#current loreley is SO much more fleshed out though

[mrhyde-mrseek]

Okay y’all… I’m about to show you one of my oldest, most beloved OCs, she’s my baby and I love her so very much

This is Loreley, her original design (2019-2022) is on the left, her redesign (2022-now) is on the right. I honestly think I’ve had her even longer than that, though, 2019 was just when I actually wrote her into a story, either way she’s gone through a FUCK TON of changes over 5 years:

First design Loreley:

Little baby writer Nikki threw her into the first fully developed fanfic I ever wrote

Because I was thirteen at the time, I of course made her thirteen as well

I don’t remember what name I gave for her species, but as you can probably tell from her design, she was a werewolf-dragon hybrid thing

She ended up as the queen of hell in the story (at thirteen? Babe what were you thinking she’s barely a teenager chill out)

That necklace was supposed to make her werewolf transformations less, like, violent somehow??

Oh yeah she could also turn into a dragon

The bleached blonde tips were a staple, as were the combat boots

Speaking of design I could’ve chosen any other color scheme, like the red, purple, and gold aren’t bad but the blue clashes SO BAD

Tbh I still think that hair is kinda cute just not on her

She’s just a little baby OP monster girl and I love her

Current design Loreley:

I changed up her backstory and put her into a WIP that ACTUALLY MAKES SENSE FOR HER TO BE IN

She’s a full-fledged demon, not a werewolf-dragon hybrid thing

Instead of being queen of hell she’s a normal soldier in one of the rings

She’s a lesbian!!!

Soldiers need armor, so I have her armor (this was my first time drawing it and I think I did pretty good!), I kept her sword but made it look a little better. Kinda sad the armor covers her muscles though

The. Colors. Are. Cohesive

Bottom row fangs >>>>>>>

She looks like an actual adult now, which is significantly less weird considering she’s a thousands-year-old demon presenting as a 20-something-year-old and not a 300-year-old monster presenting as a TEENAGER

My first time drawing locs!! I think I did a good job!!

OG Loreley would LOVE her and follow her around like a lost puppy, current Loreley would probably get annoyed fast because she’s kind of a bitch to everyone

She is my GIRL

[shuttershocky]

I haven’t been able to write lately due to a mix of personal stuff and *waves hands* the current global situation which sucks, but I still feel like writing something down so I guess I’m just gonna be cringy and self-indulgent and blather on about Aozaki Adoption in bullet points

Of course, I’m still going to include Rin, but in the original one-shots, I just skipped over how she got added to the Hollow Shrine. Now that I’m trying to actually string a plot together, I have to do it right. That part I’m still working on, Rin’s upbringing and personality make it difficult.

If I could do this fanfic in a visual medium I’d show Touko being unable to properly see her reflection in mirrors, like she’s looking at herself through broken glass. A huge part of why I would think Touko would be taken with Sakura is because of the former’s ability to come back from the dead. it’s a noted thing in the Nasuverse that a soul changing bodies is an imperfect process and eventually a soul gets corrupted like data being copied too many times (which is what happened to Roa), but Touko got around this somehow without using True Magic. I want to make it so that the price she pays instead is a quiet existential crisis, that after so many puppet bodies, even if she knows that it technically doesn’t matter if she’s truly Touko Aozaki or not if she has all the memories and skills, she still wonders whether she IS still that young girl that got booted from her family.

The intention is that Touko grows attached to Sakura because she sees a bit of herself in the younger girl, at least, after some projecting. By helping Sakura, Touko would be able to emotionally connect to the young girl she used to be, before all the puppet bodies and people she’s killed. Touko needs that connection because no matter what her knowledge of logic and philosophy tells her, she still can’t shake off the existential dread of feeling like she’s basically an object only carrying on the function of Touko Aozaki. Looking at Sakura makes her feel... human. It doesn’t matter if Touko can’t see herself through a mirror, she can look at Sakura and go “That was me”, if that makes any sense.

I’ve been trying to figure out if I want them to visit Misaki Town or not. The setting of 2000-2001 means there’s no events from kara No Kyoukai nor Fate/Stay Night to use, but there is Melty Blood. I’ve been thinking of using the Tatari’s power to make nightmares come alive to write a few horror chapters in the vein of Silent Hill (I ADORE how it does psychological horror), but also I’m questioning if I really want to go there and do that. While Silent Hill portrays the horrors of sexual abuse (the loneliness, the self-blame, the terror of seeing your own bed) better than 90% of anything, that’s not really something I want to do, but that’s where an encounter with the Night of Wallachia would go given Sakura’s backstory. 

I was seesawing between using Zouken (he doesn’t die that easily) or somehow getting Kirei and Gilgamesh involved to act as the main antagonists, but I decided against both. I know the one enemy Touko and the Hollow Shrine stand no chance of beating in a fight: Barthomeloi Lorelei. She’s eventually going to be the main antagonist, I plan to get her involved later on by having Touko recklessly rob the Clocktower for an artifact in an attempt to treat Sakura’s conditions (and thus make her lose face as the Clock Tower’s vice director) then have Zouken sell them out by using the worms still hiding inside Sakura to locate the Hollow Shrine, either that or get Shiki Tohno involved somehow since she hates his guts.

The Mystic Eyes of Death Perception present a really big writing problem where basically any monster threat I can throw in while waiting for the antagonists to arrive can be instantly solved by Shiki Ryougi. In fact, I’m still struggling to come up with a better reason for why Shiki doesn’t just destroy the grail fragments and worms inside Sakura other than the worms having changed Sakura’s physiology so thoroughly their death lines are too closely entwined with hers and Ryougi refuses to attempt to cut them out because of the risk.

I’m definitely doing the Shadow, but I need 1.) A power source that’s not the grail 2.) A reason to draw it out this early and a way to fight it back into dormancy since I currently can’t think of any other way to sever it from Sakura without Rule Breaker.

To differentiate it from Heaven’s Feel, I wanna take a different approach where the Shadow is something Sakura willingly indulges and indeed has full control over its powers. It’s gonna be vastly nerfed since no grail with infinite mana, but I think with a large enough mana source Sakura could massacre say, a bunch of Clock Tower Sealing Enforcers. 

Specifically, I want that choice to stem from a conversation Sakura has with Shiki. By this point, the Clock Tower is closing in and Sakura’s been conversing with the Shadow in her dreams, and though her better life in the hollow Shrine means she’s not in the same desperate situation she is in HF, she’s also willing to do whatever it takes to protect this new life she obtained through a miracle. So Sakura is going to ask Shiki “Shiki-san... have you ever killed before?” and Shiki would say yes. then Sakura asks “Would you kill again?” and Shiki solemnly answers “if I have to, yes.” which makes Sakura make up her mind that the Shadow would be something she needs to be able to use and control as a trump card.

As to what makes Sakura use it, I’m obviously going to kill Touko in front of her. I just need to have a strong excuse to have Sakura NOT know that dying is not that big of a problem for Touko. Currently, my idea is lifting from Fate/Stay Night and having Touko keep that a secret because adult mages can attempt to read Sakura’s mind, and Touko needs the surprise factor of her death immunity so that her enemies will try to kill her instead of imprisoning or sealing her.

My current outline is almost all rather dark plot points, but I tend to gravitate towards jokes and fluffy writing so I’m expecting the tone to lighten up a lot when I get around to actually writing them. It’s worked that way in the first few chapters.

Dealing with Sakura’s psyche is a little difficult since I have no idea how much of her anger and resentment should stay after she’s found this better life. I’m using Fujino as a reference, where there’s this simmering rage beneath Fujino, even as she speaks kindly and talks girls out of suicide. 

It’s especially difficult when I’m trying to flesh out her relationship with Rin. I know for sure I want Rin to be taken in by the Hollow Shrine only because Sakura wants her there, I want to use Sakura thinking of Rin as her hero in this fic, and how she’ll drag Rin back to the Hollow Shrine to reunite them. but I also want there to be that resentment. That anger. Rin would be someone who’s reluctant to give up on the ideals of a mage, and even more reluctant to give up the Tohsaka name and legacy, which Sakura would despise. I want there to be this torrent of conflicting feelings where Sakura thinks the world of her older sister who’s so beautiful and talented and perfect, and yet still feels resentment over Rin being kept by the family over her, and how Rin doesn’t really want to give up on being a Tohsaka. Meanwhile I’m putting Rin on the guilt trip train. It wasn’t her fault of course (remember in this fic Rin and Sakura are only 13 and 12 years old), mage culture is a bitch and she was just a child, but still. I want Rin to be just as conflicted, where she’s happy they’re back together (even if Sakura had to force it to happen) and massively guilty over what happened to her younger sister AND even more guilty that she knows the Tohsaka treated Sakura cruelly, but the Tohsaka ways are so deeply ingrained into her that she doesn’t want to give up such an enormous part of her identity. 

Rin and Sakura are going to fight a couple of times. Sometimes physically. But at the end of the day I still want a lot of positives to come from giving them a relationship again. I want their sibling relationship to be one of the core focuses of the fic, and specifically I want them to contrast Touko and Aoko’s relationship. Touko is not going to like Rin at first and is only having her onboard because it’s what Sakura wants, but also I kinda want to use Rin and Sakura as a way for Touko to see how things between her and Aoko might have been different.

Speaking of which, I really need a translation of Mahoyo to come out so I can do that last bullet point more effectively.

Currently most of the interactions Sakura’s had with the Hollow Shrine have been with Touko and mikiya, but I want her to have fleshed out relationships with the others too. Azaka could be her senpai in magecraft and she in turn would be the most protective of Sakura. Shiki would have Sakura babysit Mana a lot as she’s still in college and has to study (and Shiki would grow fond of her cooking), while Fujino would have the quietest and yet most comfortable relationship with Sakura. 

I’m doing this thing where Sakura’s fine control over her magical energy isn’t very good because of her altered circuits, so I’m making that the main motivation for how she discovers and wants to train in archery (she was vice-captain and then captain of the archery club in FSN and FHA after all), she loves the feeling of control and precision, of firing an arrow and knowing it will hit bullseye before it lands, as opposed to having to constantly struggle to keep a spell active or it crumbles before it finishes its process.

I’m still keeping the story of Rin and Sakura meeting Shirou by chucking him into a river, just need to figure out how to organically insert it back into the plot. it’s too funny to let go.

I don’t know if I want to do Taiga and Shiki as rival yakuza, but it’s definitely something I’m considering. it’s just too fun. I want to make something like how Taiga’s nickname of “Tiger of Fuyuki” is actually a serious yakuza nickname for her (that her students then caught on without context), so her rival Shiki becomes the “Dragon of Mifune”

Thanks to Case Files I know mages having deadly car chases actually isn’t all that uncommon which opens up a ton of new avenues for how I could get Sakura to be in a car with Touko in a car chase. i’d have Sakura follow Touko’s instructions and overturn the cars chasing them. Sakura’s worried and asks if they’re hurt, and Touko goes “Don’t worry, they’re Clock Tower mages, they’ll be fine.” and then one of the overturned cars explodes and when Sakura turns to look Touko gently points sakura’s face forward and says “Eyes on the road,” Later that night, the news reveals no one was killed. Somehow.

I want to do the Jewel Sword of Zelretch but I don’t know how just yet.

 I’m going to poke a lot of fun at the fact that Touko says she has no issues but one of her main puppets that she battles with is literally modeled to look like Aoko. I might even have Touko talk to the puppet once in a while when she’s bored.

Still debating on when exactly Sakura is going to start calling Touko “Mom” and what she would have to do to earn that. Also, do we know when Aoi Tohsaka died? I can’t recall a specific year and I’m trying to get all the dates straight.  

[acabang]

Nerding out on the Borderlands

I finally got around to playing Borderlands 3 and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Personal order of preference for the franchise: Tales ≥ BL2 > BL3 > BL1 > TPS

Depending on how the DLC goes though, 3 could be just as good as 2 for me. Unlikely but it’s possible.

I really enjoyed playing all the Vault Hunters, Zane in particular, even if it seems like he lags behind the rest of them. And while she’s fun as just a straight up gunner, my only real bummer is Moze. For me when it comes to the playable characters, it’s all about their Action Skills and if I don’t find myself using it regularly then I hope they have something fun in their skill trees to make up for the lack of it other than shooting guns exceptionally well (ie. Gaige with Ricochet-Anarchy stacking abuse, Krieg with Flame of the Firehawk-Raving Retribution Hellborn madness, etc.). The idea of Iron Bear is rad but vehicles have never been useful outside of a means of map traversal, which this mech isn’t for, and if I’m gonna give up the benefits of my gear then it better be fucking OP or at least viable, especially at the highest of difficulties. So far it’s not looking like it is and I don’t expect it ever will get to that level. For the most part though, she’s still a lot of fun to use as a Plain Jane FPS character.

Overall, I actually enjoy all four initial characters pretty much equally which I can’t say about the other games. I still had fun with them but I didn’t like Roland, Salvador and Nisha as much as their fellow Vault Hunters in their respective games. I’m really looking forward to what DLC Vault Hunters they have in store though, they’ve all been pretty solid and just plain fun to play as.

                               -SPOILERS FROM HERE ON OUT-

I liked the story well enough and felt engaged the entire time. I didn’t really feel bogged down throughout and enjoyed the pace. Even the sidequests I thought played along well with the storyline missions, they didn’t feel as jarring with too much backtracking or as tediously boring as The Pre-Sequel had it. Although, all the games are guilty of this, the Underdome/Circle of Slaughter missions are still lame.

I loved pretty much most of the new NPCs, however major or minor a role they played. Lorelei was interesting and I want to know more about her, the same goes for Clay, who I could both see becoming Vault Hunters themselves (hopefully) in a future game. The Katagawa-Rhys dynamic was fun, as was BALEX and GenIVIV. I loved Wainwright Jakobs and I especially loved Typhon DeLeon, two of the more likable and wholesome characters in the entire franchise. They don’t hold a candle to Loader Bot & Gortys from Tales but still very admirable in a universe full of assholes and psychopaths. Even some of the minor villains were fun, the Traunt Brothers and Pain & Terror specifically.

Now it’s going to be unfair to compare the Twins to Jack but... they still could've been written better. Brats with god complexes and one with an inferiority complex to boot is fine, not the most compelling, but wait! They’re also streamers because *nudge, nudge, wink, wink*. Despite that, the VA performances of what they were given were both still very well done. When they start to actively antagonize each other is when they started to turn around for me, especially with the power corrupting Troy to the point of almost killing off Tyreen. The Twins being the children of Typhon is a neat twist reveal but I feel like if you’ve been discovering his logs throughout the maps you can put two and two together long before they outright state it.

Though I should probably give credit to the Twins for being a part of why I love Typhon so much. With him being revered the way he was, especially by Tannis, as the first Vault Hunter, it’s refreshing to see a fabricated myth actually turn out to be mostly a myth and not a 100% accurate depiction or historic event like most other games usually do. Even the damn posters of Typhon got him all wrong which I loved. He’s endearingly flawed and his admittance to not being the best father to Tyreen & Troy after they lost their mother actually really got to me. He wasn’t around for long but it was smart of Gearbox to have built up his backstory through those logs, it allowed his character to make some sort of impact like it did on me which made his death actually quite poignant.

Thus leading to probably what I can only assume, since I haven’t bothered to read other people’s reaction to it, is the most controversial part of the game. I love character deaths, especially for ones I adore. When done properly it brings more meaning to them and for the character that may have taken their lives. Bloodwing and Roland helped build Jack up to be even more of the villain that most people love (to hate). Hell, even Sasha’s death in Tales actually had me crying... then immediately laughing because I totally got baited by it especially after already losing Scooter.

Now, like I said, I love character deaths and I’m totally fine with Maya being the one we lose but the way she dies was more of a pathetic wail than whatever Gearbox was hoping to achieve. And for what? All I hope for in a character death is to have more meaning to it than a passing of the torch to a cipher of a character that was basically just introduced and I have no real connection towards, good or bad, because going forward from then on certainly isn’t going to be positive at all. Who knows, she could end up being a favourite character of mine in the future as she develops more but as of right now, no, the only reason for her existence in this game world so far was to take the place from two beloved characters that hasn’t been earned yet.

The other character being Lilith as she sacrifices herself to keep Pandora closed. I don’t believe she’s actually dead, gone for now but at least not dead. It’ll probably be the main focus of the next game, if not in a DLC, in figuring out a way to get her back from Elpis, if she’s even stuck up there. It’s sad to lose her immediately after regaining her powers back but at least she went out with Alicia Keys singing her a fire swan song. Unfortunately, before going off to save the day and Gearbox not being entirely satisfied yet with shoving Ava down our throats the first time, Lilith hands over protection of Sanctuary III to her. Hopefully Ava is given an extremely satisfying character arc in the proceeding games because woof, that’s going to be a tough mountain to climb especially if it takes another 2-5 years for the next game to release.

I don’t actually hate Ava, I just don’t care about her. Also our Vault Hunter(s) were right there, technically, and as was Tannis. She may not be able to fight but she’s more than capable of leading the Crimson Raiders. She’s also the most consistently well written character that’s shown growth over the games that she’s been a part of in the franchise, in my opinion.

As for the rest of the characters, I’m good with moving on from Vaughn now. He was unexpectedly funny to okay during Tales but yeah, he’s already worn out his welcome for me. Rhys was fine, not as good as he was in Tales but he wasn’t really even my favourite character from that game anyway. Who I was missing was Fiona, I really wish that she had shown up but hopefully that might still be a possibility in DLC. Maybe she’ll show up alongside Athena & Janey, continuing her VH training somehow saved from wherever she disappeared off to. Preferably with Loader Bot and Gortys as well. It’d also be nice to run into Axton, Sal, Gaige and especially Kreig considering the whole Maya situation and her promising to see him again.

Then there’s also the B-Team, which a part of me wanted to interact with more but another part where I think I’m okay with what we got. I was disappointed in Tina’s development however, I didn’t expect a full maturation of character but I also hoped she wouldn’t be the spaz that she was when she was a young teen. Even in Dragon Keep she showed a little bit of growth with her acceptance of Roland’s death but I guess they wanted to keep her annoying, which was fine back in 2 and TPS when she was basically a kid but I believe she’s supposed to be at least 18 now? I guess it’s fine as long as it fits the dynamic between her, Brick and Mordecai. I will also say that Mordecai’s side quest to attend his protégé’s birthday party was really bittersweet, I loved that brief respite from the chaos that is the rest of the game and a stark reminder that Pandora sucks.

Aside from the actual plot and characters, I thought they did an even better job at world building the rest of the universe. The mega-corporations side of Borderlands has always been fascinating to me and I feel like they often take a backseat by most fans since they’re just these ever present entities in the universe and not actual characters themselves, despite each of them having quite unique “personalities” in the products they manufacture and the individuals that represent them. We had Commandant Steele & General Knoxx show off a militaristic side of the original Atlas as The Crimson Lance, then there was Jack as the face of the Hyperion we knew, and the fallout from his demise during Tales. There’s also Tannis giving us slight tidbits of how Dahl operated on Pandora between the first & second game and, of course, Mr. Torgue with, well, Torgue and I guess now he’s in charge of the battle arenas. Now we get insight on the current incarnation of Atlas with Rhys at the helm, Maliwan with Katagawa Jr. and Wainwright as the heir to Jakobs. It’s just fun to see these corporations steadily being fleshed out with each game and I’m interested to see how Tediore, Vladof and maybe even S&S Munitions, if they ever make a return, will turn out.

On the other end of the spectrum and more of an active danger to the universe are the Vaults, their purpose and the monsters contained within, one of them called the Timekeeper who we have yet to encounter. Also more insight into who the Eridians were, the siren Nyriad’s role with their eradication and warning of a seventh siren who shouldn’t be found. There’s definitely plenty of seeds that were planted, it’s just a shame that it’ll probably be a long time from now before any of them get answered unless they start pumping out these games which I hope they don’t. Oversaturation and fatigue can ruin a franchise.

This has been my TED Talk, thank you for reading.

[whats-ahead]

Big Changes to Our Verse

today the two of us were talking about things we liked and didn't like about our verse and we decided to actually commit to changing/getting rid of the things we didn't like. Part of the reason we haven't been as active lately is the stuff we didn't like was bringing us down and making us unmotivated to work on our kids. This is to help us getting back into doing something we really love

changes under the cut

We cut some characters. Most of them we've either never talked about here or had one or two posts about. The only character we cut that had art on this blog was Mirabelle. You can see which kids we currently have in the catalog since I updated that (though it is missing one kid we haven't mentioned before)

Nothing against Mirabelle but we just ended up developing a character neither of us really liked and honestly, nothing really changes while cutting her. She was made to help make Milton more relevant but honestly wasn't needed and since we don't like her she's gone now (sorry if anyone liked her)

No ones a main character anymore! Originally we had 6 main characters (Adele, Jean, Penny, Bridge, Axel, and Charlotte) and that didn't work out since Len was more relevant than half of them. Then we upgraded to a main 8, then 10, then 12. Now no one is one

this is also ties into why we cut some minor characters. We're both aware we're definitely on the small size when it comes to amount of kids but that's how we prefer it. We were so obsessed with having a set amount of mains, a set amount of supporting, and a set amount of minors we were creating kids we don't really like. We much would rather have a small amount of kids we're passionate about and can flesh out than trying to be more like other blogs (absolutely not a dis on anyone we just can't handle having that many characters and we were trying to be more like others doing it so that's why I'm saying like others)

Cutting Mirabelle means there's some changes to the arc two groups. I know I've mentioned them on twitter before if anyone doesn't know

Emotion trio stays as Adele, Penny, and Milton and Willpower trio stays as Axel, Len, and Elise

Knowledge trio changes from Bridge, Jean, and Ike to Bridge, Jean, and Charlotte

Home base grows from being just Ber and Io to being Ber, Io, Ike, and Lloyd

Charlotte's detective squad is cut entirely. Autumn and Eclair are still in sinnoh at the time though and get updates randomly and are both confused and concerned for the others

Changed Gale's personality. We didn't think what we had suited him very well and he didn't see much like Wally's kid besides appearances so new Gale

Has asthma like his dad. Still becomes a ranger and deals with struggles at times but is really motivated to become the best he can be

Isn't involved romantically with Larentia anymore. That ship just kinda existed and didn't really have a purpose so we cut it

A bit too carrying for his own good. Not in a mom or dad friend type of way but in a "if anyone happens to anyone I care about I will lose it)

Fits more into that main character/hero archetype that's still caring and not too hotheaded. It's really hard to explain without a full profile so just use Deku bhna as an example (does that make since? I'm not the one who writes the profiles for a reason)

Most of Gales old personality traits/plot points go to Ren, our Lance x Lorelei kid. The hotheadedness and the overthinking

Gale's still the one who gets stuck in the distortion world but instead of him being too rash and making a mistake of going too hard he gets stuck in there trying to help Ren get out of the whole he dug himself into

Ren's not in the catalog because he doesn't have a last name yet but I'll add him when we come up with one

Sammy's a new character with the same name and family Again we rarely ever talked about Sammy so I don't know what everyone knows but we made a lot of changes to him

Sammy's now significantly younger. He was born when Jean was 8 so he never travels during our story run. 

Him and Jean are good friends since Jean didn't leave to travel till he was 12 (and both of his two friends lived in different regions now so of course he was going to befriend an infant)

Is born after Ber leaves for Ranger school so Ber doesn't meet the kid till he's 6 and Sammy only knows of him theoretically

Carry's a blanket around with him

Favorite game to play is cops and robbers (this comes from the fact old Sammy was part of the international police)

Randomly takes spiritombs rock and befriends it. Their besties and everyone (especially Gary) is scared of it and keeps trying to get Sammy away from it 

Lloyd! This is actually a few months old news but we redid Lloyd's profile because we rehashed his character. I was going to wait till I finished his new profile art before uploading it but that's taking forever and while we're talking about changes now seems appropriate. Please give it a read!!

That's it for now!! If anyone has any questions about it feel free to send an ask!

[cecilspeaks]

116 - Council Member Flynn, Part 3

Good hidden recording devices make good neighbors. Welcome to Night Vale.

Council member Tamika Flynn announced today that she’s pretty comfortable doing this whole City Council thing, now that Night Vale is completely crime free. She announced this standing atop an onyx pyramid, waving a golden scepter. Mayor Dana Cardinal responded that while crime is clearly down, budgets for the new fiscal year have not been completed, and Night Vale is showing a marked financial loss this quarter, due in large part to strict evening curfews. She announced this silently into her journal, which she plans to publish as a scathing memoir some day.

Sheriff Sam announced that the increased number of Secret Police officers has really had a positive impact on crime, but most of the police force now is volunteer or underpaid, and grossly unqualified. It’s basically a bunch of random citizens with makeshift weapons carved out of tree branches or fashioned from broken blade-based kitchen appliances. The Sheriff noted that management of council member Flynn’s citizen patrols has greatly impeded the capture of both the serial robber and the escaped librarian. Sheriff Sam quietly grumbled this into their bathroom mirror before finally putting on makeup and facing their day.

Council member Flynn later said she received a postcard from the rest of City Council, who has been vacationing in Milstigan the past month. On the front of the postcard was a serene lake nestled among tall pines and speckled with herrings and fishing boats. Above the lake were eight Black Hawk helicopters, dangling each of the letters of the state name: M-I-B-S-T-I-C-A-N. On the back, the City Council had written: “Saw an article that Night Vale has the lowest crime rate. Guess you’re doing fine without us and we don’t need to come back.” The postcard continued: “We learned how to kayak and we bought a professional grade DSLR and learned to tie sailing knots. Michelin is awesome! Maybe we won’t ever come back. Maybe we are not wanted.”

Council member Flynn said she wrote them back a postcard which she taped to a giant scorpion that read: “Yeah, I’ve got this under control. Happy apple picking.”

Night Vale coroner Lorelei Alvarez issued her report today on the autopsy of the two bodies found at the green market co-op, which burned down last month in an apparent robbery-arson. These bodies are believed to be those of green market owner Tristan Cortez and his daughter Camilla, a business student at Night Vale Community College. Alvarez, however, said that without dental records for the Cortezes, she can’t be certain that these bodies are theirs. The bodies had almost no burns on them, despite being found in a building leveled by fire. There were also no gunshot wounds. Alvarez said, “These two bodies were wearing 19th century formal attire and had apparently been pecked to death by birds.” She added she had not ruled out that birds could have committed robberies, nor that the Cortez family had an anachronistic fashion sense. Alvarez added with a grin that she’s also gotten a few bodies that had been mostly devoured by the escaped librarian. She said it’s fascinating that librarians tend to eat only bones and ligaments, and not flesh or skin. So most of these corpses looked like rumpled soft leather sacks, which makes them much easier to store. Alvarez has so much more free space in her office now and has added a tetherball pole.

And now sports. Tonight, the Night Vale High School Scorpions take on division rival Red Mesa Ant Carpenters in varsity wheelchair basketball. This afternoon, there will be a pep rally led by team captain Janice Palmer. Also she’s my niece. The team captain is my niece. Councilwoman Tamika Flynn will also deliver a speech at the pep rally about the importance of teamwork and fighting crime with sports. Also, the importance of books. “Did you know there are books about sports?” is the title of Flynn’s speech. Flynn also requested, for reasons having to do with public safety, that the pep rally be moved away from the high school to the Old Night Vale armory, and that every person there stand exactly two feet apart and bring some type of shield and/or sharp object that could be used to fend off robbers or librarians. The pep rally is at noon. Go get’em, Janice!

Listeners, Mayor Cardinal and her director of emergency press conferences, Pamela Winchell, have called an emergency press conference to denounce the City Council’s poor efforts to sustain the integrity and stability of Night Vale. Mayor Cardinal dismissed the City Council’s – essentially Tamika Flynn’s – curfew as virtually meaningless, now that more than half of the population is on the citizen patrol force. “We basically have a town of municipally approved armed vigilantes walking around at all hours of the night.” Winchell seconded the Mayor’s point by adding: “Why do I video myself sleeping? What am I hoping to discover? What secrets does my body whisper when I am unconscious?”

Also, the president of the Night Vale school board, the giant glowing cloud who drops dead animals, made an impassioned speech in support of the Mayor via mind control. The entire crowd chanted: “All hail the mighty Cloud who wants the lowly City Council to pass a budget that favors increased spending on education! We grovel before the almighty Cloud! How hard can it be to make a human budget? All hail!” they repeated.

The Mayor said she’s received many letters from people claiming they have lost their jobs as waiters, cab drivers, theatre managers and costumed superheroes because of the strict curfews. Night Vale Community host Cecil Palmer also announced today, live on his radio show, right now, that the curfew has been super productive for his TV watching, as he has already burned through every HBO and Showtime series. Plus all of “Difficult People” on Hulu, which features his second favorite actor, James Urbaniak. My favorite is, of course, Lee Marvin – may his name ring forever in eternity.

Palmer added, at this very second, that while he’s caught up on a lot of good television and is very excited for the new season of the documentary series “Stranger Things”, he and his husband are getting a little stir crazy. There are only so many games of strip Uno a couple can play before they just wanna go out for a nice dinner and maybe a romantic stroll in the park. Councilwoman Flynn was not available for comment, although a sign above her locked office door said: “Quiet, reading a book on how to do financial spreadsheets”.

Listeners, I mentioned earlier my niece Janice and how proud I am of her for captaining her school’s basketball team. But I’m also a bit worried about her too. She looks perpetually exhausted. In the preseason tournament, she led all players in assists. She did everything she could to win games, but they just couldn’t quite do it. Her statistics bear this out, but still she’s taken on so much responsibility for the team’s losses. Her Dad and team assistant coach, Steve Carlsberg, says Janice has increased her practice time to increase her fantastic passing skills, hoping to at least double the number of assists she gets. But Steve says that despite her better skills and more focused demeanor during practice, her team mates just aren’t hitting their shots when she passes to them. She throws them the ball shouting: “Shoot it! You’re open, Julie!” But they miss over and over, even the ones named Julie.

Steve is trying to convince her to work more on her defense and shooting, that assists aren’t everything. But Janice got frustrated with this and called Steve selfish. “Assists are the most unselfish thing, Steve Carlsberg!” she shouted before leaving the gym to pout by her locker earlier this morning. “Maybe I should just quit,” Steve heard her mumble. You know, I’m sure it’s just a teenager fighting with her stepdad, and she’ll be all ready to go for today’s pep rally. Which is set to start in a few minutes. I’ll check in with her later tonight to make sure she’s doing OK.

Councilwoman Tamika Flynn has arrived early for today’s pep rally to deliver a brief statement about vigilance, self-preservation, and keeping our town crime free. Even though there’s a librarian on the loose, and our Sheriff has yet to catch the serial robber, our streets are super safe,” Flynn said. “I read a book this morning about how low crime rates are excellent for local economies. The book is ‘Lonesome Dove’ by Larry McMurtry, in case you’re interested.” “Look around you,” she continued, “no one here is being crimed upon, because we are protecting each other. We are watchful and observant.” “As my father once warned,” Tamika Flynn said, “beware the robot uprising! Beware the machines that will bring us down! That’s what he always told me before bed, and we must heed this words, Night Vale. At any moment, a great enemy could be upon us.” Tamika then said: “Hey, it’s after 12. Aren’t we supposed to start this pep rally? I’m in the middle of Greg Harvey’s literary masterpiece and winner of the Man Booker Price, ‘Microsoft Excel for Dummies’, so let’s make this quick. I’m really into that book,” she concluded.

But the crowd murmured, confused and agitated. The captain of the team was not there. And as they looked for the pep rally’s leader, the bearer of the basketball torch, my niece, my only niece – the stage began to shake, the earth began to split, and smoke and dust are currently filling the Night Vale armory in choking plumes. Oh my god, Night Vale, where’s Janice? Where is my niece?

Listen to today’s weather while I find out where she is.

[“Animal Skin” by Bryan Dunn]

The rest of the City Council has returned to Night Vale. They burrowed through the earth and up through the floor of the armory where the pep rally was being held. They apologized for the dramatic and destructive entrance, but their flight out was really turbulent and there was no meal service. So they thought they’d take the slower, but more comfortable route home. The multi-limbed, multi-voiced, single-bodied entity of the City Council was wearing a T-shirt that said: “Mitchigan – America’s sexiest forests”, featuring little cartoon tees with ribbed abs and bubble butts. The City Council then presented two people whose hands were bound with ropes, tied off tight with perfect bowline nuts. It was Tristan Cortez and his daughter, Camilla. The City Council said they found the Cortezes while rock climbing. According to the City Council, Camilla had devised an insurance scam, which Tristan set up by committing a series of small armed robberies around Night Vale, to make the robbery and the subsequent arson of their new store more believable. They stole two bodies from the old cemetery, which flooded last month, and laid those in the burned-out husk of their former market to fake their deaths. Camilla created a fake ID for a sister she didn’t have, named Tamilla, who lived in Mistrigen, where they planned to live out life bird watching and parasailing in the paradise of America’s most hand shaped state. The City Council laid out this entire plot, as they presented Sheriff Sam with the two fraudsters. Then the City Council turned to their newest member, Tamika Flynn and said, “We also completed the new city budget,” as they dropped a six-inch high stack of papers, like it was a mic at a poetry slam.

And even better, listeners: Janice finally arrived. We found her! After the City Council made their speech, the basketball team captain stepped to the mic and said she was running late today because she was practicing so hard to be a better passer, to have more assists, to be empirically the best team mate that the league record books have ever seen. But then, just this morning after a fight with her stepdad, she realized she was wrong. “You can’t measure leadership,” Janice said. “I’ve been so worried about that one number, that one datum that seems so selfless. But the act of pursuing that number is in itself selfish.” Janice said, “I can’t do this all on my own. I can’t expect everyone else to score thinking I’m being helpful. Each one of us has a different skill set, and as your captain, I want you to be great at scoring, defense, rebounding, whistling, and the occasional hex – the five pillars of sound basketball. So let’s get out there and beat Red Mesa!”

The crowd cheered and joined together to sing the Night Vale school song, “You Walk with Me, You Walk Alone under an Indifferent Dust-filled Sky”.

Tamika then spoke. She stood before her fellow citizens, her constituents, and said: “I want the best for all of us, I really do. I’m new at this, and the one thing I know how to do well, really well, is fight, and I want that for everyone. Also read, I’m awesome at reading. I want that for you too. Government jobs are weird because you can’t really fight a lot of crime. You mostly do paperwork and have meetings and scan retinas. Government is evasive and stupid and slow, and it’s because there are so many people it has to account for. And I realize it takes lots of time and lots of people to change. I just want this to change. I want us to feel safe. I also want to finish this amazing novel about Microsoft Excel, it is so compelling.”

At the behest of Tamika Flynn, the City Council voted unanimously to lift the town-wide curfew. And restaurants have already began to reopen, as well as theaters, public parks, clothing stores and bloodstone circle repair shops. Even the library has reopened with plans to renovate the security gates and triple barred cages that keep the librarians safely away from society. And with the return of library activities, escaped librarian Dan McDowell even returned to his former job, promising not to eat anyone else, unless they were trying to check out a book. The City Council also voted to keep all the city buildings painted blood red, because quote, “That’s intimidating AF.” And then they tried to vote to change the town motto to “Night Vale – Intimidating AF”. But it lost by a single deciding vote, which belonged to Tamika, who said we should pace ourselves. She then quoted Jean-Jacques Rousseau: “Patience is bitter, buts its fruit is mad sweet, like a swole grape.”

Sheriff Sam praised the City Council for capturing these criminals. Mayor Cardinal praised the City Council, too, but she added praise specifically for Tamika Flynn. Mayor Cardinal said, “I’m proud of you, Councilwoman Flynn. I did not agree with your tactics, but I think your heart is in the right place. It will take time, but we can do this.” Tamika accepted the Mayor’s kind words and a comforting embrace, and then returned to her office to finish her novel about spreadsheets.

Night Vale, Janice and Tamika are growing up before our eyes, and I couldn’t be prouder of either. But more importantly, I couldn’t be more excited to get out of the house! Carlos and I are headed straight to dinner at the Shallow Grave, and then going dancing at that new club, Numb, which opened up mere minutes after the curfew was lifted.

Stay tuned next to the sound of two men putting on just the most vicious outfits.

Good night, Night Vale, Good night.

Today’s proverb: We are all (an elite few) in this (a secret underground emergency bunker) together (on our own without public knowledge).

[orphanedshadow]

Revelation

Hell definitely had its surprises, but the one which confused Kara the most was that the supposed unending pain never came. Even as the heat rose to the point where the flesh of those humans she saw ignited unbidden it simply caused a comforting blossom of warmth to spread through her veins. Those ever-present pains from some of her hunts seemed so much lesser in this heat as well, soothed by the fires that surrounded her.

It all seemed far too comforting, as if she had not gone to Hell, but merely gone home.

Finding herself without any clear objective for the first time she could remember Kara easily fell back into the patterns she had in life. It was freeing not to have to worry about humanity as she hunted, moving through this literal hellscape like she belonged. It was with a strange sort of feral calm that she worked, stalking all manner of beast and occasionally bathing in the blood of one that she felt was weak enough to be hunted for food.

It could have been years or it could have been a mere hour after her arrival that a woman stepped forward from between the flames, the finger-bones hanging from the multitude of braids in her hair knocking together like wind-chimes as she moved. Even with a mostly human form there was nothing human to the other's movements, each step brimming predatory grace and potential violence.

A hauntingly familiar song reached Kara's ears as the being approached, an action which in that moment was far more terrifying than any sort of weaponry. Nothing announced it's presence in these lands not unless it wished to be made a meal.

Despite the stranger's horrendously scarred appearance and the dangers that Kara had nearly been destroyed by so many times it was clear that the other did not care, as if she could destroy any threat with a mere wave of a hand.

Everything about this situation told her to hide, nonetheless it took all Kara had not to emerge from her current hiding spot as a sort of serenity swept over her. There it was again, that feeling of being home, and even stronger than before.

It soon became clear that her hiding was for naught. The strange woman's eyes simply looked past the flaming stalks of grass Kara had done her best to conceal herself behind; before piercing through the layers of magics that had saved the girl's life many times before.

The singing trailed off, the last note hanging in the air for a moment as the woman stares at Kara, running a tongue over pointed teeth as if contemplating what to do with her. Only once something akin to silence fell did she finally speak.

Her voice brought with it fragments of something, half-forgotten images the origins of which she was unsure of. It felt like one she had heard in her dreams when she was just a little girl. “Nenni nidali hoxmarch”

The comforting statement did not have it's intended effect as the stranger's solemn expression quickly broke into a slightly sinister smile, though given how she carried herself and the deep chasms of scars that covered every inch of visible skin it was likely that any smile would seem sinister.

"Pardon?" For once Kara decided to play the fool, for though it was not as she expected this was most definitely Hell, and revealing a knowledge of even the most basic of Enochian phrases was likely the pinnacle of stupidity.

The smile dropped, an almost playful smirk taking it's place. This entire situation made Kara uneasy, especially as the being seemed to know far more than she did. “You try saying that with a straight face.” Perhaps the Enochian reply was merely a test or some sort of slip up, or perhaps the stranger knew, but either way Kara could not help but feel trapped.

“I am sorry, I do not understand you. Do you speak English?” Kara could only hope that flawless politeness would offer her some kind of advantage as she played the fool, and that the small knife in her hand that she had made from the bones of her last meal could do some damage if it came down to that.

With all the suddenness of a striking viper the stranger closed the gap between them, long strides eating up the distance until she was just barely outside of stabbing range. Eyes narrowed, as if keeping watch for even the smallest mistake. “Allegra has told me you speak in the tongues of your ancestors, do not play coy with me girl.”

“I do not know any Allegras. You must have me mistaken for someone else.” Her hand may have shifted slightly on the blade at the approach, but apart from that Kara remained practically motionless. She would stand her ground and keep to her lies, that was the only option in sight.

“I highly doubt that. You carry a blade made from the femur of a wanderer and no other true weapons. From the teeth around your neck and those claws tucked into your belt you have killed at least one harpy, and if I had to hazard a guess a decently sized wyrrm. Even if we ignore all that you also have Lore's eyes.” Without any other hint as to what she was doing the woman switched to Enochian, speech flowing as if she had never changed languages. “and Eva's flawed stance.”

It was only an almost imperceptible movement of Kara's feet to reassure herself that her stance was correct, but it was enough for the stranger. Once more a wide grin crossed those scarred features, and it became painfully apparent to Kara that she had made a mistake. “Enough games. It is time for you to come home.”

The remaining distance between them was quickly closed, this time by Kara. A foolhardy move, but her lies had been found out, and this was the closest to an advantage she would get.

Given how she had expected this attack to go she was almost surprised when her blade sunk into flesh and then struck bone. Though not in the heart as she had intended the girl did get some small satisfaction from hitting the stranger's bicep instead of having the attack completely avoided.

That satisfaction vanished soon enough, as one of the stranger's hands moved to wrap around Kara's throat, careful so as not to offer her a chance to bite.

Much like one would a misbehaving kitten the stranger lifted Kara off the ground, casually unhooking the hunter's fingers from around the knife with her free hand. There did not seem to be any trace of irritation in her attitude, even as she withdraws the knife from her own arm and wipes it off as best she could on Kara's already somewhat blood-soaked hair.

“None of that now Kara. There will be time for stabbing later.” Oddly enough the woman's voice seemed tinged with pride, as if she had just seen a young child do something impressive, not at all like she had just gotten stabbed by a girl with some serious emotional issues.

“You know my name?” Perhaps it was the tone used, or perhaps it was the shock of some random demon knowing her name, but for once struggling took a back seat. Kara wanted to know no, she needed to know, why was the woman before her so familiar, and what did she know?

Lowering the girl so that her feet just barely touched the ground the stranger chuckles, slipping on her glamour for a minute before letting go again, the pretty face she wore out in public vanishing once more under her scars. “I know a great deal more than that little one.”

The other's brief change as well as the term of endearment brought about another wave of familiarity from Kara. She blinked rapidly, her mind racing in order to attempt to put a slew of fragmented thoughts together in some kind of sensible way. Unbidden a single utterance made it's way out of her mouth. “Drilpi lvlo?”

“Obviously” Her smile widens, arm lowering even further so that Kara could stand properly, though she did not relax her grip. “Your memory needs work child.”

Hazy memories she had once considered to be nothing more than dreams fell into place at the other’s confirmation, the universe suddenly making a great deal more sense. A lifetime of denial could not stand against this sort of revelation, especially not when the evidence proving it was something she had been attempting to hide from herself for as long as she could remember. “Drilpi lvlo Phel”

Once named Phel released her grip on Kara’s throat, hand shifting to stroke her hair gently, heart breaking just a little when the girl flinches. Nothing but anger at an attack, yet fear at tenderness. The universe had most certainly not been kind...so much so that perhaps the child’s survival was based on instinct, not memory. “Yes little one, and who are you?”

“Kara, just Kara.“ Her voice almost broke, reality still crumbling around her as she falls back on what she had told herself over and over for so many years. Those English words were who she had to be, no matter how much easier Infernal came to her, and no matter how inhuman her actions were.

The switch to Infernal did not require any thought on Phel’s part, the heavy syllables seeming more real in that moment. “You have never been just anything, and you will always be more than just Kara.”

A single scarred finger moved to under the girl’s chin, a gentle guide encouraging her to look up. The moment that eye contact was made a whisper was heard, the whisper of a lost child who no longer knew where she belonged. Even the Infernal tongue could not lend her words any menace, as clearly Kara did not have any to spare. “What am I”

It was difficult for her to resist the urge to simply wrap her arms around the girl, to bring her close and do her best to erase every fragment of doubt Kara had. “Your true name is Kora, though I doubt that is the answer you seek. Nor would it satisfy you to hear that you are whatever you choose to be, or at least it would not have when you were small.”

For a moment it seemed as if there would be no further answer forthcoming, but soon enough Phel had her thoughts in order. Brushing back bloodied strands of hair with a thumb she takes a deep breath before speaking.

“Centuries ago I met a woman who went by the name of Lorelei Mesaros. She was the most wondrous being I have ever laid eyes upon. Together we started the bloodline, of which you are one of the last. In some people’s eyes that would make you an abomination, but that is not what you are. You are a miracle, my little miracle.”