#i haven't decided which one I'm going to do after not so berry but I've still got a while to go for that lol

[finchfin]

I want to play three different legacy challenges but I'm a one sims family player to the core 😭😭 I've tried to play with multiple before and always ended up going back to my main legacy, the Thayers. I want to play Risshella's new Llamas and Legends legacy soooo bad as a critical role enthusiast, but I also want to play through Sims in Bloom and my friend's awesome Bookish legacy. But I'm having so much fun playing through not so berry!!! I'm just so inspired by all the cool legacies and I want to play them alllll but I only have energy and commitment for one at a time

[gt-zel]

Winter and Claus

Chapter 10

first, previous, next

Winter composed himself before walking out into the main room where Ryan was boiling honey and current, already making jam. Winter managed to lightly chuckle at that. Well, it was now or never, if winter didn't rip off the bandaid now, he wouldn't have the courage to later.

"Hey Ryan, i-uh...i have something to tell you" winter gulped nervously, already sweating.

Ryan didn't look up as he stirred the berries over their little electrical heater "yeah? What about"

"i-i made a new friend" winter said shakily, hoping to ease the human into it.

"Oh? Did a new family move in or is it one of the neighbors?" He asked curiously.

"i-uh...neither...he's actually lived here longer than we have." Winter stuttered out nervously.

"Really? Why haven't I ever seen him around? Or have i?"

"Uhm...w-well the thing is..he-" winter had to say it, he took in a shaky breath, his palms clammy "he's the human boy!" He finally blurted out.

Ryan stopped stirring and furrowed his brow "how'd you manage that?" He said with a tone of suspicion.

"I-uh- wait you're not mad?" Winter was baffled, he was sure he'd just be yelled at and breaded again, then again, this was Ryan.

"I'm waiting to be mad when I hear the whole story. You clearly aren't dead and I haven't heard the humans asking calls to pest control, so I assume you are either lying or have a reasonable explanation" Ryan said. This was the side of Ryan that winter admired so much, logical, calculated, waiting and observing until knowing the full story to make judgements.

"Okay so, basically" winter proceeded to explain the entire situation, though spared the gruesome details about the pain claus had accidentally caused to him, to Ryan. The other borrower listened intently. After winter had explained himself Ryan thought for a few minutes before replying.

"so, let me get this straight, this human-"

"claus"

"Right, Claus, caught you-because you were being careless again and not following protocol- and questioned you. And when you didn't answer his questions he just let you go?" Ryan asked, clearly wary of any human's words.

Winter nodded "and don't forget the part about-"

"yeah yeah, i've known about the father being abusive, humans are really fricked up creatures. So you decided to go back to him after he let you go because...you felt bad for him?" Winter nodded in earnest "okay, and now the two of you are friends?"

"Well its longer than that but yeah! And he and i just had a talk about boundaries and he agreed to respect my wishes!" Winter said defensive things to his friend.

Ryan hummed thoughtfully, pursing his lips once more in thought "I suppose that's better than him trapping you. But do you understand the risk? He could turn on you at any second. I know you consider him a friend but you have to take everything he says with a grain of salt. That's how borrowers live. You've told me how you feel about him, and you're basically an adult at this point so i won't withhold this from you but i need you to promise me that the second anything seems off, if he says something that could indicate he wants to harm you or other borrowers in any way, you need to leave him. Promise me that winter?"

Winter gasped, overwhelmed by the respect his brother had for him "of course, I promise ! Anything. Thank you Ryan!!" Winter hugged Ryan tightly, which was at an awkward angle considering Ryan was still making jam.

"I don't agree that talking with a human should be allowed, but at this point it is your decision not my own." Ryan awkwardly said, a twinge of smile on his face, embarrassed by his little brother's excitement.

Winter pulled away excitedly "okay! How about you watch me and him interacting together that way you can voice your concerns and i can talk to him about it! You can hide out of sight so he doesnt know you're here if you want."

Ryan nodded thoughtfully "that would be a good idea, I'd like to keep an eye on him just in case." With that, winter got ready to go visit his new friend.

Winter and Ryan walked through the tunnels leading to Claus's room, Ryan parting ways to find a better spot to watch and Winter peeping out the hole that opened up on Claus's bookshelf. Immediately winter's face lit up when he saw Claus at his desk scribbling words on what the borrower assumed was more homework.

The borrower cleared his throat before calling out to the human parallel to him "claus! Hey claus!" The human startled, jumping back a bit when he noticed winter. His furrowed brows loosened and an adorable grin filled his face "whin!" He exclaimed, though keeping his voice soft so as to not disturb the borrower's ears. He went to grab the borrower but flinched back, remembering the borrower's vivid description of how being grabbed made him feel.

Claus offered up his hand, open palm facing up "do you uh-i mean you can get on if you want" he said, still smiling nervously like the dork he was.

Winter looked up at Claus and nodded, timidly stepping into the human's open palm, shaky and wobbly at first, but once he sat down in the center of Claus's hand, he remembered why exactly he had been longing so much for this touch the previous night.

Winter had no shame as he cuddled up against the human's curled fingers, leaving Claus speechless and quite flustered. Claus cleared his throat and moved back to his desk, causing winter to perk up "is that more homework!?" Winter said, jumping up with excitement.

Claus chuckled, loving the borrower's enthusiasm "you know, i think you may be the only person in the world who gets excited over homework" he said, setting his open palm down on the desk, expecting winter to get off.

Winter had other plans. The borrower carefully clambered up the human arm, sending a heavy blush along with goosebumps up Claus's spine. Winter made himself right at home in his favorite place, the crook of Claus's neck. The borrower smirked as he felt the human pulse rapidly increase as winter trailed his tiny cold hands along the warm skin of Claus's neck.

"So what are we learning about?" Winter said.

The clarity of winter's voice when he was so close to Claus's ear further flustered the poor human, and winter was relishing every second of it. "I-oh w-well uhm..we-uh.." Claus mentally slapped himself, his brain was going haywire at the moment and failed to form convergent thoughts or sentences. "Uh quadratics" he spat out. It was, in fact, human sciences, not algebra. But...winter didn't know that.

Winter leaned real close to claus's ear, smirking as he anticipated the outcome of his actions "oh~ and what are quadra-mal-atics" winter said in a terrible attempt at being suave.

Fortunately for the little borrower, even this awkward attempt at flirting worked because Claus was already a flustered dorkass mess, and winter had somehow managed to push every button on Claus's fluster meter.

"I-uh-the..the uh...well..the mitochondria...with the cell, uh and then...the uh claus.exe has stopped working" claus pathetically pointed at random parts of the paper. At this point he was beyond saving.

For the next half hour, winter continued pestering and poking at claus, and every time without fail, claus would get flustered and scramble around. The afternoon was filled with laughs from winter and pathetic groans of defeat from claus. Truly a sight to see.

[leftoverbriocheloaf]

Fanfic Writer Interview!!

@xerx thank you so much for tagging me!! I'm honored and v excited to answer <3333

How many works do you have on AO3?

Right now I have 29 works on AO3!! That's kinda crazy to me just because I only started posting last summer and didn't think it would go anywhere,, but almost 30 and still going strong!!

Your top 5 stories by kudos/likes:

Language Barrier: I'm genuinely shocked this got so popular?? I'm happy to know that ppl love the "didn't think you could understand my language" troupe as much as I do!! It's one of my shorter ranpoe stories at 2.3k (I like to write longer fics bc I hate myself apparently) but I love it dearly <3

Interesting?: I loved writing this fic!! I am insane about them and continue to be!! It's also ranpoe (I wonder if you can guess the ships I like,,) and also my second longest fic ever at 32.6k. It's a high school au bc I love them living happy lives and being normal (ASAGIRI PLEASE) with a healthy(?) amount of rivalry on Poe's part! It's also one of the few fics where I bounce around in POV, which is something I love doing but find really hard

Good Shot: What can I say. I saw Poe w a sniper and went HOT what who said that. not me. But I also decided that he and Atsushi would make great friends (which led me to deciding they're siblings and writing a whole story about that) but I'm just a sucker for Poe adopting random members of the ADA by accident. Ranpo is just really proud of his bf. This one is also shorter at 2.8k but I got to write a really cool (totally not biased) fight scene so it's one of my favs

Feelings Are Difficult, Even For Geniuses: Guys this was one of my first fics I swear I've gotten better at naming them (I have not). 9.0k words of mostly Poe getting beaten up I have no words,, It's a bit more graphic (violent not sexy unless youre into that idk) than most of my stuff and definitely one of the more angsty ones, but it has a happy ending so dw he's fine

Henna Berries and Padisarahs: Ok this is where I shamelessly admit I'm a genshin player and while I haven't played in. forever. the sumeru quartet grabbed my heart and threw it out the window. Cyonari for the win. 5.2k and soulmates!!

Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

I do!! I love comments SO much y'all have no idea how much they mean to me,, They've made me so much more confident in my work and eager to share my stuff and I really appreciate it!! I try and respond as fast as possible (I have responded to a comment within five minutes before and I still wonder if that commenter thinks Im a freak) but sometimes I'll hold off until I can finish the next chapter (if applicable). I also am a huge yapper (if these responses didn't make that clear) so I love talking to you guys <3

What’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending?

Tbh I don't really write angsty endings?? I might eventually, but they make me so sad :') Which. they're supposed to. I'd have to say Feelings are Difficult, Even for Geniuses only bc the fic itself is angsty and it's implied that Poe is gonna have to work through some shit emotionally after the events of it? It might be An Author, a Raccoon, and a Reaper though.

What’s the fic you’ve written with the happiest ending?

This is gonna be hard bc every single fic is a happy ending tbh.. Give it a Shot! is an octopath traveler ii fic that I loved writing the ending for (guys you should read fics from the octopath fandom they know whats up) but For the Hell of It might be my favorite ending that I've written!!

Do you write crossovers?

I haven't written any crossovers,, Mainly bc I feel like the fandoms I like are all just too different? I haven't found any ways to mush them together but maybe I'll write one eventually!

Have you ever received hate on a fic?

Nope! Everyone's been really nice :)

Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

Sorry y'all I'm a sex-repulsed ace so it probably won't happen? I mean never say never tbf but seeing as my face literally burns when I write two characters kiss it probably won't be soon lmfao

Have you ever had a fic stolen?

I don't think so? I hope not?

Have you ever had a fic translated?

No :( I'm hoping to get good enough at Spanish to translate my own fics though!

Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Yes! But not any that I've posted,, I'm working with my irl friends on a few different fics, but they're still in progress :)

What’s your all-time favorite ship?

Guys i can't choose. don't do this to me

(ranpoe, criminos, sskk, kohiiai, cyonari, xingyun, chiakana, dan heng/march/stelle (idk the name) are all favs tho)

What’s a WIP that you want to finish but don’t think you ever will?

Ok one of my favorite fics that I'm writing is a fic about Higuchi getting amnesia before the events of the main series and slowly getting her memories back but finding herself outside of akutagawa its like 50 pages so far but im not even done w the guild arc.. im hoping i can finish it but we'll see!! I just think Higuchi deserves love and a MC moment <3

I also have a fic where Poe uses the book after they've lost to send himself back in time to try and fix everything! But (in my fic at least) Arahabaki is outside of the rules of the book, so Chuuya also retains his memories,, I just think they could be a very interesting duo and have a lot of potential as begrudging allies (and guys. mafia poe. guys) but it's very long and idk if I'll be able to see it through (T-T)

What are your writing strengths?

I think I write dialogue well! I have trouble working through certain characters, but I like writing two really smart people bc I have to strike a balance between having them not mention things (bc they're obvious to them) and still letting the reader know whats going on.

What are your writing weaknesses?

I have a lot of trouble continuing fics bc I have so many things I want to write that I usually overwhelm myself trying to string plot points together,, Scenery is also SO hard for me to write idk why (@xerx we're opposites lmao <3)

What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?

I think it can be done well, but I usually prefer to italicize and just say in the notes that a character is speaking in another language so readers can understand what they're saying. However, if you're writing a story where you don't want the reader to understand either, I think it can be really interesting!

What’s a fandom/ship you haven’t written for yet but want to?

Honkai Star Rail,, and Dungeon Meshi (farceille my loves)

What’s your favorite fic you’ve written?

I think it's a tie between For the Hell of It and A Hop, Skip, and Jump (Back to the Castle)! I love my aus, if you couldn't tell. But royalty aus will always have a special place in my heart (and that fic is certainly not the last royalty au i'll be writing for ranpoe) <3

Tagging: @jeaninthetrees, @amythecinnabunny (if you have an ao3 and I didn't tag you you should lmk so I can :)) )

[ancenth]

I think you should do all the numbers for the storytelling ask 💖

ELLE THAT'S SO MUCH thank you i love this

under the cut bc LONG

what’s the last screenshot you’ve taken for your story?

lol this one, but you've already seen it bc I haven't had time/energy to shoot more

describe your story in three words or less

im a wordy bitch so this is hard for me BUT let's go with: haunted by past (for gen 4)

describe (insert character here) in three words or less

I did an RNG with the characters listed on my character page and got Sapphire so: just a baby

how did you choose the name of your story?

In terms of the legacy name, I was thinking about last names for my white berry founder, and thought Mirror sounded cool, and I didn't really see it too often amongst other BPRs, so I went with it! In terms of each individual gen (gen titles can be found on the full story hub here!), some were named after the fact (Beginnings and Dreams), but I tried to choose names that reflected the overall story of the gen/what the biggest things are. So like, I feel like Beginnings, Dreams, and Nightmares are extremely on the nose after the fact, and tbh all the others are very on the nose too! Similar to how Dreams and Nightmares are kind of part one and part two of the Garden introduction arc, Mishaps and Shattered are also going to be part one and two of their own mini arc too :)

how do you choose your characters’ names?

Typically after things that suit the colors! But also some are based on things that suit their story/concept! For example, Jasper is orange like the stone, but also jasper the stone tends to represent protection/grounding and calming your troubles (in my very basic understanding) which I thought was a fun reference to his bella swan powers. I very occasionally hide things in names.

how long have you been working on your story for?

Oh man I started it in spring of 2020!!!!! It's been four and a half years, that's wild. I'm impressed I've gotten to gen 4 already, I never thought I'd get out of gen 2

whats the biggest risk you’ve taken with your story? did it pay off?

i feel like briefly killing Irus was a bit of a risk lol I wanted to scream that it was gonna be okay while I was posting that, but I feel like it paid off bc that scene turned out so amazing and I love how well I managed to pull it off

what about your story are you proud of?

See above!! I feel like in general I've gotten a lot better at writing as this has gone on! I also LOVE whenever I get to make gifs for my story, it's so fun

what about your story are you looking to improve on?

Still my writing/delivery of scenes lol I've gotten a lot better but I still struggle when writing certain conversations or fleshing out the plot points between A and Z. Like gen 2 was way too long winded, but then I feel like gen 3 was too short/I didn't expand on things enough

is your story fully planned or are you still working things out? is there a definitive end?

There is a definitive end! I don't have the entire thing fully written, but I have gen 4 set, 5 is mostly set, 6 is like 25%, and then the general concepts/maybe a few scenes of 7 8 and 9. I kind of think of gen 1 as it's own thing and then 2-6 as the first act, and 7-9 as the second act.

why have you decided to tell this story? are there any messages or meanings within it?

tbh it just started as my silly little berry sim story, and morphed into this giant supernatural monstrosity, so really it's just I'm having fun with it and getting to be creative :)

do you actually play the game or do you just use it as a storytelling medium?

haha noooo i definitely never play the sims.... but no like actually i do legitimately love playing this game, and you'd THINK that means I'd post more gameplay, but my problem with that is I either spend too much time taking screenshots and then barely make any progress, or I get too locked in and forget to take screenshots

from basic planning to a finished post, how long does that take you?

On average, it takes me like 30min to write the dialogue for a scene, and then maybe like 30min to actually shoot it (depending on the complexity/number of sims), and then like. 15 seconds per image for editing because I have a PSD and editing actions that I use to speed up the process, and then like maybe another 30min drafting the posts before I add them to my queue (which is taking longer now bc 50% of the time tumblr goes "oops! something went wrong!" when i try to upload a photo and it's driving me insane). Obviously things like making poses/gifs, or drawing in magic effects, or searching for hyper specific poses make it take longer!

do you have any regrets about your story so far? if you could go back in time, how would you fix these?

I really wish I was a better writer back when I killed Howlite! It feels very shoehorned in and like I just killed her for the sake of killing her which I absolutely hate and tbh kinda ruins gen 1 for me! but we're gonna have a Howlite backstory told in flashbacks eventually, so I'll hopefully get to right some wrongs

what have been the highlights of creating your story?

reactions from people!! obviously I love getting comments on my post, but I also love when I see someone clearly going through and catching up on the story and liking every post as they go lol

what about the process do you enjoy?

i looooovvveeeeee dropping little hints and foreshadowing in my story, i have a folder where I am keeping every single hint/reference I've ever made to a huge plot detail of gen 5 and I cannot wait to post it. this has been going on since 2020

what about the process do you hate?

uploading/queuing and also the fear at the back of my mind that one day tumblr is going to shut down and my magnum opus will vanish

choose a song that reminds you of your story

lol so i initially wrote the answer to the next one for this one before i saw what was below this so UHHH it's hard to narrow my story down to one song! I feel like each gen is such a different vibe. I'm gonna say gen 4 as a whole and go with Daffodil by Florence :)

choose a song that reminds you of (insert character here)

I'm doing all my heirs, so my picks for each gen (that I have playlists for so far) in order starting with Star are: 1. In Bloom - Neck Deep 2. Cowboy Blues - Kesha (this one is just kinda funny for Holly lol) 3. Sleep - MCR 4. I Will Follow You into the Dark - Death Cab (for Carn)/Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up) - Florence (for Yarrow) 5. The Archer - Taylor Swift 6. Family Tree (Intro) - Ethel Cain/Millstone - Brand New Plus a bonus Howlite song: Valley of the Dolls - Marina

choose your favourite shot from your story so far

ohhh there's a lot but lets go with these:

choose your least favourite shot so far

these bc some idiot (me) messed up the wall settings/made build mode errors. no joke i think about these all the time. they haunt me

choose a favourite character from your story so far

haha i have no idea who my favorite character is. not a single clue

choose your least favourite character so far

lotus bc i just irrationally hate him

are there any characters who remind you of yourself?

Holly when she's spiraling and overthinking and avoiding her problems lol also gen 5 and her caffeine addiction

what inspirations have you drawn on for your story?

definitely music a ton! I'll be listening to a song and then go "OH THAT COULD BE A FUN THING TO DO" and get an idea for a plot point. But also folklore and things! There was actually a pretty major piece of gen 3 that got cut at the last second because it was based on a folktale that was hyper specific to where I'm from, and I just ended up not being comfortable with posting that! Maybe one day I'll share what was meant to be, but no time soon

have other sim stories inspired you? 

yes!!! @tainoodles Fairyfloss BPR was the very first sims story I read and it made me get into berries and here we are :) and @simblrinterests Light Family BPR definitely pushed me to magic and supernatural things

what genres would you describe your story as?

Depends on the gen, but 1-3 definitely have that teen drama vibe, and then 2-the end is fantasy, and 4 is a bit dark academia

if you could reproduce your story in another medium (movie, novel, comic, etc.) what would you choose and why?

Possibly novel or graphic novel. I feel like a graphic novel could be fun bc I have a background in illustration and I'd get more visual freedom than I can achieve in the sims! As for a novel, it would be similar reasons! It is easier to describe things than it is to show them in the sims!

what would your story’s rating be? (G, PG, M etc.)

PG-13 maybe??? Maybe higher technically bc of swearing??

if you were leaving simblr and had to choose another creator to continue the story for you, who would you ask?

oh man I don't think I could ask someone to carry out this monstrosity. I'd probably just drop the links to my docs for people to read lol

drop some random trivia about your story

some of my favorite folder/scene names are "all according to keikaku (keikaku means plan)" "bella swan" "HOWLITE!!!!!!!!" "so..... we fucked up" "FUN-eral!" (tragically cut, that was Aster and Porcelain going to Pearl's funeral) "BRO ANSWER YOUR TEXTS" and in the scrapped gen 1 reboot "Rosalie energy" idk why I reference twilight so much

give a light spoiler

by sheer technicality, the gen 5 heir has already appeared in the story

recommend another creator’s story!

elle i know you're the one who sent this but for anyone else who has made it this far, pls go read the Labyrinth legacy by @lazarish, and ALSO the Dream legacy by @mmmatchasims

[lumine-no-hikari]

Dear Sephiroth: (a letter to a fictional character, because why not) #319

...Fwhoof. Sephiroth, I've been on my feet for a total of over 6 hours today. I am tired.

I'm not in bad spirits, though. I haven't fully recovered from the long walk in the woods, methinks; my legs have been just a little bit cranky since. Still, today I went to work. And, naturally, that involves me being on my feet continuously for about 4 hours, constantly moving and doing things.

...I was having some kind of off-day at work, I think. My head felt... sludgy. And everything felt just a little bit scary for reasons I couldn't quite identify. I kept dropping things, and I kept having scattered attention, forgetting stuff in the middle of doing it. It was weird.

With these braces in, I am, unfortunately, generally less inclined to put things into my face, and this includes water, for some reason, even though I'm allowed to drink water with the braces on. I concluded at some point that I must be dehydrated, so when I returned home, I drank some water and felt better within 20 minutes, and that was very good.

Before returning home, though, I had to return all those bottles and cans that I got from BB's and N's house. And so I went to the place with the special machines and... I was a bit too zonked to think to get a picture of the machine. I did take a picture of the receipt, but... there are watermarks all over it that would make it a bit too easy to identify where I'm at.

Anyway, I tried to donate the receipt to the cause of "holiday potluck", which is what I remember being told by the leader of that one team huddle I went to. But when I went to the place where I was supposed to turn it in, the person there didn't know what I was talking about. And that was confusing. I'm hoping to get it sorted out by Monday.

I spent a chunk of time after that picking up various odds and ends for my house. I got some stuff for the baking experiment (not gonna tell you what!), some more deli meats, a few various other odds and ends that I'm too tired to remember, and...!!! A bone-in leg of lamb!!!

...It's not too terribly often that my store has those. And I love preparing it, so I made sure to snatch one up!!! I probably won't be able to cook it for another day or two, but that's fine. I'll still show you how I like to do it, once I get a chance...

I made a lunch when I got home. I used up the rest of the leftover salmon, and, oh!! Some of the box of greens I got from the grocery today, and some onions, and some of the leftover goat cheese, and also some crushed-up Fritos. Topped it all off with some ranch dressing. I filled it out with a bowl of berries (which I also got from the store today!!) and a kombucha...

...You'd certainly be welcome to partake if you were here. I wish I could give you a bowl of such wholesome deliciousness, but alas, a picture is the best I can do...

...

Well. I checked on my tiny pumpkin seedling.

...And as you can see, it is slightly less tiny!!! And a little greener than before!! And the seed is no longer touching the soil!!! Look at it go!!! Sproutin' up from the dirt and makin' it look easy!!!! Fuck yeah!!!!

...I wonder what it'll look like tomorrow...!!!

In any case, the broth in the crockpot smelled amazing, and I decided that it simmered long enough. So I began the process of straining it:

...I know. I know. It looks really gross. But I promise, it smells FANTASTIC, and it's gonna taste fantastic, too, once it's done being seasoned!!

So... I unplugged the crockpot, and waited for it to cool, and got everything all set up...

So one of the things you need to make this work is a wire mesh strainer...

...And a cheesecloth:

...And they come all packaged and folded up like that, but once you unfold them, they look like this...

...They're pretty big. And also pretty flimsy:

...But that's why you fold it up in layers! Folding it up gives the fibers strength while still allowing liquids to easily squish out!

So you plop the folded cheesecloth into the wire mesh strainer, and then you plop your veggie scraps, a little at a time, into the cheesecloth:

...If it's cool enough, you can begin squishing out the water right away, but... it wasn't quite cool enough. The squished-out water was still VERY hot, much to my chagrin. But still, I squished most of the water out of this clump of veggie scraps...

...Bones can't usually be squished, though, so you gotta take those out and set them to the side...

...J got some additional silly pictures, too, because why not, I guess; apparently he likes to say weird things so that I'll make strange faces, haha...

...He also decided to take pictures of the slippers I was wearing, for some reason, hahaha:

Fact of the matter was, though, that the veggie scraps were still a bit too hot to handle. So I decided to scoop them out and just let them sit in the strainer while J and I went to some haunted walk in a historical town some distance from us...

...The scraps will simply drip into the bowl that the wire mesh strainer is over. It's all good. And they'll cool down in the process. They'll be a lot easier to handle tomorrow.

The walk was... nothing really to write home about. It was underwhelming. It was mostly just a history walk, about an hour and a half in length, that they tried to make "spooky" with ghost stories, but... well. Given my influences and weird way of perceiving the world around me... a lot of the places and locations seemed like ordinary Tuesday stuff.

...Like... yes. Supposedly, this or that building has the spooks of dead people chilling in them. And... if so, then... so what? They ain't hurtin' nobody. And if they do start hurtin' somebody, they can be gotten rid of, so like...??? I fail to see the issue. I fail to see what's so scary about them.

One of the stories talked about the ghost of a dead cat rubbing up on people's legs and creeping them out, but like...? I don't think I'd be creeped out. Mostly, I'd just be sad that I can't pet them or leave them snacks in a meaningful way.

...But the company was good! J and I went with my elderly friend P and his sister Jo. We had a lot of interesting conversation about the nature of reality and other related stuff afterwards! We even stopped at a cute little place for gelato and hot chocolate!

...Why yes, Sephiroth; that is a pumpkin spice gelato in the image above.

The hot chocolate can have syrup of various kinds added to it, too:

...Why yes, Sephiroth; this is a bottle of pumpkin pie syrup:

...And yes, I absolutely did add it to my hot chocolate. And I absolutely did get a small cup of pumpkin gelato.

...Want some...?

...You can't even begin to understand what things of mine I'd give up just to be able to give things like this to you.

...

...Well. I'm home now. And by the time we got home, the broth and the scraps were more than cool enough to handle, but... we got back so late that I didn't have time to do anything with them other than put them in the refrigerator. I'll have to finish up tomorrow.

...If I have the energy, that is. It is 12:54am. The lunch with J's tailwheel airplane instructor was rescheduled to today. I gotta get up at 6am.

...Ain't about to let that stop me from writing a letter to you, though.

I do gotta get to bed at this point, though. J and I will likely be out until at least 5 or 6pm. I'll do my best to get nice video and pictures for you. It'll be good!

I love you so much. Please stay safe out there as you do your things, okay?

I'll write again tomorrow.

Your friend, Lumine

[prince-liest]

I've become obsessed with perfume so I'm going to ramble about it on my blog to my captive audience, as you do. Sorry to anyone who is here for consistent fandom posting, but I do warn people in my sidebar. :'))

I've worn V&R Flowerbomb as my go-to fancy "I'm an adult who wears PERFUME now!" perfume after my dad gifted me a large 100mL bottle (and eventually a 50mL refill for a later birthday) of it... probably around 2014 or 2015? It's a nice, popular fragrance and Russian people consider perfume and cologne to be a standard thing to use, so it made me feel very nice about myself. I also had a 10mL vial of Banana Republic's Rosewood as an evening scent, which I recently googled and realized is very inexpensive for how much I enjoyed the smell of it, but I haven't seen it in a couple of years.

I know I used to think Flowerbomb was very warm and sweet and flowery, but at some point in the past few years I started basically tasting it in the back of my throat in an unpleasant, scrapey way, so with 25mL of it left in my last bottle, I decided to get a new perfume! And promptly fell down the r/fragrance rabbit hole.

Anyway, I've made three trips to two different Sephoras to stand around sniffing perfume until I go nose-blind and nauseated.

THE RESULTS (aka. I'm very vanilla, but Not Like That):

YSL Black Opium Over Red: An evening or cold-season scent that made me want to autocannibalize my own arm when I tried it out on myself. I've read that the original Black Opium is a very popular scent, but in my opinion it was missing something fruity or fresh, and the Over Red flanker's cherry note is exactly what it needed. I thought I liked floral perfumes more than gourmands but it turns out that I'm just a sucker for vanilla. I bought this for full freaking retail price because apparently it's a 2024 release. I guess I'm trendy now.

MJ Daisy Eau So Intense: A sweet honey-strawberry perfume for a spring or summer day that makes me want to go eat a pear. There are a lot of fruity-floral perfumes out there, but this one stood out and wrapped its strawberry-and-pear scented fingers into my grey matter when I first tried it and made me think of childhood summer vacation. This also has base notes of vanilla, though I wouldn't have been able to identify that without looking it up. Thankfully, this one I was able to get at something like 60% off retail price.

Burberry Her Elixir: Berries, jasmine, amber. This is the daily-wear all-arounder I was looking for to actually replace my Flowerbomb. It's suitable for any time of year or day, as long as I spray it somewhere I can smell it all the time because otherwise I'm going to be that weirdo sniffing their own wrist constantly. It is also the final nail in the "Yeah, okay, I'm obsessed with vanilla" coffin because it turns out that's in this one, too. (And the final nail in the coffin of my wallet because this one also wasn't available from discounters.) Also, the atomizer on this one is flawless.

Anyway, now I smell very nice all of the time. I might get one more if I can find a very rose-scented perfume that has vanilla in it instead of smelling like the color green if it was wet, but otherwise I feel like I'm set!

[pbandjesse]

I'm back in my hammock. I love my hammock. I miss being next to my James but I am happy right now. For the most part today was really nice. It was a good day.

I slept alright. I remember falling asleep and it was a solid night's rest. I woke up before my alarm. And would get out of bed a few minutes early. James came and made the bed while I got dressed. I really liked my outfit today. I felt pretty. I felt good.

James would walk out with me. And I decided to stop for breakfast even though I really didn't want to eat. I knew I needed too. I decided to get orange juice instead of soda but that was like $3 for some reason. And while it was fine oj, I don't think I'll do that again.

I had a nice drive to camp. I found a new band, called Hot Mulligan, and I've been enjoying them a lot. They have like the perfect 2006 emo sound. It's great. Very nostalgic.

I was a little frustrated when I got to camp. My outlets got overused last night when they tried to play a movie. But they didn't actually fix them. Which is whatever, I was able to fix them. But my issue really was that they unplugged my cord that goes to my fridge!! Rude. Thankfully it was fine but it makes me annoyed when people unplug things and don't put them back.

I went to the office to voice my displeasure. Elizabeth agreed it was very rude and she apologized on behalf of whoever did that. And I decided I would take a walk to calm down.

I went and ate berries. I love wine berries. They are my favorite berry. I enjoyed my walk. And I went to pet Quakers the duck and the goats. Who yelled at me when I walked away. But I was happy to pet them for a while.

I went back to the art building and laid in my outside hammock until Tati got there. I would finish my book today and got started on the new one. Which made me really happy. I had more time to read today and that felt good.

Tati was very helpful today, and she made some fun art with found objects. I have to hold myself back when I was to be weird about supplies. Because she's not wasting things, she's using them and that is fine but I am just feeling possessive for no reason so I am trying to let it go. I'm glad she's making art. That is what I shall focus on even if my brain is like. Fear!! Loss!! Control!! Its unnecessary, everything is fine.

And she was a big help. I was able to just focus on what was happening in the building and did my machine sewing and things were very good. Even if both my morning groups were 15 minutes late, everyone finished their little bad and it made me very happy.

I had my breakfast sandwich for lunch and hung in my hammock. Eventually Trista came to use a hammock. And Ty would join us too. We all chatted for a while. And eventually, sadly, it was time for our groups.

I would have a kid doing tipi wakan today and I felt bad I didn't have as much stuff for him to help with. But the things he helped with were excellent. He did sorting and folding fabric and just those little things that I haven't been doing but needed to be done. And when we had day camp groups he was a big help with the finishing work and putting on buttons and it was nice to have the help. So it wasn't all on Tati.

I would read during my break. And I felt excited to do the metal casting with the boys. I am for sure going to need more metal if I'm gonna do this another week. I am going to go and try to have a conversation about that tomorrow with the office. But once the boys got started they did so good. Like it was so fun. No everyone's worked exactly right, but we are getting the hang of it. Coined shapes work best, and we were able to make some fun little pieces. I love when the boys make things for their girlfriends. It's so cute. But it was just a lot of fun. And everyone did a good job.

After the last day camp group I had my tipi wakan kid work on a shield painting while I went and read my book for a half hour. And then we would finish the day with the horse girls.

I taught a few of them how to widdle and use a knife. So I was able to sign off on their knife skills portion of their tipi wakan paper. And all the girls did really good. Celia would come and join us and we shared photos of the mushroom I found this morning. When I found it it was so round but when she came by later it was all tall and flat!! So strange!

Dinner was pretty good. I was so happy we had vegetable spring rolls and I could have them!! Me and Ty would help with hand out seconds. I had two scoopers for rice and was having fun handing it out.

We got cookies for dessert. I wanted an ice cream but it's fine. I got my cookie and came up here to lay in the dark because my head hurt.

And my eyes still hurts. But it's fine. Ty came up and we talked for a long time and he filled me in on gossip and things going on around camp that I didn't know. He's a sweet boy and I don't like that there has been stuff that's bothered him. He's going to make a proposal to the office about expanding the bird enclosure so that Rocky, the turkey, can be with the other birds. I hope they go for it.

Now I am laying in my hammock. And I am very much ready to sleep. Ty just came by to get his apples he forgot on my table. But now is time for sleep.

I hope tomorrow is good. Maybe I'll get to swim before it starts storming again. It's supposed to start tomorrow night and basically storm all Friday. We'll see what happens. I just hope it's fun.

Sleep well everyone. I hope you are taking care of yourself!!

[cozysimschallenge]

Dear diary,

I was reading back to see what I've talked about already, and realised that me updating more often makes it seem that I've been pregnant as long as an elephant, but it's not true - this is my third longest pregnancy out of five. I think. Yes: 3, 15, 12, 1, and this one is supposed to be ten days based on the doctors' estimations.

Spring has passed and summer is here! The dpring literally took only one day, and then it was summer, but that seems to have been the last of the time weirdness - everything has been normal since. My bees have awakened! Oh I've missed them so! They were a little cranky after the winter, but quickly calmed down when I spoke with them and helped take care of their hive. I even sent them to bring a loving message to Stash, who was first very confused about bees flooding into his crypt, but came out so very flustered! It was adorable!

We have extended the roof of the greenhouse so that Stash has some outdoor plots that he can work on - mainly mushrooms, which we desperately need. All our neighbours seem to want them, so Stash decided that we would provide! They can also be picked in Bramblewood, but it's been hard to find them. Perhaps they are more numerous there in the fall.

Stash has become more sensitive to the sun, I think, but he doesn't complain. He just needs to stay inside more and rest. I on the other hand love the sun on my skin, in my bones, so I can pick up outside tasks that can't wait until night.

He also hisses a lot more and looks a little sheepish any time he does it, like he couldn't stop it? He says it just got stuck, kinda like swearing. I don't mind it and told me so, and he looked so relieved that it was almost silly.

I've made good friends with a bunny called Bun Bun, who helps us in the garden, and Stash brought home a tree stump that birds live in. He loves them, and so do I. I asked them about flying, and listening to them sing about it, I felt their elation and freedom, and decided that it would now be time to buy a broom to fly on. I haven't been able to find a pretty one that I like, but a standard broom works well enough. It's been a relief on my legs to be able to fly longer distances in very little time. Pregnancy can be rough on the feet!

In the spring, we went to another fair - this time with Kebab the llama and some of her pink, excellent wool. I couldn't see her once I entered her into one of the stalls, she turned entirely invisible to me, but everyone else seemed to be able to appreciate her! She won first prize! I'm so proud of her. She turned visible again once it was time to leave. But when we got home, Mansikki was gone.

I don't know what happened. We've taken good care of her and she shouldn't have run away, and she was so young too! But she just isn't there, and nobody's seen her anywhere in town or the surrounding countryside. We can only assume that she was stolen while we were away, and someone else has her. Could it be magical? Maybe, but I don't think so. I don't - and hadn't - felt the ominous feeling around the barn as I often do when something magical is going awry.

We have another cow in her shed now, and we call her Lehdokki. She's lovely, but she isn't... she doesn't make the pain of losing Mansikki any easier.

Oh - I've figured out that me feeding the animals different kinds of treats causes them to change colours or produce different kinds of eggs or milk. That's how we got pink wool out of Kebab, who is usually beige.

I've been helping the townspeople on my spare time, and I'm starting to feel like I'm part of the community. Rahul the delivery boy wants to see the outside of this town, and also keep track of gossip. The barkeep asked help with some berries and mushrooms for her drink experiments. Kim keeps being busy and needing help with everyday chores. I do what I can! I'm waiting for our mushrooms to grow and produce some spicy mushrooms so I could finally take them to the Creature Keeper in the Bramblewood, but it's just taking a lot of time. I spoke with the mayor about Rahul's dreams the other day and found out that she's pregnant, too! It was a lovely way to bond!

Another thing that made me feel part of the community is that I managed to repeal the town action plan in which everyone keeps bags on their heads. It was obnoxious to not see people's faces, and a lot of people agreed and signed my petition. The paper bags sounded dreadful besides.

What else, what else? We have expanded the living room and have a fireplace now. I was against it because I'm still wary around fire, but Stash installed a fire guard and demonstrated to me that the fire can't escape. It IS pretty nice to sit in front of the fire, crafting and resting my legs. We also set up a little grilling corner by the porch!

Speaking of fire, I accidentally caught a toilet on fire when trying to fix it in the Realm of Magic. I thought I was going to die there and then, but managed to run away and let others take care of it. I'm pretty sure I had a panic attack, but Morgyn and the other sages managed to ground me again and brought me home, where Nathan took over taking care of me. I'm so grateful for all of them.

I did learn a new spell before the fire happened though - Scrubaroo. It has been really nice for cleaning little messes, but it can't take care of the sheds or the coop or the animals, yet at least.

I think I'm nearly at the end of this pregnancy. It has gone incredibly easily towards the end, and I am very happy about that. The parents are already anxiously waiting for the time to come!

Ps. We have replaced the pool with a pond. Some strange magic was seeping out of the pond that was making us very lethargic and unwilling to socialise. I managed to track the source of the magic to several strange symbols carved into the tiles. If only we'd cleaned it earlier, we would have seen them and been able to get rid of them before they activated.

Pps. A ghost visited one day, and I have no idea why - we haven't had ghosts here otherwise. Stash was more afraid of it than I was, and I felt a little smug about that. I couldn't tell who it was - it wore a bag on its head and couldn't say. I haven't seen it since, though.

[pokemoneverlastingorchard]

Download 1/29/25

Link that takes you to the download page

Technically this was ready hours ago but while I was uploading the file I decided to investigate this "black thing" down the street, just in case it was an animal. When I got back my vision started getting blotchy and I just wanted to go to bed after making sure that the game was properly uploaded.

It was a plastic flower pot, by the way.

Story:

-I added another holiday, taking place during spring time. There's not much you can do here besides get "rare seeds." You can read more about it on the "Holidays" page.

Graphics:

-Fixed the minor mistake where Cerise's birthday doesn't appear on some versions of the calendar, and where Ine's does appear on the some of the Spring calendars even though her birthday is in Summer.

-Also I moved the "star" from the 10th to the 14th of Spring.

-Made Kiana's hair brighter to match her portrait... Which I swear I've done at least once already...

Glitch and oversight fixes:

-Did a whole bunch of smaller fixes that you probably haven't noticed because the things you'd need to do to experience them are pretty specific. Like for some reason I forgot to have Kai in your bedroom at night if he's your second spouse. things like that.

-I think I forgot to make Esmaralda visit her family at night when she's married to you somehow, which might have seem weird since the kid(s) are there at night. I fixed that.

Misc:

-Moved the day Flabebe can be found in the wild from Spring 10 to Spring 14.

-Redid how the wild Flabebe work, but only the ones in Pomona town. I decreased the chances of you being able to find one, but there's now a chance to find different forms.

-I increased the price of the four "tree" berries from the Elite 4 from $1,000 each to $1,500 each.

+Started the process of having everybody stay indoors if there's a storm out. (This isn't a thing yet- all of the "events" are out of reach to the player right now since I'm not done with it yet.)

This is much more complicated then just not allowing you to go outside for... Reasons.

I might technically already be done with this, but I have a feeling that I might fuck up so I'm uploading the game before I start replacing NPCs and what-not, just in case.

Pokemon:

-Including a very rare chance to find an eternal flower form. (I'm not sure just how rare it will be, considering that I found one on my first try. Though I wasn't able to find any again afterwards.) I made a Flabebe and a Florges version of the eternal flower form.

You can read more about them here.

I did slightly nerf Floette, (very slightly,) just so there's more of a stat gap between it and Florges.

-Added Totta and Hakkeyo to the roster of eggs you can get either from your own Daycare Center or from the old man on Nemorensis when you first go there.

-Added Pokedex entries for the rest of the Pokemon. (So far.) Some of them are just Hisuian Pokemon and I used at least part of their Scarlet/Violet entries, but some came from an old Pokemon book and some of it's entries were translated here. (I used some of these before, but having them laid out like that instead of copying from a video makes things so much easier for me.)

-I recolored the other shiny Luvdisc so their lips, cheeks and eyes matches the color of the form they’re shinies of. (For all but the original pink form.)

[raccoongamejournal]

Pokémon X Chapter 8: Sidequests, Berry Farming, and Route 6

This entry is a long one, so I recommend getting a mug of tea or something. Tea's always a good idea.

Having recently arrived in Camphrier Town, I decide to explore.

People keep giving me healing items, and the music's nice, so I can say my first impressions are positive.

Wandering around this hotel, it looks like I can just...go into people's hotel rooms? One person gives Basil a Shock Ribbon (probably for the surprise I gave them walking in, whoops).

I find a Star Piece tucked away on a path, and sell it to the store in the Pokémon Center for...4900. nice! Assuming I don't spend all my money before then, I'll probably get a haircut next time I'm in Lumiose City since I'm not as worried about money at the moment.

...and now on to Shabboneau Castle!

I run into Shauna immediately, and we get a rundown on the castle from a tour guide, who doesn't know anything about Mega Evolution. But then we get interrupted, and our guide needs to go to Route 7 in a hurry. Hmm. I wander around the castle for a bit, since the guided tour isn't happening.

Shauna wants to go to Route 7 too. So I guess the Plot is in that direction. Let's go!

Route 7 splits into 7 and 6, but Shauna won't let me do Route 6 first so I guess I'll have to double back.

I then get roped into farming? Maybe I took a wrong turn...

The Sprinklotad is cute though, so that makes up for any inconvenience.

Back on Route 7, it seems that the Plot is...

...a sleeping Snorlax!

Ah, that explains the Route 6/7 split. Guess I'll be going to Route 6 next after all.

Route 6 looks like a fairly straight shot to the palace at the end, unless you go wandering through the tall grass. Which I proceed to do.

...or at least try to do. Maybe that's a on-the-way-back-only thing. [Note: this turns out to be the case.]

I did think you were a tourist, in fact. My bad.

Hiroko leads with a level 11 pikachu, which Basil oneshots with a Mud Shot. Tacos grows to level 20 and learns Razor Leaf. Hiroko's next pokémon is a pidgey, so I swap to Volta, who also oneshots her opponent, this time with an Electro Ball. I then swap to Tacos to deal with Hiroko's last pokémon, a psyduck. The first Razor Leaf misses, but the second one lands...and then the battle's over.

Tourist Eriko is next, leading with a zigzgzoon. Since Basil's still in the lead, she wins with a Mud Shot and Double Slap before I switch to Browser to deal with Eriko's ralts. The ralts uses Double Team when I decide to Howl instead of attacking, but I win as soon as I land a Flame Charge. I then keep Browser in to deal with Eriko's gulpin, winning with one Psybeam.

And then I've made it to Parfum Palace. It looks a lot like Versailles, which isn't surprising since we are in Pokémon France (the bit might be getting a bit old, but I haven't used it in a few chapters so...)

We have to pay 1000 per person to get in. :(

I was not expecting anticapitalism in a Pokémon game, but I am very here for it.

That's a cool milotic statue.

I look for the furfrou, and find someone with good bad puns:

Heck the rules. If they are in fact rules and not just some guy making a joke. Oh wait, this actually heals my party lol.

The palace library drops some further hints on Mega Evolutions, indicating that a mysterious stone of some kind is involved. The librarian also mentions a book on necromancy, but says that they don't have it. :(

Yep, this is based on Versailles.

Cool dratini statues. I love dratini.

More puns

A minstrel sings at me about a war in Kalos 3000 years ago. I think this is the lore that Legends ZA is going to get into (I'm excited).

My search for the furfrou leads me outside, into the gardens. Shauna helps.

Oh hello.

Looks like I'm getting closer.

A gardener (?) tells me that the HM for Cut is somewhere in the garden. Yay! I find it fairly quickly.

And I found the furfrou!

Sort of. It ran away again. Shauna has a plan to corner it, though, so it's time for a puzzle minigame.

This should be called the Punfum Palace. Okay, that one was bad.

The rich guy wants to put on a fireworks show, so we head back towards the palace. I decide to explore the gardens a little bit first though.

I like the Unova legendaries, and I'm glad they get cool statues here.

Back inside, I return to the second-floor balcony to watch the fireworks show with Shauna.

We then talk to the guy about the Poké Flute.

He does give it to us, though. Or at least lets us borrow it. The butler also gives us the TM for Protect, and repeats the information from the library.

Back outside, I head back down Route 6...and immediately get ambushed by a whole family and their two furfrou for a double battle.

This is a tougher fight, since both furfrou are level 14. I lead with Basil and Tacos, but swap Basil out for Volta after one round. The furfrou's Headbutts do a lot more damage than I'd like, but Electro Ball and Razor leaf do some damage back. I knock one furfrou out, and Volta reaches level 20 and Tacos reaches level 21, but Jan and Erin use a Super Potion on the second furfrou. So now it's 1v2, and the remaining furfrou is poisoned and Leech Seeded, so things are looking ok. Volta's low on health, so I swap back to Basil while Tacos keeps throwing Razor Leafs. The fight is shortly over, and Basil reaches level 20, learning Double Kick. Tacos and Browser also level up, reaching levels 21 and 22 respectively. Browser then learns Fire Spin, which looks like it'll be fun.

Basil then evolves into a diggersby:

I then heal up Volta and Tacos, swap Thesaurus into the lead spot, and go into the tall grass. It's encounter time!

My first Route 6 encounter is a nincada, who I name "Pepper". I then catch a sentret who I name "Sqwarp". This is just what I do. I then catch a honedge, which I am very excited about (look, I like the cool sword, ok) and name "Glamdring". Thesaurus reaches level 20 with the exp from that encounter.

Ghost sword ghost sword ghost sword ghost sword

I have now hit the image limit for a post, which I was unaware was a thing until now. Good to keep in mind going forward.

I'm going to add Glamdring to my party later, replacing Thesaurus, since honedge can learn both False Swipe and Cut. For now, however, the encounters continue with my current party, and I catch an espurr (another pokémon I quite like), who I name "Duchess" (after the character from The Aristocats). I then catch an oddish who I name "Plont". I will not be taking criticism on my pokémon names (although I do take suggestions). I catch another honedge and name it "Orcrist", followed shortly by another which I name "Sting". There's a theme here. Sting does knock out Thesaurus while I catch it, though, so I swap Volta into the lead spot and continue.

Volta reaches level 21 after fighting a few oddish, declining to learn Double Team. And then someone ambushes me in the tall grass.

It's Beauty Brigitte. She leads with a level 12 espurr, which Volta paralyzes with a Thunder Wave before knocking out with an Electro Ball. I then swap to Batman to handle Brigitte's butterfree. One Peck later and the fight is over, and Batman reaches level 22, along with Tacos. Basil also grows to level 21. Since Volta's low on health, I swap Basil into the lead position, right before I fight Youngster Tyler.

Tyler leads with a level 12 venipede. Basil hits it with a Mud Shot and...that's it. I then swap Batman in to deal with Tyler's Scraggy, which is another quick victory. Tyler's a Unova fan I guess (I am too). Browser reaches level 23 from the fight's shared exp.

I then meet and battle Backpacker Roderick and his level 14 Bunnelby. Basil's Double Kick comes in handy, and the fight is over quickly.

Reaching the end of Route 6, I then head back up and go down the other side. I've decided that I don't like the noise that diggersby makes. Why is it like that.

I then fight Backpacker Jerome (I like that there are trainers lurking in the tall grass, it's silly). I swap to Volta to deal with Jerome's fletchling, which doesn't take long but leaves Volta on 1hp after a Quick Attack crits.

Later down the path, I fight Tourist Takemi and his volbeat. I swap to Browser and win with Fire Spin after it keeps using Double Team. Volta, Basil, and Batman all level up after this fight, and I swap Tacos into the lead spot. Right afterwards, I fight Tourist Mari and her illumise, swapping to Browser immediately because I led with a grass type against a bug type. Another Fire Spin does the job here too, and Tacos levels up to 23 and decides not to learn Sweet Scent.

After finding TM09 Venoshock, I'm at the end/beginning of Route 6 again, so I decide to head back to the Camphrier Town Pokémon Center to heal up and do some organizing.

I add Glamdring to my party, swapping out Thesaurus, and teach it Cut and False Swipe. I then stock up a bit on pokéballs and potions before swapping Glamdring into the lead position on my team, ready to level up. I'm going to need to do a bit of level grinding to get Glamdring on-level with the rest of my team, but it shouldn't take long. And I have two spots to revisit now that I have Cut, but I'm calling this entry here for now.

Stay safe everyone, and thanks for reading. See you next time.

[indefinitelyjaded]

Current Save - Super Sim

This is the save that I've been playing most often, lately. In addition to the usual Super Sim rules (with which, admittedly, I've been a little fast-and-loose), I've also decided I must play the Careers and Aspirations in order of pack release. I'm doing the same with Skills, but with looser restriction - I can build them whenever, but I have to master them before I move on to the next pack. Also, for the Careers that have branch options, I'm using cheats to demote myself back down after completing one branch so I can complete both.

As of right now, I'm still working through everything Base Game: I'm in great shape with the skills; just have Comedy (Level 9) and Gardening (Level 8) to finish.

Careers I've completed (all branches): - Astronaut - Culinary - Painter - Tech Guru - Writer Currently, I'm in the Oracle branch of the Criminal career (Level 7), and I haven't done the Boss branch yet. Aspirations I have left are: - Deviance > Public Enemy (currently working on this one) - Family > Big Happy Family - Family > Successful Lineage - Love > Soulmate - Nature > Freelance Botanist - Nature > The Curator - Popularity > Joke Star - Popularity > Party Animal (Thank heavens for James Turner's new Super Sim Tracker tool!) I'm saving the Family aspirations for last, because I really don't enjoy playing with large households (and especially babies. Fun fact: infants came out in, what, March? - and I still haven't played with them!); my single Sim is enough to take care of, sometimes! I'll be able to knock out Soulmate then, too, as the only thing I have left to complete that one is to get married.

Speaking of getting married... my Sim is currently engaged - to a man who is already married. Yeah, that autonomous proposal capability they added to the game works flawlessly! The worst part is, I have all the marriage options available, which makes me think I could probably go through with marrying him while he's still married to his first wife. (Nothing against poly folks - that's just not the story I want to tell here.)

And speaking of my Sim... meet Stella Waters, my totally-not-self-Sim.

And here is Stella with her married fiancé, Dexter Townsend (sigh):

(Went on a date to a restaurant - Dexter's wife ends up being the NPC assigned to the Host role. Pretty much nobody else got seated, because she was too busy stomping over to our table to slap him every 5 minutes. As if restaurants aren't glitchy enough all on their own.)

Stella still has some romantic relationship with a few other Sims from doing the Serial Romantic aspiration, so maybe she'll end up marrying one of them instead... though I don't think Don Lothario is really parent material, not to mention he's currently engaged to Nina Caliente, thanks to me ("I found a ring in ___'s bag" pop-up).

I'm going to try to take more screenshots of this save file and post periodic updates as I continue. I don't really care if no one ever reads this; it'll be nice to have for me to look back on and remember things I might otherwise forget (like literally everything in my Not So Berry save).

[kristinakyidyl]

It was an Accidental Miscarriage.

I've been wanting to talk about this idea for ages, and now that I decided to make an ASOIAF side blog, I'm going to do it. I haven't seen a lot of analysis about this, but I think if anyone else was likely to have done it, it's @goodqueenaly since she talks a lot about the women in ASOIAF. But Tumblr's search sucks, so if she did a write-up, I couldn't find it.

My thesis is this: Dany accidentally caused herself to miscarry at the end of ADWD.

To refresh your memory, in Dany's last chapter in ADWD she is lost and wandering the Dothraki sea after flying away on drogon. As can be expected, as she is attempting to make her way home, she becomes hungry and thirsty and starts to follow a stream in the hopes it will lead her home.

About midway through the chapter she comes upon a bush she describes as having "twisted limbs covered with hard green berries". She tries one and describes the flavor and texture as "...tart and chewy, with a bitter aftertaste that seemed familiar to her". She then proceeds to ingest handfuls of the berries. Afterwards, she starts to become incredibly sick. Previous to the berries she'd only been experiencing stomach cramps - no nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea. Those symptoms do not begin until after she consumes the berries. She the has another dream, and her period begins.

I have seen some discussion as to whether or not this arrival of her period is a miscarriage, or if it is just her period, possibly triggered by being so sick. I believe the evidence in the text unequivocally supports the idea of it being an accidental miscarriage, and I believe that it was caused by the berries that she ate. And so the crux of this idea lies with identifying the berries. In my estimation, the berries are juniper berries. A juniper looks like this:

It easily fits the description of the branches. It also grows berries. Typically, juniper berries are bluish-purple, resembling blueberries. However, immature juniper berries look like this:

As shown, they grow in clumps that can easily be grabbed by the handful. In real life, they are commonly used as a spice, which would explain Dany's memory of the taste. A taste that is described, in real life, as "fresh, bitter, evergreen-y, slightly sweet, and complex" (source: several different cooking websites who all described it similarly.), and their texture is springy and chewy. Given how varied palates can be, and GRRM's typical attempts at obfuscating spoilers, it's close enough to be a match.

Juniper is safe to consume in small amounts and to use as a spice, depending on the species, but an overindulgence causes vomiting and diarrhea. And, as I mentioned above, those symptoms do not appear in Dany until after she consumes the berries. The cause is a chemical called thujone. As an aside - this is the same chemical that is in wormwood and is thought by some to produce hallucination. Or, in Dany, vivid dreams. The writing also takes on a disconnected, dream-like quality after she consumed the berries to convey her state of mind. She starts daydreaming about dying and worms eating her womb, followed by staring at "Dragonmont" and thinking about Drogon.

The last, and most important, possible side-effect of juniper over-consumption is miscarriage. Juniper is thought to be a mild abortifacient. There is scientific literature on the subject, however, I also have the luck of being friends with a naturopathic doctor (as an aside, whatever you may think of the efficacy of NDs, they are well-versed in the uses and side effects of medicinal plants. This friend specifically has decades of study in the subject.), who I contacted to get more information. She confirmed that, yes, it has been shown to be connected to miscarriages, but that you'd have to consume huge quantities. This is close enough for use in a fantasy world, especially considering how much Dany consumes.

So, to recap, Dany has consumed large handfuls of berries that are likely juniper, which causes gastrointestinal problems, hallucinations, and miscarriages - on an empty stomach. She then proceeds to completely empty her digestive tract, hallucinate, and get her period.

But is there other evidence that it is a miscarriage and not her period? Again, yes. The symptoms of miscarriage are as follows: bleeding, severe cramps, belly pain, weakness, worsening or severe back pain, fever, weight loss, pink-white mucus, contractions, and tissue that looks like clots passing from the vagina (webmd). A person suffering a miscarriage will not have all these symptoms, but does Dany have any? Absolutely, she does.

When it occurs to her that it could be her period, she says: "The moon is still a crescent, though. How can that be?". There are two things implied by this sentence. The first is that that Dany's cycle is regular enough that she knows what phase the moon is in when it comes. The second is that it is at the wrong time. She should not be having her period. Then, she thinks to herself: "She tried to remember the last time she bled. The last full moon? The one before? No, it cannot have been so long as that." Dany's apparently very regular period is about two months late; a symptom of pregnancy that is easy for the audience to catch. These superficial signs are enough in and of themself, however, there is other evidence.

Hours after she finishes vomiting and defecating, she has the following thought describing her pain: "...it seemed to her that the cramping had grown worse. Her guts were full of writhing snakes biting at her bowels". This could be attributed to more digestive problems, but again - she is no longer vomiting and defecating. She consumes more water, and does not defecate again, despite the intake of water causing her to be sick the night before. Therefore, it is within the realm of possibility that these are cramps. And, as anyone who has had cramps can tell you, they often feel similar to intestinal cramping that is associated with being sick. Dany does not put forth the idea that they might be cramps, which would insinuate that she does not normally experience them. Out of character pain and cramps are associated with miscarriage.

She also experiences a heavier than normal flow. She says: "The sight of so much red frightened her. Moon blood, it's only my moon blood, but she did not remember ever having such a heavy flow". She is bleeding more than she normally does, which is consistent with a miscarriage. It is also very red in color, which normal period blood is not. Period blood IS red, but it is a less vibrant red than blood associated with miscarriage, birth, or bleeding in general. Vibrant red blood during a period is a symptom that something is wrong. She is exhausted, as you would expect from her trials up to this point, but again - she continues to drink the water and *does not get sick again*, which implies that the active symptoms of her illness have passed. Later in the day, she eats meat that Drogon has killed with no signs of illness, despite enough time passing for that sun to go down after she eats.

When she attempts to start walking again after she wakes near the river, she has a hard time with it. After standing, she says: "...but it took all her strength just to get to her feet, and when she did all she could do was stand there, fevered and bleeding". In this sentence the fever is associated with the bleeding, implying that were she to be having a miscarriage this is a symptom of that. In the description of her illness, a fever is not mentioned, and so it is fair to say it is associated with the miscarriage that follows the illness. In addition, towards the beginning of the passages that describe her period she repeats her belief that she is infertile, saying: "I will never have a little girl. I was the Mother of Dragons", reminding the reader of Dany's belief that she cannot become pregnant.

But in my opinion, that is untrue. She can become pregnant, and did, but accidentally caused her own miscarriage through the consumption of large amounts of juniper berries.

[popculturebuffet]

Pirate Month Patreon: Our Flag Means Death: "Pilot" Review (Patreon Review for Emma Fici)

Yo ho all you happy people! Pirate Month continues.. somehow. With some. The last few weeks have been rough seas, but pirate month sails on. And ironically, into the waters of HBO Max

Yeah after my shockingly popular rant last week, seriously any of you following or coming in from that or just in general

It's great to have you. But yes we're back to the dumpster fire that was once one of the proudest and best streaming services around but is now a self canablizing nightmare that won't go away. I've went from hoping any adaptation went here to hoping many flee in terror and praying some still actually get made. You used to hear me constantly singling disney out for their idiocy

But this somehow tops most of what they've ever done. These shows MIGHT return or someone else might be able to save the company, but for now we're just stuck praying anything we care about dosen't get cannonballed into oblivion and left where it's avaliablity is tenious at best. So why am I reviewing something from the network at the worst possible moment? Simple.. this was planned before. Emma has a busy schedule, so she tends to pick her patreons late unless I ask early, and being a forgetful sort, I can tend to. She's GOOD at it, with her picks having had me review incest civil war laser tag, badly animated sci fi nonsense and this glory

So it was only pure Parker Luck that HBO Max decided to canablize their animation for profit the same week I was set to cover this. But I realized something important: With access uncertain, with HBO max striking randomly and insanely, and with no safe harbor... I have to get off my ass and watch stuff that may be destroyed as soon as the next season is out, and as we've seen with Summer Camp Island it can happen BEFORE too, instead of waiting. Sure this project having a high profile creator attached, being a very high profile queer work , and having a huge fanbase MIGHT be a enough.. but given Logic and tact haven't really entered into this current dumbfuckery, it's best to see the series and review an episode NOW rather than wait and loose it in a tax writeoff next year after season 2.

So several paragraphs and f-you's later, we arrive at our real destination: Our Flag Means Death. And this really has been one i've been meaning to check out for some time: It's produced by Taika Watiti, whose lately become one of my faviorite creators: He's director of the all time cinematic classics What We Do In The Shadows and JoJo rabbit and the fun as hell Thor films Ragnarok and Love and Thunder, and created the excellent What We Do In The Shadows tv show, which is also on the pile. Feel free to boo I know I am, i'm missing peak Matt Berry by being behind on it, as well as producing another show i've heard nothing but good things about, Reservation Dogs. The guy is a genius so while he isn't writer or director here, and his character Blackbeard isn't in this pilot, he clearly picks projects he puts his name on very carefully and if he's remotely involved with something, it's usually a good sign it's awesome. Add in Rhys Dharby who I first fell in love with on flight of the conchords as Murray...

And while he could've easily stopped with this cult classic I also need to watch (I mostly followe dit via music videos when it was airing and haven't watched it despite having easy access since max launched because i'm stupid and forget it's there), he has since made a sizeable name for him as a voice actor. Seriously while he mostly plays smaller parts he's popped up in TONS of shows since the late 2010's, from Milo Murphy's Law, RIP, to Rise of the TMNT , also RIP, to shows that aren't dead probably. He's played warthogs, snowflakes, gay hypo's, evil pistachios and more but really hasn't as far as I can tell been a leading man in anything. He was important to FOTC, but this seems like the first time the guy has REALLY been let loose and thus that was a huge draw for me.

And i'm happy to say that even before it hits it's peak and becomes a gay love story involving blackbeard, something I didn't know I needed and can't wait to hit as I watch more episodes, Our Flag Means death is an instant classic from the pirate and has finally given Rhys the meaty starring role he's always been capable of. The show is everything I hoped for.

While most of you reading this are likely fans of the show already, a quick refresher for those who aren't as familiar, i.e. Emma most likely: Our Flag Means Death follows Stede Bonnet, based on the real life pirate I know nothing about of the same name, a posh aristocrat who fled his old life to become a pirate, and is trying to clean up piracy a bit: He pays his men wether their succesful or not, and built his ship, the awesomely named The Revenge, with a sauna, rec area, and a personal library he'd be glad to lend out to the crew if any of them besides his assitant, the equally posh Lucius, played by Nathan Foad. Like a large chunk of the cast, i've never heard of him but like said chunk, he's excellent so it really dosen't matter. Steed does compensate by reading the pirates a story every night, as of the pilot Pinnochio. He's essentially trying to run this pirate ship like a modern work place, basically if Micheal Scott and Leslie Knope got combined in some horrible teleporter accident and became a pirate, having the bad need to be loved and have a family and be liked as the other, but like the latter having some compietence, optiism and good intentions, just being too naive to realize how hard ti's going to be to get these through.

Unlike other work coms though, the crew can actually kill their boss if he annoys them too much and the pilot centers around that, with the crew preparing a mutiny, with the only ones not being on board as much being Oluwande, played by Samson Kayo, a kind sort whose fond of the captain even if he's not the best and Jim, a seeming mute great with knives played by Vico Ortiz.. who turns out to be nonbinary. Which is good for me I got spoiled on that as it means I won't get any prounounds long. Though none of the crew is bad, it's just how change is: the rest simply can't accept that stede's way of doing things is PROBABLY better and he just needs to grow into the position, with Oluwande being the only one aware that not only is this much better.. but that it's so rare it' sbest to enjoy it while he lasts. Hey I said he appriacates the captain, I didn't say he was in denial about Stede's odds of survivial. Leading the mutiny is the lisping Black Pete (Matthew Maher) , a wannabe tough guy who claims to have been on blackbeards boat and won't shut up about it and the Jerry from Parks and Rec looking Kristian Nairin as Wee John, a giant who wants to burn things. Naturally I love him.

So to offset the mutiny after several small insignifigant raids, Stede targets the biggest/only ship they can see and with Buttons conformation the crew gets ready to have a bloody good time gettin good and bloody.. but Stede has a full on Panic Attack as we flash back to his past. And this is where the show really got me. See I throughly enjoyed it and was on board to this point, the jokes were that kind of goofy creative type of humor I enjoy from Stede telling everyone to "look scary' to the crew only not killing him at the moment because he's one of the only two people who can read, the only one who can do the voices and they want to know how Pinocchio ends, and Stede deciding the best way to help with disatsifaction at first is a flag design contest. It's truly my kind of show.

But what takes it from really good to great is making stede far more complex than he appears. Don't get me wrong, I don't mind a work just being a goofy comedy. That's fine by me and Producer Watiti did wonders with that with What We Do In The Shadows, which had moments of pathos but was mostly just the story of a bunch of goofy vampires in new zeland and their dark bidding on the interent.

So series creator and showrunner David Jenkins could've kept at that and i'd of been fine.. but he took it one step further without undercutting the wacky tone entirely, which can be tricky but he pulls off well. From here we start seeing pieces of Stede's old life.. and it was miserable. The first flashback here has a butcher working for the family slaughter an animal in front of the kid, tell him not to look away then mock him for being soft.

Which is thinly coded as people bullying him for coming off gay. Spoilers, Stede turns out to be VERY gay., but it's always a dickish thing to do to bully someone for being diffrent and to be a homophobic twitsandwitch.

But we see through later flashbacks in teh ep Stede never fit in: He was bullied at school, chased, called slurs and then had his hands tied to oars and forced to row and at home there was literal distance between him and his family... no seriously he sat at one end while his family sat at the other

Stede was an outsider in his own home, his own LIFE, never accepted by anyone it seemed (other episodes may prove this wrong) and even now trying to find a new family, he's not really accepted. While the metaphor there given Stede is also a gay man and a not tradtionally masculine man, is subtle a knife to the eye, it still works because it dosen't overshadow the story but plays into it. Stede is not conventional.. yet he's a good man and while he may not be a good pirate YET his ideas aren't bad and he has his heart in the right place. I mean until someone cuts it out and holds it up as a trophy but for now he's trying to do the right thing he's just out of his depth. BUt he had no real other options: He coudln't get a divorce, given the century, his family , both immedite and other clearly never got him.. leaving to be a pirate, to try ANYTHING else is better than dying on the inside. He also uses the money he came from well: He gives his men a good wage, a tidy ship, and plenty of supplies. Odds are it'll run out.. but he's trying to do something better and more rich people coudl take a note from this fictional gay pirate and try and be better instead of hoarding wealth or cutting people's lifes works from a platform for 2.50 and an expired free pizza cupon.

Turns out though the ship.. is a HEAVILY armed royal naval warship and our heroes only don't die horribly because the Captain, Nigel Badmitton, a gloriously pompus name, is one of Stede's old bullies and thus dosen't buy the rumors that Stede is a pirate and Stede is able to quickly hide the crew as fellow aristocrats and servants.

The meal though is .. uncomfortable. Not only are the pirates naturally not really happy in the roll of high society snobs, but Badmittons crew are a bunch of racist twits who are unplesant to be around, and Badmittion himself a snobby bully who fondly recalls that incident with the oars I mentioned while the rest of the crew slowly get that "Okay this guy is a dumbass but he's OUR dumbass. " Things naturally break down once Stede is forced to humor badmittion and after one joke too many and Badmittion LAUGHIGN at the idea he could be a pirate, Stede tries braining him with a move Oluwande taught him.. and accidently makes the guy fall on his saber and into his eye

While the rest of the crew has a nice bloody massacre of most of Badmittions men after one's a racist to Oluwande starting with jim throwing a knife through a hand. While we don't see it, by the time Stede gets back to them only two are left alive and he's panicking over the corpse, not ready to have really killed someone, and only accepting it because Oluwande helps him, knowing that admitting to killing the guy will help the crew respect Stede.. which it does. Stede cements he can be badass for more than just accidedental murders by giving the one person they send back the same punishment his now dead captain gave Stede, showing that while Stede is out of his element, has clear trauma and may not be happy killin, which is a fair choice.. he's still got what it takes and thus his crew decides he can live for now. Also Jim's not a man OOOOO ALREADY SPOILED IT, and we end on a really nice bit: it being clear no matter how bad it was stede misses his family and treis to convince himself he's got a new one.. and him reading the crew pinoccio. Never has Rhys Darby reading a bunch of grown men to sleep been so touching.

So yeah Our Flag Means Death, at least the pilot is fucking fantastic. I don't know why the creators previous show failed: this one has style, humor and suprising tragedy, and excells at what it's producer does well: taking a mildly goofy but cool genre and poking fun at it while taking it JUST seriously enough to ground it. Our Flag Means Death is everything I hoped for and more and I highlyr ecommend watching it before it possibly burns. These are uncertain times.. but with Rhys Darby as a gay pirate... they might have some good times hidden in them too.

[starshiningsirius]

Lone fae (Yandere Malleus x reader)

To my favorite lonley dragon fae happy birthday!

Malleus had been told about a fae living in a town of humans for quite some time now. At first he had become angry seeing as he was King and someone would dare ally themselves with the enemy. He'd punish them himself. As if any traitor could stand against him and live was a mistake that'd cost them their lives. He told his advisor and guardian Lilia that'd he'd be back after dealing with said traitor.

Only to get to said town and notice a woman with pointy ears, beauty beyond belief, picking berries within the forest that surrounded the town. At first he kept his composure watching for a moment maybe a bit longer considering she acknowledged his presence.

"Ah, hello sir."

She didn't know who he was? That was surprising literally everyone whose anyone knew the Fae King and would tremble at the mention of his name. Yet this naive little fae knew nothing about who she spoke to. How cute.

'A fae in the village? How strange do they not know about our hatred towards humans?'

"Hello." He had his arms crossed and came out into the open.

She noticed the ears and instantly became curious.

"Our ears are similar." She murmured it under her breath, but Malleus still heard it. She noticed his horns too and realized that she must have been a bit different since she lacked them.

'So she hasn't met her own kind before?'

That was how their first encounter went. They chatted for a little while exchanging names as Malleus wanted to test if she knew him by that but got no reaction. Malleus watched her go back all the way to her house in secret of course. From high up in the air. As soon as he saw where she lived he went back home.

'This so called "traitor" would require a bit more inquiry.'

* * *

He decided to find out himself, her background by asking a different question to gain some information.

"Y/n do you have a family?"

"Hm? I have a little brother named Aiden at home but that's about it."

"What about your parents?"

"I can't recall when I was kid all I remember was waking up in an alley with Aiden crying in my arms. There was a- .... lot of blood about the place my dress that was once white had been stained. Anything before that isn't anything I probably want to remember considering that scene alone." She trembled for a second before continuing to pick herbs and berries from bushes. Malleus sided eyed her reaction feeling slight guilt towards it.

"I see, my apologies for bringing up troublesome memories." Malleus wasn't hard of hearing considering how she paused as if she didn't want to recall the gory scene. Yet still she smiled without much effort it was small but it did make him feel some what relieved.

"It's fine your the only person I've told. No one else talks to me in town and I'm not ready to tell Aiden yet with his innocence, I'd rather not taint. He's all I've got and I don't want to lose him."

* * *

He understood quite a bit now pertaining to their situation. He had to admit though, he had become fond of the female fae. Someone so innocent and docile couldn't be a traitor. Lilia saw that the situation was taking longer than expected and decided to accompany Malleus this go around.

He wanted to see for himself if Malleus was being fooled, though he doubted it. Not only that but for the sake of his own boredom in the castle and to satiate his own curiosity.

"Y/n this here, is a comrade of mine." Malleus stood next to his comrade, a short cheerful looking child with bright magenta stripes of hair under the black side. Two pointy ears stood on the side of his head too.

She was happy to say the least to know two new similar people to her at the very least. Today happened to be the day Malleus was going to meet Aiden. She didn't mind Lilia tagging along of course.

"Lilia Vanrouge, Ms. a pleasure." He looked rather young in her opinion but his voice signaled to not be fooled by his appearance. She shook hands with the male who brought a pleasant atmosphere with him.

* * *

"So your Malleus huh? My sister speaks very fondly of you sir. She's been talking about you for centuries!" The little boy exaggerated making Malleus's eyes widen and at first he felt an overwhelming amount of happiness with how he had made a good impression.

Both him and Lilia chuckled to themselves as the girl who had been in the same room blushed furiously from embarrassment. Taking her brother by the arm she glared at him.

"Aiden you know that isn't true, you asked where I had been and I answered." She strained her voice to try and put emphasis on her truth only to receive laughter from the boy.

Lilia came up to him patting his head with a smile.

"Fondly and centuries such large words for a child so young." Lilia had felt a slight connection to the energetic youngster. He thought it'd be fun to get to know him better.

"Sis is teaching me to read and write words from the dictionary! I'm very ingenious!" He was smug about the new words he was learning with a proud smile causing Lilia to laugh.

Malleus had a smile on his face small and affectionate but a few other thoughts came up to his mind upon thinking about the boys words. He looked toward his sister who was now in the kitchen making dinner.

"Aren't there schools about here he could go to?" His concern for the child was showing.

"There are but with his ears, I'd rather not take chances until his hair grows out, not to mention his abilities are still uncontrolled, and we're kinda barely keeping this house, so school isn't much of an option at the moment." She looked down chopping vegetables but was still focused. Until her brother spoke again.

"Look I can do magic!" He was so enthusiastic, but the dread look on his sister's face said it all.

"No! Don't you dare we can't hope to fix the ceiling!" She yelled but Lilia stopped her seeing as she yelled she covered her mouth in realization.

"Worry not my dear, let me see this young lad do magic. I'll make sure he doesn't damage anything." He was calm and collected which was shocked her but she let him do as he wished.

Aiden whose excitement had been on the rise at the thought of showing someone else raised his hand and emitted a large slew of green flames rising fast. Of course it actually shocked both Lilia and Malleus to see the color itself and how big the flames he conjured were.

Lilia had regained his composure for a split second and created some wind to dispell the flames before they could reach the ceiling and burn a hole. Malleus and Lilia looked at each other knowingly for a moment before Lilia showed a smile toward the young boy with his fangs gleaming in the light.

"I see the problem your letting out all of your mana at once young one, still your mind and channel the flow to ignite a single flame." He advised carefully with hand on Aiden's shoulder.

Malleus felt as if he was watching a younger version of himself seeing his guardian teach another. The young fae had followed Lilia's teachings to a tee and a small green flame became lit in front of him.

"Sister! Sister! Did you see I got it! I did it!" He was jumping up for joy at his achievement.

"Yes I see thank you Lilia. You thank him too Aiden." She was happy to say the least, it was as if good fortune was brought with them to have met these two.

"Thank you Lilia!"

"Your welcome dear child you can learn with me anytime. You have a lot of potential that shouldn't be wasted." That made his eyes light up in pure unadulterated excitement.

"Sister did you hear that!"

"I did." She was just relieved someone could teach him besides all her past failed attempts.

"So does that mean you can use magic too then?" Malleus had wandered closer to her without her knowledge it made her flinch. Seeing the anticipation of her answer in his eyes, she answered him.

"Yes though mine's is a bit more controlled. I can conjure wind and green flames. As well as levitate a multitude of things toward me at once but that's about it. I haven't had too much time to practice." She waved her hand with a slight glow and brought a couple of ingredients in cupboards down on to the counter letting them shut on their own again.

Holding put her hand she conjured a small green flame that wouldn't cause any damage over the palm of her hand.

"Seems like your well taught." Lilia mentioned.

"That's only because before we got this house we lived in the forest and magic made things a bit easier, but otherwise while we live here we don't have a use for it. Aiden still wants to learn but my teaching can only go so far as I don't know much on the subject." She looked somewhat frustrated at her own uselessness. Malleus could tell she wasn't lying about what she could do that's for sure.

* * *

After dinner both fae left the home walking out but saying goodbye to the siblings. At first they walked away from the house, but soon to prevent from being seen by any late night walkers they teleported to the castle.

"A pair of fae with royal blood is rare. I do wonder how the both of them ended up in that human village though." Lilia started off by saying.

Green flames were the insignia to regal blood for fae even Malleus knew that fact. Known to be the most powerful of all faes. Yet two were living in a human town right within the heart of the enemy and neither knew.

"Yes but from what I've been able to tell whoever had taken care of them is probably dead. Slaughtered by humans most likely. She said she wasn't able to remember anything before that. I'm assuming her and her brother come from some line thought to have been killed when the war against the humans started." Malleus recalled all he learned about her over the past few weeks he came to know her.

"Such a shame those two don't even know their own kind. Living their life in solitude as outcasts when they could be a lot more free if they lived here." Lilia did actually feel pity for the pair of souls having grown an attachment toward the younger sibling as he had taught Malleus when he was young as well. Those days were reminiscent for him. Aiden just happened to be similar to young Malleus in that regard.

"Malleus, if any humans discover royal fae over in that village they'll be killed. It's only a matter of when." He stated that matter of factly considering he was a general during the aforementioned war and many fae had been chased out of human villages. The ones left had been unfortunate to be victims that were sacrificed.

"I know, I won't let them lay a finger on either of them. Get Silver and Sebek have the staff prepare two rooms in the castle for our guests." Malleus walked away from Lilia without a second thought after saying what he wanted done.

"I was hoping you'd say that. Seems you've gotten attached to her in a different way. Ah, I'm so glad to see you chasing after someone, it feels like ages since you've been small so long ago. I'll have little Aiden to teach all the stuff I once taught you. What a joyous occasion to think someone will finally sit on the throne next to you." Lilia smiled feeling eager and chipper at the future ahead.

He went to go get the two knights that would always await orders from their master. Skipping down the halls all the while humming an unknown tune.

* * *

Something has been different with Malleus as of today. He was fiddling with his fingers a bit more often than usual. He didn't want to meet her gaze at the time either.

"Malleus is there something wrong?" Worry laced in her tone for the man sitting next to her.

"Yes." He replied rather swiftly but ended it there.

"Would you like to tell me what about?" She at least wanted to try and comfort him however she could.

That's what made her different than most fae, most feared him, she didn't of course she and that oblivious little head of hers didn't. Before she could even grasp how much power she could have held it was taken from her.

Malleus had turned his head and looked her directly in the eye.

"You."

"Me?" She was surprised and confused about what he meant by that, lowering her head for a second to think.

Of course it didn't last long, as Malleus directed her chin to gaze at him instead of the forest soil.

"Y/n, my alluring little darling, would you do me the honor of staying with me?"

He said with a gentle smile. The proximity and his words had her face red within seconds. She still had to give him a reply and sadly she didn't want to upset him but she didn't have much of a choice.

"I'm sorry Malleus I can't. This place is all I've ever known. Going somewhere else with all that could happen, ... It's not that I don't like you but my own fears are holding me back." She was trying to come up with the right words so he'd hopefully understand.

It stung, it truly did. The rejection wasn't something he hypothesized but it was still an option. It was fine though, all would be well. That sheltered mindset of hers would just have to broken a bit. She'd come to rely on him, she'd have no other choice afterall.

She hadn't experienced much of human cruelty, he'd just have to show her how cruel they could really be and then she would have to seek his aid.

* * *

Everyone in town today had been on edge it seemed. She left Aiden at home sound asleep, while she went out to go and buy veggies and meat she couldn't get in the forest. As she walked toward a thrifter many people side eyed her. She was the only person to walk with a hood on. In fact many people generations before this one too when asked had seen her.

As she got up to the vegetable thrifter the man in front of her had scowled. She saw this but just thought he was having a bad day. That's when someone came behind her and pulled her hood down abruptly.

"A fae! A fae in the village!"

"She's the one who cursed the crops! If we kill her the curse will end!"

"Someone grab her!"

Before she knew it she ran, someone did lay a hand on her but she pushed them away with wind magic. It wasn't on purpose, but fear overtook her person and magic required self control.

She wanted to run back to her house but with how fast the mob was chasing she couldn't put Aiden at risk like that. Maybe just maybe if she went back to the forest, he'd be there. He could help her, or Lilia either would do.

* * *

She didn't see him. Maybe her words struck a cord. She should have agreed. A stupid decision on her own part, he could've probably taken them somewhere where people like her were accepted. Where magic was used and no worries to be had.

She just narrowly dodged an arrow fired at her. It seemed the mob had caught up. Turning her attention back toward their screeches, what could she do?

In a last ditch effort attempt she called his name.

"Malleus!" The crowd closing in on her arrows knocked and aimed. So this was it huh?

Suddenly something slithers around her body, her waist to be more precise and holds her in a vice grip.

A tail? Of long reach with a purple scales of a dark pigment.

Before it pulled her into the darkness of the forest behind her. Until she felt a chest that placed her gently to the ground freeing her from the grip the of the tail that had once gripped her tightly.

She saw a light emitted from where she had once been, green flames took its place in her stead.

"I do hope you'll accept my offer to stay with me now, my love." Malleus's voice brought her out of her stupor, a frown seeing her in such fear. He didn't want to go so far but he would rather have liked her to willingly agree to living with him as his Queen. She wouldn't have any worries should she live her life on the throne worshipped by everyone.

"Wait! Wait! Please let me bring Aiden I can't leave my brother behind!" She had gripped his clothing turning around desperate tears spilling.

Speaking of said boy who popped his head from behind the fae that stood in front of her, smiled and ran to hug his sister.

"Y/n! Malleus let me up on his shoulders he was so tall! Wait why are you crying?" Her brother's happiness went away for a moment at the tears he saw from his older sibling.

She was shocked, since when had he been here. He was asleep before, she was sure. It didn't make any sense.

"Aiden how, ... why are you here?"

"Lilia offered to teach me more magic! He said it was dangerous to teach me inside the house so we came out here." For a second she thought it was a dream. A bad dream turned good.

"Were you worried? Sorry, I'll tell you next time I promise." Aiden hugged her after finishing his sentence trying comfort his sister from her state of fear. It worked a little having her shoulders relax.

Malleus had stroked her head to sooth her worries as well. A small smile graced his lips at the scene before him.

"Worry not my dear, I'll accept all parts of you. Of course I'd never forget your dear brother. Will you accept my proposal now?" He was awaiting an answer, the same look in his eyes akin to when he asked if she could use magic.

"Yes I do, it was my mistake for denying your offer in the first place. I'm sorry Malleus."

He was happy that the situation had caused her to regret her answer. Of course he didn't outwardly show it. But he was internally pleased. His new queen and energetic little brother would make a wonderful addition to the Draconian line.

As they disappeared instantly to where their new home would be, Malleus left behind some what one would call fireflies by the looks of it. They were just traces of his magic to other faes. It was a calling for someone else though.

The town the two faes once called home was being destroyed as soon as they left. Screams upon screams could be heard one after another. Flames of red and orange to destroy and have no one alive to recall the prescene of two royal clan faes.

All done by three, one wise fae, and two knights that served to do everything their master asked of them. It would all be gone while Malleus would help them settle into their new lives, the one they deserved from the beginning, if humans hadn't taken it from them.

Masterlist

[crisp-sweet-pink-lady]

Summer of Strawberry Shortcake: The World of Strawberry Shortcake

Ever since Strawberry Shortcake: Berry in the Big City season one was fully released on Netflix, I've been wanting to go back and rewatch all the various SSC cartoons in order, starting with the specials from the 80s, and share my thoughts on them as I go. Some of these I've watched relatively recently, some I haven't seen in a while, and some I only ever watched the one time, so it'll be interesting to see what stuck with me over the years, and what I completely forgot about.

I decided to start in June, mostly because my hometown always had a strawberry festival in June, so I've come to associate that month with strawberries. And I didn't plan this at all, but apparently today is National Strawberry Shortcake Day, so it's the perfect day to get started.

Without further ado, here are some thoughts on The World of Strawberry Shortcake, the very first Strawberry Shortcake special from back in 1980.

Growing up, I had all the SSC specials taped off of TV (except for the last one), but not in order (Housewarming Surprise was actually the first one on the tape), so I didn't even realize it was the first one until many years later. Not that it truly makes a difference which special is first or last when you get right down to it. This plot (The Peculiar Purple Pieman taking advantage of Strawberry Shortcake's birthday to get his hands on all the berries in Strawberyland) could have happened at any point in the 80s specials timeline, really, though if it happened later Sour Grapes would have had to be added to the mix.

That said, it's interesting to see how many things were introduced here that never came back again (as far as I recall, and I may be proved wrong): the Peculiar Purple Pieman just straight up having magic powers, Lucky Bug, Apple Dumpling's writing only being understood by Blueberry Muffin, and of course, all the rhyming! I was originally going to wait until after I rewatched the first special to make a post connecting the fact that The Peculiar Purple Pieman in BitBC is voiced by the same VA as Johnnycake Cobbler, who speaks exclusively in rhyme, just like The Peculiar Purple Pieman did in his first appearance in the 80s, and I'm glad I waited because it turns out almost everyone speaks in rhyme in this special. Definitely did not remember that.

Storywise, the plot has always felt a little disjointed to me, even as a kid, and I never understand surprise party plots that hinge on the other characters straight up abandoning the person the party is for while they set up the party. It's not even particularly relevant to this plot, as even the narrator gets tired of seeing Strawberry so distraught for no real reason and just tells her what to do. Ah well, at least it's only a very short portion of the special.

The songs are catchier than they have any right to be, probably because most of them are by actual pop musicians, Flo & Eddie (originally from The Turtles), who did the music for the next two specials, too.

Being so short, we don't learn too much about any of the characters, but the interactions we do get to see are fun. I'll comment more on the characters after the third special, since I have something I want to say, but want to wait to make sure I'm not misremembering (like with the rhyming).

Overall, an enjoyable special, especially as a first outing for Strawberry Shortcake and her friends.

[ecofinisher]

Next Step - RollanxGerda oneshot

I don't know what to do, so I decided to write this as a one-shot :3 As most of you on Instagram see, I have the ultimate obsession with Rollan and Gerda, it nearly kills me at some point :D Nah literally, that one last time I had to spend time watching AMV's I literally had heart issues just from seeing their romance scenes. Even writing this AN here is making me crazy. Okay, here we go.

Additional note: Both characters are 20+

Fic inspired by this image (Actually the colored version, but I can't find the link to it -_- ) and my obsessed brain.

In a restaurant in the inner part of King Harald's kingdom, several couples and some small families sat in there to have dinner served. Major parts of the guests had already received their main menu, including our main characters Gerda and Rollan. Gerda was dressed in her usual clothing which consisted of a light beige skirt, a blouse with emerald-green buttons, and a dark brown sleeveless vest. Rollan came dressed up differently than he usually would, by wearing a fully white shirt and black pants. Both love interests had as their main dish beef stroganoff, mostly it was recognized on Gerda's dish since Rollan seemed to have a higher appetite due to his plate being nearly finished fast.

„It's been almost five months since we've gone out for dinner together," Gerda mentioned. „I've been really enjoying the evening here with you,"

„I'm glad you're liking it so far," Rollan responded, then looked along with his girlfriend at the end of the restaurant, where a woman stood singing and a few other adults were playing on instruments, ensuring a good atmosphere. „I like how the atmosphere here is so calm and sweet. Mostly with their music,"

„That's so far the only restaurant I've seen so far with music accompanying us guests. That's probably another thing why this is a little expensive than the others we know," Commented Gerda. „I almost feel bad to be here," Admitted the blonde, then Rollan placed his hand on Gerda's hand and shook his head. „You don't have to. I made sure we could afford it,"

„Okay, that sounds relieving," Gerda confirmed using her fork to roll up a bit of pasta and take it into her mouth. „How was your week?"

„It was fine," Responded Rollan. „I had to accompany classes on Wednesday and Thursday over the half of the day as they were seeing the palace from the inside and outside. Two of those classes had some class clowns, which wanted to cause a mess and I had to stay on watch for them as well when the teacher wasn't aware of it. On Tuesday I've spent half of the morning taking care of the royal horses so that in the evening we could go out with them for a check-up and be able to continue our task with them the next days. There wasn't anything dangerous or bad, where I and others would have the need to interfere…..and I saw you yesterday on the morning during the ride out, remember?"

„Oh yes, if Freya didn't have mentioned it, I would have missed you," Gerda commented making Rollan chuckle.

„I would have at least greeted you or something. You know that,"

„I do and I enjoy your little visits," The girl admitted taking another bite of her plate slowly finishing her dish. „Talking about visits, my dad's birthday will be in a few weeks and I've been thinking along with Kai to make him a surprise party at Alfida's ship. Kai had some funny ideas for games all could play along to pass the time. Do you think you can come with us to the party?"

„At what time is it?" Questioned Rollan. „I've got a few days, I've been longer at work because of special occasions,"

„7 pm " Replied Gerda. „But if you're not able to come it's alright. My parents haven't seen you quite often and it would be good you three would be able to get to know each other better,"

„I think so far our relationship is fine I believe. Your parents don't treat me bad as Kai used to do once in a while after…...you know…...this with the wishing stone," Rollan whispered making Gerda nod.

„I know, but I'm referring to them knowing you in person more. They only know you through my eyes, not through their own I mean,"

„Okay, I will take a look at my plan and if there's a possibility to exchange a shift I'll do it, so we can go together to your parents,"

„Thank you, I know I could count on you," Gerda said making Rollan smile, then the waiter appeared to take their plates.

„Have you enjoyed your meal so far?" Questioned the waiter earning a nod from the couple.

„It was delicious," Gerda commented.

„The spice of the sauce was excellente. I enjoyed every bite of it,"

„May I offer you two a dessert. On Today's card, we've got Morozhenoe and we've got a variety of toppings for it, which you can choose. Nuts, chocolate, and berries," The waiter explained. „Does any of this please you?"

„The one with the berries sound appealing to me," Commented Gerda making Rollan nod.

„If possible I'd like the one with nuts," Rollan added earning a nod from the waiter and he picked up the used plates and cutlery to move away. Gerda and Rollan glanced together at the band singing, then Gerda sighed at how harmonic the singer was in sync with one cello player, which stood behind her playing the instrument.

„Their voices do really match well with the other," Commented the Spaniard, then moved his hands above the table to reach to Gerda and grabbed it to earn her attention. „Are you looking forward to pass by the stable and take a ride around the kingdom?" Rollan offered making Gerda shrug her shoulders.

„Are you sure you don't need Valiente tomorrow fully rested?" Questioned Gerda.

„Tomorrow I'll be at the castle the entire day again. I may pass in the afternoon again to feed him or to let him walk," Rollan mentioned. „I think Eriksson will be there as well, because of the cleaning duty he has tomorrow and could as well take care of him and the others. I don't know it yet,"

„Okay I'd love to go with you out if it's possible," Gerda responded making Rollan smile. „Where have you planned to walk us?"

„I haven't planned anything. I thought we could decide it during the ride or just let Valiente go on his own,"

„We'll see about that," Gerda replied, then Rollan lied Gerda's hand back down on the table and looked around the restaurant to observe the surroundings, then he pulled his collar a little nervous.

„Dónde está?" Rollan mumbled, then Gerda glimpsed at the man's comment.

„What are you asking?"

„I….uh was wondering where my…...medal of honor went, but it's actually here," Rollan made up making Gerda snicker.

„Why did you even stick your medal on your shirt for our date?" Questioned Gerda. „You don't need to do that, just because of me,"

„It's a habit of me," Rollan confessed. „I like to have them with me,"

„That's fine, I just had the impression you seemed nervous about something,"

„It will get solved, don't worry," Rollan stated earning a nod from the girlfriend. „Hopefully," He said quieter, then Gerda who still heard the rest of Rollan's phrase gazed back at her boyfriend to see him stare at the door, then Gerda moved her chair a little further and grabbed Rollan's hand, then gazed at his face a little worried.

„Rollan, are you hiding something, you don't want to tell me?" Questioned Gerda making Rollan shrug his shoulders.

„Uh just give me five more minutes," Rollan commented with an embarrassed grin, then heard the door getting opened up from the entrance, where a young boy showed up, making Rollan sigh in relief and Gerda smiled at seeing the young boy.

„Who is that boy?" Asked Gerda looking at Rollan, which shrugged his shoulders, then the boy approached their table and took from the inside of his jacket a small book and opened it up to take out a pen with a silver ring attached on the hold.

„Hello…..You're G….Gerda, right?" Questioned the boy making the woman nod.

„Yes," Responded Gerda exchanging looks with her boyfriend, which smiled at the woman warmly. „Who are you?"

„I'm Lars," Responded the boy. „I'm a big fan of you and your brother Kai…...Rollan promised me he would find a way to make me meet you," Explained the kid.

„Oh and that now?" Questioned Gerda looking at Rollan, which rolled his eyes at the kid and back at the blonde and Gerda kept her eyes on the boy, which showed her the book with the pen.

„I just want your autograph, that's all I need," Lars said looking at Rollan, which nodded, then Gerda looked at Rollan, which noticed Gerda's eyes and faked a smile at the girlfriend.

„Uh was it a bad idea to bring him here?" Asked Rollan making Gerda shake her head and grab the pencil to sign her name on it.

„It was fine. I was just surprised," Gerda commented, then placed the pencil back on the book. „There you go, little boy,"

„Thank you very much, Gerda," The boy thanked, then gave Gerda a hug making her and Rollan smile, then the boy dropped the book on the ground in front of Rollan's feet, then the boy took his arms off Gerda and grabbed the book.

„I'm glad I was able to help you out, Lars," Rollan said with a wink, then the boy waved at Rollan and ran away to the exit and Gerda spotted the pen of the boy on the ground, then shrieked along with Rollan.

„Hey Lars, you forgot your pen!" Gerda warned picking the pen up, then saw the boy had left the restaurant, afterward, Gerda sat back on the chair with the pen in her hand. „He may come back to get it,"

„Maybe," Rollan responded a little relieved, then moved his hand at the pen. „Or I will bring it back to him. I know, where he is from," Rollan commented watching Gerda show him the pen, then Rollan reached his hand at the pen and Gerda squinted her eyes and took the pen down to see the ring on the pen.

„Hey for what is this ring on here?" Gerda asked watching Rollan grab the pen.

„You know those are new variants," Rollan commented holding the pen under the table, then tried to remove the ring from it. „You know…..they have a unique way of use," Rollan commented. „Want to know how it works?" Questioned Rollan making Gerda nod.

„Why not?" Responded Gerda, then Rollan got up and stood in front of the blonde and with his left hand closed into a fist and he bends down on his right knee and positions his left leg behind, then placed his hands together and used his right hand to take out the ring from his other fist and held the ring up at the blonde woman.

„Gerda I…..I've been thinking this entire year for the moment I would ask you this question. I didn't know how I should do it or where I should do it and this option occurred to me a few days ago and I thought that's the moment Rollan. You're just chickening it out the entire time out of fear. Just do it, it will go fine. Lars there, he's actually Hansel's son from the theatre. I offered him a bit of money, so he would play as a fanboy and ask you for an autograph, but in reality, we made this up, so I would obtain the ring in a way you wouldn't notice…..or you weren't supposed to notice it," Rollan explained making Gerda smile enchanted at Rollan's explanation, then Rollan smiled a little and noticed Gerda chuckle a little.

„What's your question?"

„Gerda…..after we got together and we began to see each other, I felt like my life finally began to have a meaning for me. You made me feel like the happiest man in this kingdom. I'm certain that our love will hold on for eternity and that we complete each other. I…..you mean the world to me, Gerda. I may not be able to make a lot of money with the job I have to provide us a better life than we have now, but I'm able to do anything to make you happy…...Will you take me as your l...life partner?" Proposed the raven-haired man looking up at Gerda, which had gotten emotional at Rollan's question, and held her hands in front of her face to clean her face. Rollan smiled at Gerda's reaction, then he moved his free hand to Gerda's face to clean tears coming down from her eyes and waited for her to be ready to answer his question. Gerda passed her hand under her eyes again, then she leaped onto Rollan's arms to hug her boyfriend tight, leaning her head beside his neck making him beam and place his arms around her.

„Yes Rollan, yes I do," Gerda responded, then she got off Rollan's arms and held out her hand, so the man would take her hand and place the engagement ring on her ring finger, which consisted of a light-blue stone on the middle of the silver-colored ring. Rollan held Gerda's hand to look at her engagement ring, then rolled his eyes up at her seeing the woman biting her lip, still excited about what had happened, then he opened up his arms at the woman and she got into Rollan's arms again, therefore the duo earned the applause of the guests inside the restaurant which made Rollan feel embarrassed. Gerda felt as well abashed at the people's reaction towards their step and she gazed back at Rollan, which smiled charmed at the woman after that she wrapped her arms up around his neck, locking up her lips with his sealing together their agreement on taking a further step in their relationship.

The End.