#first game is a weird family in the bayou

[dragonpyre]

These residents sure are evil

[orphancookie69]

8/2024: Disneyland Trip!!

I know I usually talk about Disney Dreamlight Valley feeling like my wannabe Disneyland experience, but I asked my mom to have her family friend sign me in for a day-for my birthday in June. Well, disregarding the month-its August and I get to go!

My family has been heavily into Disney. I used to go as a kid all the time, the family friend Cast Member would sign us in. My grandparents at one point had passes before DL decided to cater to the non-resident customers. After I got older, it was only a handful of times I have gotten back there-a wonderful date, pre-public opening for cast members, and now!

8/4:

I got dropped off by my partner, and I appreciated it. There are 2 drop offs: on Harbor and Downtown Disney. Quicker way to the park, even with security. I arrived first, the rest of my party took about a half hour to park and get there. One we got in, we tried for Big Thunder Mountain Railroad in Frontierland. It was broken down so we went to Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge.

I have been here before but last time I did not get to the rides. But man, just walking around-I feel like a teenager with dreams come true of being in the epic star wars movies I watched with my dad. World building, digital or real, can be very impressive. First ride was Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance. Honestly, new rides are impressive. Magnets instead of tracks. Also, I FOUND STORM TROOPERS! Then we went to Millenium Falcon: Smugglers Run. The ride itself was really good, the build up/walk to was a little meh.

A ride is built up first in your mind, then you prep for it as you walk and immerse yourself in the surroundings for what is safely up to 30 minute wait, and then you have the ride. Typically not nearly as long as the buildup but worth it when the previous steps are done right.

Also, someone proposed to their partner there and IT WAS THE CUTEST EVER. Like I have heard about that but to see it, man. We ran into the woman later and was like congrats babe your man has excellent taste!

Next we went to Star Tours: The Adventure Continues in Tomorrowland. This is funny to have done next as it was the classic star wars ride compared to the new one. But they made small changes to the ride to make it more like an airport as you are waiting. It was funny. Thunder Mountain was working again, man I don't remember the ride feeling that small-like the structure as you are waiting? Also, I swear you used to be able to put your stuff in a cubby across but oh well.

Food places, like good sit down places had weird varying times of opening. Stalls seemed like they should of been open earlier or more consistently but oh well. Earlier in the day we tried for haunted mansion and got in "virtual queue". We believe that they were halfway done with the Nightmare before christmas transition and that because of less waiting room-they did a group check in approach. Even for getting there early, we were group #120. And the ride broke down once during the day stopping the queue all together for a bit.

We did some shopping, man it was hot as hades out there. We did Pirates of the Carribean in New Orleans Square. Lots of changes happening there, Splash Mountain is being changed to Tiana's Bayou Adventure and Tiana's Place has taken over a nearby restaurant. Pirates was amazing. We went back to Thunder Mountain and it broke down while we were on it, not worried at all. We also did Indiana Jone's Adventure. Funny enough, my nephew into horror games thought it was too scary-kids today! Just before leaving-Haunted Mansion called us. It is so neat to see it mostly done for the upcoming season!

The ride itself looked amazing, as it usually does. It stopped twice, and honestly I was a little worried it seemed to be struggling more than it usually does. We had a park hopper ability, but we were all a bit tired and not much we wanted to go on. California Adventure has some cool things, but I preferred the drop ride when it was from The Twilight Zone, and the Incredicoaster is just California Screamin' with a face lift. Soaring over California is pretty cool too.

We had Lightning Passes for this trip, and while I have my own reservations about using that kind of thing-it helps to get the most of the experience. You could only book 2 rides at a time and not all rides were friendly for it. There's watches you could wear and interact with the park but the app does everything the watch does. We were there for about half a day? Pretty good haul for the time there.

Some change is good, some change is meh. The digital age is alive and well. We are considering getting annual passes when they become available again. Maybe even getting Magic Bands. There are still many places in Disneyland my nephew has not experienced that are on the list for next time.

[fragmcntedsouls]

There had been some lots of sugar-coating the details of life in the city that Abel had received on his ‘travels’, details that were gradually being pieced back together since his return to New Orleans. The gala had been a classic display of OEA dominance and another reason as to why he was so willing to believe in Marni and the coven’s plan – but for now, it wasn’t a topic that he wanted to discuss with his friend. He understood the reservations for the belief and whilst he had suffered within the prison world and Everleigh hadn’t been entirely forthcoming with all of the details, he had agreed to it. Abel wanted to do his part; not necessarily for himself, but for Marni. Something that he wasn’t so certain his friends and family would understand yet. 

For now, he wanted his homecoming to be a positive thing – especially for his father and especially for Briggs. The prison world had affected everybody differently; no two experiences were the same and it wasn’t a game of who had suffered most, or endured more. Whilst Briggs would never forget the screams from each day that Abel turned, Abel would never forget the look on his friends face, the lack of light in his eyes from the moment woken up inside. To this day he remembered the light that continued to dwindle and fade with each passing moment. 

A lopsided smile tugged at the corners of his lips before laughter prevailed as Briggs hoisted his middle fingers into the air with pride, but it was the ring that captured Abel's attention first. “I mean, that’s still up for debate and i'll definitely be getting others to weigh in on this” he countered, still grinning at the other “because you type like a toddler, but hey” holding his hands up in submission he taunted, “i’m not here to highlight your flaws.” His gaze narrowed towards his friend again, his features softening and his smile adhering to the expression as Briggs fiddled with what Abel could now only presume to be a whole ass wedding ring. It was real fucking good to see that light back. “Fuuuuck” he breathed, brow lifting animatedly as within their joke, the truth was revealed. “You actually did it? – please tell that it was to Billie and not a stripper? But listen, you got my congrats either way.”

The ease of his laughter felt freeing and his head shook at the Vegas comment, before looking momentarily disappointed “that is so weird, because when I went to Vegas that one time, all I left with was a suspicious itch and a prescription for antibiotics.” Was he joking? who knew. Enclosing their distance further, Abel pushed his fist against Briggs’ shoulder, “you’re like a full blown adult now – next you’re gonna be mortgaging houses and doing your taxes – I should bail on town more often.” Throwing his head back, he stole another glimpse of the extravagant compound, “don’t sweat it bro, I wasn’t lost – I was fleecing the joint” he taunted patting the strap of his rucksack, “there’s so much shit in here that’d look great out in my camper in the bayou. You wouldn't even miss it.” Smirking now, he levelled their gaze "but if you're offering to take in stragglers, shouldn't you be clearing this with your wife first?"

He hadn't been back all that long from his own spontaneous marriage adventure when Abel showed back up at the compound. There had never been a second he blamed him for getting the hell out of dodge, and in fact, he'd been grateful when he had missed the gala. Every day a turn, a turn he was promised to never have to continually suffer due to his crescent nature. Briggs wouldn't ever forget the way he could sometimes hear him screaming, so he knew he deserved some time away from the worst of things to deal with that.

Yet, it didn't have to plague their reunion. The worst thing that happened to him didn't have to define him, even as the door was always open to discuss it when and if he was ever ready. As he commented on his typing, Briggs lifted his hands to flip him off, though all in good nature before retorting, "pretty sure that's language comprehension, more receiver than sender problem." Shit, he was glad to see this fucker.

"I mean," he tilted his head, quipping, "there was plenty of that." Fiddling with the ring in question, he decided to let this go on for just a bit longer. "See, ya knew exactly what I was saying." The 'guess' had him scrunching his nose, "try again. Vegas was cool, though, sucks y'all missed it. Next time." Shrugging, he joked, "I went to Vegas and all I got was this ring. But hey, if you got a bag, Château Mikaelson may have a room to spare. I heard you wandering around though, so this may not be safe for your sense of direction."

[rere-the-writer]

Title- Mikaelsons and a baby

A part two to this ask

Part three

Part four - coming soon

Pairings: Poly!Mikaelson x Pregnant!Reader

Warnings: Fluff, Soft!Mikaelsons, Just a little bit of angst, Klaus and Kol threating people

You sat with Rebekah trying to distract yourself from not worrying about Davina as lately the young witch hadn't been feeling well lately. You looked up seeing Hayley leaving with Sophie and thought nothing of it.

"Hey Beka?"

"Yes, beautiful?" Rebekah questioned looking over at you seeing that you were knitting you fourth scarf.

"Is Davina okay? Marcel was asking about her earlier." You asked Rebekah watching drop her book worry came across her face.

"Also it is probably nothing but I over heard Sophie talking to Nik about completing the Harvest." You answered Rebekah startled when she suddenly stood up.

"I need to find Elijah." Rebekah said leaving making you worry as it was never good if Elijah needed to know and decided to find Kol since you were still mad at Klaus when learned what he did to Davina.

"Kol? What are you doing?" You asked him finding him in your bedroom trying do something.

"Putting the crib together." Kol said smiling up at you as you giggled seeing that it was looking more like a hot mess than a crib.

"Babe, that doesn't look like a crib." You giggle sitting next to Kol as he placed his hand on your baby bump.

"Well right now it doesn't but it will be."

"Need any hel......" You were cut off when the room shook and Kol quickly grabbed you protecting you as things fell from the wall.

"What was that?"

"Davina. She can't control all that magic she has." Kol says walking out of the room with you following worried as you mothered the girl as Kol would tease. You followed Kol but paused seeing Hayley with Elijah and as much as you knew to follow Kol. You were curious what they were talking about.

"Elijah, I have something to tell you." You heard Hayley say as you peeked around the corner knowing Elijah most likely knew that you were there.

"What is it Hayley?"

"Sophie called asking for a favor and at first I thought it was about the baby as Sophie promised me that she would help break the curse," Hayley says as she walked ahead of Elijah as he narrowed his eyes, "that Marcel put on my people for information. I didn't think nothing of it but Davina started doing those pictures of Celeste."

"Hayley, what did you do? It have better not put Y/N and the baby in danger." Elijah said walking up to the werewolf as you swallowed a bad feeling settled in the pit of your stomach.

"Sophie wanted to find Celeste's remains so I asked Y/N and went though your journals to find out where you buried her the told Sophie," Hayley tells Elijah sounding hurt as you felt sick and guilty as Elijah told you in confidence, "I know it was snoopy and I should have just asked you."

"Celeste wanted to be left in peace. When a witch's remains are consecrated, that power fuels the rest of their community." Elijah tells Hayley hurt lacing his voice while guilt ate away at you. Hayley looked down feeling terrible as Elijah walked up to her.

"She did not want to be found, she made me promise to make sure she couldn't. Not only did you violated my privacy but you have broken my promise to her."

"I thought they were just bones Elijah."

"If you truly believed that, why didn't you ask me where to find her instead of using Y/N and looked though my journals." Elijah said walking pass Hayley going to chase after you hearing you walking off.

"Baby, Y/N. Wait a minute." Elijah says gently grabbing your arm and cupped your cheek wiping away your tears.

"Why are you upset?"

"Because I helped Hayley break your promise. I know how much they mean to you." You tell Elijah as he smiled softly pulling you into a hug.

"You are too sweet baby. I am not mad at you for you couldn't have known her little plan."

"But still Elijah." You mumble against his chest as Elijah kissed your head when you hugged him. It wasn't hard to see Elijah was angry at Hayley as Kol and Rebekah could tell but Klaus wasn't surprised as you finally forgave him and told him everything.

"Elijah can we talk?"

"Just on my out." Elijah said holding your hand taking you with him for the day as Klaus followed teasing Elijah.

"You don't have to be here. You also didn't need to bring Y/N, it'll take Sophie some time to prepare the consecration."

"I have nothing but time and Y/N needs time out of the Abattoir. I owe Celeste this much." Elijah says watching you stand at the grave flowers in hand as you told Elijah you wanted to pay respects to the dead witch.

"Care to elaborate?" Sabine asked walking up to Elijah as he looked at her then back at you with a soft look in his eyes.

"Ever experience something so profoundly wonderful that when it was taken from you. Your life felt unbearable?"

"Yeah I've felt that. I have scars to prove it." Sabine says noticing how Elijah watched you as if you were the only woman in the world.

"I believe when you love someone like I had Celeste, they leave you uniquely vulnerable. Y/N has the power to hurt me like no other."

"You really love that woman don't you?" Sabine asked looking at you also as Elijah took out a handkerchief.

"I do." Elijah says walking up to noticing a tear rolling down your cheek wiping it away. Learning that Marcel took Davina to protect her from the Harvest left a hollowed feeling in your chest.

"You okay there?" You heard Sabine ask as you left at the Abattoir as the family went looking for Davina and Marcel.

"Yeah.....I....just...it's nothing."

"You can tell me." Sabine says sitting next to you as you sighed rubbing your bump.

"I feel bad for Elijah. I understand Hayley wants to help her people but it made Elijah break his promise to Celeste."

"You knew were she was buried."

"Yeah....I asked wanting to pay respects to the woman that got to love Elijah before me."

"You are adorably dumb."

"So Nik and Kol tells me." You tell her with a bright smile as Sabine could see what the Mikaelsons saw in you. You had a softness to you that drew people in, that made them comfortable.

"Where is Hayley?"

"Hanging out with her wolves." You answered Sabine watching her pull out a pendant of some kind.

"Wanna know the sex of the baby?" Sabine asked you watching you light up nodding.

"We found Davina." Kol says sitting next to you seeing you playing a card game with Sabine. You paused looking at Kol as that hollow feeling returned.

"Oh." You said in a quiet voice which Kol picked up something was wrong with you and made a note to ask you later about it. Rain poured as you stood next to Kol with Elijah holding an umbrella over you as you all watch Sophie complete the Harvest.

"It didn't work." Hayley whispered as the witches didn't wake up as the rain stopped. You bit your lip tears falling seeing Sophie cry over her dead niece.

"Shhh darling. It's okay." Kol muttered softly hugging you as you cried Elijah felt his heart break hearing your sons.

"Rebekah, you and Kol take Y/N home while Niklaus and I take care of this."

"Come babe. We'll get you and get some tea." Rebekah says as you nodded walking with her and Kol.

Bad juju is what your grandmother would say when ever you would get a hollow feeling. For the last few days witch bad juju was running a muck as Klaus and Rebekah was missing while Kol had to save Hayley and a wolf you learned named Jackson.

"Baby?" Elijah questioned finding you sitting in Klaus's art studio dress in one of Klaus's shirts as non of Rebekah's clothes couldn't fit you anymore.

"I miss them 'Lijah." You tell him as he sits next to you kissing your head.

"We'll find them baby." Elijah tells you as you nodded. It was weird to you hanging around Hayley as you had been noticing how she would look at Elijah. You hadn't noticed until Celeste pointed it out after you learned she was controlling your new witch friend.

"You're a lot cuter than what Hayley told me about you." You heard Jackson say making your cheeks warm up looking up at the werewolf.

"Well I could say something nice about you but Hayley barely said a word about you."

"So why are you out here with Hayley?" Jackson asked sitting next to you.

"Hayley's idea. She told Elijah that it would be safer for me until they find Nik and Beka."

"I see. What are you having?"

"A girl." You tell him with a smile as you two talked.

"You let Hayley take my unborn child and Queen out in a swamp."

"Firstly it's a bayou Niklaus and second it was to keep her safe from Celeste." Elijah tells Klaus helping Rebekah over a log while Kol was ahead with Klaus. After a long night in a graveyard airing out centuries of problems, the Originals were inching to have you near them again.

"She is going to upset that Sabine is dead." Rebekah said knowing that you grew close to the witch

"Yes, we should tell her later." Elijah says as Hayley met up with them to which Klaus and Kol noticed right away that Hayley moved next to Elijah.

"Hayley have you and the wolves been taking care of Y/N?" Klaus questioned there was a dangerous under tone to Klaus's voice. Hayley looped her arm around Elijah's nodding as Elijah raised an eyebrow but pushed it aside.

When they reached the wolf pack, they heard your sweet laugh and saw you standing in front of what looked like a work bench. Jackson stood behind you gently holding your hands showing you how to drill.

"Hayley who is that touching my wife." Rebekah asked lowly as Hayley looked at her seeing the blonde vampire glaring. Hayley looked at the other three jumping when she heard them growling also glaring.

"That's Jackson. Y/N and him has been getting close."

"You have told him who she belongs to yes?"

"I though her being pregnant was a clear enough sign." Hayley told Klaus not caring for his glare. Rebekah got your attention easily something her and the boys was always proud of.

"Beka!" You cried moving from Jackson throwing yourself into her arms as she held you. Hayley walked up with boys seeing you peppered Rebekah with kisses.

"Nik! You're okay!" You squealed happily giving the hybrid the same treatment as Jackson watched happy for you.

"Oh guys meet Jackson, Hayley's fiancee." You said smiling making the Originals blink confused while Hayley stared at you. While they weren't looking you gave Hayley a mischievous smirk knowing just what you were doing surprising the wolf.

"Fiancee?"

"Yeah. Some old wolf thing." Hayley answered Elijah waving her dismissively while you put on the most innocent look getting Elijah's attention. Both Klaus and Kol knew what you were doing while Elijah had no clue.

"Eli don't you think that maybe we can help Jackson move closer to Hayley or maybe help set up a cabin. So that Jackson isn't away from fiancee?"

Klaus and Kol was smirking as Rebekah stood next to quietly laughing behind her hand. They knew when you were jealous as you would get mischievous and since Hayley seemly liked Elijah, you were going to nip it in the bud.

"You're right baby. Hayley you should be getting to know Jackson and getting the pack together if you want them at faction meetings."

"Right.....Elijah or everything is fine just the way it is."

"But Hayley, 'Lijah right. If you want wolves in on the meetings it best you and Jackson unite the wolves." You tell her pressing closer to Elijah who smiled at you unaware of what you did.

"I'll even help little wolf." Klaus said throwing gas on the fire while Jackson smiled also unaware of what little plan you did.

"Okay." Hayley said sighing as you grinned feeling Elijah kissing your head telling Jackson that they needed to get you home.

"You little minx." Klaus teased sitting on the couch pulling you into his lap.

"I don't know what you are talking about." You tell him faking innocence as Kol joined you both laying his head on your belly listening to the baby.

"Don't worry darling it's our little secret." Kol tells you smiling kissing your belly as you just hummed relaxing enjoying the peace and quiet while it lasted.

[simminglytimeladies]

Top 5 Sims Worlds Tag Game

Tagged by @bunnybananasims

This one took me some time to ponder as sometimes I switch faves a lot lol. Anyway here are the 5 worlds that I love:

1. Strangetown

I'm into weird sci-fi and fantasy type of elements and Strangetown got it! It has the bonus of some dude who fights God everyday, scientists with their alien child(ren), an evil mad scientist couple, two ladies who have their own gardens of death and a literal Stepford Wife. Is it such a wonderful neighborhood? Also my fave got in there for some reason? I can't blame him, it's such an interesting place!

2. Miniopolis

This is the place where my favorite spinoff, the Urbz Handheld takes place. I love that this place is inspired by New Orleans, from the music to some places (namely, SimQuarter and Bayou) and the fact it's filled with such interesting characters, my fave included. My favorite districts are Urbania and SimQuarter, mostly for their soundtracks and I stayed there the most. I also love to track down some bits of lore there. I wish this place is explored more but you know EA.

3. San Myshuno

San Myshuno is my place of choice when I first play the Sims 4 on a new PC. I like to do interior designing and San Myshuno is perfect for that. Also, this is the first world I played when I first get Sims 4 (by a sneaky way btw), I have good memories of three households living in one building. Nothing too dramatic, just neighbors being neighbors.

4. Strangerville

Ah, yes, another strange desert place because why not. I think this world is so pretty but there are some interesting characters (Erwin mostly but also The Roswells) and aesthetics (I like the weird plant and cowboy stuff hehe). It's also here because I do have some fun memories figuring out the mystery and once had a family there lol. One thing, I do wish is to make this place have more lore and this place to be a spinoff but you know EA.

5. Secret Magic World in Realm Of Magic

Another place that I have some fond memories of back when I was playing the Sims 4 normally. This one is mostly on memories but it's such a beautiful world minus the horrendous building that the sages stay. Also one of my faves is there lol.

EDIT: I forgot the tags lol, if you want to do this you're tagged :))

[non-sequitura]

Non-sequitura Disney in-depth analysis (after making a tier list)

Warning: SUPER longform. If you don’t know a movie well, you should skip the summary. I tried to be light on spoilers, but they’re there.

I went chronologically from favorite to least favorite. So S tier is, in order from fave to least fave, The Incredibles, WALL-E, then Zootopia.

S tier (Something I consider high quality AND a movie I greatly enjoy. I would love more Disney movies be like this.)

The Incredibles - one of my favorite movies of all time, possibly THE favorite. Rockin social commentary, epic action scenes, memorable characters, not a minute of screentime wasted, great take on the Fantastic Four, hilarious parts for both adults and children, an interesting villain, etc. 

WALL-E - I love how social commentary was done here. Also skies above, what a beautiful love story. Really blazed a trail in non-verbal storytelling (especially given it was an animated kids film!) Robot animations are particularly delightful. 

Zootopia - another social message delivered excellently and entertainingly. I love Judy and her persistence, I love the expressiveness of the faces and the epic city setting. I love Judy and Nick's banter. This movie deserves to be remembered longer than it has been so far. Admittedly, not one of my fave villains, which makes it my least favorite of the Ss. 

A tier (either super high quality or something I greatly enjoy and deem of at least reasonably good quality)

Mulan - this movie did everything right. Truly feminist protagonist, an icon for strong Asian women, fairly culturally accurate (tho Mushu confuses me), GORGEOUS and iconic music. Lets a relatively natural romance develop. I frickin love the action scenes, I love the emporer. Sadly, this movie just didn't lodge its way in my heart as well as Pixar did. Pixar just has some magic, yo. 

Cinderella - my gosh what an underrated protagonist. Her family straight-up abuses her and she never loses sight of her goals for a better life. Iconic visuals helped bring Disney out of bankruptcy. A gorgeous alto singing voice. 

Wreck-it Ralph - alright alright ppl don’t crucify me for this. I honestly can’t think of much wrong with this movie. Vanellope and Ralph’s vitriolic best buds relationship is adorable, her forgiveness of him is heartwarming and (relatively) deserved, rockin’ Owl City song, epic visuals that mix together bc of all the different games. ALSO ONE OF THE BEST DISNEY VILLAINS NO CAP. One of the only twist villains I like. And we stan the romantic pairing. 

Tangled - I’ve talked about this a lot, but Rapunzel deserved the whole world after what she’s gone through. That being said, Gothel is not some shallow monster she needs to escape from, but an intelligent, well-defined monster with backstory. I could totally see this story happening if the world of Tangled existed. Epic love story, hilarious dialogue. Music is… good but much of it is less memorable to me. Visuals are good but not quite at the level/creativity of many other disney films. 

The Lion King - they really put Hamlet in Africa and pulled it off lol. But in all seriousness, no one took the premise of this film seriously at the time and it became sooo iconic. I love Scar and his eventual downfall, I love how Simba grows emotionally, I love the sad moments that don’t overpower the overall feeling of light goofiness. And music so memorable it was one of the first Disney musicals. 

Coco - not a super unique story premise. But an incredible culture to explore with such creativity and sensitivity. I love the themes of death not being the worst and music being so central to the story. Twist/twist villain was memorable and not expected. And yeah, it did make me cry, so props there. 

Ratatouille - the most recently watched of these films for me. This movie is soooo unique! Back when Pixar was truly super out there with their concepts. Super Parisian visuals and soundtrack. It somehow starts goofy (THE OLD LADY TRIES TO KILL REMY WITH A SHOTGUN WHILE WEARING A GAS MASK) but really drives home the message that you can truly do what you want regardless of who you are. Colette can get it. And the monologue by Ego at the end is one of my favorites in film. 

Frozen - Anna is one of my favorite Disney protagonists. She’s so resilient and loyal. Elsa ain’t bad either but she experiences… less character development. The film is a tad too pleased with its own self-awareness for my taste, but there’s no denying how iconic the music and visuals were. 

Inside Out - Alright, this movie hits home for me bc I tried to run away after moving. A super thoughtful, heartfelt depiction of (potentially depression? imo) with great moments of humor. Riley’s inner world is so creative and lovely. Also realistic depictions of Minnesota/California culture. 

Tarzan - Jane! is! smart! and! adorable! Her scientific curiosity makes her very endearing. it’s so cute to see her and Tarzan learn from each other. Also Tarzan’s “found mother” is epic. Solid score. Solid film all around. To quote Lily Orchard, “This film is what Pocahontas tried to be.” 

B tier (one of my favorites but has a few significant flaws that bring it down (or not quite as memorable to me, but consider good quality))

Peter Pan - Haven’t seen it in a hot sec, but I remember being super charmed by this as a kid. Just going out, having incredible adventures, and returning to a warm home at the end of the day. Tinker Bell is hilarious and beautifully drawn. Gets major negative points for the depiction of Native Americans tho. 

Big Hero 6 - I was super charmed by the protagonist, his family/friends, and the setting. The plot/villain’s motivations are a bit of a mess, though. 

Princess and the Frog - This movie has so much flavor to it! The visuals/music are lovely and unique. Tiana is incredible but it’s kinda annoying how EVERYONE keeps trying to shoehorn her into romance. The thing is, her goals are entirely reasonable. Focus on her restaurant, then look to settle down. But they’re like “nooo you’re ignoring the important things in life” smh. Also, epic villain, woohoo! The movie dragged significantly for me when they were in the bayou. Charlotte is delightful. 

Winnie the Pooh - don’t remember it super well, but I think it was charming and occasionally dark, which is an addictive concoction. 

The Little Mermaid - MAN ppl roast Ariel way more than she deserves. Visually, it was… fine. idk. This movie is good. I don’t have much else to say about it. 

Snow White - the one that started it all. Visually, super impressive. Musically, lovely. I find the romance a bit… off. Well, more than a bit. What is it with Disney and kissing sleeping people? 

Alice in Wonderland - a nerdy acid trip. Right up my alley! I also like films where ppl go on incredible adventures and return to the status quo, but THEY changed bc of it. Epic. SUUUUPER creative visual interpretation of Carroll’s book. Brave - gosh I loooove films where a parent and child learn to understand each other. Never got why ppl hated this movie so much. The Scottish flavor is present and fun. Merida made one mistake and made it up. The arrow scene is iconic. 

Cars - a fun ride! (hahaha puns.) We love seeing Paul Newman as a car. 

B-minus tier? (same as B, but problematic, or weaker story-wise.)

Hunchback - man… settings-wise, this film might be my favorite. I also love Esmeralda and Quasimodo as characters and as a duo (though the sexualized depiction of Romani ppl is not epic.) I also don’t find the discrimination against Esmeralda/Quasimodo jarring bc it matches the time period. Frollo is super interesting as a villain. The gargoyles are… def not necessary. Basically, this film doesn’t know what it’s doing with tone. 

Sleeping Beauty - Aurora was my favorite when I was younger because I thought she was the prettiest, and that still defines how i feel about this, basically. Visually lovely - everything is kind of elongated and gothic. Maleficent is spiteful and epic. I have no issue with the fluffier parts of the movie, like the music or the fairies. RIP for lack of consent being a plot point, though. 

Hercules - Megara is incredible. one of the only Disney “princesses” who acts like an adult and has cynicism as a major part of her personality. I love her and Herc’s progression where she learns to trust him (yes, he is genuinely that sincere, it’s not a front.) Muses are unique, whoever came up with them was high on something and I’m living for it. I just think the plot itself was somewhat unrealistic/ weirdly-paced. There are some memorable songs, some less-than-memorable songs. Art style is cool but I’m personally not a fan. EXTREMELY inaccurate depictions of the original Greek gods. 

C tier (entertaining, but I don't consider it a great movie)

Bolt - I watched this like 11 years ago. It was fun! A cool concept about those put on a pedestal learning their worth even without celebrity boosting them up. Animation was… fine I think. not super memorable to me. 

Frozen 2 - They really took any scrap of character development Elsa had in the first movie, threw it in the garbage and set it on fire. Anna deserved so much better. Songs are bombastic and impressive, have the occasional interesting lyric, but are really weirdly placed and none are quite as iconic as the first movie’s (except Aurora, she does great work here. Also the song Anna sings after she thinks Elsa died.) 

Not a big fan of the vaguely homeopathic theme. Not a big fan of Olaf’s WEIRD character development. Not a big fan of the suuuuuper awkward dialogue and the animations that imply not only that Kristoff is into his reindeer but that Elsa and Anna are into each other (if you’re questioning if they did that, yes, they did, I can find screenshots of some really weird expressions/moments. THIS IS NOT THE TIME TO PANDER TO YOUR WEIRD FANS, DISNEY.) 

The voice actors did great work, the animators did great work (look at the details on their clothes! Look at how Elsa’s posture changes to be more confident! look at how they're animated while they're singing!) Some weird costume/makeup choices that make Elsa look like an aging starlet, but she also has some gorgeous moments so eh. It’s a wash for me. 

They really did not know what to do with Kristoff this movie, huh. The only thing that happened to him was singing a cheesy 90s ballad and marrying Anna, both of which were admittedly epic. Also, the trolls got 0 appearances despite being literally psychic. Probably could have helped with a lot. I'm not a huge fan of lore/worldbuilding, and thee was a lot of it here. Overall neutral on it. 

Also a big theme in this movie I don’t love - **** TANGIBLE CONSEQUENCES TO OUR ACTIONS!!! The danger is Elsa’s death, the elements, colonialism, and Arendelle literally being destroyed. None of those end up playing out, so I was left at the end going “this film had literally no stakes.” 

Monsters U - same as above - entertaining at the time! Not super memorable. The ppl we were supposed to dislike kept switching. Doesn’t really match the canon of Monsters Inc (I thought they were supposed to have known each other since childhood so why did they meet in college?) 

Cars 3 - so apparently, everyone HATED this movie! Fun! I never watched Cars 2 (yes watched Cars 1 if you haven’t been paying attention to this list), but I didn’t think this movie was bad at all. Well-acted, some fun chase scenes, the scene where Lightning fails at driving in the simulation is genuinely hilarious, and some interesting perspectives on teachers getting the spotlight for their skills for once. 

Incredibles 2 - I liked this film at first, but then it was… just okay in retrospect. I love me some good family dynamics. The plot here makes not a lot of sense. THEY BUILT UP THE UNDERMINER FOR NOTHING AND THEN FORGOT ABOUT HIM. I was surprised by the villain swap, but it happened so last minute I never really understood their motivations even after they explained them. Tried to tackle waaaay too many messages. 

D tier (I didn't enjoy these or consider them mediocre)

Finding Dory - Maybe I should have put this higher? Like C tier at least. Ah well. Wasn’t a huge fan of the body/physical comedy (not my thing), but it was entertaining and awww finding family is heartwarming. 

Finding Nemo - I remember nothing about this movie. 

E tier (this film has significant problems)

Beauty and the Beast - *sigh*… I want to love this movie. The score is gorgeous. Visually, they could have made it more distinctly Rococo-era France but didn’t (why?) The voice actors did good work and I think Paige O’Hara is SUPER underrated here. 

The Beast is emotionally manipulative with an awful temper that (for MOST of the movie. He doesn’t change.) That’s the main reason this is in E tier. This movie shaped so many generations of people thinking they can change the behavior of someone who treats them badly through the power of love. But you can’t. She learns to “love” the beast under coercion. It’s not Stockholm syndrome - it’s a trashy romance novel. Big fan of Gaston as a villain. He’s an archetype ppl can recognize and it’s so satisfying to hate him.

F tier (I think this film actively harms the industry and would rather it not have been made. Both the one in E tier could be considered harmful to the industry, but I think they had significant enough artistic accomplishments to scrape above that. I'm also generally a fan of "lack of censorship bc it's better to teach what not to do.")

Pocahontas - this movie took real historical events and romanticized them AND sexualized one of the only Native princesses they’ve had. Boo. Nothing wrong with animation!Pocahontas as a character, it’s just people put her in a story that doesn’t represent history well at all (and these historical events, unlike those in say, 14th-century Germany, had super relevant effects on people alive today.) And they portrayed the Native Americans and colonial settlers as equally in the wrong. (though I like Governor Radcliffe as a potential villain and love the line “see how I glitter.” I can’t NOT laugh when I hear it.) Lovely music, though. Nice animation, but the colors are weirdly… muted? 

Bad Garbage (I don't wish this film had never been made, but I wish I never had to see it.)

Planes - this movie was ridiculous. I remember not much about it except that I kinda hated it and that it was super cheesy with tension one could see right through that immediately resolved itself via one twist or another. 

Haven’t seen tier: Recess, A Bug’s Life, A Goofy Movie, DuckTakes Movie, Lilo and Stitch, Pinocchio (actually i have seen this but I remember nothing about it), The Nightmare before Christmas, Toy Stories 1, 2, and 3, Up, 101 Dalmatians, The Great Mouse Detective, Cars 2, Moana, The Good Dinosaur, Pete’s Dragon, Fantasia, Peter Pan Return to Neverland, Fantasia 2000, The Black Cauldron (read the book, though!), Bambi (or I did and remember nothing about it), The Rescuersm, The Rescuers Down Under, Planes Fire and Rescue, Bambi 2, The Fox & the Found, Oliver and Company, Atlantis, Treasure Planet (I want to, though), Piglet’s Big Movie, The Jungle Book, the Emporer’s New Groove, The Jungle Book 2, Chicken Little, Brother Bear, The Three Caballeros, Pooh’s Heffalump Movie, Dumbo, The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad, Aladdin (seen parts but never the whole thing), Strange Magic, The Sword in the Stone, James and the Giant Peach, Frankenweenie, Lady and the Tramp, Ralph Breaks the Internet, Doug’s 1st Movie, Monsters Inc. (want to, though), Meet the Robinsons, Dinosaur, The Aristocats, Robin Hood, The Tigger Movie, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, that pooh movie at the end without the title on it

-11/21/20

[genelmag]

10 Black Witches in TV and Film Who Put a Spell on Us

For way too long Black witches in film and television were relegated to sidekicks or very bad voodoo priestess stereotypes with over the top accents—witches that the main protagonists meet in passing on their journey. More often than not, Black witches in television and film have been subjected to very bad writing. As filmmaker and witch, Monika Estrella Negra said, it’s a “misuse of the erotic and demonization of [African diaspora] spiritual practice”.

Luckily, we are getting to see more and better representation of Black witches. From big budget shows like The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina and American Horror Story to independent shows, films, and web series like Juju Web Series, Black witches are beginning to feel seen.

Still, in a sea of thousands of White witches in film and television, we literally have but a mere handful of Black witches, warlocks, and brujas that present worthy representation. So, on our first day of Black History Month in 2020, here are some of our favorite Black witches gracing us with their magical presence.

Tati Gabrielle kills it as Prudence Blackwood. Prudence is the illigetimate daughter of Faustus Blackwood leads The Weird Sisters as they attend The Academy of Unseen Arts to learn and improve their magical powers.

In the beginning of Season 1, it seemed as if writers were portraying Prudence as, what Teen Vogue’s Taylor Crumpton said, “the angry Black woman who attacks the misunderstood, small, blonde, white girl”—a trope we see far too often. Luckily, this wasn’t the case as the show progressed.

Even so, Prudence devoted her life to the Church of Night and, though it’s not mentioned, it’s inferred that she was the best at the Academy.

In truth, Prudence is one of the best things about Sabrina. Her power is expressed in everything she does, from her flawless makeup, killer wardrobe, and finger waves for days!

One of the biggest icons of the 1990s was Rachel True’s performance as one of the lead witches in cult classic The Craft. She was the bubbly best friend that you just fell in love with.

While most films of 90s portrayed Black witches as voodoo priestesses doing root work, Rochelle practiced a more European, neopagan form of ritualism.

Yusuf Gatewood plays one of the most powerful witches in New Orleans in the hit show The Originals, Vincent Griffith. Vincent does what he can to keep the peace in a city run by vampires and owned by the original vampires, The Michelson family.

Because of his power and his relationship with the Michelson family and with werewolves, he became regent to the nine covens of New Orleans. But, like any normal person would in his situation, he grew tired of the supernatural community and all the pain and death it came with.

Intelligent, charismatic, positively devilish—that’s Ambrose Spellman, played by Chance Perdomo.

From the very first time he comes on screen, you can’t help but fall in love with the Spellman cousin, Ambrose, who has been on house arrest at the mortuary for 75 years.

That’s right, he’s more than 75 years old, but we don’t know his exact age. All we know is that the famous alchemist Alester Crowley was his father figure and mentor and that somehow led to Ambrose being a part of a plot to blow up the Vatican.

Though he has something witty to say for every situation, he also usually has a solution—or knows just where to find it.

Kat Graham brilliantly played the most powerful witch in Mystic Falls. Bonnie started off as that lovable best friend who thought she had a little bit of psychic in her because Grams always told her she had witches in her ancestry.

Season after season we watched Bonnie’s powers grow as she repeatedly sacrificed herself for her friends and their boyfriends. Meanwhile, it took 7 seasons to give Bonnie a love interest who was actually worthy of her. But, of course, it didn’t last long.

Juju is a brand spanking new YouTube web series about best friends who discover they are witches is the story about Black witches we’ve been waiting for.

Juju takes place in New York City and follows the lives of three best friends with Caribbean and Bayou ancestry.

Jhé "Moon" Ferguson, the creator of Juju said she wanted to create a world of Black supernaturals.

I’ll be honest, I had no interest in American Horror Story until I learned Marie Laveau would be in Coven. Even better, she would be portrayed by the goddess herself, Angela Bassett.

Marie Laveau is a power, immortal Voodoo Queen who runs a salon called Cornrow City. The strength of her power is on par with The Supreme.

Billie Porter can do no wrong. Porter masterfully plays Behold, one of the head instructors of warlocks at the Hawthorne School for Exceptional Young Men.

He’s a leader and a protector, doing what he must to bring better representation on the Witches’ Council. He’s snarky, sarcastic, and adds an animated, flashy element when he uses his telekinesis.

What stands out for me with Behold is that he’s noble, valiant, and not a zealot as we see in many witches and warlocks tend to be in film and television. He’s sensible. He doesn’t jump to conclusions; he investigates his gut feelings.

Fringilla is a baaaaad witch. Played by the talented Mimi Ndiweni, Fringilla is a Nilfgardian sorceress and adviser.

I’ve only read the first two books of The Witcher series and I’ve only ever watched others play the game, even though I have the games in my library.

That said, even though Fringilla Vigo turns out to be villainous, she’s extremely powerful and cunning.

Though this show is a bit problematic, there is no doubt that black girl magic is real when you watch Carmen escape slavery through a time spell and land in modern Columbia.

She quickly adapts to modern life and technology, making friends, going to school, and casting spells to try to help where she can.

Quite honestly, there is much to be desired in Always a Witch, but it is worth taking a gander to see where and how we can do better in portraying our stories while avoiding certain tropes and stereotypes.

A special shout out to Dean Thomas from Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, the Witches of Eve’s Bayou. Wanting more and better representation of Black witches doesn’t mean we don’t have our favorite mainstream witchy films. From Witches of Eastwick and Practical Magic to Charmed, we’re here for it.

Like us on Facebook and tell us which Black witches we may have missed or what shows and films about witches we should check out.

[operativesurprise]

Dreams I’ve had recently enough to find with a quick scroll on my fb wall

was dreaming about a cave last night. With lots of shallow pools of water along the floor. I feel like if I'd seen the layout from above it would have looked like paisleys. There was a creature there tending the pools. Sweeping detritus away, skimming the surfaces of the water. It took moss that was growing too thick in some places and put it into bare areas, and it was very gentle with the little frogs and salamanders living on the walls.

There was the sound of bats and the dripping and echo of water, and a low hum in the background, but the creature itself made no sound. You heard the bristles of it's broom, and the soft shift of stones it touched, but no footsteps, no breathing, no nothing but a soft chiming noise as it looked in each pool.

The waters all glowed, some white, some pale blue, others pulsed through light pink to deep magenta. The whole dream had this aura of calmness, of being content. It was like being in a giant zen garden but dial the peace up even more. I'm not really sure where -I- was in the dream. My POV was kinda hovering over the figure as it tended to the pools, but I'm fairly certain I wasn't the figure itself. I was like, 6 inches up and to the left.

_____

I've been trying to sketch an image I had in a dream last night and it's just not setting up right. It was like. Honestly it was like the first few seconds of the Adventure Time intro animation - that super fast 'drone camera' POV that swoops down through trees and stuff and focuses in on a character with their back to the camera and then they turn and look?

I was swooping through this orchard of blooming apple trees - and I took note bc for some reason I was surprised they weren't pear and peach trees like 'they were supposed to be'.

But as the camera/I got closer to this feminine figure standing under the branches and the flowers and these really almost black-green leaves in this rich green velvet textured dress (it's totally the dress that's on the original golden book cover of Ella Enchanted), with big free fall bouncy waves of BLOND hair, they turn and instead of it being that kinda anime "turn and wink/smile" and the camera goes to the next, she turned around and it was a dead eyed marionette.

My camera POV just slammed to a halt with the freeze frame of this... entity (which I 'knew' in my dream was The Druid) (Even though this wasn't really an MJ dream) looking up and over their shoulder at me, like they'd become aware of the camera and were looking straight at ME. The branches with the flowers and the leaves above it framed it really close and I couldn't see much other than the scribbly ovals of it's eyes. Then the colors all got desaturated except for the apple blossoms.

And then that dream was over.

___

Vivid dreams last night about being on house hunters. With Lithrick as the realtor.

Also had a very ominous dream about standing in a misty open field, feeling the sawgrass scrape my bare arms and shins, staring up into the grey sky while sharp winged birds with broken bodies 'flew' through the air. It looked like how a washcloth you are swirling in a tub of water looked. There was no sound for that one but I could feel the rain on my face as I looked up.

Then I was dreaming about being on the beach in Belize with the chitons and baby hermit crabs and the breeze and I was watching the sunrise.

___

I've been having zombie nightmares since Sunday. Sunday and Monday were taking place in the shopping mall (which is a relatively new venue for my dreams), Sunday being the Beginning of the outbreak (and star trek themed) and Monday mostly about life starting up in the 'colony' of this gigantic shopping mall.

But last night I dreamed about the collapse of the colony and then survival in the forest.

There was a man in a wheelchair who had arrived at the shopping mall with his mother - both of whom were injured but not infected. We let them in and the mother succumbed to her injuries shortly after.

This left the man in the wheelchair distraught and he would wheel around the open plaza in the center of the mall mumbling. It was not concerning - until other weird things began to happen.

Like how one of the dorm areas had mysteriously become locked, how some people were going missing (presumably they left to try and find their families), and how some older people were getting injuries in the night - explained away by "well, old people have delicate skin and maybe they bumped themselves".

But then the man in the wheelchair wheeled up to the mezzanine and shouted for attention. And then he collapsed, and clouds of mosquitos erupted from his wounds and began to attack people.

Flash forward to a weird mix of irl and larp characters living in the woods behind my house in an abandoned homestead - I had gone from dying by mosquito to being Sano and a group of us avoiding Velociraptors in the long grass as we made our way back to the relative safety of this bombed out building husk.

But then The Rattler Gang came - horribly tattooed and violent and they ransacked through the homestead and were almost into our barricaded room when not-quite-Malaki and sorta-Allison with an ancestor spirit wig on saved us.

The dream ended with us all in a cave explaining to a horrified Morgrym that "see what happens when you're late?"

It was so weird bc as the dreams progressed and became more MJ and less Real World but with Zombies the zombies became less of an issue (I mean, repel undead is a thing)

___

Last night I dreamed about Ridge Road being a swamp instead of a road. The fields on either side were the same, but the road itself was a Louisiana/Florida/Bayou/Swamp thing with hot, moist air, dragon flies, grasses, alligators, everything you could want (though the water was clear as day).

And I was walking along the broken up boards that served as this sorta river trail following the path of the road. Slats were missing in places and it was a distinctive walnut color, and it was rickety and I could smell the heat of it like being on a dock in the summer time.

And as I was walking along I knew I was heading toward Harris Hill farm but instead of the farm it was the Pirate Tavern bar that I dream about fairly often.

(as I'm thinking about it, it kinda has the air of a setting in a Curse of Monkey Island game crossed against Diablo II)

But before I can get into the tavern there was a crowd of tourists wading through the water nearby. Like, the most stereotypical hawaiian shirt white-sunscreen-on-nose and flyfishing capped tourists you could imagine. And they were lost looking for their fan boat but I didn't know where it was - but I also didn't want them to find the Pirate Tavern bc it's a secret and my co-owner Matt Sch would be mad if we had to relocate AGAIN bc non-pirates had found us.

And in my dream I am DISTINCTLY aware that LAST TIME there were also VAMPIRES there, but Skye Collins had bought out their half of that Pirate-Vampire Tavern to own it outright as JUST a Vampire Tavern so this time I went into business with Matt. Not Lithrick, Matt.

And I was -upset- in my dream until I 'remembered' that I hadn't skipped out on Skye and the Vampirate Tavern, I'd just opened another location with a different partner after reaching an amicable business deal. We still traded aligator blood grog for peat moss from the other location to serve a certain cocktail with at THIS one.

___

Had a dream last night that I was diving on a whale fall. But either I was minuscule or the whale was super gigantic bc the rib bones were these looming spires like I was watching a stroll under redwood trees through a low fisheye lense.

Thinking about it I can totally piece out the different dives that meshed to make this dream up.

The stalactites from the Blue Hole, The gelatinous muck on the bottom in the St. Lawrence The cold from the Brownstone Quarry

___

If we want to talk about a fever dream... last night I had a dream about being trapped on a volcanic island while the whole chain of volcanoes were erupting.

The evacuation was happening but I went back to the house for the animals and got stuck there. And other neighbors who couldn't get out in time were coming over with their pets and supplies.

I was watching the lightning and the ash fall outside when I saw three red colored golden retrievers but I could only get two of them to come inside and I spent the rest of the dream upset and trying to find the third one. I found other animals trying to hide from the ash and storm, but I woke up before finding that 3rd golden.

The lava flows were coming down the mountain too.

___

Dream time. So. A classical vampire and an actual bat demon are out on the town looking for something to do when they come across a nail parlor.

What a great idea, they think! We'll get manipedis and then do brunch over at IKEA.

But when they go into the nail parlor there is far too much religious imagery to be comfortable and the demon doesn't want to stay anymore so they go back outside all sad.

Vampire suggests they just kill and eat the occupants of the nail parlor and find something else to do with their day off.

Demon agrees to the plan but they have this 'thing' where when the two of them murder a bunch of people they leave a haiku written in the blood on the wall.

They begin to argue because they both have different accents and can't decide on the syllable count for a certain word.

___

So there's a string of tall, skinny houses in Litchfield after 'The Church' that usually feature in any nightmares I tend to have. Last night did not disappoint.

The lineup was this:

🏚🏠����🏠 An empty house, My house, the neighbor's house, and then for some reason my grandmother's house.

And we had gone next door to the neighbor's house for dinner, even though we knew it was dangerous to be outside of our house after dark. But as we gathered in their entryway the spotlights on the rest of the neighborhood started turning on and we knew we had stayed too late.

"They" were out there. You were safe in the daylight, you were safe at night as long as you didn't open your doors. BUT now it was night. And we had to get home.

So we slip out the door and we can hear the neighborhood using birdcalls to communicate the 'all clear'. As we are going down this overgrown embankment toward our house we see it.

One of them.

And then we hear someone sound the alarm, a series of owl hoots. It distracts the thing for a moment and we think we could slip away but it turns and starts trying to get into our house so we run to the empty one next door and JUST barely make it.

Dream me's mother and little sister make it into the screened in porch just ahead of me and I fall in and turn and only just get the door closed in time when It attacks.

It was a zombie. Or a ghoul. Or something. a woman with a bloody face and terrible teeth and honestly it looked like Reagan from the Exorcist and she launched herself against the screen door which I'm trying to keep closed.

I know she can't get in the door but then she makes this horrible noise and says,

"You won't be safe for long. We're getting stronger,"

And the door is almost coming off its hinges but I -know- as long as I keep the door closed at night we are safe and then she laughs and presses her face to the screen and says,

"I'll just get in tomorrow morning. Before you're awake. Because, really, what difference does the sun or stars make? I'll get in tomorrow,"

And then I woke up.

____

My dream last night was so complicated I can barely keep it straight.

I was some grizzled, older ex-con dude pulled out of my soft retirement as a school bus driver because a child genius was being used as the catalyst for the robot war apocalypse by his wealthy mother's greedy board of directors.

And somehow I had a time machine that I was gonna use to bring the kid back to the beginning of all the issues and he was gonna start sabotaging the dangerous inventions so he could just be a regular child genius instead of responsible for global-scale mass murder.

At one point I had thrown the kid's manifesto at him but he hadn't actually read it bc it was too big and there were no pictures but also bad language and he asked me what "twat" meant and the kid was horrified that they would use that kind of language. Like he was ambivalent about the murders but bad language was crossing a line.

And as part of my "wait. He's just a kid I can help him instead of kill him" epiphany for some reason I looked out the time machine window and saw my old motorcycle which was painted in blue tiedye pattern and that memory moved me enough to offer to help the kid.

So the kid grabbed his froggy backpack and offered to give me all of his science fair winnings (which was like. Hundreds of thousands of dollars and two telephoto camera lenses for some reason. And a green and purple feather boa) but I just took enough to buy a new motorcycle and told him to hide it from his past mother so they're not suspicious.

___

Okay subconscious, doing laundry with the elves of mirkwood is NOT becoming a reoccurring dream. Three times is enough. Stop now. ____

I was an undercover secret agent posing as the nanny to a royal family's children. The children had a pool party for the oldest's birthday, and I was in charge of the yacht rides in the aquarium tank. Halfway through the dream, Pirates attacked with large assault rifles, trolls, and fire elementals. I managed to save some of the children, but then Katina was healing the ones that had been injured when a Shadow quick deathbed them and I had to resort to Improv comedy to keep the remaining kids from screaming as their friends turned to ghosts around us. None of the adults would listen to me that the attack had been planned, they were convinced that it was random, and despite the fact that I had a way to turn back time and catch the one woman who had started the fight they refused to do anything but complain that dinner had been delayed.

[lildevyl]

Septicscape, Chapter Two: The Corruption is Spreading

Chapter Two! For Septicscape!

Chapter: 1

Summary:  The Corruption is spreading and it is now in Jackieboy Man’s world.  Two students and the Director of the Music and Arts Program from Ego University went missing!  Then they came back but not acting like themselves.

Warnings:  Mentions of kidnapping, static, blood and there is Zalgo Text in here for anyone that might be a little uncomfortable with that.

Tagging: @septic-dr-schneep, @egopocalypse, @starlightxnightmare, @fear-is-nameless, @huffletrax, @burnbrightfadefast, @jackjames-exe, @dolphintreasureart, @dezzydynamite, @power-of-friends-games, @epicfangirl01, @a-humble-narcissus, @thevampireauthoress, @the-scribe-watches, @d-structive, @kisstheashes, @chaoticcrimsonrose, @julywinters, @run-stray-wolf, @thefirsttobreak, @therealjacksepticeye, @weirdmixofweirdness

If want to be tagged or guest star in one of my stories please let me know!

Guest Staring:  River Bayou @egopocalypse, Lou Huffle @huffletrax, Erin Treasures @dolphintreasureart.  Thank You ghouls and fiends for wanting to guest star!  This has been absolutely fun to write!!!!

(The Deep Lab)

"I think he's coming around.  Henrik?  C'mon, wake up.  Come back to us."

Henrik's eyes fluttered open, then he had to shut them quickly shut them.  It's too bright!  Henrik shifted his head and his eyes were able to finally focus.  "Ch-Chase?"  Henrik choked out.

Now, he remembered.  The "Corruption."  But how was he here?  Did Chase find a way to save him?  All Henrik wanted to do was to hug Chase and cry.  He never wanted to leave Chase, make him feel like he abandoned him but Henrik didn't have a choice.

"Yeah, Henrik.  It's me," Chase softly said.  "And I'm not alone."  Chase nodded.

Henrik's eyes followed and he couldn't believe it.  "Jack?"

"Yeah, it's me," Jack smiled.  Henrik looked around where they were.   He was on one of the beds in his Lab.  "I think some explaining is in order

============================================

(Several Pots of Coffee and Tea Later)

"And that's when we dragged you back here.  Making sure to keep an eye on you."  Jack finished explaining.  Then took a huge sip of the last remains of his coffee.

"But  - but how did you combat the Corruption?"  Henrik inquired completely baffled.

"I don't know," Jack answered honestly.  "One minute we were in the room trying to bring you back.  Then the next moment, I saw  .   .   .   The illusion?  And was telling you that you are a good doctor.  Then it felt like - the Corruption  .  .  .  Just - let go?"  Jack shrugged.  "I don't know how else to explain it."

"The Creator's Power,"  Henrik answered more to himself than the others.  Jack and Chase shared a look, hoping the other knew what Henrik meant.

"When you, Jack, our Creator.  Create an Ego, give us a name, a backstory and let the Community know about us.  You give us life.  Creating a spark from you and your Creativity, you give us a soul.  We live as  long as you actively support us through any means."  Henrik explained upon seeing their confused faces. "Fan art, theories, fanfictions, headcanons, fan-made games, edits, cosplay, photos.  Even just watching our videos, help.  This is what's called the Creator's Power."

"Wow.  I had no idea," Jack said in awe.

"Yes, but if you chose to not make an Ego "Canon" but the Community likes them and supports them enough.  Or if members of the Community "invents" an Ego and that Ego gets enough support from the Community.  Then they become what's known as a "Fan Creation."  Henrik concluded.

"My fans are super amazing."  Jack smiled fondly.

"Yeah, they are, Jack.  They are."  Henrik agreed.  "But getting back to the point at hand," Henrik continued.  "The others that you see in the different worlds of the Mindscape.  Are in fact, ordinary people.  Friends, family, people you interact with on a daily bases, even different fans you've met or favorite characters from certain games.  They live, fall in love then eventually die.  They don't live as long as we do here."

"What happens if you're forgotten?"  Jack asked.

"Then we die.  Without you and the Community, we cease to exist.  Our souls would shatter and then we would fade.  And our part of the Mindscape would crumble as well," Henrik solemnly explained.

"B-but Chase said his world crumbled but he's still here!"  Jack protested.  This made absolutely no sense.  The Community and Jack still remembered Chase, so why did his world collapsed?

"To that, I have no explanation," Henrik admitted.

Then Jack remembered something.  "You said that the other Egos are here, right?"  Jack asked turning to Chase.  Getting a nod from Chase, Jack continued.  "I think we better check on the others, then."

"You think they could be affected as well?"

"They might be.  You were affected pretty badly in one of the vlogs.  You've mentioned the Corruption spreading.  Even affecting many of your patients."

Henrik nodded, with a bit of guilty look.  He hasn't spoken to either of the other Egos since the Corruption began.

"I think we need to check on them.  To make sure that they're okay."  Jack stated mistaking the look for Henrik being worried.

"Septic City is the closest one to us.  We could check on Jackieboy Man.  If anybody could help in beating this Corruption.  Then it's our residential Super Hero."  Chase added.

"That's a good place to start."  Henrik agreed.  "Plus, the University has a massive Library here in the Mindscape.  I could do some more research to try to combat this."

=============================

(Septic City)

"Huh, so, this is Septic City?  Beautiful view."  Jack stated seeing the City for the first time.

"It's quite beautiful," Henrik commented.  "I'm not sure where we might find Jackie but if we head to the University.  We should either run into him or at least run into someone who might know where he could be."

================================

(Ego University, Lou Huffle)

Lou Huffle, a senior here at Ego University sat at her desk in the Art Classroom, tapping her pencil.  Glaring at their mortal enemy that mockingly stared back at her.  Creator's Block had decided to strike and strike hard.  Now, here she was staring at a blank page in her sketchbook with a six-week deadline to get her, newest issue of her comic series out.  With a frustrated sigh, Lou slammed her sketchbook closed and stuffed it into her book bag and headed out.  Her next class started in an hour but she wanted to grab some lunch first.

Halfway down the hall, Lou began to notice something strange.  It's the middle of the week, this hallway should be crowded with shoulder to shoulder of people. And yet it’s completely deserted.  Where was everyone?  Lou had a bad feeling about this, quickening her pace she nearly sprinted to the end of the hall.  She pushed on the doors but nothing happened.  She tried again and nothing happened.  What?  Was this thing stuck or something?  No, it was locked, but why?

Lou suddenly had a feeling that she wasn't alone.  Like someone was watching her.  The hairs on the back of her neck stood straight up.  A rattling breath could be heard right behind her.  Grabbing her sketchbook and with the trigger word to bring her creation to life if need be, on the tip of her tongue.  Lou cautiously turned around.  There standing just a couple of feet away from her.  Stood a girl with stringy sprayed painted hair, button eyes, a faded patched shirt, a patch jacket, ripped jeans and a stitched mouth.  Her buttons eyes appeared as if they were bleeding.

The last thing Lou remembered hearing through the muffled whispering and before she succumbed to the darkness was   .   .   .

"Lou!  Lou!  You need to wake up!  This is Jackie!"

================================

(Dolphin Treasures Art Gallery)

Erin stood in her Art Gallery finishing up on her latest piece, smiling and humming "All the Way."  She was going to display it for everyone to see before she sent into the Power of Friend Games.  They're working on a fan-made game of one her favorite YouTubers, JackSepiceye.  She wanted to finish this so she could send it in for the possibility of it being in the game.  Erin loved this, she loved doing fan art and being able to express herself like this.  It brought so much of joy to her.  And seeing everyone's reaction when she uploads her pieces and even taking some commissions.  It truly did fill her heart with pride and joy.

Even if her art wasn't in it, seeing all the fan art, the story arch, and seeing all the creativity the Community did into their projects.  Erin's smile broaden even more. She went to dip her brush into the paint once more, she stopped upon seeing a couple of red drops on her hand.  It wasn't paint.  Then she felt something trickled down her chin and landed on her hand.  Putting her paints and brushes down, Erin put her hand to her face and pulled back.  Fresh blood.  Quickly going to the bathroom to see what was going on, Erin realized that she somehow had gotten a random nosebleed out-of-the-blue.  That was weird. Cleaning up and grabbing the first aid kit, Erin saw that the nosebleed had stopped.  She still didn't know what could have caused it.

Going back to the Art Gallery, Erin began to rub her eyes.  There was some sort of discomfort building up all of sudden.  Maybe now, was a perfect time to take a break?  When Erin returned to her painting and was about to start putting everything away.  She taught a glimpse of herself in the mirror and had to do a double take.  Her eyes.  Her eyes were button-like!  One was light brown on the outside but black on the inside.  The other one was black on the outside but light brown on the inside.  And they began to bleed red and black tears down her face.  The last thing she remembered before the darkness took over was   .   .   .

"Erin!  Erin!  You need to fight this!  It's me!  It's Jackie!"

=======================

(Ego University, River Bayou)

River sat in the nearly empty Computer Lab staring at a blank computer screen and a blinking cursor.  She shut her laptop closed with a more force than necessary (she'll apologize later) and stuffed it into her case.  Dejectedly, River pulled out a letter that was the entire cause of her foul mood.  She should have just chucked the damn thing in first trash bin she came across and went on her way.  But instead, she kept the blasted thing as if rereading what it said would numb the pain.  Or would make the cursed wording more bearable.  The letter was from the number one publisher in Egopolcalpse and the cause of her distress.

Miss Bayou,

Thank you for considering us as your publisher.  We received your manuscript and looked it over.  We regret to inform you that Kingdom Come is not what we're looking for right now.  We decided to go with another candidate instead. If you have another story you will like us to take a look at for the possibility of publishing.  Please send in your manuscript and we will take a look at it.  Good Luck and thank you again.

Angel Mercury.

Scowling, River crumpled up the letter and with a low growl, and threw it in the nearest trash bin.  Not what they were looking for?!  Did they know how much time and effort she put into that story?!  What more do they want?!  Sighing heavily, River sank back down into her chair and lazily looked around the Computer Lab for a distraction.  Right now, she honestly didn't care if she was late to class.

One of the games a student was playing caught her eye.  She didn't recognize the student though. Stringy sprayed painted hair, faded patch shirt, patch jacket, ripped jeans and what appeared to be sunglasses that she was wearing.  River came over and sat next to the new student.  River saw that it looked like she might have been crying earlier.  If the running mascara was anything to by.

*Do you want to try it?*  She asked.

"If you don't mind," River answered looking at the game case.

Puppets: A JackSepticeye Game by Power of Friend Games and Sarcastic Pasta Games.  The developers of Septicscape and the Boss.  Private Investigator Chase Brody and his partner Detective Jackie McLoughlin are hired by Marvin the Magnificent to help find his long lost brother, Doctor Henrik von Schneeplestein.  Who's believe to be the Puppet Master's lasted victim.  You must investigate various characters, plow through multiple and sometimes random battles, solve many cryptic puzzles to decode the where about of Henrik.  But beware.  For the Puppet Mater is  à͡l҉w͟͡a̸̢y̴͠s ̵̨wa̵t̵c̴͝h̕҉i͜n̶͝g̶  and will make you his next puppet if you not careful.

Smiling ear to ear, and her eyes lighting up like a Christmas tree, River dove straight into the game.  She was already getting into this game; playing as, Chase and/or Jackie (you can switch between the two).  River went to different parts of the city.  Interviewing different people, the player (River) trying to figure out who was lying, who was telling the truth, who could be working for the “Puppet Master.”  Every now and then River had to stop and massage her wrists and arms and sometimes she even had to rub her legs.

'Strange?  Maybe I've been playing and sitting for too long?  But this game! Man, I have to know what happens!'  River thought to herself.

She continued to play until what appeared to be the final puzzle of the game. She had to decode a message of some sort.  Ha!  Easy!  River decoded it in nothing flat.  Then something strange happened.  The computer screen went blank.  Completely and utterly dark.  After about ten seconds, the computer screen flickered back on but it was nothing but a black and green static.

"Um," River took an unsteady breath.  "Do - do you know if I might have, accidentally broke the game?"  River turned to the student and nearly knocked over her chair.  She - the student - she has   .   .   .  Button eyes!  And the button eyes began to bleed a blood-like ink.  She tilted her head and smiled not even breaking her stitched mouth.

River then felt a tug on her wrists.  She looked down and realized, there were acid green strings attached to her wrists and ankles.  River tried to run for it but the strings yanked her and she fell face first on the floor.  Digging her fingernails into the carpet as the strings began to drag her.  She grabbed a hold of a leg of one of the tables.  Then one of the love seats in the Computer Lab.  And finally the coffee table itself.  

"HELP!!!"  River screamed.  And to her horror, there was no one else but the Living Rag Doll, smiling at her.  "Jackie!!!"  The last thing River heard before she was completely sucked into the computer was   .   .   .

"M̶̧͝y ͟͝Fa̶̢v̵̛o̕̕ri̡t͘e͘͝ ̛L̸҉o͠y̴͝a̶͘l͏̷̢ ̵͜P̷̕úp̸͠pe̶̸̛t̀"

=============================

(Ego University)

Jackie didn't know what to do.  There was something very strange going on here at the University.  Two students that Jackie had classes with, Lou Huffle and River Bayou, went missing yesterday.  Lou was a very hard working student, even if it wasn't her best subject.  She always strive to do her best.  So, for Lou to just "skip" her classes?  It just didn't make any sense.

Then, for Lou to just materialize out of nowhere the next day, and act as if nothing happened?  That was not like Lou at all!  Not only that but Lou has been obsessing and working at her desk in the Dolphin Treasures Art Gallery none stop.  She's been working on her brand new comic:  Nox.  Never taking a break except to eat and/or to get more art supplies.

And the strangeness doesn't stop there.  Erin Treasures, the Director of the Music and Arts Programs and the owner of the Dolphin Treasures Art Gallery, went missing yesterday as well.  No one had seen or heard from her all day yesterday.  That wasn't like her.  Erin, no matter how busy she might, always took some time out to help someone.  So, for her to not be heard from or no one was able to find her yesterday?  Yeah, something was up!

What made it worst though, was like Lou.  Erin showed up out of the blue, the next day, like nothing out of the ordinary had happened.  Obsessing about making the perfect painting and working none stop, except to eat or get more art supplies.  She's painted about four different Septic Ego portraits, stop to look at them, and then she carelessly chucks them into a storage room.  Constantly saying, "No, it's not right.  It's not perfect.  I need to make the perfect painting.  It needs to be perfect!"

Jackie needed help.  He decided to call Henrik and Chase and see if they could help out.  Jackie felt a little guilty about doing this, he hasn't spoken to Chase since his world collapsed.  And he hasn't spoken to Henrik since he began to research what was causing the Corruption.  Taking a deep breath and taking his cellphone out, Jackie dialed the number he knew by heart.  "Henrik?  It's Jackie. I need your help.  Can you and Chase come by the University?  I think it's spreading."

Dread was beginning to seep it's way into the pit of Jackie's stomach.  River Bayou was still missing.

==============================

(The Ego Cafe)

Tapping his fingers against his leg, Jackie impatiently waited for Chase and Henrik to arrive as the minutes slowly ticked by.  Huffing a frustrated sigh for the umpteenth time.  Jackie began to pace, outside the Cafe.  The Cafe was on the campus and towards the right as you walk in.  Giving Jackie the perfect view of the Front Entrance.  Jackie knew that he was being illogical, he just called them like no more than ten minutes ago.  It wasn't like they could teleport or had super speed.  So, Jackie continued his illogical impatient pacing for the next half hour. He couldn't help it.  There was this feeling of dread in the pit of his stomach. Hopefully, Henrik could tell him something.  Speaking of which, there he is!

And was that, "Jack?"

"Hey Jackieboy," Jack greeted.

"Sshhh.  Keep it down," Jackie whispered looking around.  "I go by Jackson.  Or some people call me Jackie."

"Oh, sorry," Jack sheepishly apologized.

"It's okay.  Wait, Jack?  How did you get here?"  Jackie inquired.

"Do you have ninety minutes?  But seriously, I have no idea.  We're still trying to figure that out," Jack answered.

"Jackie?  You said that Corruption was spreading?"  Henrik asked getting to the topic of why they're here.

"Oh, right.  Let's grab a table and some lunch.  I'll explain everything," Jackie answered.

A couple of hours later, Jackie finished explaining what was going on.  "And that's why I called you.   Think the Corruption is spreading, Doc."

"I think you're right," Henrik confirmed.  "The Corruption could be spreading to your world, Jackie.  I thought I contained it but I guess not.  There's a way to beat the Corruption but I'm not sure on how to apply it."

"What about the Library?  You were using that for your research," Chase suggested.

"That's a good idea.  I could do some more research to see how to help," Henrik agreed.

"Well, the fastest way to do that is if we take a short cut through the Art Gallery." Jackie hesitated a bit, trying to figure out how to phrase what he wanted to say next.  "I was hoping Henrik, that maybe you could take a look for yourself.  See what's going on with Lou and Erin.  Maybe you could figure out how to combat this?"

"That is a good idea," Henrik commented.

"Alright, let's head on out guys," Jackie said sounding more confident then he felt.

===========================

(Dolphin Treasure Art Gallery)

Erin and Lou worked relentlessly at their projects.  Both of them suddenly stopped what they were doing.  The felt the tug on their strings and knew what it meant.  Lou Huffle would get the chance to show her brand new comic and have the perfect story arch.  Erin would be able to paint the perfect painting for she will have for new still life models to paint.  Both of them got ready for the Ultimate Art Show.

=====================

A/N:  Here are a couple of links that helped inspired this story and this chapter.

For those of you here on Tumblr that might not know.  @dolphintreasureart has a YouTube Channel!  Please go and check it out!  It has her doing what I call speed painting and also doing Let’s Plays of various Indie Games and Fan-Made Games

Septicscape Play List: here

This is the post that helped inspire the scene with River:  here

[alekakers]

The Story So Far (or How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love The Existential Dread)

- 32-

When I was a kid I thought of thirty-two as this incredibly significant age. For whatever reason I viewed it as the epitome of reaching adulthood. Of course as a child I thought of everyone older than me as an adult. You know that weird skewed perspective thing, when you recall memories from childhood and even high school kids looked like grown ups. But in my head thirty-two was a mythical age that solidified your status as an adult. An age that once reached meant you were no longer a young man/woman, but a full fledged adult-y adult.

Now as I sit here looking back on thirty-two years of life I can say I had no idea how my perspective on age and life would change over the next couple decades. But in some strange way I wasn’t completely wrong either. I had wanted to do this kinda thing when I turned 30 but that was a chaotic time so I never got around to it. So now with two more years behind me, here is a reflection on a simple life and what I’ve learned from it. Let’s start at the beginning...

- Born On The Bayou -

I was born in the early afternoon in Nassau Bay, Texas. I grew up on the same 25 acre ranch my mom was raised on. 30 minutes outside of Houston, 20 minutes from the Gulf of Mexico, and 10 minutes from the Johnson NASA Space Center where my grandparents were instrumental in the Apollo and space shuttle programs. My grandfather was an Oklahoma farm boy that crossed the Mississippi in a covered wagon who ended up putting men on the moon. My grandmother came from New England and was breaking ground in the country’s fledgling space program when she fell in love with a cowboy rocket scientist and brought my mom into the world. Unfortunately they died when my mom was in college. I wish I could have met them.

My dad grew up in a sleepy suburb outside Portland, Oregon. His mother was an eccentric, loving, and strong-willed woman. It was her grandfather, Aleksander Justice, that I’m named after. A wolgadeutsche immigrant, he moved to America to start a new life for himself and his family. My grandmother was harshly old-fashioned to say the least, but she loved me and my sister with all her heart and was in our lives more than any other extended family member. Her passing a few years ago wrecked me more than I thought it would.

My father’s father was an orphan adopted and raised by his Uncle. As an angsty youth he enlisted in the navy to avoid jail time, served as a frogman in Vietnam, worked as a motorcycle cop for decades to support three kids, helped raise my cousin after my aunt got divorced, and was a volunteer firefighter and loving grandfather and great grandfather when he passed a couple years back. He was and will always be the prime example of the man I judge myself against. I miss him a lot.

- Beans and Cornbread -

My parents met in college and were soon after married and the proud parent’s of a baby boy. My dad was serving in the navy when both I and then my sister, Erin, were born. After his tour of duty my parents moved to the property in Texas that was left to my mom and my uncle. Despite being crazy young, dirt poor, and perhaps in retrospect being wildly unprepared to raise a family, my parents managed to keep us fed and clothed and sheltered. Most importantly they instilled in us the values and morals I still hold dear. Treat others with kindness. Be grateful for what you have. Work hard, try your best, and never give up no matter what life throws at you. In some ways I’m grateful for my modest upbringing and the appreciation it gave me for the little things in life.

Even though my friends lived in nice suburbs while I lived in a run down ranch house, even though they had nintendos and nerf guns while I had cheap plastic toys, even though we ate on a shoe string budget and couldn’t go on fancy vacations, even through the emotional trauma of it all, I still look back on my childhood fondly. I am eternally grateful for those years. Wandering around the pasture. Erin and I letting our imaginations run wild. Going to cub scouts every week. Making our own fun roaming around the church after hours while our mom was there to do whatever she was there to do. My parents scraping every penny to make holidays and birthdays special. I wouldn’t trade all the dinners of beans and cornbread for anything else. I’ll always be a humble country boy at heart.

- Misty Mountain Hop -

Three months after my 11th birthday we packed up the house, loaded the moving truck, and drove half way across the country to start a new life in Washington. My dad had been unemployed for a while and ended up finding a job with the boy scouts in Everett. It would give our family a modicum of economic security and put us closer to my dad’s family in Oregon. It was a jolting transition to say the least. Shortly after we moved puberty hit like a ton of bricks. My early childhood was firmly left in Texas and my teenage years made their angsty debut in Washington.

We moved into a quiet suburb 30 minutes north of Seattle and for the first time our family had a level of comfort we had never had. We could afford name brand cereal! But simultaneously my father’s anger issues were coming to a boiling point. Also my sister and I were diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. It was a very tumultuous time. My defense mechanism was to retreat, and I became terribly introverted and detached, retreating into music and video games. My sister went the opposite direction and became a loud, boisterous spit-fire, finding herself at home in the world of theater. I think we both already had the predilections for these respective personality traits, but the dissonance in the family only exaggerated them.

After a few years we moved into another house around the block. It was around this time that my father’s temper finally became too much and he started seeking help to work through some things. It took some time but I can’t stress enough how much of a different person he was after that. Night and day. I was in high school at this point and it was also around this time that I started to become disillusioned with the status quo of society. The modern school system seemed pointless, I started smoking weed, and music became the end all be all of my existence. It still is. Music is life! I dropped out of high school and decided to live the life I wanted to live.

Throughout my teenage years I played in different bands, experimented with all kinds of drugs, met and broke up with my first true love, entered the work force, and started the slow painful transition from adolescence to adulthood. It was a wild time! While part of me wishes I had stuck out high school, I have never regretted the choices I made. I saw that so much of the reality around me was a construct of our culture and I sought to push the boundaries of that reality. And I’m glad I did. I learned lessons the hard way, on my terms. I saw past so many lies and illusions and fallacies of how we’re expected to live our lives and perceive the world. I created my own world of truths and morals instead of blindly accepting the ones being pushed on me. It was an incredibly eye-opening and freeing time in my life and I credit those experiences for a lot of the wisdom and knowledge that I’ve absorbed.

*Disclaimer: I am grateful that I came out of that time in my life relatively unscathed. I know/knew many people that couldn’t claim themselves so lucky. It takes an incredibly strong will to toe the line and step back without going over the edge. Even though I wouldn’t change a moment of it, I wouldn’t recommend the life I led to anyone.

- Retreat and Rebirth -

After the last band I was in during those days broke up, our collective friend groups started to dissipate. As the realities of adult life started to pull from different directions most people rose to the occasion. I did not. Burnt out from the crazy ride and being overwhelmed by life I retreated to a world of isolation. A little solitude is healthy. I consider myself an outgoing introvert (A term a like a lot). But I took it too far. Unemployed for three years. Letting many friendships dwindle and slip away. Spending my days doing nothing but smoking weed and playing video games. It was unhealthy and I didn’t know how to change. Then the universe decided it was time. Just after my 22nd birthday I finally cut ties with a very close but deceptively toxic friend. After smoking half a pack a day since I was 16 I decided to quit. And I decided to take a break from smoking weed. Then to top it all off my childhood dog that I had had for 14 years died. To this day that remains the most transformational time in my life.

I spent that spring and summer reconnecting with myself and what was important in life. Taking care of my diabetes. Eating healthier. Gardening. I leaned into making mixtapes like never before. It is still my main hobby. Musica es vida! I had what I can only describe as a spiritual awaking. Come fall I was smoking weed again but with a renewed respect for the plant. I had a job doing something I had unexpectedly developed a passion for, cooking. And I found myself coming out of my social isolation. It was like I ended a three year hiatus from the world. I still think of my life in terms of before that time and after.

Then three years after I hit the reset button on life I was ready for another change. I was 25 and the inexorable march of time wasn’t stopping. So I finally moved out of my parent’s house. No shame! Science says that adolescence in modern humans lasts into our early twenties. And I was definitely still weening out of my teenage years at that age and was lucky to have such amazing supportive parents. It wasn’t until 24/25 that the existential dread of life started to set in and I thought, shit I gotta get outta here. December 2012, the apocalypse didn’t happen, and I moved in with my sister in downtown Seattle. She herself had spent the last few years overcoming her own traumas and wrestling with her own demons, and she helped me step even further outside my comfort zone into the greater world. I am so grateful for the two years we got to live together as fledgling adults.

- She Saved Me -

Just shy of a year living among the sights and sounds of the city, I found myself falling into a dangerous rut. I had been at the same job for three years. Commuting between the suburbs and downtown. Six years since my last relationship. Not much of a social life. And finding escape from the dull routine at the bottom of a bottle. Get up. Go to work. Come home. Get drunk and high and play video games or watch tv. Rinse, repeat. I suddenly found myself back where I was. And again I didn’t know how to break the cycle. Then I met the one person that would change my life in ways I never could have expected. The one person that would rock my world, wake me up to the true possibilities of existence, and become the one person that I could truly never live without.

One fall day I walk into work to see a new face. Olivia was her name. Damn she’s cute, I thought. And I quickly became enamored with her personality. But it would take 6 months of quietly pining for her before I had the courage to try my hand. Then on a fateful day in May we spent a whole day together. Then a whole week together. Then the summer that would change my life forever. We fell madly in love. I stopped drinking like a horse. My heart was opened to another for the first time in many many years. My mind was awakened by a mind I so closely related to. My body was refreshed by the passion I had been so long without. It was another rebirth of the soul, the kind that shook me to my very core. I had almost resigned myself to being alone forever, working a dead end job and drinking the nights away. Then she saved me. She remains my best friend, my rock, and my favorite person in the whole world.

- My Place -

Invigorated and encouraged, I found a new job. A slight step up in the culinary sense. Challenging yet rewarding. Olivia moved in with us. Then a few months later we got our own place in north Seattle. Shortly after we got a pupper. It was an incredible time. Feeling truly independent and self-supportive for the first time. Developing an amazing relationship with the person that I quickly realized I could spent the rest of my life with. This was the first time in my life I could attest to feeling the slightest bit like an adult. Of course I had realized long ago that you never really feel like an adult. You don’t just wake up one day like a switch was flipped and go, oh I’ve got it now. Life is a constant journey of growth and learning. We’re all just faking it till we make it.

But this was the first time in my life where I felt like, ah okay this is it, this is life, this is being an adult. Waking up every day, doing your best to navigate life, and constantly trying to figure out what it means to be you, what's important to you. Then life set up to deliver another wave of challenges to overcome. It was around this time that my family experienced a huge upheaval. We almost lost someone very close to us and it rattled me to my core. Then my boss was involved in a car accident and as his assistant I was suddenly interim kitchen manager. A couple months later the owner was impressed enough to make it official and I toke my first salaried job.

I relished the opportunity and strove to run that kitchen the absolute best I could. I went above and beyond. I poured everything I had into it. I learned so much about the restaurant game, management, cooking, and above all about myself. It was an intense period of personal growth. At the same I was coming into my own as a leader and a cook, I was also dealing with multiple family tragedies. And as much as I loved the work, the restaurant, and the owners, the stress of the job started taking its toll. Salary is a double edged sword in any industry, but especially in food service. If you know you know. I was doing my best to soldier on but I got to a point where enough was enough. I had come into some money and decided to take some time off. I left on good terms and will never forget the lessons I learned and the people I met.

- Intermission -

I had just turned 30. I had spent the last two years running myself ragged as the kitchen manager of a bustling Seattle restaurant. I put my blood, sweat and tears into that place. It was time for a break. I invested most of the money I inherited, and then set enough aside to to take some time to live life again. I rested. I remembered how to not be anxious every waking moment. Olivia and I went on a cross country road trip to see the national parks and visit my home town in Texas. I proposed. She said yes! It was so incredibly cathartic and needed. I am still grateful I had the opportunity to take the time I needed to reset.

Later that year it was time to go back to work. I ended up back at the little place in the burbs where I started my journey. I was happy to take the lessons I learned and come back as kitchen manager. It was just what I needed to ease back into the industry. The perfect place to put into practice my new found appreciation for work life balance. Meant to be a temporary step, as soon as I did all I was able to do to help them right the ship, it was time to move on. My father in law put me in touch with the chef he worked with and he brought me on board. It was a significant step up in the culinary scene, and I’ve been tapped to take over for the sous chef.

- And Now For Something Completely Different -

Now here I am. 32 years old. That mythical age I held in random esteem when I was a kid. Looking back on my life and thinking about what I’ve learned along the way. Even though I still struggle with my less savory qualities - I fear change and the unknown. I’m scared of success. I suffer from impostor syndrome and doubt my own strengths. I avoid confrontation. - I’m working on it. For the most part I love who I am. I’m proud of the person I’ve become. But it took a time. And work. I made peace with childhood traumas. I fought through pain, did some serious introspection and soul-searching, and came out the other side a better person for it. I looked inside myself to find the strength to overcome my demons. I think it’s inside all of us. Some people attribute it to a higher power. Some people find peace and comfort in the company of others. Whatever it takes, we’re all capable of making changes for the better.

If there is one thing life has taught me it’s that we are never done learning. We never stop growing. We never “figure it out”. We’re constantly being tested by the realities of life and doing our best to rise to the occasion. At 32 I may be an adult by most standards, but I’m still sorting out what that even means, what my purpose in life is, and waking up every day just trying to be the best me I can be. That’s life. And I’m grateful for the safety and security that gives me the luxury of musing on such ephemeral topics. I’m grateful for every day I wake up and get another whack at this crazy thing called living. I’m grateful I got to exist at all. I don’t spend much time these days waxing on the countless possibilities of the what’s and why’s of reality. At the end of day it’s a mute point. My consciousness still inhabits this physical body in this physical realm, and if I wanna keep seeing how far I can take it I have to play by its rules. Even if I occasionally see how far I can bend them. Whatever comes next, whatever is beyond the great void, my reality exists in the here and now. I’ve come to terms (for the most part;) with my mortality and the existential dread. It reminds me that its up to myself to find purpose in life. So I try to live in the present, to work on my shortcomings, make the best of every day, and treat others how I would want to be treated.

As I stare down the barrel of the “best years” of my life, I am hopeful and optimistic about the future. If not for the world at large (jury’s still out on that one) than at least for my ability to navigate it and make the best of it for myself and others. I'm engaged to my best friend, I'm in a kick ass band making music with some of my oldest friends, and I've got a job that I'm incredibly excited about. Lao Tzu said, “If you are depressed you are living in the past. If you are anxious you are living in the future.” Wise words. But at the same time I think its important to remember where we came from and retain the lessons we’ve learned along the way. As well as looking to the future so that we may live with purpose. I think living is a delicate balance of keeping in mind all that was, all that is, and all that may be. And we’re all just doing our best to find the balance. Do whatever makes you happy as long as it doesn’t hurt others. Try to leave the world a better place for those that come after. Be nice and work hard. Love yourself so that you can love others. Namaste!

- Alek

TL;DR - I just turned 32. Life is crazy. Be nice and work hard. Love yourself and love others. Do your best. Namaste!

[morienmacbain]

My Life As a Short Work-Oct. 2021 Edition

       I grew up in a house filled with books, records, toys, comics, dogs, cats, games, tools, and bright light.  My parents were teachers, and strong enough and good enough to raise my brother and me well, and our childhoods went on longer than most people’s. In my memory, it was always Halloween, Christmas, Easter, summer vacation, or a birthday.  We played, and the games we played were wondrous.

     We visited with cousins, aunts and uncles, and grandparents, who were decent and who loved us.  The more I see of the world and all the kinds of families in it, the more grateful I am for the one I grew up with.

    In junior high and most of high school, I spent every day crazed with fear. I did all the plays, and found out to my shock that I could talk to girls.  In tenth grade, I found out that I was failing geometry, and I didn’t take it well.  I decided to kill myself before by parents saw my grade.  I wound up playing in the woods instead, and then went home.  I got a massive scholarship to Bethany, put on armor for the first time and loved it, and kept on fighting even though I lost all the time.

    I made out with a flamenco dancer and went to England. I went to Glastonbury and Stonehenge, drank from the fountain where the Holy Grail had been hidden, had a very strange experience involving an angel, and climbed a mountain in Scotland. I got sort of engaged to a woman who liked to start fires. I fell in love; I got my heart broken. I was almost killed by terrorists. Some weird and possibly occult stuff happened with bugs. I met a great girl. I graduated with honors and moved in with the great girl.

    I kept on fighting in really bad armor, and started graduate school at WVU. I read some amazing books that opened up my head, and met the people that were going to become my best friends. I relearned that I could sing and tell stories, and that people liked it. I got squired to the best knight I know, and graduated with honors again.

    I married the great girl, moved into my parent’s basement, and worked my butt off for nine months substituting, teaching homebound, and working for a security and detective agency (I almost got savaged by a dog and a group of townie cops when we were investigating their chief's adultery.). I took a job on the Bayou Teche, and we had a strange year in Louisiana. I hated the school, and at the end of the year I was ready to flee back into academia. We found a dog that we loved very much, but it wasn’t like having a kid.  We got to see Mardi Gras, and see a pig face in a jar. Sunshine and I were good to and for each other, and loved each other, and were happy together for many years.

    We went back to Morgantown, began running up truly staggering student loan debt, and we threw parties people will remember forever; I fell out of love with my academic discipline, and joined the army. I requested demolition training and liked it. I went to Guatemala for a hurricane relief mission,  was there cursed by a witch, and saw a woman smoke a cigarette in a way I’ll never forget. I was also busted by the MP’s for dealing black-market reading material to the locals.

     My friends and I hunted Mothman, the Ogua, and other creatures. We stayed in haunted hotels, took stupid risks, and dragged people back and forth over the lair of a lake monster with their swim trunks full of jerky.

    I got back to Morgantown, left my Ph.D. unfinished, and went to work in industrial construction, wandering around the country on jobs for eighteen months. Sunny and I split up at this time. I got blown up on the job and nearly died another time, but avoided the really bad stuff. I jumped out of an airplane over Palatka, Florida.

    I met a wonderful woman and fell in love again, and she with me, but it ended there. I took teaching work again, and moved to the coal fields. I was invited to a snake handling church, and saw a guy lose part of his hand to a rattlesnake for Jesus.

     My mother handcuffed herself to a famous actor and got arrested. I was, and remain, incredibly proud of her.

    Then I moved to Berkeley Springs. Sunny and I tried to make it work again. Then I was deployed for Operation Noble Eagle, and I became a bike cop in Georgia for a year. I got to protect a president I didn’t like. I killed and ate an alligator, mostly out of pity. I defused a brawl using my words and an apple pie. Sunny and I filed the divorce papers. Then I came home.

    I dated for a while, performed Shakespeare, got engaged to a minister, and then she came to her senses and backed out.

     My armor gradually got better and better, until it became the suit on my favorite toy knight when I was a kid.  It’s heavy and hot, but that’s another dream I get to live out. My brother and I get to put on our great armor and fight together, and that’s very good.

    Then I met The One. I asked her to marry me in Venice. I moved in, we got married,  have been happy and  good to one another, and we had the best baby I’ve ever seen.

     Chloe is a gifted, sweet, honest, loud, energetic, and wildly creative kid with a twisted sense of humor. She's our girl, all right! She's way braver and emotionally healthier than I was at her age. We go camping and geocaching together, and sometimes we hunt the ghost dog of Turner's Gap, run 5k's, or explore tunnels and caves!

      I got to travel to Spain, and make a pilgrimage by bicycle along the Camino de Santiago, which may or may not have erased my sins.  I laid a stone on top of the Mountain of Mercury, and saw the Grail in a chapel on top of a mountain, where I threw up.

      I went through a bad patch when my world went dark.  I was close to the edge again, but Melissa was there to catch me.  I got the help I needed, and am well again.

     I started a charity that encourages food donations to local pantries. It really took off, and it has done some real good over the years.

     I came to horsemanship late in my forties. I won a few tourneys, tried jousting, and adopted a horse named Luna. We didn't hit it off at first, but now she's a sweetheart. I took a bad fall off of her a couple years ago and got concussed, but that was my fault. She's a gorgeous gem, and the right horse for me.

      I discovered my face had been missing a beard that it desperately needed for years. Now it's firmly in place, and both my face and I feel much better in ourselves (although it does have more than a bit of gray in it, truth be told).

     My father beat pancreatic cancer in his fifties, and lived another eighteen years, in which he realized every day was gravy. The cancer came back a few years ago, and he died. My mother was next to him at the end. I'm glad we got to say all the stuff I didn't have the sense to say when I was a kid. I'm proud of his life and how he faced its end, not once, but again and again.

      We went to France, and took Chloe with us. We drank champagne at the top of the Eiffel Tower, did a bike tour through the streets of Paris which I am amazed didn't result in fatalities, saw the Roman Area of Lutece, the stones of Carnac, the Bayeux Tapestry, Chartres, Notre Dame, and wander the streets and battlements of Mont Saint-Michel by moonlight. We drank from the Spring of Barenton in the Forest of Broceliande, and hiked through the Val Sans Retour, where Morgan Le Fay tested Lancelot!

      The next year we flew to England (first class--the only way to fly!) and got to stay in the clock tower of St. Pancras Station. We stayed the night in a king's chamber in Warwick Castle, walked the Ridgeway from the White Horse of Uffington to Dragon Hill and Wayland's Smithy. We saw the Avebury Stones, Canterbury, and I spent the night on top of Glastonbury Tor, where I listened to someone snoring inside St. Michael's Tower. Was it Arthur? I didn't check.

      I realize now I've gotten to live out some version of most of my childhood aspirations (teacher, soldier, cop, knight, father, husband, traveler, writer, storyteller, minister, horseman, actor, explorer, private detective, ghost/monster hunter). I get to play Dungeons & Dragons with my family and friends. and can buy any minis and game books I want. I'm living the dream!

     Part-time I get to be Morien, who is a  far braver, stronger, tougher, more resourceful, gracious, uncompromising,  devout,  stoic, and  passionate version of myself.  He allows me to play at being, and perhaps more nearly approach, a better version of myself.

     We have a treasure trove in our friends, and in our families, and  I’ve never known any man as richly blessed with the women in his life as I have been.

    Now I teach in a great school, and come home to my two favorite girls every day. I’d take another fifty-three years like those in a heartbeat!

[thisweekingundamwing]

This Week in Gundam Wing Apr 1st - Apr 7th

Another week, another roundup! Special thanks to all who submitted works, both for themselves and others. 

As a gentle reminder, we’re here to highlight any new content from the previous week. If we missed a submission, we’ll be happy to update our post or carry it over to the next week, but if we tried to include everything beyond a week, we’d never get a post finished!

Thank you so much!

--Mod Rem

Fanfiction:

A Little Piece of Gundam Wing

The archive is being ported to AO3! Check it out!

AerisEithne

The Snow Queen 

Days after the incident that nearly sparked a new war, Relena returns to the Sanc Kingdom to contemplate her future. She can’t help but wonder which path the perfect soldier will choose… and whether their destinies will continue to collide.

Pairings: 1xR

Warnings: Gundam Wing: Frozen Teardrop, Preventers (Gundam Wing)

 @the-indomitable-bhg, Morbidbirdy

Animus

A ghost of Heero's past takes possession of his life, relationships and his identity.

Pairings: 1x3, 2xH

Warnings: Violence, Rape/Non-Con, Post-Canon, Psychological Torture, Blood and Violence, Explicit Sexual Content

@claraxbarton , @kangofu-cb

Bad Company 

"The only hell and the only paradise are the ones we build ourselves." - Unknown

Years after the wars, Preventers has decided to tackle one of the most powerful and oldest of all the Terran crime syndicates. Embedded dangerously deep in an undercover operation targeting the violent and bloodthirsty Sinaloa Cartel, Trowa Barton is pushed beyond even his flexible morals - and when his new "partner" arrives in the very unexpected and unwelcome form of Duo Maxwell, the one person he'd been trying to protect at all costs, both men must deal with the realization that preserving peace for humanity is turning into a bloodsport.

What follows is race against time to uncover the evidence they need to bring Sinaloa, and its beautiful but deadly leaders, down - all while keeping each other alive in the process

Pairings: 2x3

Warnings: Violence, Post-Canon, Undercover Missions, Undercover as a Couple, Implied/Referenced Torture, Implied Sexual Content, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, Human Trafficking, Gang Violence, Explicit Sexual Content, Moral Dilemmas

CosmicAether

Untitled GW Resistance AU 

When their communicator breaks down, Duo and Trowa must survive the night before attempting to rendezvous to their extraction point. Duo confronts Trowa about their relationship that night and vow to be more honest with each other, they need only to make it home first.

Pairings: 2x3

DarkDanc3r

April Writes Playlist Challenge 

30 days, 30 songs from a Spotify playlist. Characters and pairings will be at the start of each chapter.

Warnings: Tumblr Prompt, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Fix-It of Sorts, Damnit Prowl Lives

GlassAlice

The Pictures He Drew 

Hiatus is over! Last chapter will be up in two weeks. Re-write of a fic posted to 1x2 yahoo groups I wrote forever ago and lost. Only the bare bones of this fic have anything to do with the first one. Hopefully this one is a bit better. Originally posted under name Duos_hallelujah. Simple get together fic with Duo being an artist.

Pairings: 1xR, 1x2

Warnings: Rape/Non-Con, Song Fic Kinda, Rape/Non-con Elements, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, these boys are messed up, they need therapy, after war, the pilots trying to live their lives, 1x2, 2x1 - Freeform, 1x2x1, 1xR non con, 1x2 end game, we're back from hiatus, boys just trying to figure shit out, relena is kind of the bad guy, Sorry Not Sorry, i'm anti relena, so expect her to be treated badly, bullied duo, attempted suicide, Homophobia, Homophobic Language, language trigger warnings, a bit dark, Angst

Lithle

Like Oxygen 

Five years after the war, Wufei seeks Duo out for one more mission. But Duo has his reasons for wanting to be left alone. As Wufei and Duo grow closer, so do Duo's memories of the war, and with them, the old scars and dangerous thought patterns that make even breathing seem difficult.

--Note: Originally published on FF.net, this is my 'Editor's Choice' edition. It's been edited and slightly rewritten for flow and cohesion.

Pairings: 2x5

Warnings: Unhealthy Relationships, Post War Trauma, Suicidal Thoughts, no EW, Post-War, Post-Canon, POV Duo Maxwell, Explicit Language, Sex, Duo is Broken, Wufei is Pretty Broken Too, Gritty, Get Together

Luvsanime02

Just One Day 

Relena gets a surprise on her birthday.

Warnings: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Light Angst, Family Issues, Cocktail Friday

Maldoror

The Source of All Things

Center, a planet where magic and technology blend. Or more accurately, fight tooth and nail. A planet of Sources, holes in our boring dimension letting through arcane power, chaos and pseudo-deities. In this hot-house of myths and very real dangers, Trowa and Quatre find a mysterious man at the end of a shamanic voyage. Portents suggest this Heero Yuy is crucial to Center’s survival. He’s important enough to have some interesting enemies after him, at any rate: a devious killer and thief called ‘Shinigami’, and a very irate Dragon. Beyond them looms an even greater threat. Indeed, the greatest of them all.

Pairings: 3x4, 2x5, eventual 1x2x5

Warnings: Violence, alternative universe, Science Fiction, Fantasy, Plot Twists, fairly graphic depiction of sex, Mild description of self-harm, Mathematical Magic, weird science, crones - Freeform, Magic and Technology brawling and eventually screwing, Eventual Threesome, Kinda, Insanity of arcane origin, The universe is a pile of marbles and other dubious allegories

Two Halves

The two kingdoms of Sanq and Lin were at war for years; a conflagration involving magic, armies and political murder. The conflict left both nations devastated and strewn with refugees. The king of Sanq finds his infant son, lost at birth, among the death and the ruin, a miracle he barely dared to hope for. But there isn’t just one boy, there are two, clinging together like two halves of a whole that cannot be separated. Decades later, the truth behind that second child’s existence will put a hole in the world, or possibly save it.

Pairings: 1x2

Warnings: Fantasy AU, medieval setting with magic, starts with our heroes as children, Cousin Incest, sort of, eventually, being royalty this is in fact the norm and rather expected of them, Canon-Typical Violence

Margaret_Armstrong

Queen’s Rook 

Rook; definition:

1. a gregarious Eurasian crow with black plumage and a bare face, nesting in colonies in treetops.

2. a chess piece, typically with its top in the shape of a battlement, that can move in any direction along a rank or file on which it stands.

Queen's Rook; definition:

(chess) A rook on the queen’s side of the board at the start of the game.

Truly, a female bodyguard is just what the Vice Foreign Minister needs. There are dangers about.

Pairings: Canon Relationships, 3x4, 2xH, 1xR

Warnings: Violence, Women Being Awesome, brothers in arms, everyone protects Quatre except Quatre, L2 forever!, The Past Never Stays Buried

 @noelleian

The Pact 

After seducing Quatre, the other four ex-pilots brave the uncharted waters of their new abilities and learn to cope with the unintentional gifts they were given. But as always, power requires responsibility and the humbling acknowledgement of humanity's weaknesses. The struggle to stay true to themselves becomes a dangerous and terrifying endeavor as they skirt the boundary where conscience bleeds into chaos and the dark abyss of temptation.

Pairings: 1x2x3x4x5, 3x4, 1x4, 2x4, 4x5

Warnings: Smut, Porn With Plot, OT5, Fluff, Humor, Fivesome - M/M/M/M/M, Angst, Newtypes, Possessive Behavior, Alternate Universe - Dark, Non-Graphic Violence, Alpha/Omega, Omega Verse

Green Olive

Duo's had a rough day and needs to unwind, but this time he's in the mood for some company.

Warnings: Friendship, Bromance, Underage Drinking

@noirangetrois

Cocktail Friday

This will be a collection of my Cocktail Friday snippets.

Pairings: Various

Warnings: Cocktail Friday, Alcohol

The Story of Wrong 

Duo recounts his experiences during the war in order to explain... well, why he was wrong.

Pairings: 1x2

Warnings: Violence, Major Character Death, Duo POV, Angst, Drama, Tragedy, slight AU, Spoilers, very dark, Heero and Duo don't die, I promise, Yaoi, slowburn, Mental Instability, Mental Health Issues, Mental Breakdown, If those are in any way an issue for you then go ahead and skip this, Eventual Smut, VERY eventual, this is mostly canon-compliant but I've changed a couple things here and there

Outrightmight

MCU One Shot Series: After Colony 195 

"It took Bucky a split second to get his bearings. The portal had spit them out into an aircraft hanger. The make and model of the one and only small jet was unfamiliar. He would have said it was of Soviet make, but the 50-foot robot idly standing in the middle of the hanger was making him second-guess himself."

Warnings: Natasha Romanov (Marvel), James "Bucky" Barnes, Steve Rogers, Duo Maxwell, Sam Wilson (Marvel), Heero Yuy, Canon-Typical Violence, One Shot

@remsyk-blog

Souls for the Bayou 

For Trowa Barton, exploring the bayou is the ultimate adventure. Drawn to its borders since before he could walk, he spent his childhood learning its paths and uncovering its secrets.

But a chance encounter sets him on a path that spans across time, challenging everything he thought he knew, plunging him deeper into its mysteries than he ever thought possible.

Pairings: 2x3

Warnings: Supernatural - Freeform, Fae & Fairies, Fae Magic, Bayou, Cajun, Childhood Friends, Childhood Memories, Mystery, Slow Burn, Technically Speaking, Young Love, Use of accents, Original Character(s), Other Additional Tags to Be Added, I don't want to give it all away at once, Fandom Trumps Hate, Time Jump, Suspense, Quatre is a great friend, Mentions of Children Disappearing

Shenanigans

A Collection of my shitposts from Tumblr.

Enter looking for a good time. Expect the tags to change as more installments are added

Warnings: chat fic, shitpost, Professor!Trowa, Cooking, Pinterest, Pancakes, Exercising, Tumblr Prompt, Originally Posted on Tumblr, In depth analysis of riding dick, New Year’s Eve, Jenga, Stupid Dares, Just Heero Things

ShenLong

Bound, Bonded and Betrayed 

Heero is the eldest son of the King of Colonia. His 21st birthday is approaching and as tradition dictates his betrothed is soon to arrive. However he is also bound by tradition to select his own personal slave. The events that unfold lead him down a path that not only tests his sanity but his humanity and love as well.

Pairings: 1x2, 1xR, 3x4, 13x11

Warnings: sap, Angst, Bondage, Slavery, Yaoi, Lemon, Lime, Het, Violence, Fluff, AU, OOC. - Freeform

@softnocturne

P.S. I Miss You

Quatre is missing Trowa who is off on a month-long mission.

Pairings: 3x4

Warnings: Fluff, Angst

StarLove18

Believe in Yourself

Children will live what they learn. Pain is costly, until one incident sparks a new flame of hope and a promise to persevere.

Pairings: 1&2&3&4&5

Warnings: Original Character(s), Bullying, Comfort/Angst, School, Minor Violence, Loss of Parent(s), Alternate Universe, AO3 FB Challenge

Thai_tea_addict

Abyss

Duo's not in a good situation when he falls in love with the man next door, and it goes downhill from there.

Pairings: 1x2, 2x3x4

Warnings: Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-con, Alternate Universe - Dark, Dark Character, Abuse, Stalking, Murder, Sadism, Infidelity

Warnings: DARK – please don't read if you think any of the following subject matter could hurt you: depictions of abuse, sexual assault, stalking, murder, sadism (not the fun kind).

Whenpigsfly84

Doormat Babe

A mysterious child is left with Duo one morning. As he seeks for answers he'll have to face his past and prepare for a haunting future he'd never expected. Will he be able to reconnect with old friends or will he lose all those he loves?

Pairings: 1x2, 2&H, 1x2x5, 3x4

Warnings: Violence, Drama, Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Minor Character Death, Swearing

White_fox

Life is a Highway 

On an impulsive plan to travel from California to New York City to propose to his longtime girlfriend, Heero Yuy did not plan to pick up a hitchhiker in nowhere Texas. Faced with some setbacks and a growing attraction to his passenger, Heero goes through more challenges than he planned on facing.

Pairings: 1x2, 1xR

Warnings: light slash, Fluff, Road Trips, Dubious Morality

Snippets:

@lifeaftermeteor

Duo’s Apartment

@noirangetrois

Ladies Night

@weiclown

WIP  

Headcanons / Meta / Discussions:

@remsyk-blog

Gundam Wing on Ao3 - Breakdown of Fanfiction stats 

 @terrablaze514

Ladies of Gundam Wing 

Secret Magic Heero Yuy 

Four Months after Mariemaia 

Fanart:

@noelleian

Zero Three Zero Four

Hipster Quatre 

@remsyk-blog

Duo Maxwell Hip Hop

 @showtime-eric

Trowa and Quatre, Sandrock and Heavyarms

 Crackposts:

@the-indomitable-bhg

BDSM 

Calendar Events:

Cocktail Friday

https://gwcocktailfriday.tumblr.com/

A new prompt every Monday!

Submissions should be posted Fridays between 3 and 5pm EST, and tagged with @gwcocktailfriday

Interview with a Creator by @remsyk-blog @interview-with-a-creator

Remsyk has created an online interview for fandom creators to fill out and then she features one each week so that everyone in the fandom can learn a bit about each other.

This week features @scacao

If you haven’t filled out her interview, go! do! now!

[danramzmultiverse]

5 Different Inspirations for my Horror Game

Silent Hills/PT

Silent Hills, or more well known as PT, was a game in development by Hideo Kojima while he was still working underneath Konami (that was a very unhealthy relationship btw). The most we ever got to experience of Kojimas vision for this game was a playable teaser released on the PS4 back in 2014, yet this small piece is still regarded as one of the most terrifying and well thought out horror experiences in gaming. Many still pray that we get to see the full thing some day, but who knows.

The tight corridor gameplay and setting for this demo was the literal majority of the inspiration for my game’s setting and tone, but I could never even come close to the type of feeling this game gives to the player.

Here’s a playthrough of the teaser:

Resident Evil 7

The most recent mainline Resident Evil game, Resident Evil 7, was actually my first foray into the series, and what a game to get me into it all. Based in the bayou’s of some fantasy southern state in America, you explore a mansion and the outside grounds of a family corrupt by a power let loose by the Umbrella Corporation.

RE7 was actually the first RE game to go first person, and in my opinion, it made the game 10x better than it would have been from a third-person perspective. The change in perspective was so widely praised despite some initial controversy that the next mainline game, Resident Evil 8: Village, is also going to be played from a FPP. My experience in this game was one of the big reasons why I chose to have my game play from a FPP, and I think it paid off.

Here’s a quick review of the game:

Visage

Visage kinda came out of nowhere as an early access game on Steam, but even with it’s single chapter that was available on the initial release, it hit big on Youtube and Twitch and swiftly rose to being one of the more terrifying games playable right now. In fact, it’s probably on the levels of PT in terms of it’s scare factor, but that’s mostly due to the fact it very apparently draws big inspirations from PT in it’s setting and tone.

Having fully released now with all 4 chapters, the game sits at an 88% positive review rate on Steam, and an 80 on Metacritic, which is pretty solid for a horror game. Check out this trailer for the 1.0 release:

I drew alot of the same type of inspiration from this game that I did PT, due to their very similar natures in gameplay and general vibe.

Hereditary

Possibly one of the most disturbing and shocking horror movies I’ve ever had the pleasure of watching, Hereditary sits as one of the biggest inspirations for new ideas I’ve been thinking of when it comes to revisiting my horror game. The movie has an incredibly unsettling ambience to it, with no fear of showing any and all of some of the most visceral and gruesome scenes I’ve seen in a movie, rivalled only by another movie, directed by the same person as Hereditary (the other movie is Midsommar for the record, a very weird, but good, movie).

The spiritual and cult-like focuses the movie has sparked some ideas that I could implement into my horror game, mainly in the ambience and mechanical side of things. Maybe it’s possible to get an idea for what I mean from watching the trailer:

The Last of Us 2 - Lighting

I won’t get into my personal thoughts on the game, because it’d probably just wanna play through it again, but the main reason why I’m mentioning this game is because of the amazing use of lighting in this game, and the tie to my own love of well-used in-game lighting.

The subway scene in the game is both one of the scariest and most beautiful levels in the game, featuring some fantastic use of flares to light the environment and flashlight mechanics that are honestly just so nice to look at. There’s something about it all....

Anyways, here’s a playthrough of said Subway scene:

[reconditarmonia]

Dear Trick or Treater

Hi! Thank you for writing for me! I’m reconditarmonia here and on AO3. I have anon messaging off, but mods can contact me with any questions.

Alternate Universe Works | Assassin's Creed | Far from the Madding Crowd | Fidler Afn Dakh | Simoun | Sleep No More

General likes:

– Relationships that aren’t built on romance or attraction. They can be romantic or sexual as well, but my favorite ships are all ones where it would still be interesting or compelling if the romantic component never materialized.

– Loyalty kink! Trust, affectionate or loving use of titles, gestures of loyalty, replacing one’s situational or ethical judgment with someone else’s, risking oneself (physically or otherwise) for someone else, not doing so on their orders. Can be commander-subordinate or comrades-in-arms.

– Heists, or other stories where there’s a lot of planning and then we see how the plan goes.

– Femslash, complicated or intense relationships between women, and female-centric gen. Women doing “male” stuff (possibly while crossdressing).

– Stories whose emotional climax or resolution isn’t the sex scene, if there is one.

– Uniforms/costumes/clothing.

– Stories, history, and performance. What gets told and how, what doesn’t get told or written down, behavior in a society where everyone’s consuming media and aware of its tropes, how people create their personas and script their own lines.

Smut Likes: clothing, uniforms, sexual tension, breasts, manual sex, cunnilingus, grinding, informal d/s elements, intensity; stories whose resolution isn’t the sex scene. DNW "pussy."

General DNW: rape/dubcon, torture, other creative gore; unrequested AUs, including “same setting, different rules” AUs such as soulmates/soulbonds; PWP; food sex; embarrassment; focus on pregnancy; Christmas/Christian themes; focus on unrequested canon or non-canon ships; unrequested trans versions of characters.

I am requesting exclusively fic, but open to art treats!

—

Fandom: Alternate Universe Works (Treat or Trick)

Character(s): Female Li Shang (Mulan 1998), Female Ishmael (Moby Dick), Female Captain Ahab (Moby Dick), Pokémon Trainer Harrowhark Nonagesimus

Female Shang - I would...just love it so much if you Monstrous Regiment-ed this canon up. Shang also being a woman would give her even more reasons to be a hardass (is she in disguise, and thinks that her regiment failing would invite suspicion on her? is she openly female and needs to prove that she’s as good as her father and the country need her to be? is she paranoid about other women in the army, or does she want to have a female regiment?) If you want to write F!Shang/Mulan, I’d also love to know how falling in love with a woman plays into Mulan’s whole arc - it’s certainly not what her family was preparing her for, but neither was being a soldier and saving China. What does seeing another woman dressed as a man (whether Shang is openly female or not, I imagine she’d wear men’s clothes), or a group of women dressed as men, make her think? What are Yao, Chien Po, and Ling like in an AU where they’re also female, if that’s what you choose to write?

I’d be happy for just about anything in this vein - Shang character study, Mulan/Shang romance/sex (this is a canon that is a Lot about bodies and clothes), gen shenanigans with the rest of the squad, both? During canon or post? I love loyalty kink and butch characters a lot.

Female Ishmael, Female Ahab - I’d love to know more about these female sailor(s) and what drives them. A female Ishmael might still decide to sign on to a ship whenever she gets the blues, but it’d be socially fairly different, mightn’t it? (Worldbuilding-wise, I’d be more interested in a world where sailing and whaling are still typically male things as in our world, even if you make them a little less exclusively male, than an egalitarian or matriarchal world; something that women might do, without necessarily disguising themselves as men, but a GNC thing to do.) Would her already diverging from the “expected” female path in this regard affect her reception of Queequeg as someone who’s an outsider to Nantucket society? And, if Queequeg is also female, the the intimacy she offers? What does she still find outlandish? (If you also write f!Queequeg, is her life a typical female life for her home culture, or not?)

As for Ahab - just imagine this fanatic, tragic, vengeful character as a woman - with the willpower not only to do all the things canonical male Ahab does but also in a society where women aren’t really supposed to sail or kill or lead! Is she the odd one out in an otherwise male crew, or are there more women in the crew by the time she’s captain?

Pokémon Trainer Harrow - It's a great idea!! I think she'd have a Duskull, but I'm very open to any choices you make in Pokemon-ing this universe up. Do different houses tend towards different types or no? What are their different cultures around Pokémon raising, training, and fighting? What is Harrow's relationship with her Pokémon like, singular or plural? (I don't need you to think through the implications of what Lyctorhood entails in this setting if you'd rather just write slice of life, and, you know, I was writing this and realized that that might make Harrow's Pokémon Gideon. Thanks, brain, I hate it. DNW Gideon as a Pokémon.)

—

Fandom: Assassin's Creed (Treat only)

Character(s): Aveline de Grandpré

I'm close to finishing AC Liberation and I love Aveline a lot! I really like how she basically makes New Orleans into her own little fiefdom and does what she feels like doing. Not in a #girlpower way, but in the sense where she considers herself to be the best person to judge and decide in any situation and to deal with happenings on any level in her various personas, and where becoming a business magnate is actually a part of her character and plot in a way that it wasn't so much for earlier Assassins? I imagine Assassins from other places talking about New Orleans and going "oh yeah, Aveline de Grandpré runs that whole city from the shadows," and then you go there to talk to her and she pulls a Lexa (as in The 100) where she uses her slave disguise to eavesdrop on you while you wait to meet with this Assassin lady merchant.

I like her friendships with other characters too - Gérald being there as the loyal support guy, Élise and Roussillon being the people she can be at ease with (she seems so happy to see them - "Bonjour, smugglers!"). I'd be happy to see something set in New Orleans as she takes it over or after she takes it over, in the Bayou as she lives there in a very different way (where and how does she sleep when she's there?), or in Chichen Itza if you want to expand on her discovery of all the weird shit. [Edit: I've finished the game now and I also like the aspect of her mission with Connor that's about how sometimes Assassin "brother"s from other locations will show up where you, another Assassin, are because there's something they need to find or do, and you'll work together? I guess that's also the premise of AC Rev, but.]

I do ship her with Élise and would love to read that if you do too! Fighting together, whether in the Bayou or on a mission further afield that's just them; Élise visiting Aveline in New Orleans for some reason (what if they go to a fancy party together with Élise dressed as a man?); downtime fluff?

Fandom-Specific DNW: Aveline/men, even mentioned or out-of-focus.

—

Fandom: Far From the Madding Crowd (Treat or Trick)

Character(s): Bathsheba Everdene

One thing that always sticks in my mind about this novel is the way Hardy calls Bathsheba “the young farmer” just as he refers to the men as farmers - which, just saying, is more than most people writing about this story can do - and so, that being the case, what I’m most interested in is something about Bathsheba as farmer. One day in the life or four seasons in the life or five plantings/harvests in the life, or pseudo-academic fic about a case study of a woman farmer in the Victorian era, or a conflict between the farm and nature that Bathsheba has to decide how to solve.

Feel free to bring in other characters if it suits what you’re trying to do, but what I’m really looking for is a focus on Bathsheba’s work, determination, and process of learning. (I like how Bathsheba’s relationship with Gabriel ends up playing out in canon, but I don’t want shipfic.) Other ideas: something like a merchant ship AU (as the first alternate setting that came to mind where it would be not exactly the done thing for her to captain her inherited ship and make commercial decisions herself - although I do have to point out that contrary to popular belief, there were a lot of women on shipboard in the age of sail, may this be useful - but also where nature and luck/fate are as influential as they are in the original setting), or something in which the land, superstition, and ritual are more overtly magical. I LOVE English folk magic and ritual shit.

I’ve requested both tricks and treats for this fandom, but would prefer that the outlook of the fic, including if you decide to incorporate non-canon magical/spooky/occult elements, be ultimately positive rather than the doom and gloom that canon leans toward at times. A seasonal treat would be right up the alley of this request.

—

Fandom: Fidler Afn Dakh (Treat or Trick)

Character(s): The Fiddler

I would love to read about the Fiddler from the recent Yiddish production of Fiddler on the Roof, understanding him/her/them as a real person with a backstory, present and future rather than a symbol. They seem to be female (and their actor describes them as female) but wear men's clothes and are on the men's side at the wedding, and everyone seems cool with that? I'm 100% on board with any gender identity you decide you'd like to write them with. How did he/she/they come to be who they are, and what are their interpersonal relationships (platonic, familial, romantic, any gender) like? What might an encounter between them and the supernatural be or have been like? Have they always lived in Anatevka or do they wander from village to village?

Fandom-Specific DNW: antisemitism as the focus of the story. I've requested both tricks and treats, and I acknowledge that it'd be unreasonable to pretend that antisemitism doesn't exist in the world of the story, but I would prefer for any dark/scary elements to come from supernatural horror (I grew up with Singer and other Jewish folklore horror, give me as many dybbuks and demons and witches as you like) rather than the human capacity for racist violence.

—

Fandom: Simoun (Treat only)

Character(s): Neviril

I've just completed a rewatch of this show, and it has reaffirmed for me that I love Neviril. She's a leader in both a military and a religious sense, respected by her squad and by the populace, but figuring out what that means to her is such a personal journey. I still love her scene in the hearing where she speaks aloud what no one has wanted to admit or talk about - that they're soldiers now, this is war, can they still call themselves priestessses? - but I was also struck on this rewatch by how Chor Tempest increasingly becomes a player in itself in the politicking (the bit in Episode 21 where the whole lot of them fly out against orders, because it's what they, with Neviril leading and giving voice to the group, think is what their role is about), and by the scenes of her blessing the people (when iirc she is needed elsewhere by the military governor for flight purposes) and Paraietta (after what Paraietta did to her).

I love the military aspects of this canon in general (and the associated tropes of loyalty and trust and bravery and positive/negative relationship to authority) and that definitely ties in to Neviril figuring out what her role is as the squad leader, but I'm also just here for that very process of figuring it out and defining it for herself.

So...what happens to her post-canon? What is the "new world" and her travel in it like? If she makes it back to the main world when war is brewing again, but her old cohort can't fly anymore, what does she see her role as being - a leader for peace, for war, something else? How do she and Aer interact with Paraietta, Rodoreamon, Floef, and/or Vyuraf?

Ship-wise, Aer/Neviril grew on me a lot! I appreciated Aer more as the determined bit-of-a-loose-cannon type than as the manic pixie this time, and noted Neviril's comments about how she was drawn to Aer's determination. But I'd also be up for a poly situation where she's involved with both Aer and Paraietta, who are friends, or, I guess, one where it's a three-way relationship, although I don't personally know what the Aer/Paraietta side would be like! (I do like how they work together in battle even when they're shown as having personal issues.)

—

Fandom: Sleep No More (Treat or Trick)

Character(s): Bald Witch, Sexy Witch

One of my favorite things about Sleep No More was the idea of this world of darkness and magic that’s underlying or intertwined with the social world, rather than in a separate space - I loved seeing the Witches at the ball and, holy shit, Bald Witch pulling off her wig after the ball in her solo ritual thing! (I hadn’t realized it was a wig until that moment.) So -

how do either of these witches interact with the normal world (Paisley/the hotel/etc.) or deliberately carve out other spaces (like the apothecary shop)? For that matter, I love the apothecary shop and Bald Witch's scene in it A LOT, so more about that would be awesome.

How did the Witches find each other - was it before or after they were witches?

Are they immortal, and if so, what’s that like for either or both of them?

How much do they have a day-to-day life vs. witching all the time?

Their card game is super cool and I'd love to know more about the Witches and cards.

I was very struck on my last visit by Sexy Witch's dance for Hecate after the rave. The fan material seems to describe it as her having trouble coming down, but it felt to me like pleading with Hecate for more power, more magic.

If you want to ship them together, and/or with Hecate (or both) I’m very up for that as well. Some sexy prompts if you go in that direction -

ritual sex magic to make something happen or share power?

If they have non-witch personas and sleep together while they’re being normal people, is there still magic?

Sex in one of the play locations - the apothecary, the ballroom, the bar that’s the empty shell of the real bar?

Slow dancing nude, or another inverted version of something in the normal world?

Fandom-Specific DNW: f/m ships with requested characters

[echorpg]

BASICS

Name: Leland Jeremiah Bradbury

Face: Liam Hemsworth

Analysis:

age — Twenty-two

birthplace/hometown — New Orleans, Louisiana / Echo, Nevada

occupation — Cook @ Sunny Side Up Diner / Youtuber

rank — Omega of the Mitchell Pack

Four Characteristics:

Charming - Leland is all smiles and laughs. The energy he puts out is always positive despite how negative someone can be towards him. It’s all about the good vibrations. He is very approachable and doesn’t mind taking more of an interest in another individual than with himself.

Lethargic - For all the good, there is the bad. Lazy is another word for it. Leland has the capability to do things but the motivation is often never there. Honestly, he only puts all his energy and enthusiasm in one thing but leaves the rest to just his utter sluggish drive to do it.

Honest - One trait of Leland is that he never actually lies. He’s almost blunt with his honesty, even going as far as telling his own alpha if he’s being a complete dick. Truth can hurt, he knows that, but his father raised him that sometimes a hurtful truth can lead to a epiphany.

Combative - Leland often does the opposite of what is told of him. He does it because he wants to do it that way. Oh, yeah, he heard you when you told him to do something a certain way but your way was kind of crap.

BIOGRAPHY

A small town often stifles the younger generation but for him it only made him thrive. Everyone wanted him to be a star; everyone expect for Leland. He was born in New Orleans but raised in Echo. His mom came from the small town and her family had been part of the Mitchell’s pack ever since the divide. His father had been no different. A wolf of the bayou, he was hard working and felt that life was handed out too easily to a Richards’ wolf. It was no choice for him on the pack he wanted his children to be part of and he had no argument from his wife. As a young pup among older brothers and sisters, Leland was a terror. The type to toss lit firecrackers into crowd or steal his mother’s cigarettes — to sell them to the older wolves behind the corner store. It was a rebellious phase that ended not by the hand of his father, but by the alpha of the Mitchell’s pack. He won’t apologize for the pup he had been, thinking that if it hadn’t been for the way he acted then Leland wouldn’t be the wolf he was in the present.

The rebellious phase ended and he became a more laid back wolf. An easygoing and charismatic young wolf who enjoyed life. His father taught him everything he knew from living off the bayou. Survival and respect. Lessons that Leland still uses. It was lessons that he embraced when he presented as an omega. The only omega in the family — ever. It was a weird adjustment for all the Bradbury’s. Both his mother and father had only had Alpha or beta ancestors and all of Leland’s siblings had presented as one or the other. To Leland it was no big deal. He knew the stigma that came with his secondary gender and decided prove the stereotype wrong. In high school, he was branded a slacker by how he let things simply roll off his shoulders. Or it could be the constant falling asleep in class and the never turning in assignments to a few select teachers that happened to be Richards’ wolves. He never fought that label, too hard pressed in fighting being an omega. It what drove him to football. At first, the coach wrote him off as nothing but with all the effort he put into slacking, he put just as much in showing them they were wrong about him.

It paid off. By time he was a senior, he was the star quarterback. Everyone thought he had the stuff to make it out of Echo on a full ride football scholarship. He was going to be the star of Echo and put it on the map. It was the homecoming game where that changed. Leland took a bad tackle that took him out of the game permanently. It seemed everyone was crushed, well, expect for Leland. He was fine with it. He had sat out to prove that just because of his secondary gender was omega, he could be something more. It was an attitude that completely baffled his parents. But, he was fine with living a small town life. It was peaceful if one overlooked the little snide comments from certain other wolves. Being able to just smile at them and nod made his entire day. He opted out of going to college after high school, instead going to a community college in the new big town over and taking a vocational class in production. He refused to let his parents pay for him, taking a job as a cook in Sunny Side Up Diner to pay his own way. Leland was stubborn how he never let anyone try to help him. A wolf that always wanted to try and do things on his own.

He started to put his education in production to use by starting a small gaming channel on a popular platform. It was something to do when he had free time and it gave him a good excuse to just sit at home and play video games or walk around with a camera. Leland would never admit it but it was partly because it made him once again step out of being a stereotypical Mitchell. Even if most didn’t understand the need for him to constantly walk with a camera pointed at him or how he devoted most his paycheck to video equipment. It made him feel a bit like a celebrity and it was something to do as a hobby that made life fun.

[oselatra]

Exploring the White River Refuge with biologist Matt Moran

Where you'll find the largest bottomland hardwood forest in the lower Mississippi River Valley.

Deep in the Delta, just a few miles north of where the White and the Arkansas rivers merge and pour into the Mississippi, you'll find the largest tree in the state. Arkansas's champion bald cypress stands 120 feet high with a circumference of 514 inches, big enough for seven tree huggers to wrap themselves around it. That's not accounting for the retinue of "knees" that crowd the cypress' base, some of them taller than a person.

Mighty though it is, the cypress is just the most prominent citizen in a vast woodland community hugging the lower White as it winds a course between Monroe, Arkansas and Phillips counties. This is the Dale Bumpers White River National Wildlife Refuge, a sinuous island of bottomland hardwood forest rising from a sea of cotton, soybeans, rice and other row crops. At 160,000 acres, it's the largest such forest to be found anywhere in the lower Mississippi River Valley and one of the last remaining pieces of a world almost entirely lost to agriculture.

Hunters and fishermen know the refuge is one of the great natural jewels of the state, as do birdwatchers. But somehow, it's been neglected by most of the thousands of hikers and casual nature lovers who flock to the Ozarks and the Ouachita Mountains. Dr. Matt Moran, a biology professor at Hendrix College in Conway, has written a field guide that aims to change that.

Moran's "Exploring the Big Woods: A Guide to the Last Great Forest of the Arkansas Delta" (University of Arkansas Press) is an invaluable, first-of-its-kind resource for those seeking to explore the White River refuge and its smaller sister to the north, the Cache River National Wildlife Refuge. He carefully documents 27 hiking and canoe trails in this Big Woods region and provides extensive context on its ecology, hydrology and natural history. Gleaned from countless hours of firsthand exploration and research over a decade, the book conveys a scientist's eye for detail and a conservationist's passion for the land in clear, accessible prose. It's available on Amazon or directly from the publisher.

One gray morning in late September, Moran, 49, took me to visit a few spots in the refuge. The 1.2-mile path to the champion cypress tree begins at a trailhead near the tiny unincorporated community of Ethel, about an hour's drive from Stuttgart.

"For natural areas, mountains get all the press," Moran said as we hustled into the forest. "The Buffalo River is beautiful — everyone knows that. This is a place to go for the biology, because there's so much going on down here. There's such abundance of life, such rapid growth. In terms of the number of animals, it's incredible. I think it's been overlooked by a lot of people."

Photography doesn't do this landscape justice; everything tends to blur together in a monochromatic jumble of chlorophyll. In person, the bottomlands just feel fundamentally different than other forests in Arkansas. I had expected a swampy tangle of brambles and brush spreading in all directions, but there's only sparse undergrowth beneath the overarching canopy of mature trees. That's because the White floods the land most years, Moran explained.

"If the water level rises above saplings' height, it'll kill them, because they can't respire," he said. "So, trees only get to reproduce during a series of dry years in a row. They have to grow tall enough to escape the flooding." That means the refuge is more traversable than one might expect. "I've walked cross-country across miles of this, and it's pretty easy."

Another perk of flooding: Ticks and chiggers are "almost nonexistent" in the bottomlands of the refuge because the annual deluge suppresses their populations. "If the mosquitoes aren't out, you're almost free of pest species," Moran said. That's a big "if," though — depending on the day and the month, mosquitos can be a severe hassle, so bring along bug spray.

Be warned also that snakes are common in the refuge, including water moccasins and sometimes timber rattlesnakes. (Wear boots. Even if you never see a snake, you will most definitely encounter mud.) So are cold-blooded creatures of all kinds: innumerable small frogs and toads, legions of turtles, the occasional alligator. Bass, crappie, catfish, gar and other fish crowd the hundreds of small lakes, ponds and rivers that speckle the region.

The flood cycle is one of the things that make the White River refuge an exceptional place. Once upon a time, most major rivers regularly overflowed their banks during heavy rainy seasons — century after century of floods in the Mississippi River Valley yielded the rich soil that makes the Delta such valuable farmland — but that natural pattern has been suppressed by means of locks, dams, levees and various other man-made interventions. Most rivers have been tamed, at least most of the time. This lower section of the White, though, still runs free and undomesticated, going where it wishes. (The closest dam on the White is the one that creates Bull Shoals Lake, in North Arkansas.)

"Obviously, all rivers flood at some point in time, but to have yearly flooding that's roughly what it was before humans came along? That's pretty unusual," Moran said.

Not every tree likes being regularly drowned, so the bottomlands are home to a distinctive set of species: overcup oak and Nutall oak, sweetgum, water hickory, sweet pecan. In the swamps, water tupelo and bald cypress dominate. I could have been convinced this forest had stood here undisturbed for millennia, but Moran said that's not the case. This land, like almost every other acre in the Arkansas Delta, was harvested for timber within the century.

"None of this is old growth forest. ... Most of it was cut in the '20s. Most of it was clear cut, and some of it was cut two or three times," he said. "What's remarkable is how big these trees are already. Because the soil here is rich, and because it's wet here all the time, they grow extraordinarily fast. Probably all these trees are 50 to 80 years old."

There are a few exceptions. The champion cypress at the end of the trail is one such survivor of pre-European times, though Moran said it couldn't be dated with any certainty because it's hollow inside and the growth rings can't be examined. The tree could be anywhere from 600 to 800 years old.

Bald cypress — which is in the same family as sequoias and redwoods — can live up to 1,500 years, Moran said. (None in Arkansas are quite that ancient, though University of Arkansas researchers have found some individuals in an old-growth stand at Bayou De View, in the Cache River refuge, that are around 1,200 years old.)

The fact the champion tree is hollow may have saved its life. "Cypress was really valuable wood because it doesn't rot," Moran explained. "Before we had chemicals for termite protection and that kind of thing, it was really valued for building material. So, most of the big cypress trees in Arkansas were cut for their timber." Loggers likely didn't spare the champion tree out of pity; they probably just thought it wasn't worth their time, because it's a little malformed. "I think this tree may have been damaged when it was young — it resprouted and the trunks fused together. Maybe that's why it has this weird shape to it and maybe that's why the loggers decided to leave it."

The hollow interior of the tree serves another purpose: a maternity ward for mother bears.

Bears, Moran said, have an "interesting problem" in the Big Woods. "In the wintertime, female bears give birth, and they do it in hibernation. ... But there's no obvious place to den. You can't den here in the ground. Why is that? Because it's going to flood, most likely. So, they find a large tree that's hollow, they climb inside of it, and that's where they give birth. And when it floods, they'll be safely up the tree, above the flood zone." (Claw marks on the big cypress indicate it's almost certainly wintertime bear territory: "I'm not going to put my head in there and find out, but I'm sure they use it," Moran said.)

Bears were once so numerous in Arkansas that it was known as the Bear State, but overhunting almost eliminated the animals. "By the middle of the 20th century, there were only about 50 bears in the entire state — right here, in the Big Woods. [This is the] last place they survived," Moran said.

Then, in the '60s, the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission made the decision to repopulate the Ozarks and the Ouachitas with black bears brought from Minnesota. "There's roughly three or four or five thousand bears today in the state total, most of them in the mountains. And those are all Minnesota bears. They had to adapt to the climate, but they seem to do all right. Down here [in the Big Woods], these are native Arkansas bears."

Both populations are members of the same species, he explained, but "the ones here are much more closely related to the Louisiana subspecies of black bear. They're smaller and they're adapted to these really swampy habitats." It's unlikely they've interbred with the Minnesota transplants, because the Big Woods is cut off from Arkansas's mountains by miles and miles of farmland.

Today, there are thought to be roughly 500 black bears roaming the Big Woods, Moran said — a fairly large number for a relatively small area. But don't worry about running across one on a casual visit. Though Moran has often seen scat or scratch marks on trees in the refuge, they're so skittish that he's never encountered a bear.

Other animals are more likely to be seen. White-tailed deer are abundant throughout the woods and attract hunters every fall (there are tight quotas on the number of permits distributed). Beavers, squirrels and other rodents are common, as are small carnivores like raccoons, foxes, coyotes, river otters and mink.

And, of course, the bird life of the region is legendary. Millions of migrating waterfowl overwinter each year in farmlands adjacent to the forest, and raptors such as hawks, eagles and owls crowd the woods, along with smaller birds. Woodpeckers fill the refuge in "extraordinary densities," Moran said.

Before heading home, we stopped at the visitor center near St. Charles. Though the day had turned sunny and bright, the parking lot was almost empty — a reminder of the remoteness and relative obscurity of this place. A 1.5-mile trail behind the visitor center led us on an easy loop that includes a boardwalk traversing a swamp and a beautiful overlook of the White River itself, running broad and wild and muddy.

The loop also bisects a small stand of old-growth bottomland forest — a few trees that somehow escaped the loggers a century ago. "It's hard to emphasize how rare this is," Moran said. "I'd say there are maybe 2,000 acres in the entire Delta that were not harvested." About 1,500 acres of that is swamp forest, leaving just 500 acres of bottomland old growth. The largest such patch is found in the wildest southern reaches of the refuge, in a spot called the Sugarberry Natural Area. (It's accessible by canoe or kayak; Moran's field guide tells you how to get there.)

The ancient trees aren't the only casualties. Several species that were once cornerstones of the bottomland ecosystem have long since been exterminated locally, including elk, bison and red wolves. Others, like the Carolina parakeet and the passenger pigeon, are extinct.

Still, the efforts of the local conservationists and government agencies that created the White River refuge have yielded monumental results. The forest has reclaimed tens of thousands of acres of clear-cut land, a testament to its resilience. Many species once facing annihilation have rebounded as well, from bears to bald eagles.

Work continues to expand the refuge. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service hopes to buy another 125,000 acres from private landowners. But whether the refuge grows or whether its successes are one day retrenched depends in large part on whether Arkansans are invested in the survival of this remarkable landscape. To that end: Grab a copy of "Exploring the Big Woods" and go do what the title tells you.

* * *

Other things to do while you're in the area: Count birds

The Dale Bumpers White River National Wildlife Refuge hosts a Christmas Bird Count, an event in which experienced and amateur birders spend a day recording the birds they see and their number. Twelve-thousand ring-necked ducks? You betcha. This is a great way to really explore the bird life on the refuge, which in winter includes all manner of waterfowl, hawks and perching birds. It's set for Dec. 20 this year.

You don't have to wait until Christmas, however. Birders flock to the Cache River and Lower White year-round to see species that conservation efforts on the refuges are helping survive the Anthropocene onslaught. These include the swallow-tailed kite — a large black and white raptor with a distinct forked tail from the coast — that visits in spring and which biologists hope will begin to nest there. Spring also brings migrating warblers in their jewel-toned feathers, like the egg-yellow prothonotary and the increasingly rare cerulean, to raise their young. Owls, woodpeckers, flycatchers, swallows — there are all sorts of birds you've got to leave the house to enjoy in the rivers, swamps and sloughs of East Arkansas. The bird life is so significant that Audubon has declared the Cache and White River refuges as Global Important Bird Areas.

Buy waders

Mack's Prairie Wings at 2335 U.S. Highway 63 in Stuttgart — close to the flyway that brings ducks to Arkansas — is famous statewide for its hunting gear, from decoys, blinds and duck calls for the hunters to camo vests for their best friends to wear as they brave the cold waters to retrieve mallards. Nonhunters — like the birders headed over to the refuge — will find things they like, too, like rugged shirts, pants and fleecy sweaters suitable for the outdoors. Neither hunter nor birder but along for the ride? Lingerie and UGG moccasins are to be had at Mack's, right there in Stuttgart.

Eat Mexican at a food truck

The Los Locos food truck at 106 E. 17th St. in Stuttgart comes recommended for its American-style desserts by pie maven and author Kat Robinson (in "Another Slice of Arkansas Pie"), but the fajita plates, stuffed avocados, nachos and grilled shrimp will feed you up good. Have dessert, too; you'll work it off stomping in the swamp. It's open 10 a.m.-1:30 p.m. weekdays.

Après slough burger, beer and live music

Kelly's On Main Street, 313 S. Main in Stuttgart, serves ample pub grub — burgers, po' boys, meatball soup, toasted ravioli — at lunch and dinner, hosts live music on some Friday nights and serves cold beer and alcohol.

Exploring the White River Refuge with biologist Matt Moran