#every map has fields you can plant if you want. you even can get an item that lets you do this from inside your house while no time passes.

[fairladybellaphram]

Wooo I can add on about Rune factory to because I’m sooo normal about it!!

Rune Factory 1 and 2 aren’t bad. But they’re the earliest games in the series and it’s very obvious while playing them. I also haven’t played Frontier/Tides of Destiny/any of the specials so I’m probably more normal about the series than I think.

RF3, 4, and 5 all have map icons. RF5 even has icons to tell you where to go for character events! This is not as good of a thing as it sounds like in my opinion.

Quests also don’t expire in any of these games! You are limited to how many quests you can take in a day, and you can only take one at a time, but really you aren’t going to run out of things to do. I don’t remember how they work in Rune Factory 5 as that’s the one I’ve played the least of. (This is a lie I only just caught! Rf5 is still the one I’ve played least recently.)

There is no penalty for not sleeping in these games. You have a sleeping skill that goes up when you sleep, and it fully restores your health and stamina. But you don’t technically need to. It would be a hindrance if you did because some of the later dungeons are so big you’ll spend a couple days in them the first time through.

There are plants and crystals out in the fields and dungeons that respawn every day that refill your stamina (technically Rune Points but who’s counting) Your crops can also make rune orbs when you harvest them. They can also make runeys, which are spirits that randomly level up one of your stats. (Again I don’t remember if these are in RF5) Baths are also dirt cheap. Money is not an object in Rune Factory after like the first season.

You have a diary in all 3 games. And there are save points outside of all the Dungeons. I’m pretty sure RF5 also lets you save wherever. I think it has autosave too?

Rune Factory 3’s tutorial is a little handholdy in the very beginning if I remember correctly? But it only lasts a day I think? Rune Factory 4 has a very brief one and all the rest of the tutorial type stuff is handled in requests. I do not remember what it’s like in rf5.

As for the progression! Story progression unlocks new areas and dungeons to explore. Not only that! All of the games systems connect to eachother. Rf4 does it the best but all 3 games do it well. Leveling up your farming skills raises your stats and RP, which you’ll while exploring the dungeons. You’ll need food or healing potions in the dungeons which you’ll want to cook because food is expensive which means you’ll need to farm and tame monsters! To raise your monsters stats to take on adventures with you you’ll need to feed them upgrade crafting materials, which you’ll need to get from dungeons. But for the dungeons you’ll need to get gear! Just like food you can buy it or craft it. Good gear is expensive. To craft gear you need materials from dungeons and your farm. I just really love in RF4 specifically how well the systems work together. You really can engage with them as much or as little as you like.

You start out with storage that you can upgrade when you need more space. You’ll also be able to buy more specific storages later in the game (refrigerator, weapons rack, bookshelf etc) you also start of with a much larger rucksack. (It’s driving me crazy right now in fields of mistria how small the starting inventory is. The only games I’ve played that are as bad or worse are the original more friends of mineral town where you only have TWO slots for forageables in the beginning and stardew valley where the first bag upgrade is cheap) RF4 definitely pulls from your storage when crafting, I can’t imagine this isn’t a feature in RF5 and I honestly do not remember if it is or not in RF3.

NPCs all get unique dialogue the day before and event, and NPCs will tell you about upcoming birthdays if their friends or family with whoever’s birthday it is. They even give you gift ideas. (I’m pretty sure they do in RF3 and they 100% do in RF4 and 5)

Also adding on! The biggest reason I do not like Stardew is I think all of the characters are super boring. It’s why I ended up buying mistria, I heard that the characters are super fun and have a TOOOOONNN of dialogue. And they do! Rune factory is the same way. Not a single rune factory character is normal they are all weirdos and they have SO MUCH to say. Sometimes mini events will happen where everyone in town is talking about something that happened the day before, like someone baking some really terrible cookies or the bath water being hotter than usual which sounds incredibly mundane but it’s so funny. I find that the non-romanceable NPCs will repeat dialogue sometimes, but not terribly often. And the marriage candidates rarely so. Of course the writing isn’t going to be for everybody but I just love all of the Rune Factory characters.

Rune factory 4 is the first one you can play a girl in (technically 3rd? 2 you can be a girl in the second half of the game, but you’re a kid. And I think Tides of Destiny let’s you after you beat the game? But I haven’t played that one so I don’t know how it works) Rune Factory 5 is the first one you can be gay in. (There’s a work around for this in rf4 but you need a save game+) they are all great games but RF4 is probably the best one.

OK sth I really, really love about fields of mistria is how accessible it is for an adhd hoarder that also forgets everything and what I was doing in like 5 minutes, like myself

the map has npc locations by default! so even if their schedule changes, you can always find them!

quests never expire! you can work on them at your own pace, and even hold onto one's that require a seasonal item that you didn't have enough of before the season was up, until the season rolls around again!

they don't take your damn money or items when you pass out or die because you lost track of time or are bad at combat!

there's free soup in the tavern that restores a little stamina, and a fountain behind a breakable boulder that does the same! the baths are also pretty cheap, and you even get a few free usages after a certain quest!

it starts with storage in your house, AND! anything you had in said storage can be used for crafting without having to go and retrieve it!

if you don't know where to get an item for a quest, talking to various npcs can tell you where it is!

if you need a certain item for the museum collection, you can check out hints on where to get those in the museum itself! and every item that can go in the museum has a tooltip when you over over it, to tell you if you have already donated it or not!

items don't despawn! you can just toss stuff on the floor and come back for it later when you have the inventory space!

if you forget to check your calendar, that's fine! the npcs will tell you about any upcoming events a few times before it arrives, and the start of a new day will tell you if it's someone's birthday!

they give you tutorials in a narrative way, gradually introducing new systems and mechanics as you progress! and these are done via quests that you can go and complete whenever you're ready!

the village progression gives you plenty of rewards and things to help you with your farm, which is very encouraging to keep at it!

the upgrade system just builds up along with doing normal tasks like farming! and you can spend these points however, whenever you like, with many being available right from the start! and you can have all of them if you want, so no need to worry about indecision!

you can go to your diary at home and save whenever you like, and even make another one so you can place them in other areas!

little heart notifications pop up over npc's heads when you progress the relationship, so you have a quick reference on how close you are!

every friday (and saturday after you fix the bridge), all the npcs are in the same place! this makes chatting to everyone and handing out gifts easier if you have trouble remembering to do so!

you have to hold down the button to eat an item! so you don't accidentally poison yourself!

other accessibility options ive really been appreciative of are: being able to turn off rain/snowfall, flashing, screenshake ect. for those with sensitivity, sight, or neurological issues that don't play well with those.

[mirensiart]

Hey Miry what are some fun (or maybe angsty) headcanons you have for the boys, including Chain?

Hmmmm 🤔 ok let me think

Sky: I know most people headcanon Warriors as the field medic, but I feel Sky is also versed in first aids and is really good at it, he has excellent bedside manner. Like the knight academy probably taught him all about it, so the 3 medics of the gang are warriors, hyrule and him. I also believe he has an impeccable stitch technique, like barely leaves scars at all. Really dexterous with his hands too, thanks to his wood crafting and harp playing, he's really good with them hands lmao.

Four: he's a blacksmith sure, and knows a lot about making weapons and maintaining them, but I like to believe he's also really good and making stuff out of leather. Like he knows how to make leather belts and pouches for the weapons his grandpa makes or leather clothes as protection in battle. Idk just a very crafty little guy that offers the entire deal aka a weapon and the leather belts to carry it, all in one service hehe

Time: I like to believe he lost his eye in a very mundane non heroic way, like maybe he fell off a rowdy horse and landed in the worst way possible or a farm centric accident. He makes up different stories about how he lost it, every time someone asks, he changes it, some stories are batshit insane and some others are super normal. He actually has told the real way he lost the eye in between the fake stories, but no one believes him. He thinks it's hilarious btw.

Twilight: I've mentioned before that I headcanon him to be a very sensitive guy, like small things can make him tear up aka a baby animal absolutely makes him want to start sobbing lmao. I like to believe he gossips and talks a lot with his epona as wolfie, like when you're in wolf form in twilight princess you can talk to animals and epona is so sweet with him when you talk to her, they are soulmates man. The guys do something dumb and he turns into wolfie just to walk to epona like "can u believe those guys??" Epona knows everything tbh like he tells her everything, she's the only one who truly knows his woes over losing midna.

Wind: I love to believe the little guy can legit control the winds, like the wind waker is a way for him to channel his magic, but he can control the wind unconsciously, too. When he gets really mad, the winds pick up speeds around him, or if he's happy, a gentle breeze circles around him, etc. His hair is always blowing in the breeze even when he's inside doors, and there's no wind. It just does that.

Legend: Excellent gardener, has a talent for growing plants, flowers, and trees. They flourish under his care. Extremely particular about soil and water and shadow/light for his plants, he not only has an apple orchard, but also grows veggies and rare flowers. Ravio maintains his garden under extreme rules and guidelines lmao ravio is not allowed to sell the apples or veggies from legend's garden, but legend encourages rav to use them for cooking instead.

Hyrule: disney princess aka animals love him lmao typical guy who befriends every single creature he meets, he could pacify a bear if he wants to. His fae part is what makes him have such an affinity with nature in general, I see him as the elves from LOTR who can feel and communicate with trees and they guide him. It's why he never uses maps, he doesn't need them.

Wild: using LOTR as my base for headcanons again lol but I see him like aragorn in the sense that aragorn is a human who was raised by elves so he feels a strong connection to elf culture because of it. I picture wild to be the same, but with the zoras, since he was childhood friends with mipha, we can imply he spent A LOT of time in zora's domain as a child. He is way more versed in zora customs, language, holidays, etc, than the hylian ones. It's also why I feel the older zora are so pissed off with him in botw, like they saw him as one of their own for so long, utter betrayal that he didn't protect their princess (mipha) and failed them all lol he has some zora mannerism in the sense that sometimes, he eats fish raw LMAO when he absentmindedly ate one in front of everyone the first time everyone was shocked for a while lmao

Warriors: absolute nervous wreck, always riddled with anxiety, really low self-esteem, is probably screaming 24/7 inside his head at all times, but is EXCEPTIONAL at faking it, like fake it til you make it is his way of life lmao he exudes over confidence and is always worried about his looks as a way to hide how much of a mess he truly is. Time & Wind has seen him at his worst and know that he's a great actor, which helps him cause he can stop pretending around them for a while

And now my link lmao

Chain: All bark, no bite. He is ironic and sarcastic and shows himself as a tough guy, but he's actually a sweetheart, and things get to him pretty easily. He learned pretty early on than carrying his heart on his sleeve is a really bad idea around the Bounty Hunter guild, since soft nice guys don't last long, so he replies to hurtful comments with sarcasm and a tough attitude, when in reality he's really hurt lmao he also jokes to cope, he'd rather throw a joke or two at you than really open up and talk about his feelings.

[very-lucky]

I have been deeply obsessed with Fields of Mistria since it launched and I just entered my Second Year on my farm, so I decided to compile a list of some things that I like about this game a lot so far.

You can jump. Over fences. There aren't gates (yet?), but you can jump and this isn't a thing you can do in any farming game. There's even a jump attack that you can unlock. It rocks.

Townsfolk will tell you what they like and what other townsfolk like. They may even give you the recipe for their favorite thing.

You can never plant a seed in the wrong season on accident. And if you plant a seed in the wrong place, you can dig it up before you water it to put it where you meant to have it.

You can make all your tools FOR FREE if you have the materials and doing that has the chance to give them power ups (once you've unlocked that skill)

NOT ONLY TOOLS BUT ARMOR ALSO. AND ARMOR DOESN'T TAKE UP INVENTORY SPACE IF YOU'RE WEARING IT.

You can decorate on half-squares. Get into it.

The relationships you make with townsfolk and the heart scenes that you have might just change things about the town itself. Highlighting Ryis for this one specifically.

The whole premise of the game is assisting a town after a disaster and providing disaster relief while also growing affection for each of the characters and the town as a whole. You do big projects to help the town and the town improves and provides you, the player, with more resources and activities to do.

The mines have different biomes and enemies and resources and COSMETICS that you can collect. There's really no shortage of things to collect here.

All the furniture sets play together in a really nice way where you are able to mix and match the looks you like. They're definite sets of furniture and some of them even have their own unique storage chests.

There's so much deep lore that I'm so excited about. It almost feels like by doing what there is of Early Access, I am now waiting for the next chapter to drop so I can learn more about this world and characters.

Inventory stacks limit at 999?! For everything?? I’ve never had a stack that big! (edited)

Characters outfits change every season.

You can always tell where villagers are on the map

Since Mistria is MAGICAL you can also grow crops in the winter.

That dragon is going to be romanceable. If the rumors are true, we may even have TWO romanceable dragons.

All the characters are interesting on their own and have relationships with each other beyond you. They are always having different conversations and talking about different stuff that they do and that other characters do and that YOU DO. I love them all. No flops.

I'm really hoping for more depth in the passage of time as the game develops. I would love to see either 1) a reason for time to be at a standstill in Mistria so it makes sense that the child characters are not aging as you spend multiple years in town or 2) time to actually progress and for characters to get older, especially as marriage and children come into the picture. I know this is a stretch and not everyone wants something like that... but I really liked it in A Wonderful Life as a concept and I think it would be neat here.

[balkanradfem]

On agriculture, sustainability of cities, and monocrops.

So if you've lived in the countryside, or even seen a rural village on a map, you know how it's set up. There's a road, the area around the road is peppered with houses, and then behind every house, there's several fields growing grains, beans and potatoes. Most often, there's also a little vegetable garden in the back yard, and sometimes a few chickens, goats, or a sheep. Around the fields, there are forests, and every clearing in the forest is growing something, even if it's just grass that is set to be cut into hay.

It's clear where these people's food comes from, and how big of an area it takes to grow it. It's visible just by monitoring, that for one family it takes a field of wheat, potatoes, smaller area for beans, a vegetable garden, and corn or a similar grain for their animals. It makes sense, these people have inherited the land that can feed them, and they do it. The forests are used for firewood, but also replanted, there are new trees constantly planted, and only old, dangerous and rotten trees are felled.

And then you look at a city, and it doesn't make sense. The area is more densely populated, but there are no fields, no grains, no vegetable gardens, no chickens. So how do they eat?

The answer is – the fields are elsewhere. They're planted far from view. And the food is brought to the people, instead of grown where they live. Isn't that a bit inconvenient? The people in the city don't think so. They make a lot of money, and they can have food delivered to them. But what does it take to produce the food for a densely populated city? That's where we meet agriculture.

In order to produce massive amounts of food, enough to feed an entire city, you'll need a big amount of agricultural land. And, you'll need that food produced cheaply enough, so that when people buy it, there is some profit for you as well. So, you'll want to own a big area of land that is yours to do with as you please, and you'll need big machines, so you don't have to pay for human labour, and all of the profits go to you.

Now, the big machines that harvest food do not work like human hands do – they do not differentiate one plant from another. If you want a machine to harvest your field, your field has to grow 1 single type of crop. Otherwise, your harvest will be a mess, and it will take additional, expensive work to separate usable crops from waste. So, you create massive fields with only one type of plant growing on them.

I remember looking at big fields of wheat or corn, and thinking, neat! That's so much food growing! And it looks so clean and well grown! I don't have those thoughts anymore, sadly. The reality of a whole field growing only one type of plant, is now upsetting to me.

The thing with natural, wild fields is, they feed the wildlife. They have flowers that open even in the winter and early spring, and then continue to produce different types of flowers throughout the entire season, making sure bees have food all year long. They house different insects and good bacteria, they lure in birds, worms, ants, ladybugs, grasshoppers, butterflies, bumblebees, and all kinds of beneficial, lovely bugs. If there's a presence of water, you'll find frogs, dragonflies, and much more birds, who are there to feed on the insects and pick off the caterpillars. You might find a hedgehog, a snake, a turtle in there. All are coming because there are sources of life for them in that field, plants they can eat, or plants that bugs can eat, and bugs are then delicious resource to the animals. Bugs we consider pests, are also a great food resource for the birds and the animals, and their population is monitored and controlled by all of the other animals. Plants rarely get destroyed by pests, or they evolve to defend themselves, or to attract a predator who fends off of the pests.

Now, a field of let's say, only corn, doesn't do that. The corn is pollinated by wind, and the flowers of corn do not attract the bees. They do not serve as a home to many insects, and they do not make a good resource for the wildlife – until of course, they make the corn itself, which is then attractive to the birds. But they cannot sustain life for the entire year. There's only a short window when these crops can serve as source of food.

The area where corn will be planted, has to be tilled early in the winter or spring, making sure every life-giving plant in that area, is dead. Then, corn is planted, and then often weeded or sprayed with herbicide, if any other plant manages to grow inbetween. And they will grow, because no matter how hard you try to kill every weed, seeds are carried by the wind, by the birds, buried deep into the ground, some are capable of growing back from just one single piece of root. You cannot exterminate them, except, by herbicide. And that is what happens in monocultures – in order to fight nature to the point where you establish a monoculture, you have to distribute poison for plants.

After the monocrop is harvested, the field is left barren and void of life. There are no flowers, no food for bees, no hiding places for the insects to hibernate in. Some may hibernate deep in the soil, if they have not yet gotten poisoned, but most will not even bother, as there are no food sources in the area.

Have you noticed how wild fields do not get their soil depleted and  poor at any time? Year after year, the wild plants are growing anew, never losing nutrients, never lacking food. And there's a reason for this – the wild plants are left to wither, dry, lay flat on the ground, and then decompose. The bugs, worms, bacteria and insects in the ground use them as a food source, and after going thru their digestive systems, it decomposes and becomes soil again. This way, all of the nutrients, minerals and food they took from the soil while growing, comes back around, creating fertile ground for a new season.

But monocrops do not do that. Once harvested, the soil remains depleted, the waste products of grains are usually extremely low in nutrients, there are no bugs to aid composting, the space remains empty of minerals and nutrition the plants have absorbed. So what do you do to keep growing? You have to buy the nutrients and physically distribute them all over the field, in order for the next year's crop to grow again. This almost ensures that you will have to do this again and again, and that your crops will only be able to feed on whatever you put there, and will only have the minerals you yourself have put in the soil. The soil itself becomes void of life, because it's those worms and insects and bacteria that are keeping the soil alive and healthy, they're creating an ecosystem where plants love to grow, where a healthy balance of nutrients and air and water and compost and roots is kept. Your field cannot do it. You have given the soil nothing to live off of. There is only a single crop, and it doesn't support any life in the soil. It doesn't feed the beneficial bacteria, bugs, or animals.

But you know what it does feed? The pests. There will always be some types of bugs evolved specifically to feed on your crop, and once you plant your crop over several kilometers, you have given them a perfect food source, and they will not restrain from multiplying rapidly, enjoying what you provided. Your monocrop will start getting eaten at a rapid rate, unless, you spray it with pesticide. So you do, you have to, there are no birds, predatory bugs, animals, or any other kind of natural pest control that would do the work for you or stop the pests from multiplying uncontrollably. You have to poison your monocrop in order to protect it from getting eaten away.

Wild plants are usually good at fending off diseases, because they will cross-pollinate, and some will contain disease-resistant genes that ensure that the next generation of plants will grow stronger. Your monocrop, is carefully planted so only ever one type of plant is growing, same type of seed, protected from cross-pollination, same dna. So when a disease hits, there will be no resistance. Your plants will all get infected. If it's a bit too hot, or too cold, or a disaster hits, or a new type of bacteria attacks, your plants have no way of defending themselves, or evolving into a stronger, more disease-resistant versions of themselves. You'll have to develop a different type of plant on your own, and rely on chemicals again, to stop the disease, to save your plants. This is actually the reason why bananas as we know them, are soon to be extinct, and a new variety is being developed to replace them – they've all grown sick, and there's nothing that can be done to save them, except developing a different variety that will hopefully, be resistant to that disease (but not to a new one, repeating the cycle again and again.)

So, once you've secured your giant fields of monocrops, convenient for your big machines to work and harvest, you've started to notice that you have to spray the chemicals on your fields to fertilize the soil, then to kill of weeds, then to kill off pests, then to fend off disease, and you're in fact, spending a lot of money on all these chemicals that you are now completely dependent upon. And what happens next is, these chemicals start getting more and more expensive. Maybe the seeds prices are getting higher too. And now, you're in a situation where you don't have many options. You cannot grow the same volume of food without monocrops, and you can't sustain your practice with ever-higher prices it takes to grow in this unnatural, diversity-eliminating way. In the older times, people learned to rotate their crops, allowing the land to grow some wild plants and recover from the intense use of agriculture, but now you can't afford to own land that you are not actively using for profit.

This is why agriculture is getting less and less productive, and why we keep needing new agricultural land to grow on, the soil is getting depleted, and land unusable. This also caused by the wind erosion and sun erosion. While the crops are not growing, the land is barren, tilled, and left exposed to the sun, which dries the top layer, since there are no plants covering it, and then the wind dries it even more, dissipates it into tiny particles, and turns it into dust. Without constant and consistent rain – which is rarely available, the soil gets turned into dust. This is a hard lesson learned by the 'dust bowl' example, where the agriculture combined with drought created soil erosion so intense, the people couldn't see in the times of storms due to the dust, and would often get lost in their own fields.

Soil erosion and wind erosion can be mitigated by growing 'cover crops', meaning plants are allowed to grow, or are specifically sown in the times of year where the main crop isn't growing, so the sun and the wind could not deplete the top layer of soil. The plants also help keep the soil alive with insects, worms and bacteria, and keep moisture in, more effectively than the barren land could. Another solution for gardeners is mulching, covering the soil with a layer of organic matter, it can be leaves, hay, straw, pine needles, wood bark, wood chips, anything that will decompose and create food for insects, generate a protective layers from the sun and the wind, and keeps moisture inside. In combination with this, it's important to not till the soil. Tilling exposes several layers of soil to the elements and disrupts or completely destroys the established ecosystem inside. No-till and no-dig methods are protective of the health in soil, specifically for smaller areas.

For large areas, what helps the soil stay safe and properly structured is allowing wild plants to grow, which have deep, resilient roots. You know when you grow a plant in a pot, and you pull it out, it holds the entirety of the soil together, just with the roots? That is what the wild plants are doing as well. The deeper their roots, the better structure and stability of the soil will be. Deep roots can draw the water from deep inside of the soil and keep the moisture level even in a drought. Big trees are also a factor in keeping the soil structured and safe, for example, if you keep trees on the riverbank, their roots will protect the soil from being carried away and depleted by the water. If you were to remove the trees, the water would erode the soil of the riverbanks. They also protect the soil from getting blown away by the wind.

There is a problem of decreased availability of water. We have now extracted so much water from our planet, it's getting harder to find water sources for our crops. And there are thousands of kilometers of these monocrops, making sure that no wild life species can live in that huge area that was once wilderness. This resulted in many species being threatened into extinction, if not already extinct. Bees cannot live on agricultural land, because there is no food. And all of these areas are not being used to feed the people in the cities, no. The majority of agricultural land isn't even used to grow the crops for human consumption. The plant products that the people eat is about 20-30% of all of the crops we grow. The rest is growing crops that feed the animals meant for human consumption. And these fields need to grow crops sometimes for years, until the animal is heavy enough to be used as a source of food. Reducing animal products could easily reduce the amount of monocrops we need to sustain our food sources, by big percentages. But, we're not trying to do that. Instead, the demand is steadily rising up.

Thinking of this makes me wonder if big cities are ultimately, unsustainable. Growing food to be harvested by human hands enables incredible diversity, fertilizing with compost, manure, bone powder, fish meal, and rich organic fertilizers that can be distributed over smaller areas easily. No till gardens can preserve all of the healthy bacteria, insects, worms and ecosystems in the soil. Using mulch and cover crops to protect the land from sun and wind erosion, and to keep the moisture in, can stop soil depletion in those areas, and feed and protect the wildlife and life in the soil. Animals can be used as pest control and as a method of fertilizing – if you leave chickens, pigs, or cows to graze an area and leave manure behind, they will bring fertility to the land. But, you would not be able to grow the amount of food that would feed an entire city, not without it requiring a vast amount of human labour, which would make the food expensive, and unavailable to the poorest citizens.

But, we can't get rid of cities, so we have to keep developing healthier and more soil-protecting ways to grow big amounts of food, in order to create sustainable, resilient and secure sources of food for people living in all kinds of areas. Encouraging people to change their habits and eat less beef, lamb, poultry and animal products would help significantly, since the amount of food that needs to be grown would reduce by a lot. Encouraging people to grow their own food, in rich and diversity-preserving ways, also helps cut carbon emissions by a lot, since this food no longer needs to be shipped and transported. Having people understand how their food is grown, what it takes to produce, and what is lost in the process, might inspire them to change their habits, and put more effort into reducing waste. Because even after destroying all that wildlife and diverse ecosystems – 20 to 30% of that food is simply thrown away. Food that people grow themselves is most often, never thrown away, because then it is a prized produce, something they worked hard on, something they treasure. In case of a spoiled produce, it gets composted right back into the soil, making the waste non-existent.

Home grown food is often at least somewhat affected by bugs and pests, and that is normal. It's a sign of the food being healthy, unpoisoned, and obviously a great food source, since the bugs are all for it. I've noticed home-gardeners, who understand how pests work, feel skeptical about the store-bought food, just because it being so pest free is in fact, unnatural. 'What did you do to it, so the bugs didn't want it?' opens up the answers of how far one needs to go to make the produce undesirable and uninteresting to bugs. You need to go as far as convince them that this is not a good food source anymore. And the bugs acknowledge it, and go find food elsewhere. And we often have no choice, but to buy that exact same food.

Food grown for selling in stores has proved to be less nutritious, grown merely for the visual appeal, storage and transportation, rather than taste. This is why, after eating store-bought produce, homegrown will taste infinitely better, sweeter, with more intense flavour and noticeably better nutrition.

What we'll need to do is spread awareness, learn about the cost of our food, and change our habits to make it less damaging on the planet. We can also try growing food. Make barren areas into wildlife again. Build ponds to attract birds, animals and bugs. We can try making diverse no-till gardens where all of the different varieties grow on top of each other, together with flowers and weeds and mushrooms. Make it a place for birds, ladybugs and bees to gather. Make it friendly to little mice, frogs, lizards and butterflies. We might just help save some of the dying species on this planet.

[zergula]

Welcome To Lunestia

The date is 7600.

Humanity finds itself alive and well on the planet of Lunestia! With its gorgeous greens, purples, pinks, and white fields it is definitely different than Earth but almost eerily the same. After the legendary forum wars of 2025, aliens have fully become a part of society on Earth as well as Lunestia. Great advancements in not only technology but human evolution have improved life in the universe more than any being could imagine!

I fell in love with Risa's Lunestia and Meroze maps as soon as I saw them! It was really hard to choose between those two to use for this space world save but Lunestia's beautiful terrain painting and blend won me over! I highly recommend both of these worlds, absolutely gorgeous and incredible work!

INTERESTING CHARACTERS

Mae, Malie, and Una Verse keep watch over the renovated remains of the First Contact ship that brought all beings to beautiful Lunestia! Although thankful for the great honor bestowed upon them from their ancestors, these young beings just want to have some fun, sometimes!

The Goth family and Bachelor family fell into a wormhole in Sunset Valley and have found themselves farther in the future than they could even imagine!

Candy is a plantsim who is trying her very best to recreate all of the lovely plants from Earth! She lives in her underground lab and you can find her there or above ground tending to all of her lovely friends…uh plants!

Skyla Martial is a genius who has filled her home with bots that she treats like family but never stopped to wonder if she wants an actual family. Either way, the bots fill that void…for now.

Finally, you will find lots of beings from Oasis Landing and Lunar Lakes here: Amelia Loveland, Kel Gwyn, Harkin Shire, Fawn Lacey, Felix Finn, The Planesons, The James family, The Mosqueda family, The Su family, the Sekemoto Family, Eleanor Alto, the Castle family, the Star family, the Orey family, and the Landgraab Clones.

Around Town

29 Community Lots 62 Residential Lots

There's lots to do in Lunestia! Along with all EA rabbitholes, you can visit:

The Millennium Falcon Bot Emporium - A recreation of the Millennium Falcon from Star Wars by soocoolsim! It includes the bot emporium register, comics register, and a food register.

The Future Fashion Salon - - I have been experimenting with combining rabbitholes, registers, and lots on one lot and am loving the results! It saves so much room in town and I love how some of these rabbitholes/registers/lots work together! This is a salon and tattoo shop that includes the Elixir Consignment register, nectary register, consignment store register, and the Spa rabbithole.

Purple Flourite Museum - Art Gallery by Satureja13 that includes another nectary register.

Monsters Inc Stadium - a fun recreational park built by Hidehi for the Disney Magic Kingdom collaboration. The school and stadium rabbitholes are also located here.

Sapphire Ice Gym - by Satureja13 A small gym with all machines and martial arts stuff

Zephyr 47 - An old starship repurposed into Lunestia's favorite spot to watch the game, get some wings, and drink some juice with the old team! (shell by geminiagre, interior redone and converted to sportsbar by me)

Natatorium Pool - pool from Lunar Lakes

Laser Waves - A poolside club with lots of secret places to find!

Cosmic Ray's Bowling Lanes by Sandraelle is the place to be in Lunestia! A huge arcade with every game and numerous bowling lanes open at all times, all beings come here for fun and prizes, to grab some groceries, catch a movie, or have a quick meal at the diner!

Lunestia Library And Bookstore - a huge library with fun for the kids, snacks, the bookstore, and the Vault of Antiquity

Full Spectrum Fire Safety - by Waterheart197 - Even in the future, fire will still get you. Luckily, the fire safety beings here at Full Spectrum can help!

Bridgeport Acres Festival Grounds

Astro Orbiter - by soocoolsim is a fun hangout with a roller coaster, games, and snacks

Lunar Hub Casino - this is Lunestia's Live Show Venue that includes all casino games, giant performer's stage, nectary, and food register. You can find HOLODEK by Livvy1049 - a bright future lounge right next door!

Science Tech Center - bot emporium I built that includes the bot competition arena and observatory rabbitholes

Cube by Snowmoon - this dive bar is for surly beings only!

The MotherShip by Snowmoon is a little more inviting for the locals in Lunestia. The Darts Competition is weekly, see you there!

It wasn't long after Lunestia was discovered that the Space Buzz Studio by Hidehi was built! You can always see some of the actors rehearsing on stages upstairs if you stop by to tour the studio rabbithole (in the basement).

Crater Lagoon is the town fishing spot stocked with all fish and not too far from there you will find Oasis Shoreline Beach!

Don't forget to visit the crash scene wreckage! It might look like a junkyard but very important research is being done here. You can see the renovated First Contact ship from here as well!

OTHER INFO

In this download, you will find the world and 3 save files:

LunestiaCommunityLots - this save has the community lots only, no residential houses or other lots

LunestiaUnpopulated - the is the final version of the save without sims

LunestiaPopulated - this is the final version of the save with all households

This save uses Into The Future, Lunar Lakes, and all sci fi store content extensively but there is zero custom content. I have all expansions, all stuff packs, and all store content but if you do not have some of the items, the game will generate a similar item for you (but you may have to edit). The only expansion not used is PETS so I am unsure how the save will perform with Pets, but there is definitely plenty of room for them!

Because this world was just roads and trees, I ran into the same problem I had with Simarellen, which was sometimes the lots do not line up perfectly with the roads. Some of the lots may look diagonal or incorrectly placed because of that but I have playtested everything and have not found any routing issues. This world save does use the Into The Future elevators profusely so there might be an issue with some of the elevators not working as intended. To fix this, simply go into build mode on the lot, go to the ground floor of the lot, use the hand tool to pick up the elevator and then drop it, this will reset the elevators to go to the correct floors. I tried not to fill the world up with lots too much, but it was hard to choose with so many excellent options out there! You can always add more, if you like!

This took me longer than I expected, my apologies for the delay! Please tag me @zergula or #lunestia if you share any photos, etc I would love to see them. You can find my other world saves here: River Falls here: Simarellen and here: Kaodina

Happy simming and green plumbobs for all <3

SIMFILESHAREDOWNLOAD

[ill-logic-al]

Every other animal communicates better than us...

birds,

bees,

ants,

mycelium...

A bird will sing a song and every other bird of its kind knows exactly what it's saying. Hide your kids, hide your wife, the hawk is here! There's a threat! Or...I'm a bid dick blue jay here to fertilize your eggs, I'll fuck you, I'll fuck your mom, I'll fuck your sister - I'm the fella you want ladies come and look at my lil dance, my lovely feathers, my lil nest I built for you.

Bees dance the GPS coordinates out to their sisters so they can find the nectar in the woods. They do the fucking hokey pokey and turn themselves around and the other bees all know what their sister is saying immediately - there's a juicy ass field of flowers down in the meadow sis, take two lefts and a three rights and bam you'll be right there. All by wiggling their lil fuzzy butts.

Ants mark and map the world around them with pheromones. All the other ants can smell their way to the tasty treat someone dropped on the sidewalk once the other ants find and mark the path there. They can smell an intruder ant before it invades their nest. They can even smell when one of their own (or several) have been murdered and smooshed - and they find them and bring back their dead to their lil ant graveyards. All ants are Beyonce fans - they are all always in formation.

Mycellium have gone beyond just communication with themselves to fucking talking to trees. Mushrooms have a fucking bartering system with trees and other plants. They have their own fucking wallstreet, their own banking and trade systems and routes. They can figure out what sugars and nutrients a tree needs and trade with them for other items.

Nature has PERFECTED the art of communication in all forms over millions and millions and millions of years.

We, however, just fucking got here. We are the rampaging toddlers of the natural world. And we need to get over ourselves with a quickness.

We are, without a solitary doubt, the WORST communicators nature has ever created. We have this sense that because we have "complex" human language, that because our language is spoken and written on the dead trees the mushrooms were once talking to - that we are somehow superior to our brothers and sisters in the natural world. That because of our "oversized prefrontal cortex" we have capabilities that surpass all other living creatures around us.

But we can't even agree that all people are people. We can't agree on anything. We can't even tell the people we love how we really feel, when we're in love, when we're scared, when we're hurting, when we're lost, when we miss them, when they hurt us. 

The tower of babel might as well have actually happened and yesterday for how "great" at communication we seem to be. We talk past each other, wrapped up in our own lil ape brains, we close off, we avoid, we talk past one another, we talk our way around the issues that need to be addressed. And even when we finally DO say what needs to be said, it often comes out all wrong anyway or the other party is unable or unwilling to absorb it. We can't talk right and we can't listen either.

We've been "communicating" as modern humans with "modern language" for such a short period of time when compared to the birds, the ants, the bees, fucking mushrooms.

We literally just got here compared to the millions of years head start other creatures have on us. 

We think we're at the top - apex predators, homo sapiens sapiens - the wisest of the apes and the most intelligent of all animals. But we still shit where we eat. We still don't get along. We still don't understand. We might as well be deaf, blind, mute - we're already dumb, prefrontal cortex be damned.

I'm not saying we have to revert back to living in caves. We can still have our wonderful modern world, but there's a balance we need to strike and strike soon. We need to get rid of our avarice, our hubris, and our talking past one another...or nature will do what she has always done for millions and millions of years.

Nature always always self-corrects. You abide by her rules, or she recycles you. The end.

And we will either figure our shit out, or get recycled - into something the mycellium can trade with the trees for sugars. Poetic justice for turning their friends into books we don't even read.

So maybe we should learn a new language - one all of our brothers and sisters in nature seem to have gotten down pat..balance, give and not just take...before it's too late.

[i-love-you-all]

54321 HCs - Sage

I did see the sage ask, but it is not in my inbox anymore bc I did try to write a little on my phone but I think I accidentally deleted it instead of saving bc it wasnt there when I went back to it.

But it's under the keep reading! Also, btw, I'm just finishing up whatever's left in my inbox (so I can go back to AC :)) )

5 things they usually see:

Burns, scrapes, and bruises. We know that she's the main mentor for Radiants (until we got to Neon), so in trying to train these younger radiants, it'd be pretty common for accidents. Like Jett twisting an ankle, Phoenix burning himself and sometimes others, and Neon with her whole issue over self control.

Darkness. I see her as someone who meditates a lot. Her peaceful state of mind is on a nice yoga mat in next to complete silence, and with her eyes closed, both aware and ignorant of the world around her. It's a moment of peace in an otherwise hectic life.

Food. Meals back home are often taken with a family where everyone has their own bowl of rice and shared veggie or meat dishes, and it's a time to be a family. Though she may not be near her family or previous found family, she has new friends that she will probably grow to see as family.

Brimstone's office or a war room. As the primary mentor to many of the radiants and probably within the trust of one of the heads of the protocol, she spends a lot of time staring down plans, schematics, and maps with Brimstone and Viper.

Flowers. I think she's a flower kind of girl who likes tending to plants in her spare time. For the other world agents, this could be how she and Omen bonded: over bonsai tree grooming.

4 things they usually feel:

The cool feeling of her powers as they manifest as ice. She is very in tune with her powers, and I think her hands aren't as warm as regular people's hands. Sure, she could choose another form perhaps, but when she throws her slow orbs or barrier and she feels that rush of cool air, there's nothing like it sometimes.

Her hair in the morning as she brushes it over and over again to achieve that high ponytail. This feels unnecessary, but I wanna point it out because, well, it takes a lot of effort to keep your hair like that, and it's to keep up her reputation/image. But just imagine, she needs to brush her long hair every morning (and when I had long hair, this sucked), make sure that she's washing it and using the right products, and tie it up without bumps or anything. This would be a daily thing too, imo, not just for practicality but also to maintain the image that she's fine, unmovable, if you will.

Injuries/blood. She may insist that she is not just a healer and most would definitely agree with her, but that is one of her roles still, so on the field, with bullets whizzing overhead and pressure on everyone's shoulders, she's the first to get to that injured teammate and get them standing again.

Chopsticks! I totally think she is the kind of person who eats everything with them. I knew a girl who lived in China all her life and left for school, and she would eat pizza, pasta, even attempt to eat hamburgers with chopsticks. I think the other agents give her strange looks sometimes but she has never cared.

3 things they usually hear:

Other agents calling for her. As mentioned, she is the healer, even if she can be more. But Jett calling her about a sprained ankle on the field, or Brimstone trying to summon her for a meeting. She is wanted by many agents for different reasons, and it's well known.

The firing of guns. As we saw in the Lotus cinematic, she keeps her skills sharp and she constantly strives to improve. She puts her self through near impossible training challenges, and relishes the stress and pressure she feels during them.

A few inner voices that echo her doubts, no matter how much she tries to avoid it. Thoughts on how Viper got snappy with her regarding her offer to "heal" Viper. Or how she cannot assist Omen in his search to be whole, or at least learn his identity. There are annoying comments her mind makes up and it sometimes gives her pause. Those are the reasons why she

2 things they usually smell:

Tea. I think green tea and... chrysanthemum tea? (question mark because I'm not sure if that's the English name) It's something she commonly had when she lived in China, and it's the best drink to settle her down after a hard or stressful day. Plus when it gets chilly or too hot, she can change the temperature at which she drink it, and it can help her adjust.

Blood/Death. As a follow up to the injures/blood thing, I think she becomes familiar enough with both to smell it in the air. I don't think it affects her anymore but there were years where she would feel her stomach twist and lurch at the smell. It's almost frightening to her that she doesn't even notice it anymore.

1 thing they usually taste:

Scorn. It's not a literal taste, but I think the first thing that jumped out at me was how different her views were from so many people. Viper chastised her for not understanding her pain and for wanting to hand wave it away, Omen constantly reminds her that her healing means that she takes away from another life, and Reyna sees her as some peaceful hippie - too weak to take what needs to get squeezed out of life for a chance at happiness.

[linuxgamenews]

Discover the Puzzle Nature Building Game Preserve now

Preserve relaxing puzzle nature building game releases in early access with success on Linux, Mac, and Windows PC. Thanks to the creative minds at Bitmap Galaxy. Available on both Steam Early Access and Humble Store with 97% Very Positive reviews. Great news for all you nature lovers and puzzle fans out there — Preserve, the relaxing puzzle nature building title from Bitmap Galaxy, is now live on Steam Early Access. To sweeten the deal, there’s an exclusive launch discount available for a limited time, so you can jump in on Linux right away, without breaking the bank. Also, if you’re really feeling the Preserve vibes of Preserve, you might want to check out the ‘Wonder Edition.’ It comes with the base title, plus a digital artbook and soundtrack. It’s perfect for those who want to dive deeper into the title’s beautiful world. Gameplay is all about creating the perfect habitats across three stunning biomes: Continental, Savanna, and Marine. You’ve got over 25 puzzles to crack, each one more challenging than the last. And if puzzles aren’t your thing, no worries. There’s an unlimited creative mode where you can let your imagination run wild. You can also show off your creations with the in-game photo mode, perfect for capturing those “wow” moments.

Expand Your World Vertically!

One of the best features of Preserve is the vertical map expansion. Not only can you expand your map horizontally, but you can also stack layers of nature to create a vertical network of habitats. Imagine building a multi-layered ecosystem that’s as deep as it is wide—how awesome is that?

Preserve relaxing puzzle release Trailer

Diverse Biomes to Explore

Each biome has its own unique flavor. Whether you’re exploring alpine forests, roaming the savannas, or diving into Caribbean reefs, you’ll find a diverse set of plants, animals, and environmental challenges. Every biome offers something new to discover and overcome.

Play Your Way

Preserve gives you plenty of options with multiple relaxing game modes. Since you have the regular harmony and puzzle modes if you’re up for a challenge. But if you just want to build without any limitations, the creative mode is where it’s at. And don’t forget about the photo mode—it’s perfect for sharing your creations with your friends after each session.

Natural Relaxing Wonders and More in Preserve

Want to make your map even more stunning? You can add natural wonders like snowy Alps, lavender fields, or towering redwood forests. These wonders aren’t just pretty to look at — they’re acquired through a unique card upcycle system. Due to add an extra layer of strategy to the title.

Join the Community

Matej Hudak, the Head of Publishing at Grindstone, shared his excitement about the launch. "We’re thrilled to bring Preserve the relaxing puzzle nature building to Early Access and can’t wait to see what players create. We’re also teaming up with Townscaper, Polylithic, Terra Nil, and Terra Scape for some awesome launch day bundles," he said. The title will also be part of the Wholesome Games celebration from August 15-21, so there’s plenty of fun stuff coming up. As you start your relaxing journey on Linux, be sure to join the Preserve Discord community. It’s a great place to share your feedback, catch up on the latest updates, and connect with other players. Bitmap Galaxy plans to keep updating the game, with hopes of a full release within a year, so your input will be key in shaping Preserve’s future.

Get in on the Preserve relaxing action

Preserve relaxing puzzle nature building is now available on Steam Early Access and Humble Store. Priced at $9.99 USD / £11.19 / 9,99€ with the 20% discount. Or, if you’re looking for something extra, grab the ‘Wonder Edition’ for $19.99 USD / £16.75 / 19,50€, which includes the digital artbook and soundtrack. All available on Linux, Mac, and Windows PC. So, what are you waiting for? Dive into the title and start creating your own slice of paradise!

[percontaion-points]

Everlife chapter 4 & bonus chapter 2

Today's review might be difficult for some; reader discretion is advised

Click to see the rest of the snark & image descriptions

Chapter 4

Dogs, cats, wolves, even lions, tigers and bears, oh, my. 

Why.

“Earlier, Eron decreed every citizen of Troika will be paired with a fourlegged guardian,” Luciana says. 

Fuck them birds, I guess. 

You laugh at the thought of being paired up with a bird. But I’m also thinking about the emu war. And how scary emus are. 

Forget a pitbull; I want to be partnered up with an emu. 

Firstking help anyone who gets in my way.

Chapter 4 summary: They return to Troika, and Shamus leaves with Killian. Luciana takes Ten to the cleansing showers, but it does nothing to help soothe Ten. Not after her bonding with Killian. 

There’s this super pointless aside about the animals that takes up too much time. Then Ten starts fighting Lucy, and calls her out on her shit. Lucy claims that she’s in love with Orion, and that’s why they’re blackmailing Ten to get him back. But obviously, her love for a (married) man is somehow different than Ten’s love for Killian. I mean, obviously. The only thing that this does is to further highlight the completely hypocrisy of Troikians, and how fucking shitty that each and every single one of them can be. 

After leaving her, Ten goes to the area where you can locate any living human or Troikian. But she fails to find any sign of Killian, and wonders if there’s something else she needs to be doing. She then leaves the area and goes to stand in a field that was destroyed in the battle at the end of the previous book, where she literally starts crying over the destroyed plants. I wish I was kidding.

Then she has more flashback memories of Killian’s childhood. Of him being whipped and denied manna (food) at the orphanage where he grew up. Then, of him having a carnal relationship with another girl. After Ten pushes aside her anger and jealousy, we find out that some of Killians tattoos are a map key to some stuff that he’d hidden in the realm of the living. I’m not quite sure what any of this is leading up to, so please don’t ask.

When the memories finally stop, Ten realises that hours have passed. And that it is now time for her to vote to determine who will be brought back from the rest. 

Bonus chapter 2

They can die right along with Troika. Might Equals Right! Sir Zhi Chen

Bonus chapter 2 summary: Killian sends a message to Zhi to update his CO about what’s been going on. Zhi in turn messages his own CO, Hans, to give him an update. Hans is reportedly only 14 years old, yet he’s a general. As such, he’s more interested in partying, babes, and booze than literally anything going on; I read his message with the voice of Slurms MacKenzie, for obvious reasons. 

Anyway, the Secondking (aka the leader of Myriad) has pardoned all of Killian’s crimes, claiming that Killian has managed to trap Ten. What’s more is that Killian also has no memories, so you probably shouldn’t punish somebody with no memory of their crime. Their plan is to have Killian bring Ten to Myriad, where she’ll likely die of the darkness inside of her. They’ll then purge the light from Killian, and hopefully manage to kill some other Troikians as they’re doing that. 

[sakshiwriter]

It’s only when the forest is drenched in the dark hours, do we fathom that the creatures that looked so appealing and fascinating during the daylight, are nothing but hungry, harrowing predators, waiting for the right moment to pounce and take what is theirs.

Is your life theirs? Maybe not from a mortal man's perspective. Then what are you doing in their territory?

That is what happens when you walk into the unknown, your are oblivious to the threats lurking beneath the thick layer of dried discarded leaves and the wide trunks of hauntingly tall trees.

Maybe it was just a field trip. You wanted to try something new. Or maybe you were out for the hunt.

So which one of those deserves to die?

None of them but it’s not in their hands. It almost always depends on the place, the time, the situation, and the surrounding life they live in.

The morning is beautiful in a forest. The breeze carries luscious scent of green leaves and wood. Twirling through the branches, awakening every creature in its wake.

Bees and flowers alike. Preys and predators alike. You and nature alike.

The walk on the leaves is a dream come true, especially when there is a path ahead, your well-wishers behind you, a backpack full of what you need on your shoulder, a cap to cover your head, clothes to protect you from scratches and medicines to keep away the insects. you even have your dog with you.

There is chatter as you set out to discover nature, clicking pictures, inhaling fruity scent of flowers, skimming the shy leaves, and just living in the moment. The birds chirping are nothing but just a realization of how vast and huge this territory is. But the distance to be travelled doesn't worry you because you have enough time. To reach the other side. You have the road. The map. The company. And the fuel. You have time, you think you have time, so you take your time.

What is on the other side? Something you have always been wanting, something you have been dreaming about. That is what it is, the ultimate happiness for you. You know this beautiful forest is the only way there and you couldn’t be happier.

The sun slowly reaches its magic hour. Each beam of light slithers through the leaves onto the muddy surface, making it the ground look like molten gold. Each ray highlights a million particles as if glitters.

A content sigh escapes you. This is what you love doing. You love being in the life around you. You love admiring nature. You love straining your body and giving your mind and heart the thrill and peace it deserves. You love all of it. You love when you have to sit under a tree’s shade to eat your food. You love to chat with your companions who share their food with you. You love the cold water as it travels down your throat and refreshes you.

But the same things giving you the trill are the tings that allows doubts and uncertainty to consume you. Maybe it’s the sudden burst of wind or the frantic chirping of a flock of birds. An unnerving growl from your dog. It can also be the anxious look in everyone else’s eyes as they look around and tighten their grip on their belongings. They pack things up and suddenly are on their toes. Explaining how you have to be quick. They are using you as a guide. To reach the end and you know it is your responsibility to keep yourself and everyone safe, so you get up, tighten the leash around your hand and move ahead in the now scorching heat.

When did it get so hot?

There is a murmur of discomfort from behind you and you watch as one of the companions turns around to leave. You try to stop them but they are adamant. They just have to leave. They can’t take it anymore. And once they are gone, the seed of insecurity is planted within your heart sprouts. Maybe you should have gotten some more cold water or a fan.

Your dog can sense your mood. It stops and rubs its head onto your thigh, you too stop and caress it gently. Thanking it for its kindness and for always being there with you. it is your family and has been for as long as you could remember. You hear scoffs and voices expressing their discomfort so you keep going deeper and deeper into the forst. The heat is burning through your skin and making you hazy and you suddenly start disliking the discomfort. You are averse to the idea that you have to keep walking in this condition, so you slow down. When you glance over your shoulder, there are only a couple of companions left. You get to know that they were too frustrated with your slow speed. So they chose to take another route. Did they know a different route?

The ones remaining shake their heads. They weren’t too confident. So you just look ahead and keep walking. You are hungry again. You need to rest again. So you stop. But this time, the air is imperative. The sun is lower, no longer serving as a crown to the jungle but as someone who peeked into the depth and brought warning of what lay ahead. Your dog sits beside you and you gently run your fingers through its golden fur glimmering in the evening hour. It gives you peace, more than anyone else can.

You look into the pet’s eyes and you see the same diamonds twinkling with the same energy you had when you started, so you get up, with the goal still persistent in mind and the two companions share a smile, passing a couple of encouraging words. Their smile shrinks when the sun sets a little more and they ask you to keep moving and remind you of your collective goal. Their goal.

It was turning darker by the minute as if with each step you were stepping on the orange sun, pushing it further into the blanket of the horizon. The energy and enthusiasm that you had begun with were now draining down your spine as you overhear the words of your companion. As if they were speaking for you to hear. Suddenly you realize that they have been saying the same slashing and hurtful words for a long time. Quite a long time, but you couldn’t hear them over the joyous voice in your head.

At the now newfound voices, a chill runs down your spine, you are so focused on them that when an bone-shattering howl tears through the air, the leash in your hand slips right through your fingers when your dog breaks into a run. You trip forward, landing on your knees and palms sending jolts of pain up your palms and knees. Your blood is pounding through your ears, your breath coming out shallow when you fall back on your butt and crawl back against a tree trunk.

You close your eyes and, clench them hard in hopes that the pain will disappear. But it only makes you aware of the sudden silence surrounding you. Deep, thick, and clutching silence. Not even a single leaf moved. It was dark, dense, and pitch black everywhere you looked.

No dog, no companions, no sun, no light, no winds, no birds, nothing but emptiness surrounded you. And the howl? Where was it from? Did the voice grip your companions or what did it get to your pet first? The mere thought sent a slash across your heart and you curse yourself. It was all your fault. Just your fault. Only if you hadn’t seen the dream. If only you hadn’t helped anyone to here. If only you wouldn’t have wasted time in admiring instead of focusing on the end. If only the leash was a little bit tight in your palm and if only you weren't so caught up in other’s words.

You kept cursing and mourning the unknown and unconfirmed loss until the wind once again starts blowing. A small whiff of air that carried the scent of flowers and fruits. But you hated it now. Despised every inch of the place around you and inside you. Despised everything you thought was beautiful because it had taken everything away from you,

But you knew that you couldn’t sit any here any longer. Or you too would disappear into thin air with no one to search for you. And what if your dog was alright? What if it was here somewhere? Hope once again strikes within you. And even more than the goal you are now focusing on the one life of your dog. someone who was with you through our your life.

You stand up on shaky limbs, taking the support of the tree, you scratched palm sliding up against the rough wood but you didn’t care. You had to move,. you needed to move. If there is hope it is only now. Now is all you have so you move. Even though you despise the walk, the heavy weight on your shoulders and all the pain this forest has caused you, you follow the trail again, knowing your pet, it would smell you. You don't call out his name, knowing someone unwanted might hear you, instead you keep moving.

You think of giving up a couple of times, one when a large Slytherin crosses your path and you are forced to stay still until it leaves, but the image of your pet warped in the clutches of such a creature forces you to move ahead and faster. The second one was when you heard a rustling in the leaves and a large night owl flew over your head, not close enough to hurt you but close enough for the fear in your heart to tighten painfully. Too painfully.

But then you kept going, and you realized that you had crossed the path twice as much faster and were almost towards the end. A mile or so more and you would be out, but suddenly you didn’t want to reach yet. You wanted to find your pet first. You wanted him to come with you. So giving it your last shot, you call out. Loud and echoing in the dark. And you hear it.

A growl. Deep, guttural, and predatory. Then you see it; two eyes staring at you through a distance. It growls again and the sound almost makes you feel like the dark eyes have already clutched you, and you are at your death. There was no pet, and no more the end. This was to be your last.

As the creature leaps out of the shadows you shut your eyes preparing for the impact, but instead, you feel a breeze past your head and a thud behind you. You don’t open your eyes until you hear a growl again followed by a bark.

A bark.

It is here!

**You whip around and there he is. Wagging his tail with a smile, baring his canines slathered with blood. Your eyes fall down to the creature that attacked you. But instead of fear, love fills your heart, and with the overwhelm you crumple to your knees. The pet pounces on you and into your arms with a soft push. As if it dissolves within you. Its paws gently landed on your shoulder, easing the tension in your shoulder, its head snuggling into your neck, getting the blood on its muzzle on your cheeks in the process. Its soft belly warms your chest as you clutch it harder and thank the universe. Thank it for keeping your pet safe.

But when you open your eyes, he is no more there, you still feel the warmth, the blood, and the untensed shoulders but now the blood is on your hands, tears on your cheeks, and the creature still lying in front of you.

And the reality sets in.

It was you all along.

You did it.

[dark-nat-ones-blessing]

talked with our good good DM about julian backstory stuff today and uuuuu we're going to dig into the Mortifying Potion Incident between him and elias and figure out exactly how that went down and i'm so excited but so nervous to actually map the conversation and the fallout

(i realise i have not talked about the Mortifying Potion Incident on here so info below the cut.)

because like mainly i know what happened, right?

there was a guy. elias hollyhock. illusionist adept, further along in his studies than julian. maybe they have a meetcute in the library where elias sees julian poring over some vast, dense, indecipherable academic tome and is like, "oh, i wouldn't bother with that one, the author thinks you learn transmutational theory in your sleep after he bores you to unconsciousness. here, try maximilian barleyforge's treatise on transmutation, it's so much more accessible. thank me later."

and you know, time passes, they have more interactions and strike up a rapport. elias majors in illusionism but is more than happy to talk other disciplines, he's passionate about unconventional arcanistic innovation, and the two of them become habitual study buddies, they have this whole transmutation and tea thing going on. julian brings homemade herbal blends and they do deep dives on arcane theory, they do somatic practice, bond over a preference for component casting in a field fast leaning towards more modern focus-based magic, and honestly just. chat. sometimes it's mainly just chatting. sometimes it's stupid o'clock before julian makes it back to his own room, giddy with knowing someone like elias hollyhock, someone he feels at ease around.

julian is infatuated. this cool, more experienced wizard, choosing to spend time llike that with a dork like him, the guy who's obsessed with magibotany of all things? surely even being associated with julian is absurd for him, and yet here they are, with their little tea ritual and blossoming friendship.

so julian has other friends. and one of them is lorcan mesner, and he's studying to become an adept in enchantment, but novices are all in the same classes and julian's good to poach notes from. julian's good to poach notes from but he's excelling in general arcane theory which is the main thing when you're a novice, and lorcan hates having competition when the competition is such a fucking dweeb. not even a serious arcanist, really. fooling around in the mud, with his plants, but still getting better test results. and julian. will not. shut up. about elias hollyhock. every time lorcan's around julian it's all elias, elias, elias. constant fucking pining.

and lorcan realises he can be petty and screw over the competition at the same time, so he says to julian one day, "don't you wish you knew for sure how elias feels about you?"

julian does. julian wants nothing more. because he doesn't trust himself to not be harbouring some ridiculous unfounded hope. and julian cannot bring himself to ask because he dreads the uncertainty. he wishes he could just know, once and for all, either way, because elias is beautiful and kind and he's so grateful to know him but he might just be being nice, and he's so nice that what if he just tells julian what he wants to hear, if he did ask? that would be worse than rejection.

lorcan has a solution. a truth philtre. lorcan's good at potions. short-acting, undetectable, he promises. a single question, answered with complete honesty.

julian takes the bait, because he's a fucking coward.

julian goes to tea and transmutation with elias hollyhock, and he makes them tea, like he always does. slips elias the potion. one question, answered with complete honesty. that's not so bad. he knows it's against the rules, he knows it's cowardly, on some level knows it's wrong but nobody has to know but him.

so he asks. it takes him some struggling to work up to it, some waffling, blustering remarks about how he so deeply appreciates elias' help, and his....company, truly. but he gets to the question. "truly, when we first met, i’d never have believed we’d be friends. i mean, gracious. you’re an adept, and then there’s…me? i still wonder, elias,” he asks (skin prickling, afraid that he's sweating, but there's nothing else for it, he's come this far, he has to ask, he needs to know) "what do you even see in me?"

lorcan did not brew julian a truth potion. the confession that spills from elias' lips is borne of the type of enchantment that is so extremely prohibited on academy grounds, or most places. human enchantment is an expellable offence, and this is the worst kind of all.

it is lucky that julian's mother is an apothecary, because when elias kisses him julian sees his sclera are limned with rose and he shuts it all down, so fast - he knows what lorcan's done, but he's truly only angry with himself. he rushes elias to the cleric, explains as best he can while telling the necessary lies of omission, all while bearing the agony of elias insisting on attempts at holding his hand.

he'd wanted nothing more than to hold elias hollyhock's hand, but not like this.

and lorcan is expelled, but that's little comfort. julian knows what he did, and lorcan barely had to convince him to do it, and worst of all he cannot look elias in the eye. he's grateful now that they don't share classes because it means it's possible, even easy, to avoid him - to duck out of a room at the sight of warm brown skin and dark hyacinthine curls, the one-quarter-halfling-on-his-father's-side peak of an ear in the crowd at mealtime. they've never spoken since. julian's made sure of it. it's silly because it's not as though they were best friends, or that elias was his only friend, but if you forced a truth philtre between julian's lips and asked him his deepest regret, he'd say: what i did to elias hollyhock. it was so cowardly. he deserved better than that.

[ultraintrovertedgryffindor]

Can I request f!reader thigh riding the glader of your choice please?

Yes, a thousand times yes. You know I gotta go with my boy Gally, he has very nice thighs, that one. Hope you enjoy!

NSFW WARNING

~~~~~~~~~~

You and Gally entered your shared hut after a very long day of working on new building plans for the Safe Haven, Vince deciding that they should expand the camp by setting up in a small clearing he found in the woods.

Gally was the obvious choice for designing the plans, he was the best Builder in the Glade after all. You were decent at drawing and had good spatial reasoning that came in handy when it came to building that Gally always took advantage of in the Glade, even when you weren't a Builder.

Planning and mapping out future buildings sounds relatively easy in theory, but you and Gally had to spend all day out in that field taking measurements and testing if the ground would hold up the weight of said buildings. It took a lot of effort, but you managed to get a lot down in one day.

Coming back to your hut, which you could comfortably call home, was the best part of your day, especially now that Gally had moved in with you. And it was a good enough distance away from all the other huts that you didn't have to worry about the rest of the camp hearing your nightly activities with Gally that happened very often.

You sighed as you ungracefully slumped against your wall, stretching out your sore muscles. "Man, I am just not Builder material, and we haven't even started building yet."

"I'm sure you'll get the hang of it." Gally assured, his eyes slowly gazing up and down your form as you continued stretching. "Come here." He instructed softly, waving you over as he sat down in one of your chairs that accompanied the table in the main room of your hut.

You smiled tiredly, taking a seat on his lap and leaning your head on his shoulder. "Today was so exhausting."

Gally nodded, positioning you to straddle his lap. "Yeah, I know. Vince just wants these new buildings built soon." He moved a piece of hair hanging over your forehead, gently rubbing his thumb just above your eyebrow.

You breathed in Gally's scent, just his touch alone making your mind go hazy, your hips barely grinding against his clothed crotch. You weren't really planning the night to go this way, but being so close to him made you forget all about your aching muscles, another part of your body starting to ache just for him.

Gally raised his brow suggestively, his gaze quickly turning dark. "What do you think you're doing, kitten?" You only giggled in reply. "I thought you were tired?" Gally yawned subtly, making you pout slightly, but that only caused him to smirk, deciding to indulge your behavior.

You gasped as Gally forced you to straddle only his right thigh, a new forceful pressure against your core creating a pleasant sensation. You moaned softly as Gally grabbed your hips and pulled you down onto his thigh. "You think you can come like this, baby?" Gally whispered near your ear, his deep voice vibration causing a shiver down your spine.

"I don't know...maybe." You replied, a nervous excitement in your tone.

"Let's find out." Gally smirked, continuing to help you grind your clothed core on his muscular thigh. You quickly took your pants off with a desperate sigh, allowing for more pleasant friction to travel through.

You breathed heavily as Gally kissed and licked your neck, almost definitely creating marks that you'll have to hide later. You moaned sharply as Gally bounced his leg up and down, burying your face in his neck to try and stifle how loud you were already.

Gally let go of your hips, bringing his hands up to remove your shirt, your breasts at full display just for him. You squealed happily as Gally took one of your nipples in his mouth, biting and pulling at the soft peak while his other hand wrapped around your throat and squeezed tightly, just even to make you lightheaded.

Gally smirked as he looked down at his thigh, his pants having a dark, wet spot where you were grinding on him. "Look at what a mess you're making, kitten." You whimpered, his words only causing you to speed up your thrusting hips, your clit hitting his thigh at just that right angle that made tears come to your eyes. "You are gonna come, aren't you? Just by rubbing yourself on Daddy's leg, huh?"

Gally's flexing thigh meeting your pulsing clit with every fast thrust, you cried out as you felt yourself nearing your climax. "Gally, I'm so close." You stuttered, the consistent pressure on your core and Gally's hand squeezing just below your jaw numbing your brain, making you a moaning mess.

Gally's hand that was wrapped around your throat quickly travelled to the back of your head, grabbing your hair and forcing your head up. His green eyes were dark, pupils blown wide as he watched you intensely as your face contorted into utter bliss as he guided you to rut against him faster. "Look at me." He ordered, obeying as your eyes quickly found his, struggling to keep them from closing from your pleasure.

You let out a high pitched moan as you got closer and closer to the edge, a thin layer of sweat lining your forehead and your hands clutched tightly onto Gally's shirt. Your felt your face heat up quickly, his dark stare driving you wild. "Come for me, kitten."

Your body had no trouble obeying as soon as he spoke those words, burning heat flowing throughout your core, your clit throbbing intensely as your orgasm washed over you. Gally kept rolling your hips against his thigh, letting you ride out your high.

You smiled giddily as Gally planted a passionate kiss on your lips, your completely fucked out visage making him smirk smugly. "Such a good girl for me, aren't you, baby?" He continued to kiss and nip at your neck, making you whine.

"Now I'm really tired." You said weakly, letting your eyes flutter shut until you heard Gally chuckle darkly.

"Oh, you didn't think the night was over, did you, kitten?"

~~~~~~~~~~

I wrote this in one day cause my friend has decided that he'll call me kitten just to rile me up, this is the product...fuckin' teasing bastard. So Anon, you can thank him for this🙃

[choco-pudding]

Space Channel 5: Gyun Gyun Book p.18-p.25 (Translations by @lavoszero and myself. Edit by myself)

Repost of some old pages that have been retranslated and tweaked plus some new pages. As the book claims, details may be fictitious.

Imgur link to all of the Gyun Gyun Book translations we’ve done thus far.

Plain text below

p. 18

Morolian Speculations Thank goodness Morolians were all actually good people... Anyways, where did Morolians come from in the first place? What are their daily lives like? This is what we're discovering in this issue. Since we wanted to know more about them, a Morolian research team was created. Here are the reports from that research!

p.19

! The Morolians and Moro-facts presented in this book are from the imaginations of their editing crew.  The facts shown here may be vastly different from the ones in reality. Thank you for your understanding.

p. 20

This Is Morodia!! (Visualization of a Morodia Map) Where do Morolians live? Blank's room? That's not true of course. He doesn't live on the planet because he isn't a Morolian. But wait, where is this Moro-planet even located? Do Morolians really live on Morodia?

Moro-Mountain As the elevation on Morodia increases, the volcano occasionally erupts to relieve excess gas pressure. So if you're traveling at high altitudes while it's accumulating, it can get pretty wild!

Moro-Continent The Moro-Continent is a vast place covered in many vibrant fields. The plants look almost artificial with how colorful they are, no wonder the people here are so colorful too!

p. 21

Moro-River A popular spot that Morolians have fun playing "water races" at. There's a Moro-drying rack near the river for anyone who needs to dry their wet bodies after falling in.

Moro-Town The cute voices of Morolians are calling out constantly, and the whole Moro-town is lively with a big populace. It truly is a spectacular sight. And even more spectacular to see all the variations of Morolians. Of course, there are also many different types of buildings that you wouldn't see on Earth, and you can notice new things almost every day.

Clay MAP: Taku Anekawa

[Translator’s note: In the original text, they just call the planet the Moro-Star.]

p. 22

Illustrated! Morolian (Body Structure) Morolians have really amazing motor skills! The speed of which they suddenly and cutely "boing” into action is extraordinary! What kind of body structure do Morolians have? We'll answer this question in clear detail at once, here are the secrets of Morolians!!

Moro-Brain They're so smart that their IQ can't possibly be measured, given how they're capable of making Dancing Beam rays. Among them, Blumoro's the top technician, and has the most brains of them all.

Moro-Eyes Everyone thinks they have an eye like a space suit visor, or compound like an insect. But no, it really is just a cover. What's underneath it is a mystery still.

Moro-Hands Both hands are properly connected to a joint. They're normal Moro-hands. The shoulders are barely visible, but they do have joints there too. Both hands have a grip strength of 60kg.

Moro-Innards They're capable of instantly digesting food with wicked strong stomach acid, and keep their energy stored in their stomach with a super strong alkaline neutralizer! This is why they don't need to use the restroom.

Moro-Ears An extremely sensitive antenna that can detect even weak radio waves. Because of this, they were easily brainwashed by Chief Blank's radio waves.

Moro-Face We can't see through the mask, which people often mistake for eyes. Judging from their high-pitched voice, it's estimated that they are capable of speaking 600,000 words per second.

Moro-Skin Many have said that it's "surprisingly fluffy," and it has been discovered that the skin of a Morolian is actually covered in fur. If they don't dry it out properly, it could get moldy.

Moro-Muscles Just like chicken fillets, they have more muscle than fat, and many have lean muscle tones (with the exception of Boss Moro). They can do 50 push-ups easily.

Moro-Legs Having extra joints (between the hip and knees!) is the most noteworthy feature here. They have the record of 4.9 seconds for the 50-meter space race.

p. 23

Newly Discovered Species!? (Pictured Above) Boss Moro, Leader Moro, Purmoro, Remoro, Gremoro, Blumoro, Yemoro, Pimoro; these eight are no longer the only types of Morolian! They appear to come in even more varieties of colors, there are so many unknown types of Morolians on their planet. Here are the research team's newest discoveries, we'll present them to you immediately!

Soldier-Moro Combat! Hut, hut, hut ra ra ra, hut, hut, ra ra ra~! Long live the USA!

Baseball Player-Moro Ha~anshin Tigers! Go, go, go, go~! Ah, it was so fun going to see Masayuki Kakefu!

Barber-Moro Lookin' like this, customers lookin' to get their hair done would increase right? Sounds like a good plan, but would it work? Shaggy hair fixup!

P.E. Teacher-Moro Come on, hop to it! Woah! Don't you want to join Fushimi Technical High School's official sports team. That'll give you a successful career.

Pattern-Moro (floral) No one can deny it. Floral patterns are so, so beautiful on anything. Wouldn't you want to be as beautiful as a flower too?

Chef-Moro Start off with a basic banquet. Then give them Moto Hagio's Cake! Cake! Cake! It's a feast to read!

[Translator’s note: above is a reference to the manga ケーキケーキケーキ (Cake Cake Cake) by Moto Hagio.]

p. 24

Morolians Still on Earth? (Purely Speculatory)

This Morolian likes being Naughty, kinda Yemoro is a mischievous type and is great at coming and going with the wind, and is convinced he's one with it. He pretty much is the incarnation of wind when he lifts up ladies’ skirts…

This Morolian likes Sake, kinda Gremoro was discovered in the middle of a peaceful flower viewing event. He's a nature-loving guy that loves digging around in soil. He was among office workers, fiddling with a cup of sake in his hand. Wonder if he's all right? -

This Morolian likes Anime, kinda Blumoro is a cool and intelligent Morolian technician with an even cooler body temperature and a hobby of watching anime. In between studies, he likes to relax by drawing pictures of anime gals.

p. 25

This Morolian likes Singing, Kinda Usually a shy and lonesome Morolian, Pimoro is delighted when given something soft. The only problem he has is when he get his hands on a mic, he gets carried away with singing; maybe it’s just that go wild feeling that gets him?

This Morolian likes Festivals, kinda The antsy Remoro seems to have taken notice of Earthling festivals, and immediately tried his hand at drumming. He appears to playing around a lot, and paying more attention to the passing women in yukatas.

This Morolian likes Sounds, kinda This quiet, balloon-loving Purmoro, gets excited when he sees something floating in the air. And is in charge of collecting sound effects for the balloon race broadcast. He works very hard.

The truth is a secret, moro!!!

[[Text on the side of both pages]]

This next story is about the mother of one of our staff members, who had an interesting dream. She was wearing a Yomiuri Giants’ uniform, and her skin was orange. "Are you Ja**, by any chance!?" A Morolian came to visit his mother's house. Oramoro (orange Morolian) said, "We're being hassled by fans... We've improved a lot this year, but we've fallen to the point where we can't even win a championship.  The fans are furious we've sunk so low and can't even win a match." He sat down by the table with a very miserable look on his face. His mother served him tea and looked through the small window near the entrance, at Fujimi-dori, and saw the Director-moro of the team being chased by a mob. (Even though he looked like Sadaharu Oh, apparently it was really Shigeo Nagashima). He ran like a prehistoric being chased by predators. He was anxious, wondering if Manager Oramoro would be OK, but then he woke up… His mother's husband used to be a sports reporter for a local newspaper, and professional tennis players used to visit their house often, so it isn't that unrealistic of a story. How extraordinary!  

Anyway, Morolians sightings are typically like this. If you look at all the sighting reports on the official website, you'll find things like, "I saw him in front of Omia, Sonic City eating a fried monkfish with a cut lip that was covered in blood" (Witness: Rolence) "He suddenly came to my house with his luggage and asked me if he could stay for three days. He offered to teach me how to dance in return...I refused." (Witness: You!) As for seeing for ourselves, we saw the mischievous Yemoro swimming in the fountain in front of the roundabout in front of Kōenji Station, taking advantage of the breaks between trains on New Year's Day, he jumped down into train tracks to run around them, (this is very dangerous, so readers shouldn’t do that!) how reckless. And then, he kicked a soccer ball between platforms 2 and 3. He seems to just go with the flow, and is a very spur of the moment kind of guy, kinda unhinged, gets down in the dumps easily (which is a bit annoying because he instantly forgets about it if you start sympathizing with him), is always getting into trouble, makes questionable purchases, and runs wild in strange places. Best be careful. Conversely, if you want to discover and witness them, it's more likely to happen if you make bad decisions (^-^).  

Now, with this we have compiled all the latest sighting of Morolians from all over Japan in this page. The contents of these six species of Morolians are completely different from each other. Now you can discover the hidden lifestyles of the Morolians!

[loneworldgazer]

what if you were their personal helper?

part. 2

a/n: the first one had a great feedback, sorry if this one's half assed/edgy

warnings: chapter 189-206 spoilers‼️‼️‼️, suggestive, violence and blood mentions

rindou

you were a pro in the bomb and mech field, creating small self destructive bombs, small cameras that can easily latch onto people without them noticing and etc

mikey has heard you all over the news about a speacialist that has planted several bombs in many areas multiple times and he went out his way to link up with you

shocked to say the least that the leader of bonten was interested in you so you listened to what he said

(quite scary how they can find you more easily than the cops)

he wanted you to be an executive in bonten and you immediately disagreed and did not take on the offer

"i would rather like working my way around things ON my own" you grinned, getting ready to get up but mikey halted you (with sanzu's piercing glare to you with how you declined the offer easily

"how about this, work under one of the executives and you can do whatever you want with your position." is he for real? executive sounds fancy and all but being an assistant to one, he better shave the rest of his hair to convince you to work under a damned executive

"here's the catch bun, the executive you'll maybe work under is also a specialist like you" now that seemed to catch your interest and you sat back down (thank god for sanzu to say that part) , mikey mumbled into the phone for whoever to come, into this specific room

minutes later, he came in all his glory, rindou haitani

you're irritated now, your eyebrows furrowed as you look down

why? if you put two and two together, this man was the one stealing all the credit.

being in the same field and also setting traps in the same area wasn't a good idea

you've set up a lot of bombs in a bank you wanted to rob then he also set his bombs close to where you placed them without even knowing you were setting them up in the first place

so the next day on telly, you don't see the 'secret speacialist' all you saw in the headlines were "bonten sets up serious bombing to happen at [random name] bank on the previous night"

they showed the bonten symbol rindou would put on every bombing or trap and felt pissy that this person from bonten you don't even know have stolen all your credit

here he was in the flesh, oh how you want to bite him but you asked a question first, dusting off the invicible dirt from your lap

"aren't you the asshole stealing all the credit from all the bombings i planned?"

he had the audacity to even smirk at you in this situation

next few days

calling both of you feral cats having a pissing contest was an understatement

it's always you retorting or being the one offended and back to back that sanzu wanted to shove both of his hands in yours and rindou's mouth

it was entertaining to say the least, it was easy to tease you because that one 'fuck up' from you (or so both brothers stated) had you screaming or fidgeting from how annoyed you are

you could never work together with him, he had a smart mouth you wanted to kick off

he would shoo you away with the brush of his hands with that stupidly lazy eyes he had

well maybe one time you tried shutting off yourself from arguing with him since you were both assigned an actual mission that's actually serious, the haitani brothers would catch you being cooperative and agree on a couple of statements, suprise would be littered in their emotions for some time

the map laid out on the table as you pinpoint as to where to set up cameras and to be careful that it didn't mix up with rindou's path since this was an assasination mission that he himself wanted to do

the night fell over the city as they were scared to what bonten's next move was, praying that atleast any chaos won't happen near them

they need not to worry because this was just a partly big gang that's slowly growing who wanted to take down bonten

"tch as it was that easy" rindou murmured under his breath as you snickered, watching your tablet to see numerous members of the gang just joking around, oh the thrill to see them widen their eyes to a trespasser who was ready to kill them

rindou was settled near the vent he unscrewed and tightly held onto it to perfectly drop it on one unsuspecting member who had his last breath when the metal dropped onto him and rindou stepped on him to jump onto others to shoot

the spider cameras that you had travelled to the main area where the main leaders were, discussing about whatever

you mocked them silently and signalled rindou with a buzz to his phone whilst he wiped the blood from his cheek from executing most of the men wondering at the other parts of the building

the last that rindou needed to do was lead the leaders outside, a fitting end to their enemies, the atrocious sight to their teammates dead and to have them meet the eyes of death at the end of the hallway

rindou chuckled to how fast one of them ran, he could see how scary looking the fast one was, probably full of hate for him for killing his men and sprinted towards the window

there was one thing both rindou and you had in common and it was revelling in destruction and to bathe in the 'beauty' of it

rindou slid at the wide space of the open window and fell into the garbage pit that was conveniently placed underneath him

the 'eyes of death' that the leaders were gonna meet was a huge explosion that most likely flung them back to death

you and rindou's bomb collided and set off a very huge explosion that would've crash the whole building down

you looked up and ran off to the darkness back to bonten's base, the explosion was a work of art, you got ready by blocking both of your ears shut with your hands and would stare at awe at the breaking debris flying everywhere

you laughed when you think about rindou's situation, you could skip on over the base thinking about how stupid he would look trying to get out of a smelly garbage pit and hurrying off to the base, rancid like a stinky mole

success it was, maybe joining bonten wasn't a bad idea

annnndd working together with rindou, not saying being a partner with him is not so bad but saying being a partner with him isn't so bad

akashi

his assistant you were that cleans his torture weapons for him most of the time when he's too busy

you were cautious whenever you were close by the torture room, not wanting to hear any blood squelching punishment or screaming from the door so you knocked on the door when all was silence

.. which was also the worst timing because all of them were in there including akashi, they were putting away the bodies that were dead as dead

you squeked, shutting the door to which the other members chuckled to your reaction and faced akashi who stepped on his cigaratte and head on his way to you

it wasn't long before you heard akashi coming out the room and you held up his clean tools and he smiled to how adorable you looked with his weapons

"tommorow, there will be new members coming in to my division, don't do anything out of sort" he patted your back and you wondered what he meant

did he mean flirting? what did he mean, no way in hell is he making you think about this so you headed back into your room to sleep since it was midnight

the veryy next day

you were in the gym, beating the hell out of a punching bag and stopped when the chain looked like it was about to break

the punching bag was supposingly sanzu's one so technically just a few hits to it and it's about busted

a whistle came from behind you and you got jumpscared yet again by sanzu

sanzu usually goes to the gym at the crack of dawn like you (you were minutes early before him because being around him makes you hella nervous) and comments that you're being a show off for akashi which you huffed and ignored him

sanzu was already arranging preparations for a new punching bag and you stepped out the room flicking him off when he starts commenting shit again

you cool off to get ready for the day and noticed a note slipped under one of your books and snatched it immediately

"my tools are outside again for wash, sorry i got some things to handle" even though his part of punishment is always quick, it still suprises you to how many people manage to piss off atleast one of the bonten members

you got ready to wash them off but the rags were in the corner on the table of the hallway so you just brought the bucket with you so you didn't need to hurry off again to take them from your room

an ugly suprise awaits for you as you gulped, men crowded in the hallway

you avoided them, getting the rag on the table and glanced back at them

a nasty group it was, they looked at you innappropiately and hollered at you which you didn't pay no heed to and you accidently bumped into someone

it was one of the nasties from the group and he had this hideous smile, touching your face and cupping it

the disgust you felt rocked throughout your body

he was about to say something when he immediately shut his mouth to whoever appeared behind you and pulled his hand away

you nearly died of relief when akashi tapped on your shoulder to go to the meeting room and you obeyed and went but you thought you heard wrong

"huh, the meeting room?" you opened the door of the meeting room and you were sick of seeing sanzu.. then the other members were in, well some of them

"you in the wrong room darling?" you shook your head to ran and entered quietly, telling them that akashi told you to go here

the haitani brothers joked with sanzu that akashi's literally in love with you and you did not came here for this but thankfully they stopped since the n a s t y gang arrived with akashi

bucket and rag still in hand, akashi asked you to come sit on his lap

you felt heat rush to every part of your body but you quickly sat down not wanting to cause any trouble and he ordered for you to clean his tools during the meeting

if this wasn't a meeting, the trio would wolf whistle and become a pack of wild animals to how protective he was over you

but what you didn't know is that he wasn't stiff due to you sitting on him, looking all pretty cleaning his icepick but it's because he was full of anger and resentment for that son of a gun who decided to touch you, if looks could kill, the man across the table would go limp on the table in seconds

the meeting went on and on eventhough you finished cleaning and akashi still clutched your hip like you're going to run the moment he turned away from the man who touched you

akashi also glared at sanzu at times because he couldn't stop being a little shit over you and him

the meeting's dismissed and you got off akashi's lap and tilt your head down to not face the others because of how jelly like you felt when you were busy on akashi's thigh

akashi then pointed to the man who breathed your air to stay and the others immediately rushed out because they knew not to mess with bonten's advisor

akashi ordered the man to come a little closer and allowed you to have a small talk with him

he sweated eventhough seeing you come closer makes him a lot less nervous, the problem is that akashi himself is watching

you came closer, your lips trembling into a smile holding onto his left hand

"which hand did you touched me with again?" you whispered to him which made him confused but guts in a mess because he doesn't know what's coming to him

he doesn't, when you suddenly pulled the ice pick you cleaned moments ago out of your pocket and stabbed his left hand with it and he wailed

you wanted to taunt him but what for when he couldn't even hear you over his screaming and you stabbed his right next

"shit!" he cursed and you striked his chin with the bloodied icepick and he tumbled to the ground, blood dripping into puddles

the 4 of the bonten men stood in the room grinning at you and well technically just you shoving the ice pick onto the rag to clean it again

but it's also because

if you touch something that's not yours, you're done for

especially when it's bonten's.

(that's why akashi wholeheartedly told you to stab a person if they were acting up towards you)

[dmwrites]

The man who strode the floor between seats of passengers had many names, but preferred for anyone who traveled on the train to call him xB. He wasn’t a flashy man, necessarily, but he was the conductor, and had the type of voice that made you want to just drink it in for hours. 

----

“Ladies and gentlemen, if you could direct your attention to the windows, you’ll see the lovely clear blue sky this afternoon has presented us with.” xB leaned his face dreamily against the window, mouth almost pressed into the microphone. “What do y’all think of clouds? Like they’re cool but I’ve always had like this thing, I dunno, where I just want to suck it up with a straw. Anyways folks, we are in transit to the flower fields station, and are expecting clear skies all the way there.”

“Mr. Conductor?”

xB meandered over to the raised hand in the middle of the train can.

“What can I do you for? And please, my friends call me xB.” xB tipped his hat to the passenger.

“xB, are we going to be passing underneath the crumbling mountains this trip?”

“Indeed we are.” xB nodded kindly. “But our top of the line infrastructure keeps the mountain be. The crumbling mountains are just crumbling in the name. Old legends.”

The passenger looked relieved.

“Anything else I can do for you this fine afternoon?”

“Well, there is a fly that is bothering me and my husband here.”

“This is unacceptable.” xB said, straightening up. He took off his pristine white silk gloves and handed them to the passenger. “You frikin- guy! Dude!” xB swatted wildly at the fly, running back and forth trying to kill it. “Fufkjsls ugh! I am- get back here! I’m gonna smack you so hard!”

----

It had been a while since the crash, even longer since he’d been back to find it. It took him a while, using old maps and landmarks. But, he had always known the tracks and their paths by memory, and he eventually found it, buried under the mountains.

“Huh.” Was all xB could say. The train car was just sitting there, no longer sleek and shiny, but faded and cracked. The mosses and grasses had taken their revenge on the train that had always cut them back, and were growing all over its surface now.

The doors were half open already, so xB just walked in. It was achingly familiar, but faded now. Every surface was covered with plant material or sagged with time. xB walked over to the microphone he used to use to entertain the passengers and picked it up like he was about to use it.

“I can fix this.” xB said into the microphone, perhaps a little too hopefully. His voice didn’t carry into the speakers on the ceiling, but they did echo around the silent train car nonetheless. It was a very empty and derelict kind of echo, with no one left to hear it.

[remakethestars]

Being Damian Wayne's Twin Sister Would Include:

Headcanons.

❝Exactly. I don't ask my dog to drive, and I don't ask the Justice League to solve my problems.❞

— Damian Wayne, Adventures of the Super Sons #9: Showdown on Hexworld

TRIGGER WARNING: Cursing, (Damian’s) death. Mentions of toxic masculinity and internalized misogyny, nightmares, blood, knives.

Headcanon masterlist.

When people ask you, “So, which one of you is the evil twin?” Damian always glowers, and you always motion to him.

You look disturbingly alike when only your eyes are showing; Damian’s got long lashes. Talia taught you a good tactic for tag-teaming in combat as kids was to pull up your hinged balaclavas and make the enemy think there was only one of you, that they’re seeing double.

Or for one of you to hang back while the other attacks as a distraction before the other knocks them out from behind.

Obviously, this won’t work when the two of you start filling out, but it works when you’re kids. It’s the reason why, even off the field, the two of you usually wear a matching outfits with hoods.

You utilize the same methods when she sends you to live with Bruce.

You don the Robin costume just like he does, much to the rest of the Batfam’s confusion (both because they weren’t expecting it and because they can’t tell you apart either), but sticking with the “red” theme, you go by Redstart.

There’s a rumor on the street that Robin V. is a meta that can teleport.

The two of you are freakishly good at mimicking the other’s voice and mannerisms, which makes it even harder for your family.

Jason tells you two about April Fools Day, and you make the most of it. Of course, Damian’s a pain in the a$$ and decides to go around pretending to be you and getting into trouble. You’re banned from the mall, and you still have no idea why. 

The two of you can communicate with just an impassive expression (Dick says it looks like a prime example of twin telepathy to anyone else), but anyone close to you knows sh¡t’s about to hit the fan when the two of you look at each other and smirk.

If it’s something you can’t communicate nonverbally, you use your cryptophasia. 

Cryptophasia is a language developed by twins when they’re learning to talk. Most of them grow out of it, you and Damian decided to keep developing it so it became more of a conlang. No one else has been taught to speak it, and they never will be. It’s for emergencies only.

Sun Tzu’s The Art of War was your Bible growing up, and the two of you call out verses when you fight together and need the other to understand a tactic (you both inherited Bruce’s eidetic memory, so you’ve got it memorized).

When you get too big to pull off the which-is-which game, you make your own costume and become the true Redstart. 

It’s basically Damian’s Robin uniform (the Super Sons’s version is the only one I’ll accept), but the boots and gloves are black, the biceps have a white stripe, the lining of the cape is white (the lining of the hood is black), the gold accents become white, it has a zipper down the front instead of clasps, and the mask becomes black (including the eyes). The waterline of the eyes is white. Like a painted redstart.

If Damian’s into animals, you’re into plants. The two of you find common ground on the fact that pollution sucks, so when you walk Titus, you take a trash bag and gloves with you to pick up litter as you go.

You did not want to go to Jon’s school. 

Not because you don’t like Jon (because you do), but because you know you could run intellectual circles around every one of those snot-nosed brats. 

School is stupid. Especially because the American education system is subpar; everything about it is.

You hardly pay attention in class. You do all of the homework a week ahead of time incase something comes up. Usually you’re doing next week’s homework in class. You’ve written entire papers on your phone in Google Docs in the middle of class to be printed out later.

If you’ve already done everything, Damian’s usually drawing and you’re daydreaming or you’re working on a case on your phone.

The teachers are always trying to catch you not paying attention, but you little sh¡ts can always answer their questions. 

Damian’s closest with Dick, but you’re closest with Tim. You admire his ability to plan ahead (see the entirety of the Red Robin comics), and you know that he’s better than both your father and your grandfather; you want to be as good as him when you grow up.

It takes a long time to wash the toxic masculinity and internalized misogyny our of your head, to learn that your grandfather’s ideas of “strength” were wrong, that it’s okay to lean on someone besides Damian, that you can be just as strong as your brother and still be feminine, that there are acceptable emotions besides anger.

Actually, your father teaches you that anger is more likely to get you killed. He won’t let you go into the field when he knows your angry.

It’s harder to drill out of you than your instinct to kill.

There’s a Lebanese restaurant called Tarbooshes (Teen Titans Special #1) the two of you go to when you’re feeling homesick. They make ox blood soup the same way your mother did, and it’s the only non-vegetarian thing Damian will eat for that very reason.

It’s nice to have a place to go where they know you by name and know what you want when you tell them “the usual.” It’s nice to have a place where you’re not a Wayne or an Al Ghul, where you’re just [Y/N] and Damian.

You disappear for an hour on your birthday to eat there. Bruce has asked you were you go, but you kept that between the two of you. 

Speaking of birthdays, you’re eleven minutes older than him. He was six pounds and ten ounces (Batman & Robin #0?), and you were a solid seven.

After Damian died, you go to Tarbooshes to feel close to him.

You were doing all right with the no-killing thing until the night Damian died.

Heretic never stood a chance.

He looked so much like Damian it gave you nightmares, though. Nightmares where you killed your twin brother and woke up sobbing.

Damian didn’t give you a speech in his last moments. He just looked over at you and said in your cryptophasia, “I’m sorry.” 

Not “I love you.” Not “Take care of them for me.” You knew that; you’d do that. He didn’t have to tell you, and he didn’t have to ask.

Just “I’m sorry.” Sorry that you were the one that was left behind.

It’s one thing to lose a family member, to lose a friend, or to lose a lover. It’s another to lose half of your soul.

The two of you had always feared you would die apart. It had always been a possibility; you weren’t stupid enough to think, “It’ll never happen to me.” Because it definitely could. 

And it had.

You wanted to run away from everything. Even just for a while. Go to one of your safe houses in London or France or whatever and just — you didn’t know — stare at the wall until you felt better? But you’d made that unspoken promise to Damian — “I’ll take care of them for you; don’t worry.” — to take care of Titus and Catfred and Jerry and Batcow and Goliath, to take care of Alfred and Bruce and Dick and Jason and Cassandra and Tim, to take care of Jon and Colin and Maps.

You avoided the cave. And if you had to go down there for some reason, you refused to look at the Robin suits.

Dick noticed. He asked if you wanted them taken down, even just for a while. You gave him a look like he was nuts and said, “No.”

Jon was a mess. More of a mess than you were, somehow. 

You’d shown up at the Kents’s. Jon was out doing Superboy things with Clark and Conner. Lois was the only one home.

You nearly scared her out of her skin when you materialized behind her and asked, “Is Jon home? It’s important.” 

He had to know first. He deserved to.

For all he put up with from you two, he deserved to be the first to know when one of you was f*cking dead.

Lois, of course, bless her heart, had the mom instincts to know that you were in no way, shape, or form okay even when you were trying so hard to hold yourself together. She asked you what’s wrong, and it’s what made you break. 

Your lip trembled. “He’s gone.”

“Who’s gone?”

“Damian,” your voice broke. “He’s dead.” 

Jon came home to find you in his living room in your Robin uniform, covered in Damian’s and Heretic’s blood, snot running down your lip, sobbing in his mothers arms and knew what happened without having to ask. He did anyway.

When you and Jon both finally passed out, your Uncle Clark flew you back to the Batcave. No one was in any condition — not even Alfred — so he carried you up to your room; took your boots, mask, cape, and gloves off; and tucked you in. Then he went to find Bruce because there was no doubt he was losing it too.

Bruce doesn’t tell you anything about trying to find a way to bring him back without the Lazarus pit because he doesn’t want to get your hopes up. 

You walk into your room one day to find Damian sitting there reading the dissertation (the requirement was three pages, not 120, but your teacher would just have to deal with your coping mechanisms) you had been working on for your World History class and left up on your laptop while on patrol. 

He said with the utmost indifference, “You’ve made some good points, Sister,” and, of course, you pulled out a knife and attacked him because this was — was — was some shapeshifting alien or hologram tech or a cruel joke — your twin was dead, this wasn’t funny, whoever did this was going to pay.

He met you blow-for-blow and flipped away from you before saying, “And here I was expecting a warm welcome,” in your cryptophasia. 

“Brother?” 

“Tt. Obviously.” 

Yeah, a college level thesis. You’re smart. You inherited Bruce’s eidetic memory and were raised by assassins.

You learned seven languages and wrote five doctoral theses by the time your teeth came in, wrote your first letter to a newspaper editor when you were two, could’ve had a geology doctorate when you were seven (Super Sons #1), and it only took you a week to learn the language on Takron-Galtos. You’re smart.

You’re also incredibly skilled. You learned to drive when you were five (Super Sons #1), your mother trained you to go for weeks without eating (Adventures of the Super Sons #6), you can micro-sleep for days and converse with half your brain asleep, can use a muscular contraction to move your liver out of the way of a blade (Nightwing #20), and can place yourself in a deep trance to heal damages caused by a hematoma (also #20).

(My dumba$$ didn’t note what Super Sons/Adventure of the Super Sons comic I was reading when I took notes, so I don’t have all of them noted in the two above bullet points. But that’s where they’re from. If I end up rereading them, I’ll edit this and add the comic numbers.)

The first time on patrol you thought Bruce was gonna die, you called him Baba. 

The next evening, when Dick came to visit the cave, he turned to you and Damian and asked, “So, which one of you called him Dad?” 

“How’d you know?” you asked. 

“He’s smiling the way he did the day I called him Tati.”

“He’s not smiling,” Damian pointed out.

“He is on the inside.”

Can we talk about how royally the Arkham Knights game screwed up Tim Drake? (Though, everything seems to screw up Tim one way or another, I guess.) Why does he look like a quidditch player in the gif above the cut?

Visit my headcanon masterlist.

DISCLAIMER ━━━ I’m a dumb white American, and I don’t know much about Arab or Romani culture other than what I’ve learned online. I hope I got it right?? If I didn’t, please drop a comment or P.M. me or something to let me know!