when an Shadow Negotiation fails

5 - Hypnotic: Allows Sayaka to change the course of negotiation with a song

6 - Harisen Recovery: Allows Sayaka to remove party ailments

7 - Song of Memory: Allows you to recall skills for a short period

8 - Endure: Allows Sayaka to endure fatal attacks with one hit point remaining.

9 - Protect: Allows Sayaka to take a fatal attack for MC

10 - Transforms her Persona into a Mythological Fighter

The Lovers Arcana - Akemi Sonoda will not be available right away, but you first be able to meet her over summer vacation. The closer you grow, you will find out that she’s a university student from the city, back for the vacation. However, she isn’t sure she wants to return. You’ll find out that she’s bulimic, in the early stages now, and part of your link with be helping her overcome this. She is romanceable.

Upright - Love, harmony, relationships, values alignment, choices

Reversed - Self-love, disharmony, imbalance, misalignment of values

Confidant Ranks

2 - Sphere of Prettiness: Shadows will be more likely to give more valuable items

4 - Charming: Allows you to have an easier time obtaining Shadows

6 - Schmoozer: Makes it easier to tell which dialogue you Confidants want to hear

8 - Beautiful Heart: Shadows will give you rare and valuable items

10 - Beguiling: Shadows will become yours before even asking.

The Chariot Arcana - Tsubasa Himura is a coach over at the dojo in town. You will be able to buy different armors and melee weapons from him. During the day, he will also give lessons on martial arts that will boost your HP and SP. The higher you go through his rank, you will begin to unravel his past and see his PTSD and how it’s affecting him, but also help him through it. He is not a romance option.

Upright - Control, willpower, success, action, determination

Reversed - Self-discipline, opposition, lack of direction

Confidant Ranks

2 - White Belt: Raises how much HP and SP you’ll gain from training (applicable anywhere)

3 - Yellow Belt: Unlocks new weapons and armor

4 - Orange Belt: Bring a party member to train with to raise their HP and SP

5 - Green Belt: White Belt to a greater degree

6 - Blue Belt: Lowers price of weapons and armor

7 - Purple Belt: Unlock new weapons and armor

8 - Red Belt: Green Belt to a greater degrees

9 - Brown Belt: Greatly lowers the price of weapons and armor

10 - Black Belt: Red Belt to a greater degree, increases accuracy, evasion, and defense (you can now train to increase them as well)

The Strength Arcana - Shinju Kawaguchi is the MC’s little sister and was raised by their father. She will be the last to join the MC’s party. She is disabled, and cannot walk, having to move around in a wheel chair. She has a crush on Masahiko in the beginning of her social link, but slowly grows past that while learning to truly accept herself as she is. As she is the MC’s sister, she is not available as a romantic social link.

Persona: Hephaestus

Skills: Fire, buff

Melee: Her chair

Ranged: Cannon

Upright - Strength, courage, persuasion, influence, compassion

Reversed - Inner strength, self-doubt, low energy, raw emotion

Confidant Ranks

1 - Baton Pass: Allows Shinju to use Baton Bass

2 - Follow Up: Allows Shinju to use a Follow Up Attack if MC doesn’t down the enemy

3 - Bedtime Gossip: Allows Shinju to step in when a Shadow Negotiation fails

4 - Lil’ Sis, All Ears: Allows you to see skills and potential items drops on the analysis screen

6 - Harrison Recovery: Allows Shinju to cure party ailments

7 - Kids Talk: Allows you to see Null, Repel, and Drain on a target in battle

8 - Endure: Allows Shinju to withstand a fatal attack with 1 HP remaining

9 - Protect: Allows Shinju to take a fatal attack aimed at MC

10 - Transforms her Persona into a Mythological Fighter

The Hermit Arcana - Hiroki Hisakawa will be available to talk to after you hear rumors of him at the theater. After you go to the forest, you’ll find him alone in his hut. Throughout your time with him, you’ll learn of his alcohol addiction and help him overcome this while helping him with his yard. He will make you a special ranged weapon at the end of every rank and will sell his wooden models of guns.

Upright - Soul-searching, introspection, being alone, inner guidance

Reversed - Isolation, loneliness, withdrawal

Confidant Ranks

1 - Opens gun sales to you

2 - Increases the amount of weapons for sale

3 - Allows you to make your own weapons

5 - Decreases money for weapons

6 - Increases the amount of ammo

8 - Increases amount of weapons

9 - Allows you to craft higher level weapons

10 - Decreases money for weapons

The Fortune Arcana - Mizuki Kazama will be available after some time is spent in the hospital. During her social link, you’ll be acting as a volunteer in the hospital and you’ll be spending time with Mizuki as she goes through chemo for her cancer and comes to terms with her deadly illness. You’ll inspire her to not give up hope by the end and try to live her life again. She is not a romantic social link.

Upright - Good luck, karma, life cycles, destiny, a turning point

Reversed - Bad luck, resistance to change, breaking cycles

Confidant Ranks

1 - Allows you to swap current party with backup members during MC’s turn.

3 - Chance for a follow-up by a backup member if MC downs an enemy.

5 - Allows you to attempt to escape, even when surrounded by the enemy.

7 - Earn double money if a battle is won in one turn after a successful ambush.

8 - Decreases turn delay to zero, allowing you to instantly escape battle.

10 - Allows you to swap current party with backup members during anyone’s turn

The Justice Arcana - You’ll meet Dr. Ren Ueda shortly into the beginning of the story, as he’ll be the one to examine the MC and their family for symptoms of the virus. With the MC being the only one that’s clean, he jokingly asks if you’d like to do some volunteer work around the hospital since they’re severely understaffed. His first link will be available the first time you volunteer at the hospital. The biggest plot to his link is trying to find a cure for the virus. Throughout his social link, you will learn how he lost his right arm and how he learned to live without it and despite its loss is still a good doctor. Sadly, there’s probably some dark secret he’s trying to hide.

Upright - Justice, fairness, truth, cause and effect, law

Reversed - Unfairness, lack of accountability, dishonesty

Confidant Ranks

1 - Will give you healing items under the pretense of you handing them out to your family

3 - Increases the selection of healing items he’ll give you

5 - Adds more healing items to the selection

7 - Adds support items to the inventory at the selection.

9 - Decreases the price for all items sold at the selection.

10 - Increase the selection of revival items at the selection.

The Hanged Man Arcana - Masahiko Oshiro is a transfer student sent to this grimy, rural town by his father after his greed and arrogance get the better of him. At first, the only one he has any sort of good opinion of will be the MC, as they are from the city too. Sayaka is too… wild for him to like even though she’s also a city kid. Masahiko will be very quickly affected by the virus spreading throughout the town and will almost succumb to it… but instead awakens his Persona and becomes the fourth to join the team. He is a second year. He’ll be the team’s navigator throughout the rest of the playthrough. Throughout his social link, you will open his eyes to the fact that all people deserve respect and that the world these people in the town live in isn’t so bad, even if it’s neither rich nor glamorous. He will be a romantic option, though will struggle to admit his feels if the MC is male.

Persona: Pluto, the Roman god of the underworld and wealth

Skills: Navigation

Upright - Pause, surrender, letting go, new perspectives

Reversed - Delays, resistance, stalling, indecision

Confidant Ranks

1 - Chance to cast Kaja or party-healing magic during battle.

3 - Chance to instantly Hold Up enemies when starting a battle.

4 - Moral Support may now Charge or recover SP.

5 - Chance to revive search objects in the area after battle

6 - Harrison Recovery: Change to cure party ailments

8 - Chance to swap current party with backups when two or more people are KO’d.

9 - Protect: Change to guard MC from a fatal attack

10 - Transforms his Persona into a Mythological Fighter

The Death Arcana - Miyako Fujimori will be the second female party member added to your team after Sayaka. She will be depressed and have almost succumbed to the virus and take her own life. She is a second year. Throughout her social link, you will help her come to terms with her depression, what caused it, and help her look into healthy ways of dealing with it with the end goal of getting better. She will be a romantic option.

Persona: Osias

Skills: Curse, ailment

Melee: Sais

Ranged: Throwing knives

Upright - Endings, change, transformation, transition

Reversed - Resistance to change, personal transformation, inner purging

Confidant Ranks

1 - Baton Pass: Allows Miyako use Baton Pass

2 - Follow Up: Allows Miyako to use a Follow Up Attack if MC doesn’t down the enemy

3 - Heart-to-Heart: Allows Miyako to step in when a Shadow Negotiation fails.

4 - Fearful Expression: A chance to go directly into an All Out Attack after a successful ambush

5 - Extends the reach to jump into an ambush

6 - Harrison Recovery: Allows Miyako to cure party ailments

7 - Chance to instantly win a battle after a successful ambush.

8 - Endure: The chance to survive a fatal attack with 1 HP remaining

9 - Protect: The chance to sheild MC from a fatal attack

10 - Transforms her Persona into a Mythological Fighter

The Temperance Arcana - Hiroko Ikeda’s social link will be available after you work for her three times. It will quickly become evident that she’s got dementia and can’t really remember things. She’ll never remember your name, and instead call you by the name of one of her grandchildren. However, she’ll eventually admit that she’s lost so many memories of her family since they stopped visiting her while witing for her to die, and now the only person she truly remembers is you.

Upright - Balance, moderation, patience, purpose

Reversed - Imbalance, excess, self-healing, re-alignment

Confidant Ranks

1 - Allows you to grow and harvest vegetables in her garden

3 - Unknown

4 - Increase how many crops you’ll get from a single harvest

6 - Doubles the amount of land you can use to grow vegetables

8 - Decrease the amount of time it takes to cultivate vegetables

9 - Unknown

10 - Unknown

The Devil Arcana - Jun Sanada will be the next to join the party after Hoshiko. You will first meet him while he’s hitting on Hoshiko about a week after her dungeon crawl, and gets violent when she rejects him. You’ll step in the way of his hit while the others tell him off (seeing as the MC’s are generally quiet and all). You will get the chance to help him work through his anger issues and learn appropriate responses to things as you go through his link. At rank nine, you will accompany him as he apologizes to Hoshiko along with other women and people he has wronged along the way of learning to be better. At the end of this rank, he will become available as a romantic partner, though like Masahiko, will struggle with admitting his feelings if the MC is a male. His initial persona is Lyssa, and he will use electric and almighty spells.

Upright - Shadow self, attachment, addiction, restriction, sexuality

Reversed - Releasing limiting beliefs, exploring dark thoughts, detachment

Confidant Ranks

1 - Baton Pass: Allows Jun to use Baton Pass

2 - Follow Up: Allows Jun to use a Follow Up Attack if MC doesn’t down the enemy

3 - Passive Aggression: Allows Jun to step in when a Shadow Negotiation fails.

4 - Unknown

5 - Unknown

6 - Harrison Recovery

7 - Unknown

8 - Endure

9 - Protect

10 - Transforms his Persona into a Mythological Fighter

The Tower Arcana - Yūdai Shinoda is a third year and will be join the party immediately after Sayaka. He will be hesitant to join at first, because it’s a lot of work he just doesn’t want to do. But he will eventually agree, and become part of the party. Throughout his social link, he will try different things to lose weight in order to be a better fit for the party. However, none of them will work. He comes to admit that he just likes food. Likes eating it, likes cooking it, he just likes it. By the end, he makes the decision to becomes a chef. He will be your first male romanic option. His initial Persona will be Hidaru-gami, and he will use debuff and nuclear spells.

Upright - Sudden change, upheaval, chaos, revelation, awakening

Reversed - Personal transformation, fear of change, averting disaster

Confidant Ranks

1 - Home Meal: Teachss MC to cook a meal that will slightly recover HP

2 - Baton Pass: Allows Yūdai to use Baton Pass

3 - Follow Up: Allows Yūdai to use a Follow Up Attack if MC doesn’t down the enemy

4 - Reknown Chef: Teaches MC to cook a meal that will moderately recover HP

5 - Peace Offering: Allows Yūdai to step in when a Shadow Negotiation fails

6 - Harrison Recovery: Allows Yūdai to cure party ailments

7 - Culinary Genius: Teaches MC to cook a meal that will fully recover HP

8 - Endure: A chance to survive a fatal attack with 1 HP remaining

9 - Protect: A chance to protect MC from a fatal attack

10 - Transforms his Persona into a Mythological Fighter

The Star Arcana - Hoshiko Akiyama is a first year student and will join the party after Masahiko. She suffers from extreme social anxiety and will hardly be able to say a word to anyone outside of the MC for some time. The bright red of her hair often subjects her to bullying, and is part of the reason for her anxiety. Besides this, she is kind and this kindness is often used but never repaid, which leads her to become hateful, something you will have to help her overcome. Through her social link, you will help her obtain the confidence to stand up for herself and no longer be treated as inferior. She is a romantic option. She will be the first (perhaps only) to mention in the main storyline (outside of confidant links) that she likes both boys and girls.

Persona: Cerberus

Skills: Physic

Melee: Dagger

Ranged: Sniper Rifle

Upright - Hope, faith, purpose, renewal, spirituality

Reverse - Lack of faith, despair, self-trust, disconnection

Confidant Ranks

1 - Scanner: Allows Hoshiko to scan and print simple skill cards to duplicate them.

2 - Baton Pass: Allows Hoshiko to use Baton Pass

3 - Follow Up: Allows Hoshiko to use a Follow Up Attack if MC doesn’t down the enemy

4 - Breathing Exercise: Allows Hoshiko to step in when a Shadow Negotiation fails

5 - Printer: Allows Hoshiko to scan and print adept skill cards to duplicate them.

6 - Harrison Recovery: Allows Hoshiko to cure party ailments

7 - 3D: Allows Hoshiko to scan and print master skills cards to duplicate them.

8 - Endure: A chance to survive a fatal attack with 1 HP remaining

9 - Protect: A chance to sheild MC from a a fatal attack

10 - Transforms Hoshiko’s Persona into a Mythological Fighter

The Sun & Moon Arcanas - The Sun and Moon arcanas will effectively act as two different social links, and both will be datable options. However, as you will discover after reaching the sixth rank of both, they are efficiently the same person. Rather, the same body. The Sun Arcana, Natsuki Yamauchi, will be the first you meet as a classmate and member of the theater troupe you can join in town. The Moon Arcana, Yota Sonohoka, will be meetable after Natsuki’s first rank. Throughout their social links, you’ll discover that they have DID, dissociative identity disorder, that came from Natsuki’s abuse when she was small. Throughout it, the MC will help them learn to accept one another and coexist. Both are separately romanceable, and if you so chose to date them both, one or the other will come out during romantic outings with a possibility of them fighting for your attention.

Moon

Upright - Illusion, fear, anxiety, subconscious, intuition

Reversed - Release of fear, repressed emotion, inner confusion

Confidant Ranks

1 - 10 Unknown

Sun

Upright - Positivity, fun, warmth, success, vitality

Reversed - Inner child, feeling down, overly optimistic

Confidant Ranks

1 - 10 Unknown

The Judgement Arcana - Sayuri Shimizu is a young girl in elementary school who is blind. She has a seeing eye dog named Momo that leads her around. She’s only got Momo and and older sibling that takes care of her, both parents having been taken by the virus some time ago. She tries to be strong, but she can tell how much stress she’s putting her sibling under, trying to take care of and accommodate her on top of working several different jobs. Though she can’t see Avis, she can hear her, and thinks she’s just another human.

Upright - Judgement, rebirth, inner calling, absolution

Reversed - Self-doubt, inner critic, ignoring the call

Confidant Ranks

1 - 10 Unknown

The World Arcana - The Plague will act as the main villain for this game and will exclusively be seen in the other world and in the MC’s nightmares. He looks like a Plague Doctor, and acts as though he’s doing something good, though treats the town like his own personal playing ground and somewhere to conduct his research. He has an immense, almost obsessed, fascination with the MC, the only one who seems perfectly immune to his virus.

Upright - Completion, integration, accomplishment, travel

Reversed - Seeking personal closure, short-cuts, delays

Characters without Arcana

Teachers - Mr. Hayashi (Homeroom), Ms. Kita (Social Studies), Ms. Maki (Science), Mr. Nakamura (Math)

Kyo Shimizu - Sayuri’s older sibling who works endless hours. Will be met during Sayuri’s route, and will apologize, needlessly, for Sayuri bothering the player.

Hana-chan - A very pretty second year at the high school. Unfortunately, she’s a right bitch and one of Hoshiko’s bullies.

Asuka Himura - An old classmate of Akemi’s who also goes to university. She seems polite enough, but made some snide, pointed, and extremely rude comments about Akemi that really put her down. “Oh my, Sonoda-chan, you’ve really lost weight! You’re not fat and stupid anymore! Well, maybe not fat.” Also a bitch.

Ryūnosuke Oshiro - The father of Masahiko. He’s hot-headed, stubborn, and it’s easy to see where Masahiko got his entitled streak. He shows up just as Masahiko starts enjoying his time in the country (and feelings are evidently being felt) and intends to fuck everything up.

Lucius/Gilbert - He will be the Velvet Room attendant this time around. He’s anything but serious, and a total flirt. He will unabashedly flirt with the MC no matter the gender every time they enter the Velvet Room. When they first wake up in the Velvet Room, the MC will be woken by a kiss, to which he will teasingly ask if it was their first. I just haven’t decided on a name.

Tomomi Miyamoto - A fellow student who offers to walk the MC to school that first day. He is the second death because of the virus, and what sets the MC off to go battle the Shadows of the Plague. He is also a good friend of Natuski and Miyako. It’s implied in either Natsuki’s or Yato’s links that he was the only other one to know that Natsuki and Yato are one in the same.

Plot/Playthrough

The first cutscene of the game will start off with a flashforward/nightmare. It’s in the other world, at the edge of a cliff. Everything is painted in blacks and dark greens and is completely in ruin. A large, panning shot shows this all off. The view tilts up to look away from the edge of the cliff and The Plague comes to a stand still, appearing smug as all fuck (though his face is hidden behind his mask). He will mock the person across from him, asking if this was what they desired, if they were happy with their work. He certainly is. After all, they are the cause of all this. The camera will shift, and all that’s seen is the back of the MC, merely a black shadow in the darkness.

And then the MC wakes up on the bus.

Scenery passes by as it’s shown the only two people on the bus are the MC and the bus driver, and passing farm fields.

The bus will quickly come to a stop and the MC gets off on the bus stop. They look at their phone, a message telling them to wait there to be picked up. So they sit, and they wait. And they wait. And it’s dark before a car pulls up and the window rolls down. Yuuki pokes his head out and calls for the MC to get in.

Not a lot is discussed on the way to the house, just Yuuki explaining that he had to go to set up at the school before the semester started and din’t get finished until late, and also him reprimanding the MC for not trying to contact him when it started getting too late.

Once at the house, you’ll meet Haruka and Shinju, both trying a little too hard to welcome you into the house. The next morning, Yuuki will take you to the school to meet the other teachers and get signed up. This is where you’ll input your chosen name.

After you’re freed from your father while he finishes things up, you’ll meet Tomomi Miyamoto, a neighbor. He is in the theater club and happy-go-lucky. After a while of talking and Tomomi showing you around the school, your father will drop the two of you off back home, and Tomomi promises to make sure you get to school alright the next day.

He does so the next morning. Drops you off at your classroom before heading to his own. Introductions are made and blah blah blah. At lunch you’re assaulted by Sayaka Ito, a girl who sits close to you in class. She says that you’re lucky to have gotten the protagonist seat and blah blah blah. And because of certain seating arrangements, she’s totally supposed to be your best friend. She also points out that due to anime seating arrangements, Yūdai Shinoda is supposed to be your love interest, but the reasons for why that likely won’t hold up will differ from gender to gender. (If you’re a guy, it will be stated it’s because you’re both boys, but you’ll have the option to say you’re into men too)

Anyway, now that the day’s over, you’ll go home with Tomomi. Once Yuuki and Shinju come home, Haruka will talk about the news she heard that day while she was cleaning. The virus going around the town seems to have doubled overnight. It slightly worries Haruka at the quick spread, but Yuuki isn’t bothered, saying that the virus has been around for years and if nothing, it’s only making the people of the town more immune and stronger for it. Haruka relents, but still reminds Yuuki to wear his face mask when he goes out because of his weak immune system in the first place.

The next day, the whole town is abuzz with the news that an old lady died. She suddenly got very sick, symptoms of the virus harsher than ever, but no one really minds too much. After all, she was old, and it couldn’t be the sickness. No one’s died from it before. She was going to die soon anyway.

As the MC and Tomomi walk to school together, everything seems to darken, like a cloud passes over the sun blots out the light. Everyone looks like nothing more than still-frame shadows, a bright green orb floating over their chests. The MC looks over to Tomomi and sees that his is tinged in black, and vine like tendrils are reaching for the center of the orb.

Tomomi shakes MC out of the daze and everything goes back to normal. He smiles at the MC before coughing but claiming he’s fine, he just forgot his face mask. He tells the MC they’ll need to get one too, because they’re ‘the fashion accessory of the country.’

Sayaka meets MC in the classroom and the day goes forward as school would… save for the fact that Yūdai has the same blackened orb as Tomomi. After school, Sayaka drags MC out to town for treats and points out several different places to hang out. The Mom-and-Pop Shop that acts as a burger joint, cafe, and icecream parlor. The antique shop. The music store. The bookshop. The dojo.

Then Sayaka drags the MC to the forest and off the beaten path with the intent of showing them her favorite place. Unfortunately, her short cut gets them lost. Fortunately, the MC is apparently attracted by pretty things and follows a glowing blue butterfly that leads them to a magnificent waterfall (which Sayaka now proclaims that this is her favorite spot).

The butterfly leads them down a path to under the waterfall. In the cave is ten doors of all different colors. Red, blue, purple, green, white, yellow, pink, black, gold, and silver (not necessarily in that order). There is also a large round table with eight seats around it in the middle of the cave.

The butterfly flies through one of the doors (any but the blue and black will do) and it swings open. The other side of the door will be… something very, very strange. It will act as this game’s “Palace.”

They go in, end up confronting The Plague, who is in the middle of doing something… sinister. They barely make it out alive, only doing so through pure luck and the MC awakening their first Persona. But they have no clue what happened, and it’s confusing as fuck, and it’s kinda just agreed that they’re not going to talk to anyone about it. So they part ways and go home.

In another scene, we see Tomomi start coughing and choking and nothing is able to help. He pulls his hands away from his mouth, and they are absolutely covered in blood. He collapses on the ground as people shout around him. But it’s too late. The next morning, the MC will receive the news that Tomomi is dead.

But first, they will dream.

They’ll be woken up by a kiss to this dream world, Igor’s assistant giggling and backing away to go stand by Igor, who sits behind a desk to the far side of the room. The MC will sit up, only to find themselves in a hospital bed and in hospital clothes and hooked up to an IV. Confusion may be expressed at this point.

Igor goes on to explain the Velvet Room and everything and such, and how he didn't expect there to be another visitor so soon. He’s a cryptid as ever, but explains that The Plague will be a deadly force if he’s allowed to continue, and he requests the player to stop him, now that the MC has awoken their Persona. No matter if you say yes or no, the game will continue. The Velvet Room dream ends with Igor’s assistant blowing you a kiss and a wink and a key in the MC’s hand.

The next morning, everyone receives the news that Tomoni died in the hospital last night, due to the virus in town. Sayaka will drag you back to the waterfall from the day before, claiming that the thing The Plague was messing with before looked like Tomomi. She wants to go back and figure out why.

So you do, shit happens, Sayaka awakens her own Persona so you’re not fighting alone anymore. This will also be the day you meet an injured Avis and discover a shape that looks like Yūdai. Avis will not fight, but she will help guide you in the coming fight and out of the door.

Explanations will be made about the The Plague, you’ll investigate the doors and the cave and find that the black door has eight key holes, and is extremely locked. So in there is where Avis needs to go. Like, desperately. Doesn’t know what’s beyond it, only that that’s where The Plague makes his base, and it needs to go. So the MC and Sayaka agree to go and try to find the keys to open the door.

Shit happens, as it does, with Sayaka talking to you during class and within earshot of Yūdai (about him) and the Shadow and his corrupted core (that she can now see due to her awakened Persona). They gotta save him, she says, so what happened to Tomomi doesn’t happen to him. He overhears, ends up going after them to figure out what’s going on.

And I’ll end this here because you don’t want the entire thing in one post, do you?

If people are interested, I’ll even make a part 2. (Edit: Guess what? I made a Part 2)

{Next} {Last}

#persona #persona series #persona 6 #persona 5 #persona 4 #persona 3 #i tagged the other persona games because it's sequel material alright?

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drblood-bringer-of-death · 5 years ago

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Yay! Another Tyrian x Watts fanfiction for Nuts and Volts week! Seriously I cant get enough of these guys! Anyway, hope everyone over at @nutsandvoltsweek enjoys it!

Waltzing into love

Warnings: literally just some mild cursing.

They hated it. Every single second of being stuck in the stuffy, crowded room full of pompous, rich assholes. Arthur glared at anyone unfortunate enough to make eye contact with him and he stayed as far away from the dance floor as possible. He hated parties as much as he hated people. He would much rather be back in the grimm lands, tinkering away at his inventions without a single interruption. But he was not the only one who hated being there. As grand and beautiful as Atlesian parties were, they had a very strict policy to them. No Faunus, No improper dress, and absolutely No exceptions. Tyrian, as sporadic and chaotic as the man was, unfortunately was the best fit to go with Arthur to this party. Salem decided that Hazel would be too intimidating, Emerald and Mercury were too young, and Cinder would have stuck out like a sore thumb. So Tyrian was voluntold to attend as Arthur's date. He sulked even more than Arthur did. He might have even hated it more than the mustached man. Due to the strict policy, Tyrian had to wear what he considered "constrictive" clothing. And worst of all he couldn't even use his tail! Arthur had insisted he hide it, since it was against the rules. Tyrian fought him on it, to no avail as he knew Arthur was right. So the two brooded in their fancy clothing in a corner of the ballroom. They avoided everyone and if it wasn't for Arthur's accursed reputation he would have never even attended this godforsaken party. Maybe he could figure out some way to fake his death or even actually die just to avoid these parties.

"This is pointless!" Tyrian growled.

"It's not entirely pointless, but it's Incredibly dull." Arthur retorted, focusing all his attention on his scroll.

"Why did I have to come here?! I hate this! I feel like I'm restricting all my natural instincts!" Tyrian continued to complain as he pulled on the dark purple tie around his neck.

"Stop pulling at that you'll undo it! And you know why she chose you to come with me. And stop tugging on the tie!" Arthur said angrily as he turned towards Tyrian, who had managed to actually undo his tie. "How did you even? Ugh just let me fix it!" Arthur swatted away Tyrians hands and grabbed ahold of the tie. Fastening it once again.

"Ahem, am I interrupting anything?" The unwanted and annoying voice of Jaques Schnee broke through Arthurs grumbling. His brow twitched in annoyance and he sighed before facing the unbearable aristocrat.

"Why Jaques, what a pleasure to see you again." Arthur lied through his teeth.

"A pleasure as well. Who, may I ask, are you?" He directed the question towards Tyrian who stiffened as a response.

"Uh, Tyrian Callows, associate of Watts here." He shook the older man's hand in forced politeness.

"Well it's a pleasure to meet you Mr. Callows. I had no idea Arthur was into such… interesting company." His tone of voice and the way he glanced at Arthur smugly, clearly portrayed that he suspected something else. "why I'd even say you might be planning something… more forbidding." Tyrian pailed, could he really figure them out that easily? He looked at Arthur and they shared a panicked look.

"Jaques if you're suggesting-" Arthur started to accuse him but Jaques cut him off.

"Oh come now Arthur, you know i wouldn't care if you were gay, it's quite common nowadays, and I've been suspecting it for a while anyway-" Watts and Tyrians faces went bright red. "I was simply baffled that you managed to find someone to deal with your arrogance." He finished.

"I-my arrogance- excuse me?!" Arthur said offhandedly. Jaques only laughed at him.

"Relax, you know that the General himself is gay right? Really it doesn't matter here, why not show some affection! Have a dance or two! There's nothing to hide." And before Arthur, pr even Tyrian for that matter, could stutter out a response Jaques turned on his heels and walked away smirking.

"Does he think-? I mean really?" Tyrian asked before bursting into uncontrollable laughter. His entire body shook with each inhale of breath. As he laughed and laughed Arthur's face grew more and more red, out of both embarrassment and anger.

"You shut up!" He snapped at Tyrian. Whose laughter seemed never ending. Making Arthurs anger grow.

"Re- hehehe- relax Arthur. Haha, as far as we know, this could be an advantage." Tyrian offered through dying giggles.

"What do you mean?" Arthurs anger sizzled but he stopped feeling the innate need to punch the Faunus. Tyrian wiped a tear from his eye.

"Well think about it. You could gain some massive publicity points if you came out as gay, and if we did it here it would be massively successful. All we have to do is dance a little bit and maybe hold hands. People will come to the conclusion on their own and it'll be all over the news tomorrow. "Infamous inventor Arthur Watts supporting his community through love!" Can you imagine that?" Arthur paused.

Unhinged, deranged, murderous, insane… and intelligent. Those are the words Arthur would use to describe Tyrian right now. As unpredictable as the man is, he could read people and play off them better than even Salem herself.

"That… could work." Arthur poundered. The plan was foolproof, and even if it went wrong then it would cause protests in the communities drawing grimm in. "Yes. It would work quite well." Arthur hummed to himself and Tyrian smirked.

"Well then let's get to it and put on a show!" He cheered in a manic giggle as he pulled Arthur away from their protective corner and into the center of the dancefloor. Arthur huffed behind him, not expecting the pull. Although he should really expect everything from Tyrian.

"I told you to relax already Arthur! All we need to do is dance a bit and act all coupley." Tyrian smirked again and Arthur got some sort of primal feeling in his gut to run. As if something far more sinister than even they had planned was happening. But he ignored it, it was not the first, or last, time he would have that feeling while with the scorpion.

"It's Impossible to relax with you" he retorted harshly, shifting himself and Tyrian into a waltzing position. Slowly the music ran through the room and the many people around them began to move to the three step beat.

"Your words wound me Arthur," Tyrian mocked. "I'm the most relaxing person I know! Well besides Hazel." He held back a giggle.

"Your a caffeinated maniac trapped inside a padded room. I absolutely do not find you relaxing!" Arthur all but growled.

"A bit touchy aren't you? Was it something that Mr. Schnee said that caught your nerves?" He smirked wildly at Arthur who tried his best to keep his composure. As he tried to calm his breathing Tyrians insane smile reached his eyes. "Oh my, your heart rate picked up! I must be onto something!" Arthur started to panic.

"You did not- wait you can sense my heart rate? No, nevermind that!" He attempted to gather his thoughts as he and Tyrian glided across the ballroom floor, sliding in time with everyone around them. If you weren't right next to the pair it would be like they were just enjoying themselves and not having a frantic argument.

"Poor Arthur Watts, not admitting that old Mr. Schnee was right! What an exciting evening this has become!" Tyrians giggles seemed to pour out of his mouth.

"Would you just shut up! I've already said that to you tonight, you psychopath! Now stop talking and lets finish this stupid dance!" Arthur was pissed off now, he couldn't stand looking at Tyrians pretty eyes or his handsome face any longer. So he decided to do something about it. As the song approached it's climax he brought Tyrian into a sudden spin, catching the scorpion off guard. As he pulled Tyrian back into him, he made up his mind. Placing one foot behind Tyrians and throwing his center of balance off, he dipped the younger man. He heard people around them gasp, some of them seemed shocked, but through all the noise he heard two distinct things. One: Jaques Schnee saying " I called it!", and two, Tyrian Callows' sharp inhale of breath. He pulled them back up. Releasing Tyrians lips as he did, and then he turned and walked out of the room.

Tyrian stumbled, that was not expected at all. He knew Arthur was gay but he never dared to dream that Arthur liked him. He got over the shock, more delayed than he'd like, but nevertheless he rushed after Arthur and found the man pacing an empty hallway.

"Why did I do that? What was the logic of that? It was pointless, im pointless. For fucks sake we're both adults why couldn't I just talk to him!?" Arthur mutters to himself as he paced, not even noticing that Tyrian was right next to him. "Damnit, that was so stupid! Why is he so handsomely intimidating? What can't I just be normal-"

"Because you're Arthur Watts, inventor and doctor, smarter than anyone else i know and absolutely hopelessly in love with me" Tyrian interrupted, his voice caught Arthur off guard and he would never admit how much that genuinely scared him.

"Ty- Tyrian look, what I-" he was cut off as said man lunged at him suddenly, crowding his precious space.

"Just shut up and kiss me again" the scorpion demanded as he rolled his eyes and pulled Arthur into him. Their lips crashed together again, yet the feeling was different. Before Arthur could barely feel the kiss at all, but now he felt like sparks were flying down his spine and static was invading his mind. Arthur let himself fall mentally, his brilliant mind failing him when he needed it most, so he just let it happen. Let his body do the talking for once.

Tyrian on the other hand was practically shaking with joy, he had a crush on the doctor for a while now but he truly never believed Arthur would like him back, let alone make the first move! He could not be happier even if his own goddess showed up just then! He felt as if nothing could ruin this sweet moment of love. And he was right, not a soul came out of the party to find them and they were left alone in the hallway. As Tyrian let go of Arthur he smiled. Not a crazed, classic Tyrian smile, but a calm, genuine one. Arthur felt his heart skip more than one beat, and he was sure Tyrian felt it too. Soon enough Tyrians soft laughter bubbled out of his mouth.

"What's so funny?" Arthur asked, his usual scoff lightened just a touch.

"Well the fact that we literally waltzed into love." Arthur's eyes rolled.

"That was cheesy." He huffed as he set his head on Tyrians shoulder.

"No, parmesan is cheesy." Arthur sighed. The moment was ruined by the man who created it. And he could not help the small smile that was hidden by his mustache. Maybe tonight was worth the party.

#nuts and volts week #nuts and volts #rwby watts #rwby tyrian #rwby #rwby fanfiction #arthur watts #tyrian callows

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hms-chill · 5 years ago

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RWRB Study Guide: Chapter 7

Hi y’all! I’m going through Casey McQuiston’s Red, White & Royal Blue and defining/explaining references! Feel free to follow along, or block the tag #rwrbStudyGuide if you’re not interested!

Crêpe-eating tourists (157): Crepes are a thin, flat pancake traditionally filled with sugar, but commonly filled with other toppings. They are an iconic French dish and are popular with tourists both for this reason and because they are typically inexpensive.

Place du Tertre (157): A square in Paris, it is in the Montmarte district, which is known for its art history.

Crusty baguettes (157): Baguettes are a French bread that is meant to be crusty on the outside and soft on the inside.

Le Monde (158): The most popular French newspaper.

Fromagerie Nicole Barthélémy (158): A famously wonderful cheese shop in Paris.

Parisian cheese shop (158): French cheese are known for being fancy and especially good.

Pisces (159): A zodiac sign known for being compassionate, artistic, and intuitive. (more)

NYU (159): New York University.

The Met (159): The Metropolitan Museum of Art, a famous art museum in New York.

Joanne (160): JK Rowling, who wrote the Harry Potter books, and has been pretty consistently homophobic and transphobic on twitter.

Freddie Mercury (161): Lead singer of the band Queen, Mercury never officially came out, but he had long-term relationships with both men and women and was known for his camp performances, and there are claims that he was “openly gay”. His flamboyance and camp performances, as well as his relationship with partner Jim Hutton, essentially demanded that people simply take him as he was. He died of complications from AIDS in 1991, one day after admitting openly that he had been diagnosed four years earlier. (More)

For context within the book, he wrote “Don’t Stop Me Now”

Elton John (161): A famous British musician. He came out as bisexual in 1976, then as gay in 1992. He and his husband, David Furnish, became civil partners in 2005, the day they became legal in the UK. They were officially married on the ninth anniversary of their civil partnership, the year that gay marriage was legalized within the UK. (More)

Bowie (161): David Bowie, who was a bi British musician and actor who, in 1976, described his bisexuality as “the best thing that ever happened to me”. His wife (who was also bi, and with whom he often shared partners) claimed that he had a relationship with Mick Jagger, though his bisexuality has been consistently erased, both during his life and since his death. (More)

Again for book context, Henry’s dog is named for David Bowie

Jagger (161): Mick Jagger, an English singer/songwriter and member of the Rolling Stones, known for his promiscuity. As mentioned above, he and Bowie pretty clearly had a relationship, though his Wikipedia makes no mention of queerness. (More)

Oakley Street (161): A street that runs through an affluent borough of London.

Stonewall (161): The Stonewall Inn in New York City is a gay bar. The riots against police brutality there in July of 1969 are heralded as the beginning of the gay rights movement.

SCOTUS decision in 2015 (161): The Supreme Court ruling that legalized gay marriage across the US.

Walt Whitman (161): An American poet who wanted to become The American Poet and saw himself as the quintessential American. His poetry often deals with his queerness, and he absolutely slept with Oscar Wilde in the late 1800s.

Fun fact; he is celebrated in the movie The Dead Poets Society, which is incredibly popular with Sad Gay English Majors and which Henry would definitely have seen.

Laws of Illinois 1961 (161): In 1961, Illinois became the first state in the US to repeal its sodomy laws.

White Night Riot (161): A series of riots in San Francisco protesting the lenient sentencing of the man who killed Harvey Milk, the first openly queer politician. The riots were the most violent queer uprising since the events at the Stonewall.

Paris is Burning (161): A 1990s movie celebrating drag ball culture in New York. It celebrates in particular queer communities of color in the late 1980s, when the AIDS epidemic was at its peak.

“If I die of AIDS...” (161): This is a real photo; you can find it here. The man’s jacket could refer to a form of protest called “die-ins”, where people with AIDS would go to a homophobic politician’s office or another public place where they were refused treatment and simply not leave until after they died. (see it here)

Chop my own tit off (162): Fun mythology fact; the Amazons (warrior women from Greek mythology) actually did this to make themselves better archers.

H fucking W (162): George HW Bush, a former US president.

George (163): George Villers was the boyfriend of King James the I/VI, and Prince George, Duke of Kent, was rumored to be in a polyamorous relationship in the 1920s.

Edward (162): Edward II was a famously gay king. He was may have been "wedded brothers" with Piers Gaveston and may have also had a relationship with Hugh le Despenser the younger following Gaveston's death. (More)

James (162): The British king known for translating the Bible and being just... indescribably gay and very deeply horny. He promoted his boyfriend, George Villers, to the highest non-royal position in the UK within a few years of starting to date him. James’s friends actively tried to set him up with hot guys for their own political gain.

Alexander (163): Alexander Hamilton was an incredibly bi founding father. He’s remembered for founding our current national banking system, having the first ever American sex scandal, and for literally never shutting up or knowing how to stop being A Lot All The Time.

Catalina (164): Catalina is an island near Los Angeles. On a more meta level, St. Catalina was a respected writer.

June (164): June Carter Cash was an American singer/songwriter/director/comedian.

Tricky Dick (164): Richard Nixon, a president remembered for wiretapping his opponent.

Taft (165): 27th president of the United States.

Eisenhower (165): 34th president of the US.

Baby (166): this is what Henry’s mom calls him; I wrote a thing about it here.

Daily Mail (166): A trashy British tabloid.

Lollapalooza (167): A music festival in Chicago known for setting fashion trends and having lots of drugs.

Joni Mitchell (167): A singer/songwriter known for her innovative use of the guitar, including unique tunings, chords, and a unique fingerpicking/strumming style. (Listen here)

Cocaine (168): A highly addictive drug. It is snorted, smoked, or injected, and while it makes people feel more confident or forget their problems, the highs from it last only up to about 30 minutes, which often drives people to take it more frequently. Side effects (aside from addiction) include a loss of appetite, irritability, and increased mental health issues.

Spitfire (168): Someone with a quick temper or willingness to fight.

High as a kite (169): Someone who’s “high as a kite” is on a lot of drugs and is still enjoying the high.

Clean (169): Drug/alcohol free.

Stiff upper lip (170): Ability to seem determined or hold it together in the face of hard times.

A levels (170): A UK test taken for admittance to college, similar to the ACT/SAT in the US

Henry V at RSC (171): Henry V is a Shakespearean history play about the life of Henry V, especially focused on the events of the Hundred Years’ War. RSC, or the Royal Shakespeare Company, is a Shakespeare theater company in London.

Travis County (171): The Texan county where Austin is located.

Surfside (171): A beach in Texas.

Adderall (172): A prescription drug taken for ADHD but commonly abused by students to help them stay awake for all-nighters or focused for unhealthily long study sessions. However, given McQuinston’s claim that Alex has undiagnosed ADHD, it likely helped him to be able to focus and helped his brain work the way it was expected to.

Almond milk (vs. dairy) (173): Texas has a huge dairy industry, and almond milk is not great for the environment.

The Gun File (173): American gun law is so deeply broken.

WASPy Hunter’s Harvard pencil cup (175): Harvard is a prestigious college in Boston; it has a reputation for being mostly rich white folks.

Iron curtains of gerrymandering (175): Gerrymandering is a form of drawing lines for voting districts to disenfranchise marginalized voters. It is a form of skewing elections to keep power in the hands of the powerful that divides marginalized votes, making people of color or poor folks the minority in their districts, therefore erasing their votes on a broader scale.

Vision-boarding his funeral (175): a vision board is typically made to inspire someone to pursue a goal.

Parks & Recreation (175): A popular American sit-com focused on the parks and recreation department in a small town in Indiana.

Leslie Knope (176): a Parks & Rec character. One of her defining traits is an aggressive, overwhelming love for the people in her life.

Mid-century rug (177): Mid-century furniture and style is characterized by lots of color and playful patterns (following the more reserved WWII period in the 1940s); it is rising in popularity again as a classy yet fashionable look.

J14 (178): A teen fashion/celebrity magazine.

Sacramento Bee (178): The largest newspaper in Sacramento, CA.

Southerness (180): In positive lights, the American South is known for its genuine, warm, unselfish hospitality.

Jane Austen my life (180): Jane Austen is a British author whose novels star lower/middle class women who fall in love with rich men. They typically try to avoid these men for large portions of the book, or at least have rather negative feelings about them due to a misunderstanding or other failure to communicate.

LSAT (181): the test taken for admittance to law school.

Carmarthenshire (183): A largely agricultural county in South Wales. As a tourist destination, it is known for its wide range of outdoor activities.

Llwynywermod (184): A royal estate in Carmarthenshire, the biggest building of which is a renovated three-bedroom farmhouse. It is surrounded by the rolling green hills common to south Wales.

Finals (in the US) (185): At US colleges, a semester’s final tests (typically worth up to 30-40% of a final grade) take place the week after classes end.

Stamp on his forehead at The Tombs (185): Tombs is a bar near Georgetown. According to reviews, and “Tombs Night” parties, where students celebrate their 21st birthday and get their foreheads stamped at the end of the night, are a Georgetown tradition.

Jumped in Dalhgren Fountain (185): Dalhgren Fountain is in the center of Georgetown’s campus. Swimming in it is a Georgetown tradition.

Summa cum laude (186): “with greatest honor”.

Ceviche (186): A seafood dish native to Peru that spread to Mexico, where it contains lime, avocado, chili peppers, onions, and cilantro.

Palm Room (187): The gateway to the West Wing, the area of the White House where most politics happen.

Hoe Dameron (190): A reference to Star Wars character Poe Dameron, a rebel pilot and the first Latino main character in the series.

Prince Buttercup (190): Princess Buttercup is the heroine/love interest in The Princess Bride,

West Hollywood (190): One of the most prominent gay neighborhoods in the US.

“Call Me” (191): The most popular song of 1980; it was originally written for the film American Gigolo and inspired by the film’s opening sequence of a character driving along the coast of California. (Listen here)

“So Emotional” (191): An absolute bop about enjoying being in love. (Listen here)

“Don’t Stop Me Now” (193): A Queen song where Mercury sings to both a man and a woman; it’s a huge bop. (Listen here)

In-N-Out (194): A fast food restaurant/burger chain native to California and unavailable in other states.

Animal style (195): Animal style burgers are an In-N-Out staple; it includes the typical burger toppings, along with mustard fried into the patty, pickles, onions, and extra spread.

French-fries-dipped-in-milkshake (195): a truly god-tier American dessert tradition.

“O captain, my captain” (196): A reference both to the idea of a lacrosse team captain and to Whitman’s poem, “O Captain, My Captain” (as mentioned above, Whitman was a deeply gay American poet).

Burberry (200): A posh British brand of clothing known for its classy, traditional pieces.

Cats that caught the canaries (200): A cat that caught a canary is a person who looks smug or satisfied.

Mother hen (201): A “mom friend” or someone who will do everything they can to look out for people they care about, sometimes to the point of it being annoying.

—-

If there’s anything I missed or that you’d like more on, please let me know! And if you’d like to/are able, please consider buying me a ko-fi? I know not everyone can, and that’s fine, but these things take a lot of time/work and I’d really appreciate it!

—–

Chapter 1 // Chapter 6 // Chapter 8

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greenjacketwhitehatdocmui · 4 years ago

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Frozen: Clear Communication

Okay, while I should have been working on the next chapter of “Those Left Behind,” this came into my head. This is a bit that, while not anti-F2, certainly calls for some individuals to be held accountable. This involves my OC, Daniel Antonini--and this is a story that can’t happen under my current structure. But it was fun to write.

--Doc

Yelana looked at the castle from the moat to the highest towers. She tried very hard not to be impressed. After all, she was leader of the Northuldra, not some backwater tourist.

"Wow," Honeymaren breathed. "It's...bigger than I thought."

"Huh," Ryder grunted. "Wonder how many reindeer they keep in the stables?"

Yelana shot them a quick look. The siblings were her escorts for her trip. It was just meant to be a quick visit to lay down some trade formalities and such.

She caught the eye of one of the guards. He bowed politely.

"Good day, Lady Yelana," the guard said. "We've been expecting you. Would you prefer to relax in the garden or the courtyard?"

"We're not going into a meeting room?" Honeymaren asked.

"Queen Elsa informed me that you might feel more at ease in natural surroundings," the guard said. "You are, of course, our guests."

"The garden will be fine, thank you," Yelana said. She allowed a hint of approval to color her voice. "Where are Queen Elsa and Princess Anna, if I may ask?"

"They're currently resting." He paused. "Someone will be with you shortly."

The garden was rather peaceful. It didn't really compare to being in the forest, but it was...acceptable. Yelana noted a few stone benches, as well as a duck pond.

They were met by a tall, lean young man in dark blue. He hurriedly smoothed down his shock of dark brown hair. Sharp eyes glanced over Yelana and her companions, as well as the surroundings. He carried a set of scrolls under one arm.

Daniel Antonini bowed to them. "Lady Yelana. Honeymaren. Ryder. Welcome to Arendelle Castle."

Yelana actually cracked a smile. "Mr. Antonini. I see that you're more comfortable here. The last time we met, you looked very...fretful. Is that the correct word?"

"Quite," he agreed with a rueful expression. "Traveling with Queen Elsa is always an adventure, especially given the stakes at the time." He paused. "Not that dealing with aggressive ambassadors is much easier, but at least I'm aware of the hazards."

Yelana gestured to the scrolls. "Are those the trade agreements? That's quite a bit for one day's work."

"I've taken the liberty of translating them into three languages: English, Norwegian and Northuldran--at least, what I could piece together," he admitted, handing the scrolls over. "Please feel free to correct me on this so that we may avoid any miscommunications. Before we begin, may I offer you refreshments?"

The initial negotiations went smoothly. It was a process of feeling out limits. Yelana found the terms to be very generous, especially given the circumstances. They both agreed that any use of resources from the Enchanted Forest would be determined by her tribe, after consulting with the Spirits. There would be no repeating the mistake with the dam.

After about an hour, Daniel called for a break. He noticed Ryder fidgeting slightly. The slightly glazed look in Honeymaren's eyes was another clue. Hammering out a lasting agreement was necessary, but it could be extremely boring at times.

"If you like, I could direct you to the Royal Stables," Daniel suggested. "I believe that Kristoff should be feeding Sven right about now."

Ryder's expression brightened. "I don't suppose that...?"

"Go on," Yelana said knowingly. "Just don't talk their ears off."

"Well, I can't talk to many guys about reindeer," Ryder protested. "I don't know why, but they look at me funny."

"I meant Sven," Yelana said mischievously. "The poor thing probably gets enough conversation from Kristoff."

Ryder looked sheepish as he was led away. Honeymaren giggled at her brother's quirk.

"I'll stay here for the time being," she said, staying close to Yelana. "Just in case."

Yelana sighed. She understood Honeymaren's protectiveness, but the elder detected no threat. Daniel had been very accommodating and honest--unlike the late, unlamented King Runeard. The young man was humble, earnest, and simply wanted to help. She could see it in his eyes.

"I don't suppose that the Water Spirit would be around?" Daniel asked, changing the subject. "I shouldn't be so presumptuous as to think that one could summon a Spirit."

"The Spirits will do as they will," Yelana said philosophically. "If they feel the need to be somewhere, you will find them."

The duck pond bubbled next to them. The pond itself stretched into a pillar, then leapt out. The Nokk landed almost daintily on the grass of the garden.

Daniel stood up from his seat bowed respectfully to the Nokk. "On behalf of Queen Elsa and Princess Anna of Arendelle, I bid you welcome. As such, you are entitled to any hospitality that can be offered to a guest."

The Nokk nodded back. The Spirit looked at Yelana and Honeymaren, who bowed. Then it turned its gaze upward.

"She's resting," Daniel said quietly. "She's still recovering from the injuries she sustained."

Yelana blinked. "Injuries? What injuries?"

Daniel paused. "She did not come out of her last adventure unscathed," he sighed. "She had a mild case of whiplash and her back was covered in bruises. She thinks that she got those in Ahtohallan. She's been complaining about her knees and feet, thanks to a large jump she took. And she took a blow to the abdomen." He turned his gaze to the Nokk. "With all due respect, would you happen to know anything about that?"

The Nokk's eyes flared slightly. Then the Spirit calmed down.

"Ah," he nodded. "This was executed as part of your duty."

The Nokk tilted its head curiously, then nodded. The glow in its eyes dimmed slightly, as if it were--sorrowful?

"I suppose that's understandable," he said. "I should think that you and the other Spirits do not enjoy hurting people."

The Nokk's head tilted slightly away from his gaze. The Spirit looked ashamed. They were meant to help people. But it was obvious that there was a hierarchy among the Spirits.

"I think you should know that Queen Elsa has done a great deal for foreign relations. I have aided her with re-establishing ties to more than a few countries." He paused. "A few of them are quite aware of magic."

The Nokk returned its gaze to Daniel. It tilted its head quizzically.

"I should inform you that Queen Elsa is much-beloved by not only her subjects, but by other rulers. While I shouldn't speak for them, I can't imagine that they would be happy if Queen Elsa were...injured during the course of her duties." He looked the Nokk right in the eye. "Some may even go so far as to...demand satisfaction."

The Nokk's eyes flared angrily. It whipped its head around in outrage. It was almost saying, "let them come."

Daniel didn't even flinch. Yelana found herself impressed at the young man's nerve. Nobody in her tribe would have dared to even broach the subject of comparing the Spirits to others.

"I would prefer to avoid this unhappy outcome." He took a deep breath. "In the forest, you and the other Spirits are supreme. I grant you that." He frowned. "With the barrier gone, you and the Northuldra have taken your steps into a larger world. Accommodating others is...the best solution."

"And who, exactly, would be capable of challenging the Spirits?" Yelana asked.

Daniel looked thoughtful. "King Triton of Atlantica is quite fond of Queen Elsa. He thinks of her almost as his own daughter." He turned his gaze towards the Nokk. "Perhaps you've heard of him?"

Yelana and Honeymaren shook their heads. "I can't say I have," Yelana admitted.

The Nokk, on the other hand, bowed its head carefully and respectfully. Its watery form rippled, almost like a nervous gesture.

You hurt her, Daniel didn't say. It may have been in the course of duty, but you still hurt her. Well, now the gates have been opened. You're going to learn how to play nice with others and keep her safe. Because if you don't...

"He tends to be very protective of his family, you see," Daniel said calmly. "He doesn't brag about his power, but...I wouldn't want to get in his way if he were roused. I do hope you take my meaning."

The Nokk nodded. There may have been a hint of respect in its glowing gaze.

He smiled and nodded in return. "Brilliant. I'm very glad that we could come to terms. Honest, open communication is far better than oblique hints, don't you think?"

You kept people, including those faithful to you, trapped for over thirty years, Daniel thought darkly, though it didn't show. Not once did you truly communicate with either group. This could have been resolved years ago, but Ahtohallan declared that there had to be a Fifth Spirit. And you didn't have a choice, did you? But it's all right as long as Elsa is happy. That's what matters.

Once again, the Nokk nodded as if it had read his thoughts. It then moved towards the duck pond and leaped inside.

There was a long moment of silence as he watched the duck pond. There was nary a ripple out of place.

"Did you just...threaten the Water Spirit?" Honeymaren asked. She looked aghast.

Yelana frowned deeply. "If you were one of my people, you would be beaten for showing disrespect to the Spirits. That was daring and arrogant."

"It was said politely," he reminded her. "They will have to grow out of the forest and into the world."

Yelana's expression lightened. "You love her that much?"

"I do," he said simply.

"Love? Who?" Honeymaren asked.

"Mr. Antonini here is in love with Queen Elsa," Yelana explained. "I've seen that fierce, protective look before, but never against a Spirit. You are either very brave or very foolish."

"I hold to my convictions, Lady Yelana. Do you have any objections?" he asked.

"I should...but I've decided that I like you," she returned with a little smile. "You are clever, but you are also earnest."

"He was taught by some of the best," Elsa said from the garden entrance. Anna and Olaf were flanking her, holding her hands. "Welcome to Arendelle Castle. I hope that Daniel has been a good host."

"I have no complaints," Yelana said wryly. "Honeymaren?"

Honeymaren did not gape at Elsa's attire. She was in the same dress that had been created in Ahtohallan. In the afternoon light, it was dazzling.

"He's been very...hospitable, yes," Honeymaren got out. "Yes, he's been a very good host."

Daniel bowed deeply. "How are you two feeling?"

"Me?" Anna asked. "Oh, I'm fine. I mean, I just had a few minor scrapes and bruises."

Behind the banter, Anna gave Daniel a questioning look. He responded with an almost imperceptible nod of acknowledgment.

Yelana tried not to smile. Daniel's little speech hadn't been just for himself.

"Still a little stiff," Elsa admitted. "The doctor says that I should be all right in another week." She changed the subject. "Speaking of stiff, you can drop the formalities, Daniel. We're in front of family."

"So, I've your permission to hug Anna and Olaf, followed by snogging you silly? Is that what you mean?" he asked impishly.

There was a round of suppressed mirth in the group. Elsa withheld her giggle with her left hand. Something sparkled on her finger.

Yelana blinked. "When did this happen?" She gestured to the ring on Elsa's finger.

"Oh, um...last night," Elsa admitted. "It was all very awkward and silly, but very sweet."

"You might want to rephrase that," Anna pointed out. "People might get the wrong idea."

Daniel winced. "Yes, thank you, little sister of my heart. The world must know how awkward things can get."

"Soon to be sister-in-law," Anna reminded him. "And aren't you supposed to be the smooth, unruffled diplomat?"

"I tend to falter around family," he admitted. "In any case, might I suggest that we all have a seat?"

Elsa blinked as she sensed something. "Was there a Spirit here?"

"The Water Spirit," Honeymaren replied. "It was here for a little bit. Daniel had a little talk with it."

"What kind of talk?" Elsa frowned slightly.

"It was merely a clarification of certain positions that have changed," he said honestly. "I may have called for better relations between certain powers."

"It was my idea," Anna interjected. "I just didn't want the Spirits to think that they could act however they wanted to around, you know, King Triton or other people like that?"

"No, it was my idea," he corrected her. "It was the most diplomatic--"

Elsa rolled her eyes skyward. "It was both of you, wasn't it? Am I going to have to calm the poor thing down next time we meet? I thought we were done with secrets?"

Anna coughed theatrically. "Didn't tell me about the voice because it would have bothered me," she muttered.

Daniel harrumphed. "Went three days without sleep and didn't mention it," he added sotto voce.

Olaf wheezed and coughed a proverbial lung. "Almost pushed Anna away because you had to cross a sea and you didn't want her get in trouble and--" Olaf took a deep breath. "--kept that all to yourself."

Elsa laughed sheepishly. "Et tu, Olaf?"

"There's more than two of us here," the little snowman pointed out. "Or does that mean that you ate two of something?"

Any further response was interrupted by a faint, chortling sound. It grew to an outright belly laugh that rang through the garden. Yelana laughed for a full thirty seconds before she calmed down, wiping tears from her eyes.

"Spirits, I haven't had a good laugh in years," she said. She turned her gaze towards Elsa. "I think that I could get used to being part of this family." She stepped forward, leaning on her staff, and extended a hand.

Elsa and Anna's hands covered Yelana's. The foundation had been laid for a brighter future.

#frozen #frozen 2 #yelana #honeymaren #frozen nokk #my writing

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