#here's The Warrior Cats villain to celebrate

[sprout-battlecats]

tigerstar

[the-owl-tree]

Ok I have another question about the hero and villain warrior cats AU. Does Dove/Tiger happen here. Also how would the hero and villain costumes be designed? You can just describe it if you don't want to draw it. I really like this AU I'm tempted to make some fan art of it.

sorry this took me forever to get to

VIBRATING INTENSELY TY FOR GIVING ME OPPORTUNITIES TO YAMMER!!! Dove/Tiger does happen. Dovewing doesn't have a 'secret identity', her power and identity are openly known hence why she's on such a tight leash. She's basically a celebrity as one of the youngest heroes to enter LOUH (info on them here) and fight alongside Jay and Lion. She meets Tiger outside of costume after ditching class after being made to go to school to keep up appearances. The two hit it off, fucking around in the ravine nearby and shooting the shit. friendship to romance when they get older, probably around their early 20s that dovewing starts considering him romanticalyl. does not find out he's part of ivy's villain team until later in, drama ensues.

Costumes are super dependent on your power and your funds. Hero costumes are designed to maximize usage of your power as well as keep a public image (they go big in the. If you're with an agency, they'll order you a costume to be made custom. Beginners tend to start off basic: whatever you've got in your closet, you use. Villains tend to amass a stronger outfit more slowly as they need to find tailors who won't out them (most won't. you can make a good profit off of designing for villains and independent heroes)

for a breakdown of this in practice, here's dovewing and ivypool:

appearance vs practical. dove's is about giving the illusion of a mysterious hero, her costume misdirects her opponents into thinking she's a precog. ivypool comparatively made her own costume using pieces from her closet and cheap stuff that hawkfrost gave her. she improves her costume later on once she and her team get a nastier reputation

both do have masks but i'm still working out the designs. dovewing wears hers on missions to protect her eyes, it's a half mask as she needs to keep her voice understandable. ivy wears a full face mask, i was thinking a baseball catcher mask but i think she'd switch it to something else so they couldn't identify her too easily as a baseball player.

i'm glad you're vibing with it!! admittedly it gives me an excuse to talk about the functions of my original world and it makes me happy lol

[adamandevestores]

Adult Fancy Dress Costumes

Adult fancy dress costumes offer a fun and creative way for adults to dress up for themed parties, Halloween, cosplay events, or costume contests. There are countless options available, ranging from classic characters to pop culture icons, historical figures, and mythical creatures. Here are some popular adult fancy dress costume ideas to consider:

Superheroes and Villains: Dress up as iconic superheroes like Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Spider-Man, or Captain America. Embrace your dark side as famous villains such as The Joker, Harley Quinn, Catwoman, or Darth Vader.

Movie and TV Characters: Pay homage to your favorite movie or TV characters, such as Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, James Bond, Indiana Jones, or Princess Leia. Choose characters from popular TV shows like Game of Thrones, Stranger Things, The Mandalorian, or Friends.

Historical Figures: Transform into historical figures such as Cleopatra, Julius Caesar, Marie Antoinette, Abraham Lincoln, or Queen Elizabeth I. Represent famous figures from different eras and cultures, including medieval knights, Renaissance artists, ancient warriors, or 1920s flappers.

Cultural and Ethnic Costumes: Explore different cultures and traditions by wearing ethnic costumes like traditional Japanese kimonos, Indian saris, Scottish kilts, or African tribal attire. Celebrate cultural festivals and holidays with themed costumes such as Chinese New Year, Dia de los Muertos, Mardi Gras, or Oktoberfest.

Fantasy and Sci-Fi Characters: Step into the realm of fantasy and science fiction with costumes inspired by elves, wizards, fairies, dragons, or aliens. Embrace your inner geek with costumes from beloved franchises like Star Wars, Star Trek, Lord of the Rings, Doctor Who, or Marvel Comics.

Animals and Creatures: Dress up as your favorite animals, whether it's a fierce lion, playful puppy, majestic unicorn, or adorable panda. Get creative with mythical creatures like mermaids, dragons, centaurs, or werewolves for a fantastical look.

Decades and Retro Styles: Travel back in time with costumes inspired by different decades, such as 1920s flappers, 1950s greasers, 1970s disco dancers, or 1980s rock stars. Embrace retro fashion trends like hippie flower power, disco fever, punk rebellion, or glamorous Hollywood icons.

Couples and Group Costumes: Coordinate with your partner or friends for themed couples or group costumes, such as famous duos like Bonnie and Clyde, Batman and Robin, or Shrek and Fiona. Go all out with group themes like superheroes, movie franchises, historical events, or TV show ensembles for a memorable group costume.

Funny and Punny Costumes: Get laughs with funny or pun-themed costumes like a taco, avocado toast, pineapple, or emoji characters. Dress up as humorous characters or concepts, such as a giant inflatable dinosaur, walking banana, or crazy cat lady.

DIY and Creative Costumes: Get creative and crafty with DIY costumes made from everyday materials or thrift store finds. Customize your costume with unique accessories, props, makeup, and special effects for a one-of-a-kind look.

Whether you prefer classic characters, modern icons, historical figures, or imaginative creations, there's a wide range of adult fancy dress costumes to suit every style, personality, and occasion. Have fun exploring different themes, trying on different costumes, and embracing your inner child with a playful and creative costume ensemble.

[bultaonene]

tk isekai in a game

The moment Taehyung wakes up, he knows something isn't right.

First of all, Seoul sky isn't this blue. And the air isn't this clean. Also, the people speak Korean, not... whatever language they are speaking now. Even weirder, Taehyung can understand them.

Second of all. Taehyung is pretty sure he died before waking up. A stupid death really - slipping and falling down the stair after coming back home from grocery shopping. Pathetic.

So, something happened. And Taehyung has watched enough anime to get /what/ happened. He has been transported into another world.

A shiny, bright, magical place where he will begin a new life, where he can finally be the best-

A huge commotion scares him out of his reverie. Someone is powerwalking towards him and- wait. Is that Chungha? "White Queen's Sword" Chungha? Best girl Chungha?

Best protagonist of his favorite action rpg Chungha?

It seems like she is. Her cat eyes, blonde hair and white outfit is unmistakable and Taehyung feels his hands clammy, like he's going to meet his favorite celebrity.

This is so exciting!!

"You! Golden Boy's minion! I'm here to defeat you!"

Alright, slightly less exciting. Whose who? She's here to what?

"Your evil ways have brought me here today. Your boss is the one I seek, but you're a menace and I shall vanquish you."

Ah, her pompous dialogue. Not one of her best feature as it was heavily criticized by the players, but Taehyung likes it anyway. It's part of her charm. In fact, he's a bit weak for it and he can't help but gaze at her with heart eyes.

Chungha points her foil to the side, the tip starting to get brighter and brighter. It's only because Taehyung knows what she's preparing for that he manages to evade her attack, ducking fast enough and letting the magical slash only graze the tip of his black cape.

Wait. Black cape?

It's then that her words fully register in his mind. He doesn't have time to dwell on them though, because a shadow covers him and Chungha glares at the sky. Or better, glares at someone in the sky.

Golden Boy is the videogame's main villain, with big black wings and red eyes and kind of fucking hot.

He lands right behind Taehyung, not sparing him a glance.

"If it isn't the high and mighty hero," he drawls, voice raspy but melodic all the same.

The hero and the villain snarls at each other, drawing their weapons. Taehyung gulps. This is not how he wanted his "shiny, bright, magical" new life to go like.

or: Taehyung wakes up in his favorite videogame... Only that he’s an insignificant character. He’s a servant of the main villain, Golden Boy. He’s a miniboss, one that’s quickly taken care of by the main heroine - he doesn’t even have a name, just a letter: V. He’s pretty much screwed, until he remembers an alternative ending: since it’s a game where the heroine can romance a handful of characters during her journey, if she accumulates enough persuasive points and if she makes the right decisions she can romance the villain and bring him back to the right path. If that happens, his minions aren’t forced to fight against the heroine and some of them are spared.

He never tried this ending - Chungha belongs with her fellow warrior Sunmi and Tae never separates his otp. But he has to try.

The fact is, the heroine doesn’t seem interested in saving the villain this time around, just like he never was interested in his romantic route. It’s up to V-Taehyung to mollify his “boss” then, bring him back to the light so that they are all spared. And maybe during the journey Taehyung finds that Golden Boy - that Jeongguk is just lonely and misunderstood, and that maybe he just needs somebody on his side.

[morningmask27]

little drabble because i write sometimes (shocker)

for som really needed context; hailsnap(he/they) (our PoV), downgleam (she/pri) and minkchirp(any pronouns) are littermates, hail is a jerk and they lost their mother, sorrelcharm not so long ago (from something that ressembles ravenpaw and shellheart’s death) down also had to deal with another dramatic event that is the reason she doesn’t talk a lot. 

the kits aren’t really hail’s but at the same time they are. the villain sed some dark summoning magic to create the kits (i’m barely exagerating) to create drama 

ashstar is ashfoot and she’s nursing a litter of kits; hopkit and comfreykit. weaselfur is deputy and he’s a xenophobic ass 

but now story, under the cut (it definitely has so man grammatical errors, but i’m not going to deal with them so enjoy the shitfest)

“hailpaw, from now on you will be known as hailsnap, may you use your courage and intelligence well.” Ashstar touched Hailsnap’s head with her nose. “Downgleam, Minkchirp, Hailsnap i welcome you as full warriors of WindClan, may you live long and prosper lives.” 

Hailsnap looked at Ashstar and then Larchsong, who had mentored him so well during all those moons. Minkchirp jumped next to them and Downgleam had for once a smile on pris face. “We finally have our warrior names!” Minkchirp gleefully exclaimed. “Downpaw, Hailpaw, oh sorry, Downgleam, Hailsnap, we’re finally warriors now!” Mink kept bouncing around all evening, never tiring. WindClan was celebrating their newest warriors. The three siblings were enjoying the feast with all their clanmates, preparing for their warrior vigil that night. 

During their vigil the three cats watched silently. Thrushwing was also keeping vigil and ze heard a faint wail. Ze was curious and started heading towards the sounds as the desperate wails continued to happen. 

Hailsnap saw this happen and flinched, attracting the attention of their littermates. He ran after thrushwing and found the origin of those sounds before Thrush did. They froze as they recognised what he saw. the flecked black and white molly, Harlequin, he had met some moons ago, followed by four kits, one speckled gray, one ginger and white, one gray and ginger tortie and another dark gray. 

When she recognised Hailsnap her face brightened up. “Hailpaw, there you are, I finally found you. You were going to abandon me and our kits, please don’t do it, please.” Hailspaw took one step back, but was stopped by Minkchirp, Downgleam and Thrushwing who were staring at Harlequin. 

“Hail, who is this, and what do they mean by ‘abandoning me and our kits’?” Mink looked at Harlequin with big, questioning eyes. 

“Oh, you know Hailpaw? Can you please tell them to not leave me and the kits to fend for ourselves in the wild?” She looked at all the cats surrounding Hailsnap, eyes glittering in the moonlight. She pulled the dark gray kit closer to her.  

“What do you mean, these aren’t my kits, we haven’t seen each other in moons.” Hailsnap yelled at Harlequin, scaring the four kits that were now huddled inside her long and fluffy tail. They started to turn around, trying to escape the situation but Ashstar herself blocked his way. "Oh, foxdung,” he muttered. 

“Can you mousebrains explain why you are yelling at moonhigh and nobody is guarding th- Are these kits? Why do they resemble Hailsnap so much? and who are you?” Ashstar squinted her eyes looking at Harlequin and the kits. 

“M- My name is Harlequin, and these are my and Hailp- snap’s kits. I am here to ask him if they could take them in his clan, because I can't take care of them on my own and I want them to be with their father.” She moved her tail to make the kits more visible

“I already told you these aren’t my kits, and I never told you that I was going to abandon you, what are you talking about?” Hailsnap dug his claws in the dirt and pulled them back out multiple times. “I cannot be the father, you somehow got this all wrong. You can’t just join WindClan like this, no!”

“Look Hailsnap, even if these aren’t your kits, I won't meddle in this problem, I will let them join WindClan. You do remember the code, right? No warrior can neglect a kit in pain or danger, even if the kit is from a different Clan.” 

“But they’re not even Clan kits,” Hailsnap exclaimed, Making the kits even more scared than they were before

Ashstar looked sternly at Hailsnap, “If they are yours they’re halfClan, so it still counts.”

“but-”

“No,” Ashstar stopped Hailsnap, shaking her head in exhaustion, “Now Downgleam, Minkchirp, Thrushwing help me take the kits back to camp. Harlequin, you can come too if you want.” She invited the molly, but Harlequin shook her head. 

“No, I prefer not being in a Clan,” she said. Hailsnap snorted. “and I trust you with the kits.” She nuzzled every kit one by one and let the Clancats pick the kits up and watched the group starting to walk towards the camp. She lifted her tail, saying a last goodbye to her kits before starting to pad away herself. 

When she left Hailsnap let out a sigh and followed their clanmates back to camp. Minkchirp, who was carrying the ginger and gray kit, slowed down and waited for them. “Fwat was shis all abfouf Hail?” Hailsnap started to trot away from his brother, “HEY vou can’f djust leave me like i’m cwowfood” 

Back at camp everyone was awake and muttering to each other. Everyone wanted to know why Ashstar had to leave camp and who was yelling. When Ashstar entere camp, carrying a dark gray kitten and being followed by Downgleam, Thrushwing and Minkchirp, all carrying a kit, Weaselfur went to Ashstar. Ashstar placed the kitten on the ground and started arguing with Weaselfur. She stood protectively over the small kitten. “Why did you bring these kittens into the clan?” Weaselfur growled. 

“Calm yourself Weaselfur, I don’t have to explain myself. These kits are now a part of WindClan and you can’t object to this choice.” Ashstar picked the kit and signaled the other cats to follow her in the nursery. Hailsnap followed from a distance, and avoided Weaselfur’s harsh gaze. When he entered the nursery he saw Ashstar curled around her two kits, Hopkit and Comfreykit. They looked curiously at the four new kittens that were placed in their nest. 

“Momma, who are these kits?” Hopkit smelled the dark gray kit curiously and touched them with its paw. The young kitten mewed from surprise and hunger. 

“Hopkit, these are your new littermates, be friendly, they are still young.” she touched Hopkit’s head with her muzzle. “Can you two make a little place for them next to my belly, they need to drink.” 

“Oki mom!” Hopkit and Comfreykit shuffled away from her belly and Thrushwing, Downgleam and Minkchirp placed the kits they were carrying next to the dark gray kit. Once they were all fast asleep after drinking Ashstar looked up at Hailsnap who was still standing next to her. Downgleam, Minkchirp and Thrushwing were just going to leave the nursery when she started speaking: “We should probably name these kits. What do you think, Hailsnap? these are your kits after all.” 

Hailsnap flinched: “Ashstar these aren’t my kits,” he looked at the four little bundles soundly asleep against Ashstar’s belly and straightened his back, “and even if they were, I won't be taking care of them.” Everyone was staring at Hailsnap. He didn’t back down. “I am not responsible for them. I won’t spend my time taking care of kits I never had. You can name them yourself, I'm leaving, I need to continue my vigil.” Downgleam grabbed Hailsnap by their tail and stopped them from going anywhere.

“You think you can abandon these kits like they’re crowfood. They are your responsibility! Stop acting like a standoffish jerk and do something nice for once.” Downgleam spoke for the first time in a long while. Hail stared at prim, and felt a cold shiver go down their spine. The kits were awakened by Downgleam and started to wail. Ashstar gently lulled them back to sleep and looked at the arguing siblings. 

Morningflower was the one to speak: “Hailsnap I can understand that having kits is difficult, but you can’t punish these kits for being born,” she stopped shortly and looked at the kits before continuing, “you need to at least be in their lives. They deserve to know their father.” She sat next to Ashstar and touched her sister's nose with hers. “We can name the kits tomorrow, when the dust has settled, for now it’s better if you return to your vigil and let the kits and Ashstar sleep.” 

Hailsnap nodded and briskly walked out of the nursery. They took place on an isolated rock and watched the moon follow its course in the sky. Thrushwing padded to him. “Hailsnap, don’t make decisions you will regret later. Losing kin hurts-”

“Do you think I don't know that? I lost my mother, I know how it feels.” They lashed out and jumped from the rock, leaving Thrushwing to stand there alone. 

He kept walking around until the sun started rising and they felt its warmth on his fur. Only after the sun had chased the last stars from the sky did they return to camp. Carrying a rabbit they caught on the way back. They knew their clanmates were watching him, but he kept walking and dropped the rabbit on the fresh-kill pile. 

Morningflower padded to them. “Nice catch Hailsnap, can you bring it to the nursery, Ashstar wants to talk to you.” Hailsnap grunted and grabbed the rabbit back. He dragged the rabbit to the nursery. When he entered the nursery they dropped the rabbit in front of Ashstar’s paws. Downgleam and Minkchirp were already sitting next to each other.

Ashstar looked at them and smiled: “Seems like you finally came back. How do you feel, Hailsnap?”

“None of your business,” he grumbled. He didn’t look at the kits. 

“It is your kits business though.” she retorted. “Look, I’ll be nursing them but I cannot take care of them on my own, and I won't just let you ignore your kits.” She flicked her tail and liked the fluffy ginger and white kit’s fur. Downgleam muttered something to Minkchirp. 

“Ashstar, Downgleam and I were thinking, if Hailsnap doesn’t want to take care of the kits, we could do it instead, they are also our kin.” Minkchirp suggested. Downgleam looked curiously at Ashstar. 

“This sounds good.” Ashstar affirmed. She looked at Hailsnap. “What do you think, Hailsnap, can Downgleam and Minkchirp take care of your kits?” She asked it in a tone that meant This Is The Way It’s Going To Be. 

Hailsnap slowly nodded: “seems like the best solution, I don’t want to bother with these kits.” He started to leave. “Now that it’s set, I'll report myself to Weaselfur for the patrols.” 

“No, wait,” Ashstar interjected. “Name one of the kits at least.” She moved her tail to make the kits more visible. They were awake and looking at him with curious eyes. Hailsnap doubted. Ashstar nodded towards Minkchirp: “You can start.”

Minkchirp beamed and approached the tortoiseshell kit, who was trying to wobble out of Ashstar’s nest towards Hopkit and Comfreykit who were with Morningflower. Xe stopped the kit and pushed them back in the nest. “ Ploverkit is a fun name for this energetic little bean.” She licked the kitten’s head multiple times and placed them back next to Ashstar’s belly. They turned to Downgleam. “What do you want to name the last kitten?” ze leaped back to Downgleam and listened to what pri said. Minkchirp nodded and announced: “Campionkit! Pri wants to name the kit Campionkit”

Ashstar smiled and nodded. “Campionkit and Ploverkit it is then,” she looked at the tiny dark gray kitten, “What about Driftkit for this one?” she nuzzled the gray shape and it grabbed her muzzle with its tiny paws.  

“What a great name, Ashstar.” Minkchirp responded. they looked at their littermate “Hail, it's your turn now.”

hailsnap let out a sigh and approached the kits. they touched the flecked gray kit. “Hazekit” they breathed out. The newly named Hazekit let out a happy squeak. 

Hailsnap felt weird. It was like being in frozen water, but still feeling the tiniest glimpse of warmth. They shook their head. “Do you still need me now,” he asked quickly, “Weaslfur would probably prefer it if I was assisting in the patrols now.” 

Ashstar had a flash of disappointment in her eyes before dismissing them with a flick of her tail

Hailsnap exited the nursery and took a deep breath.

[and-when-you-drown]

Snippets

XVII

That smile of yours is such a gentle thing, I can almost forget you will be the ruin of us all.

Ah, but then again—was it not us, fools and warriors, children with bloody robes and lives turning bloodier still, with mud under our nails and death sticking to our flesh, that saw a boy with wide eyes and a soft gaze and said, ah, this one, this one is no good.

Was it not us who saw delicate hands and tender grins, and thought nothing of the glint of what might be teeth, might be claws, ready to kill?

Alas, such is the tragedy of youth turned soldiers, of bodies still soft around the edges with childhood, hearts still warm with summer hues. We forgot, for a moment, that our torn seams and our cracked ribs, our bleeding knuckles and violent grins, were not the only kind of death in here.

All is fair in love and war, they say, and my dear, I used to think your bones would shatter under the fury of war and your skin would tear in the face of the wrath of love. But now golden eyes, cat eyes, sharp eyes stare back at me, and the only red I can see is the one of all the strings wrapped around your thin hands, artist’s hands, like rings, like promises. Like debts. Like lives.

It was never me directing this play, never me leading an orchestra of doom, of the most glorious typhoon. It was you, with your soft hands and your gentle eyes, with your paint brushes hiding a knife behind the hero’s back, with your pens writing a poem where their friend was no friend at all, and thus the villain dies. It is most amusing, really, how all you were good for were words and songs and bumbling slips of the tongue, when all this vitriol simmers in your mouth, dripping from teeth sharp enough to tear my throat apart.

I know of teeth, and poison, and of words. I know of these things you do, and this art of yours, so subtle and yet so crude. I know it well, too, because nobody carries it like you.

We are sitting at a ball, and you are smiling, and I am laughing, a pleasant laugh, with gentle eyes and a blithe twist to my mouth. These teeth know the taste of blood, and this mouth knows the kiss of death, and this body of mine knows the fire of war and the ice of defeat, and it knows the gore of the glory we all celebrate tonight.

There is music, and it is mine, and it is yours. They are dancing, always dancing, always fighting, and tonight there is rest, there is peace, and there is discord running through the marble under our feet, and beasts waiting to be fed in every cage of flesh we have so delicately made. This is peace, they say, but this is war. War never ends. Not for us. Not like this.

This is no respite, because there is no life and no peace in the cheer of the festivities and the warmth of all their cheeks, in the beauty of their robes and the glimmer of their silver, their gold, the swords we all pretend to ignore, as though they were part of our skeleton since long, long before we fed them blood. You have no sword, because you’ve taken no lives with those pretty hands of yours, all too busy letting the world do it for you. I have two, and I use them better than most, and I am loved more than you, because they think me an airhead with a lovesick heart, and they think you a coward with a craven gut.

Oh, love. If only they knew they move in a dance of death, coaxed by strings dripping red where they dig into your flesh and bleed your enemy’s stardust into your joints, perhaps they would understand monsters are not buried in a trench outside these golden halls, but sitting on a table, smiling over a cup of wine.

It is you. It has always been you. And I am a fool.

(And yet I hold your hand and let you lead me, watching, watching, always watching—you know you are caught, and I know I am trapped, and we smile and laugh and sing, for nobody knows of smiles and gentle eyes like we do.

The world will never know.

The world would not stand a chance if it did.)

[grokebaby]

Hello, guess which character I most enjoy visually and thus if asked who to draw for me, I will most definitely ask for?

Krhm so here's my dear collection of Poppynights!

Containing (in no particular order)

•Request from @sparkly-bubbly

•A sort of serial art giveaway in celebration for a certain amount of followers, by @lichenmoon (please tell me if I'm wrong because I genuinely forgot, it was a while ago)

•Art trade with Markus on Lgbt+ support Amino

•Amino coin commission from Queenie82 on creative arts and characters Amino

•Aand the latest, a real money commission from @huntingpatrol!! I think their comms are still open, you should check them out the art is real pretty ;w;

We'll see later on if I've managed to emass more of these lol, but since I don't have anything original to offer rn I thought it'd be fun to show her off.

For a little bit of info, she's from my fictional, warrior cats inspired world called Clarome. I just kinda threw her design together as a young kid. she's the mother of one of my protagonists (A protagonist in his own story but made to be a Villain) Dragoneye.

She just kinda has that "Baby's first sparklecat" energy, but just enough that she can still be taken kinda seriously lmao

[fan-clan-fun]

History of VineClan

Please don’t steal this idea! I’ve been working on it for more than 4 days!

I’ve left this in my inbox for  bit trying to understand what you meant by steal your idea. Im assuming you still want me to post this publicly, since you submitted it to me, but in future if you are afraid of someone stealing ideas perhaps maybe you can send a personal message and we can talk things through and discuss your ideas privately! Im always open to dms.

Formation- Vine was a loner who ran away from his father and then met a small group of cats who needed guidance and became their leader and taking them to the Trees of Time.

Many moons ago, BadgerClan, ShadeClan, the lost clan, SunClan, and the other clans, SnakeClan and StreamClan were dead. But now a new dawn is rising.

Thats quite a start, a new clan rising from the ashes of the old ones! Do the current day cats know much of the clans? Or are they basically starting over from scratch?

Rivals- After Vine and his group left the Woods of Water, another group, the Rogues of Roaming moved in and injured one of Vine’s best friends, Blue.

There was almost a war but Blue stopped it. The area is now known as the Roaming Rainfalls.

Always good to have some rivals. Do the rogues become their own clan as well?

Age- VineClan is old. Vinestar and Bluestar are remembered and celebrated every 12 moons

Old is... not quite a helpful descriptor. Perhaps a better way to indicate the age of a clan is through how many leaders have reigned, and for how long, or how many generations have passed. 

Shaping Events- The elders told the story of how Blue stopped the war and the tales of the lost clans are less told than the founding of the clans which is very often. The bold and faithful BadgerClan, the tricky yet helpful ShadeClan, the sharp and qualified once missed SunClan, the passionate and quick SnakeClan and the kind and courageous, water-loving StreamClan

Okay so I see here that some stories of the old clans still survive, but there is still a lot of info you could expand on the old clans and the current association with Vineclan. How does Vineclan see themselves? Are they still the only clan now?

Heroes and Villians: All the living peaceful medicine cats, warriots and kits want to be like Bluestar and all the battle-hungry warriors and kits want to be like Rainstar. The villains are the Rogues of Roaming and VineClan’s greatest enemy.

Each side has the Hall of Fame.

There’s the Hall of Heroes and the Hall of Villians.

I’m glad to know you are thinking of some of them, I would love to hear the stories of your favorites!

Territory 

VineClan’s territory Slope Woods by Day Twowalkers and the Twilight Twowalkers. Fires always come in the greenleaf and floods in leaffall every 48 moons. In those times, they go live in the Fire’s Flood Field (A Shelter Place). Some common animals are bugs, frogs, snakes, lizards, chipmunks, or squirrels. There may be foxes, raccoons, or porcupines as well. Look up in the trees, and you may see birds or bats.

Sounds like standard North America, although choosing a specific region might help you come up with details especially for some fun unique names. 

On RainClan’s territory there is Training Valley, The Hunting Hills, the best place for hunting, Harmony Hills, every moon there is a truce where cats can talk and have fun and they share news and advice. The medicine cats go to the Star Cave with the Moon Crystal. Cats who are not medicine cats go to the Star Hollow and meet their ancestors with the Lightstone. It only works in the daytime.

Ah okay I see here that there is a second clan. There is also a lot of information to unpack in this paragraph. I do like that there are different ways to interact with your ancestors and that your average clan cat can still commune with Starclan, and the Day/night motif of spiritual connection here as well. 

Camp

The camp is hidden in the slopes. Climb up it and you hop in it. It is guarded throughout the day. Over there is the nursery, the biggest den, the one with the huge sand wall. Cats have to leap over it just to get in. Only VineClan cats have that kind of strength and speed for that. The other smaller sand den goes into an underground cave where the apprentices sleep. Scouts sleep on top of the slope or the trees. Guards sleep in a pile of sand with there breathing devices called Sand Breathers so they can sleep and breathe easily. Hunters sleep underneath a pile of prey, so they always get first pick. That big pile of sand and leaves with a small sand wall. The Sand Gem is where the leader gives meetings and the leader glows whenever they sit on it. On top of the gem is where the leader sleeps with the rest of his family. The medicine cats sleep underground. There are two types of herbs, Sand Herbs, that can be kept underground, mostly for wounds and diseases. Sky Herbs are plants that are supposed to be kept outside, in the Green Den that’s open but protected with a bright surface that you can see through it. Poison Plants are spread out all over in the Roaming Rainfalls and the darkest, deepest corners of the Slope Woods.

I see a lot of interesting concepts here! I am fascinated by the implication that these cats have some form of technology or magic, to create the Sand Breathers and the hard clear surface (glass?) protecting the Green Den. I would love to hear more about those aspects, since technology and magic are things I tend to enjoy. As for the hunters sleeping under prey, that sounds a bit uncomfortable, I certainly wouldnt like to sleep under a pile of carcasses which might bleed or be dirty or stinky. So why did they choose to do that? Are they afraid their clanmates will steal their food?

Build: Cats that were born from Guards have a remarkable amount of strength. Cats who are born from Scouts have an unbelievable amount of speed, an average amount of both is how they become a Hunter and anyone who was born from a certain rank (Hunter, Guard, Scout) always is born with that ancestry. 

I see you have gone for a more Tribe-like divisions of skills and build. If you have a certain build are you basically destined to be in that position, or can cats choose?

Pelt: Black cats are considered lucky and white cats with any other eye color than blue are considered unlucky. Any cat with a white pelt and blue eyes is not blind but very powerful and will be automatically chosen for deputy and given 12 lives if they’re evil and want war, 15 lives if they’re average and like a regular leader, 18 lives if they want everlasting peace and is good and kind.

I dont quite understand this. When white kittens with blue eyes are born, are they basically destined to be leader? What happens if there are two in the same clan at the same time? What is the significance of the number of lives? How does the clan or even Starclan itself decide how many lives to give them? Can they read their minds and intentions? Whats to stop a cat who says they want peace from getting those extra lives and then causing chaos? How does living that long affect those cats, or do they die of old age? While this is an interesting concept in theory, you might want to think this through a bit more, you dont have to discard it completely, but you do have to consider the ramifications and consequences. 

Clan Roles- 

Leader 

The leader is voted for every 48 moons and if they are a white cat with blue eyes, there is no vote needed. If they are a white cat with blue eyes that’s good, they get to be leader for 144 moons. If they are voted again, it’s 96 moons.

Ah some more info, but still very confusing. If leaders are voted for every four years (48 moons) normally, what happens to leaders who havent lost their nine lives by that point? Do all leaders (other than white cats with blue eyes) get regular nine lives? Why do white cats get to be leaders for so long, and do their extra lives sustain their bodies that long? Are you saying a white cat with blue eyes could live and rule for 238 moons (almost 20 years, 144+96 moons)?

Deputy

The deputy is the leader’s Vice President and is chosen by the leader.

Medicine Cat

They follow the Code of the Stars. An apprentice is chosen with a trial. A trial starts at 5 moons. There are two tests: Intelligence and Heart. Intelligence shows how much you know. Heart shows how much you’re into it.

In order for kittens to pass this trial, are they all taught basic information and knowledge about herbs? What qualifies a cat to be chosen as medicine cat apprentice?

Elders

The elder’s average age is 65 moons. The oldest elder is The Protector of the Knowledge, the second oldest elder is Head Elder and reminds elders of their duties like their Daily Walk guarded by 1 Scout and 2 Guards and their Ceremony Seats and the Head Elder is like the deputy’s assistant who helps with everything and The Protector of Knowledge tells knowledge whenever needed.

I feel like I am missing a lot of info here, that there is a lot more to dive into. Its really nice to see Elders having their own positions and duties though at least!

Warriors

There are Hunters, Guards, and Scouts. Hunters are average, Guards are strong and Scouts are quick.

Okay, well Im not sure why Hunters are considered average, since that sounds a bit demoralizing, but I suppose that if the Guards and Scouts are elite warriors it might make more sense.

Queens

The Kitter is the cat who has been in the nursery for the most and assigns Kitsitters who take care of the kits after the age of 4 moons and stop at the age of 9 moons when a kit moves out of the nursery and into the apprentice den, so the queens can go back to their original role. The Kitsitters are mostly former queens or their fathers. The Protector of Knowledge mostly takes on an apprentice and there are called The Apprentice of Knowledge and they teach the 6-9 moons, the Way of the Warrior.

I see your cats are considered kits for longer than canon. Are these intermediate moons kind of like school? Why are medicine cat apprentices chosen so young before their schooling even begins?

Apprentices

They are apprenticed to 15 moons. The Protector of Knowledge mostly takes on an apprentice and there are called The Apprentice of Knowledge and they teach the 6-9 moons, the Way of the Warrior. The requirements to become a hunter is to hunt the most prey from sunup to sundown. Guards have to fight each other and the Top 3 becomes a guard. Cats who have failed have to take the test next moon and if they fail till they’re 18, they become a hunter. Scouts go into a race and the Top 3 becomes a scout and the 4th, 5th and 6th placers become Trial Scouts and if they fail their mission, they become hunters.

So I notice that there are two different ways to become a hunter, but they seem a bit contradictory. You mention that to become a hunter you need to hunt the most prey. Does that mean only one becomes a hunter? Or is there an amount each cat needs to hunt to pass their trial? And failed scouts still automatically become hunters without having to pass the same trial as regular hunters?

Kits

Kits are raised by their mothers from the age of 1-3 and their Kitsitters from the age of 4-9

Code of Conduct

The regular warrior code.

Laws

Punishment is placed in front of the StarClan Court and if it was minor it’s mostly cleaning out the elder’s den. Middle is suspension. Major is mostly banishment.

Mates

There is a ceremony for mates who want to be together forever.

Leader: Welcome, cats of VineClan who have wanted to be with (male cat) (rank) and (female cat)(rank) and today: we thank you for being here to share this extraordinary day. You may sit. Now, (male cat) do you, of your own free will, take (female cat) as your StarClan watched mate, to cherish and defend—as long as you both shall live?

Male Cat: I do.

Leader: (Female cat) do you, of your own free will, take (make cat) as your StarClan watched mate, to cherish and defend—as long as you both shall live?

Female Cat: I do.

Leader: With the promises you have made and with the power invested in me with all of StarClan watching, I now pronounce you mates for life. You may touch noses the bride.

(They touch noses and some purring may be made and that’s when the kits and apprentices leave.)

I see you have drawn heavily on modern human marriage ceremonies for your mateship ritual! But are there provisions if the cats break up? Or marriages where the cats aren’t strictly male and female?

All the other ceremonies are the same. Here’s two new ones.

The Protector of Knowledge Ceremony

Leader: You are the oldest cat (name of cat) and hereby should be known as The Protector of Knowledge for as long as you live. 

Head Elder Ceremony

Leader: You see the second oldest cat (name of cat) and have proven your loyalty many times over and you are hereby known as Head Elder until the Protector of Knowledge hands over his/her power to you.

Naming: The kits are named after whatever the queens want their names to be.

Afterlife: Cats can go into whatever age they want too in the afterlife and there’s plenty of prey and instead of a dark slope there’s a light sunny field.

Thank you for sharing about your clans! I think there are a few things you might need to expand on and think through, if you would like we can chat in private as well if you are worried!

[araminakilla]

Faris D'jinn (long) appreciation post

Warning: If you don't like very long posts or deep analysis of a character or situations, maybe you want to skip this. But you are always welcome.

I will always say this: Treasure of the found lamp! is one of my favorites episodes of the Ducktales bomb (the other is Nothing can stop Della Duck!) I like the jokes, the journeys of the two groups, the cameos of different characters that appeared in Season One. But most of all... Him.

Faris D'jinn. Middle Eastern adventurer. Seeker of the lamp. Descendant of an actual genie and the amazing woman who freed him. Here are ten reasons (not counting the facts that he is a great swordman and a cool biker because everyone knows that) of why this warrior is one my favourite characters in the Ducktales universe:

1. He is not what he seems

The first time I saw this guy in the SDCC 2018, and the person presenting the characters said he was Dijon from the Ducktales movie, there were two different reactions from my part:

"OMG! They acknowledged the movie. That means Merlock is going to return!" And...

"This Dijon looks so COOL! But...he looks like a terrorist"

And before you sue and attack me, there are some comments in YouTube that reflected my thoughts. One of them said he looks like an ISIS member.

But I have investigated and I found out that in fact, there are some people that wear traditional black clothes in the Middle East and are NOT asociated with violence or radical groups. So, my bad people. I'm really ashamed for making this statement. I try to not be an ignorant of different cultures for reasons like this.

Anyway, those months I tried to stay positive that, if he was a bad guy, he could get a redemption arc. Because there's no way that this awesome Ducktales crew, that handles the Latino community very well, is going to portray arabs in a bad light, just like every old Hollywood productions (I'm looking at you, Aladdin)

And when the promo of Ducktales and Big Hero 6 appeared, with this warrior using his sword in front of a very scared Scrooge... well... I put my thoughts on another post, but I was a little concerned for the Middle Eastern representation.

Great was my surprise when I saw the episode for the first time. Let say that the power of the lamp wasn't the only plot twist of that episode.

2. He's so serious that it's funny

His single-minded quest for the lamp before the Ifrit's dawn (a fact that he monologued for 10 minutes without blinking) leaves him with no time to joke around, except everyone around him is a goof, and that makes him hilarous in a sense. Best demostrated when he answered ALL the riddles from a literal JOKE BOOK. He's so smart... yet so gullible that it's amazing. It's like he can't tell when someone is lying or making a joke... I don't know if that's possible. There's also his reaction at the "got your nose" prank which, honestly to me, was one of the best reactions EVER. Maybe it's how he screamed "monster!" and how he seems to really believe the creature got his nose. Truth to be to told, I was very surprised the first time I saw him laugh, that was something unexpected. And how the premise of the episode was him getting a family of adventuring Ducks, a greek Godness, a sea monster and a bunch of Beagles involved in a quest...to give himself a birthday present, like... Who gives himself a birthday present? (Really, I don't know someone who does that)

3. He is grateful even with enemies

He defeated Charybdis and the poor monster was whipped and given the beat of his life because he wanted to help Scrooge and Webby with the phony quest, and the first thing the warrior does is thanking him and saying that he will be remembered in the story of the lamp. That impressed me... And somehow made worth all the pain that Charybdis had. The same happened with the "Minotaur" and Ma Beagle (the little bow that he made is priceless). Many people would mock their defeated enemies and give them zero respect... but not him. That was so honorable, it reminded me of how Medieval Knights act, which would be discussed in the seventh point of this post.

4. He forgave the Ducks easily

"Djinn, I'm sorry I tricked you. If I'd known what was at stake..."

"Another chapter in the legend. A final trial before we find the lamp! It's all part of the journey!"

Like wow... That was something I was NOT expecting, because I wouldn't expect a guy who was shouting and slicing things all day to be that... nice. And maybe that could be because there was no time in the episode for the liar revealed drama. But the points D'jinn made about why he forgave Scrooge make total sense. He loves adventures and journeys, he likes to write in a scroll about the trials he had, so he instead took the positives aspects that the phony quest had and continue with his life. Now that's something you don't see very often. Instead of swearing revenge and dedicate his time ruining someone's life (I'm looking at you Glomgold, Magica, Negaduck and other villains) he forgave the Ducks, focused on the present and keep only the most important facts. I like that way of thinking.

5. He has a deep love for his family's history (and his heritage and bloodline)

He comes from a family that, as far as I'm concerned, keeps the stories of their past alive, passing them to the next generations. It's been ten generations since the genie was freed. What the ex-magical creature got was more valuable that having phenomenal cosmic powers: A loving wife and many descendants who remember them with such passion, and now one of said descendants, fascinated by their love story has adquired the "totem that started it all". I heard that arabs in particular are family oriented people, they would do ANYTHING for their loved ones, and that's the first time I saw that in a cartoon (at least in a Disney cartoon, the other example that is Non-Disney is the Oscar nominated "The Breadwinner", which I recommend you guys have to see it, it's so good)

D'jinn made a long journey from the Middle East to America (at least I think Duckburg is in America) for a powerless lamp because of it's sentimental value, which leads us to the next point...

6. He is a sentimental guy

You wouldn't expect a tough, serious and to some extent dangerous guy to have powerful feelings like love? Right? Think again. There's a reason of why the call D'jinn (and his VA, Omid Abtahi) a cinnamon roll. He has strong emotions, that is (I think) one of the reasons of why he's so dramatic. It's part of his personality. In fact, his volatile personality (using many times his sword, cutting things, flipping a table) has a solid base of why it is the way it is. I'm not saying that destroying the couch and threatening the Duck family is not wrong, I'm saying this because this is NOT a matter of the "He's an arab and all arabs are volatile/barbaric/will scream and attack you 'cause that is their nature" thing that all the Hollywood movies I saw (at least the examples I saw in the documentary "Reel Bad Arabs") have. No sir, this is different.

And talking about Arab stereotypes...

7. He's a HUGE improvement from the Ducktales movie and series

Back in 1990, he was Dijon, a thief and mook to Merlock, the Big Bad Wolf of the Movie. He was funny and the interactions he had with Scrooge in the movie and the series are funnier (Also, did you know that the last words Scrooge said in the series was "Dijon!" because the duck was running towards him 'cause he stole his watch?)

But, as the Nostalgia Critic put it in his review of the Ducktales Movie

"I don't know... Is this considered racist now? Yes, he has an accent and is a thief..."

He's fine as a comic relief, but nothing makes him different from the Crows of Dumbo, or the Indians of Peter Pan, or the Siamese cats of Lady and the Tramp, or...

Honest Trailer's guy: Stop it!

OK ok. The point it's... The Ducktales reboot did it again. They took a not so well liked character from the '87 series and made him/her a lovable character, like Mamá Cabrera (I swear, she's also mi mamá now)

Now he's honorable, charming, etc (and yes, those words are from a YouTuber reviewer) But specialy, they changed his name to Faris D'jinn which not only sounds more arabic, but also foreshadows his relationship with a genie. Plus, Faris means "Knight" in arabic, which describes what he is and how he acts perfectly.

8. He's different but at the same time just like everyone else

Gif belongs to @i-mostly-reblog-things

Yeah, he looks different, speaks with an accent that's not American, has a different mindset about things in life and maybe that could come from the country he's been raised, or his family or maybe he decide to be the way he is on his own accord. But, as an lesson learned in the episode "The Depths of cousin Fethry!"

Just because something or someone is different doesn't mean is bad.

True, D'jinn didn't make a first good impresion with the Duck family, except from Webby (You go girl! It seems that she has a talent to see edgy but misunderstood people and give them a chance) but at the end everyone was celebrating his birthday with him. They give him a cake! This small but powefull gesture made me 100% convinced that, even with flaws and conflicts, they are the perfect family. It still surprises me that the crew of Ducktales and Disney would make a scene like that. If someone told me a year ago that they would make a scene with: An arab. Dressed with traditional clothes (turban and all). Wearing all black. Celebrating his/her birthday with an American (Scotish in Scrooge's case) Family, I would have laugh and say: Yeah, sure, like they would actualy show that.

But they did it and I couldn't be more happy.

Just a pause from this Ducktales' post

Some of you could be thinking as you read this: "Nice that your people are shown in a positive way"

The thing is... I'm not arab. I'm a latinoamerican who just happens to love Middle Eastern cultures. My country isn't very prejuiced towards Middle Eastern people (maybe because there's a few of them) but I have come from a long way. To being sure that everything there was just sand and violence to wanting to visit some of the many wonders that the East has to give, meet people and learn their point of view. I think everyone should do that at some point, instead of, you know, getting all your arab information from Hollywood movies and concluding that everything would be better if the Middle Easterns were dead. As this quote from the YouTube Documentary "Reel bad Arabs" states:

"We feel that Arabs are not like us, are not like everyone else, then let's kill them off, then they deserve to die, right?"

The thing is, they are more similar that we think, it's just that the international media doesn't show that... until now.

And going back with Ducktales

Yeah, this dude looks different, but he laughs, feels, and enjoys having a great time just like everyone else.

It's the same that is happening with Fenton and the latino representation. D'jinn is a hero who happens to be arab. A dramatic warrior. A family values man. A great allie, friend and who knows what many things more. He, and other Ducktales characters, have so many layers that it's incredible. Just like people, you can't define someone only from their personality or their race. There are so many things that make a person unique. D'jinn broke the expectations I had for him (or he sliced them with his sword) for the better.

9. He's better than Aladdin in many ways

By starters, the voice actors. Aladdin's VA is American and has an American accent in the movie. D'jinn's VA is Omid Abtahi, born in Iran, a Middle Eastern actor. And I'm not saying arab because Irani people are not Arabs (correct me if I'm wrong). Omid doesn't have an accent, as far as I know, but I think it's a nice detail to have the warrior being voiced by someone who comes from the same place. Then, we have the fact that Aladdin lied to almost everyone and D'jinn was a victim of a lie. True, the Ducks assumed he was going to kill them all (and for a good reason) but a lie is still a lie. I don't know many things about Middle Eastern clothes and fashion in the past and the present, but I can tell you will find (maybe traditional) people who wears something more close to D'jinn than Aladdin, and I'm pretty sure the warrior would free a genie if he has the chance because he's a descendant of one. But apart from their differences, both are really good people with a big heart and a kind soul, it's just that we find out Aladdin is good in the beggining of the movie with the bread and orphans scene and with D'jinn almost in the end of the episode, because to be honest, I was expecting him to be lying about wanting to protect the lamp and instead working for the new Merlock, since that was his role in the original movie. Many of us expected a lying thief, but instead we got another Diamond in the Rough.

10. He is a key for one of Scrooge's character developments

Gif belongs to @everythingducktales

The richest duck in the World was SO impressed by the warrior's story that he opened a museum of valuable artifacts so he can share his stories with his family and the world. Let's repeat that. Scrooge McDuck, a very famous, very important and proud adventurer took the advice of a stranger (he also was 100% sure this stranger would kill him and his family if he doesn't get what he wants) because he saw his "human" side, a family side that made the duck realize "maybe we are not so different after all".

Not even the Buzzards (people who worked with Scrooge for who knows what many years) were capable of convincing Scrooge to do some of their plans (but lets be honest, their plans are awful)

That made him be more open about his adventures, his past experiences and his treasures, each one with a unique story. Maybe that would prevent unfortunate yard sales in the future.

Bonus:

11. He is going to return

It is confirmed in one of Frank Angones' posts that he is going to appear in the future, maybe as an allie of the Duck family in an adventure. Or who knows? Maybe they can recruit him as a member of a superheroes team along with Gizmoduck, Darkwing Duck and others. Plus, I want to see him interact with Launchpad and Donald.

That would be all... for now.

[imagine-loki]

Gifted

Title: Gifted (Sequel to Giftless)

CHAPTER NO./ONE SHOT: 21/?

AUTHOR: nekoamamori ORIGINAL IMAGINE: 

Imagine that you are Stark’s niece and you secretly share a strong relationship with Loki since he entered the crew. One day you get hurt so bad during a mission that you are about to die.  Loki knows a spell that will save you and share his immortality with you but you and he will be linked forever sharing thoughts, pain, emotions…

RATING: T NOTES/WARNINGS:  Also on AO3 click here

“Darling, wake up,” Loki bid you early the next morning.

“Loki, it’s early,” you grumbled at him and tried to snuggle closer against him to go back to sleep.

“I know it is, but I have a surprise for you,” he told you softly. You opened your eyes at that.

“A good surprise?” you asked him warily. One never knew with a silver-tongued Trickster boyfriend.

“I certainly think so, though you will probably grumble at me for not telling you I was doing this sooner,” he admitted. 

You sat up at that. It was too early for such flowery language. Or whatever he was up to. “Loki, what’d you do?“ you asked him, truly concerned with how excited he was looking over this plan at whatever gods’ cursed hour this was. 

Loki grinned his Cheshire cat grin at you in reply.  That wasn’t reassuring. "You’ll see,” he replied. 

You sighed. That meant this was either going to be really fun, or really terrible. There was no middle ground. “Tell me it’ll be fun at least,” you begged, unsure that you could handle a terrible day.

“It will be fun,” he agreed, but you caught the tone of mischief in his voice and the glint in his eyes. You resigned yourself to a day he thought was fun and you would hate. 

At least you could wear a simple dress that morning. He had set one out for you. You still couldn’t wait to get your magic back so you could dress yourself with magic. You hated relying on him and being without your powers again. There was a knock on the suite door just as you had finished tying your hair into a simple knot at the back of your head, leaving the one strand of raven hair loose to frame your face. “That’s for you,” Loki told you, indicating the suite door.

You gave him a look, but went to go answer it. Frigga, Sif, and Astrid, one of the warrior women who had become your friend, were waiting outside for you. “Happy birthday!” they bid you brightly. You looked over your shoulder at Loki. Your birthday wasn’t for another couple of weeks, which he damn well knew. 

“Loki told us that the calendars do not quite add up right between Midgard and here,” Frigga explained at your obviously confused expression. “He chose today as the closest logical day to celebrate your birthday. It also appears that he did not tell you,” she added with a smile.

“Trickster, you are a creature made entirely of silliness,” you told Loki as he came up next to you.

“Mischief and chaos,” he corrected with a fond smile at the old tease. 

“I’m not seeing a difference,” you told him and stuck your tongue out at him. 

He chuckled and leaned down to kiss your cheek. “I will see you later, darling. The girls insisted on stealing you away for something feminine this morning,” Loki told you with a smile.

“You can join us!” Astrid laughed at him. “I’ve seen you at balls before,” she continued laughing. Even Sif laughed at that and Frigga smiled. Loki used to shapeshift into a female and go to balls that way just for laughs.  Or because she felt like it since Loki was genderfluid. 

“I will let you ladies have your fun today,” he replied with an elegant bow.

Sif and Astrid took your arms and the four of you left the royal wing together.  You ended up in a section of the palace you had never been to, near the healing wing. You found out that it was a full-service spa. The morning was spent with pampering and girl talk. Frigga even told you embarrassing stories of Thor and Loki from when they were kids and Astrid told stories about her boyfriend in the royal guard. They were talking of having the soulbond ceremony after the traditional year of courtship. Naturally, you had to ask all about him. You hadn’t done this kind of girls’ outing before, but it was so natural and fun that the awkwardness quickly dissipated.

You left the spa in excellent spirits and more formal dresses. Even Astrid, though she was still armed to the teeth. You still had your dagger sheath too. You didn’t go anywhere without it, and it was perfectly common and expected on Asgard to walk around armed. You did have to wear your tiara, though, which was a new experience. You met up with your significant others right outside the palace. You and Sif cheered when Astrid greeted her boyfriend with a kiss. She gave you a rude gesture in reply, which made you all laugh, though Frigga had to pretend to scold her for it.

“You look ravishing, darling,” Loki told you as he offered you his arm in formal escort position. 

You placed your hand on it as per usual, the gesture automatic. “Thank you,” you accepted the compliment today, especially since the nice ladies in the spa had done so much work to make you extra pretty. Even if they had complained about the illogical lock of raven-black hair. You had to explain it to them multiple times before they’d agreed to leave it alone, though they should’ve known what a lovelock was.  They were just being persnickety. You had a feeling Loki and you would be re-starting a fashion trend with the lovelock soon…

You went out to the palace gardens where an elaborate flower-viewing was set up. There was all sorts of food and tables set around the garden. Astrid broke off once you reached the rest of the court who were gathered in the garden. The procession of the royals made your way up to a platform overlooking one of the gardens. Loki led you to the front so you could get a good view at whatever was going to happen.

A bell chimed and suddenly the flowers in the garden you were looking over all began to bloom at the same time. It was absolutely breathtaking to watch. The flowers all opened, revealing petals of the same magenta-red color as your hair. “They are called sigynite flowers,” Loki whispered into your ear. “They only bloom one day a year,”

“They’re gorgeous,” you replied, staring in rapture over the flowers, trying to fix in your memory exactly how they looked. 

Loki chuckled. “There is one preserved in our suite for you, Sigyn,” he whispered in your ear.  You rolled your eyes at his use of your superhero alias, which was apparently also derived from the name of the flowers.

“Sigyn?” Sif asked as you took your seats for the lunch that came with the flower viewing. 

You laughed, apparently she had really good hearing to have heard Loki’s question.  “You’re getting you back for ‘Lo’ aren’t you?“ you asked Loki, who tried to look innocent. He failed. Miserably. you turned back to Sif to explain. "Back on Midgard, many of those of us with powers fight crime and villains with powers. Generally we don’t want people to know our real names, since it can put our loved ones in danger, so everyone on the team has a superhero name. Sigyn is mine,”

“So Loki chose the day of the sigynite flower blooming for your birthday,” Sif finished. You nodded your agreement and laughed over your silly Trickster boyfriend. You had a nice lunch with your Asgardian family. There would also be a formal ball and feast that evening. In the meantime, your family gave you birthday presents. You hadn’t been expecting anything from them, even after they had announced it was your birthday today.

Thor gave you a tome that was a famous fantasy series in Asgard. “Thanks Thor!” you told him in glee. Loki had to take it from your hands before you started reading it and ignoring the rest of your presents. Sif gave you a beautiful necklace, which Loki helped you put on immediately. It was a simple, but gorgeous diamond. "Thank you,” you told her with a real smile. You had a feeling that it, like the bracelet Loki had given you on your 18th birthday wasn’t going to be taken off often, if ever. It was so pretty, but simple enough to be an everyday item. Sif was obviously relieved that you like it. Frigga, though she had said it was from Odin too, gave you a box to unwrap. Odin had left after lunch to go do work. You opened the box curiously, wondering what the queen would have gotten you for your birthday. Inside was a little handmade cloth doll. It was beautiful and extremely well made. She even had magenta-red hair and the same blue eyes that your were usually. “She’s beautiful,” you saw in awe as you lifted the little doll out of the box. you saw Sif’s eyes widen at it when she realized what it was.

“You did not grow up here, and my children were all boys, so Loki would not have told you the tradition, and you would not have had one of these dolls growing up,” Frigga started. You looked away from the doll to give her your attention. "When a daughter is born, her mother will give her a handmade doll in the daughter’s likeness. The vision-seers aid with that aspect of course. The doll is a symbol of a mother’s love as well as a constant companion for the girl as she grows.”

“You made her?” you asked, your voice full of emotion and tears of joy in your eyes. She nodded with a smile. You didn’t have words to thank her with. All you could do was go to her and give her a hug. “I will cherish her forever,” you finally found words that might, might be enough.

“You are welcome, daughter. I give her to you in love, and with admiration for how wonderful you are for my Loki. I have never seen him so happy as you have when he is with you." 

You thanked them all again for the wonderful presents and the wonderful birthday.

"It is not over yet, darling,” Loki reminded you. You stared at the beautiful flowers for a little longer before you all went in to your own matters until dinner that evening. You headed back to our suite to relax until dinner. You set the doll from Frigga on your bedside table next to the sigynite flower Loki had in a vase there. Loki pulled out a box when you had settled on the couch.

“Loki, you didn’t have to get me anything!” you protested. Your real birthday wasn’t for a couple of weeks, plus you didn’t expect anything anyway.

“Yes, I did,” he replied with a smile as he handed you the box. You smiled at his silliness and carefully opened the box. Inside was a gorgeous silver charm bracelet with a bunch of charms on it. He helped you put it on. “Hold one of the charms,” he bid you softly. You picked one at random and held it in your other hand.

You were standing in a memory of two years ago. You and Loki  were on the stairs up to your suites in the tower, ending a conversation with your uncle. “I have to go to work. Can you two try to behave?” Tony grumbled, mostly looking at you. You raised your hands in surrender.

“Fury already threatened me with chains until The Harlequin is dealt with. Don’t worry, Tony, there will be no trouble for me,” you told him with as much sincerity as you could muster. “I’ll even promise to stay out of the science lab.” He rolled his eyes, but gave you a hug goodbye and a threat to Loki before he went to work.

“That threat lacked punch,” Loki commented as you walked up the stairs together. “He did not even threaten me with death this time,” he mused.

“Maybe he’s starting to like you,” you told him with a grin.

“I highly doubt that. He does not like that I spend time with you,” he reminded you.

“He’s my uncle. That’s what they do,” you replied.

“What does he think will happen?” Loki asked when you reached the floor that your rooms were on. You gave him a mischievous grin, which made him pause just long enough.

“This,” you replied, standing up on your toes to place a light, timid kiss on his lips. You darted away quickly while he stood there shocked. You didn’t stay to see his reaction, you didn’t want to see disappointment or anger, or any other of a dozen emotions. You didn’t know what his reaction would be, if he would want it or not. You were willing to play it off as a joke to save your friendship if that’s what it took. Instead, you felt a hand wrap around your arm and spin you to face him. It was Loki, of course. He let go of your arm, but wrapped an arm around your waist. He held you to him pressed against his cool body. He held you lightly, though, and you knew you could break away without any real effort.

“If you are going to do that, darling, you should at least do it properly,” he purred as he pushed your hair away from your face.

“I don’t know how to do it properly,” you whispered. You’d never been kissed before.

“Then allow me to demonstrate,” he purred. He hesitated and looked into your eyes. “Unless you do not wish do. I will not kiss you against your will. I will not force you into a relationship,” he said softly, gently. 

You nodded, though you couldn’t tear your gaze from his. “I want this,” you whispered. He leaned down and kissed you. He tasted of cool mint and a crisp winter’s day. Your heart fluttered with his cool lips, firm, but gentle against yours as he held you to him. He broke the kiss after a long minute and set you gently back on your feet. You smiled giddily up at him. “That was definitely the proper way to do that,” you finally told him. He grinned.

“I am glad my lady is pleased,” he replied.

The memory vision ended. You just looked at him in awe. “They’re all memories?” you asked. 

Loki nodded. “All of them are memories,” he replied with a soft smile. “However, I would not play with the red one today. It is a difficult memory, though the outcome led to come pleasant side effects,” he absently touched the soulbond marks on his arm and you nodded your understanding.

“It’s wonderful. Thank you!” you told him. You wrapped your arms around him to kiss him. A lot. And you didn’t do much else besides enjoy kisses and each other’s company until you had to go to dinner and the ball.

Both were elaborate extremely formal events, but dancing the night away with Loki was amazing. You had gained the knowledge of all of the court dances through the soulbond, and had secretly practiced the moves so you wouldn’t look like an idiot when you came back to Asgard. You surprised Loki with the grace you had managed to earn through that practice.

It was nearly dawn when the ball ended. You were both exhausted and grinning and it was such a wonderful not-a-birthday.

[puppypaw-wc]

I had an idea for a FanClan but didn't know what to name it and the Applepaw Discord bot generated RainClan so that's their name.

The following form blank was made by @fan-clan-fun so like yeah.

Formation: Rain was a rogue living in the Forestlands of old, and hated seeing cats dying from starvation or Twoleg Treecutters. So he formed a small group of cats, inspired by the Clans of Lightning, Gale, Shade, Torrent and Beyond, taking them to the Rainy Forest.

Rivals: Not long after Rain's small group left the Forestlands of old, an event that is now called the Rain of Fire took place. The once lush forest burned, and was only stopped when the sky's tears rained down. That area is now known as the Roguelands, or the Rogue Badlands, and while they generally stay in their own territory, they occasionally stray into RainClan's territory.

Shaping Events: On the day the Rain of Fire took place, the leader of the elders tells of the fire that Firestorm brought and the rain that their ancestors brought. Very few tales of the Clan's founding are told, and there's more told of the Clans of old. The loyal and brave Clan of Lightning, the water-loving Clan of Torrent, the fox-like Clan of Shade, the feisty and fast Clan of Gale, and the long-legged once lost Clan of Beyond.

Age: RainClan is quite old, but not to the extent that no cats remember Rainstar and Stormstar, the first two leaders of the Clan.

Heroes and Villains: The selfless founder of RainClan is honored by the currently living cats, and the kits of the Clan strive to be like him. On the opposite side of the spectrum, Firestorm, the cat who allegedly started the Rain of Fire, is despised by all for ruining the lush Forestlands of old.

Map:

The Clan of Far Above: RainClan's ancestors are known as the Clan of Far Above. Named by their first medicine cat Nettleshimmer, they're much like StarClan. In fact, they can easily contact StarClan.

Influence: The Clan of Far Above is represented in the living world by five trees, one for each of the Clans of old. One of them is an ash tree, with a scent of fire and lightning, representing the Clan of Lightning, and Leafheart, Rainstar's mate and a direct Clan of Lightning descendent. It is known as the Tree of Lightning. Another is a willow tree, with wet bark, planted in water. It represents the Clan of Torrent, and both Stormstar and Rainstar, who are descended from the Clan. It is known as the Tree of Torrent. The tulip tree blows in even the lightest of breezes, representing the Clan of Gale and Breezescratch, a noble scribe and direct descendent of the aforementioned Clan. The Tree of Gale, it is called. In the shade grows the Tree of Shade, a hoptree which represents both the Clan it is named after and Darkthistle, another noble scribe and descendant of this Clan. Lastly is the tallest of them, the Tree of the Beyond, a tall redwood tree. Representing both the forgotten Clan and Cloudfeather, a descendant of the Clan. When a cat comes here, if they need the Clan of Far Above, they will appear directly, although they also visit dreams. Leaders get their five lives here, one from each tree. Along with this, the medicine cat comes here once every moon.

Worship: Much like with the Clans of old in the forest territories, every apprentice visits the trees at least once. Any cat can visit them, as long as they have permission from the divine protector.

Afterlife: In the Clan of Far Above, you appear as the age you were happiest. Kits and apprentices get a warrior name and can appear as adults if they so please. Each rank has dens, and there's also hunting grounds.

Holidays: The holidays are planned by the divine protector (the medicine cats' leader) and kept by them as well. The scribe keeps track of the dates on a calendar of sorts, and they and the divine protector keep track of this. Birthdays of important cats are marked down, as being the ___th day of the ___th moon of the season.

Leadership: The main leader is much like in the groups, however each rank aside from kits has a leader, usually the eldest. The elder leader is known as the advisor, giving advice to the leader with their knowledge. The queen leader is known as the mother, and often helps other queens with their kits. She's basically like Daisy. The warrior leader is usually the deputy, although there's occasionally another cat. They are known as the head warrior, and are usually the head hancho during battles. The apprentice leader is known as the apprentice mentor and is usually the first to get an apprentice when they become warrior. They remind apprentices of their duties, and remind mentors to train their apprentices.

Deputy: Deputies are basically the same as in the canon Clans. They are second in command, and often have meetings with the rank leaders.

Medicine cat: Medicine cats are much like in the Clans of old. In RainClan, they're in charge of celebrations - excluding ceremonies, which the leader is in charge of - and often help the scribes out. The divine protector is in charge of planning the celebrations, while the other medicine cats just decorate and make preparations.

Elders: Cats generally become elders when they're around sixty moons old. The advisor advises the leader on what to do when they need help. Kits often love hearing their stories, although some do not. On the Day of the Rain of Fire, the advisor tells the tale of the Rain of Fire.

Warriors: Warriors are basically just like their canon equivalent, but like the Tribe of Rushing Water, are split into groups. The hunters, as their name suggests, hunt for the Clan. Guards guard the camp at night and often go on patrols. Medical assistants help the medicine cats find herbs, and help if, for example, a medicine cat dies in the middle of their apprentice's training and there's no more medicine cats aside from them. Then they'd help with their training. And switches switch between some or all of these roles. The leader of this rank is the head warrior, who is the head hancho in battle and usually close to retiring, or was a secondary or tertiary choice for the deputy position.

Queens: Kits are either the cats who are expecting or nursing kits, or are nursery helpers. Toms take on this position sometimes if their mate is done nursing their kits and is okay with helping in the nursery. However, their leader of the mother is always a she-cat, and it is the leadership position that changes the most.

Apprentices: Cats are usually apprenticed at anywhere from six to eight moons, although sometimes later due to medical conditions or the leader forgetting. The apprentice mentor usually reminds them of this, and does the same for apprentices about their duties and mentors about their training. This is also when cats are split into their ranks, but they get to choose and pick whichever one they wish to be when they become a warrior.

Kits: Kits are often cared for by more cats than just the nursery dwellers. Their kin helps often times, giving gifts, and medicine cats always give new mothers and their kits presents, usually fresh-kill, herbs or flowers/feathers. Aside from deputies, they're the only rank with no leader.

Scribes: Scribes make a map of the territory with various dyes made from flowers and other stuff, and carved from their claws. They also keep track of births, holidays and other such stuff. There can be up to two scribes at once.

Code of Conduct: The Code of the Clan of Rain is similar to the warrior code, sans the other Clan related rules. However, medicine cats can have kits if they have an apprentice, unless they're the divine protector.

Mates: There is a ceremony especially for cats who decide they want to be together forever.

Leader: "Cats of RainClan, we gather here today to unite these cats. (First cat) is a (trait) (rank), and (second cat) is a (trait) (rank). Now, (first cat), do you vow to love your mate through thick and thin, light and dark, sun and rain?"

First cat (the oldest usually): "I do."

Leader: "And (second cat), do you vow to love (first cat) through thick and thin, light and dark, sun and rain?"

Second cat (youngest): "I do."

(The youngest med. cat brings a rock over from the River of Forever, and the mates both mark it with their claws and whatever items they wish (flowers, feathers, etc), before the med. cat brings it to the River of Forever, where it sits at the end)

If the cats wish to break up, they retrieve the stone and remove the markings. It is a slow and painful process, like break ups in and of themselves.

Ceremonies: The ceremonies are the same, so let's go over the scribe and rank leader ceremonies.

Scribe Ceremony:

Scribe: "Cats of the Clan of Far Above, I bring you my apprentice, (name). He/she/they has learned all that a scribe should, and has made much scribework that will last for seasons to come. (Name), with approval from the Clan of Far Above, from this moment onwards, you shall be known as (new name). The Clan of Far Above honors your (trait) and (trait) and we welcome you as RainClan's newest scribe."

Divine Protector Ceremony:

Leader: "(Name), you have finished your training, and the Clan of Far Above believes that you are the perfect choice to be the Clan's new divine protector. Do you understand the responsibility this position requires, the effort that must be put into it, and that you shalln't be allowed to bare kits?"

Med. cat: "I do."

Leader: "Very well. You are now the divine protector of RainClan."

(Either the youngest or oldest scribe, depending, brings over a necklace with a star like charm on the bottom)

Head Warrior Ceremony:

Leader: "(Name), you have served your Clan well over your many season-cycles of life, and I think you are the optimal choice for head warrior. Do you agree with this position, and if not, who should be the head warrior?"

Warrior: "I do." OR "I don't, and I believe (name) should be the head warrior."

Leader: "From this moment onwards, (name) shall be the head warrior of RainClan!"

(The youngest or oldest scribe brings over a necklace with the claw of the last head warrior tied on the end)

Apprentice Mentor Ceremony:

Leader: "This apprentice's mentor tells me he/she/they has/have done well, and thus I believe this makes them the perfect choice for apprentice mentor! (Name), until you become a warrior, you shall be the apprentice mentor of the Clan. You will be my top choice for head warrior."

The Mother Ceremony:

Leader: "Cats of the Clan of Far Above, this queen has shown herself/themselves to be a caring queen, and I believe that makes them the optimal choice to be the mother of RainClan. With your approval, they shall be given this carnation necklace made especially by our scribe (scribe name)."

(The Clan of Far Above speaks their approval (literally everytime, they never reject a mother))

Leader: "(Name), until you wish to step down from the position, you shall be RainClan's mother."

(The scribe gives the mother the necklace)

The Advisor Ceremony:

Leader: "(Name), you served our Clan for many seasons, and have been a great elder. If you nor the Clan of Far Above objects, then you shall be the Clan advisor."

(If there are no objections, the advisor is given a necklace with a single glittery gem on it)

Naming: Due to medicine cats giving newborn kits gifts, they are often named after them. The medicine cat Cloverlight was given a clover by Seedflower, and thus was named Cloverkit. But it should be noted that Lightning- and Thunder-, Torrent-, Gale- and Shade- are forbidden prefixes. Rain- and Fire- are also rare, but more common then the Clans of old's prefixes.

RainClan © Puppy, don't steal it, I worked like all day on it.

[precuredaily]

Precure Day 140

Episode: Futari wa Precure Splash Star 42 - “Welcome Back! Michiru and Kaoru!” Date watched: 3 July 2019 Original air date: 3 December 2006 Screenshots: https://imgur.com/a/xgCNJSJ Project info and master list of posts: http://tinyurl.com/PCDabout

The title kinda spoiled it

Another excellent episode! We left off with Saki and Mai in a bind because the Fairy Carafe was stolen and Dark Fall’s agents were revived and now more resistant to Precure’s attacks. Dark Fall holds all the cards and Saki and Mai are stranded in the Land of Fountains. It’s a good setup! Where do we go from here?

The Plot

Princess Filia reveals to the girls that the Fountain of the Sun is in the Land of Greenery and uses her own power to transport the girls, their fairies, and herself there... but she loses her corporeal form and ends up as a sphere of light that possesses Korone, Saki’s cat. Meanwhile in Dark Fall, Gohyaan has revived the rest of the generals, but Akudaikaan chews him out for not kidnapping the Princess when he had the chance, as she knows the location of the Fountain of the Sun, so Gohyaan dispatches Karehaan and Dorodoron to track her down.

This is the only time all 6 of these characters are together

Back at the Sky Tree, Filia explains that she needs the Fairy Carafe to return her body, but the villains appear before she can tell the girls more. Saki and Mai transform into Bloom and Egret but their power isn’t enough to defeat the enhanced warriors. Filia pointedly comments that the two spirits (Flappi and Choppi) alone aren’t enough, so she, Korone, Moop, and Foop gather their power and wish for a miracle. In a very emotional sequence, they connect with the slumbering Michiru and Kaoru, who receive the last remaining energy from the Fairy Carafe, and then revive and rush to the Sky Tree to save their friends. It’s a touching reunion, and some words are exchanged between both the sisters and their friends, as well as the villains who were eliminated before they changed sides. Ultimately, words aren’t enough, and Michiru and Kaoru fight Dorodorn and Karehaan.... and they’re winning! The power that Moop and Foop especially lent them, combined with their powers of darkness, are the perfect counter to the blend of dark and light that the villains possess, and the sisters are able to negate Gohyaan’s powerup (Dorodoron flees instead). This allows the Precures to perform Spiral Heart Splash and destroy Karehaan, who dissolves into a bunch of mini-Gohyaan heads that bounce off.

The four girls finally have a moment to take in their reunion, and Saki and Mai cry tears of happiness as the camera zooms out and the credits roll.

(speaking of the credits, stick around at the end for my take on Ganbalance de Dance finally)

The Analysis

What a great episode. I could probably write pages about Michiru and Kaoru’s revival scene, the dialog and music and visuals all come together to make an emotionally powerful sequence. Bloom and Egret are overpowered, Michi and Kao feel so helpless and they can’t move, but they can tell their friends are in danger and they struggle their hardest, so their feelings connect with the energy Filia is trying to send and create a miracle. I love it. Also, you can really tell that Nishio Daisuke worked on Dragon Ball prior to this series because the sequence of the two powering up and emerging from the water is EXTREMELY evocative of something DBZ would do. Joke’s on me, he only worked on FW and MH and had no hand in this series, he was tapped for Powerpuff Girls Z instead. Still very Dragon Ball, I wouldn’t be surprised of some of the other staff had their hands in that before working on this.

Karehaan proves to be his own worst enemy. He doesn’t like working together, believing he’s strong enough on his own to dispatch the girls. He does make a better team with Dorodoron than with Moerumba though, as they don’t butt heads so much as Doro just kind of goes along with that Karecchi says, until it’s in his best interests to run. However, Karehaan’s arrogance and ignorance about Michiru and Kaoru’s betrayal allow him to overestimate himself and the threat the sisters pose. Together with Dorodoron, they actually do have the Precures on the ropes at one point, they could have defeated them there, but they hesitated too long and allowed the Kiryuus to save them. Ah well.

Princess Filia posessing Korone is..... weird, to say the least. For some unexplained reason, beyond simply habitating in his body, her power allows him to speak as well, independently of her, so you have this tiny cat talking in a pretty deep voice. Not the first time an animated cat has talked, of course, but since it’s not Filia speaking through Korone, it’s odd. I don’t remember how long this lasts, presumably up until the finale of the show... in fact I must have blocked it out of my memory completely because I forgot about it happening at all. Korone was portrayed as an intelligent cat up to this point, of course, but now he’s standing on his hind legs and talking like a middle-aged guy and it’s all so strange.

Last thing I want to touch on: animation. It’s uh.... not great here. Close-ups are passable, although the shading is often minimal. The faces may be a little off-model but it’s nothing extreme. Anything further out than a close-up is pretty bad though, especially for human faces.

I guess it’s the usual conserving budget for the finale syndrome but it’s still pretty laughable.

The Opening and Ending

Okay it’s time I finally talked about these.

The opening theme is called “Makasete★Splash☆Star★” or “Leave it to Us★Splash☆Star★”. While the FW/MH opening was a drama, the SS opening is more of a poppy, light rock number. The composition features lots of strings, bowed and plucked at key moments providing both the melody and the bass line. Some high brass comes in here and there and I think there’s some kind of synthesized percussion providing the rhythm. It could be an electric guitar, though, I’m having trouble picking it out. There’s definitely some guitar towards the climax of the song. Mayumi Gojo has been swapped out for Uchiaye Yuka on vocals, and she sings about how there’s strength in life and to use that as inspiration. All together, it’s a nice uplifting tune, and the visuals give us a good idea about what Saki and Mai are interested in, the fairies, and some action sequences. There’s even a scene of the Tree of Life glowing with energy that might be foreshadowing the end of the series? For the revamped intro starting with episode 31, they add a few scenes of Bright and Windy, as well as Moop and Foop, and impressively they edited all shots of Boom and Egret to replace the Mix Communes with the Crystal Communes.

Now, the ending!

“Ganbalance de Dance” is a little bit notorious for being used, and reused, and re-reused. Yes 5 and GoGo both used reversions of it for their second ending themes, and I kind of get it, because it’s a cute tune, but there’s another more important aspect: this is the first dance ending in all of Precure. Why a dance ending? Well, there was a rather popular anime that aired in Spring of 2006 that featured a dance ending, and the world would never be the same. That show was “The Melancholy of Suzumiya Haruhi” and the dance, the “Hare Hare Yukai” took the world by storm. It’s speculated that Precure adopting dance endings was a copycat move. The timing lines up, Haruhi started in April and ended in early July of that year so Toei had time to say “Hey this is really popular, let’s do that in our show.” Dance endings were already commonplace in the contemporary Super Sentai shows as well, so there was precedent. (although somewhat ironically, the Sentai of that year didn’t have a dance) Whatever the reason, they did it again and again but the cell animation was not always the best, so they switched to CG with Fresh and never looked back. However, we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.

The lyrics to “Ganbalance de Dance” are half instructions for doing the dance, and half general uplifting messages about positivity and believing in yourself. The dance itself is fairly simple, due to limited animation most of the movement is in the upper body, so the girls twist their torsos and extend their arms while keeping their legs mostly still. when they move their legs, it’s only to stick them out and then back in, or to do some small marching. None of the more energetic moving around that later shows will use, again, probably a byproduct of the animation. Notably, since it’s cell animation rather than more expensive CG, they draw the girls in all three of their outfits: school uniform, Bloom/Egret, and Bright/Windy. The villains also dance a little, and I should point out that the text behind them reads “Uzaina” with only one “a” at the end. Suffice to say, I understand but I’m sticking with two. Also look at these guys.

Kintolesky is not present because he hadn’t been introduced in the show yet, and sadly they never update it to include him. This also marked the first reappearance of Michiru and Kaoru, only to segue into a shot of Bright and Windy and then they’re never seen again, but hey, it’s something.

Anyway, it all comes together to make a fun ending song. I’m sorry it took me so long to write about it.

I may revisit this if I think of more things to say about the episode, but for now I think that concludes it. Next time, everybody celebrates Michiru and Kaoru’s return....... but first it’s time for We Are Splash Gays: The Movie. Look forward to it!

Pink Precure Catchphrase Count: 0 Zekkouchou Nari!

No more miracle drop count

[vampireloreskill]

Get To Know Me 

tagged by @fourfinefreshfishforyou a billion years ago, thank you so much!! i actually Did have fun filling this out even if it took me forever 

 anyone who still wants to do this can say i tagged them!

1. WHAT IS YOUR FULL NAME? Who wrote this? A fed??

2. WHAT IS YOUR NICKNAME? Kris

3. BIRTHDAY? This year

4. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE BOOK SERIES? Would you believe me if I said Warriors

5. DO YOU BELIEVE IN ALIENS OR GHOSTS? Ghosts no, aliens sort of... I’m not sure I buy into whole other civilizations but I find it hard to believe that there isn’t some kind of life outside of our planet even if it’s just bacteria 

6. WHO IS YOUR FAVORITE AUTHOR? Rick Riordan is pretty cool

7. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE RADIO STATION? Christmas

8. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE FLAVOR OF ANYTHING? Strawberry or peach 

9. WHAT WORD WOULD YOU USE OFTEN TO DESCRIBE SOMETHING GREAT OR WONDERFUL? Amazing

10. WHAT IS YOUR CURRENT FAVORITE SONG?  Your Type - Carly Rae Jepson

11. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE WORD? I’m a big fan of defenestration

12. WHAT WAS THE LAST SONG YOU LISTENED TO?  Your Type - Carly Rae Jepson

13. WHAT TV SHOW WOULD YOU RECOMMEND FOR EVERYBODY TO WATCH? I don’t like to blanket recommend shows because everyone has such different tastes

14. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE MOVIE TO WATCH WHEN YOU’RE FEELING DOWN? Tbh I just mope around until I either feel better or give up and go to sleep

15. DO YOU PLAY VIDEO GAMES? This is an Assassin’s Creed and Sims zone ONLY

16. WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST FEAR? Strangers on the internet knowing my second biggest fear

17. WHAT IS YOUR BEST QUALITY, IN YOUR OPINION? Objectively it’s probably my ability to see things from other people’s perspective but TBH I much prefer my sense of humor and ability to laugh at my own jokes whether or not anyone else finds them funny 

18. WHAT IS YOUR WORST QUALITY, IN YOUR OPINION? My inability to self moderate

19. DO YOU LIKE CATS OR DOGS BETTER? I want to say neither,, but I may be leaning towards dogs in recent years :/

20. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE SEASON? Winter, but lately Autumn has been sneaking up on it

21. ARE YOU IN A RELATIONSHIP? Nah

22. WHAT IS SOMETHING YOU MISS FROM YOUR CHILDHOOD? Being small... I loved hiding in tiny spaces and being picked up

23. WHO IS YOUR BEST FRIEND? *cowboy voice* Now there’s a name I haven’t heard in a long time...

24. WHAT IS YOUR EYE COLOR? Dark brown

25. WHAT IS YOUR HAIR COLOR? At this point it’s basically black but I still like to say dark brown

26. WHO IS SOMEONE YOU LOVE? God, my family, probably a lot of people idk I catch feelings easily

27. WHO IS SOMEONE YOU TRUST? Literally no one but God 

28. WHO IS SOMEONE YOU THINK ABOUT OFTEN? A lot of seemingly random celebrities, if you count constantly reciting names in specific patterns as thinking 

29. ARE YOU CURRENTLY EXCITED ABOUT/FOR SOMETHING? Yes, lots of things! 

30. WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST OBSESSION? lmao

31. WHAT WAS YOUR FAVORITE TV SHOW AS A CHILD? REDWALLLLL

32. WHO OF THE OPPOSITE GENDER CAN YOU TELL ANYTHING TO, IF ANYONE? I’m not sure what the opposite of shrug emoji is but the answer is still no one

33. ARE YOU SUPERSTITIOUS? I’m not, but someone needs to tell me that

34. DO YOU HAVE ANY UNUSUAL PHOBIAS? I’m not sure I have any phobias? Irrational fears, Sure

35. DO YOU PREFER TO BE IN FRONT OF THE CAMERA OR BEHIND IT? Behind it!

36. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE HOBBY? I REALLY want to get into dollhousing

37. WHAT WAS THE LAST BOOK YOU READ? I know I said Les Misérables in a previous tag meme but I now remember that I actually read the first book in C.S. Lewis’s space trilogy a while back more recently

38. WHAT WAS THE LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED? Spider-man: Into The Spiderverse which was........ AMAZING 

39. WHAT MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS DO YOU PLAY, IF ANY? When I was younger I had a lap harp but that’s about it

40. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ANIMAL? Opossums

41. WHAT ARE YOUR TOP 5 FAVORITE TUMBLR BLOGS THAT YOU FOLLOW? I’m not a fan of naming names in this context sorry!

42. WHAT SUPERPOWER DO YOU WISH YOU HAD? A lot, but I’ve concluded that for any powers gained I would inevitably just end up becoming a super villain and/or batman so hard pass

43. WHEN AND WHERE DO YOU FEEL MOST AT PEACE? When I first wake up, and just lie there trying to hold on to what I was just dreaming about

44. WHAT MAKES YOU SMILE? It’s basically physically impossible for me not to grin like a fool watching Wander Over Yonder

45. WHAT SPORTS DO YOU PLAY, IF ANY? Does Wii Bowling count

46. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE DRINK? Apple cider

47. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU WROTE A HAND-WRITTEN LETTER OR NOTE TO SOMEBODY? I don’t know? Probably when I wanted to wake up at a certain time

48. ARE YOU AFRAID OF HEIGHTS? Sometimes? Depends on how possible it is that I could fall

49. WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST PET PEEVE? Dry skin currently 

50. HAVE YOU EVER BEEN TO A CONCERT? I was going to say no but I have the distinct feeling that I have even though I didn’t remember absolutely anything about it except maybe the auditorium?

51. ARE YOU VEGAN/VEGETARIAN? No

52. WHEN YOU WERE LITTLE, WHAT DID YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GREW UP? Zookeeper

53. WHAT FICTIONAL WORLD WOULD YOU LIKE TO LIVE IN? Um. Eternia?? ajfghdk 

54. WHAT IS SOMETHING YOU WORRY ABOUT? Not growing as a person

55. ARE YOU SCARED OF THE DARK? Not really, but I do like the ability to turn on lights if I need to

56. DO YOU LIKE TO SING? My vocal cords were made for Christmas carols and little else. But yeah, sometimes.

57. HAVE YOU EVER SKIPPED SCHOOL? I’m not... sure?

58. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE PLACE ON THE PLANET? I’ll let you know when I’ve found it

59. WHERE WOULD YOU LIKE TO LIVE? Where I already do

60. DO YOU HAVE ANY PETS? Yes

61. ARE YOU MORE OF AN EARLY BIRD OR A NIGHT OWL? Night owl

62. DO YOU LIKE SUNRISES OR SUNSETS BETTER? Sunsets

63. DO YOU KNOW HOW TO DRIVE? I feel like I could make an educated guess in an emergency

64. DO YOU PREFER EARBUDS OR HEADPHONES? Headphones

65. HAVE YOU EVER HAD BRACES? No

66. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE GENRE OF MUSIC? I feel like it’s probably pop or disco tbh

67. WHO IS YOUR HERO? Jesus 

68. DO YOU READ COMIC BOOKS? Here and there, the only series I’ve actually read all the way through is Cable & Deadpool (2004) but I want to get into Venom

69. WHAT MAKES YOU THE MOST ANGRY? Not to be cliche but injustice of any kind

70. DO YOU PREFER TO READ ON AN ELECTRONIC DEVICE OR WITH A REAL BOOK? Real book, I like turning pages and the way the cover fits into my hands. Can’t say I’m a fan of the smell though.

71. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE SUBJECT IN SCHOOL? Vocabulary

72. DO YOU HAVE ANY SIBLINGS? Yes

73. WHAT WAS THE LAST THING YOU BOUGHT? Sims 4 packs

74. HOW TALL ARE YOU? 5′2 or so

75. CAN YOU COOK? If it involves anything other than a microwave or a toaster then,,, no

76. WHAT ARE THREE THINGS THAT YOU LOVE? Vampires, villains in love, wood paneling 

77. WHAT ARE THREE THINGS THAT YOU HATE? Intrusive thoughts, Marius Pontmercy, mint flavored toothpaste

78. DO YOU HAVE MORE FEMALE FRIENDS OR MORE MALE FRIENDS? I... Have more female mutuals

79. WHAT IS YOUR SEXUAL ORIENTATION? Bisexual but like it’s Complicated. Also this is the first time I’ve ever actually said that directly so ✌️🎉

80. WHERE DO YOU CURRENTLY LIVE? A fed wrote this

81. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TEXTED? My mom

82. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED? Earlier this month

83. WHO IS YOUR FAVORITE YOUTUBER? I don’t really follow any, but I used to be obsessed with the videos of this one guy who acted out crossovers of DC/Marvel characters with action figures and had a really great voice

84. DO YOU LIKE TO TAKE SELFIES? I do! I just never do anything with them once I’ve taken them lol

85. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE APP? I don’t have one right now, but I adore choose your own adventure ones

86. WHAT IS YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH YOUR PARENT(S) LIKE? Pretty good with my adoptive parents. I want to be closer with my birth mom but I don’t... really know how to go about that without being a disappointment. Never met my birth dad which has been eating at me somewhat lately.

87. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE FOREIGN ACCENT? Uhh Australian maybe??

88. WHAT IS A PLACE THAT YOU’VE NEVER BEEN TO, BUT YOU WANT TO VISIT? Mexico

89. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE NUMBER? 6

90. CAN YOU JUGGLE? Do you take me for a clown

91. ARE YOU RELIGIOUS? Yes, I’m a nondenominational christian 

92. DO YOU FIND OUTER SPACE OF THE DEEP OCEAN TO BE MORE INTERESTING? The ocean, it’s teeming with life and I find it bafflingly fascinating how there’s still so much we don’t know about it

93. DO YOU CONSIDER YOURSELF TO BE A DAREDEVIL? Absolutely not

94. ARE YOU ALLERGIC TO ANYTHING? Almost every single time we go shopping in Sam’s Club I get inexplicably feverish and nauseous and feel like I’ve thrown out my back until we get to the check out. That and I may have a dairy allergy? But honestly my stomach is acting out every other day so who knows really.  

95. CAN YOU CURL YOUR TONGUE? Ye

96. CAN YOU WIGGLE YOUR EARS? No

97. HOW OFTEN DO YOU ADMIT THAT YOU WERE WRONG ABOUT SOMETHING? Not as often as I should

98. DO YOU PREFER THE FOREST OR THE BEACH? Aesthetically, the beach, but forests are less sandy

99. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE PIECE OF ADVICE THAT ANYONE HAS EVER GIVEN YOU? Pat, don’t rub (When drying your hands)

100. ARE YOU A GOOD LIAR?  mmMM I don’t really lie, like, seriously about stuff that I can recall? I’ll jokingly say stuff that blatantly isn’t true and even then I sometimes feel guilty and confess seconds later. Unless you count lying by omission? Or saying stuff like “I’m fine” LMAO. The World May Never Know

101. WHAT IS YOUR HOGWARTS HOUSE? We Don’t Discuss Harry Potter On This Blog, but ravenclaw all the way and any test that tries to sort me into hufflepuff isn’t Valid 

102. DO YOU TALK TO YOURSELF? Generally just when I’m alone

103. ARE YOU AN INTROVERT OR AN EXTROVERT? Introvert

104. DO YOU KEEP A JOURNAL/DIARY? I’ve tried, but I just don’t have the attention span for it asdfgh. Sometimes I write down my dreams though.

105. DO YOU BELIEVE IN SECOND CHANCES? Yes

106. IF YOU FOUND A WALLET FULL OF MONEY ON THE GROUND, WHAT WOULD YOU DO? Convince someone else to pick it up and check for ID

107. DO YOU BELIEVE THAT PEOPLE ARE CAPABLE OF CHANGE? Yes

108. ARE YOU TICKLISH? That’s a personal question

109. HAVE YOU EVER BEEN ON A PLANE? Yes

110. DO YOU HAVE ANY PIERCINGS? No

111. WHAT FICTIONAL CHARACTER DO YOU WISH WAS REAL? Count Dracula from Monster Family (2017) ok so,,, i know he tried to freeze the entire world because a married woman rejected him but LISTEN

112. DO YOU HAVE ANY TATTOOS? No

113. WHAT IS THE BEST DECISION THAT YOU’VE MADE IN YOUR LIFE SO FAR? Following Jesus

114. DO YOU BELIEVE IN KARMA? Mm, not karma per say, but I do generally think that what goes around often comes around in way or another

115. DO YOU WEAR GLASSES OR CONTACTS? No

116. DO YOU WANT CHILDREN? NO

117. WHO IS THE SMARTEST PERSON YOU KNOW? Idk! there a lot different types of smart people

118. WHAT IS YOUR MOST EMBARRASSING MEMORY? Nice try, but someone might actually read this

119. HAVE YOU EVER PULLED AN ALL-NIGHTER? I’m basically nocturnal so... yeah

120. WHAT COLOR ARE MOST OF YOUR CLOTHES? Various jewel tones

121. DO YOU LIKE ADVENTURES? Ehhhhhhh

122. HAVE YOU EVER BEEN ON TV? Not that I know of

123. HOW OLD ARE YOU? 21

124. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE QUOTE? I can’t really think of one right now

125. DO YOU PREFER SWEET OR SAVORY FOODS? Whichever I’m in the mood for!

[pricefieldgahbage]

just for completion’s sake, i thought i’d go decode each piece of the emoji tweets.

episode 1: the snowflake and sapling are the frozen whispering woods, and the robot refers to the machines entrapta built. the four figures are she-ra, perfuma probably, mermista, and frosta, who i guess is bowing since she really wants glimmer to accept her. the rainbow is that glow that happens when all the princesses are in sync at the end of the episode.

episode 2: the rockstar is glimmer lol, while the bow is... bow. the spider web refers to how they captured catra, who is the smirking cat obviously. the unicorn’s swiftwind, adora’s the blonde, the sword and gem together is probably the sword of protection, sparkles is magic, and the building is the watch tower. together those are just referring to the sword’s magic repairing the tower.

episode 3: the ghost and the scared face are clearly about the ghosts seen in alwyn. the devil is a reference to hordak, whereas the female scientist is entrapta. the wrench is the tool she was looking for, the lightning bolt is hordak’s power source, and the cyclone is the portal he’s trying to build. the satellite is the first ones’ communications system, which was causing the holograms, and the envelope is the transmission on bow’s tracker.

episode 4: the castle’s the fortress at the pass. the scorpion is scorpia, the woman with curly hair is lonnie, the blond guy is kyle, and the dinosaur is rogelio lol. the die is for the dnd planning session, the anxious face is a reference to how adora’s anxiety over leading the alliance and catra is wearing her down, and i believe the handshake is how they come together to be there for each other and fight. the flexed bicep is either the princesses’ show of power as they retake the fortress or, if taken with the wave, sea-ra lol.

episode 5: the snowman is about the setting of the northern reaches, the microbe is referring to how the corrupted first ones’ tech infects the sword of protection, which makes the angry face infected she-ra. the hole is what entrapta drilled for the first ones’ tech, and the worm is the guardians released from it. the red haired man is sea hawk, and the fists are about his and scorpia’s budding friendship.

episode 6: the masked villain is shadow weaver, the thought bubble is her flashback, and the woman mage is her as light spinner. the three moons are the moons of enchantment, and the sparkles in this context are probably referring to her casting the spell of obtainment. the running woman is her fleeing mystacor and joining the horde.

episode 7: the teacher is a reference to bow pretending to be a historian. the blue shirt, which was “the biggest twist of season 2,” which noelle further clarified with another tweet, is bow not wearing a crop top lmao. the clarification tweet is just glimmer’s reaction on seeing that. the books are a reference to the library setting, and the urn is the first ones’ artifacts. the shushing face is bow’s attempt to keep his secret of being a warrior from his dads, and the woman tipping her hand is adora spilling the beans lol. the starry sky is the projector of constellations bow’s dads show them, and taken together with the map is how they track down the location in the crimson wastes. the woman with the baby is shadow weaver taking young adora under her wing. the next three are how hordak chokes catra, and the last two are adora sleeping while shadow weaver looks at her.

the reason i did this is we still have an unexplained tweet from before about a big episode, which we can cross-reference with the above explanations. it honestly seems like the arc’s finale.

the shrimp and nauseated face, if taken together, seems like seasickness. remember in season 1, when catra wasn’t feeling well on the boat to salineas? seems like that makes a return, given that her cat face isn’t quite happy here. the sparkles have been established to refer to magic, but the next emoji is pretty interesting. we know the woman mage is light spinner, so there’s only one conclusion we can make about the man mage, since she ate norwyn: micah. it’s possible catra runs into micah on beast island, and they escape via (magical?) boat.

it seems either scorpia is with them, or she’s paired off with the lightning bolt, which is hordak’s power source. i’d lean towards the latter, since it looks like bow’s paired off with the audio symbol too, which i think is another reference to the communications system. i really hope shadow weaver is actually set on fire, but i think it just means she’s defeated for good and adora is sad over it. hordak seems like he’s hurting someone, possibly scorpia if she really did do something to his power source like i assumed earlier.

i’m not sure what the crystal ball and dancer mean, but i think you pair them together. maybe it’s about marionetting someone? i mean, we did have white out, where catra wanted to control adora through the corrupted first ones’ tech. maybe that isn’t too far off the mark of what happens here, just not with she-ra in particular. they did say scorpia was the most loyal member of the horde... i don’t know, this is a complete shot in the dark, but maybe she gets brainwashed into doing hordak’s bidding.

the handshake was about the princess alliance’s collaboration earlier, so i think they make their return here. i have no idea what the shield or heart refer to in particular, but the rainbow is definitely their synced power boost. in the first episode of the second season, perfuma thought this power could heal the whispering woods, so i guess she’s proven right here, since the rainbow and the woods probably go together. that’s why they celebrate at the end.

[psychiccupid]

All the asks

YES. THANK YOU. BLESSED. 

1. What is you middle name?

Nicole! It works really well with my birthname, but not so well with my new name!

2. How old are you?

Turning 24 in December!!

3. What is your birthday?

December 5th, 1994!!! 

4. What is your zodiac sign?

Sagittarius!! 

5. What is your favorite color?

YELLOW > PINK >>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Orange>Red>Brown>WhiteI like warm colors...

6. What’s your lucky number?

Don’t have one!

7. Do you have any pets?

Not like, under my name or responsibility! But back home I’ve got two cats! Sophi and Cleo!!! 

8. Where are you from?

I was born in Arrowhead, Arizona and grew up in Phoenix, Arizona until I went to college in Flagstaff, Arizona and finally escaped that state in January of 2018 lol

9. How tall are you?

Fuck if I know but also 5′3″

10. What shoe size are you?

8 1/2!!! 

11. How many pairs of shoes do you own?

Maybe 10?? Nah, less. 2 sneakers, 1 work provided shoes, 2 heels, 2 boots, 1 flip flops but I loooooooooove shoes... love to actually wear them someday. 

12. What was your last dream about?

Almost all of my dreams are “adventure dreams” where I go on a grand adventure in a new world. I can only remember bits a pieces but they’re all the hero’s journey with different settings and circumstances. Sometimes I’m a warrior - more often than not I’m a spy - sometimes a super hero. I honestly think they’re all real and my conscious life is just a villain keeping me at bay. 

13. What talents do you have?

I have so many talents!!! Like I can’t even describe how talented I can be!!! I am a phenomenal musician. My best instruments are mallet-piano-like ones: Glockenspiel, Xylophone, Marimba, and Vibraphone etc.. I have been playing the violin since I was 4 and while I’m not a master at it I can carry a tune. I am a pretty great singer (so I think at least) and sound exactly like Mandy Moore. I was also the drum major for my marching band (the person who conducts). I can also play the alto saxophone and to a much lesser extent: all woodwinds. I love music so much!!! I can also act and improv really well! I’ve been in many school plays but never as a main character so I don’t know for sure, but I’ve been the leader of the chorus many, many times. I’m a great manager!!! I won an award for the best crew head for costumes (which is my dream job) which is costume management and backstage quick changes! And if I don’t sound egotistical enough, I’m very good at it. And finally (I promise) I’m really amazing with numbers. I can memorize dates and sequences really well and recite them almost rhythmically (like music and I also think this is why I’m good at music). I know everyone’s birthday, and anniversaries, and I can name 21 digits of pi at the drop of a hat. Look, all I’ve ever wanted to be was famous ok? lol

14. Are you psychic in any way?

Not that I can prove. I can see ghosts? And I feel like I give luck to people? But nothing like mind reading or telekinesis. 

15. Favorite song?

+♂ by GigaP as sung by Len Kagamine! 

16. Favorite movie?

Listen... not only have I had a Tangled themed room... and over 24 things of Rapunzel merchandise... but I get a picture with Rapunzel or go see her show every time I can. 

17. Who would be your ideal partner?

One that gets me and lets me do what I want but also makes me laugh and takes me on adventures. I have no ideal partner - they’ll show themselves when I need them. 

18. Do you want children?

Yes I do!! I would like 2! 

19. Do you want a church wedding?

No I do not but I am going to have a beach wedding and probably have a friend make a fun wedding and just get married via court but have a fun joke wedding. My dress is gonna be Rapunzel’s wedding dress (or at least themed off of it). 

20. Are you religious?

Not in the slightest - but I’d like to be? I’d love to believe in something. 

21. Have you ever been to the hospital?

Yes, twice! Once for cracking my head open lol. Once for getting strep throat in places that aren’t my throat. 

22. Have you ever got in trouble with the law?

No, but I’ve been threatened lol. (Like, was threatened to have to police called on me). 

23. Have you ever met any celebrities?

I go to conventions lol

24. Baths or showers?

Showers!! Had a traumatic scorpion-in-the-bathtub-while-I-was-bathing scenario as a kid and I never looked back. 

25. What color socks are you wearing?

Black and that’s all I ever wear. 

26. Have you ever been famous?

No but I WANNA BE. 

27. Would you like to be a big celebrity?

YES. 

28. What type of music do you like?

ALL. 

29. Have you ever been skinny dipping?

No and I really would like to...

30. How many pillows do you sleep with?

One and ONE ONLY YOU HETHANS 

31. What position do you usually sleep in?

I am forever the jetpack to your little spoon! 

32. How big is your house?

I don’t have one... my apartment is p average though? 

33. What do you typically have for breakfast?

A Banana!

34. Have you ever fired a gun?

Yes, once. A hunting rifle that my dad hid away and told me was dangerous. When I was ten he asked me if I wanted to shoot it, Carli (my sister) said yes and I tried it. Wasn’t bad wasn’t good. I prefer archery. 

35. Have you ever tried archery?

Oh shit that was unintentional lolol yeah I own a bow and arrow set that I use all the time!!!

36. Favorite clean word?

Via!!! Dunno why I just love it!

37. Favorite swear word?

Fuck is the perfect word always and everyone who says otherwise is lying. 

38. What’s the longest you’ve ever gone without sleep?

God I think I’ve done 60+ hours before? But I’ve gone many nights of like - don’t sleep one night sleep the next don’t sleep the next. 

39. Do you have any scars?

Yes! I super injured myself on a brick and cut my leg open and the bruise will never leave. 

40. Have you ever had a secret admirer?

I don’t... actually know the answer to this question???? 

41. Are you a good liar?

Yes. Incredibly. If I want to lie I can do it with no problem because I just convince myself it’s the truth!

42. Are you a good judge of character?

I would like to think yes but I’m a little too trusting honestly. 

43. Can you do any other accents other than your own?

Yes. I’m a voice actor I’ve had professional dialect training. (ok so it was a college class - but yes). 

44. Do you have a strong accent?

It is very western-american. Lot’s of “y’alls” and removin’ the g’s of off ‘ing’. 

45. What is your favorite accent?

I don’t?? Have one??

46. What is your personality type?

Cute, Quirky, and unique beyond anything you can imagine.

47. What is your most expensive piece of clothing?

If accessories count - my ring. If not then my prom dress!

48. Can you curl your tongue?

Yes, easily. 

49. Are you an innie or an outie?

Innie!

50. Left or right handed?

Right but I trained myself to be ambidextrous! 

51. Are you scared of spiders?

Not at all! They are our friends!!

52. Favorite food?

Bean n Cheese burritos followed immediately by Sushi.

53. Favorite foreign food?

... Bean and Cheese burritos followed immediately by sushi??? I don’t think America has any food that I like that originated here??? Ok I looked up a list there’s plenty of food that I like but none that I ever crave or wouldn’t take nearly anything else over?  

54. Are you a clean or messy person?

Messy as all get out that then proceeds to explode when I’m messy and needs it to be clean. 

55. Most used phrased?

Hmmm... I don’t really have one??

56. Most used word?

Definitely absolutely either “fuck” or “love”! 

57. How long does it take for you to get ready?

Anywhere between 5 minutes to 2 hours and everything in between!

58. Do you have much of an ego?

Honestly no. I quite despise myself and find me gross and unattractive in all forms (emotional, physical and sensual). However, I know my strengths I just don’t wanna make it. 

59. Do you suck or bite lollipops?

Suck and this is a dumb question? lol

60. Do you talk to yourself?

All the time. 

61. Do you sing to yourself?

ALL THE TIME. 

62. Are you a good singer?

Yes. I. Am. 

63. Biggest Fear?

Fatal Car Crush. 

64. Are you a gossip?

YES!!!!!!!!

65. Best dramatic movie you’ve seen?

Love, Simon. Tangled? 

66. Do you like long or short hair?

All hair is good. 

67. Can you name all 50 states of America?

Yes because I was raised in this brainwashing country and I can sing a song about it. 

68. Favorite school subject?

That wasn’t lunch or extracurricular: Math. 

69. Extrovert or Introvert?

Extrovert all day!

70. Have you ever been scuba diving?

No but I would LOVE TO!!!!

71. What makes you nervous?

Literally everything????

72. Are you scared of the dark?

Not at all!!! I love the dark actually. I prefer the light more but dark is good too. 

73. Do you correct people when they make mistakes?

Only if I am in a position where I feel like I can correct them? Like I’m not gonna correct a manager but I’ll correct a coworker (nicely lol). 

74. Are you ticklish?

Incredibly but I can turn it off??

75. Have you ever started a rumor?

Not on purpose but yes.

76. Have you ever been in a position of authority?

Many times and I like it a lot. 

77. Have you ever drank underage?

Yeah but honestly never enough that I ever would’ve gotten in trouble ahaha

78. Have you ever done drugs?

Nope but I’ve been in lots of rooms with lots of different things

79. Who was your first real crush?

All my crushes have been valid as heck so preschool crush RJ

80. How many piercings do you have?

Just my ears!

81. Can you roll your Rs?

Yes I can!

82. How fast can you type?

95 words a minute with minimal mistakes. If I’m not tired and my nails are cut? No mistakes at all!

83. How fast can you run?

Definitely not as fast as I can type lolol - I couldn’t tell you at my best I ran the mile in 11 minutes at the worst 16. (over a 6? year testing span)

84. What color is your hair?

Currently my natural color which is brown it used to be bright pink and I’m sad it’s gone and I’m gonna dye it blonde soon!

85. What color is your eyes?

I call them Green. But they’re gray/blue/green! 

86. What are you allergic to?

Nothing! Maybe milk??

87. Do you keep a journal?

I keep like 5?

88. What do your parents do?

Ohohohoh! My mom is a design center manager at Interior logic and my dad is a freelance carpenter who is building a house in Colorado for their retirement!

89. Do you like your age?

I do! 

90. What makes you angry?

Literally everything involving politics??? 

91. Do you like your own name?

NO THAT’S WHY I CHANGED IT. NOW I LOVE IT!

92. Have you already thought of baby names, and if so what are they?

I have 2!!! My firstborn son is going to be named Liam Clancy no ifs ands or buts!!! and then I also like Ezra Gregory but I’m not as picky on that one! I really want girl names in my brain but I have none :c Amber Marie is nice but too southern lol

93. Do you want a boy a girl for a child?

Yes. lol

94. What are you strengths?

I am determined. I am not a quitter. I can be spit at and slapped by life and you will never see me give up. I am kind. I can forgive. I am passionate. I am creative. I am positive.

95. What are your weaknesses?

I do not take care of myself. I will stretch too thin. I am constantly running late. I am lazy. I am depressed. I am not happy. I will never be satisfied. 

96. How did you get your name?

Parents liked it - And then I found many different symbolisms for a star in my life and once Star vs the Forces of Evil happened and I knew that name could be a thing I changed it!! 

97. Were your ancestors royalty?

I have no idea but I’d love to find out!!!

98. Do you have any scars?

You asked this already.

99. Color of your bedspread?

Seafoam Blue and I miss my Tangled bed lol

100. Color of your room?

White because it’s a Disney apartment lol my room in my parents house was dark blue because I wanted to paint a forest in it and draw a bunch of owls. 

[kelleyschorn]

Kelley Reviews: Forever Fantasy Online

Honestly I’m behind still on my movie reviews but I finished this book last week (read by the talented Josh Hurley courtesy of Audible) and I could not stop thinking about it! This book is the first in a series and written by one of my current favorite authors, Rachel Aaron and her husband, Travis Bach. Can I just say, RELATIONSHIP GOALS. This story to me felt like Sword Art Online but different and better! It follows two siblings, Tina and James, as they play their favorite virtual reality game: Forever Fantasy Online, or FFO as they refer to it in the book.

Both siblings use the game to escape their not-so-ideal actual realities. Tina is a college student, working hard to stave off loans and James is the failure older brother who blew through both of their college funds and now works multiple jobs. The game makes them feel more alive, until they get stuck there. Here is where Rachel and Travis’ mastery of wielding a full cast of memorable characters really began to shine.

Tina is stuck in a hard side of the world filled with monsters to fight and surrounded by less than competent fighters with which to fight them, but that doesn’t stop her from being the in-game leader she’s been playing for the past few years. Tina is an amazing leader and, for me, it was really really cool to read about a strong female warrior leader who wasn’t annoyingly bossy, was competent, and above all strong. Though James’ timeline was my favorite to read, Tina was my favorite POV character because of all her amazing qualities.

James ended up on the opposite side of the world stuck in the savannah inhabited by cat-people. The reason James’ storyline was my favorite was because, though his situation was still dire, it was less immediate life or death like Tina’s and I got to see more of the world and learn more about the true nature of their situation through his eyes. Shout out slash special mention of my favorite side character: Arbati. (Forgive me if I spelled this wrong, I listened to the audiobook so I’m taking a guess here). The head warrior had such a strong personality and character arc in this book and I loved every minute of it.

When I first started reading this, I reached out to Rachel to ask if she and Travis had split up the writing by character—I asked this because, at first, James reminded me a lot of Rachel’s character, Julius from her Heartstikers series—however, Rachel informed me that they both wrote both characters. That shows the true talent of both of those people right there. I tore through this book. I tore through this book in two and a half days. And that CLIFF HANGER oh my gosh! All I can say is that I am so thankful they are fast writers! According to their websites the next one comes out Fall of 2018! Ya’ll rock!

Overall I would definitely recommend this book. I devoured it and the pace was nonstop, there were no lulls, no real “stopping points” which made it so hard to put down! Also for sure check out Rachel’s Heartstrikers series because it is also absolutely amazing and devourable.

WARNING: The rest of this review contains HELLA SPOILERS in which I discuss more in depth what did and didn’t work for me in this book so if you haven’t read this book PLEASE LEAVE.

WHAT WORKED

The concept. I have to say I was very worried when I first read the description of this book because it sounded like the exact plot of Sword Art Online (an anime), but it so isn’t. The concept that somehow this “virtual world” was a real world and that all of the NPC’s (Non Player Characters) were stuck in the game is so original and, when I figured that out in the book, so mind blowing! Because the concept was so strong the plot was even stronger. Both of them fighting for their lives and for a world that they don’t belong to and yet they feel like they do because they’ve spent a good portion of their lives in it. So good.

The characters and themes. I raved about them already above but, once again, I love TINA. She is so strong and such a good leader. I also love that she is a giant 800 pound rock lady. AKA a female main character who isn’t the societal definition of beauty—I don’t know if they did that on purpose but I appreciated that. I also really liked NicoBaby and SilentBlade. I love Nico’s personality a lot, again with the distinct characters and Rachel and Travis just knocking them out of the park! Seriously can’t gush enough about how much I love their characters. SB is such a little mystery ninja and I can’t wait to learn the answers to all the questions that were set up about him in this first book. Is he a forty year old man with as many cats? Is he a celebrity? Honestly I don’t know what they’re going to do here since we don’t really know anyone else important in Tina’s life from the outside (yet). So either he’ll be someone shocking, like a girl instead of a guy, or a forty year old cat-man, or he’ll be someone shocking from her real life that we find out about later, those are my predictions anyways. I loved every single character in James’ storyline. Every. Single. One. Arbati was so fun to watch change. One of my favorite moments with him was when James when to see him in the wagon on the way back to the clans and he broke down about how many times he had died. That was such a powerful moment and it made my heart ache for him. Speaking about theme, I loved how you can really tell what is important to these writers by the themes in this story (and in Heartstrikers).  They fight racism through James with Arbati and the Knolls (Nolls? Again, audiobook, I’m so sorry). They also show the power of diplomacy and the use of words to open understanding rather than violence. And with Tina they showed that if you use enough force, people can and will be motivated to save their own lives!

Honorable mentions that I won’t get into or else this review would be hella long: The intricate and creative settings. The fact that the villain has a (glimpse of a) heart. The super cool magic system. The super cool way that the rules of the game intertwined with reality once they were stuck.

WHAT DIDN’T WORK

The characters. Just some minor things because as I said before, these characters have captured my heart! James reminded me A LOT of Julius from the Heartstrikers series. His voice and the way he thought, the way he values diplomacy over violence, were very similar and even to the fact that he is considered to be a failure by his family. I will say though, he gives a lot less diplomatic speeches than Julius did which is the one thing I didn’t care for about Julius so that’s a plus. Don’t get me wrong, I still love James, it’s just that the similarities were there and I couldn’t help but make the connection.

The timeline. This threw me off. I’m not sure if it was because, in listening to most of this book while at work (hehe) I might have missed an explanation, or if it just wasn’t there but the game characters claim to have been stuck in this game for 80 years. The book never mentions how long FFO has been out in Tina and James’ world, or if it does, it’s at the beginning when we don’t know that that detail is important to remember, but I feel like it hasn’t been out for 80 years. Maybe it was 8 years and every one year in “our world” equals 10 years in the “game world”? Neither Tina nor James point out the strangeness of this and there isn’t a conversation about it. Again, I could have missed it because of the whole Audiobook at work thing so let me know if this is the case.

The SB Tina ship. This mostly works for me. Mostly. I think that a lot of it was told rather than shown and that more showing of their chemistry, especially maybe in some more reaction scenes (if we think of scenes as action/reaction) when there is less imminent death then that might help in the next book. Also I’m so worried about how the heck will they get together when they are no longer attracted to each other?? (This isn’t a part that didn’t work it’s just a worry that I have in general, I really liked that detail a lot actually.)

OVERALL: I loved this book! I can’t stop recommending both it and Heartstrikers to everyone I know and I can’t wait to see what happens next! Their writing inspires me to write more and write better. I know this review was a little long but I couldn’t help it!

Next up: Incredibles2 and maybe I’ll review It by Stephen King and maybe I’ll see Jurassic world even though I hated the last one and I know this one will be bad. We’ll see.