#also i want to do the whole decision tree thing. would be fun for me watching it connect

[naomistares]

im gone cus im working on this very long last rejoice mini comic but i have an IDEA (ambitious)

what if i make my comic into a visual novel esque game instead.... i have this belief that it will actually take less time than a 400 page comic (or at least less drawing, but definitely more writing for me)... will that not be more fun and engaging!!

and get this.... you, the player, will be essentially writing your own fairytale based on choices you make! i'll make a fairytale retelling play out for every possible outcome that will get played by the end of it...!

i can do anything...(questionable)

[grimalkinmessor]

MP100 Characters Ranked on How Likely I Think They Would Be To Use The Death Note:

(because I like combining my hyperfixations ✨)

Mogami. I don't think I have to explain this one.

Ritsu. He is going on a killing spree IMMEDIATELY the boy practically IS Light Yagami, his name is literally spelled with the kanji for justice and he already went on one power-hungry crusade, he is RIPE on the Kira tree og

Dimple. He already has the god complex down, he just has to get on board with the whole killing people thing—considering he's already an evil spirit, it wouldn't take much convincing tbh

Shou. He would cause SO much havoc with it but only for fun. For the meme. For the vine. He kills the Queen of England with it and cackles as he watches the ensuing flood of Megamind memes. He would also threaten his dad into compliance with it because the Death Note isn't Battle Based, it's Instadeath. "Ever go on TV and embarrass me like that again and you're going out by dysentery."

Takenaka. He's not a bad kid, but being telepathic would make him incredibly susceptible to wanting to take bad people out before they did anything wrong. Plus just getting them to shut up. That idiot that keeps having vivid erotic fantasy in the middle of science class has ONE more again before Takenaka would embrace his villain arc whole-heartedly. The only reason he's this far down is because I think he'd hesitate.

Tsubomi. I think she'd kill someone just to see if she could get away with it. Then she'd put it away and only bring it out when certain situations arose that needed a Quick Solution™. That girl knows what needs to be done and she does it—she decisive. Anything like Suzuki happens again and she just drops them dead on live television Lind L. Tailor style and then goes on about her day like nothing happened. All heroes wear pretty hair clips 🙏

Tome. I don't know how to explain this one. Vibes. She feels like she'd be gripped by the powerful urge to kill someone but it would take her a lot to go through with actually writing someone's name down. She'd want to test the Death Note first to see if it worked, so that's one person down, but anyone else would need to have either hurt her or her friends irreversibly, and even then it would probably be a one time thing. She'd use it far less than Tsubomi—two people might actually be her max.

Serizawa. I hc that people with psychic powers can see the Death Note's bad jujus or whatever, so he wouldn't have to test it to know it would work, but I still think he'd use it. If he found it while he was still with Claw, he'd use it because it was easier to kill someone that way than with his psychic powers. Even if it he found it after Claw, it'd be the same reasoning. He's definitely killed people in the past and if someone hurt his friends or his mother he'd very much take the easy out of simply writing down a name rather than going for a fight. He'd still feel really bad about it though, so it'd probably only happen once.

Minori. She uses it to see if it's real, finds that it very much is, and then locks it away in her room. She won't use it, but it'll be a constant thought in her mind. A very real temptation.

Emi. She uses it once out of curiosity to see if it's real, then buries it in the woods where no one will ever find it...but she can go back for it if she ever needs it.

Hanazawa. He's reformed but his temper is still something to behold. He's only this far down the list because he's got that "I could kill you with my powers why would I need a book to do it for me" swag ✨

Shimazaki. Similar to Teru but less reformed. "I would just kill you with my powers why would I need a notebook" two electric boogaloo. Plus he's blind and idk if the Death Note takes braille or morse code.

Toichiro. The ULTIMATE "I'll just kill you with my powers I don't fucking need that thing"

Shinra. He wouldn't use it, but he'd absolutely make the mistake of picking it up and handing it over to someone that WOULD use it (cough rising sun psychic division cOugh)

Onigawara. Talks big shit about using it, but would never. Likes to think he COULD use it though, even though he's too upright for it.

Reigen. Picks it up out of curiosity and gets a laugh out of it, but doesn't test it. He's seen enough shit to be cautious though, so he has Mob look it over and then burns it once Mob confirms it's got bad vibes.

Mob. Sees bad vibes. Doesn't even pick it up. Blasts it into ash and goes home without thinking about it again. Buys milk on the way there.

[shkudss]

Weakened by Eywa Pt. 5

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6

Masterlist

Summary: Ao'nung finally realizes that his actions have consequences

Warnings: curse words, bullying, mental breakdown, English isn't my first language

Author's note: guys I’m so sorry that I didn’t tagged those who voted in the poll😭 I had no idea that it’s anonymous and you can’t see those who vote🥲 I’m really really sorry!!! Please, text me or comment if you want to be tagged. I hope you won’t get upset by this

Yawntutsyip - darling, little loved one

Yaymak - foolish, ignorant

Tsmukan - brother

Sa’nu - mommy

Metiyawn - love (plural)

“Now you can’t call me helpless, water boy.” After finally learning how to ride ilu, you were really playful, swimming with Ao’nung.

“Yeah, that’s because I was your teacher. Otherwise you would be helpless.” Light smile was on his face as he was talking to you. “Hey, who first reaches that stone will be the winner!”

It was really sudden game, but you managed to react fast. Even though your swimming skills improved significantly, you still were far from Ao’nung’s skills. He was way faster and was already standing on that huge stone and looking down at you. His skin was lighter on the sun.

“Come here, I’ll help you” you were about to thank him, but then he added “Loser” and chuckled at your unpleased face.

“Hey! You’re stronger than me and you are water na’vi. I’ll look at you running on the trees and trying to keep your balance with that thick tail!” You pushed his shoulder a little when he helped you to climb up.

“Yeah, I would probably be loser in the forest. I remember you almost killing me that day, I didn’t even recognize you at first. You were in your element and I understood that you’re actually strong. Surprisingly, not really loser.” Ao’nung laughed at last sentence and you pushed him again, but also had fun.

“Yeah, forest is my home. I don’t know how it is possible for people to claim that sea is their home. We’re actually different as you said before.” You sat on the warm stone and looked at the sunset.

“Yes, but we’re still all na’vis, children of Eywa and I didn’t understand it before.” Ao’nung joined you, you were so close that your shoulders were touching each other. “Y/N, you know I’m really sorry what what I did and said. Even though you said you forgave me, I, myself cannot forget it.” His aquatic eyes were looking far at the horizon.

“You don’t need to forget it, you must forgive yourself. I forgive you, but I will never forget about it and that’s not bad. You need to learn from your and others’ mistakes. It is your life and experience. But it is also your choice how to react on all these things happening to you. I could choose not to forgive you and I would be a lifelong burden for both of us. You could choose to be blind and not see anything wrong in your actions and it would break me and my family more and more. But we made our decisions and we’re here now, being friends and having this conversation. It is because we choose peace. Inside us and around us.” You placed your hand on his chest, explaining your thoughts and forgetting about boundaries.

Ao’nung didn’t respond to you, but placed his hand over yours on his chest. You looked up at him and met his gaze. It was so intimate, you could feel the whole atmosphere between you changing vitally. You wanted to remove your hand, but he didn’t let you do this, holding it solidly.

“What are you doing, Ao’nung? Why are you looking at me like this?” All your confidence and playfulness disappeared.

You could feel him examining you. Your eyes, your hair, you lips, your hands. Ao’nung wanted to look at you all day long. Enjoying your beauty and wisdom. You captured his heart, his soul not even knowing about it.

“If you were the Sun, I would burn my eyes but keep looking at you every day. If you were a bird, I would spend all days in the forest listening to you.” He took your other hand, stroking it softly. “I know I hurt you deeply and I know it might be too early to say that as we’ve recently just came to peace. But I don’t know how I can live another day keeping it inside. You told that it is my choice how to react on things happening to me. This thing has been making me crazy for so long and I finally made my choice, Y/N.”

You felt your heart blowing inside of you. You didn’t know what to do or to say. Ao’nung was looking at you for a couple of seconds and then his face got as close to yours that you could feel his warm breath. Your knees felt weak at that type of closeness. One second and he leaves a little kiss in the corner of your lips.

Your eyes widened, breath is our of control. He looks right into your eyes, trying to catch your emotions. Ao’nung is also nervous, but he can’t show it to you since he is a future warrior, Olo'eyktan of the Metkayina. He wants to look strong and mighty in front of you.

“Y/N…”

“I�� I need…” all words left your mind “I need to think it over.”

And you left him, running away from that stone. You didn’t even notice how you ended up riding ilu back to your marui. Your heartbeat was going crazy every time you remembered his lips on yours.

“What’s going on..?” You placed your hand on your heart trying to calm down. “Why my heart is beating so fast?”

“Y/N, are you okay?”

Mother’s voice distracted you. She knew something was wrong, you looked shocked. Even your hands were shaking a little.

“What happened? Someone annoyed you?”

“No, I just… I think I have feelings, but I’m not sure.” Neytiri led you to the Marui, looking at you worried.

“You mean feelings to a boy?”

“Yes, he kissed me.” It was hard for you to tell the truth, especially to your mom. You were embarrassed.

“Who was that?” Neytiri was actually excited to know that you’re getting used to the life here. You build your own story here.

“I’m not ready to tell it yet. But I don’t know what to do. He kissed me in the corner of my lips and I ran away. Is he going to hate me?” Helpless look on your face made your mom feel the wave of love. You’re still a kid who is getting through first romantic feeling.

“It’s okay, don’t worry. If he had true feelings to you he won’t be mad.” Her words easined your heart. “But you have to talk to him and explain everything, if you really value him.”

“Okay, thank you sa’nu.” You hugged Neytiri. You really needed it. “I will go for a walk. I need to think about everything.”

“Okay, but don’t be out for too long. You better be home before the eclipse.”

***

You’d been sitting in your place in the forest for the past 2 hours and trying to understand what you feel. That kiss put you out of your stride completely. You wouldn’t even think about having feelings to Ao’nung if he didn’t do this.

These days, every time you got physically close to each other you felt a little awkward and shy which is unusual for you. This never happened with Roxto or other guys.

“Do I like him?” As you asked yourself you felt your heartbeat increasing.

“Y/N, what are you doing here? We’ve been looking for you.” You saw Neteyam coming out from the bushes.

“Sorry, I was just thinking, this place is peaceful.” You moved a little to let your brother sit next to you. “I thought it’s my secret place, but I guess it’s not.”

“Yeah, sorry.” He looked at you apologizing. “What are you thinking about? I see you’re worried.”

“I don’t think you would like to hear it.”

“C’mon, I’m your big brother. I won’t get mad, promise.” He patted you on the head, waiting for your speech.

“I think, I have feelings to Ao’nung.” you were really cautious when revealed the truth. “He kissed me today and I don’t know what to do.”

You were afraid to look at him. Silence made you nervous.

“I see.”

Neteyam looked thoughtful. You had no idea what’s going on in his mind. For you his opinion on this was the most important. You really needed his support as an older brother.

“Talk to him.”

————————————————————————

A/N: Heyyy! I hope you liked it! I’m so happy for their developing relationships and that everyone is so supportive🥹 I’m really excited about next part! I think it’s going to be the last one, but we’ll see! I have ideas for some one-shots and I can’t wait to finish think work and write them🙈 Also, sorry for the delay, I’m really busy at school these days🥲

Taglist: @elegantkidfansoul @ijwsbdinp @universal-s1ut @myh3artt @lynbubble @jjkclub @kenzi-woycehoski @marvellover4 @ssc7514 @stvrligghtt @johfaam @simplecole18 @flavaliz @chrisbelle @bajadotcom @jak3suiiyscvmslvt @a--1--1--3 @roxannedaybreakermidnight @aonungmyaddiction @neteyamsmate4life @boilingpots @fanboyluvr @zilena9 @maxiel4life

I couldn’t tag those, whose nicknames are in red:(

[pyromaniacldrt]

So, my mind has been reclaimed by the Wild Kratts fandom, and I cannot escape.

So I´ll make random headcannons! (Disclaimer: These are not about the actual Kratt bros, I´m writting about the show)

STARTING WITH THE BLUE BOY.

Martin is an organized disaster; Alow me to elaborate. Martin has BIG trouble keeping himself of getting distractions or organizing at all, and yet somehow finds what he´s looking for.

He loves moving around and NEEDS to say hi to every animal and give them THE BEST NAMES, wich I personally belive is the reason he has more scars due to animal attacks than the rest of the crew (I can imagine him getting a bit too close to a grizzly cub and naming him Presley and his mom Mrs.Sharpclaw. I cannot unsee it. ).

Sometimes he´ll talk about animals for hours and compete with Chris to know who knows more about creatures. It´s a wonder how Tortuga hasnt been wrecked yet.

This guy here is a bit bilingual, unlike Chris who dosent quite understand new languages. Martin likes to learn new words in spanish with Aviva.

Also (based on that one interview where Martin said he at first wanted to be a veterinarian that mentioned someone in tumblr but I cant remember their name), Martin has some interest in the med area, and got even bigger after the Orangoutang episode.

He HATES to be still, specially after the tree episode. I think he probably hates small spaces and will not tolerate to be locked out.

I do personally belive he´s kind of the unnamed leader of Tortuga. While he´s not a strategist and is a total clumsy geek, this guy will act quickly and is very good under stressfull situations and making decesive decisions, even if he sometimes does not think it through (like in the Flying fish episode). He's a professional in his job and everyone forgets that sometimes.

Martin is the type of person to believe in second chances, and tries to see good in everything and (mostly) everyone.

BUT. Hurt his friends or/and (god forbid) his brother, and RUN. He'll catch you anyway, but is worth to try.

THIS IDIOT DOES NOT KNOW WHAT IS SELF PRESERVATION AND NOT BEING A HUMAN SHIELD.

Yet, he has the most consistent sleep schedule.

I like to think that he and Aviva were the first members of the whole Wild Kratts project, but it was far different, like some kind of lab in an island. Then Koki and Jimmy came and BOOM. Tortuga. Chris was the last member to officially join the crew, but he was there since the begining.

Martin can play MANY instruments, but only knows the cheesiest, most anoying and weird songs to ever exist.

He has used the "I´m the older brother and I´ll tell mom" Card on Chris way to many times.

Martin is the oldest member of the crew, wich makes him feel responsible for everyone and tries to protect them. Still, he´s just to silly to do so, and always gets distracted.

He can´t draw. Like, at all. Chris makes fun of that all of the time.

He´s a heartbreaker and he dosen´t even know. Like, he´s so oblivious to the fact that many people have a crush on him and he´s just like "You´re such a great friend haha!" after literally telling said person how pretty and awsome they are.

He��s got that blonde on him.

If it wasn´t for the fact that she´s a villain, Donita and Martin would be great friends.

Maybe I´ll make more parts, I dunno...

Pyro Out!

Psdt: He and Donita were in a situationship and Donita is not quite over him yet. Martin just wants her to leave the animals free in the wild.(He has no idea there was something between them in the first place nor did he realize he actually had a thing for her)

[thelov3lybookworm]

Caged In (part 2)

Part 1

Day 2: Style

Summary: Lucien has some really amazing fashion sense, and his newly made friend is very interested in his wardrobe.

•○●⛦●○•

A/n: because many of you were asking about a part 2, it gave me the idea to do the whole week in this series. I'll try my best to make a part for everyday now ❣️ this is not much, but I'm trying and simply having some fun 😉

Also, I don't think the fic really fits much into the prompt, but it's alright. Right? Anyways, I decided I wanted to see him in clothes that are not green or red, so...

So here is my second contribution to @lucienweekofficial 🫶

(I don't really like this, but anyways. I wrote this in 1‐2 hours, what am I even expecting. Maybe I'll like tomorrow's more?)

Enjoy!

•○🌑○•

Y/n watched intently as Lucien and Jurian bickered over who would cut the wood for the fire and who would go into the market to get the items necessary for the night's dinner.

They had been at it for quite some time, and because she was bored, she had gotten herself a cup of tea and settled down to watch the two of them.

It had been one month since that night, since Lucien had helped her flee the night court, and she was surprised no one from the inner circle had arrived to search for her. Sure, she had received countless letters and notes from Rhys and Cassian, demanding to know where she was and that she return home.

She wouldn't do that anytime soon.

She had only left a note that said, I'm tired of your overprotective tendencies before she left.

Cassian had always been overprotective over her, since the moment he found her hiding in her mother's skirts and staring at him and the other males of the camp, just before they had pulled her mother away and slaughtered her.

After Cassian had been born, the males of the camp had taken him from his mother, ready to kill her. But before they could, she had sneaked away and ran. After days of running, she ran into a fae man, who gaslit her into believing they were in love and raped her, hence making her pregnant with Y/n.

Because Y/n's father was not an Illyrian, Y/n was only half Illyrian, and that meant she could make her wings vanish, just like Rhys.

After Nyx's birth, she and Cassian had visited an Illyrian camp due to some unrest having arisen. The men there were too pissed that a female was trying to command them, one of them even daring to get into her space and rant about how he would do unimaginable things to her and she would soon die.

And Cassian had taken him a little too seriously, confining Y/n to the river house hoping that she'll be safe.

But in the process, he had caged her in.

The sound of Jurian's cheers brought Y/n out of her thoughts, and she looked up from her cup of tea.

Jurian grinned as he flounced up to Y/n, ruffling her hair on the way in. She swatted him away and he chuckled.

"So? He's going to the market?"

Lucien grumbled out an affirmation, starting to walk away towards the forest nearby. Y/n contemplated staying or following Lucien. If she stayed, she'd die of boredom untill Vassa arrived. If she followed, she could get some entertainment by irritating Lucien.

Making her decision, she shoved her empty cup into Jurian's chest, who was on his way out. She kissed his cheek in apology, sprinting to catch up to Lucien.

"Hello again."

"Why are you following me–"

"The weather seems really good today, don't you think?"

He glanced at her, his eyes narrowing before he sighed. "I don't know."

She grinned, bumping his shoulder with her own. Or atleast she tried to, her shoulder barely reaching his.

He shook his head, entering the clearing where he would chop the firewood in. She trotted to a nearby tree with huge roots where she took a seat, watching him.

He was wearing one of his beautifully made tunics today, the first three buttons undone. It was black colored, an unusual color to see him in. But it suited him nonetheless, maybe even more than his normal colours.

His breeches were light grey, bordering on white. They hugged his legs perfectly, leaving very little to the imagination. The powerful muscles in his thighs rippled lightly as he stalked around the clearing, gathering wood to chop.

She simply watched him, taking note of the elegance and grace in his every step and movement.

Soon he had gathered the amount of wood he deemed fit, and he got ready to begin chopping them up into smaller bits. He pulled out a strip of leather from his pocket, and pulled his long hair back, tying it off in a neat knot at the base of his neck. He then proceeded to fold his sleeves up to his elbows, the muscles in his forearms flexing, the rings on his fingers glinting in the dying rays of the sun.

Y/n's mouth dried.

But she wasn't one to blame when a male like Lucien was doing things like that in front of her.

He lifted the axe, bending a little to chop into the wood. The necklaces he wore dangled in front of his chest, making him look all the more... delicious.

Delicious?!? What the hell?

She watched him, all the muscles in his body rippling. She wanted to go up to him, and pull his–

No. She didn't want anything. She couldn't want anything.

A small smirk formed on his lips, and Y/n knew she had been caught.

"You know, it's a little rude to stare, my lady."

She swallowed, trying to get her tongue off the roof of her mouth as he lifted the small axe, bringing it down on the wood again. There was something she had been wanting to ask him.

"You know, I was wondering if I could see your wardrobe."

He paused, axe suspended in the air as he half turned to her.

"What?"

"I said–"

"I heard what you said. My lady."

She flushed. "Oh."

After a few moments, he spoke again. "Why do you want to see my clothes?"

"Um... I wanted to... see if there was something I wanted to steal from your clothes."

He blinked. "Why... why would you want to do that?"

"Because I think you have really amazing clothes and... you have a good style."

He smirked. "Is that so?"

She groaned, throwing her hair back.

"Are you going to let me have a shirt of yours or not?"

"Why do you want one?" He asked, turning his focus back to chopping the wood.

"Because I want to wear something good for tonight because Vassa is taking me to dinner tonight."

Lucien's brows Rose, but he didn't stop. "And why is she taking you out?"

"Because the both of us are tired of you males and we both deserve a day off. You can babysit Jurian for one night, can you not?"

Lucien laughed, the sound sending the butterflies in Y/n's stomach into a panic.

"And you don't have a tunic you can wear outside?"

"I don't like mine. They are very simple, and Vassa will kill me if I wore something like that."

Lucien sighed. "I guess you will not leave me alone unless I let you have my shirts?"

"You might be right."

"Well then, you can take a look, when we get back."

Y/n squealed. "Thank you Lucien!"

He smiled.

And so began Y/n's harmless little crush on Lucien.

Little did she know it was not, in fact, just a harmless little crush.

•○🌑○•

Part 3

Taglist: @bubybubsters @eos-princess @nightless @lizziesfirstwife

[blingblong55]

If I didn't know better- 141

Based on a request and a personal need:

hi! i was wondering if you could do heavy angst for a fem reader? i’m not sure what but uggg i love angst

Angst, F!Reader, death of character, Platonic!Relationship

A/N: I recently cried over Marjorie by Taylor Swift and this request came up at a great time.

If I didn't know betterI'd still think you were talking to me now If I didn't know any better I'd think you were still around

Grief (noun) deep sorrow, especially that caused by someone's death.

They say people can die from a broken heart and maybe that would be the best option for you at this point. They also say that at some point when you lose someone you love, perhaps just maybe you would start to hallucinate. And at the funeral, where now he lies, dressed in his best suit, you might begin to think this was just some imposter, that maybe he was alive. Some kind of dream.

-------

Three days ago, the task force was assigned to make the most challenging decision. Infiltrate into a Russian base. It was meant to be easy until Ghost and Gaz were ambushed and safe, but the trio in which you found yourself had much different luck.

You had told Price you had a bad feeling about this mission. You wanted to pull out of it, felt something in your gut, telling, no, begging you to stay at the base.

Communication systems broke down. You were stuck in a confined space, limbs weak. Price and Soap trying their best to get them and you out of that space.

"It's okay, Bonnie, I'll get us out, just wait and see." He reassured you, Price trying to push the vast wall that collapsed on you three, Soap holding your hand. You, well you see you had gone through something similar as a child, except, you were surrounded by other children, 12 trapped, 3 survived.

Soap was the one who knew the whole story, Price knew bits of it. That's why they fought hard to get you out, not them, but you. After 13 hours of continuous struggle, you all got out, "Told ya, Bonnie" he kissed your cheek.

It was hell after that though. Ghost and Gaz are back at base, stuck in the hard bed of the med-bay. Nurses and doctors had to tame them, they would wake up, screaming and fighting. Took many soldiers to put Ghost back into that bed.

They hadn't heard from any of you since their ambush. At some hour, Ghost feared for the outcome. Gaz on the bed next to his, "They'll be a'right mate, I know it." he tried to reassure his teammate.

Once the three of you reached a safe house, things were calm, for a while. "Think Gaz and Ghost are doing well?" Soap spoke first, breaking the silence. You all three sat on a sofa, staring into nothing.

"Maybe" you softly answer. "Better be." Price spoke next.

After that, you snuggled into soaps side, resting as he watched over you. Always your guardian angel.

Three hours into your sleep, you wakened up by an alarmed Price. "GET YOUR WEAPONS, ITS TIME TO MOVE!" He yelled over a loud sound, possibly a bomb.

Soap took you by the hand, guiding you out, you coughed through the smoke. Bullets being shot at what you thought was the enemy. You all ran, gaining bruises as you passed by rocks and tree branches. At some point Price signals you two to run faster, guns in hand.

Smoke and fire surround you. Enemy soldiers rushing at you three. Price and you start to shoot at the enemy, taking some down. Soap is being protected by you two, he builds an explosive strong enough to take a few of them down.

"GET DOWN!" He commands, Price and you obey, the bomb goes off, and at least 7 enemy soldiers scatter to bits from it. Blood falling from the sky. 19 more to go.

Mud, so much dust and blood on your uniforms staining your soul. And it's true what they say, war is never fun, kind or welcoming to those who fight it. It's not even rewarding, it leaves you scarred and nearly dead every time you pick a gun up. You die with each bullet you fire, not physically but mentally you do.

It's war and it will never be fair.

"GO, GO, GO!" Price commanded, he ran behind you two, leaving no one, at least you two, behind.

You hide by some creek, and you all sit there, waiting for the next attack and listening to the water flow down. You took some of the water, cleaning your face which was full of nothing but mud and some blood. "Think Ghost has been tranquillised, by now?" Soap never fails to know his teammates. Price chuckles, "No doubt that kid is giving 'em hell."

"19 left," you softly say.

"What's that about, Bonnie?"

"19 more enemy soldiers," you look up at them, the cold wind now hitting your face.

Long limbs and frozen swims You'd always go past where our feet could touch And I complained the whole way there

"I told you Price, this one would be hard, I knew it'd be."

"Look kid, this is war, nothing will be fucking easy, we are soldiers, we follow orders and execute them to absolute precision."

Soap gave you a kind look. He was always the one to trust your gut, knowing you had a reason to feel this.

For hours after, you all walked in silence. Boots making the noise, it was now around 2am, so close to the base, yet so far. At some point you find yourself in the cold mountains of the country, only surrounded by the snow and stones.

You all sat down, looking at each other, not saying a word. "Shit couldn't get any worse for us." he chuckles,

Soap and you chuckle with him. You all start to tell stories, about the days of your young years in the military. These were the conversations worth keeping for years to come.

The car ride back and up the stairs I should've asked you questions I should've asked you how to be Asked you to write it down for me Should've kept every grocery store receipt 'Cause every scrap of you would be taken from me

An hour passes the cold stormy weather, messing with your vision. "This is the plan, we go south for now, try and avoid attention, understand?" Price asks, looking at you both.

For the next thirty minutes, you walk, jog and run. Desperately wanting to find some ally to help you. Unfortunately, one met their demise.

5 soldier,s left to just three of you, an easy task. What happened next left the two of you empty.

Price took out two, you one. Only two left, Soap and you take out another, the scope in his gun finally being of good use. One left, what's more, to ask.

All your closets of backlogged dreams And how you left them all to me

"Bonnie!" Soap pushed you to the ground, and a gunshot echoed around. "Enemy down!" Price walked to the two of you. The three of you now stand there, breathless yet victorious.

"Soap?"

You asked once his smile was wiped off. Blood gushed from his mouth. He fell on his knees, looking up at you, you kneeled down, holding him close. Price shot the actual final enemy. "Soap, stay with me, c'mon, don't do this!" You panicked, all he could do was look at you. With the ghost of a smile on him, he cups your cheek, "I always did love you, r/n" he barely let out. He fell on his side, Price and you trying to stop the bleeding and trying to keep him warm.

"Soap? please don't leave us...don't leave me," you whispered, there was nothing more to do, but watch him die.

"It's time for me to go home, Bonnie"

You shook your head, trying to cancel out his words, "No, not yet, you stay here, with us...me....please Johnny, please." you begged knowing damn well all was lost.

Price took his hat off and rested it over his chest, looking at his comrade.

"Rest, you have earned that, son"

Soap sighs, his hand holding yours, grip loosening. He looks at you, with a small smile as he closes his eyes.

What died didn't stay dead You're alive, you're alive in my head

"I love you Johnny, my favourite friend." You kiss his cheek, and he finally let go. Finally met peace.

It's been now three days since his death. Only Price has seen you since then, you have been sleeping in Soaps bed. Wearing an old jacket, but not touching the rest of his stuff. Although the love you two had for the other was platonic, you kept thinking of the what if's.

Maybe if you loved him more than just a friend, maybe he could stay just a little longer. If you didn't know better, it was him humming you to sleep each night.

His ghost dances with your shadow, kissing you good night, wishing you could stop crying and blaming yourself. His favourite girl in the whole world. The one he could never stop loving.

Even in his last moments, he loved you.

At his funeral, you sobbed into the arms of the three men. You swore he was there, and felt some weird warmth on your shoulder when you looked down at his grave.

What died didn't stay dead You're alive, so alive

He was alive, in you, he is alive. He still tells you his jokes and makes comments on Ghost's stupid masks. Right now, he is right there, hand on the small of your back as you put a white rose and an orange tulip on his coffin. The Family walked away, but you stayed there. You grabbed some of the dirt and threw it at the coffin once it was lowered.

Sat by his now grave, been a full year now. Some moved on, others didn't.

And if I didn't know better I'd think you were singing to me now If I didn't know better I'd think you were still around

"Hi, Bonnie, how are things at the base?" he sits beside you, playing with the grass and flowers.

"Price let his beard grow a little more. We have a tattoo of you," you chuckle, "Gaz got it too, you know how he hated tattoos" You look at him.

"Can't believe it took my death to get a bloody tattoo" he laughs a little, hand on your back, his head resting on your shoulder.

"Ghost and I are getting more along now, he talks about you a lot" You too play with the grass underneath you.

"Hey, you better not replace me"

"But not to worry, I'll never replace you"

"How are you?"

"It's been hell, Johnny, I forgot your voice" Your voice cracks, tears running down your cheek. His hand wipes them away, and you feel a cold breeze pass by.

"I'll be waiting for you, Bonnie, and I bet you'll get tired of my voice."

"You'd be 29 now, Happy birthday Johnny." You kiss the tips of your fingers and place them on his stone.

He kissed your cheek, another cold breeze you feel.

I know better But I still feel you all around I know better But you're still around

------

Tags: @screamonic

A/N: I think I had a mental breakdown as I wrote it, so...yeah..if it's shit...sorry

[gretchensinister]

Daily Fic Highlight: Incarnation

The winner of the kudos email today is:

Incarnation is a SkekGra/UrGoh longfic about their early days in exile at the Circle of the Suns as they start to understand each other better, work out their skeksis and mystic baggage, and slowly fall in love. It's from SkekGra's point of view, and when I say he pines I mean he could be a whole Christmas tree farm. Slow burn--but it does burn. 152,469 words, E, M/M (for whatever values of "M" two different aliens who used to be one alien have).

In other posts I've made about this I usually quote "Wild Geese" by Mary Oliver to convey what Incarnation is about, and now I'm going to do it again:

"You do not have to be good. You do not have to walk on your knees for a hundred miles through the desert repenting. You only have to let the soft animal of your body love what it loves."

I jumped into The Dark Crystal fandom with this, and it was so much fun to write I feel like it restored all my powers.

Sample:

“UrGoh, maybe—maybe this—” Maybe this isn’t such a good idea, SkekGra thought he wanted to say. But the words didn’t come out. Because even if it wasn’t such a good idea, he still wanted UrGoh to touch him. He still wanted to touch UrGoh. “I know I haven’t done this before,” said UrGoh, “but I’ll be careful. I won’t hurt you.” “I’m never worried about you hurting me,” SkekGra said. UrGoh reached out and lifted SkekGra’s left hand from the warm water with his right hands. And, as it always had before, with UrGoh’s other touches, the bond changed. The longing didn’t go away. SkekGra was almost sure that it wouldn’t, as long as he and UrGoh were separate. If anything, that longing might be even more acute, now that they were touching skin-to-skin. But it felt like—it felt like a longing for something attainable, something within their reach, within their powers. When they weren’t touching, there was an element of strangeness to the bond that seemed to indicate the underlying truth of their connection—that no one had ever been meant to feel this way. When they touched, the pull SkekGra felt between them seemed as natural as breathing. Though the tension was undiminished, when touch was added to the bond, he found himself worried less about GraGoh and what it would be like to be GraGoh, feeling only that he was more connected with UrGoh, and believed he could be more connected with UrGoh, and that was a good thing. Very, very good. And did UrGoh also feel this, as he gently manipulated SkekGra’s hand, searching for the best angle for what he wanted to do? Would it show in his face? Did SkekGra’s own face show something of what he was feeling? It seemed wrong for UrGoh to not know what SkekGra was feeling now, it was too big, maybe something big enough that it would affect UrGoh’s decisions to touch him at all.

[visionthefox]

small sams rant (I swear this one is dumb- but I need to let it out) SPOILERS I TALK ABOUT THE NEW EP. (specially Solar x Moon) RESUME : Im bothered over a simple one off scene that may not mean anything in the long run and can actually be debunked at any time -but my ass feels like complaining today..

I dont know how to feel about it. no I dont care for Jack, the use of new models is bound to happend, and the lore is mid- is to be expected no- what bothers me is the first SECONDS of it.. when Jack list the Celestial Family- he added Solar .. and.. that is bothersome for me ppl didnt used to have an issue shipping Solar and Moon., sure maybe it was just a crack ship or too small to be noticed, yet as time passed it was clear the two had created a bond.. now.. this bond could be seen as anyhing we wished for.. until Earth had to "ruin it" in a way- pushing (?) Solar into accepting to be call something related to family- as one can see in the ep Lunar is in huge trouble in VRCHAT- (but amma be honest? I know of this clip by this vid , since I avoid anything with Earth on it,but that clip is important) He is not really so eager to do- sure maybe is just Solar being Solar (also- I view that as pushy- you can tell me is not- but this is how I see it- Im the problem) but you may think! someone who pretty much had lost his whole family as he was force to leave them -and now is living under someone else place- would be at least happy to be accepted as family, if not just show gratitude -he can express happiness! he can laugh.-he for sure can say "oh.. well.. thanks you" and move on but what does he say? "you dont have to actually use a family tree for this- im just " and she cut him off - sure her intention may be good but she is so pushy about it .. he comes to actually say he may feel like a cousin and soon enough doesnt like the sound of that.. well he said "that does not roll of the tounge" and I googled what does it mean, so is not like he is not comfortable but also.. is not like He is %100 up to that tittle.. ALL OF THIS TO SAY - I feel like due to the "drama"? issue, with the ship and Earth now saying he is "part of the family" -whoever is on control of the channel had to take a decision.. and this may be it.. (no I dont think the VA sare in control. they are just VAsthey do a job) Solar can be classified as "family" - yet.. family can mean different things- from where Im from- we call say "you are like family to me" as a way to say "I feel close to you" but actually view the person as a good Friend- but the thing is, the show may want to just set Solar as family- and so avoid any if not all mention to a ship (and I know the term is often used for romantic, but I did see ppl like them to be both ace who just like each other) and I feel.. bad.. I feel like by doing this they ruin the fun of actually having a windows open for the joy of "what if" scenarios.. is not like ppl cant just make and AU like when ppl did to be able to ship Sun and Eclipse, just a silly AU to let loose- (silly hero and tamed villain type of thing) but yea.. idk.. Solar as actually a friend felt more right than him being "family"- dude is not one to actually ask ppl to do much bonding- nor he seems to actually be interested on these familiar things (the Christmas was more as a wholesome thing- in my eyes- (but also I didnt see if fully-again, I dont watch anyting with Earth on it)) but yea.. idk- is not even a big deal. but Im in love with their dymanics as besties.. (or lovers~)

[montypythonswine]

Thanks for tagging me @memorial-sewer this looks fun, here we go...

Do you make your bed?

No I don't I only do it when I'm tidying my room

Favourite number?

I think my favourite number is 19 or 7 because that's the birth date and month

Job?

I haven't had a proper job yet but I've had work experience at school/college

If you could go back to school, would you?

This is hard because I'm in two minds. On one hand I'd like to go back to school to make different decisions but on the other hand I didn't have the best time at school (mainly secondary school) so I wouldn't want to experience it again

Favourite Childhood sport?

I liked (and still like) swimming and basketball . I don't know if this counts as a sport but I like dancing

Can you parallel park?

Nope I don't have a driver's license and don't intend to so no I can't parallel park

Do you think aliens are real?

It would be a cool idea if there were aliens but I don't think they are real

Can you drive a manual car?

See parallel park answer

What's your guilty pleasure?

Quiz shows and reality tv shows. Oh and shopping, love a bit of shopping

Tattoos?

No I don't have any tattoos and I don't intend to get any. I'm not really a fan of them

Favourite colours?

Red and Turquoise

Do you like puzzles?

Hell yeah! I love puzzles and I love quiz shows that contain puzzles. I love sudoku's, word searches, kriss kross puzzles. Basically yes I do

Any phobias?

Where do I start?

I have a fear of heights. I can't remember where it came from but in primary school I went on school trips where I had to go up something. One of the trips we went up the monument (it's a statue in central London commemorating the great fire of London that you can stand on a platform and see the whole of London) and I was terrified, I was literally clinging to the wall, I couldn't go near the edge. I also had to go to this adventure park and we had to do this leap of faith thing where we had to climb up this really tall tree and jump off a small podium. I was crying the whole time but I did it somehow.

I have a fear of fire. Once again I don't know where it started but at every restaurant that I go to and they have candles at the centre of the table I have to ask my parents to put it out. I can't do candles.

I have a fear of a dark. I know that sounds silly as a fully grown adult but I just don't like how you can't see what's in front of you (I know that's the point of the dark but it still scars me). This is going to sound really weird but I have a eerie memory that probably started this fear. This is when I was around 8 or 9 I was sleeping and I woke up and I could see in the corner of my room, ghosts of my mum and dad staring back at me even though I could literally hear them snoring in the other room.

Oh I forgot to mention my fear of needles/blood

Do you talk to yourself?

Yes I do, it helps me get my thoughts together rather than just keeping it in my head

I'll tag: @yonderghostshistories @arthur-two-sheds-jackson @knoxoverstreet16 @starstruckfangirlsposts @kim-gil-chun @thehistoryone

[strawberrystepmom]

Hello Kendall! I hope you’re having a great Tuesday! I’m not well versed on astrology, but I do find it to be kind of fascinating so I’ve been reading all of your fun takes. So with that said (and if you want to), I’d love to hear your take on my big three! Scorpio sun, Leo rising, and Taurus moon :)

(The only thing I can say is that I definitely agree with my Scorpio sun, but I’ve heard your rising is how you appear to others and I don’t feel like I fit a leo placement at all.)

Have a great rest of your week! 💕

sage!!! <3333 i hope tuesday has been lovely for u and i am always happy to yap about the stars. i've loved few things in my life as fondly as i love them ngl to u. again, we'll go with the generalized functions of each of these placements. sun - your drive/life force/personal statement, moon - internal emotion/desires, rising - how you are perceived by others widely.

let me start with leo placement bc i think people sometimes have misconceived ideas (not their fault, the way astrologers talk about fire signs as a whole is iffy to me) about what it means to be a leo. not every leo is the most stereotypical example of the sign ie vapid, obsessed with looks, needs to be the center of attention. the most important thing to know about leo is that it about pride rather than anything physical. you likely come off as a proud person even if it isn't over your appearance or material things, it's more about who you are and your values, but people likely pick up that you are proud and dignified just in the way you carry yourself. you may not like to ask for help. you may have some natural leadership tendencies that your other placements can discourage you from embodying.

taurus moon is a great moon placement imo. i feel that taurus moons handle their own emotions with a great amount of care and they believe that nurturing yourself (be it with a good meal, a good shop, a good nap) is the way to stay whole and to resolve your own issues. this is a philosophy all of us could benefit from. if you aren't a particularly self indulgent person when it comes to foods, drinks, items, etc. i imagine this functions for you in a way where all of your own emotions feel very self validated but also reasonable. you may be stubborn about the way you feel and struggle to budge when you have hard and fast beliefs and this is what leads me to believe you may be more leo rising than u think. taurus' stubbornness and leo's pride can make for a person that is very sat in their own opinion sand beliefs in the best way and can back themselves up.

scorpio sun is a beautiful placement. once again, scorpios get such unnecessarily bad raps, when all they really want is someone to understand them while being a space to do the same for others. i would imagine your life force so to speak is the ability to stand by others through difficult times but to also empathize with them in a way that can help them better understand why they've made the decisions. it's not judgemental as people may say bc they're oversimplifying, but scorpios tend to really see the forest for the trees and will tell you like "hey. can we rethink this?" and that kind of honesty isn't always appreciated and thusly becomes scorpio bad bc ofc.

hope this helps!! let me know if u wanna know more <333

[twistedtummies2]

Year of the Bat - Number 27

Welcome to Year of the Bat! In honor of Kevin Conroy, Arleen Sorkin, and Richard Moll, I’m counting down my Top 31 Favorite Episodes of “Batman: The Animated Series” throughout this January. TODAY’S EPISODE QUOTE: “Live from Gotham City! The show that nobody wants to see, but everyone will watch!” Number 27 is…Christmas With the Joker.

Our previous entry was the highly depressing “Growing Pains,” which many – myself included – consider one of the darkest and most disturbing episodes of the series. In stark contrast, “Christmas With the Joker” is widely regarded as one of the silliest…perhaps to a fault, many would argue. In all sincerity, I’ve always found it ASTONISHING that, apparently, not a lot of people actually like this episode! This includes the show’s creators: according to Bruce Timm, in particular, the creative team behind B:TAS had a really hard time figuring out their take on the Joker. His first two or three appearances, in Timm’s opinion, were sub-par to what came later. And of those three earlier outings, “Christmas With the Joker” – the Clown Prince of Crimes very first appearance – seems to be considered the worst of the bunch. I will never understand this, to be perfectly honest, because – in my opinion – this probably one of Mr. J.’s BEST outings, and is as traditional around Christmastime for me as any version of “A Christmas Carol” or “The Nutcracker” may be. I absolutely LOVE this episode. Is it dark or complex? Not especially. Does it really do anything to expand on the Joker as a character? Not really. Is it a lot of fun to watch? HELL. YES. Honestly, for a first outing for the Joker, a Christmas-themed story may seem like a bizarre choice, but the creative decisions made are just absolute and pure “Joker,” and help to establish this character and his whole persona beautifully. The premise is as follows: after escaping from Arkham Asylum via a rocket-powered Christmas Tree (oh, don’t pretend you don’t have one of THOSE kicking around somewhere), the Joker kidnaps Commissioner Gordon, Harvey Bullock, and reporter Summer Gleeson. He then hijacks Gotham’s TV station signals, to broadcast “the first annual Christmas With the Joker” holiday special! Via television, the Ace of Knaves poses the following challenge to Batman: if he can find the Joker’s hideout and save the hostages before midnight, the Joker will give him a special “Christmas gift.” Otherwise, the three victims will be dunked into the traditional Yuletide vat of acid. (Again, don’t pretend you don’t have one of those somewhere.) Batman must thus try to find the Joker’s lair, all while the Joker – as part of the “entertainment” for his Christmas special – starts causing chaos all around Gotham City and its environs. What I love about this whole thing is how “Joker” it all feels, as I said before. To make a long story short, if the Joker was going to put on a Christmas special, this is EXACTLY how I would expect it to go down. I also love the utter randomness of the villainy he perpetrates here: he doesn’t seem to have any particular REASON to do all this, he’s just causing chaos because…well…it’s what he does! He’s the Joker! I also love the twist about Batman’s “Christmas Present”: a couple times in the episode, the Joker teases that he’s planning to give the Caped Crusader a “special gift,” and of course, we’re expecting something horrible. Some kind of trap, an ambush, a bomb, etc. And what does it turn out to be? A pie in the face. Yep. Just…a pie in the face. It’s not even laced with cyanide, or acid, it’s…just…a pie in the face. I’m gonna be honest…that might the most Joker-ish thing the Joker does in the ENTIRE SERIES. He goes through all this trouble and does so many terrible things – kidnapping people, hijacking television signals, blowing up bridges, spraying bullets and rockets willy-nilly, creating giant killer robots, and so on – and all of this, ALL OF THIS, is just for the chance to hopefully bean Batman in the face with a cream pie. It does not get much more Joker than that: “I will cause mass panic and attempt to sew random death on a scale untold, and I am going to do it with style and panache…literally just so I can mess with you and get a few good laughs.” Again, why don’t more people like this episode? XD

Tomorrow we move on to Number 26! Hint: “They’ll never slip past me again.”

[sagesariadnd]

Just Rambling About My D&D characters, Part 2: Melanthieae, Dryad Circle of Land Druid

Art by Lyssie-chan https://www.patreon.com/leafsways

Backstory - CW: Chronic illness, environmental destruction

Melanthieae spent the majority of her hundred or more years of life in her forest, next to a small human town. In those hundred years, however, the human settlement grew into a larger city, and industry began to bloom. The dryad saw the danger coming, but her warnings fell on deaf ears until it was too late. Her home was overhunted, deforested, polluted, and almost completely destroyed, forcing Melanthieae to flee.

But the forest wasn't the only thing harmed by the humans' carelessness; after escaping to safety, Melanthieae fell severely ill. She recovered, but was never the same; the toxins that destroyed her home now flowed through her veins. No other forest spirits would take her in, fearing they also contract her pollutants, and so she was forced to wander the world as a nomad, fighting back against injustices against nature so that no more forests die as needlessly and painfully as hers.

Assorted thoughts

Melanthieae is easily one of my favorite characters that I've ever created, and the crux of her entire character more or less a spur of the moment decision. The game she was created for was extremely casual, so there was no pressure to even have a full backstory. The game also encouraged to play races that fell outside of the standard humanoids (humans, dwarves, elves, etc.), so homebrew and expanded books were all over the place. So I went into character creation with nothing but the elevator pitch of "I wanna play a dryad!" But then while I was looking through druid spells, I noticed Poison Spray, and because I'm me, I decided I wanted an in-universe reason for taking it. So I thought of a poisoned dryad, then of a polluted dryad, and next thing I knew I had a whole backstory.

Over time, the details of her condition have altered slightly. Initially, I put it as the pollution from the forest getting destroyed infecting her permanently, but after a while I started to get attached to the idea of her conditioning worsening in more polluted environments. Part of the inspiration from the start was the toxic trees from Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind, which were toxic because their environment was toxic. So, it felt natural to take even further inspiration - the trees were absorbing the toxins from the earth and water and filtering them, leaving them cleaner than they were, and so that's what Melanthieae is doing. I started treating it more like a chronic illness - there are good days and bad days, heavily affected by her environment, she's always in some level of pain even on the good days, there's no cure, and it was always there. She just never realized she had this condition until her home was destroyed and she was forced to venture out into the world more tainted by humans. I've also expanded the concept of pollution to not just mean man-made; evil energy and toxic oozes also qualify.

Despite her circumstances, Mela pretty much immediately got the nickname 'tree mom' in the game I played her in; she is incredibly gentle and nurturing to her party, and a soft-spoken, calming presence. Somewhere along the way her character voice ended up adopting the verbal tick of calling everyone 'dear.' Or 'darling' in the case of the cleric she ended up developing a romance with. It's cute. But she can also be pretty brutal when the need comes for it. I try to think of it like nature itself; it can be beautiful and comforting, but it can also call down the freaking thunder and wreck your shit.

One of the really fun house rules of that game, was every character had a Limit Break - basically, you were permitted to pool up to four points of inspiration instead of one, and there were additional rules that gave you points (such as getting a point if you go unconscious or are hit for half your HP). Once you had four, you could blow them all for a special effect that lasted 1d4+proficiency rounds. Melanthieae's Limit Break created a 30 foot cube of polluted forest that destroyed any structure it had to grow through, did small amounts of poison damage to hostile creatures, and best of all, allowed Mela to use her Tree Stride ability to move anywhere in that cube, with no attacks of opportunity from enemies. She could Tree Stride twice per turn (each time cost 15 feet of movement) so I would often use this to zoop over to an enemy, attack, and zoop back to safety. Apparently this was the gateway to my addiction to teleportation powers, since now I also abuse Shadow Step as a Way of Shadow monk in my current Friday game

We also ended up in an unspoken tradition of naming our Limit Breaks after songs. Apparently it's a Jojo's thing? Anyway, Melanthieae's Limit Break is named Resonance of the Earth, a famously awesome Yoko Kanno song from an anime I otherwise don't care for; Earth Maiden Arjuna. ...come to think of it, I think the 'you feel the pollutants in your environment' thing probably came from Arjuna too. Though in my defense, I hadn't watched the anime in a long time when I made Mela and only recently rewatched it. Anyway, listen to the track here, it kicks ass and I think embodies the spirit I want to invoke when I play Mela in combat.

I've made a few cameos in my mom's Tuesday game with Melanthieae, before I ended up joining her game long term, and I think she's my mom's favorite too. She sometimes found excuses to mention her or have me read Sendings in-character. I'd love another chance to play her, especially in a long-form game when I can put more focus on the pollution angle - her first game was more episodic with not much downtime roleplay, and in mom's game she was a guest, so I didn't have too much chance.

[3gremlins]

okay i watched the da:tv gameplay trailer and some thoughts!

-gameplay looks pretty fun and fast and swishy (i know the crpg contingent will be upset but da2 is my favorite so i'm not mad about it at this point, fast combat makes my brain go ZING. i love bg3 but the combat takes so fucking long, i've got places to be, fam). The attack lines from enemies are kind of interesting? i'm not sure about them but it feels like it'll be a little more involved than dispatching all the nameless, brainless enemies we did in DAI/previously which could be neat? we'll see. the venatori still feel a little weak as enemies to me (like kinda boring, you need to fight someone type of enemies)

-excited to finally not have to choose between arrows and daggers as as a rogue (and the switch doesn't look terribly clunky? *stares at dao meaningfully*)

-i wish they'd shown the other classes a little bit (can we not switch to/direct our companions at all? i thought they said we could somewhere. not being able to switch to them would suck a bit, how else will i know what class i want to do next?*), or even showed the rogue at a higher level for more skillz (just the one's a little boring but understandable)

-would also love to see skill trees? are there skill trees?

-aesthetic looks fairly similar to dai tbh? i kinda wish it was more like the character trailers (i know unpopular opinion) actually, like a new swishy aesthetic for the swishy gameplay (like really reinvent yourself, put your whole chest into it, but also given the reaction to the character trailer i can see why they didn't feel they could/should)

-otherwise, it does look good! the hair especially, will have to see it in cc (have we finally been delivered from eyebrow caterpillars????)

-default rook looks so good! already feels like they have more innate personality than the inkys did (like hawke). -tho i hope we can dye their clothes/gear b/c i do not love the purple/yellow lol (have they mentioned about dyes at all? there's been so much info, it's a little overwhelming) -their voice is hot, oh no bioware and the hot voices again lol like might just do a pt with default human rook??? a thing i haven't done since da2 so that's a good sign (based on the concept art, it looks like there might be a "default" rook for humans, elves, qunari and dwarves which is sort of interesting? maybe they were just playing with it tho)

-already love neve, tho her hat/veil is still weird (it is dragon age, mages have to have stupid hats i guess). good luck neve cosplayers balancing a weird board on the side of your heads!

-love the dialogue wheel but am also biased b/c DA2 = <3 I hope the dialogue choices build up similarly to how they did in da2 (where you'd get unique dialogue options based on how sassy/nice/decisive you were)

-i am underwhelmed by the on the ground city design they showed idk some of the environments feel like stuff i've seen in the other da games a bunch (esp that last bit of rubble with the sliding into the solas area, like it looks very much like the first bit of dai where you fight the pride demon. but i also played that game too much and most people didn't so it might not matter).

-also having us fight a pride demon AGAIN in the introductory sequence feels kinda same-y (i'm sure it's supposed to be a nod, but it feels kind of re-tread). hopefully we get enemies that aren't demons/venatori (or at least not the same demons/venatori). Would have to see more to really decide but it did feel a little empty/dai-ish (negative) in the sequence they showed

-i know they're hiding plot stuff/unfinished things and probably more combat but every time the trailer went to a black screen with white text it felt like an "it's always sunny" meme like "The Gang interrupts an ancient ritual" XD and i could not take it completely seriously

-the varric/solas dialogue does feel a little weird, like i never felt they were all that close tbh (like it feels like the only person who could do that would be a friend/lover inquisitor). It also kinda felt like an Anders-redo to me, like putting the varric/anders friendship onto solas instead? idk didn't love it, but i get why it's there (narratively)

-varric is def going to die isn't he? i kinda hope so, like i love him but he also is starting to feel a little shoe-horned into things/a little overplayed (plus if they have to kill someone, he feels like a meaningful choice?)

-varric still looks weird with really dark hair, like i'm fine with him going grey but his hair was def redder/browner in previous games (hoping it's just the lighting/water?). hc that he's dyeing it for vanity reasons

-curious about the party choices where you take certain people with you, is it like ME where certain people need to do certain things or they'll die? and it's not obvious (like in suicide mission where if you want companions to live, leaving them behind to do a job is actually the better choice)

-the teaser silhouettes at the end there?!?! lets go unleashed, unhinged evanuris rampaging through thedas?!? **

-still really need solas to turn into a giant multi-eyed wolf (and have the option of a romanced lavellan inky talk him down), like we've gotten so much of the list already, pls bioware (♡ヮ♡)

----

tl;dr: i am most excited about the new companions! the combat looks like it'll be fun/fine, i am tentatively excited about the plot (there is a griffon but they did not show the griffon in this trailer which was foolish, i am easily won this way)/narrative beats. Will play for sure, but going to try to not get too excited (tooo late haha)

*like i'm not going to have 1000 pts and play all the classes but i still liked playing AS companions to get a feel for their skillz and stuff

**thinking about this more, i kinda wish they hadn't gone for the same grandiose opener as DAI and it was instead more of a murder mystery type of framing? like the veil's down, the evanuris are loose and they're not rampaging, they're doing subtle nasty things and we have to track them down (kinda like the forsaken in Wheel of Time). that would be an entirely different game probably tho lol

[cafeinthemoon]

Feral Heart - Chapter I

Chapter 1/?

Wordcount 1,5k

Title "Are You Lost?"

Fandom Tenkaichi: Nihon Saikyo Bugeisha Ketteisen

Previous chapter Prologue

Symbols ⭕ ➕ 🖤

Warnings: none for now, just a strange encounter before dinner 👀

Tagging ? (If you want to be tagged in any of my stories, just leave a comment on this chapter or send an ask or a message)

N. A.: I'm posting the first chapter alongside the prologue bc I see them as just one thing, though I found it coherent to separate the guards' scene from the rest.

About the question around Yagyu's gender: he is a male, but I included this subject in the story for some reasons, such as the fact that his feminine resemblance is pointed out in the canon, and imo the whole depiction of his character is typical of female ones, which makes him even more interesting, so I wanted to bring it out here.

Also reader's peculiarities have solid reasons to exist, which are hidden in her past. And all of this will be explored in the future ofc

Hope you like it 🥰

The sun just settled, and with it was gone the warmth of the day. The wind was tolerable in the evening, but you knew that it would grow colder as the night followed. Still, you haven’t gathered enough courage to climb down the tree where you were and go back to the lodge, where you would take a bath and receive new clothes before being led with the other girls to the dining room.

You didn’t like the idea of having to eat inside a closed space with guards at the door. Why was this necessary? What were they expecting you do to? Most of the girls were content for being taken under the Shogun’s wing and wouldn’t start a riot; judging by what you observed while you were in their company, most of they were just interested in the food.

Besides, you were comfortable in your spot, sitting on a big branch, with your back on the tree’s trunk, and having thinner branches below it, full of leaves, to cover your figure. You looked down, through the gaps between them, and giggled: you’ve seen two pairs of guards passing by that place without even glancing at your direction.

Just imagine if they saw me up here.

Part of you was still a child, having fun with the things that others ignored, such as your location whenever you decided you didn’t want to be found. Since the time when you were, in fact, a child, that feeling was liberating: with no walls to limit you, you could run away if you ever considered it necessary, and little could be done to stop you; but if you wanted, you could spent the night sleeping there...

And if you were in any other place in the country, you would do it, but unfortunately for you, that was the Shogun’s particular territory, and no one could enter or leave it without his permission.

You sighed. Despite how proud you were of your own freedom and all the measures you took to preserve it, you just managed to be in the wrong place by the wrong hour when the messengers of Nobunaga-sama recruited you and brought you to the palace alongside a bunch of girls you’ve never seen before. You tried to explain to them that you would have no use to the Shogun, but arguing with men – specially when they wore weapons – was never a wise decision, so you just followed them in a journey that extended for days to the heart of the country.

But, well, at least they allowed the women to walk outside the lodge, and no one bothered forbidding the act of climbing trees, so you would enjoy the periods you had upon them while they didn’t start to see it as a problem.

At that moment, the said time was almost over, so you forced your eyes to open up and stretched your limbs; you grabbed your sandals, wrapped on each other by the straps, and tossed them over your shoulder before jumping from branch to branch until your feet met the grass.

You leaned a hand on the trunk and passed the other one on each sole of your feet to clean them before putting on the sandals. You rubbed your palms together, adjusted your hair and took a deep breath before walking toward the building.

And you hadn’t taken two steps when you felt you weren’t alone in the garden.

Who is it? A guard?

No, it couldn’t be. Two of them passed there only a few minutes ago.

Besides, this is not the presence of a mere guard. It’s too... strange.

A soft voice was heard behind you, not so far from your spot.

– Are you lost, dear?

You turned immediately to its origin, not disguising the surprise. You soon recognized the speaker, but weren’t exactly relieved for that, specially because you sensed it wasn’t going to be easy to get rid of them.

There you had a tall, young individual whose figure exhaled nobility and balance, with their arms crossed before their chest and a playful smile on their lips, even though the playfulness never reached their eyes. They were dressed with sobriety, but even you could tell that the fabric of those clothes were something you’d have to work for years to be able to pay for, and the same could be said about the sandals on their feet; the only extravagance they brought in their appearance was a long earring on their left ear. Their face was delicate, closer to feminine, framed by a long, black hair that increased the paleness of their skin, but a white strand of hair that fell on the right side of their head gave some vivacity to their general aspect, which otherwise would be plain, even morbid.

That was your master, chosen to be the responsible for your formation as Nobunaga-sama’s living weapons, as you girls were called by the old, short man who made the presentations between the girls and them; you were glad you were on the bottom of the room, where no one would notice you because, honestly, you were sleepy and barely paid any attention to those formalities. But, well, what was their name again? Yes, Yagyu Munenori. A male name, but you still had your doubts about its owner’s real identity; maybe it was a way of surviving in that world dominated by men.

But even when they stood there, behaving like an elder sister and calling you out for not being where you were supposed to be, you didn’t think you should count on them to open your way through that same male world you were taken into. You just didn’t trust them.

Since you didn’t give them any reply, Yagyu repeated themselves, one step closer to you and a bit louder:

– Are you lost? The dining room is on the other side of this garden.

That time, you managed to give them a verbal response.

– I’m not lost – and, in an instinctive attempt of taking their attentions away from you – And what about you, Yagyu-sama?

They put an elegant hand over their mouth to hide their giggle, as if your raw manners weren’t more than a diversion to them.

– Me? I am exactly where I want to be. Or should I say…

They stopped in front of you, making you flinch.

– Where I need to be?

Those subtleties in their manners, typical of noble folks and completely foreign to you, were probably what annoyed you in the first place, but this was only while you observed them at some distance: now that you had them so close that you could hear each other’s breath, you found the said subtleties sinister, to say the least.

And your defense was, obviously, responding with what they called rawness.

– Were you spying on me?

Again, your reaction was far from being offensive to Yagyu, whose smile didn’t fade a bit.

– I’d rather say I was watching over you. And, not only you, but three other girls who were wandering around not so far from here – they sighed – Young students need to be observed carefully, or else they might get in trouble. And, as you probably noticed in our first meeting, I have many students. It’s been a hard work.

Your first impulse was to reply that, if they wanted to make their work easier, they should just stop spying on the girls, but something told you that you’d go too far with this and held your tongue. Besides, they were being polite with you, so provoking their distaste so soon in your relationship would be just stupidity.

And, well, whatever reply you could give instead of that died in your mouth, because your master’s response was faster than you predicted: before you could step behind, they stretched their hand and reached your hair on the spot upon your left ear. You shut your eyes tight…

And opened them again after nothing happened but the sensation of their fingers slipping between your strands. You looked at Yagyu’s hand and saw a small leaf between its fingers. It might have got tangled while you were on the tree.

– Look at the strange places where you can get yourselves into – they commented with their smile unaltered – Just imagine if you were left by yourself.

You swallowed. Yagyu left the leaf fall on the grass and changed their posture, as to indicate that the conversation was over and that you were free to leave.

– Now, I think I’ve held you here for too long, dear – and indicating the way to the lodge – Go, and prepare yourself for dinner. It might be difficult to get a place at the table if you stay for any longer.

You didn’t say anything to that. Stepping behind, you nodded and ran to the direction your master pointed at, not able to erase the feeling of their eyes burning your back as you moved away.

Chapter 2

[sarahreadsfic]

I saw your tags and figured I'd send an ask haha

All those names are really nice! I do think in future quests they'd end up using the name you gave him, so that's definitely something to consider. You do get one extra chance to rename him, so maybe try out Zihong for awhile and see what you think?

omg hello!! welcome, please don't mind the mess haha-- *hastily shoving posts and tags aside, attempting to look casual*

so the funny thing is i'm actually nowhere near that part of the quest yet lmao, like i haven’t even met him in-game yet. i'm just trying to get myself used to calling him a different name before i actually have to use it (and for writing purposes).

zihong is definitely in my top 5 names for sure, but the problem i’m having now is that there are just SO many names i’ve researched that would be good for him and i dunno which one he would like best lol.

i’m WAY overthinking this decision and taking it far too seriously, i know - from what i’ve seen, he seems pretty indifferent to whatever we call him either way, aside from his old names or other characters’ names. but still! i want him to feel satisfied with it. if he doesn’t feel so loved and warm inside whenever i call him by his new name i will have failed him >:(

apologies and you definitely did not sign up for this but i’m now using this ask to make a comprehensive list of all my other favorite names and their (supposed) meanings. wish i could just run them all past him for input hgjnfjhdj sORRY FOR THIS IT’S RLLY FOR ME ONLY U DO NOT HAVE TO READ ME WAXING ON ABOUT NAMES FOR WHO KNOWS HOW MANY PARAGRAPHS

First, all the Japanese names:

Matsuri - “Festival”, “enshrined”, “showing gratitude towards the rituals of nature”; has connections with Shinto and Buddhism. I don’t think this is commonly used as a name, necessarily, but the whole “gratitude towards nature” part struck me as a sort of nod to how Nahida helped him. And I like the idea of giving him a name that invokes joy, celebration, and life, because I want him to have those things and find happiness in his new self!

Soma - “A sudden sound of wind”, “true/real/genuine”. It’s simple and nice and what sells this one for me is the “sudden” part. Brings about a sense of movement and change and I really, really like it for that. Don’t know if the meaning is exact, though. It seems like Hayate has a similar meaning, which I also like!

Nataku - The Japanese name for Nezha, a Taoist deity. But also, this is just on the list because I was watching Saiyuki (ridiculous and very loose adaptation of Journey to the West, janky animation and terrible writing, fun to laugh at, highly recommend) with a friend last night and there was a character called Prince Nataku who is described as a “puppet assassin”. Immediate sirens started blaring in my head as my brain honed in on that as a possible name. Apparently Nezha is also known as the Third Lotus Prince, and I love the idea of associating lotus imagery with Wanderer.

Hansei - The cultural concept of “self-reflection”, acknowledging one’s mistakes and pledging improvement. I saw someone name him this and I like how it fits him. My concern is that it seems more like an admonishment and might hold him back from thinking of himself as more than his past wrongs.

Kazuki - "Hope of peace”, “serenity”, “peaceful tree”. I really liked that your name had a connection with Irminsul in the -ki suffix! Apparently -ki also means air, which suits him well, too. In this name, it comes from “hope” and kazu- is for peace. I do like the idea of giving him a name that could embody hope and I do want him to find peace within himself, but I worry he would find this condescending, particularly the idea of “peace” since that word just has so many connotations - he might take it as me wanting him to mellow himself out as if I wouldn’t accept him or am disappointed by him as he is.

Satoru - "Enlightenment” in the Zen Buddhism sense, “to know/understand”. Mostly I think that the way it sounds suits him. The only thing is that it’s a little bit unassuming and normal, I think? Which he might like, actually.

Anything with the prefix Shin-, because I like that it can be read as both “new” and “heart”. But I also feel like 1) it would always end up reminding me of another character because there are SO many that have this name and 2) he might take it as an insult or a mockery, like, “haha, how ironic is it that you don’t have a heart and I’m giving you a name with the word heart in it”. Probably unlikely at this point, but I don’t want his name to cause even the faintest sense of melancholy or sadness in the back of his mind, so I don’t want to chance it.

Other names that I like the sound of are Seijun (pure, innocent, clean/righteous), Kiryoku (inner strength/willpower), and Katsuya (victory). While I do like these, I’m a little apprehensive that naming him any of them would be akin to imposing certain expectations onto him or the type of person I want him to be? Especially Seijun. But I could also see him choosing Kiryoku or Katsuya for himself, so I don’t know! I’m conflicted.

There’s also Ren (lotus or love) and Shou (to soar/fly - add the suffix -yo and it turns into sunlight/sunshine). Simple and sweet, but after all of the long and multisyllabic names he’s taken in the past, I think he might find something like this refreshing. I really like these two aesthetically. I also cannot decide between them for my life.

And then there are names inspired by mythology or religion:

Fujin - Japanese; god of the wind in Japanese mythology who is often depicted alongside the thunder god, which, in Genshin’s case, would be Raiden. I know a lot of people pick this one, but I think it has too strong of a connection with the past he’s trying to leave behind, although I like the way it sounds.

Shu - Egyptian; god of wind/dry air. I like the similarity with Shou, and also that it potentially would be more connected to Sumeru than Inazuma.

Akasa - Sanskrit; the Bodhisattva of void/space in Buddhism. In Japanese, it’d be Kokuzo. I know these were mentioned in my tags, but after some more consideration I don’t think they’re a great fit for him thematically.

Vayu - Sanskrit; in Hinduism, the god of the wind. Literal name meaning is apparently “that which flows”, which I think is pretty. I also think I just like names that start with V. Vaira was another option (Indian; “flowing air”) - I like that it sounds like it could be short for Vairocana, who is the cosmic Buddha that embodies the concept of sunyata, but I couldn’t find a good source for it actually meaning “flowing air” and instead it seems to be more commonly interpreted as “diamond”.

And finally, the Greek mythology names: Icarus, Aeolus, Zephyrus. I’ve seen Icarus suggested by a few people and while I like the way it looks and sounds aesthetically, the literal meaning is also “follower” which I don’t think he would appreciate. Also, I don’t know if I want to name him a tragic reference to his past hubris that caused his downfall. Aeolus (nimble, quick-moving) was the “keeper of the winds”, and though I like how grandiose and regal it sounds, I’m not really into the way it looks? Same with Zephyrus (west wind), it feels a little too soft for him (and if I recall correctly, the west wind was the gentlest one of the four).

So. That’s where I am now. I like so many of these, and I think there are ones that he would like more but I can’t possibly know for sure, and the more I research the more I find other names I like...

ok i’m so sorry for this long writeup JHDGKJGH ZIHONG IS STILL REALLY HIGH UP THERE JUST BECAUSE I CAME UP WITH IT ON MY OWN SO IT FEELS CLOSEST TO ME?? AND I CAN PICTURE MYSELF EXPLAINING THE NAME TO HIM VERY VIVIDLY. AND THEN SITTING THERE TENSELY AWAITING HIS APPROVAL AND THEN HIM GIVING ME A NOD. BUT I DON’T KNOW WHAT HE’D ACTUALLY THINK OF IT.

wanderer why can’t you just pick a name for yourself. do u see what ur doing to me. i feel like that one image of the dude from always sunny connecting all the red lines on the board. WHY AM I LIKE THIS.

[wainswright]

I think this series single handedly got me into time travel, so I'm happy it's because the author just really liked time travel.

-

The iconic Magic Tree House book series began in 1992 and has been going strong ever since. The beloved children's books, written by Mary Pope Osborne, follows siblings Jack and Annie as they discover a magic tree house filled with books about subjects like Vikings and volcanoes that transport them to different time periods. The young protagonists are avid readers, and the bestselling books have inspired a love of reading in countless children. Decades later, Osborne is still writing them.

Most fans remember the books' themed titles, which include alliteration and a mention of the subject, time, and date: Dinosaurs Before Dark, Mummies in the Morning, Abe Lincoln at Last!, Christmas in Camelot, etc. The imaginative covers by Sal Murdocca always showed the siblings in the midst of their latest adventure, riding dinosaurs or walking on the moon. The series includes the original Magic Tree House books, the Merlin Missions, which are meant for older readers and follow Jack and Annie on missions for Merlin the magician, and Fact Trackers, the nonfiction companions to the fictional books.

Osborne is prolific: At the time of the original interview celebrating the 25th anniversary of the series, there were 55 Magic Tree House books and 34 Fact Trackers — now there are more than 60 Magic Tree House books and more than 40 Fact Trackers. The author also promotes children's literacy through the Classroom Adventures/Gift of Books program, donating Magic Tree House books to schools.

EW spoke to Mary Pope Osborne in 2017 about those titles, taking book suggestions from young fans, the then-upcoming Magic Tree House movie, and more.

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: How does it feel to be celebrating the 25th anniversary of the books?

It doesn't feel real. In some ways, I feel like I just started writing them. It's still an adventure and a challenge and I'm still having fun. So I guess as long as I keep having fun I'll keep writing them.

Tell me about the decision to make the titles themed in that they always have some kind of time or date in them.

I was originally contracted to do four books, so I thought that would be the link. And then I did four more books, and by the time they asked me to do four more I thought, "Well I can't keep up this time of day thing," but to my surprise, we've pretty much kept it up. Once or twice we've cheated a bit but I keep my ears open for any words that imply time, and now, 55 books later, we pretty much stuck to the time idea, even though I moved to days of the week, months of the year, seasons, anything that implies time — even the words "hurry up."

What's the latest news on the Magic Tree House movie?

We waited for 23 years before we decided to make a film and when we met with Lionsgate Entertainment, we became convinced that we're on the same page about the series and how we saw Jack and Annie. We're at the beginning stages right now and everybody's excited about it and it seems like it's going to be a whole new chapter in the life of Magic Tree House.

-- Wiki:

The idea for the series came when Penguin Random House asked Mrs. Osborne to start writing a series of children's books.[6] Mrs. Osborne knew from the beginning that she wanted to include time travel,[6] and the idea for the treehouse as the means of time travel came to her when she and her husband saw one while on a walk in the forest in Pennsylvania.[6]

Mrs. Osborne says that she can work on Magic Tree House up to 12 hours a day and seven days a week[7] and has used space at shared office space, The Writer's Room.[8] She has modeled her writing after Hemingway by trying to be simple and direct[7] and is "noted for writing clear, lively, well-paced prose in both her stories and her informational books."[2]

--

In fact, apparently, she is still really into this series. nice.