#i just was going to assign them gems and then 4 pages happened

[fangirlmedstudentblog]

Ann's 2022 Wrapped Pt. 2(B)

Ok, so continuing on from my last post here, Part 2(A)

My list is in no way even close to an exhaustive fic rec list for the pairing. It has some gems to get you started if you're new to the ship, or some fics to re-read, if you've already read these. If there is a podfic of the fic, I'll include that too! Podfics deserve more love and are a boon, allowing us to listen to our favourite stories while doing other work or playing games! They're one of the top reasons I've not fallen asleep while completing exploration in Genshin Impact lol.

In the m/m fics, i don't write the ship name with the top/bottom fixed in mind as i always headcanon them as versatile. (I know some people like to read fixed dynamics for certain ships, so this is just a fyi for them.)

Do check the tags of the fics before reading and check the author's pages for further fics to read!

All fics are complete unless mentioned otherwise.

Fandoms in this part

8. Frank Hardy/Nancy Drew from Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys Mystery series

9. Prapai/Sky from Love In The Air

10. Tim Drake centric, Batman, Red Robin comics

11. Miscellaneous fandoms

Let's go!!!!

Pairing: Frank Hardy/Nancy Drew aka Francy from The Nancy Drew and The Hardy Boys Mystery Series

This, I think, was my first crossover ship EVER, all the way back in 7th grade. I remember reading my first super mystery, Club Dread and boy was i surprised to see hints of Frank being attracted to Nancy and being the romantic that i am my mind latched onto that idea and i recently got my hands on a copy of a Crime for Christmas with the ICONIC KISS SCENE and boy did all the feels come rushing back.

1. Baby I Hope (That It's You) by questionablemotive

She didn't mean for this to happen, plain and simple. Frank was never supposed to be an intricate piece of her puzzle, and she was never supposed to fall in love with someone who wasn't Ned. But, well, here we are.

Or

Nancy's journey of falling in love with Frank Hardy, denying it like crazy, before finally accepting it and doing something about it.

As it says in the summary. It's a character driven piece, and takes place via the universe of the Nancy drew games, so contains spoilers for them.

2. To Protect and Serve by rosa lunae

Special Agent Nancy Drew of the FBI has been given her first op as a lead agent in the Witness Protection program. She's shocked to find that the men she's vowed to protect from the deadly Russian mob are none other than Frank and Joe Hardy.

Since it's such an old fandom, one has to go to ffnet as well to search for fics and boy was i rewarded with this fic. It had suspense, action and romance that keeps one at the edge of their seats.

3. The Ampersand Series by kennac

From Exploring Fraud and Friendship (1st fic in series): Nancy heads to New York to consult with Hardy Investigators on the ins and outs of claims investigation to help her boss in Chicago prepare to bid on a new contract. This simple information-gathering assignment quickly turns deadly, and Nancy learns fraud and friendship can both be fraught with unseen land mines that can test even a seasoned detective’s resolve to remain impartial.

It's the longest series in the Francy ao3 tag that contains an awesome series with suspense, mystery and romance in spades. It keeps you engrossed in the mystery and the story and will be treat to those who enjoy reading the series.

4. Bringing Down The Barriers by DesertVixen

Nancy Drew and Frank Hardy find themselves on a family vacation together, with a few less barriers than before.

The first fic of another great Nancy Drew Hardy Boys crossover mystery series with the 1st fic having Francy have feels and get together, and the last fic deals with a mystery regarding Nancy's mother.

5. if the fates allow by veterization

A special machine delivered by P.G. Krolmeister sends Nancy into a future where she can witness firsthand the repercussions of her rejecting Frank Hardy.

A sweet Francy fic a based on the movie Just In Time For Christmas!

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Pairing: Prapai/Sky from บรรยากาศรัก เดอะซีรีส์ | Love in the Air

I discovered this show mid-November and caved to finally watch it in December and gods I've fallen into the prapaisky brainrot so bad. Rainpayu is a close second, but something about the way prapai just cares about sky just does it for me personally. All fics have trigger warnings for mentions of sky's past. I legit have such a crush on the main cast of bossnoeul and fortpeat, especially fortpeat it's kinda embarassing 🥴 Oh to have prapai of my own 😭

1. Chasing Sky by kibosama Rated M

A prapaisky getting together fic, which was written before the prapaisky episodes were aired in the show. It picks and chooses parts of canon that the author likes and pretends the rest doesn't exist. The prapaisky dynamic in this is so self indulgent and yet so good.

kibosama has written some of the most beautiful canon adjacent fics in several fandoms that i highly recommend you read and can be read even if you've not seen the show yet. Their works have single-handedly pushed up certain shows up my to watch list and let me tell you that isn't easy, at all.

2. The Good Kind of Red by tennisuhs Rated M

“I do not owe you shit.”

Sky’s hand is slightly trembling as they clutch on the other boy’s collar.

“You don’t.” The racer scoffs. “But my friend will.”

“Let’s get you out of here, cutie.”

*

What if Sky and Prapai never fucked on the first meeting? What if, still, they haunted each other's memory from that they on?

Canon divergence from prapaisky's first meeting and it is OH SO GOOD!!! Sky is precious and just 🤌🏻

3. Pheromones on the Wind by loveleighalissa Rated M

Having been burned badly before by love, Sky plans to focus on school and pretending that men, mainly alpha's, don't exist. To bad for him there is a strong wind trying to blow down the walls he's built around his heart.

A omegaverse re-write of the prapaisky arc of Love in the Air. Part 1 is PayuRain and is still a WIP, read it here

4. Never Say by kibosama Rated M

Prapai is an auction house for the sole purpose of getting someone to sign a contract. He doesn't have any interest in owning a blood slave--until he lays eyes on Sky. That, he must have.

Sky's there for reasons of his own, mostly desperate reasons, and he's braced himself for a year of hell. Which doesn't seem to be forthcoming.

Someone needs to explain to this vampire that he's supposed to use Sky, not spoil him. Prapai doesn't seem to get it.

A vampire!Prapai fic that actually seems much softer than one might expect from a vampire fic. Also sassy sky is everything. Fun fact, this is the fic that actually convinced me to finally watch Love in the Air before another show that had caught my interest (Not Me the series).

5. Possessive Boyfriends Support Group series by kibosama Rated T

A crossover series between Love in the Air and The Eclipse where Ayan is Rain's childhood friend and him, Rain and Sky get upto various shenanigans and their poor boyfriends are pulled along for the ride (ehe 👀).

Made me watch The Eclipse after LITA lol. The power of an awesome fanfic author 😍😍

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Fandom: Batman comics, Red Robin comics

Wayne Family Adventures introduced me to Tim Drake, aka Red Robin and I just fell in love with him so bad, it made me go back and read up on the history of Batman and his various Robins and i fell further in love with the various Robins over the years, though my favourites are Tim Drake and Jason Todd.

1. Code Bat Series by Listentothelittlebird

Within Gotham, the Bats are a tight-knit group - family - that runs like clockwork.

Outside of Gotham, none of their teammates know they’re related.

This series explores the shenanigans that the Bats get up to, as well as how this distinction would affect canon.

(This is an AU where the Bats are secretly affiliated, but nobody knows that.)

One of my favourite Robin centric series with occasional appearances by Teen Titans, the Justice League and the Outlaws. I love the bonds between all the Gotham vigilantes and how dedicated they are helping each other despite the occasional complicated bonds between them.

2. Liminal Space by Calamityjim

Bruce's habit of collecting strays is not limited by dimension.

Or

When Young Justice Batman comes across an angsty, seemingly abandoned by his Batman Tim Drake, he decides to step up to the plate and parent the crap out of him.

I love this genre of fix-it fics because let's face it,in canon these boys do not have it easy at all. Especially Tim Drake. And Bruce isn't much of a parent in comic canon as much I would like. So I look to fanfics for my emotional needs.

Also has a Podfic and is part of a awesome as fuck series that i suggest you read here (features Tim/Kon in the later parts of the series)

3. Doctor!Tim by wintersnight (Tim Drake/Dick Grayson/Jason Todd) Rated E

It's really just the usual day. Home after a grueling seventy-two hours on the ER rotation. Make a pot of coffee. Find a bleeding vigilante on your fire escape. All pretty standard for Gotham.

Civilian doctor Tim AU who's a bamf ER surgeon (just being an ER surgeon is bad-ass enough, but being one in Gotham automatically deserves bamf status, because I could NEVER).

It actually is somewhat medically accurate (as a doctor, myself, i can verify that) and is ALL TOO ACCURATE as to how busy the life of a surgeon can get. And Steph as the nurse is genius and makes me miss all the nurses I worked and made friends with. And the trio of Tim/Dick/Jason have sizzling chemistry with each other.

4. Jason Todd: The Not-So-Outlaw by GoAwayOlivia Rated M

Jason Todd isn't what Batman made him, he isn't what the Joker made him, he isn't what the League of Assassins made him, and he isn't what the Lazarus Pit made him. He's his own person and he's taking himself back, one home renovation at a time. Also he might just make friends with the people who are supposed to be his brothers while he's at it.

One of my favourite Jason centric fics!!!!!

5. Latchkey by goldkirk

or, How Tim Drake Found A Family, Became A Photojournalist, Learned To Love Coffee, and Grew Up, not necessarily in that order.

Tim Drake is thirteen, runs the famous BatWatch blog that has spiraled hilariously out of control, has absentee parents that suit his purposes just fine, is training himself to run the streets at night, and is doing absolutely peachy, thank you.

Alfred and Jason disagree, and get Dick and Bruce involved in figuring out their weird nextdoor neighbor kid’s life. Everything goes uphill from there.

Part of the Shutterbug series . It's one of the Tim joins the batfamily early fics that I love. Please, give Tim more love, especially kid!Tim. That kid made me want to give him ALL the hugs with his backstory. Plus it has mother hen Jason with lots of bat brother bonding, all of which i LOVE.

6. One Eternal Round by Boogalee99

His name is Aizawa Shouta.

No, it’s Bruce Wayne.

No close family. No children.

No, he has an …Alfred? And children, lots of children. Too many to count.

Current Residence: Musutafu, Japan.

No, it’s Gotham. Gotham, USA.

Current Occupation: Hero and School Teacher.

No, he’s a CEO, and… wait, hero? He’s just a vigilante – he’s technically a glorified criminal with a day job.

Aizawa, Midoriya, Bakugou, Kirishima, and Todoroki get caught in the emergence of a new quirk and find themselves remembering a past life, a life spent in heroics, a life without superpowers. Chaos ensues as they navigate old new skills, relationships, and goals.

A Boku no Hero Academia X Batman series crossover series that really made me realise the similarities between Shouto, Katsuki and Izuku and Damian, Jason and Tim. It's a definitely a good read!

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Miscellaneous Fandom fic recs

Gokusen : Sawada Shin/Yamaguchi Kumiko

Gokusen: The Novel by Jane Elliot

A novelization of the Gokusen manga, including extended and missing scenes.

As much as I love the live action versions of ShinKumi (one of my first jdrama crushes), the manga will always win for more Shin scenes and actually making ShinKumi canon.

The Scum Villain's Self-Saving System: Luo Binghe/Shen Qinqiu|Shen Yuan aka Bingqiu

I Wish You Were My Husband by Feynite Rated E

AU based on The Dreamer in the Spring Boudoir (familiarity with that story's not required).

Wherein Shen Yuan transmigrates into a harem intrigues romance novel (gay edition), Yue Qingyuan really fucks up, Liu Qingge is not suitable for his job, and no one even remotely sees Luo Binghe coming.

Also has a Podfic by the prolific lunchee that i highly recommend listening to!

The Umbrella Academy

Keep Trying by pprfaith Rated T

At thirteen, a drunk Klaus goes wandering the mansion instead of locking himself into his room.

Seventeen years down the line, he saves the world.

In between, they're all just trying not to drown.

(Klaus and Vanya against the world.)

Part 1 of the on some days,in some ways series that is so dear to my heart. Klaus and Vanya were my favourite characters of The Umbrella Academy series and this fic all the right spots. Do check the tags for this as it does deal with some heavy topics, though they're at the level of canon.

OC centric fics:

The Medic-Nin's Guide to Casual Revolution by spideywhiteys

Aikawa Toshiro is born anew on the heels of the third shinobi war. He's clanless, average in strength, and is alive on luck alone. But he's here. And he's about to make it everyone else's problem. Life beget change, and if Konoha is so frequently likened to a tree, shouldn't it be expected to grow?

Original Female Character/Hatake Kakashi. A WIP that i still have no clue how i came across (because i usually avoid OC/SI fics) but it is SO SO GOOD and i have no regrets. A OC/Self Insert fic that is just awesome as hell.

It is work of love and passion and it SHOWS in the fic. Medically, i would say it's kind of like House MD levels of accuracy, which it's more than ok, especially since I'm pretty sure konoha doesn't even have the concept of germ theory known, since they deal with chakra for healing.

Sanitize by sage_thrasher

Basic medicine and sanitation are simple. During the Warring Clans era, they become revolutionary.

Another self-insert fic with a medical professional who gets isekai-ed to the Naruto universe during the warring clans era and decides to become a healer. WIP

The Yondaime's Assistant by dianamoth (lunaemoth)

When I reincarnated in the world of Naruto, I was lucky enough to live in Konoha but not lucky enough to get all the superpowers you could hope for. I failed my jounin-sensei test and ended up in the Genin Corps.

Bye-bye jounin rank! However, considering it also meant avoiding the battlefield, that was fine with me. Now I just had to get a position allowing me to change History…

Hatake Kakashi/Original Female Character/Shiranui Genma. OFC gets isekai-ed into the Naruto universe and decides to change some things and lead to a fix-it. The OC is a bad-ass, very observant and believes in proper communication as well!! Also a proper explanation for the isekaification is also given!

Akatsuki no Yona: Son Hak/Yona

Unaccounted Factors by Fai_Gensou

Su-won’s disregard of Yona in his planning for his coup was ultimately his downfall.

“I can’t believe this.” Yun said, shaking his head as Yona fired off rapid questions that the now hapless king couldn’t answer.

“You came after Yona not to kill her, or keep her quiet, or to take over the Dragon Warriors, but so she could balance your books and get the castle running smoothly again. I don’t know whether to laugh or cry.”

“Cry.” Ju-do advised. “We couldn’t even track you down ourselves; we had to bribe the maids to tell us, since the couriers flat-out refused to say a word.”

An underrated WIP that deserves more recognition for it's sheer uniqueness and yet rightness of concept (if that makes sense) of the fic and whose updates I'll wait years for.

Genshin Impact: Zhongli/Tartaglia|Childe

Entirely Out of Spite by bgtea

"Welcome to a new user experience! You have triggered this interface with the keywords, ‘Stupid game! Stupid devs! I want my f*****g money back!’ You are now bound to the character Tartaglia, the Eleventh Harbinger of the Fatui, codename: Childe! We hope you have an enjoyable user experience and we welcome you once again to Genshin Impact 2.0!”

Those are some of the first words Ajax, starving college student extraordinaire, has the misfortune of hearing upon waking up in a brave new world from what he's fairly sure is a very, very fatal accident involving water and a shit ton of electricity.

Okay, so he's not dead. That's good. But what's this about him being stuck playing the character Tartaglia? Tartaglia, as in the shitty, one-dimensional, cartoonish villain who met his untimely, gruesome death in the first act of the original game?

Fuck that noise. Like hell Ajax is going to share that fate.

And so begins one man's journey to unfuck himself.

A Zhongchi fic based on Scum Villian that in my admittedly biased opinion, one of the best Zhongchi fics. A WIP clocking in at almost 300k that updates regularly with long long updates that'll keep you engrossed!

Game of Thrones

A Wolf Amongst Lions by Kallypso

Tywin Lannister discovers the true identity of his cup bearer at Harrenhal. Now, with another bargaining chip in his possession, he has a chance to turn the war. Arya Stark, despite her best efforts, falls back into the Game of Thrones. To survive in a lion's den, a wolf has no choice but to adapt.

This is a beautiful, lovely fic that kept me engrossed till i finished the fic's last sentence. The evolving relationship and bond between Arya and Tywin depicted in this fic is fascinating to read. As is her evolving relationship with the rest of the Lannisters, and how it all affects the rest of Game of Thrones canon.

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This ends my 2022 fandom recap!! Hope anyone who has read upto this point has enjoyed my ramblings and also gotten some new fandom, fanfic or media recommendations!!

I'll see you 💜

[wangjiplayingwangji]

Ok, question, have you considered a Steven Universe AU for JoJo? If so I would love to know your take on it!

Don’t get me started on SU AU’s I had a whole blog dedicated to me and my friends gemsona’s and how they fit into the SU world called “The Imperfects”

BUT since you ASKED (and these are based more off personalities rather than appearance/color)

( Also, these are those depicted on my blog! I will attempt to go into more detail if anyone interested but this is all for now and it is L O N G )

Jonathan - Topaz

From what we’ve seen of them they were big hulking gems used more for defense and guarding than offense attack but would also be nothing to scoff at in a battle. Not to mention the ones we did see really didn’t want to hurt anyone. 

Speedwagon - zircon

The persecuting and defensive gems in the diamond court case, I feel like Speedwagon would be a good one. He’s smart, a good judge of character and has a good heart. The zircon on stevens side wanted to do her best to help him even though he was technically an enemy, just like SW wasn’t originally on Jonathan's side but had a change of heart when he really spoke with him and heard of his noble quest to save his father. They also seem to have a bit of an anxious streak and that suites our beloved SW as well.

I imagine they’d escape to the off-color caves after Jonathan refuses to hurt someone and is put on trial only for SW to not agree with the results and choose to save his life putting them both on the lamb with their only option to be to retreat underground.  

Joseph - Tigers Eye

Although we don’t see one in the show it just seems like something that would fit Joseph’s colorful and unique personality as well as it retains some color quality of a Topaz with a twist of it’s own. It’s also said to be a stone meant for clearing out anxiety and fear to bring peace, balance and stimulate action and decision making which I think sums up Josephs character pretty well. 

Caesar - Aquamarine

The aquamarines we met were callous and prideful in their gemstones as well as obviously high-class gems. They’re efficient, ruthless and skilled, just like our favorite bubble blowing baby. Their snotty attitudes seem to match him well, as well as when they decide to go easy on their partner rather than report them to the diamonds which means they do have some reluctant compassion. 

They’d probably end up a Romeo and Juliet situation where they both operate under a different diamond but something draws them together, with Joseph being a little too impulsive and Caesar a little too strict and always lecturing him but never reporting or stopping his behavior. However one of Josephs pranks goes too far and he’s sentenced to be shattered on one of the earth’s spires. Caesar tries to use his status to beg for his life but it proves useless, leaving him no choice, he takes him and jumps. The fall and extra weight damage his wings leaving him with only the ability to conjure water bubbles. Joseph feels guilty be Caesar sees it as a start to their new life. 

Jotaro - Garnet

Cold and calculating but with a surprisingly sweet side and unexpected sense of humor. Garnet seems to suit Jotaro to a T, not to mention being incredibly powerful (however he is not two lesbians in a trenchcoat) He always seems to have a plan and know what’s going to happen next. The rock that everyone relies on, Jotaro as a garnet is both the sword and the shield.

Kakyoin - Pearl

Originally made to bend to everyone’s will but his own Kakyoin is a pearl that fights back. He’s polite, intellectual, and respected among the ranks of the crystal gems. Having escaped from the clutches of homeworld he was originally made on earth, but on a raid to clear a village to make room for a new kindergarten he found himself appalled at homeworlds methods and rebelled from his general and master.

They meet on the battlefield. Jotaro fighting for homeworld and Kakyoin for the earth and crystal gems. Their weapons clash as their fight takes on an unbelievable intensity and at one point Jotaro tears the scarf kakyoin wraps around himself to hide his gem. In that moment of confusion upon seeing it’s a pearl he’s fighting Kakyoin gets the upper hand and Jotaro is poofed. Later he reforms in a destabilization chamber on a broken ship with Kakyoin waiting for him.  The pearl demands why he held back during their fight and Jotaro counters with asking what a pearl is doing on the front lines, if he had some kind of death wish. Their conversation goes back and forth for some time before Kakyoin sits on the floor opposite his captive and end’s up regaling his tale of servitude, horror at the destruction of the diamonds and how he decided to change because he wanted to be something more. For the first time, Jotaro questions his purpose, and wonders if there’s more to life than being a made to order soldier. 

Josuke - Rose Quartz

A made to order soldier, as is any quartz. But they don’t lack for personality. They are smart, compassionate and even a bit naive. However, they are more of a backline soldier that in the meantime gather resources and help in the creation of more kindergartens. They are stil respected and powerful gems that enjoy games and the company of others, with the ability to hurt and heal they make a fearsome enemy and kind ally. A bit childish at times but powerful and sweet Josuke would make a perfect rose quartz.

Okuyasu - Amythest

Similar to the rose quartzes amethysts are also made to order soldier type gems however they are a stronger more durable gemstone made moreso for the frontlines and guard work. They tend to be on the goofier and denser side of the quartz spectrum with them being the most expendable and easiest to control as for the others made to be more general types such as jaspers. However, what they may lack in strategery they make up for in power. Amythests are formidable opponents and can be darkly serious when it matters, a stack contrast to their typical fun-loving and silly nature.  

Josuke and Oku meet on earth in their respective kindergarten. Although they both popped out knowing what they were, what their purpose was everything seemed to stop when they met. A connection of some kind, a feeling of fate or some kind of magnetism. They met in the middle as the rest of their gems march on around them. Josuke cracks a small smile and says ‘nice gemstone’ Okuyasu lets out a laugh and says ‘thanks i like yours too’. After they get so lost in conversation they don’t notice their agates watching them and suddenly they've pulled apart and directed to opposite sides of the kindergarten to stand in formation. Reluctantly they return but keep their eyes on each other. The pair is soon known as a couple of troublemakers, constantly getting distracted from their work and stopping to talk much to the annoyance of their authoritative gems and needing to be ordered back to their work. It all came to a head one day however when Josuke’s agate, sick of watching them disobey orders, she forcibly got between them, destabilizer in hand. Her intention to poof the rose quartz and send him to the opposite side of the galaxy where they would never see each other again. It took Okuyasu everything he had to fight off the gems holding him down but in a fit of rage, he managed to fight them off and throw himself into Josuke before the destabilizer hit him and there was a burst of white light. When he next came too he and Josuke were in a forest, apparently safe for now. 

Giorno - Agate

Giorno is a yellow agate in charge of the human zoo. It was a place off-color gems with no real place on homeworld were sent for a chance to have a purpose. Misshapen amethysts and disproportional jaspers were his crew, not that he minded. Despite being overcooked himself, he was a bit too short, he took his role seriously and commanded the respect of the other gems despite his imperfections. A natural leader and commanding presence Giorno is respected everywhere he goes and has amassed quite the following.

Mista - Ruby

A ruby in the elite guard in charge of protecting the agate in charge of the human zoo, Mista isn’t quite like the average ruby. Undercooked, he stands taller over most and towers over his charge, a yellow agate. He’s a bit of a dunce at times and can be spacey during boring conversations or events but he takes his duty seriously and speaks casually, even to his superior, however, the agate does not seem to mind his friendliness. Mista is a great ruby, a quick thinker and he throws himself into his job, but off hours he’s fun lovable and ditsy, making him a favorite among his peers. 

Mista and Giorno because of their roles spend a decent amount of time together, and often times Mista ends up making empty one-sided conversations as they wander the halls of the ship, uncomfortable with silence. He’d gotten used to the silence that it was a surprise when the agate indulged him by responding one day. After that, they talked fairly regularly as they checked the status of the ship and its inhabitants. They established a comfort, so much so Giorno ended up letting it slip one night that he’d love to visit the planet the humans' hail from and see the organic life he’d grown to adore inside the zoo. The plants, the water, the animals, it was a rare wild beauty within the sterile walls of the diamond authority. Mista on an impulse suggested the go to earth, much to the surprise of the agate. But Mista explained nothing ever changes, its the same in and out, he was sure anyone would be able to handle it, like holly blue agate. A ruthless commander and Giornos second in command, if anyone would be able to handle it, it would be her. And so for a night, they planned to escape and see the earth, but, suppose a night turned into a few thousand.

[starkeaton]

the adventure zone: graduation character list

Well, i accidentally deleted the original graduation character list post, so here i am making another one. Oops. And as always, if anyone has important details i should add then feel free to suggest them!

Here are all the characters introduced in episodes 1-25. Named characters only!

Also i can’t hide spoilers! So, um..... I can’t put spoilers on this one. If you need the version with spoilers try this version of the post that i made on the adventure zone subreddit but youre not missing out on much.

# -EPISODE 1- (19 characters)

Hieronymous Wiggenstaff (he/him): Head of the Hero/Villain school. at least 400 years old. wears shining blue armor with gold accents. also an elf. according to Tomas, he led the charge at the "battle of blood valley", brought the Kingdoms of Rickart and Dawnbreak to a peace treaty, and founded the school. a little boastful, a little prideful, [SPOILERS OMITTED], and overall a pretty good dude.

Higglemas Wiggenstaff (he/him): Head of the Sidekick/Henchperson annex, cranky old elf. has a dog named hero who shows no signs of anything strange at all, ever. 

Gary (he/him): friendly room gargoyle. pseudo-hivemind.

Groundsy (he/him): the groundskeeper. a pretty nice fellow. don't go in his shed.

Hernandez (he/him): beautiful centaur professor of animal handling.

Jimson (he/him): human battlegrounds trainer for sidekicks/henchpeople, world famous featherweight champion, wields a staff. married to crushman.

Crushman (he/him): silver dragonborn with a sickle, and self-described beefy boy! heavyweight blood champion married to jimson. never lost a match for 8 years. full name Frostus Crushman.

Rolandus Fontaine (he/him): former prince, son of deposed king, kind of an asshole, maybe. wears a cape (important detail)

Zana (she/her): "terrifying" tiefling villain sorcerer, friend of rolandus. barkept the test tavern in ep2

Rhodes (she/her): hero ranger, friend of rolandus.

Buckminster Eden (he/him): hero guy. son of "The Iron Lord". their dad is stronger than rolandus's dad. his wiki page says rogue so i think hes a rogue? i never caught that and ive listened more times than i wish i did

Leon (he/him): softspoken buff, bald "fighter" (although i dont remember any clarification on how exactly he fights), sidekick of buckminster, around 28. anyone else keep forgetting he's bald? i keep forgetting it. >!gets sorta-drafted into becoming a falcon for higglemas and so far hasn't done much else.!<

Rainer Michelle (she/her): cheerful villainous necromancer with a floating chair. also, her name is pronounced "rainier" despite not being confirmed as such? travis ships her with fitzroy.

Tomas (he/him): human man with "kind eyes" and a good (psychic???) memory. guidance counselor.

Stewart LeBoeuf (he/him): brawny human man. serves food. there is no joke here, i promise

Mulligan (he/him): teaches potions. mentioned but doesn't appear yet. and we're like 25 episodes in. maybe we'll see him someday

Germaine, Victoria, Rattles (he/him,she/her,???/???): Skeleton crew. They live in the training room i guess, and as a result can never die, because "no one dies in the training room!" (note: someone now HAS to die in the training room). also their races are never explicitly stated but i guess they're probably human? in episode 3 travis brings up something about how many bones are in "the human body" and at this point i think i'm looking too deep into this so i'll just forget about it and you probably should too.

# -EPISODE 2- (9 characters)

Riveau (he/him): halfling, blame-taking teacher.

Mimi (they/them): gnome sidekick who builds cool robot prosthetics

Bartholemus (he/him): owl aarakocra accountant teacher, known for being the best accountant in the land and having a face some might describe as "smoochable". very pro capitalist :’( hope he gets better

Ramos (she/her): goliath teacher of shieldwork. *

Dip (she/her): sidekick, half-orc twin of pip

Pip (she/her): hero, half-orc twin of dip

Festo (they/them): fairy with "beautiful gossamer wings", independent study teacher of magic, loves to party

Snippers (he/him?): Let me tell you my story about Snippers the magic crab. When Travis gave the list of animals that Griffin could choose as Fitzroy's familiar's current form, he listed crab near the start, and this gave me excitement. Now i knew that crab was pretty unlikely but god i hoped that he would choose it. When the list went on- Bat, Cat, Crab, Frog, Hawk, Lizard, Owl, Poisonous Snake, Fish, Rat, Raven, Seahorse, Spider or Weasel- I nearly lost hope. I was hoping so hard that Griffin would choose the crab, but i was ready to accept a non-crab familiar. It was just buried in that list. It wasn't the most useful animal and it was an obscure pick. And as Travis informed him that it didn't have to keep the form for the whole campaign, Griffin said those five words i wanted to hear so, so badly. "Well then it's a crab." Folks, I do not often react physically when something happens in media. But in that moment, i remember very clearly, i fist-pumped and yelled, "YES!!!!!!"

so anyway, Fitzroy has a crab.

Jackle (he/him): kenku teacher of sneakery. creepy dude. apparently knows something about argo? also his name is not spelled "jackal" for some reason. Also in later episodes theyve started calling him "The Jackle" for some reason??? *

# -EPISODE 3- (1 character)

Dakota (they/them): tavern instructor, clad in black/red leather. no race stated? probably human. *

# -EPISODE 4- (6 characters)

Gerry & Tom (she/her, he/him): shopkeepers at barns and nobles who seem to have very bad names. also constantly competing for customers? these guys got dropped faster than the heathcliff quests, which is honestly just sad.

Barb (she/her): the bartender. runs Springs Eternal in Last Hope. has a sweet seeing-eye hawk familiar. 

Jaryd Reginald (he/him): owner of Reginald Ore. Wants the workers to be held responsible for the damage caused by the xorn. (fun fact: originally i wrote down "Jerrod" because i wanted it to sound like a fantasy name, then realized it was probably "Jared" because theyre named after listeners, but i was pleased to find it confirmed that it's actually "Jaryd")

Candice (she/her): A Miner. thought those werent allowed in bars but, i guess not. Wants the mine owner to be held responsible for the xorn's damage.

Jade Johnson Esq. (she/her): lawyer.

# -EPISODE 5- (1 character)

Xorn: a big hungry gem eating guy from the plane of earth Low-Down Deep with 3 arms and 3 legs. why did travis just say "multi-armed" instead of specifying it was 3? who knows! Anyway it leaves

# -EPISODE 6- (3 characters)

Osric (he/him): the man, the myth, the bursar. finally shows up after being mentioned in episodes 2 and 4. he's an elf. 

breeze through the willows (she/her): Pegasus attacked by demons, lost her parents. introduced in ep1 but gets a name here so fuck it. also in ep>!16!< we find out shes a "white arabian pegasus" and i dont think thats a spoiler bc we shouldve really known it from the beginning

Sabor (he/him): Librarian/research teacher. also a TORTLE. Really good at recalling stuff, i guess. kinda reminds me of Tomas's memory thing but i'm sure that's just a coincidence... *

# -EPISODE 7- (1 character)

Mosh (he/him): The goliath blacksmith who welcomes argo into the unbroken chain. Also, and this is specific to the tumblr version of this post, all the characters with an * at the end of their descriptions are also members of the unbroken chain. if someone knows how to do spoilers on tumblr please tell me

# -EPISODE 8-

:)

# -EPISODE 9- (2 characters)

Eeiïäá#æ&éñn (pronounced like "Ian") (he/him?): an imp but without a shitty voice. also happens to not be violent. what a coincidence?

Terence (he/him): a chain devil with a real demonic name. minor boss of the imps. very convincing and very threatening. has the frightening ability to make you zone out during his fight

# -EPISODE 10- (2 characters)

Althea Song (she/her): elf with autumn-orange hair. representative from heroic oversight guild. i'd like to personally thank travis for spelling her name out.

Crabtree (she/her): Artificing teacher. Long gray hair with a long grey beard. no mentioned race, one might guess dwarf but that would be an assumption i suppose. also unbroken chain member, presumably the dwarf argo didn't recognize in episode 7.

# -EPISODE 11- (3 characters)

Marie (she/her): Grey-haired elf woman. She's the school's physician, i guess. Member of the unbroken chain.

Dendra Maplecourt (she/her): Fitzroy's mom. Has hot mint gum, i guess. She was mentioned earlier but i wasn't convinced she was a real person until this episode

Cool Gary (he/him): AYY ITS ME GARYR

# -EPISODE 12-

no new characters again!

# -EPISODE 13- (7 characters hhhyyyuu)

Kale (???/???): Head of the Placement Department, in charge of real world assignments. First mentioned in Ep4 but i missed that the last few times bc it is so brief. Gives exposition about missions i guess????? is that the only reason this chara cter exists

satyr thief (unnamed) (he/him): tries to rob thundermen, dies instantly

Ogre (he/him): teamed up with the satyr. his name is ogre.

Moon (he/him): A Sidekick. small pale sullen guy. no mentioned race. Why is there another FUCKING sidekick WE HAD ENOUGH hhhyuuuuuu

Deanna (she/her): A bigoted centaur with an obnoxious voice. Malwin the Strong's second in command.

Malwin the Strong (she/her): Leader of the centaurs of the scarlet woods. Wants to appease the spirit of the scarlet woods so that thecentaurs of the scarlet woods will be protected in the scarlet woods. Had a relationship with Arturas in the past but their clashes are currently known to get pretty heated.

Arturas (he/him): Leader of the Centaurs of the Valley, i guess. Had a relationship with Malwin. Centaur. Did i mention centaur? i cant think of anything else about this character

# -EPISODE 14- (2 characters)

Calhain (he/him): Human wizard, Malwin's magical advisor. Kind of an amateur wizard in a job high above his skill level. Graduated Wigginstaff's as a hero.

Spirit of the Scarlet Woods: A spirit who requires sacrifice in order to keep Malwin's herd safe and prosperous. Not keen on dubiously canonical combos, i guess. i wouldnt be either. also apparently the sacrifice depends on personal value, not how much value it has to the spirit.

# -EPISODE 15- (2 characters)

Sylvia Nite (she/her): Fitzroy's magic theory teacher at knight night school, who he turned into a catfish by accident. oops!

Chaos (they/them, maybe more): Presumably a deity, gave Fitz his powers and wants him to give in to his chaotic desires. (physical desc: 9 foot tall, iridescent 'mother of pearl' skin, pure white eyes, fine burgundy cloak with gold/onyx lining. their physical form beyond that seems to change every time they show up.)

# -EPISODE 16-

none -w-

# -EPISODE 17-

some demins happened. the big dudes are called "Pit Fiends" and the armored demon ladies are called "Erinyes", by the way. that was incredibly hard for me to figure out the first time, especially without headphones, i thought travis was saying "pig feet" and i just could not discern what the other things were

# -EPISODE 18- (6 characters)

snow on the mountain: shire horse pegasus

storm at sea: peruvian paso pegasus, vehement defender of The Guardian. doesn't have a goofy voice.. but he could have....

thaw of the spring: a winged horse

night of no clouds: a winged hhorse

The Guardian: "An ancient and powerful being that guards the unknown forest." Has protected the flock from demons for many many years. apparently is the voice that was talking to our firbolg in episode 1?

Grey, the Demon Prince (he/him): wants to cause a war, originally wanted to kill hiero and higgs, forces the heroes to build an army to fight his. As "Fauxronimous", he has skin the *color and pattern of* (but not necessarily made of) slate splashed with liquid, pointed ears, sharp teeth, shining eyes, horns of unspecified shape. 12 fucking feet tall. wonder if the slate-looking skin is related to garys. plot twist detected? Also i recently looked at the episode descriptions and found out his name is spelled "Gray", but really does it truly matter?

# -EPISODE 19- (2 characters)

Shabree Keene (she/her): Argo's mom, killed on the Mariah, possibly by the Commodore. Long auburn hair, green eyes. Mentioned earlier but described here, so fuck it.

**Thomas** (he/him): Argo's first mate on the Mariah, as the Kraken, in his chaos-dream. may or may not actually exist.

# -EPISODE 20- (1 character)

The Commodore (he/him): Reknowned hero of the seas, military regalia, great naval hero, presumably responsible for the death of Shabree Keene. No mentioned race. Seriously, they never mention this guy's race. The only thing described about him is how he's dressed and his evil smile. Does that mean he's human? Elf? Dwarf??? Who knows! maybe it just doesnt matter. 

# -EPISODE 21-

none

# -EPISODE 22-

not any of them. not any.

# -EPISODE 23- (1 character)

Ozymondelius (sp???) (it/its): A warforged teacher who just so happens to like war or something? i guess its in the name. only mentioned in this episode, doesnt show up yet.

# -EPISODE 24-

they have a fight in the training room but nobody dies :\\ maybe next time. also no new characters. pog

# -EPISODE 25- (4 characters)

Gherkin (he/him): Tall lankier skeleton, has a scimitar and a merkin, which is a pubic wig... and he wears a jerkin? which i guess is a kind of coat? also i think hes mute 

Tibia (she/her?) : Shorter skeleton with gold teeth, and long canines. i think both of the skeletons are mute actually.

The Lich King aka Gordy (he/him): Rainer's dad. Commands armies of the undead. lives in The Crypt. described as a hooded, skull-faced man with intricate black lines on his face, but changes to a shaved-head man with dark skin and vetiligo. Abandoned as a babby, raised by traveling parents, had necromancy powers, took Rainier in. Not actually very scary at all i don't know why he did the creepy laugh. Kind of a warm fatherly figure actually. hm. also people are speculating Gordy might be short for Gordita and his parents are maybe supposed to be lup and barry but THAT S JUST A THEORY.

our firbolg's father (he/him): A firbolg who lived by the code and was there when our firbolg was banished. Came to respect our firbolg's interest in a new way of life, in his final moments.

TOTAL: 72 NPCS! (well, including 2 extra PCs, i guess.)

Average: 2.88 NPCs per episode.

i was gonna not include the bone-PCs and have it be 69 but our firbolg's dad was just too important to not respect with a spot on the list.

anyway as always make sure to smack me with a blunt object if i forgot any characters!!!!!

[fanficcreator]

Naively in Love (Bucky x Reader) Part 4

//Word count: 3,054

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3

Warnings: None

A/N: This might be my favorite chapter for this series! Hope y’all enjoy!

Tags: @fuckthatfeeling @iheartsebastianstan @super-marvel-dale @secondstartotheright-imagines @wtfholland @delicatecapnerd

...

     (y/n)’s eyes followed every tantalizing tick of the clock hanging above the classroom door. Up and up they went around the clock, following the hand through each cycle. Her teacher droned on and on, yet each word drifted in and out of her ears, sliding off of her brain like water off the sides of a boat. Her hand stood poised with her pencil clenched between her finger tips, and her chin sat in the palm of her other hand. The lids of her eyes drooped slightly over her pupils, yet her brows were drawn together in the center of her forehead in a pensive stare.

    ‘God...I hope it isn’t awkward…’ she thought to herself, her eyes shifting down to her blank notebook page, ‘What are you thinking (y/n), you’ll be fine...you’ve talked outside of school before...on Instagram. It’ll be great. Hopefully.’

    “(y/n), dear, do you have an answer for me?” 

    (y/n)’s brows shot up, and her eyes widened as she brought them up to meet her teacher’s. She bit her lip and looked at the board, which to her disdain, was wiped clean. Her teacher raised the pointer in her hand, only to bring it back down onto her palm as she awaited her answer. 

    “Um...can you...repeat the question?” She felt herself shrinking back into her seat as her teacher’s stare hardened, and began stalking towards her desk.

    “The question, dear, pertained to the reading that was assigned last night. Were you able to follow those simple instructions that I so kindly put up on the board for the class, Ms. (l/n)?” 

    “Yes ma’am.” ‘She’s so entitled....’

    “Then I will repeat my question,” She began, turning her back to her and heading back towards the front of the classroom. “The Fool mentions that Orsino’s mind is like an opal. What does that suggest about Orsino’s character?” 

    “He...it suggests that he is…um” She frantically flips through her notes, trying to pull an answer out of her sloppy notes while also avoiding the impatient glare sent from the front of the room, “He’s indecisive.” Her teacher raises her brow, suggesting that she goes on with the theory, “An opal gem may seem like a solid color, but if you look closer...it uh...appears to have many different colors hidden beneath the surface…”

    “Go on….” she mumbled.

    She scanned the rest of her notes for some semblance of sense to regurgitate, but since most of her night was spent grappling with her proposition to Bucky, not much was annotated from the reading. She gripped the edge of the page that held the starting of a somewhat profound analytical point, and searched her brain for that train of thought. 

    “And...if you look closer to Orsino’s actions and drive throughout the journey so far...no decisions have been made outside of his agenda for winning for Olivia’s affection...He doesn’t know how to choose his path outside of the lust that was assigned to him due to both gender and social cues.” (y/n) noted the numerous nods and ferocious note taking being done by her peers in confidence, glad that her brain decided to help her out in such a dire time. Usually in times of need, her brain tends to go offline. 

    “Interesting perspective, dear.” Her teacher responded, her nose still held in the air. “I’m sure we would all enjoy more of your insights, so I humbly request that you keep your focus on the contents of my class, thank you.” Without missing a beat, the teacher turned her back to the class to continue as she pushed her glasses up the slope of her nose with her finger. 

    Back (y/n) went to watching the clock and waiting for the day to be done. A dense ball of nerves sat like a rock in her stomach as she tried her best to store conversation ideas in her brain to cover the possible lapses in her future. 

    ‘Relax, (y/n), it’s only awkward if you make it awkward...good lord that’s all that I know how do.’ She fought the urge to rub the bridge of her nose in frustration lest her teacher call her out again. She dragged her eyes along with the ticking clock before her, biting her lip in anticipation as it showed merely a minute left before her…

    ‘Did I specify if this was a date or not?’ The bell rang, nearly causing her to jump out of her skin as her crucial question stuck to the front of her mind. ‘Shit, (y/n) what have you gotten yourself into?’

…

      (y/n) stood idly by the school entrance with the straps of her book bag clenched in her hands. Her eyes darted left and right, waiting to catch on Bucky as hundreds of students piled out of the doorway beside her. She had the address to their little destination set on her phone, not wanting to waste any time trying to pull it up while they were sitting in his car. She whipped her phone out of her pocket to check for any messages of where to meet up with him, seeing as they never specified meeting in front of the school. 

    ‘That probably would’ve been smart to plan, (y/n)...’ she thought to herself as she checked her Instagram feed to try and take her mind off of her nerves, then she thrust her phone back into her pocket upon finding nothing interesting.

    Her hands had gone moist as she scanned and scanned the crowd before her, the stream of students was thinning to a mere trickle. ‘You know what? He’s probably at his car...which doesn’t help me since I don’t know what his car looks like...crap.’

    She clenched her jaw and inhaled the crisp fall air, frustration with herself building up in her chest for not thinking of a meeting place before they headed to their plans. A light thought gnawed at the back of her head that she has been stood up, but she dismissed it, knowing it would only make the ball in her stomach swell. 

    ‘That kind of stuff only happens in the movies...just wait a little longer.’

…

    “You guys don’t have to pick up the jukebox, I’ll be there later today.” Bucky drawled as he placed his books back in his locker. If his friends knew what he was planning that day after school, he would never hear the end of it. 

    “Lifting that thing is a two man job Buck,” Jason replied his shoulder leaning up against the locker next to Bucky’s, “Just let us get it, man, we won’t bother you.” 

    Bucky scoffed, “That’s all you two knuckleheads know how to do. I’ll get the jukebox, and you guys will go home, end of story.” 

    “Why don’t you want us there so bad?” Jason nearly whined, “Is there something going on there that you don’t want us to know about?” Jason’s eyes were squinted as he crossed his arms across his chest. 

    “It’s none of your business, alright.” Bucky mumbled back, shutting his locker and turning to leave. Jason and Eli both raised their brows and shared a look, then turned their attention back to Bucky, who was already halfway down the hall. With one more shared look, Jason made the decision to dart down the hallway, and block Bucky’s path by stretching his arm in front of Bucky and slamming his hand against the locker. 

    “Jase, what the hell man! What do you want?” Bucky exclaimed as he jumped back. 

    “You’re not going anywhere until you tell us, Bucky.” He said defiantly. “Is it a date?

    “I told you that it’s none of your business.” He replied hotly as he tried to side step Jason, only to be stopped by Eli clapping his hands onto his shoulder. 

    “C’mon, we’re your best friends, Bucky,” Eli drawled in his ear as he caged him back into the locker by leaning against it, opposite of Jason. “We have a right to know these things.” 

    Bucky rolled his eyes and sighed through his nose, “Fine,” he grunted, “I honestly don’t know if it’s a date or not, she never specified.”

    “Who is she?” Jason asked, his eyes wide with excitement.

    “You guys wouldn’t know her.”

    “Try us.” Eli challenged from behind him.

    “This is gonna make me late.” He retorted, rushed and exasperated.

    “You’ll be even more late if you keep fighting Buck.” Jason replied, almost taunting him. 

    Bucky glared at him before looking to the clock above is head, the guilt in his stomach growing at the fact that (y/n) had been waiting out in the cold for him for nearly five minutes. 

    “It’s (y/n) (l/n).” he said begrudgingly, his eyes latching on to the purely bewildered look on Jason’s face, “I told you two you wouldn’t know her. You’re wasting my time-”

    “Oh, I know her. She’s the quiet little thing that sits in the back of my philosophy class. I’m surprised you know her, man.” Eli replied, the wrinkle between his brows indicating his equal confusion, “She’s not your usual type.” 

    “Do you really think I care about that?” Bucky’s voice was raised, his annoyance was beginning to rise to agitation the more he entertained his friends’ prying, “You two are really getting on my nerves with this prying crap. Interrogate me later, I’ve got places to be right now.” he shook his shoulder free from Eli’s clasped hand and pushed past Jason, nearly forcing him to lay against the lockers. 

    Jason and Eli both watched with slacked jaws and raised brows at Bucky’s sudden defensive attitude. As they watched him briskly walk down the hallway, brushing his hair back with tense fingers, Jason scoffed and turned to Eli with an incredulous look painted across his freckled face. 

    “What the hell is his problem?” He asked Eli, turning to him, his incredulous shock melting to irritation. “He’s had a stick up his ass since we starting this dogfight thing for him.”

    “I think it’s a little more than that, Jase,” Eli replied, his eyes still locked on Bucky’s strides as his lips quirk up in a smirk, “I think he’s feeling a little guilty.”

    Jason, taken aback by his response, turned to face Eli with his arms crossed and his brow furrowed, “he couldn’t have known her for more than a day, Eli. You think he’s got a crush or something?”

    “You know how he is with girls, he’ll have them wrapped around his finger in a second,” Eli chuckled, “he’s going to tear this poor girl apart whether he wants to or not.”

…

    (y/n)’s nose had gone cold and nearly runny as shivered idly by the same doors she’s been for the past...she’s lost track of time. She favored keeping her hands warm in her pocket rather than checking the time on her phone every five seconds. 

    With her head slightly ducked, she swept over the now deserted lot, a hybrid of a sigh and shiver creeping their way up in her chest. Her eyes were dull with disappointment, and her brain clouded with doubts and self reprimands. She couldn’t believe she had been so stupid to think-

    “Hey, doll,” Bucky burst through the doors beside her, one hand already fishing for his keys in his pants pocket, “Sorry to keep you out here so long. My friends don’t seem to know how to let a busy man go.” 

    The relief she felt rising in her chest could’ve lifted her to the heavens as she looked at his disheveled locks, and apologetic eyes, “It’s fine,” She replied dismissively, “It’s not like I was freezing my ass off out here or anything,” A chuckle fished its way into the finishing breath of her sentence. 

    Bucky, a little bashful, smiled nervously as continued to dig around in his pocket,“I really tried to get away from them, but they kept sticking their nose in my business and I just couldn’t get them off my back-”

    “It’s okay,” She shushed his with a soothing smile and a breathy chuckle, “I wasn’t actually upset. I know how friends can be, believe me.”

    “You have no idea…” he mumbled to himself, pity swelling in his stomach like a bruise, nearly ruining his appetite, “Now let’s get to this place you were talking about before my embarrassment ruins my appetite.” Bucky then pulled his keys out in a fist and began a stride to his car, with (y/n) right behind him with her nose to the screen of her phone. 

    “Sure, just let me pull up the directions…”She mumbled as she opened her phone, “Man, I’m so excited. I’ve been wanting to try this place for so long, I love gyros.” 

    Bucky let loose an airy laugh as he unlocked his car. Of course they had to have the same favorite food, “So do I.” 

…

    This was a mistake. He should’ve just declined her offer to hangout, he should've just left her on read. But, no, he just had to blindly accept her offer without any thought as to how it would play out. They get along so well...too well. Almost like they knew each other, like old friends. His poor conscience can’t take it. They’ve been laughing and lightly flirting for the past two hours, and it only feels like it’s been minutes. He didn’t plan on this at all. 

    “...And that was the last time I would ever eat at a Friday’s.” (y/n) finished, a semi-horrified expression etched across her face, “I can’t even watch their commercials anymore without getting flashbacks…you okay there, Buck?” 

     Bucky, freshly shaken from his inner monologue, jumped slightly in his seat as his eyes rose to meet the slightly worried ones across from him, “Hm?” He muttered, his brows drawn together in silent apology. He shifted his gaze down towards the table that his elbow still sat upon, and tried to trace the very edge of his last rain of thought, hoping that he’d been somewhat paying attention to what (y/n) was talking about, before he realized that he’d been asked a question. 

     “Oh-yeah...I’m fine, my mind just got away from me for a little,” (y/n) merely raised a brow, copying the glare from her teacher earlier in the day, “Really, I’m fine...stop looking at me like that…” He muttered, chuckling a bit at her gaze that seemed to sizzle upon his skin. 

     “Not until you tell me what you were thinking about.” She spat back defiantly, reached her arms to cross before her chest, “It had to be something interesting if it was enough to block me out.” 

  “Oh, really?” He replied, “Sorry to break it to you but,” he playfully grimaced and rubbed his chin with his hand, “you’re really not that interesting.”

(y/n) scoffed and thrust her hand to her chest, “Me?” She asked dramatically, “Not that interesting? I beg to differ.” 

“Prove me wrong.”

“Stop trying to change the subject.”

“That’s not proof.”

“You’re being ridiculous.” she responded, exasperation accompanied by a mirth-filled grin.

Bucky merely shrugged, “At least it’s interesting.” He lulled, “That’s all that I ask.”

“So, you’re really not going to tell me what you were thinking about?” 

“No,” he responded, then he thought for a moment, and leaned forward in his chair as intrigue twinkled in his eyes, “But how about a question? Would that be enough for you?”

“Will it have something to do with what you were thinking about?” She asked, matching the gleam in her eye.  

    “Sure.”

    (y/n) squinted her eyes at him, as if she was trying to physically see his bluff, “Hm...fine. What do you wanna ask?” She grabbed the half full glass of water before her and smoothly slid the straw into her mouth as she awaited his inquiry.

    “Are we on a date right now?”

    (y/n) clenched her glass and slid the straw from her lips, her eyes slightly widened as she stared at him. She then chuckled nervously, and placed the glass back on the table, “I was actually wondering the same thing…” She started, her gaze glued to the table, “I mean...I would like if it was a date, but if we’re not on the same page, then-”

    “I don’t mind it being a date.” He said, a steady smile spreading across his lips. 

Up to the heavens she went, and her smile spread like butter. It was as if the world around her had burst into color.

“Okay,” She said, breathy and excited, “So this is a date.” 

“Great.” Bucky replied, keeping his gaze steady with her eyes, his smile gleeful and unwavering. 

…

     The entire car ride to her house was filled with small talk, accompanied by the old rock that (y/n) had taken it upon herself to introduce him to. On and on, she talked about how long it took her to get into it, and the first song to send chills down her spine. Bucky just sat back and listened, blissfully ignorant of the warning signs of attachment.

     He’d let himself forget about the dogfight for a moment, and just enjoyed the first precious feelings of a developing crush. He ignored the fact that in two days, this wonderful, vulnerable side of herself would most likely be cut off from him, and their budding friendship would go completely off the rails. He ignored the guilt and the shame of dropping as low as his bone-head friends. He ignored everything save for the bliss of having his head in the clouds. 

     With one more wave sent back towards him, (y/n) closed the door, and with a sigh, leaned back against it with her eyes sent to the heavens. Her lip was held between her teeth as she reveled in the butterflies set aflutter in her stomach, a furrow between her brows, and her hand clutched to her chest. She could feel her heart rushing with adrenaline and giggles bubbling in her chest, and for once, she didn’t fight them.

‘Finally’, she thought to herself, ‘something good to look forward to.’

[waitinginthedarke]

It Consumes Me

A BTS/Kim Namjoon Fanfiction

Summary: The minute he laid eyes on her he knew she was the one. But love is a battle of the mind and the heart, and when the voices in your head start winning, how can your heart possibly compete with a choice that consumed you before the very start…

Type: Angst/Love

Disclaimer: This story contains strong themes. Should a chapter be potentially triggering, it will be stated beforehand. (This chapter contains more direct reference to triggering subjects, most prominently EDs)

Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4

Chapter 5

You peer nervously from Namjoon to Jungkook, feeling your legs shake a little when you stand to greet him, keeping Namjoon’s hand tucked tightly in your own and you feel him do the same with yours as you bow to the other guy, attempting a warm smile after realising that he was someone clearly important to the man beside you with how scared he’d seemed to introduce you to him.

‘Its…uh, its nice to meet you, Jungkook-sshi.’ You say, cursing your voice for sounding so quiet as a result of your uneasiness at the sudden turn of events, panicking when you suddenly feel light-headed, grabbing Namjoon’s hand tighter in response to make sure you don’t fall, and seeing him turn to look at you in your peripheral vision with slight concern .

‘I wish I could say I’ve heard a lot about you, y/n. But in actual fact, I only learned of your connection to Namjoon-hyung this evening. …although I must say, since I pulled the secret of your existence out of him, he hasn’t stopped talking about you...’

Its that tiny tit-bit of information that Jungkook finishes on that centers you in your dizziness and brings you back to the present, the smile that appears on your lips going unnoticed to yourself as you turn your head to look at the angel beside you.

‘Is that right?’ you ask, knowing you’d use this information to tease Namjoon for a long while after this moment, especially with the way his cheeks tinge pink in his embarrassment at being caught talking about you without you being there.

‘Yah, did you have to say that?’ he complains at his friend, his almost instant reaction of protest causing you to grin and break out into laughter as you lean into him, closing your eyes as you momentarily touch your forehead to his shoulder, taking the quickest drag of his scent into your lungs before tilting your head up once more to look at him, only to see him already peering down at you.

There is a momentary pause as the two of you watch each other, both feeling yourselves sink into the other, the clasp of Namjoon’s fingers around your own making your heart race as your gaze flickers to his lips, lingering for only a second before you’re alerted to an awkward cough made by Jungkook.

‘Uh, so, Hyung says you were spending the evening studying, y/n?’

You can feel your cheeks heating all over again as you quickly divert your attention to Jungkook, continuing to feel Namjoon’s gaze on you as you reply.

‘Ye-ah…yeah, I’ve got an assignment on Murukami to finish for a seminar at the end of the week. But to be honest I’ve spent the last hour reading the same page over and over again and none of it is sinking in.’ you explain, pulling a slightly aggravated face at yourself as you look over your papers spread on the desk in front of you, although the feeling dissipates almost immediately when Namjoon pulls you into his side and slips his arm around your waist for comfort.

‘Well maybe you need a break from it for a moment…and what do you know, you’ve got two willing volunteers to help you relax for perhaps just an hour?’ the man clutching you suggests, raising a single eyebrow in the most seductively intense way that you almost want to jump him there, before you reason with yourself that that would really make a disturbance in the library.

It’s after a few seconds more of staring at him that you realize you hadn’t replied, licking your lips nervously as doubt over finishing your assignment in time begins to seep into your mind. However, you already knew from your racing heart and the tightening of your chest that demanded you follow him to the ends of the earth, that you were about to do anything he said.

‘You promise it’ll just be for an hour?’ you ask timidly, subconsciously biting your lip, but having your attention bought to the nervous habit when his thumb is softly trailing over your lip and pulling the flesh from your teeth, the sight of his wide grin and soft voice swimming in your vision as your heart gives in to his wants.

‘Are you really doubting me?’

-------------------------

It was only as you were walking away from the river path that had streamed down from the university and toward a little street of back-alley restaurants after Jungkook had made a comment about how hungry he was, that the concept of bunking off for a little while with Namjoon began to seep into tones of blackness and dislike.

You could already feel your palms growing clammy, and as much as you’d tried to stifle it, the rumbling in your stomach had grown three-fold the minute the scent of fried chicken and various sesame oil-soaked noodles had hit your nostrils 100 yards back.

Eyes scanning the shop fronts in desperate search of a cute little café to save you, you couldn’t help but be thankful that peak rush hour was only just beginning to ease off, the distractions of multiple bright car lights and the sound of horns and revved engines keeping Namjoon’s attention away from you…

…or so you thought.

--------------------------

Namjoon

You’d noticed her palms grow clammy the minute Jungkook had lead you both from the river path and up towards one of the guys’ favourite restaurant haunts- the secluded, hidden in plain sight location, housing plenty of food joints with private seating being perfect for all of their needs. At first he’d assumed it was due to his profile and the attention it might bring to them if they were to be spotted, but it had only taken him half a second to remember that as far as he was concerned, she was unaware of the vast, chaotic nature of his life, and after that he couldn’t help but watch her curiously, overly aware of her and her reactions to try and work out what was making her so uncomfortable.

‘Chicken or bbq?’ Jungkook asks from up ahead, turning with a grin on his face as he gestures to the different restaurants either side of him, laughing at y/n appearing amazed by the hidden gem of a street, but you can see the tightness in the smile that forces its way onto her face as she responds.

‘I’m down for wherever has coffee!’

As an instinctive response you grin at her comment, your heart fluttering in your chest when she turns to see your reaction, and despite your concern for her you still find yourself in awe of her beauty…in awe of everything that was so utterly her.

‘uhh…well I don’t think either of these places does particularly good coffee-‘ Jungkook goes to explain, an apology in his tone of voice, but you’d already come up with a small plan of action in your head.

‘Its okay, Jungkook-ie, take y/n to the bbq place and I’ll run and grab some coffee from Holly’s-‘

‘Wait! Namjoon, you don’t have to do that-‘ she immediately goes to protest, but you quickly silence her with a touch of your lips to hers, the temptation to stay there almost overwhelming you before the voice in your brain that was excited to please her takes control once more and you step away with a teasing smile.

‘Black, no sugar. …go with Jungkook; I wont be a minute.’

Smothering a laugh at her dumbfounded expression, you quickly turn away to backtrack on yourself slightly, jogging back around the block to the coffee shop that would have appeared before had the three of you continued down the river path and quickly ducking in, being thankful that it wasn’t particularly busy at that time of night.

After ordering her drink, you stand at the counter with your hood pulled low, scuffing your shoes a little on the floor, ears immediately tuning into the conversations of the few people sat at tables in the café, the chat of one pair of girls particularly peaking your interest.

‘She missed first period again today, that’s two days in a row now- and she bunked off of fifth period the day before that; if she’s not careful she’ll get pulled into the head teacher’s office…-‘

‘I don’t think she’d be that worried about the principle; we both known what her dad is like since her mom died. …God knows what would happen if he found out she’d been missing school...’

With a feeling of pity for the unknown girl in the conversation, Namjoon thanks the server for the take-out cup as he passes it to him, turning towards the door, and walking out without looking back-

-but not before he could tune into the next part of the story.

‘She looks so small these days…Its like she’s slowly disappearing…’

-----------------------

Your leg wouldn’t stop jigging as you sat at the table with Jungkook waiting for Namjoon to return, politely making light conversation with Jungkook to distract yourself from the turn of events of the night, and the assignment that was going untouched in your bag. Although when you peer down at said rucksack, and glimpse the delicate bouquet of flowers poking out of the top, you couldn’t help but become momentarily distracted by their beauty.

‘So how long have you known Namjoon?’ you ask, figuring whilst he wasn’t there, you’d get the low down on why Jungkook had suddenly shown up that night, and why Namjoon had seemed so shy and embarrassed about it.

‘Ah, probably about 10 years now. I met him when I joined the agency, and he took me under his wing.’ Jungkook explains, a reminiscent smile lighting up his face as he stirs his straw through his glass of coca-cola.

‘Do you find your job hard?’ you inquire, smiling at the thought of the two of them staring at computers all day long, working hard and always striving to do their best.

‘Well its not an easy business to crack, although once you’re at the top, you begin to get used to the shows every night; its mainly just the exhaustion that never gets easier, but the amount of food you get to eat from all the dancing does make everything a lot more fun.’ He explains, chuckling as right on cue the waitress brings out the banchan for the food he’d ordered for everyone, your body tensing when you see the glorious colours, and your body inhales the sweet scent of kimchi.

But you barely focus on the food with your mind stuck on the information Jungkook had just given you, trying to process the phrases ‘shows every night’, and ‘dancing’ into a job role that didn’t imply that Namjoon was some sort of strip-club dancer- a thought that half concerned you (because he hadn’t mentioned it), and half turned you on.

‘Wait, so, what do you mean by ‘shows every night’?’ You ask politely, watching the guy across from you keenly as he begins to pick at some of the dishes.

‘Well they’re not every night, but we’ve done frequent shows over the past month because we wanted to hype up our fan-base before the comeback, but some days are easier than others; I’m hoping we get a few rest days in before we release the new album.’

You sit in a stunned silence as you let this new information sink in, the only possible solution you could conjure from the details he was giving you, being that Namjoon and Jungkook were some kind of singers or performers that by the sounds of their ‘frequent shows’ were rather popular in Korea.

‘Namjoon-hyung has definitely been working the hardest though, what with all the producing he does for the album and the international press and media releases we have to put out- has he told you yet that he can speak fluent english?- he’s amazing!’

Or perhaps they were even more popular than you had in mind.

‘Someone order a black coffee?’

Your brain is practically buzzing with information as you look up to see Namjoon stepping through the sliding doorway to the room, a bright smile on his face as he walks round to your side of the table and places your drink in front of you, touching your cheek briefly as a way of greeting you again when you thank him, before removing his jacket and shoes to make himself more comfortable.

‘So, what have you guys been talking about?’ he asks, instantly picking up a set of chopsticks to dig into the plate of kimchi set on the table, winking at you with a cheesy mouth-half-full grin before you answer him.

‘Jungkook was just telling me about how hard you’ve been working.’ You begin, watching him intently for his reaction, noting that Jungkook had picked up on the slight difference in tone of voice you were using, and seeing him looking slowly between the two of you in your peripheral vision, a slight frown of confusion between his brows.

‘It has been pretty intense lately.’ Namjoon appears to muse, continuing to graze on the small bowls on the table, but pausing with chopsticks halfway to his mouth with your next sentence.

‘He was telling me about the.... album ....you’re releasing soon.’

There’s a pause.

It almost seemed like you were all holding your breath as you wait on his response to your comment, the tension in the room only being broken when the waiter returns with the bbq platter and the extra dishes Jungkook had ordered, obviously sensing that something had happened as he occasionally side eyes you all as he disperses the plates, hurrying to place the meat on the grill before darting out of the room within 30 seconds and leaving you all in silence once again with the exception of the sizzling of the bbq.

‘Was he?’

It’s the way his voice cracks on the words that seems to clue Jungkook into the fact that he’d told you something he wasn’t meant to, his eyes widening theatrically as it dawns on him that you didn’t know about their job and apparent fame.

‘Mmhmm, he was telling me about all the shows you’d been performing recently.’ You mutter faux nonchalantly, sipping from your black coffee as you continue to watch the man beside you without blinking, feeling yourself get a head rush as the caffeine entered your veins and quickly grabbing the edge of the table as you feel yourself rock backwards slightly, the sudden movement forcing Namjoon’s eyes toward your hand and then up to your own gaze as he finally swallows the mouthful of food he’d been holding in his mouth for the past two minutes.

‘Im sorry.’

They weren’t the words you’d expected to leave his lips, let alone how softly they’d escaped him, or the subtle undertone of fear they rode on to reach your ears.

For a moment you were frozen in place again, your brain trying to figure out why his expression seemed so desperately afraid, but when you fail to come to a reasonable conclusion, you reach over to lay your hand on his knee, watching him worriedly.

‘Why are you saying sorry?’ you murmur back, voice almost equally as quiet as his was, and despite the fact that Jungkook had begun silently applying the vegetables to the grill in his awkwardness, you shuffle closer to Namjoon in an attempt to provide him with some comfort, hating the look of loneliness that had entered his gaze.

‘I didn’t tell you because I thought it might scare you. You’re so delicate to me y/n, I don’t want to lose you before we’ve even had a chance at being together, and I figured the magnitude of my life would be too much to deal with right away.’

The way his hand had risen up to cup your cheek half-way through him talking, his palm providing you with much needed warmth as he’d cradled your jaw so delicately, had your throat closing up as emotion had overwhelmed you. After a few moments of staring at him you stand up, murmuring a quick ‘excuse us’ to Jungkook, before smothering Namjoon’s protests at you leaving by grabbing his hand and gesturing for him to come with you.

You’re barely outside of the room and down the steps of the café, into the deserted back street behind, before you grab his head and pull his lips down to meet yours.

Your body feels like a livewire is running through it as you press your mouth desperately to his, choking on your breath as you feel his arms instantly wrap around your waist, hold becoming so tight that he’s almost lifting you off of your tiptoes in his passion. In that moment all you could comprehend was the smell of him; woody, minty, and warm, and the feel of him all around you, making every nerve ending stand to attention. And the only thought that stood out in your mind around the tumult of information you’d learned in the past 15 minutes, was that you never wanted to be anywhere else other than by his side.

‘I don’t want you to be scared.’ You murmur between kisses, finally managing to break your lips apart long enough to be able to catch his gaze, staring intently back at you as he waits for you to speak.

‘Does the idea of dating some famous guy absolutely terrify me? Definitely…for multiple reasons, but-…but none of it matters when that famous guy is you.’ You explain, smiling timidly at him, ‘since the moment I met you, I’ve felt this need to be next to you despite how terrifying that thought it to me, to find out everything about you that I can; to learn you inside and out, because to me you appear utterly fascinating- wonderful, beautiful, -I just-…God, why am I telling you all of this-‘ you trail off, realising you were rambling, completely spilling your heart to this man, and trying to put a stop to the splurge of words that wanted to fight their way from you so that he knew how special he was in your eyes, how the image of him had burned itself onto the backs of your eyelids since the very moment you’d first met him in that café.

For the three seconds of silence that followed your outburst, your entire body fills with fear, the need to recoil burning through your veins as you realize you’d laid yourself bare to him when you’d only known of his existence for just over a week. But before you could make a mad dash for it, you feel his hands cradling your face, bringing your attention to the fact that you’d closed your eyes and ducked your head in your imminent defeat as he lifts your gaze to match his, bringing your attention to the fact that his eyes were shining in the light of the restaurants slightly garish electric banner behind you.

‘Everything…you have just told me, all the ways you feel about me…I feel that way about you too, y/n- …and so much more. ….The second you walked through the door of that café the first time we met, It felt like being blinded by the sun; like my whole life had been waiting for that single moment, and the second I saw you the world made sense. Within seconds of speaking to you, of making an absolute fool of myself and seeing that it had made you laugh, I knew I wanted to be the fool for the rest of time, as long as it meant I got to see your smile for just as long.’

Your knees were knocking together, and your hand was shaking where you were holding his forearm gently, needing to be touching him in some way as you listen to his words, your thoughts falling in on themselves as your heart tries to break free from your chest, swelling beyond belief with the emotion his words held for you.

‘The life I lead…its scary, and dangerous…and secretive,…but I don’t think I could survive it alone now that I know you … this past week I’ve lived like a king; I’ve been invincible, ask Jungkook-‘

‘Oh god, Jungkook-‘ you murmur quietly, just now realising that the two of you had left him alone for the past five minutes, and hoping that he had begun eating without you so that he didn’t remain hungry.

1 point to irony.

‘I’ve felt more alive than I have since moving to the city almost ten years ago.’ Namjoon continues as you redirect your gaze to his, the feeling of a smile lingering around your lips as you tune in once again to what he had been saying. But at that point, the look on his face told you that he already knew he didn’t need to say anything else.

And as he leaned in to touch his lips to yours once more, you couldn’t help speaking the words aloud that the two of you had learned in that moment that you’d both been holding onto since the moment you’d first met.

‘Its you.’

(T.B.C)

PSA: I will upload the next chapter tomorrow, but don’t expect uploads to become regularly frequent again quite yet as i’m just letting myself go with the flow at the minute until i get back into a good rhythm :)

[rosemarymilkwitch]

Hello! I’m a beginning witch, but I wouldn’t even call myself that, more like I’m “browsing”? I just had a question about Book of Shadows/Grimores- what are things you could but in them? I see people have said to put in reactions to spells, and different objects to use. But I’d rather have my first one be more of a textbook explanation than a try-as-I-go reaction. Not saying ones better than the other, I’m just really forgetful and would prefer to have something I can lean to. Thank you kindly.

Hi Angel, 

Thank you for patiently waiting for this reply. I know that it is long overdue. 

First, I am so excited that you have drawn yourself unto the path of the Witch. May you find the path that resonates with you under this big umbrella of Magick. The Traditional Witchcraft Grimoire Book of Shadows is not limited to one particular tradition. Instead, it contains a perfect blend of different magickal and spiritual traditions.. religions... rituals.... etc.  Also, Many separate the Grimoire from the Book of Shadows and call them different. A Book of Shadows may be a witch's personal book of magick; a diary of magick if you will. It includes records of all magickal workings, dreams + their meanings, rituals, etc. If the witch does not also keep a Grimoire, the book can also include spells + other magickal information needed to perform magick. It is always a good idea to keep records ALL magickal workings. This will not only help you progress as a witch by seeing your power as it grows and evolves, and will also allow you to see what works and what does not work for you. A Grimoire is somewhat like a Book of Shadows, but not as personal. It holds information about rituals, spells, potions, and how to prepare magical tools. It also contains lists of correspondences and magical properties of herbs, gemstones, food, colors, etc. Basically, it contains all your magical research. It does not contain personal information or records of magical workings.

Example of List of Pages:

Your Title Page

THE WHEELBook DedicationAlphabet

1. Arts of MagickScience of MagickSeven Hermetic PrinciplesEnergySources of EnergyChakra – Personal Energy VortexCone of Power and Energy BallHow to Direct EnergyGrounding and CenteringMeditationStates of Consciousness (ways to alter state of consciousness)Other World - Levels of Reality and How to Work within EachAstral ManipulationsAstral FormsAstral ProjectionAstral MagickKabballahTree of LifeSephirothUnderstanding the DeathDeath MysteriesSamhain - Time to Honor the DeadSamhain - DivinationAncestors' AltarDumb SupperWitch's SabbathArchetypal Witch and Archetypal WizardMagickal Self – Developing a Magickal Persona

2. Gods and SpiritsChoosing a Belief SystemGods and GoddessesDedicationInvocation and EvocationOpening RitualsThe Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram (LBPR)The Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Hexagram (BRH)The Middle Pillar RitualSpirits EntitiesTypes of Spirit Entities:Angelic SpiritsEgregorsElemental SpiritsPlanetary SpiritsAstral SpiritsDemonic SpiritsSpirit Conjuration and Evocation:Circle of ProtectionTriangleList of Various Spirit Entities with their seals, sigils and suggested task assignment based on their expertise

3. Practical SorceryTools (Wand, Athame, Cauldron, Broom)Magickal MirrorMind LinkAnimal totemFaery MagickDream MagickPhases of MoonMoon in Astrological SignsTable of Planetary HoursDay correspondencePlanetary RulersCandle magickColors correspondence

4. Altering RealityHow to write a SpellQuick spell chart tableProsperity MagickLove MagickProtection MagickHealing Magick

5. Herbs and TreesMagickal herbsMethods of using herbs in magick (burning, carrying, growing, powdering, infusion, seeding)Charging HerbsHerbs in alphabetical order (properties and magickal use)Herbs for certain magickal purpose (beauty, love, money, business, wishes, etc.)Trees: meaning, lore and magickal properties

6. PotionsEverything you need to know about potions and how to brew themBrewing and Empowering a potionNine easy steps for making a Powerful Magick PotionMagickal Potions: Recipes and Formulas

7. Magickal BathMaking and EmpoweringMagickal Bath FormularyMagickal Soap – how to make a magickal soapMagickal Soap Formulary

8. Magickal Incense Making, Mixing and EmpoweringMagickal Incense Formulary

9.   Magickal OilMaking, Mixing and EmpoweringMagickal Oil FormularyMagickal Ointment FormularyFlying ointment formulas – total of 13 formulas (Do not mix and use them! This formulas contain poisonous herbs and given for historical information purposes only!)Modern Witches’ ointment formulas (safe to use): Flying ointment, Healing ointment, Psychic powers ointment, Lust ointment, Moon Goddess ointment, Protection ointment , Hex-breaker ointment, Riches ointment , Sun God ointment , Youth ointment , Exorcism ointment, “Cure Anything” ointment

10. Crystals and GemsCleansing and ProgrammingCrystals and Gems in alphabetical order with magical association

11. DivinationsWhat is a Clairvoyant + how to develop yoursPendulums and how to use itQuija Boards and how to use itVision QuestTarot cardsCeltic cross spreadTarot cards Major ArcanaTarot cards Manor ArcanaScrying information on different methods of scryingHow scrying worksWhat happens when we scrying?Scrying spellScrying Using the Black MirrorFire Scrying Tassology - the art of tea - leaf reading 

Runes Meaning of Runes  

12. Blank Pages (58 pages)

[aliciaofearth]

Revisiting My Old Journals

In a recent article, I wrote about my goals for journaling and how I want to keep a more consistent personal journal going forward.

One of the best things about keeping journals, to me, is that old journals become a gift to your future-self. A window into days of old. It’s so much fun to look back at the things you chose to document at a younger age, in part because you’ll definitely encounter things you had completely forgotten if you hadn’t written about them.

I mention re-reading my old journals in the post, but I wasn’t able to dive into what I found in them … so I wanted to put that here! In addition to being sort of a time-machine into my memories, my childhood journals are also often highly entertaining. For me, at least. I found a lot of gems.

Come with me on a journey through journals-past, will you? (With photos!)

My First Journal  – early childhood

Age when used: 5-7 (approx)

Received: Probably as a gift around the time I had first learned to write.

Memorable excerpts: Short entries and little drawings (mostly cat-related) are sporadically scattered throughout. One of my favorite pages simply says “Luke” above “Star Wars” which were clearly things I wanted to remember. It’s funny to look back at this journal and notice little details I’d forgotten about the cover, since I stared at it so long as a kid.

 Fancy Locking Journal - elementary school

Age when used: 10-13 (approx) (used for several years despite it being labeled “one year diary”)

Received: After I specifically requested it, because I was SO excited about the lock and key (the locking strap has since been removed).

Memorable excerpts: Hot goss abounds. The very first page starts with “Hi, I’m Alicia and my best friend is [NAME]. She is cool.” But in another pen color below, I’ve added “NOT ANYMORE” with an arrow pointing at the name. DRAMA, am I right? (Also, in defense of my 11-year-old self, that friend was regularly pretty mean to me.) There are also multiple pages where I went in and redacted portions of old entries with a paint marker. The whole thing is a mess, really. And since I wasn’t letting that lock go to waste, I made sure to write all my crushes’ names multiple times. One page just says “Mermaids are da bomb! I <3 [crush],” so at least we know I’m still keeping it real all these years later.

 Fairy Journal – high school

Age when used: 15-17ish

Received: This pretty journal (featuring Amy Brown art) was a gift from my mom, and I’d be willing to bet she found it at Hot Topic back in the early 2000s. Ah, high school.

Memorable excerpts: It starts out with a page of new year resolutions, which includes items like “I will not freak out when I get a very important assignment @ school” and “I will learn more about video games.” That second one did not happen. One video game-loving friend even bribed me with spoonfuls of ice cream as I played a game at her house (she was literally feeding me and coaching me on how to play), but I was too distracted by the delicious snack and kept dying in the game. Ice Cream 4 lyfe.

In typical teenager fashion, this journal also has its fair share of Deep Thoughts throughout, usually related to ~drama~ with friends or boys. One of my fav gems: “Silence is golden… But gold hurts when you smash it over someone’s head.” *cue opening bars of Vindicated*

Flower Petals Journal – college/post-college

(page view rotated to fit side-by-side more easily)

Age when used: 17-25ish

Received: I found this one on a family vacation in Colorado, when I stopped in a random local bookstore during our short stop in Durango. I could not resist those pages!!! I’m a sucker for handmade paper, and those are real flower petals mixed in, people! This was my favorite journal for a long time.

Memorable excerpts: *long sigh* This journal starts out strong, with entries about my vacation and ideas for original fiction I was working on, plus the occasional song lyric or random thought. (Including, “I need to read more sci-fi,” which is an eternal mood.) But then college happens, and I used this journal primarily to write/vent about a certain relationship during those years that started out positively and slowly became pretty toxic. It’s interesting to look back and see how I genuinely lied to myself in the journal, making excuses for that person and convincing myself I felt a certain way about things I was struggling to forgive/accept. Eventually, the journal becomes brutally honest, but it also becomes meta, since I start entries with things like, “Wow, it’s so weird to go back and read all my old entries in here! I can’t believe I wrote blah blah.” That’s the main reason I decided it was time to retire this journal, even though it isn’t full: Writing new entries feels like a footnote in the journal’s main purpose now, which was being my outlet for those years. I’ll never throw out this journal, because it is important to me, but it was time to move on.

  Purple leather journal – present!

Age when used: 31 (now)

Received: Like my previous journal, I found this one on a Colorado family vacation back in August. Something about being surrounded by fresh mountain air gives me a journaling vibe, maybe. I was visiting a super cool and quirky gift shop called the Aspen Emporium and Flying Circus, and I spotted a table full of handmade leather journals—no two were alike. I knew I had to have one, and narrowing it down honestly wasn’t that difficult when I spotted this purple one! Like I explain in my article, I’m embracing new journaling habits for this year, and so far, it’s going well. And starting with a blank slate in a beautiful journal is so nice—I had almost forgotten how nice! I’m committed to filling all the pages, too. Send me good journaling vibes!

Also: I fully encourage others to use this idea and make posts about your own history of journals!

[artofdigression]

I’m 23 years old.  The 2 years leading up to now have been a complete whirlwind, but somehow, in this time, an actual music career has begun.   I’m a composer, a producer, a singer, a songwriter, a visual artist - among many labels.

I sit in front of my piano.  I know how to play all of 2 pieces - Gnossiennes 1 & 2 by Erik Satie.  I learned them by ear 4 years ago while working the reception desk of an art gallery that had two baby grand pianos hidden underneath the stairs.  I would get bored when no one else was in the gallery and venture down.

In my studio, I have piles of introductory music books, minuets and ballads laying around - some given to me at a young age, some passed down by dead relatives who knew I had a ‘good ear’  - or were maybe too dead to give a shit about where their old sheet music went by the time I got my hands on it.

I decide, for what feels like the 100th time, that I will learn how to read music.  

I had my first piano lesson when I was 10 years old.  My piano teacher was nice - a young, lanky, 20-something music student who wore beanie hats and played electric guitar in a rock band.  I thought he was pretty much the coolest and wanted to be him.  Unfortunately, I don’t think he was particularly ‘stoked’ in the same capacity to work with me.  I had very little enthusiasm for any of the mind-numbingly boring rudimentary theory curriculum, the limited repertoire I had to choose from (away in a manger or… the other version of away in a manger) made me want to rip my hair out, and reading sheet music would send my mind into kaleidoscope-vision.

I would also have kaleidoscope-vision in school. I struggled with school.   I was a rambunctious little human.  My attention span was uncontrollable (unless we were reading or drawing, then I absolutely paid attention). Looking over old report cards, there was a lot of ‘needs to stay on task’  and ‘could use help with organization’  - anecdotal pieces of advice I heard so much, I think the meanings eventually became hollow to me (or maybe the meanings were just hollow to begin with).  

Getting me to sit still for 30 minutes was an excruciating feat for any adult in my life, so 2 hours? 3 hours? 6 hours? Good god, I wanted to climb the walls.  When the teacher would start talking, I would look past their gaze - into Lala Land as adults disdainfully called it.  (I still deeply hate calling it Lala Land, but, for continuity purposes, we’re going to reclaim the name in neon lights.)

Lala Land was great.  Real life?  Not so much.  In real life, from third grade until high school graduation, my teachers (with the exception of 3 gems) were blatantly judgemental of me.  They’d think nothing of admonishing me in front of my peers if I fidgeted or looked out a window.  

Because the amount of physical energy I had was not conducive to a classroom environment, I learned to dissociate from my body.  Because looking out a window meant I was not looking at a chalkboard, I learned to look past the chalkboard to find Lala Land, its neon letters burning behind my absent gaze. Past the letters, there would be a window. I could look out the window and its glass panes could evaporate and autumn’s leafy gusts of wind could sweep me away and I’d never have to worry about a messy desk or a missed assignment or classroom of judgemental eyes looking at me again.  The next day’s fantasy would be the same, but different.

Children’s imaginations are often playful and fantastical.  Take a kid with a traumatized brain, however - and imagination can give them a seemingly supernatural ability to create, in their mind, what they need for emotional survival.  That was me.

There were parts of my childhood that were truly blissful, gorgeous, hilarious and nurturing.  But I’d be denying you, dear reader, important context if I didn’t tell you that a significant part of my young formative years was steeped in grief, chaos and abandonment.  I assure you need not build castles in the air in understanding that I was a child with a traumatized brain.  And though I was surviving, trauma had created a faceless, nameless internal chaos for me that I didn’t truly even recognize until adulthood.  Trauma changes the way brains function. That’s a lot for a kid to be dealing with.

In piano lessons, my teacher would sit with me and we would go over the theory of a piece of sheet music - that was my brain’s cue to look past the kaleidoscope paper, nodding “yes, mhm, got it.” But then, when he’d clap the rhythm of the piece, my brain would engage and I’d clap the same rhythm back, no problem.  After that, he would play the piece for me as an example - this was where my brain would hyper-focus.  I would retain, retain, retain, and I would play the piece back, not reading a note, but looking past the page all the same. This wasn’t a ploy to dupe him. This was a system of which neither of us were consciously aware. I was just 10, and playing piano.

Outside of school, I was different.  I was encouraged to sing, I would go to my parents’ choir practices every week and sit in the pews of Saint Mary’s Church and listen to 30 voices reverberate through it.  I would shoot the shit with adults and carry around books about Roman mythology and Egyptian hieroglyphs and I would talk about how I wanted to travel the whole world and I would make 1-page comics and I would dress up my dog and I loved the ballet costumes from Stravinsky’s Firebird and… I digress.  

Outside of school, I was different. Music calmed my internal landscape enough for me to be myself.  No - actually, music calmed my immediate surroundings enough for me to make sense of my internal landscape… Actually, both.

On a borrowed piano, I would sit and endlessly ear out songs (Carmen, movie soundtracks I liked, songs my mom sang, etc).  I would walk into my Saturday lesson and proudly showcase the self-taught triumphs of Sunday through Friday for my teacher, only to be met with a brief pat on the back and the god-damn sheet music to 'away in a manger’ - which I still hated and still couldn’t read, but played anyway.  After 5 months, I eventually made it clear to all parties involved that I was done with piano, and my parents finally gave into my weekly protests.

When I was 7th grade, I started playing french horn in the school band and, for whatever reason, continued for 6 and a half years.  I still saw through a kaleidoscope when I got a piece of music, but there was one other french horn player in my class so I usually copied what she did - Unless we had different parts in which case I fumbled constantly through band practice until I finally figured out what I was playing.  Band, generally, had a negative impact on my relationship with music.  I think the only reason I stuck with it was because the feeling of playing music with such a large group of people triggered some kind of dopamine rush that my brain loved.  I would get ASMR - auto sensory meridian response - also known as “that fuzzy, warm, calm feeling in the centre of your brain” - some folks experience it and some folks don’t.

A lot of changes in my home life happened in that 6-and-a-half-year period.  After years of week-on, week-off pivots between my mother and father’s separate homes, my father permanently moved to Sweden when I was 13.  My mother became my primary parent while dealing with the loaded blows of bankruptcy and multiple reckonings around her own life challenges.  We moved into a home that had completely gutted walls and plywood floors (left unfinished by previous tenants with renovation goals too ambitious to finish).  The situation was chaotic.  So, so chaotic.  But, from that time up to now, my mother was (and continues to be) an incredible support to me.  She could see that I was struggling, and did everything in her power to advocate for me when I couldn’t advocate for myself.  I can only imagine the feeling of knowing something is not right with your child and being told by everyone around you that your child is fine.  Her support was integral.

When I was in 9th grade, she and my homeroom teacher (also a phenomenal support to me at the time) pulled some strings to have an initial psychological assessment performed on me - not technically “official” - as it was conducted by a student of psychology, I recall - nevertheless, it provided enough insight to validate that there was an underlying dissonance between what most of my teachers were saying about me (lazy, bad attitude, etc) and what was actually going on in my head, and that a formal assessment would be necessary to help me. My name was put on the waiting list for a psychologist that year.  But, the entire island had only 1 or 2 psychologists available (Totally appalling).  And so I waited... And waited... And waited...   And while I waited, I continued to find refuge in my visual art practice, as well as learning other instruments on my own terms.  

I refuse to say something cliche like “art  and music saved my life” because creativity isn’t a sustainable singular lifeline for anyone, and believing so feeds into the highly problematic mental health stigma as it pertains to those who create for a living...  But art and music did play key roles in tempering my inner storms.  Now, as a musician, I allow my craft to be a teacher, not a therapist.

When I was 16, I went to my first voice lesson.  I kept at it for a year, and… excelled? I totally excelled - personally and musically. This did wonders for my confidence (I attribute a lot of that to my voice teacher at the time, who had a really supportive and receptive approach to my weird energy levels and the idiosyncratic ways I learned). I did festivals, took a Royal Conservatory exam - and I was still excelling, which honestly shocked me at the time because I was so used to failing everything.  

Oh, also, I could still barely read the music.  Kaleidoscopic forever.  

Many classically trained musicians describe the experience of being overwhelmed when they get a new piece of music (especially if it has theory components they may not be familiar with or something) - totally normal. But then, they concentrate, deconstruct it from the page section-by-section and eventually learn to play it with neurotypical grace. Deconstructing written music on the page to understand what was happening became a little bit less nauseating as I was exposed to it more.  I WORKED at theory and understood parts of it, but only… theoretically.   Being able to transcribe that (limited) understanding into playing?  That never happened for me.  The page would remain kaleidoscopic until it felt like my brain was just going to short-circuit and cave in on itself.  It was weird, and trying to describe to anyone in band class (teachers and students alike) made me feel like I was on a different planet.  So, when the heat was on (whether that was in performance or in private lessons or “sight singing”) I kept relying on my ears and refined my ability to hold my own in band concerts, private voice lessons, choirs, musical theatre productions.  

Meanwhile, in high school, my academic life was still basically the worst.  I had adversarial relationships with nearly all of my teachers. I barely passed each year.  Emotionally, I also had a lot of anger seething below the surface of my consciousness.  I had internalized so much of what so many teachers had told me - that I was smart but lazy, that I had a bad attitude, that I was disruptive, distracted, manipulative etc.  - and having gone through some pretty drastic events that effectively destabilized my home life, this all had a profoundly negative impact on my self-worth.

One year later, I was 17, in 12th grade and school issues had not gotten any better (still muddling through - grades between 40% and 60%).   I had just given up at this point… Except now, instead of having the teachers before, who were mostly unhelpful, but at least straight-up about being judgemental of me based on my “laziness” diagnosis, I had a haul of teachers that were giving me these new weekly out-in-the-hall John Keating-wannabe-motivational speeches, telling me how much “potential I have” and how “I’m wasting it away” by “not trying” in class (every hollow pull-up-your-socks/nose-to-grindstone idiom in the book.  It was infuriating at the time).  I’m sure most of them just wanted to help.  But I needed someone to listen more than I needed someone to talk at me.  

A helpful thing that DID come out of 12th grade (4 years after my name had been put on the list… shoutout to our provincial government for still not caring about investing in public mental health) was that I finally got access to a provincial psychologist.  She came during the second semester of grade 12 and did extensive testing on me to find (surprise! but… not really) ADHD - which explained the colossal difficulties I was having in my academic life due to my chaotic brain not letting me get my shit together in the ways I was being told by neurotypical folks around me to get my shit together.

For those that aren’t informed about ADHD - it’s a form of neurodivergence that can manifest in too many ways to name here, but to fit an elephant in a minivan:  There’s that part of the brain that naturally helps you regulate your attention/concentration/sleep/energy levels/appetite/feelings/working memory/pretty much anything remotely involving executive functioning… That’s nice, right?  I wouldn’t know because apparently mine’s broken. There is also extensive research that directly links ADHD to childhood trauma, as well as biochemical imbalances in the brain.  

I could get all in-depth about ADHD science right here, but this is my story, not an essay,  and it would make for an even longer and more digressive tangent that would likely overshadow THE OTHER SIGNIFICANT THING the psychologist noted in my evaluation.

Amidst a bunch of my brain skills that were, statistically, above average for my age - like my working vocabulary and ability to retain auditory information - many of my visual processing skills - meaning, things like reading something and copying it down accurately or following written instructions without constantly needing to reference them - were shockingly below average for my age.  The tests showed that this was something my brain had immense difficulty doing.  

What’s an example of a visual processing issue in school? Well, I was always the last kid to finish copying text from the board (and I mean, like, multiple paragraphs behind my peers) before the teacher could move on to the next page.  

What’s an example of a visual processing issue in music?  Reading written notes and playing them on an instrument.  When I heard a piece of music, however, I could learn it very quickly.  

Knowing what was going on in my brain brought me a whole world of clarity and validation.  I knew that I was going to lead an unconventional life because of it (whatever “a conventional life” means these days).  I knew that most post-secondary education would be inaccessible to me as a result of my grades and probably be, at that point, more harmful than helpful.  

Knowing what was going on in my brain helped me to understand what I didn’t need anymore.  I didn’t need the validation of my teachers or my peers.  I didn’t need a number on any piece of paper to determine my competence or ‘work ethic.’  

Letting go of school was the best thing I’ve done for myself.

I graduated high school with nothing but a 64% average, and an ADHD diagnosis as my only tools in understanding how to get on a path to thriving as an adult human.  liberating. frustrating. terrifying - but not really. mostly liberating.

Then, my ADHD became manageable and my life got easy and I had no self-esteem issues ever again.  

… No.  That’s not how life works.  I’m 23 years old. I’ve been out of the school system for 6 years. I have deeply instilled productivity guilt (ie. I take on way more tasks than humanly possible to finish in ridiculously tight deadlines), I struggle with anxiety in thinking that friends and coworkers are saying negative things about my personality or quality of work behind my back (maybe my exes and high school math teachers are hanging out?? THE HORROR), my heart sinks into my stomach anytime any human watches me work over my shoulder (I’m a music producer, so if I’m working on songs with people, I become a blundering internal wreck when they understandably want to see what I’m editing). School did those things to me - which leads me into the accountability part of this long-winded ADHD realtalk.

I’d be withholding the truth from you if I didn’t say my teachers played key roles in aggravating my behavioural/emotional/learning difficulties by disputing them as personality flaws.  My frustration in learning would be met, at worst, with punishment and put-downs (I remember not having recess for nearly an entire week somewhere in the first half of 4th grade - which I think is a cruel thing to do to any child, let alone one with energy levels like mine).  I would be met, at best, with more hollow, invalidating advice - more ‘need to stay on task’ with a twist of ‘gotta give it yer all’ and ‘well, maybe if you actually tried…’

None of these messages sent to me were helpful.  I’m still working to unravel those knots.

This is not a dig at those teachers who saw me as the problem child (rather than seeing me as a kid who just needed support and a different work environment. There were about 3 teachers in 10 years who understood that, and did everything in their power to help.  They know who they are and I’m grateful for them.)  I understand how frustrating it is to be pushed to your limit - especially within the bounds of a job that requires you to keep your shit together in some capacity.  I understand that we that we all do our best with the tools we have at the time.  There are no hard feelings - But, I encourage self-reflection and future accountability for your impact on the way you treat any child in your life - because they are just that: a child.  Your impact can be profoundly helpful or harmful.  You will never know what a child is going through until they feel safe enough to tell you.  I didn’t feel safe with many adults - which is why most of my relationships with authority were adversarial ones.  I’m not offering a solution.  I’m just offering a glimpse into my experience.  That’s all this is.  Take it or leave it.

When a child is told again and again by the daily authoritative figures in their life that they have an attitude problem, that they are disruptive, lazy, manipulative, attention-seeking, a liar, a cheater (the list can go on but I won’t let it) - I guarantee you, the child will eventually believe it.  And I did.  I deeply internalized these labels to the point of identifying with them.  I’m still working hard as an adult to remind myself that while many of my teachers accused me of causing chaos in my learning environment, I was simply (and unknowingly) mirroring my own internal chaos.  The chaos I had created around me was a cry for help, not admonishment.  

To further the accountability segment of this experience I’m sharing with you, though I can’t offer a solution to “fix” the institution of public education (because institutions generally don’t function unless they’re flawed to begin with), I think a set of solutions may lie somewhere within trauma-informed and neurodivergence-informed teaching and the public school system being provided with the adequate resources to embrace neurodivergent students - to embrace traumatized students, not accommodate them.  I think a set of solutions may lie somewhere within mental health being taken seriously (with FUNDING, not lip service) by the Government of Prince Edward Island.   That’s all I’ll say for now.

I don’t think my experience is special - far from it.  In fact, I know that my experience is not, and never will be one-of-a-kind.  I started writing this when I sat in front of a piano and tried to do what my brain would never let me do.  I looked past the page and saw this part of my life staring back at me.  I’m not even a writer, but I felt like I had to write it down.   Looking back, I realize that I didn’t even begin to understand my own story until someone else told me theirs.

So - whether you’re a teacher or a student or both - if you’re struggling in the school system, this is dedicated to you.  If you have been turned away and invalidated by those supposed to help you, you need to know that the labels placed upon you only hold as much power over you as you allow.  Being pained by what you can’t control doesn’t make you weak, it makes you a survivor.  Surviving is hard. Surviving is so hard, but you will begin to heal.

I’m 23 years old.  I’m many things. I read music with my ears.  I’m mastering the art of looking past what’s in front of me.  

- Russell Louder

[eddycurrents]

For the week of 19 November 2018

Quick Bits:

Aquaman #42 is a tie-in to the “Drowned Earth” event, following on his skewering at the hands of Poseidon in Justice League #11. Navigating his way through a dead realm is kind of a weird way for Dan Abnett to close out his run on the series, but it’s still a satisfying issue. Great art from Lan Medina, Vicente Cifuentes, and Gabe Eltaeb.

| Published by DC Comics

Batman #59 continues the “Tyrant Wing” arc with Batman acting a little unhinged on Penguin’s tip that Bane is running Arkham from the shadows, continuing his criminal empire to kill throughout Gotham. It’s interesting to see Batman alienate his allies again in his pursuit for vengeance.

| Published by DC Comics

Bettie Page #1 begins a new volume setting up an alien adventure in Britain, building upon the previous series but not requiring it as reading, from David Avallone, Julius Ohta, Ellie Wright, and Taylor Esposito. Bettie Page, paranormal investigator, is still a weird but entertaining remit and this opening issue does a good job of continuing in that vein as Bettie travels to England to investigate the Queen having been abducted by aliens. Ohta’s art also just keeps getting better and better.

| Published by Dynamite

Black Badge #4 employs a unique approach to flashbacks, with a solid spot colour in otherwise black and white image from Tyler and Hilary Jenkins. It’s a neat technique that really makes the scenes stand out.

| Published by BOOM! Studios

Bloodborne #7 continues to question the realities and relationship of religion and science, even as the city’s fate becomes bleaker and the disease threatens more and more citizens. While I think I preferred the existential terror of the first arc more, this is still highly enjoyable.

| Published by Titan

Cold Spots #4 delivers a little bit of explanation as to what Grace has been brought to the island to do. I say a little bit, since there’s still a lot left unanswered in this penultimate issue. Gorgeous artwork from Mark Torres. You can almost feel the coldness coming off the pages.

| Published by Image

Cover #3 is some amazing storytelling. Somehow Brian Michael Bendis, David Mack, Zu Orzu, and Carlos M. Mangual are layering more and more into the narrative with each subsequent issue in such a brilliant way that you barely notice how many disparate pieces are being presented. It’s like an intricate tapestry being woven before us. This issue even has a special sequence illustrated by Bill Sienkiewicz of a fantasy story I desperately want to read the rest of.

| Published by DC Comics / Jinxworld

Crimson Lotus #1 begins a new series from John Arcudi, Mindy Lee, Michelle Madsen, and Clem Robins giving an origin story to Yumiko Daimio, one of Lobster Johnson’s enemies and grandmother to the BPRD’s favourite jaguar. It’s good, and an appearance early on from Rasputin just further shows some of the intricacies of the Hellboy universe.

| Published by Dark Horse

Devil Within #2 keeps the creepy factor up as Samantha and Michelle try to get help for Michelle’s possible possession. Excellent moody atmosphere provided by the art from Maan House and Dee Cunniffe.

| Published by Black Mask

Doctor Strange #8 begins “The Price” but it’s really just a continuation of the “Two Doctors” arc, building off the corruption of Strange’s former student. Mark Waid gives us some very interesting developments here regarding who is targeting him, along with Kamma finding out something Stephen wishes she wouldn’t, and the revelation of the location of one of the other gems from Cyttorak that were revealed to exist in X-Men Black.

| Published by Marvel

Evolution #12 ends the second arc with some lies, half-truths, and compelling confessions. The theme of change and mutation that has been evident since the first issue really comes to the fore this issue as some huge changes occur for the cast.

| Published by Image / Skybound

Exorsisters #2 gives more background to how the sisters came about through a deal with infernal powers by their mother. The art from Gisèle Lagacé and Pete Pantazis really is a huge draw.

| Published by Image

High Heaven #3 spends some time with Heather as she deals, kind of, with the loss of both David and Ben. Very weird things continue to go on in heaven with the usual great art from Greg Scott and Andy Troy. The Hashtag: Danger back-up remains funny with the lengths that the team goes to in order to save one of their own, only to have her kill herself again. And the prose pieces nicely round out the entire package.

| Published by Ahoy

Hot Lunch Special #4 delivers the penultimate chapter to not just one of the best crime stories I’ve read in years, but also just one of the best stories I’ve read in years period. Eliot Rahal, Jorge Fornés, and Taylor Esposito have really got something special here, with intriguing characters, an ever twisting plot, and some incredible visual. The layouts for this issue, breaking down the pacing, are just wonderful.

| Published by AfterShock

Immortal Hulk #9 is another staggeringly good issue, with a change for the Absorbing Man as he’s tapped to go up against the Hulk. While I am a little sad he didn’t stay legitimate following his redemption arc in Black Bolt, his development here from Al Ewing is pretty intriguing. Also love the art as the regular team of Joe Bennett, Ruy José, and Paul Mounts trade off pages with guest artist Martin Simmonds. The former illustrating the Hulk and the latter Creel before alternating in the battle between the two.

| Published by Marvel

Infinity 8 #7 begins the third loop “The Gospel According to Emma” from Lewis Trondheim, Fabien Vehlmann, and Olivier Balez. This reboot of the timeline starts off incredibly wrong as the Marshal approached to assist this time turns on the crew and effectively strands them in this timeline. There’s some interesting bits of grave robbers stealing treasure and overtones of the Marshal’s religion.

| Published by Lion Forge / Magnetic Collection

Infinity Wars: Ghost Panther #1 begins the final of these two-issue “Infinity Warps” mash-ups. Like the rest, it is incredibly well done. Jed MacKay, Jefte Palo, Jim Campbell, and Joe Sabino craft a tale merging Ghost Rider and Black Panther, seamlessly blending the two into something magical. The art from Palo and Campbell may well be the best of any of these minis and the art on all of them has been very impressive. Love the design for Zarathos.

| Published by Marvel

Judge Dredd: Toxic #2 has the violence and toxicity spillover as the explosion at one of the waste facilities causes increased fear and tension amongst the scrubbers hired to keep Mega-City One functioning. Paul Jenkins is crafting a tale full of the problems that come with xenophobia and the art from Marco Castiello, Vincenzo Acunzo, and Jason Millet just makes it visceral.

| Published by IDW

Justice League #12 has some really nice art from Frazer Irving for this penultimate chapter of the “Drowned Earth” event. Also, a very interesting revelation from Poseidon when it comes to the invading sea gods.

| Published by DC Comics

Justice League Dark #5 kicks off a new arc dealing with the ramifications of the first one, “The Witching Hour” crossover, and previous unrevealed tales of what happened with Detective Chimp after inheriting the Oblivion Bar. James Tynion IV gives some nice nods to the original Shadowpact series aided by beautiful art from Daniel Sampere, Juan Albarran, and Adriano Lucas.

| Published by DC Comics

The Last Space Race #2 introduces us to another member of the team, giving us a bit of his backstory, and largely making us want to drop him into a deep dark hole and forget that he’s there. Peter Calloway does a wonderful job of making Roger Freeman thoroughly unlikable, it’s kind of astonishing.

| Published by AfterShock

Lightstep #1 is a very different kind of sci-fi tale, mixing almost the feel of the decadence of Rome under Nero or Caligula and the high concept science fiction of a society that measures the class of its citizens by genetic similarity to their progenitor, and thereby assigns how “fast” they live. As I say, different from Miloš Slavković, Mirko Topalski, and Andrej Bunjac. Slavković’s art reminds me a bit Pasqual Ferry mixed with John Watkiss. The story itself somewhat reminds me of Watkiss’ work on John Jakes’ Mulkon Empire. On top of that, it’s part of a broader video game/media franchise from Eipix Entertainment, of which this looks like only the first volley (a novel and video game are forthcoming).

| Published by Dark Horse

The Lollipop Kids #2 continues to be a fantastic and fabulous comic from Adam & Aidan Glass, Diego Yapur, DC Alonso, and Sal Cipriano. The art alone from Yapur and Alonso would be worth the price of admission, but the characters, setting, and overall plot just elevate this beyond a typical kids fantasy type deal.

| Published by AfterShock

Low Road West #3 gets significantly stranger and much more surreal as reality seems to be growing thinner. We’re still not any closer to really understanding what’s truly going on, but it doesn’t really matter. Phillip Kennedy Johnson, Flaviano, Miquel Muerto, and Jim Campbell are telling one hell of a compelling story.

| Published by BOOM! Studios

Mae #10 has Mae deal with some stuff in our world before stocking up and returning back to Cimrterén to resume her search for her father. Gorgeous artwork as always from Gene Ha and Wes Hartman.

| Published by Lion Forge / Roar

Marvel Knights #2 sees Matthew Rosenberg and Nico Henrichon join Donny Cates for this chapter, giving a bit of back story on how Banner roped in Castle into searching out the various heroes and leads to a confrontation with Elektra. Still no closer to understanding what happened here, but it does get weirder with a hallucinatory Karen Page. Henrichon’s art is just perfect for telling this story.

| Published by Marvel

Middlewest #1 is a magical debut of this new series from Skottie Young, Jorge Corona, Jean-Francois Beaulieu, and Nate Piekos. It’s a fantasy grounded in the reality of growing up hard in Middle America, with Abel dealing with an abusive father, while just trying to be a kid. But there’s a talking fox and devastating sentient storms. Rather inventive stuff all around. I’m also getting the impression that Jorge Corona should really be a household name. Between No. 1 with a Bullet, Old Man Jack, and now this, he’s been killing it recently.

| Published by Image

Night Moves #1 is a pretty great debut from VJ Boyd, Jordan Boyd, Clay McCormack, Mike Spicer, and Shawn DePasquale. It’s a gritty crime drama with occult overtones, but most of the weirdness is just simmering under the surface so far as the protagonists work to find out what kind of mess they’re in. McCormack and Spicer’s art really capture the feel of the seediness of the story well.

| Published by IDW

Optimus Prime #25 brings it all to a close, with a flashback through Optimus’ life and little vignettes of the various Transformers from John Barber, Kei Zama, Josh Burcham, and Tom B. Long. I’m really going to miss this world. 

| Published by IDW

Pearl #4 is probably the most stereotypical Bendis issue to date, but the dialogue doesn’t tip over into the ridiculous territory. Most of this issue is a conversation between Pearl and tattoo boy, but at least it’s interesting conversation and not random pop culture references repeated as questions.

| Published by DC Comics / Jinxworld

Pestilence: A Story of Satan #5 gives a bittersweet end to this story, filled with loss and sacrifice. It’s kind of fitting considering how bleak both this and the first series have been. Wonderful art from Oleg Okunev, Guy Major, Michael Garland, and Marko Lesko.

| Published by AfterShock

The Punisher #4 may well be one of the bloodiest, most violent mainline 616 Marvel Universe Punisher issues yet as Jigsaw and an assortment of Hydra goons attempt to kidnap Frank from prison. Matthew Rosenberg and Szymon Kudranski are continuing to keep this book moving at a breakneck pace, like an action movie that barely takes any moments to breathe.

| Published by Marvel

Quantum & Woody! #12 brings this volume to a close, with an interesting character study of the brothers at the hands of GATE and X-O Manowar.

| Published by Valiant

Rumble #9 brings “Things Remote” to an end with an epic battle between the Esu and Rathraq’s friends, leading to an interesting realization for Rathraq and what he wants out of life. Stunningly beautiful art from David Rubín and Dave Stewart.

| Published by Image

Shadowman #9 continues the “Rag and Bone” arc as Alyssa and Jack confront Sandria Darque. Gorgeous artwork from Renato Guedes, Eric Battle, and Ulises Arreola. 

| Published by Valiant

Shuri #2 continues the search for Black Panther, while back on Earth the women of Wakanda form a council to figure out how to maintain and administer the nation while he’s missing. Definitely some interesting concepts and character points from Nnedi Okorafor. Phenomenal artwork and layouts from Leonardo Romero and Jordie Bellaire.

| Published by Marvel

Spider-Force #2 is probably one of the bleakest, mean-spirited stories I’ve read in a while. This isn’t a bad thing, but the story’s a bit of a downer as the nature of an irradiated world without hope seems to permeate everything, including characters like Jessica Drew who are normally at least a bit more level-headed. Priest is writing a very dark story, with some complicated characters like Peter’s granddaughter who grew up in the Old Man Logan universe and a Peter Parker who looks like he was abused by Uncle Ben.

| Published by Marvel

Spider-Geddon #4 kind of spoils the need to read Spider-Force #3 out in three weeks, which just kind of adds to the downer feel of that series. This issue turns darker itself with a bevy of betrayals. Christos Gage has kind of stacked the deck against the spiders, I wonder how they’re going to get out of it in the finale.

| Published by Marvel

Stellar #6 concludes the series and it is incredibly messed up. The conflict between Zenith and Stellar is bizarre and perverse, but I don’t really want to go into it more because spoilers would ruin its impact. Joe Keatinge, Bret Blevins, and Rus Wooton have done an amazing job with this series. Highly recommended.

| Published by Image / Skybound

Sukeban Turbo #1 is another series originally published by Glénat Editions in France, translated into English for North American markets. It’s a mix of teenage rebellion, crime, and following a boy band from Sylvain Runberg, Victor Santos, and Shawn Lee. The art from Santos is worth it on its own, very impressive layouts and storytelling.

| Published by IDW

Summit #10 kicks off the third arc for the series and like most of the Catalyst Prime series recently it undergoes a bit of a change in status quo. Val finds out that she hasn’t been hallucinating, but hearing the voice of another of her team that was essentially vaporized during the event, before having her life turned upside down as the government starts hunting her. Amy Chu continues writing the series, while she’s joined by Marika Cresta fully for the art here.

| Published by Lion Forge / Catalyst Prime

Tony Stark: Iron Man #6 begins “Stark Realities” and the launch of Tony’s eScape virtual reality game. Dan Slott, with a script assist from Jeremy Whitley, does a great job of making it feel chaotic at launch, with some ordinary and extraordinary problems occurring. The pissed off griefer is hilarious.

| Published by Marvel

Web of Venom: Carnage Born #1 is an interesting reinterpretation of Carnage’s origin to fit within the new mythology being crafted in the current Venom series, also building off the recent two-part arc there with the Maker, from Donny Cates, Danilo S. Beyruth, Cris Peter, and Clayton Cowles. This is more very entertaining outgrowth of the Marvel Universe from Cates and gives us a quite possibly deadlier Carnage.

| Published by Marvel

West Coast Avengers #4 concludes the first arc in fairly straightforward fashion as the team deals with BRODOK and the women transformed into giant monsters. Some nice little character moments from Kelly Thompson and great art from Stefano Caselli and Tríona Farrell.

| Published by Marvel

The Whispering Dark #2 continues its existential and moral crisis as the squad commits war crimes as they struggle to survive. There’s something off about how everything is happening, in how Christofer Emgård is writing the narration, but I’m not sure if it’s just the in-story reason of the go-pills. It feels like the squad is already in Hell and being judged.  

| Published by Dark Horse

Other Highlights: American Carnage #1, Archie #700, Black AF: Widows & Orphans #4, Black Hammer: Age of Doom #7, Burnouts #3, Days of Hate #10, Dejah Thoris #10, Dick Tracy: Dead or Alive #2, East of West #40, Encounter #8, GI Joe: A Real American Hero - Silent Option #2, Go-Bots #1, Jughead: The Hunger #10, The Long Con #5, Love & Rockets #6, Lucifer #2, Lumberjanes #56, Mars Attacks #2, The New World #5, Olivia Twist #3, Project Superpowers #4, Rick & Morty Presents Pickle Rick #1, Smooth Criminals #1, Star Wars #57, Star Wars: Solo #2, TMNT: Urban Legends #7, Underwinter: Queen of Spirits, Xena: Warrior Princess #10

Recommended Collections: 24 Panels, Accell - Volume 3: Turf Battles, Amazing Spider-Man: Renew Your Vows - Volume 4: Are You Okay, Annie?, Crude - Volume 1, Dark Souls Omnibus, Delta 13, Dungeons & Dragons: Evil at Baldur’s Gate, Flavor, Immortal Hulk - Volume 1: Or is he Both?, Justice League - Volume 1: The Totality, Peter Parker: The Spectacular Spider-Man - Volume 4: Coming Home, Resident Alien - Volume 5: An Alien in New York, Spidey: School’s Out, Stray Bullets: Sunshine & Roses - Volume 3, Unnatural - Volume 1: Awakening, Venom - Volume 1: Rex, The X-Files: Case Files - Volume 1

d. emerson eddy wonders if there’s going to be any light in our real darkest hour.

[cinnaminsvga]

La Douleur Exquise Pt 1 | Incubus!Yoongi AU

➵ summary: in which you accidentally summon an incubus in the middle of your shitty apartment and he won’t leave until you agree to have sex with him. until then, min yoongi, incubus extraordinaire, is now your sexually promiscuous and grumpy roommate. aka, the incubus au no one fucking asked for. ➵ warnings: demon summonings, lots of swearing, and a grumpy min yoongi (what’s new?) ➵ genre: fluff, angst, humor, eventual smut (none in this chapter!) ➵ words: 6.2K ➵ a/n: the preview got such good responses that I had to finish this right away! hope it stands up to your expectations! enjoy! 

➵ part 1 // part 2 // part 3 // part 4 // part 5 // part 6 // part 7

In retrospect, it was probably a bad idea trying to recreate an ancient demon-summoning circle in the middle of your living room. If anyone asked you what had possessed you to do so regardless, you’d point fingers at your history professor for assigning the task in the first place. Although, you might concede that he didn’t technically ask you to assemble the summoning circle; all you were assigned to do was do some research about ancient summoning techniques with five to ten sources maximum. The problem with the assignment lied with the latter part of the requirements: the motherfucking references.

No matter how hard you tried to search for reliable photographs of professionally reenacted summoning circles, none of significant quality had popped up anywhere. You were seriously starting to consider attaching some DeviantArt fanart by the time you had reached page 67 on the Google search page.

In short, you were desperate—and desperation meant that you didn’t really think things through.

Your search was leading you nowhere, so you decided begrudgingly that you were going to have to make this work yourself. You had gathered enough information from some moldy books from the library on how the summoning circle was supposed to look like, so authentic instructions were not a problem. The more pressing problem, however, were the materials needed.

“What the fuck does ‘something precious and indispensible’ mean anyway?” You grumbled to yourself in exasperation. You had been arranging the faux summoning circle for what seemed like hours, chucking large amount of salt across your carpeted living room floor into a barely recognizable circle. You wondered tiredly if you should care that the circle looked fake as fuck, but you decided that you’d just print the pictures in black and white so that your professor would be none the wiser.

Currently, you were still trying to understand what “something precious and indispensible” could possibly be suggesting. Did they mean gold, diamonds, or other precious gems? Or could they mean valuable in the sentimental way? You weren’t really sure, but at that point you honestly couldn’t care. It was a Friday night, and instead of sleeping, you were trying to summon a demon—or at least theoretically. Sadly, you had been procrastinating too much on the assignment, and the essay was already due in two hours—you still had about four pages to go.

You groaned in frustration, looking around your measly apartment for inspiration. Unluckily, you were the definition of a broke college student, so nothing remotely extraordinary in value could be found in your home (unless you counted the two month old cake in the fridge—that was extraordinary but for the wrong reasons). You supposed in terms of sentimentality, you had a few mementos from your childhood that you liked to keep around. You had a photo album filled with childhood photos, an old vase that you had made in craft school with your mom when you were a kid, and some musty books that you had collected over the years. You also had a pair of white sneakers that you had bought with your first paycheck; the shoes were so old and worn that the sole wasn’t even connected to the shoe anymore. You weren’t really sure which one of them could pass as “precious” until you realized that you had an easy solution: you’ll just bullshit your way through this paper (as you do).

In your defense, this summoning circle wasn’t supposed to be authentic anyway; it wasn’t like you were really aiming to summon a demon. You could just explain to your professor that you had recreated the circle yourself for the sake of immersion, and you were sure that with your acting skills, he’d be swooning over your “commitment.” Better yet, you’ll “sacrifice” your shoes in the picture, and you’d explain how you believed the shoes represented how the greatest sacrifice came in the shape of losing things that you worked the hardest for.

You grinned to yourself, mentally patting yourself on the back. You supposed this is what you get for going to Sunday school every week when you were a kid—you were great at making up shit on the go.

“Alright, goodbye Converse shoes, I’ll miss ya.” You muttered jokingly to yourself, placing the worn shoes in the middle of your crude circle. You stood up from the floor, dusting the stray salt crystals from your faded jeans and admiring your work. Despite the obvious sloppy nature of your efforts, you were surprised that it actually looked mildly decent. Not enough to be photographed and put in a history book, but good enough for a C. Maybe even a B.

You were just about to reach over the salt circle and grab your phone to take the photos when your eyes happen to glance down to your still open laptop. You had already written the descriptions of the more common rituals, and you had copied the incantations of the most popular demon-summoning techniques. You had scoffed when you had read the unintelligible gibberish, hardly believing that the ancient people of this earth had thought that these words would somehow summon a demon of the most epic proportions. One of your favorite incantations had to be the one for the incubi/succubi, because the words were so horribly silly that you had to reread them a few times just so you could copy them properly through your laughter.

Instead of getting your phone, you decided to grab your laptop from the coffee table. As you reread your work, you cannot help the snort that escapes you when a stupid idea suddenly popped into your mind. You mused; it wouldn’t hurt, would it?

Trying to say the gibberish? Just for kicks?

Of course it wouldn’t hurt. This was all fun and games, anyway. You needed the break, so you supposed you could spare a few minutes goofing around, pretending you were a witch from ye olden times.

That’s it, you decided. You were going to summon a demon today, and you knew exactly which incantation you were going to use.

“Oh my god, this is literally the stupidest shit ever,” you laughed giddily, already standing up near the edge of your salt circle. You balanced your laptop on one hand, with your other one scrolling haphazardly for the correct chant.

Taking a deep breath, you prepared yourself with as much sincerity as you could gather (which meant you were giggling the entire time, but the details weren’t important right now). You raised your hand as if in blessing, and recited the following words:

“Heu! Opus est aliquo modo de iure

Veneris voluntati parere.

Daemones autem fuere satiare

potuisti mihi cornea inde necessario

vult dimittere multum commendatur.

Et ecce ego do coram vobis daemones

in hoc ipso quovis nomine appellamus,

quod est equivalent motus ad officia

accipere volo a vobis.

“Now, come forth demon!” You finished the ridiculous incantation in English, your mouth tired from trying to enunciate the weird Latin words.

For a second or two, you watched in mild anticipation for something to happen. Somewhere in the deep recesses of your mind, you had actually wondered if what you were doing was legitimate or not.

You stood there for another moment before realizing how stupid you must have looked. What the actual fuck were you thinking? Did you honestly think something, or someone would pop out from the demon dimension? How fucking silly was that—

Wait. Why were your shoes sinking into the floor?

You had to do a double take at first to see if your eyes were deceiving you. Because right in front of your very eyes, your shoes were seemingly disappearing in the middle of your salt circle, right through your carpeted floor.

You tried grabbing onto it, but the force pulling it down was stronger than the speed it was moving at might have suggested. You watched as it sunk lower and lower until only the star logo of your sneakers could be seen, and until it all but disappeared into the nether.

You stood there in silence, not really processing the information that was being fed into your retinas.

Well. You definitely had not expected that to happen.

As it just so happened, the higher beings of this damned universe didn’t allow you to have more time to process what the fuck was going on, because right after your shoes vanished, the salt circle began to smoke and glow. The smoke alarms installed in your apartment started ringing obsessively, as if you weren’t already aware that your whole damn living room was starting to look like the 7th ring of hell.

You knew that you were supposed to do something, like, maybe grab the fire extinguisher located conveniently near the doorway. You really really should be doing something, and it was only now that you realized that your driving instructor was right all those years ago: you really did have the reaction speed of a 70-year old grandmother.

The smoke was gradually rising higher and higher, and while you had expected to choke on the thick fumes, the smoke actually smelled... pleasant? Like your favorite scents: the saltwater of the beaches near your childhood home, freshly laundered clothes, the cologne of your ex—

Woah there, partner. There’s now a goddamn pale arm extending out of the middle of your carpeted floor. You should probably be panicking right now.

Just like how delayed your reaction speed was, your panic speed was just as slow. In no time at all, the pale arm was joined with another equally pasty white arm, with both of them grasping the floor to help pull up what you assumed was the owner’s body.

Just as you finished that thought, aforementioned owner’s head was the next thing to pop up from the gaping hole that was now your living room floor.

And it was a dude. A pretty good-looking dude, but you digress.

Oh look, the head was talking now.

“Ow, what the fuck? Why is the summoning circle so small? I can barely fit through,” the head growled, shaking the remaining salt crystals off his messy mop of black hair. He stood there for a moment longer when his hooded eyes finally met yours. You were locked in silent conversation for a while, a feeling of unconcealed tension rising in the atmosphere. You felt the way he was sizing you up, and you could not help but notice the way his eyes trailed your body with some interest. Yikes, awkward?

So now, you had a strange, pale man checking you out whilst he had half his body stuck in the middle of your apartment floor, seemingly having risen from the very depths of hell you had summoned him from, all whilst your smoke alarm was still blaring noisily around you.

Thankfully, the smoke had since cleared when you finally managed to snap yourself out of your stupor long enough to run over to the smoke detector’s power switch, turning it off as quickly as possible.

The silence that ensued after the alarm was turned off, coupled with the palpable tension, sent shivers of discomfort through your body. Turning slowly around to face your unwelcome intruder, you instantly made eye contact with him.

Most heroines from the dramas you frequently watched might have screamed, run away, or even shot the stranger in the head with a gun they were conveniently holding onto. But you, on the other hand—

“OW! WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK? WHY ARE YOU HITTING MY HEAD WITH A FUCKING BROOM?” The strange man in the middle of your floor yelled indignantly, and in the back of your mind, you couldn’t really blame the dude. You supposed that it wasn’t fun being stuck in a small hole in a middle of shitty apartment, whilst being hit with a broom. It didn’t stop you from continuing, though.

“WOMAN! WILL YOU STOP WITH THE BROOM ALREADY? HELP ME OUT!” He screamed, but you hit him one last time for good measure. It seemed like he wasn’t going back where he came from, so the best way to get rid of him was to probably pull him out and then kick him out.

“No offence or anything, but who the fuck are you and why is your head popping out of the middle of my floor?” You asked.

He gave you a look of mild displeasure, with his nose upturned in that snooty way that read ‘are you fucking stupid or something?’

“Are you fucking stupid or something?” He verbalized, after realizing that the confused look on your face was genuine and not some act of faux ignorance.

He groaned, rubbing his forehead in annoyance. “Oh great. Another one of those fucking skeptics. You know, if you really wanted to prove that ancient demons didn’t exist, shouldn’t you be, I don’t know, not summoning demons? Because honestly, I’m sick and tired of being called out of my home and having some weird skeptic prod at me and call me fake when I could easily be sleeping with someone right now—“

“Hold up,” you raised your hand to ask him to stop, and you were half-surprised to find that he actually did as you asked. He raised his brow in question, prompting you to most probably explain yourself.

“So, what you’re saying is...”

“That I’m a demon? Pretty much,” he concluded, picking at his cuticles disinterestedly. Looking at him closely, you had to admit that the whole rising from the gaping hole in your apartment was surely proof enough. If that wasn’t a dead giveaway, the purple horns protruding from his head was probably another good indicator that he wasn’t kidding.

Either that, or he was just some weird, over enthused cosplayer.

“Alright.” You said.

“That fucking figures that you wouldn’t believe me. All of you are the same! What is up with you stupid humans and your tiny brains unable to connect the dots despite having numerous evidence—wait.” He paused in his monologue, belatedly realizing what you had actually said. “You said ok? That’s it? You’re actually believing me just like that?” He spluttered, looking up from his nails long enough to shoot you a disbelieving look. You only shrugged callously.

“Well, I was recreating a demon summoning ritual, so your story lines up well. Even if you weren’t an actual demon, aren’t there those people who believe that they’re actual werewolves or Goku or something? Like that dude on Youtube who thought he could go Super Saiyan?”

“What the actual fuck? Are you actual comparing me to a fucking weeaboo?”

You shrugged yet again. “Well, you do kinda look like Sasuke...”

He pointed a finger at you threateningly. “Take that back. If anything, I’d be Naruto.”

You snorted. “Weeaboo,” you muttered under your breath. Wait. Why were you having a conversation with a demon in your apartment as if he were a greasy college kid who watched too much hentai?

You voiced your question out loud, and the demon did not seem pleased by your analogy.

“We are having this conversation because you fucking summoned me here. Now let me do my job and I can go on my merry way, thank you very much. But first,” he added, pointing exasperatedly at his still half-submerged body, “will you help me out of here first?”

You ignored his request. “Wait, you have a job to do?” You inquired.

At your question, the grin on his face reminiscent of the Cheshire cat probably should have warned you of the hell that was to come, but by then, everything was already too late. You were fucking screwed.

“Oh silly human, don’t you know? You summoned your very own sex demon, and I’m here to please you as you wish.”

In hindsight, you wondered how the demon had expected you to react: cry and scream from terror, call the nearest exorcist in fear, maybe cream your pants from a sudden influx of sexual arousal?

If anything, he probably didn’t expect you to laugh at him, much less make fun of him.

“Oh my—what—the—fuck??” You gasped out in laughter, doubling over from the sheer strength of your amusement. The smoldering look on the demon’s face instantly dissipated and was replaced with pure confusion, his eyebrow raised in bafflement.

“What? What’s so funny?” He demanded angrily, pouting at your giggling.

“You—you expect me? To have s-sex with you? A literal fucking demon from hell?” You managed to say through your mirthful tears, after which you run over quickly to your kitchen to grab a glass of water to help you stop choking on your spit.

From the kitchen, you heard the demon let out a chuckle. “Oh, I get it now. Is your laughter a defense mechanism? Understandable. You’re not the first one to be at a loss of words after meeting such a delectable creature such as I.”

Oh my shit. Was this demon even fucking hearing himself speak right now?

Before returning to the living room where the demon was still stuck in the floor, you refilled your glass to the brim. Without any shred of remorse whatsoever, you walked over to the demon and promptly—

“WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU? DIDN’T YOUR PARENTS TEACH YOU THAT ASSAULT IS AGAINST THE LAW?” The now drenched demon spat at you, his teeth snapping at you like a dog.

He looked so pathetic at that moment, with his body stuck save for his arms and head, whilst dripping with water, that the giggles came back in full force.

“Oh my fucking GOD you are just ridiculous, you know that?” You chuckled, placing the glass on the coffee table and plopping your ass on the floor. You made sure to stay clear from the demon, lest he try to grab you and do something you wouldn’t like (i.e., touch you with his creepy long fingers).

You watched amusedly as the demon gave you an exasperated stare, the effect only heightened by his ‘angry-drenched-kitten’ face he was currently pointing at you. After a few more minutes of the demon angrily breathing at you, you said, “You know, you aren’t that handsome.” The grin on your face widened exponentially as his eyes squinted in anger.

“What?”

“You said my laughter was a defense mechanism because I couldn’t, what did you say? Handle your handsomeness?” You snorted.

He raised his brow. “And you’re saying it isn’t?”

“Yup. In fact, I wouldn’t have sex with you at all, even if we were the last two sentient beings in the world and we were tasked with the heavy responsibility to procreate to replenish the earth’s population.” Wait, was demon on human procreation even possible? Stash that under ‘musings you shouldn’t waste time thinking about’ for later.

The shock on his face was probably more arousing to you than the thought of having any type of intercourse with him. “What the fuck? Why the fuck not?” He stammered articulately.

You held up two fingers. “Two words: demon STDs.”

“For your information, I do not have any STDs! We incubi pride ourselves in safe and clean sex—HEY PUT THAT GLASS DOWN THIS INSTANT!” He growled, the fire in his eyes indicating that he was probably murdering you in his mind.

The sarcastic smirk on your face probably only worsened the demon’s mood by a fuck ton. “Honey, I’m just going to put the glass back in the kitchen. Don’t you worry your tiny little demon butt.”

“Excuse you! I will have you know that my ass is above average, thank you very much! You would know, if you would—I don’t know—help me out of this FUCKING HOLE IN THE MIDDLE OF YOUR LIVING ROOM?” He screeched.

Oh right. You kept forgetting he was stuck there and not actually having the time of his life.

“Maybe that’s the reason why you’re stuck; your ass is too big that you can’t get out.” You snickered, but you eventually acquiesced to his request. You don’t do this out of the goodness of your heart, however. The poor sap looked like he was going to bust a lung out of anger, and you didn’t really feel like cleaning up blood on your carpet again.

(For reference, the blood was from a science project you had to do before. You have not killed a man on your carpeted floor. Yet.)

Using all the strength you could muster, you pulled on his freakishly pale arms. He seemed to be stuck real good, because the screams of bloody murder he was currently directing at you seemed to indicate that he was very much in pain.

Well, like they say: no pain, no gain.

After several tries and a stick of butter later, the demon was eventually released from his hole. Thankfully, the portal closed the moment his other leg got out, so all that was left was a semi-naked (thankfully, the upper portion of his body) and buttery incubus on your floor. He was lying down on the floor in a fetal position, small puffs of air escaping his lips in exhaustion. You nudged him lightly with your foot, checking to see if he was ok. Then he just—

Welp, now you were on the floor.

For someone who looked like he hasn’t touched any type of exercising equipment in his entire life, he was pretty fast at bringing you down with him.

“Ow! That’s rude,” you said lamely. Your arms were held above your head by the demon, with his legs trapping your own in a strong straddle. To any passing stranger, one might assume you were going to do the nasty.

If only your screams of terror were screams of pleasure, then those bystanders would be correct.

“STOP TICKLING ME! I’M SORRY FOR HITTING YOU WITH A—HAHAHA—BROOM AND FOR DUMPING A—HAHAHA—GLASS OF WATER ON YOUR HEAD! PLEASE STOP!” You pleaded, but the evil smirk on his face said that he still wanted one more apology.

Rolling your eyes through the tears, you finally said, “...and I’m sorry for calling you ugly.”

He released your arms and legs in an instant. “Thank you. Now, was that really so hard to say?”

Rubbing your wrists petulantly, you shoot him a glare. “You poop. Now I’ve got butter on my arms.”

“And whose fault was it for making the summoning circle too small in the first place? Speaking of,” he paused, his eyes lighting up in remembrance. You stared at him confusedly, as his face morphed in irritation at his sudden epiphany.

“I just realized. Did you fucking sacrifice a pair of ratty ass Converse as your offering to summon me? What type of shitty summoner are you?”

Oh right, you did. The summoning seemed like it happened ages ago. “Well, I’m sorry! The fucking sources said I need to offer something precious, and those shoes are really precious to me!”

“How the fuck are a pair of broken shoes precious? In what sadistic dimension?”

“I’m a college student! I only have like, three pairs of shoes. Now I’m down to two.” You said hotly, crossing your arms defensively. “Speaking of summoning, I don’t even know your name. I’m Y/N, by the way. I would say it’s a pleasure to meet you, but it really hasn’t been.”

He snorted. “Honestly, same. And what type of rude motherfuckers doesn’t introduce themselves when they first meet? Oh right, the type of rude motherfuckers who bash their guests on the head with their FUCKING BROOMS!”

You raised your hands defensively. “HEY! I was caught off guard!”

“Didn’t stop you from being a brat though,” he scoffed. “And my name is Yoongi, by the way. Don’t forget it, because you’re going to be screaming it real soon.”

If it was possible to feel your ovaries shrivel up, then that was exactly what happened when he finished saying that.

“Yoongi, or whatever the fuck your name is, I already told you. I’m not going to have sex with you.”

If Yoongi had fur, you were sure they would all be bristling right now. “Excuse me? Why not? I already told you, I don’t have any ‘demon STDs,’ as you put it. And besides, once you summon me, I’m contractually obliged to sexually please you until you are satisfied and then I can be on my merry way,” he sighed, rubbing his forehead tiredly. “Look, I’m not entirely enthusiastic to do this myself, but given the fact that I would pretty much get killed by my boss if I don’t fulfill my duty, well... we don’t have much of a choice now do we?”

“What the fuck? So are we like bond by this weird demonic covenant that I had no idea I signed up for?”

Yoongi, once again, looked at you like you were an idiot. “Are you an idiot?” he groaned, reaching past you to grab your laptop. The document with your research was still open, so he immediately started scrolling through it to look at your sources.

He really couldn’t believe what he was seeing. “What the fuck is this bullshit? A tentacle demon? What is this, a hentai dissertation? What fucking sources did you use?” He sneered, reaching the references page. His eyes bugged out of their sockets. “Are you fucking serious? You used an ‘Idiot’s Guide to Demonic Summonings?’”

“Hey! The other demon summoning books were already checked out of the library. I didn’t have much of a choice,” you defended, offended by his condescending glare. What did the demon know about college survival, anyway? As long as it wasn’t Wikipedia, then it was good enough for the professor (probably).

“Well, that’s probably why you didn’t know about the contract. Basically, the moment you sacrificed your shitty shoes—“ You glowered at him for that comment, which he pointedly ignored. “—you pretty much asked for sex in return. My job can only be considered completed once your sexual urges are sated by me. If I can’t fulfill your wishes—which I can, by the way—I’m pretty much stuck here until I do.”

Sounded simple enough. There was one, teensy problem though.

“Uh. Dude? Yoongi? There’s like one problem though. I’m like, hella asexual. I don’t really do the whole sex thing, you feel?” You tried explaining to the demon, but judging from his cute head tilt, he probably didn’t know what that meant.

“You know what a homosexual is right?” He nodded.

“You know how it’s when a person of the same sex are attracted to each other, right?” He nodded again.

“So when I said that I’m asexual, it’s when a person... doesn’t have sexual feelings. Towards anyone. Understand?” He didn’t nod this time.

He scrunched his forehead in thought, most probably trying to wrap his tiny sex demon brain around the foreign concept. “Hold up, so what you’re saying is... you don’t like sex? Like, at all?” He asked, baffled. This time, it was you who nodded.

“Yup. Pretty much.”

A sudden realization hits the both of you after that: If you didn’t have any sexual urges, how the fuck is he going to leave? It’s not like he can just bang and scram—you have to want it and be pleasured and all that crap.

So now... He’s stuck.

“Oh give me a fucking break.” You both groaned simultaneously.

Well, you could always use a helping hand around the house. Even though that roommate was a sexually promiscuous, kind of good-looking (shh who said that?), grumpy incubus roommate. But you digress.

Fuck.

––♡♡♡––

Somewhere in the clouds above, an ethereal being by the name of Kim Seokjin had just slammed his head on his desk. A short notification from his celestial phone just informed him that his charge had just summoned a demon in her home and was now essentially locked in a covenant with said demon.

Kim Seokjin had a lot of experience working as a guardian angel, but he doubted that he could ever remember someone being this stupid.

“What did I do to deserve this,” he muttered to himself pitifully, already arranging a portal in his office straight to hell. More specifically, to Incubus Inc.

What? Did you think incubi just roamed around hell waiting to be summoned? Nah son, incubi summoning was a capitalistic junction in hell. Very lucrative, if Seokjin had to admit anything about the damned place.

Incubus Inc., located in the second circle of hell, was pretty much a boring, stuffy, office building. On the 666th floor was the big boss, Kim Namjoon himself.

What, did you think Satan ran this place? He hardly knew anything about business economics, much less how to run a whorehouse. Fat chance.

“Ah, Seokjin. So nice to see you. Are you finally going to avail that coupon I sent you?” Namjoon drawled, not even flinching when Seokjin suddenly materialized in the middle of his lavish office. Seokjin scoffed, sitting himself on one of the plush couches. His perky ass sunk comfortably into the material.

“No, I am not,” he groused. “I’m here to demand a refund, in the name of my charge Y/N L/N.”

“Oh, Y/N L/N? Didn’t she just seal her contract an hour ago? What, is Yoongi not up to standard or something?” Namjoon asked, flipping through his clientele files. “He has the most impeccable record; I doubt that he would be anything less than stellar.”

“Joonie.” Seokjin gave him the look.

“Uh oh. You’re giving me the look. Why do I get the feeling this isn’t some strange overdue familial visit?” Namjoon sighed, closing the book. “Ok. What’s the problem?”

“The problem, Namjoon, is that Y/N is innocent. Pure. And also under my watch,” he informed him, his jaw set in determination. “If anything bad happens to her, if she gets cursed for life...”

“Seokjin, we aren’t a cursing service. We would never hurt our clients, unless they request for it,” he grinned cheekily. Seokjin rolled his eyes at the innuendo.

Namjoon continued, “If it makes you feel any better, we do have a safety net in the contract. If our incubi cannot fulfill their mission within 90 days, he has to go under trial for investigation.”

“Investigation?” Seokjin questioned.

“Yeah. Nothing bad. It’s rarely the client’s fault. If anything, Yoongi is put under much more pressure than your silly little human is. He can’t force anything on her, by the way. We are proud citizens of the second circle of hell. Such savagery belongs to the seventh circle,” Namjoon said as a matter-of-fact.

Even so, Seokjin remained unconvinced. “As much as I would like to believe your words, you’re still a demon.”

“And your brother to boot,” Namjoon hummed.

“Even worse,” Seokjin deadpanned. “I guess I’m going to have to do some field work after all. See you around, Joonie.”

Good thing your apartment complex had a new vacancy open.

––♡♡♡––

“Yoongi, can you please put some clothes on? I have to finish this essay which is due in 30 minutes.”

He winked saucily at your hunched form. “Oh? Am I distracting you?”

“You’re as distracting as having my grandma naked. Now get off the dining table; your ass cheeks are going to leave a mark on the wood.”

Yoongi had only been in your apartment for approximately an hour, and he was already getting on your nerves. You still had that essay about demon summoning due tonight, and you cannot write in peace knowing that Yoongi was pretty much pressing his dick onto every available surface of your apartment.

In short, Yoongi had been trying very hard to seduce you in every way he could, but you were simply just not having it.

Even in bed, Yoongi was not necessarily known for his patience. He liked to get down to it, and if his partner was also willing, he also preferred to go hard and fast.

You were essentially everything he hated: a slow burn and a prude.

“Hey, I am not a prude,” you objected, since Yoongi had actually voiced his thoughts out loud. Yoongi snorted at your response, the heat from his rage and suppressed libido making him itch all over.

“Well then, don’t fucking act like one. Fuck, I am really getting pissed off right now. I think I’m going to let go of some steam, or else I might end up really fucking your table out of anger.” He snickered at your affronted look, amused by your blatant disgust at his words.

“Let go of some steam? Does that mean you’re going to leave me to look for someone to fuck?” You queried.

“Yup,” he said, popping the ‘p.’ “Pretty much. I heard a couple of girls outside the hallway, I think I’ll start with them.”

“Oh, so does that mean the contract doesn’t bind you to just me?”

“Oh sweet little Y/N, haven’t you ever heard of threesomes? Orgies? Damn, I love those,” he sighed dreamily.

You pinched him on the arm, causing him to yelp and rub the sore spot tenderly. “Of course I know what those are, idiot. I just thought you weren’t allowed to have sex unless I was included.” You clarified, puffing your cheeks in annoyance.

He smirked cheekily at you. “Oh, you’re welcome to join, honey. If you need me, I’ll be next door. And FYI,” he added, already about to turn the door handle. The grin on his face was downright sinful, and not in the good way. More like the ‘I enjoy making your life a living hell’ kind of way. “I like my partners loud, so I hope you have headphones.”

At his words, panic surged within you because despite having headphones, you knew that the walls were paper-thin. No amount of music was going to block the sounds of high pitched moans and a rocking bed, so you needed to stop him if you wanted to submit your essay on time.

So what do you do?

Yoongi had only just inched the door open slightly when your hand quickly beat him to it, slamming it shut immediately. You turned the lock quickly, using your arms to cage the taller man to the door.

Immediately, Yoongi’s Cheshire grin resurfaced, visibly excited (in more ways that one) at this sudden turn of events. “Oh, are you finally reciprocating? Are we going to fuck or what?”

You hit him with your own sinful smirk. “Not a chance,” you said, your voice trailing off into a whisper. Just as his eyes fall to stare at you lips, you kissed him.

Nu-uh. No, not as in lip-to-lip kiss. You placed a little bunny kiss on his cheek. Then, you replaced it with a butterfly kiss. Then, penguin kisses. ‘EVERY FUCKING ANIMAL OUT THERE’ KISSES.

You didn’t even stop at his cheeks. You sent him a barrage of tiny nuzzles and chaste kisses all over his face: his cheeks, his little nose, his forehead, even his eyelids.

At first, Yoongi was very much unamused, maybe a little confused. “What the fuck are you doing?” He said, sounding annoyed, but he wasn’t stopping you. You weren’t even holding him back anymore. He could easily overtake you.

You paused long enough to grin sleepily at him. “Distracting you,” you said simply, and you continued on as if he hadn’t said a word.

After ten more kisses, as though brought back to his senses, Yoongi finally tried getting away from you (weakly, you noted), but because of the tiny scuffle that ensued, you ended up pining him to the couch instead.

“Oh, I get it. Are we going to fuck on the couch? Is that it? Is this some weird type of foreplay?” He asked, but your giggles short-circuit his brain and he thinks for a second that his heart stopped. Wait a minute, you’re not supposed to be cute to him! This is just a crazy one-time thing!

“Noooo. I’m just kissing you until your grouchies go away.”

With your confession, Yoongi started blushing bright red. “What the fuck? I don’t need your silly fucking kisses. And you aren’t even properly kissing—“ The sweet kiss you leave on his nose shuts him up instantly.

Throughout the kissing session, he was just starting wide-eyed at you, telling you to stop molesting him (which you weren’t, because you weren’t even touching him. You’re just lying on his chest, and he hadn’t pushed you off yet.), but he couldn’t stop the blush from spreading on his face.

After what seemed like a lifetime to Yoongi (it was probably only two minutes), you finally stopped. To your amusement, he even started pouting.

“Are you done?” He tried to sound irritated, but you both knew he enjoyed it. He enjoyed it way too much, in fact.

“That depends. Are you still angry?”

A pause. “...No.” He conceded. You grinned happily at the demon, patting him lightly on the head before getting off him and skipping merrily back to your laptop.

Now with your blissed-out demon completely sated and pacified, you returned to your homework in peace. Instead of distracting you like he had been doing, Yoongi chose to sit beside you and watch you silently, a thoughtful look on his face.

The game had changed, but neither of you even noticed.

[summerbarnard]

Assignment 3 Part B: Game Development - Week 11

During week 11 I focused on completing a fully functioning prototype with a tutorial, 4 tutorials, and an ‘end’ level. I also added in dramatic elements so that players become engaged in the game (especially emotionally) and give meaning to the gameplay and formal elements, as discussed in Chapter 4 of the book.

Overarching Dramatic Elements

These are dramatic elements that are found throughout the entire game or are dressed throughout the gameplay. Some dramatic elements are added or changed in certain levels and will be discussed in said levels.

Challenge

As discussed in Chapter 4 of the book, for the challenge level to be appropriate there needs to be a balance between the challenge’s level (difficulty) and the player’s ability. To account for this I created a tutorial that introduces the controls to the player and can begin developing their ability. Then over the next 3 levels I slowly amp up the difficulty so that they player can increase their ability without getting overwhelmed. The 4th level is also the boss level and is supposed to be the most difficult so that the player has to use their full range of abilities to defeat the boss. The last level is an ending level which acts as a conclusion to the storyline and allows the player to return to the menu.

Premise

The game is set in a medieval fantasy world where the player is the knight, Abe, who belongs to a guild back in the main city. However, he has been given the job to guard and protect the village, Kilka, from the monsters in the neighbouring forest. The story begins when there is a sudden onslaught of slimes coming from the forests of Vandoo.

Characters

There are few characters within the current prototype and all are currently shallow characters with no real depth. There is the protagonist, Abe the knight, who the player controls. He is there as a ‘mirror’ type of character that reflects the players desires of being a hero or saviour. There is also the antagonist who has been currently given little to no personality besides being ‘evil’. There are also 2 NPCs that are in the village and can ‘talk’ to the protagonist.

Story

This game prototype has a linear storyline that cannot be changed by the player’s action. The story also follows the ‘Dramatic Arc’. The exposition is the tutorial and level 1; wherein the player discovers that the village is being attacked by a sudden onslaught of slimes. The player also learns that the slimes are coming from the forest. They set out into the forest to save the village and discover what is causing the slime onslaught. The rising action is covered during levels 2 and 3 where the player encounters more slimes and even some unnatural slimes that have imbued with magical properties. There are also puzzles that they player must solve to discover new areas and/or move onto the next level. The climax is the 4th level or boss level. In this level the player discovers that a mage has been summoning the slimes in the forest and it is up to the player to stop the mage by killing them. The falling action and resolution are wrapped up by the 5th level or end level. Here the player returns to the village where the NPCs congratulate the player on saving the village and the player can return to the menu from this level.

Game Levels and Screens

These are the game levels in the final prototype, along with the menu and instruction screens.

Menus

Home Screen

This is the home screen that the players see’s when first loading up the game. This introduces the player into the game’s ‘magic circle’ and allows the player to either enter the ‘magic circle’ or leave on their own volition. It allows the player to start the game by clicking the “Play Game” button, or view the games instructions by clicking the “How To Play” button, or the player can leave the game by clicking the “Quit Game” button.

Instructions 1

When the player clicks the “How To Play” button they are taken to the Instructions 1 screen which shows the player the games control. The player can either return to the menu by clicking “Go To Menu” or view the next page by clicking “Next Page”.

Instructions 2

When the player clicks the “Next Page” button they are taken to the Instructions 2 screen which shows the player what the goals of the game are. The player can either go back to the previous screen by clicking on the “Previous Page” or go to the menu by clicking the “Go To Menu” button.

Tutorial

Level Overview

I redesigned the tutorial level so that it was more intuitive and less intrusive, such as by having the text only appear when the player is in collision with certain objects (such as the white box with a black border). The point of the tutorial level is to introduce the player to the game mechanics and important game concepts such as puzzles and level goals. This also offers some exposition into the world and player character.

Cameras

There are 3 cameras in the level. Each camera acts as a way to have separate areas within a single level. Each area also introduces new game elements and mechanics to the player.

1st Area/Camera

This is the first area where the player is spawned into. This area introduces the movement controls and jump control to the player.

2nd Area/Camera

This is the second area. In this area the player is taught how to interact with objects by being told how to read the signs and scrolls. The player is also taught how to climb ladders. This area is also important since it introduces to the player one of the main types of puzzles encountered in the game, ‘Collection Puzzles’. These puzzles are solved by collecting puzzle items that are usually visible on the object blocking the path, in this case the gems on the door. Once the player has collected all the puzzle items the door will disappear and the player can continue onto the next area.

3rd Area/Camera

This is the 3rd and final area in the tutorial level. This area introduces several game concepts and mechanics. The first is it teaches the player how to melee attack. It also introduces the player to breakable objects and how they look like just a normal part of the environment except for the fact that when a player attacks them they shake and can be destroyed. Next the player is introduced to the main enemy of the game, a slime, which can be killed by the player melee attacking it. The player is also introduced to the health potions and how they spawn into the level after a predetermined amount of time.  Most importantly the player is introduced to the game’s main objective which is that the player cannot progress to the next level until all the slimes have been killed.

Level 1 Village

Level Overview

This is the overview of the first game level, which is the village Kilka that Abe has been instructed to guard and protect. This level is supposed to be easy and ease the player into learning how to kill slimes and begin exploring the levels horizontally and vertically. I also add in NPC’s that the player can talk to and gain some information into what is happening. 

This level was easy to develop and code since I had nothing new to add to the code and only had to modify some of the code I used previously in the tutorial.

Cameras

There are 2 cameras that split the level into 2 separate areas. By doing this it makes the level feel bigger and longer than it actually is.

1st Area/Camera

This is the 1st area that the player spawns into in the level. In this area there are 3 slimes in this part of the level that player must find and kill. The old man NPC is there to ask the player to please kill the slimes that have suddenly invaded the village. This is supposed to spur the player into action. There are several platforms that the player can use to explore the level such as the benches.

2nd Area/Camera

This is the 2nd area that the player can explore. It also contains 3 slimes that the player must kill before they can move onto the next level. The health potion spawn in put in this area and will spawn a potion after a predetermined amount of time has passed and there are no potions already spawned in. The lady NPC informs the player that the slimes seem to becoming from the Vandoo forest.

The player cannot move onto the next level until all 6 slimes (from both levels) are killed. If they attempt to move on before they have killed all the slimes they will have a bubble come up telling the player that Abe won’t move on until the village has been cleared of slimes.

Level 2 Puzzle

Level Overview

This level was designed with the intention of introducing a new slime type and teach the player 2 new concepts in the game. 

The new slime type is the purple slime that cannot be killed by the player but through outside forces (such as solving a puzzle). If the player collides with the purple slime they will be dealt a large amount of damage and sent backwards, away from the purple slime.

The 1st concept is that breakable objects are used to block secret areas. When the player destroys the breakable object an opening will be created that will lead to the secret area.

The 2nd concept is a ‘break’ puzzle. A ‘break’ puzzle is a puzzle that can only be solved by the player destroying a breakable object.

Cameras

There are 4 cameras that split the level into 4 areas.

1st Area/Camera

This is the 1st area that the player spawns into. This area contains 1 slime that the player must kill. The arrow signs point the player upwards towards the way deeper into the forest and towards the level exit. The health potion spawner was also placed on this area since the player will end up back in this area after solving the ‘break’ puzzle.

2nd Area/Camera

This is the 2nd area that the player goes to. The arrow sign points towards the level exit. However, there is a purple slime that is blocking the path. The sign post informs the player that there is dangerous purple slime ahead that the player cannot kill with a melee attack. The purple slime cannot be killed by the player and will deal damage to the player and push them backwards when the player collides with it. For the player to kill the slime they must solve the ‘break’ puzzle.

3rd Area/Camera

This is the 3rd area that the player can explore. The pink slime in this level travels between the 2nd and 3rd area. The scroll in this level informs the player (in a roundabout way) that for them to kill the purple slime they must follow the sliver chain. The sliver chain goes behind a bush that is a breakable object. When the player destroys the bush it will create an opening in the floor that leads to the 4th area.

4th Area/Camera (Hidden Area)

This is the 4th area in the game, which is also a hidden area. It contains a slime that must be killed to complete the level. The sliver chain leads to the breakable object, stone weight, that must be destroyed to solve the ‘break’ puzzle. Once the stone weight is destroyed the silver chain will disappear and the purple slime will be killed.

Level 3 Fire

Level Overview

The point of this level is to combine what the player has been taught throughout the game and further hone their abilities and skills. It is supposed to be the hardest level before the boss level. It has the most slimes in any level and encourages the player to explore. It also has a collection puzzle that was introduced in the tutorial but with more items to collect.  It also introduces a new slime type, the red slime which has been imbued with fire magic. The red slime deals damage to the player upon collision and over time.

Cameras

There are 6 cameras that split the level into 6 areas, with the 6th camera/area being a hidden area that is blocked by a breakable object.

1st Area/Camera

This is the area that the player spawns into. In this level there is 1 slime that the player must kill. This level also has the blue puzzle item that the player needs to collect to open the gate. From here the player can either move onto the 2nd Area by dropping through the hole in the floor or the 3rd Area by proceeding left.

2nd Area/Camera

This is the second area which the player can explore. In here there are 2 slimes that need to he killed to move on. There is also the yellow puzzle item here that needs to he collected to open the gate.

3rd Area/Camera

This is the 3rd area which acts as a bridge to the 4th area; this is because of the hidden area I created. It contains 1 slime that must he killed to continue on.

4th Area/Camera

This is the 4th area that the player can explore. It contains 2 slimes that need to be killed. As well as 3 slimes that move across the 4th, 3rd and 1st area using the top platform. It also contains the health spawner. The tree trunk is a breakable object that once broken creates a path to 6th area aka a hidden area. To get to the 5th area the player must fall down the hole with the vines.

5th Area/Camera

This is the 5th area that the player can explore. There are 3 slimes in this level that the player must kill. There is also a green gem hidden behind the bush. The player can collect it by walking over the bush; which was a mistake I made during development, since the gem was supposed to spawn after the player destroys the bush.

6th Area/Camera (Hidden Area)

This is the 6th area (hidden area) that the player can explore. It has the gate that the player must unlock by both collecting the 3 gems that are scattered throughout the level and killing all the slimes in the level

Level 4 Boss Fight

Level Overview

The point of this level is to test the players skills. It is supposed to be the most difficult level and the boss uses a different type of attack that the player hasn’t seen before. The boss summons vines that shoot up and damages the player upon collision.

This level is the one I needed the most help with since I had little clue what to do for the actual boss fight. Chapter 6 has a section on brainstorming and how best to do it. Though brainstorming was used in earlier levels, I needed team help for this level in particular. I had my team mates offer up their suggestions and any ideas. My tutor did give me a great idea of looking at other metroidvania style of games and see how they conduct boss fights and use that is a springboard for more ideas.

Cameras

There are 4 cameras that split the level into 4 areas with the 3rd area being the boss arena.

1st Area/Camera

This is the area that the player spawns into. This area’s only purpose is to drop the player into the next area, and acts as a connector to the previous level where the player drops into the ground to move onto the next level. 

2nd Area/Camera

This is the 2nd area that the player moves through to get to the boss. This area contains 2 scrolls that informs the player on what the boss is (a mage) and how to go about attacking and killing them. I added in these scrolls so that the player isn’t left in the dark about how to attack the boss.

3rd Area/Camera (Boss Arena)

This is the 3rd area that acts as the boss arena. The player cannot move to the next area until the boss has been defeated. Once the boss fight begins a gate will spawn in and trap the player in this area until the boss has been defeated,

When the player first enters the area they are meet with the mage (boss) and 2 portals. When the player collides with the red box the boss’s text will become visible warning the player to leave or die. The boss fight begins when the player attacks the mage and starts the 1st stage of the fight.

1st Stage

After the first attack the mage teleports to the top of the screen and creates a platform to stand on, the portals also teleport to either side of the screen, and the mage begins attacking the player by summoning vines. The vines are summoned randomly from one of the green boxes (off screen) and then shoot up. The vines also pause before shooting up so that the player has time to react and get out of it’s path. To progress unto the second stage of the boss fight the player must attack and destroy the portals. Attacking the portals does take away health from the mage since they are linked to the portals by their magic.

2nd Stage

After both the portals have been destroyed the mage loses control of their power, thus their platform is destroyed and they fall down to ground level. This allows the player to get within range to attack the mage. However, the vines continue to be summoned and deal damage to the player. After the mage has lost a specific amount of health the 3rd stage will begin.

3rd Stage

This stage behaves the same as the 1st stage; with the mage teleporting back to the top of the screen while creating another platform to stand on, and summons 2 more portals at the same location as the previous ones. The vines continue being summoned. The player has to once again destroy the 2 new portals. After the new portals are destroyed the 4th and final stage begins.

4th Stage

This stage behaves the same as the 2nd stage; with the mage falling onto the ground and the player attacking them while avoiding the vines. However, this stage only ends after the player has killed the mage. After the mage has been defeated vines will stop spawning and the gate to the right will be destroyed. This will allow the player to move onto the 4th area.

4th Area/Camera

This is the 4th and final area that the player can explore. The point of this area is to take the player back to the village (aka the next level).

End Level

Level Overview

The point of this level is to give a definite end to the prototype and have a conclusion to the storyline. This is also the only level that allows the player to return to the menu.

Cameras

There are 2 cameras that split the level into 2 areas. However the 1st area is the only important area.

1st Area

This is the area that the player spawns into. It has the exact same level design as the 1st Level (without any slimes) but the player is spawning in from the right instead of the left since the player is returning from the forest. The villagers are there to celebrate and congratulate the player. Their messages will be displayed when the player is in collision with the NPC. The scroll is there to congratulate the player on winning and tells them how to return to the menu by pressing the ‘M’ key.

2nd Area

The second area has no purpose besides just adding in extra space to explore.

Reference

( Fullerton, T. (2018). Game design workshop : A playcentric approach to creating innovative games, fourth edition. ProQuest Ebook Central https://ebookcentral.proquest.com )

[citrus-feline]

Gem hardness to blood color scale cuz I have nothing better to do. Some hardness levels are spaced weirdly among the blood colors in order to spread out and account for all blood colors. those with scales for their hardness level are assigned the color which has less characters present and are marked with a question mark.

This does not include every character and it also includes characters who have not been introduced in the anime yet. There are some other characters I wanted to include, but they do not have known hardness levels so I wouldn’t know where to put them.

Rust (2 to 2.5) - Cinnabar

Bronze (3 to 3.5) - Antarcticite, Phosphophyllite

Gold (4 to 4.5) - Hemimorphite (?)

Olive (5 to 5.5) - Neptunite, Lapis Lazuli, Sphene, Obsidian

Jade (6 to 6.5) - Benitoite, Rutile

Teal (7) - Watermelon Tourmaline (?), Peridot, Amethyst, Jade

Blue (7.5) - Euclase, Goshenite, Morganite, Zircon, Red Beryl

Indigo (8 to 8.5) -  Alexandrite

Purple (9 to 9.5) - Padparadscha

Violet (10) - Diamond, Yellow Diamond, Bortz

Fuschia (?? / 10+) - Adamant

Hhhh this list took so long because there doesn’t seem to be a comprehensible list of all of the Gems sorted by hardness so I had to go to every separate wiki page for each character... If anyone is forgotten or their hardness is incorrect, please forgive me and let me know so I can edit it.

Edit: Adamant was added as Fuschia, Padparadscha was demoted to Purple, and the diamonds were demoted to Violet. This change was suggested by @thederangedsolicitor and honestly it makes me feel a lot better about this list! Adamant’s hardness is listed as both ?? and 10+ because it’s implied that his hardness is above that of the Mohs Scale but isn’t confirmed.

Edit #2: @parenyzia pointed out that I actually forgot to include Indigo....... So Alexandrite is an Indigo blood now. Sorry for forgetting something so important. I was really tired last night and absolutely wasn’t thinking about it lol. Also to clarify: there is no lime or red blood on this scale because adding mutations into this would make it more complicated than it needs to be. Perhaps Phos, after everything that happens to them, would begin mutations and their blood would turn lime / red, but that’s for later. This is just a skeleton graph to put my thoughts in the open. But that concept does raise some interesting thoughts which I will most likely make a separate post for entirely.

I actually really appreciate corrections and suggestions for this, so thank you guys for letting me know about everything you decide to tell me about!!! If I’m gonna start getting into a silly crossover like this, it’s a lot more fun having multiple people add their two cents, because alone I will make mistakes or format things in ways that makes it confusing.

[hersheygrace]

Seal of Dark Fate

CHAPTER 3: Imprinted Secrets

Genre: Fantasy / Mystery / Romance / Action

Characters: OC / BTS / GOT7 / EXO

Word Count: 5,443

Summary: Min Haeyoon had no idea that a simple trip to the fortune-teller would lead her into meeting a mysterious boy and discovering that she was destined for something that will require her to choose between light and dark.  And along the way, she will realize that the people she knew and the life she led so far were not what she thought them to be.

[1] [2] [3] [4]

RIGHT AFTER THE classes ended, the siblings went straight home to find their house empty which was pretty much a normal thing around those times. Their father, who is a renowned lawyer, usually gets home after eight. While their mother, who is a university professor, always gets home after six and seeing as she still have to run some errands for Jungkook’s high school admission, they expected her to be home later than usual with the boy.

Already changed into more comfortable clothes, Haeyoon went up to her brother’s room to ask for help on her English assignment. Although Yoongi was quite for known for his lethargic ways, the boy is still a ‘smexy’ or smart-and-sexy brained as he would like to put it. “Yoongi?” she called when she saw the boy lounging on his bed while fiddling with his phone.

“Yeah?” he looked up from his bed, hair messy and eyes sleepy.

She flopped down beside him on his bed with books on hand. “Can you help me with English, please?” The boy chuckled at his sister’s cuteness before shifting into a sitting position and opening one of her books.

After a few minutes of studying the questions, he turned at Haeyoon with furrowed eyebrows, “Okay, I know I’m smart and all but I’m not that kick-ass when it comes to English compared to Namjoon so…I think we’ll be needing a little help from Mr. Webster.” He smiled sheepishly at the girl, making her giggle.

“Alright, I get it,” she said laughingly as she got up from the bed. “I think there’s a dictionary in dad’s study.” She headed downstairs and opened the dark wooden door next to the stairwell. It was never locked since it also functions as the family’s mini library. The girl walked up to the book shelf and scanned for the dictionary which she found almost immediately. She was about to leave the room when something shiny on their father’s study table caught her eyes. She turned and saw piles of folder neatly stacked on the mahogany table but what got her curious was the black book partly hidden by some flyers. Peering closer, she saw that the shiny thing she saw were actually tiny different colored gems glinting under the sunlight from the glass window. The gems were attached to the corner of the book and when she shoved the flyers aside, she realized that the whole surface of the five-inch thick book was adorned with jewels to perfection. The book was strange and obviously very old but still in a good condition. Her mouth parted in awe when her eyes landed to the embossed emblem on the middle of the book, surrounded by the seemingly precious stones. It was shaped like an ‘L’ with other swirly intricate designs twirling around it and the girl wasn’t so sure how to explain it but she knows that it was really beautiful and it was definitely made out of pure gold. It was like a crest that one usually see in some old fairytale books, like a crest that represents a family, group or kingdom.

“Wow…” was all she managed to say before her hands, as if having a mind of their own, carefully flipped the cover of the old book open. The first page, which shows a map, was already yellowish on the edges and running a finger over it, the girl knew that it wasn’t just a normal piece of paper. The second and third pages also had a map drawn across it with words and labels that Haeyoon was not familiar with but one word caught her attention. “Lucere,” she breathed as she remembered the word being mentioned by her parents last night. Flipping through the pages, she realized that she can understand the words written on the next pages and when she saw something written about The Guardians and more about Lucere, she rushed upstairs to her brother.

“Yoongi, check this out,” she uttered breathlessly as she cautiously placed the heavy book on the bed before sitting down beside the brown-haired boy. “I saw this on dad’s study table and I guess this could answer our questions.”

“No shit,” he said incredulously before turning his full attention towards the old book. They sat there in total silence as they read the book together. They can’t bring themselves to believe on what was being revealed to them. “Is this book for real? Sorcerers? Kingdom of Lucere? Fuck this shit…” Yoongi grumbled in disbelief but still continued reading while Haeyoon silently tried to absorb the bizarre information. However, they were interrupted when they heard their mother’s voice from downstairs. Another string of profanities left the boy’s mouth as they were both frozen staring at each other, the black book between them. “I’ll distract mom while you return the book,” Yoongi said in panic as they both shot up from the bed and darted downstairs.

Luckily, their mother was busy putting some groceries in the kitchen making it easy for Haeyoon to slip the book back in the study room. She hoped that her father won’t hide it anywhere because they’re not yet done reading. When she went out of the room, she saw Yoongi coming out of the kitchen and heading towards the living room where Jungkook was quietly sitting.

“Hi, mom!” she greeted enthusiastically as she bounced towards the kitchen. “What’s for dinner?” Her mother said something like pasta but her mind was actually drifting towards the book again.

“Jungkook will start next week,” her mother informed her with a smile and upon the mention of the boy’s name, she immediately paid attention.

“Start what?” she asked.

“Going to high school,” the woman replied. “I didn’t know that that kid was a genius. He aced all the tests and his IQ was above normal.”

“Really?” asked Haeyoon skeptically because their encounter that morning sure proved otherwise but then she realized that he did know the dictionary meaning of sex—like literally. “Good for him, I guess.”

“But I would like you to keep an eye on him, dear,” her mother faced her with a sudden serious expression. “Watch over him and guide him.”

Though quite weirded-out by her mother’s request, Haeyoon didn’t show it and just shrugged instead. “Sure, no problem.”

THAT NIGHT, HAEYOON can’t fall asleep. She kept tossing and turning in her bed but it looked like sand man won’t do his job anytime soon. She glanced at her alarm clock and it read fifteen to ten. Her mind was so clouded with many thoughts swimming in her mind such as the black book; their parents’ odd acts lately, and of course, her new classmate—Do Kyungsoo. She really found the new transfer strange and she can’t help but admit that she was quite crept out by his constant stares at her. It was like he wanted to say something but always ended up gazing at her with that unreadable expression on his face. It’s bad enough that he was placed next to her by the teacher because it became so awkward but what’s worse is that she could feel his intense stare like he’s trying to bore holes through her skull. There came a point that she asked him if he needed anything or wanted to say something but he just blushed and shook his head. But Haeyoon have to give it to him though, he was really cute but really weird, too.

A series of patterned knock on her door pulled her out of her stupor. She knew it was Yoongi so she said, “Come in.”

“Hey,” her brother flopped down on her bed, already on his pj’s, a white v-neck shirt and blue cotton pants. “Can’t sleep, too, huh?”

She rested her back against the headboard while clutching a pillow to her chest. “With all the things happening, it’s quite hard.” There was a minute of silence before Yoongi spoke again.

“So, Lucere is a kingdom,” he mused but Haeyoon can still hear doubt in his tone. “And it is a place for…sorcerers.”

She turned to see him staring hard at his lap, like he was in deep thought. “And don’t forget The Guardians who were created to protect the kingdom.” Haeyoon backtracked to the things they read from the book, they weren’t even half way through it when they had to stop and so far, all that they know is that Lucere was a magical kingdom. “It reminds me of Harry Potter.”

“Do you think it’s true? That there is such a place and—I mean, come on, magic? Who believes in freaking magic?” the boy rambled, running a hand through his already messy hair.

“I do,” Haeyoon said softly. “Yoongi, I think I saw it first hand.” Her brother turned to look incredulously at her but she continued. “When Mrs. Jeon died...in my arms…I saw the mark on her hand glow in bright blue before disappearing into thin air.”

“No…freaking way.”

“I know what I saw,” she insisted, turning her whole body so that she’s faced to her brother now. “Then when I touched her son’s hand for the first time…the same mark appeared on my wrist.” She extended her wrist to her brother, palm facing up, to show the black mark. Yoongi gasp as he held his sister’s hand and peered closely at her wrist. “It just appeared there, glowed in blue for a while then became black…like magic.”

“What the hell—why didn’t you tell me earlier?!” the boy looked at her with wide worried eyes.

“I kind of forgot, besides, it all happened just yesterday,” she replied, gently pulling her hand back. “By the way, Jungkook also had a mark like this.”

“What?!” Yoongi exclaimed. “How?!”

“I don’t have any idea, too. But I’m pretty sure that he had it for a long time now.” she shrugged, leaning back at the headboard.

“Should we ask him?” he suddenly said. “Maybe he knows something.”

“I think you’re right,” with that said, they both went towards the next room. The door was left ajar and Haeyoon assumed that he’s still not that comfortable with his new surroundings. “Hey, Jungkook,” she gently called so as not to surprise him. He was sitting on top of his bed with his knees drawn up against his chest, curling like a lost little child. But when he heard her soft voice, he perked up and his face broke out into a happy relieved expression.

She walked into the room with her brother before sitting on the edge of Jungkook’s bed. “How are you feeling?”

“I was…scared but not anymore,” then he met her in the eye before his handsome face broke out into the first smile Heayoon ever saw on him, clearly letting her know that her presence was enough to make him feel safe.

Her brother cleared his throat as he stood in front of the bed before bringing up the question. “So, Jungkook, do you know anything about this mark?” he questioned before grasping his sister’s wrist and showing the mark to the younger boy. “You have one like this, too, right?”

It took a while but Jungkook recognized it. “Mother had one like that, too.”

“I know but did she ever mention something about this?” he asked again and when the boy slowly shook his head he let Haeyoon’s wrist go. He ‘tsk-ed’ before grabbing the chair on the study stable and straddling it. “You sure?”

Jungkook became silent for a while, as if trying to think of or recall something. “I think…mother did mention something about it being a seal when I asked before but I’m not so sure.”

“Seal?” the siblings said in unison. “Seal for what?” it was Yoongi who asked the question.

“That’s…that’s all I know,” he said with a contrite face.

“It’s okay, what you told us is more than enough,” she patted Jungkook’s head before turning to Yoongi. “I think we should really ask mom and dad about this.”

Her brother snorted at the idea. “As if they would tell us; you heard them last night, they have no intention of letting us in on whatever it is that’s going on until who knows when.”

“Then what do you say we do, Sherlock?” Haeyoon asked with a cocked eyebrow.

“Finish the book,” he replied. “I have a feeling that we can find something in there if not the exact answers.”

“You make it sound so easy,” Haeyoon shot the brown-haired boy a look. “You know we can’t get the book unless they’re not here and we’re lucky enough if dad didn’t hide it yet.”

“That’s why we’ll do it tomorrow,” Yoongi persisted. “It’s weekend and they’ll both come home later that usual. We’re gonna have to find it if it’s hidden and Jungkook here can help do the searching while we’re gone since you have to help in aunt’s café while I have basketball practice.”

Haeyoon searched Jungkook’s face who only sweetly smiled at her, “I think I could help you with that.”

“Good,” Yoongi nodded in approval and his sister gave him a funny look. “What?” he demanded with arms crossed across his chest.

“I see you’re already approving of him,” she chuckled when her brother turned away, nose high in the air.

“Don’t put words in my mouth, princess,” he huffed but Haeyoon knew him too well to know that he’s slowly warming up to the other boy.

“Whatever you say, dear brother,” she muttered dismissively before standing up and eyeing the empty glass of milk on Jungkook’s bedside table. “I’ll bring this down for you, hmm?” she turned to Jungkook before patting him yet again on the head which the boy seemed to love very much. Then she glanced at her brother and said, “I’ll go ahead and you can continue having boy-to-boy talk with him.”

Yoongi abruptly stood up with a snort. “Like I would,” he muttered before walking past his sister and accidently bumping on her arm which caused her to drop the glass. They were all startled as it landed on the hard wooden floor and crashed into tiny shards. “Shit, I’m so sorry, princess!”

“It’s okay,” she said as she bent down to start picking up the broken pieces which she realized belatedly was a very stupid move.

“Wait, you’ll gonna—,” Yoongi tried to stop her but it was too late.

“Ouch!”

“—hurt youself.” The boy approached his sister and gently pulled her up to check on her wound. Her index and middle finger on her left hand was cut pretty deep but it was nothing serious. “It’s a pretty big cut but nothing a bandage strip couldn’t solve.”

Haeyoon bit her lip as she winced at her stinging wound. She turned to Jungkook to warn him not to go down the bed until they clean the mess but she was surprised to see him cradling one of his hands with a pained expression. “Are you okay?” she asked as she moved away from Yoongi and approached the boy on the bed.

“What happened?” Yoongi asked as he stood beside them. The siblings were both stunned to see Jungkook sporting the exact same wound as Haeyoon. The middle and index finger on his left hand was bleeding equally as the girl’s fingers. No matter how they think about it, it was obviously no coincidence because it was an identical wound and it happened at the very same time and there were no shards or any sharp objects near the boy where he can possibly get the cut. He was just sitting there, not moving at all so the only explanation they can come up with was that he got it when Haeyoon got it. “Holy shit! How the fuck did that happen?”

Haeyoon and Jungkook were both speechless as they stared at their wounds then at each other’s surprised faces. First the black mark and now this? What in the world is happening?

“Does this mean that—Yoongi, pinch me!” she suddenly blurted but her brother complied notheless and as expected, Jungkook felt it, too. When she asked Yoongi to pinch Jungkook, she felt it as well. “Oh my, gosh…that was weird.”

“Weird?” Yoongi exclaimed so loud it was a wonder their parents didn’t come knocking on the door to ask what’s wrong. “That was more than freaking weird!”

“ARE YOU SURE you’re okay, sweetie?” Haeyoon’s aunt asked her for the umpteenth time. “You’re spacing out since this morning, you can stake some rest if you want.”

The girl tried to force a smile to reassure her aunt that there was nothing to worry about. “I’m really fine, aunty, just thinking about some new recipe that we could add on the menu.” She hated lying but she can’t possibly tell the old woman that she was actually thinking about a certain boy they left in their house and how they both got the same mark and that they could actually feel what the others could feel.

“Alright,” the woman sighed. “But you have to tell me when your wound starts hurting, okay? I can’t let you strain yourself, you helped me more than enough.” Her aunt smiled warmly at her and gave her a squeeze before disappearing in the kitchen and leaving her to attend on the counter.

Haeyoon sighed heavily as she tried to clear her mind for a while, nothing of the things happening make sense but looking at the brighter side of the events, she could make sure that Jungkook is fine even if they’re away from each other because if he’s hurt in anyway, she would definitely feel it. Looking around the cozy shop and smelling the wonderful aroma of the coffee and pastries was slowly relaxing her stressed mind. The café owned by her aunt on mother’s side was peaceful and quiet although there are a few couples, group of teenagers and some university students lounging inside. And that’s how Haeyoon wanted to spend her every Saturday. She started volunteering on the café at the age of ten when she discovered that she had a knack for baking. It’s really a win-win situation for her because aside from being able to do what she loves, she was also able to help her widow aunt. After a few minutes more of calm and peacefulness the bell on the door chimed, signaling the arrival of a new customer…or customers.

“Ooh, the other group of hot stuffs is here,” Minah, her co-worker, grinned at her as she passed by the counter with a tray and two empty cups of coffee. “I really like it when you’re on duty, Haeyoonie, cute boys keep on coming.” The girl’s short black hair bobbed as she giggled. “I already missed you’re brother’s group,” she added with a wink before disappearing inside the kitchen, leaving Haeyoon chuckling to herself at her friend’s silliness.

“Sweetcake!” a loud overly excited voice shattered the tranquil ambiance of the whole café. But as Haeyoon could see, the other customers weren’t bothered much by the new comers, if anything, some of the girls, especially the teenagers, started squealing quietly among themselves with their dreamy eyes following the group’s every move. “Oppa missed you so much!” The loud boy ran up to the counter before leaning over and squishing her cheeks. “You’ve gotten so much cuter since we last visited here.”

“Don’t hog her, Jackson,” a boy with silver hair said as he pushed Jackson out of the way. “Hi, A,” he greeted Haeyoon with a wink that made the other girls in the room swoon.

The auburn-headed girl rolled her eyes. “My name’s Haeyoon, Jaebum,” she reminded him but it went on deaf ears when he insisted on calling her “A” which is a short term for “Angel” according to him.

“Won’t you smile for me, princess?” a voice said from her side and she turned her head to see another black haired boy grinning widely at her.

“You do know that the counter is for authorized personnel only, right?” she said with raised brow before eyeing his arm that was now draped possessively around her shoulder.

“I know and I know for sure that aunty won’t mind Prince Jr being here,” he said and as if on cue, her aunt came out of the kitchen with a pleasant smile.

“My, my, I knew you were here, you, boys, always make quite a grand entrance,” the woman chuckled before adding, “It’s been a while seen I’ve seen Haeyoon’s knights in my café, be sure to enjoy, alright?” The group buzzed in agreement before the woman went back inside.

“I told you,” Jr murmured in Haeyoon’s ears before planting a quick kiss on her cheek causing her roll her eyes once more.

“Oh no, what happened to your hand?!” another raven-haired boy with a patch of yellow on the fringe invaded the counter and her personal space as he fussed over her injured hand. “Did it hurt a lot, Haeyoonie? Do you want me to kiss the pain away?”

“Nice try, Bambam but as far as medical study is concern, morphine can reduce pain and not a kiss,” a tall boy stood beside JB with a smirk on his face.

“You’re such a cockblocker, Yugyeom,” another boy butt in as he slung an arm around the latter’s shoulder.

“Language, Choi Youngjae,” Haeyoon said as she gave him a warning glance.

The boy sheepishly bit his lip as he muttered, “Sorry, princess” to her. While the other boys continued fussing over her hand especially Bambam, Jackson and Jr, a red-haired boy caught her attention. He was just standing silently behind JB but when he caught her looking at him, he showed her a warm smile that he rarely do in front of other people. Haeyoon smiled in return and waved her right uninjured-hand a little and that’s when the boy’s smile faltered. His lips parted a little and his eyes widened ever so slightly in a surprised manner. He suddenly walked around the counter, tore the other boys away from Haeyoon before grabbing her right hand and turning it up.

“Where’d you get this?” he asked breathlessly as if he can’t believe what he’s seeing on her wrist. The other boys suddenly stopped making noises, faces mirroring the red-head’s reaction upon the sight of the unusual mark.

Haeyoon found herself unable to reply. How could she say that it just magically appeared on her wrist when she held hand with Jungkook? Would they believe her? The girl don’t think so, that’s why instead of answering his query, she found herself asking him back. “W-why’d you ask, Mark?”

“Just answer me, damn it!” the boy raised his voice, grip tightening around her wrist and making her flinch. Never once did Mark get angry at her, he was always the cool and calm one, always gentle and careful around her and his outburst quite scared the poor girl.

“Mark,” JB said in an authoritative voice, silently commanding the other boy to release his grip and as soon as Mark let go, Haeyoon was pulled into JB’s arms protectively. Before she could register what’s really happening, the silver-haired boy gently passed her to Jr’s waiting arms before walking out of the café with Mark in tow.

Haeyoon was left with questions on why did Mark and the others react that way. It was like they recognized the black mark at that moment but when she asked them if they know something about it they all frantically shook their heads in strong denial saying that it's the first time they saw something like that and they were quite surprised. But Haeyoon was not that naive to not notice that Jr and the others were dodging her questions and trying to divert her attention by changing the topic. She found them acting strange but she decided to let it slide for the meantime.

“THIS IS SERIOUSLY the best, Yoonie,” Bambam said with mouthful of chocolate cake that she baked.

“Thanks, Bammie,” she chuckled as she wiped the dark icing smeared on his lips with a table napkin. Due to the boys’ persistent demand, she was given a longer than usual break by her aunt who gladly complied with the request.

“I don’t know what I would do with my life if Bambam wasn’t able to discover this café and bring us here,” Jackson said after swallowing a spoonful of strawberry cheesecake; trust the boy to exaggerate things. “I don’t know what I would do with my life if I wasn’t able to meet my baby sweetcake Haeyoon and fall inlove!” Haeyoon just had to roll her eyes at that.

It was because of the café that they met each other. All seven of them went to a middle school not too far away from the café and one day, Bambam was exploring the neighborhood when he accidentally discovered the place. Being the foodie that he was he immediately tried the cakes on display and immediately fell in love. That time, he demanded to see the baker and was pleasantly surprised to see a very pretty girl wearing a cute pink apron. From then on, he frequently visited the café together with his other friends who quickly took a liking at Haeyoon, thus, making them all friends. Having known each other for more than four years is enough to bring them close like siblings.

“Say, ahh, my princess,” Jr cooed at her while he held his fork with mocha cake in front of her lips. However, instead of Haeyoon, Yugyeom was the one who took the bite.

“Haeyoon loves strawberry, don’t you know?” the boy smugly said as he pushed his plate of strawberry cake towards the girl.

“Woah, Mr. I-don’t-want-to-share-what’s-mine was actually giving away his slice of favorite cake? Wow, just wow, you really are something, babygirl,” Youngjae said dramatically complete with slow clapping which made Haeyoon laugh and Yugyeom blush.

Haeyoon then remembered something which made her smile turn upside down as she found herself anxiously glancing out the glass wall. Ever since Mark’s outburst, he and JB are still not coming back. She wondered what happened with Mark and why did he react that way. Sure, the other boys were also surprised and shared the same horrified look when they saw the mark but they seemed to get over it rather quickly and began acting normal and cheerful around her again.

“Jr,” she nudged the boy beside her. “Can you check up on Mark and JB?”

“Why? You worried, princess?” the boy asked jokingly but when she looked at him with a pair of cute worried eyes, he suddenly gushed at her. “Oh my gosh! You adorable little bunny! Why do you have to be so cute?!” He engulfed her in a bear hug while rocking her back and forth.

“Guys, you’re back!” Bambam exclaimed which made them all turn towards the direction of Mark and JB. Haeyoon looked at the two guys but Mark was avoiding her eyes while JB was giving her a smile that say’s she doesn’t have to worry.

“Hi, angel,” JB said as he slid in between her and Yugyeom which earned a lot of protest from the latter. “Where is my favorite cake?”

“Uh, yeah, here,” she passed him a slice of black forest which he accepted with a cute boyish smile. “Is…is Mark okay?” she can’t help but ask as she snuck a glance at the red-head who sat at the farthest side of the table. “Is he mad at me?”

“Of course not,” the silver-haired boy softened when he saw the worried look on Haeyoon’s face. He placed a comforting arm around her before kissing her on the temple. “You’ll see, before the day ends, he will come to you. There’s no way he could last a day without talking to you,” the boy whispered and what he said eased her a bit.

“GOOD THING YOUR brother and his friends aren’t going to pick you up today,” Jackson grinned at Haeyoon as he walked backwards which earned him a few warnings from JB and Jr that what he’s doing was actually dangerous. They were walking Haeyoon to her house since her brother was still in basketball practice.

“I still don’t get why you guys don’t get along,” Haeyoon said to all of them. “It’s like there’s always a competition going on between your group and theirs.”

“There is a competition, sweetheart,” Youngjae pointed out, placing an arm around her shoulders. “Our schools are rivals, remember?”

“But I’m friends with all of you,” she insisted, trying prove her point. “So why can’t you be friends with them, too?”

The boys looked at her with amused smiles on their faces. She really is too innocent for her own good. The competition they were talking about was not just about the school, they were competing in more ways than one but Haeyoon won’t realize it because she’s pure like that.

“It’s a guy thing, princess,” Jr said as he pinched her cute button nose. “Like how wolves claim territory, you know?”

Haeyoon snorted in an unlady-like way which made them chuckle. “Guy thing my ass.”

“Woah, sweetcake is being sassy, me likey,” Jackson wiggled his eyebrows suggestively at her which earned him a smack from both JB and Yugyeom.

“We’re here!” Bambam announced when they halt in front of a modern-looking two storey house with white pristine walls and elegant black roof. All of them, with the exception of Mark, gave her either a hug or kiss on the forehead or cheek as they bid her goodbye and Haeyoon can’t help but wonder how they were so much alike with Yoongi and his friends. Haeyoon was sure that the boys would get along just fine if they only give it a chance.

“Thanks for walking me home,” she smiled brightly at them before waving goodbye. She watched them walk away but was surprised when Mark stayed behind.

“Hey,” Mark started rather awkwardly as he rubbed the back of his neck and refused meeting her in the eye. “I just wanted to apologize for earlier.”

A gentle smile made its way on Haeyoon’s lips when she saw the boy looking so embarrassed and guilty. She knew that Mark wasn’t one to apologize, and seeing him put effort just to make up with her made her forgive him easily. “It’s okay, I forgive you.”

Mark snapped his head to look at her with a surprised look. He knew that Haeyoon was a very kind-hearted girl but he didn’t expect her to forgive him so easily. “Just like that?”

The girl giggled at his reaction and said, “What? Want me to make you walk on your knees around the city just so I forgive you or do you want me to make you do one hundred flips in the air instead?”

Mark broke out into a carefree grin and shook his head. “Thanks but no thanks; I’ll take your first offer.” He walked towards her and pulled her into a warm embrace. Feeling her warm soft body against him made him realize that getting into sort of a fight or misunderstanding with her, even for just a few hours, was unbearable and made him so upset. “Remind me to not get into a fight with you again,” he sighed as he buried his face into her strawberry and honeysuckle scented hair.

Haeyoon giggled as she patted his back comfortingly. “But, really, why’d you get mad so suddenly?” she asked, her curiosity getting the best of her.

Mark pulled away enough to see her pretty face before shaking his head at her. “I’m sorry for reacting that way but don’t worry, okay?” He pulled her into his arms again. “We’ll protect you…I’ll protect you no matter what happens.”

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[bharatiyamedia-blog]

2019 is The Yr of Mammootty, this sweet-sad-funny ode to the Kerala Police seals the deal- Leisure Information, Firstpost

http://tinyurl.com/y6j9m854 Solid: Mammootty, Shine Tom Chacko, Arjun Ashokan, Lukman, Omkar Das Manikpuri, Ranjith Balakrishnan, Bhagwan Tiwari, Jacob Gregory, Dileesh Pothan, Chien Ho Liao, Easwari Rao, Cameos by Asif Ali and Vinay Forrt Director: Khalidh Rahman Language: Malayalam with Hindi and a sprinkling of different tongues Ranking: 4 (out of 5 stars) If you happen to grew up admiring Mammootty and have had your coronary heart damaged repeatedly over the many years as he embraced a spiced-up, clichéd sort of cinema through which his pure performing expertise was drowned out by loud background scores, stereotypically lionised heroics and excessive misogyny, 2019 is an opportunity to heal. Lately particularly, a dismal meeting line of gimmicky performances in machoistic movies have overshadowed the very occasional aid provided by the Malayalam megastar’s transferring work in gems like Munnariyippu (2014) and Pathemari (2015). Author-director Khalidh Rahman’s Unda comes at a time when the actor appears to be decisively altering course, providing dazzling reminders of his versatility by straddling a number of industries and delivering back-to-back brilliance in Yatra (Telugu), Peranbu (Tamil) and even Madhuraraja (Malayalam), the latter undeniably masala fare and positively not bereft of issues, but far faraway from the decibels and triteness that had turn out to be attribute of Mammootty’s performances in comedies. Unda seals the deal: in a survey of India’s greatest business male stars throughout languages, 2019 needs to be declared the 12 months of Mammootty. Mammootty in a nonetheless from Unda. Picture by way of Twitter Unda (Bullet) is a Malayalam-cum-Hindi movie set in Chattisgarh the place a contingent of the Kerala Police is distributed to assist the Indo-Tibetan Border Police throughout a tension-ridden election. Maoists have declared that they won’t permit voting to happen. It’s the job of safety forces to make sure that it does. Into this politically, culturally and geographically unfamiliar territory, Sub-Inspector Manikandan C.P. (Mammootty) and his staff discover themselves thrown in on the deep finish. Earlier than they left on a 40-day tour which can cowl Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Jharkhand, they had been instructed they need to do Kerala proud. Once they attain their first vacation spot they realise that they’ve been orphaned, their very own state authorities having despatched them right into a battle zone with restricted tools and nil coaching, leaving them on the mercy of indignant, time-constrained, unkind, stressed-out colleagues in north India who lambast them for his or her cluelessness. Unda was shot on location in Chattisgarh, Karnataka and Kerala. DoP Sajith Purushan’s work is designed to maintain viewers on edge with out being clearly manipulative. If you’re used to the wealthy greens of Malayalam cinema, then the comparatively sparse, dust-encrusted forests of Bastar turn out to be a metaphor for the stark distinction between Mani’s residence state of affairs and his current circumstances. He and his associates from Kerala are courageous, well-intentioned, disciplined males, however they’re dragged down by dated firearms, strained provides and their vastly totally different background. Most of them have by no means fired a gun of their lives, having not wanted to up to now of their comparatively peaceable state. This places them at excessive threat right here in Bastar, the place violence is the order of the day as safety forces and native extremists are in fixed battle mode. Understandably then, they really feel humiliated, helpless, betrayed, livid and afraid. Unda is a slice-of-life saga that reads like pages out of the diary of one in every of these males. Khalidh Rahman steers away from the formulae that such movies often resort to. He doesn’t, for example, assign a romance per cop, nor give any of them elaborate schmaltzy again tales, but we get to know most of them nicely via the work dynamic between them, snatches of their repartee with one another and the occasional phone dialog again residence. So there may be Jojo (Shine Tom Chacko) whose marriage is on the rocks and who vents his aggression on his colleagues. Girish (Arjun Ashokan) is a happy-go-lucky teen who has been pulled away from preparations for his impending marriage ceremony. And Biju (Lukman) is rising uninterested in being focused by his fellow policemen with casteist banter and slurs. This motley crew must be held collectively by Mani Sir whose recognition is sorely examined when his juniors realise he’s just about at sea in Bastar. One of many many partaking features of Unda is the best way it has a little bit of fun at our expense after setting us as much as anticipate the type of formulaic remedy that has come to be recognized with Mammootty and Mohanlal movies. So the screenplay delays Mammootty’s introductory scene, as his massive business movies typically do lately, but it surely then deflates anybody anticipating a grand entry for Mammukka full with heralding music and his trademark swagger – as a substitute we get to first meet Mani in a quietly amusing crowd scene. Throughout one confrontation, the amount of Prashant Pillai’s in any other case fantastically understated, localised background rating does abruptly rise, but it surely doesn’t giganticise Mammukka in the best way most different movies do, as a substitute in a tragi-comic style it serves to underline his endearing vulnerability right here. Mani is much faraway from the invincible, glamourised, trigger-happy policeman Mammootty has performed 1,000,000 instances in his lengthy profession. Unda then is usually humorous, regardless of its grave setting. There’s additionally a candy simplicity to the staff spirit of Mani’s males. In the end although, like Dr Biju’s Kaadu Pookunna Neram (2017) starring Rima Kallingal and Indrajith Sukumaran, what Unda leaves us with is an amazing unhappiness on the realisation that these policemen, members of a much-hated occupation, are in their very own method a sufferer of the system that every day threatens the lives of Bastar’s tribals. An area man known as Kunalchand (Peepli Dwell‘s Omkar Das Manikpuri making his Mollywood debut right here) laments that he’s within the firing line of each the Maoists and the police, as a result of the Maoists suppose he’s a police informer and the police merely assume he’s a Maoist, this everlasting spherical of suspicion leaving area for one more enemy altogether to invade their peace. The Kerala Police staff are usually not as impoverished and determined as Kunalchand, however they too are pawns within the palms of bigger forces who reap the benefits of their want for employment. That mentioned, Unda doesn’t paint these policeman as unflinchingly flawless, nor dismiss the north India-based safety personnel as unmitigated nasties. Bhagwan Tiwari’s Kapil Dev, for example, at first does come throughout as unfairly impatient and imply – observe how he’s initially contemptuous of Mani & Co as a result of they have no idea Hindi, as if it’s his proper to demand that they do – however we see different sides to him because the movie rolls alongside. And keep in mind that Biju is taunted not by these newcomers, however by the very individuals who travelled with him from residence. The writing of Biju is elegant, plausible and so illuminating, a delicate be aware that prejudice doesn’t all the time come from the unequivocally evil however typically from those that may by and enormous be deemed good, that bias is usually so deeply ingrained in us that we don’t even realise that we’re giving expression to it. Not like Kapil Dev, Unda is respectful of language variations. If you happen to purchase a ticket for a Malayalam movie it’s cheap to anticipate that the movie will likely be in Malayalam, but many Mollywood movies function dialogues in varied languages (particularly Tamil) with out subtitling them for the advantage of its major viewers who’re Malayalam audio system. Unda not solely options English subtitles all through for the advantage of non-Malayalam-speaking viewers, but it surely additionally has Malayalam subtitles embedded within the print via giant swathes of the movie’s Hindi dialogues – the latter are lacking in some locations, however the truth that they’re there in any respect is a refreshing change. Mahesh Narayanan’s Take Off is one other uncommon current movie that did likewise. Though there’s a lot to advocate in Unda, the whole absence of the feminine voice within the narrative is troubling. The ladies who do seem within the story are so marginal that they could as nicely haven’t been there. On this space, Kaadu Pookunna Neram (2017) scores significantly over Unda. Girls are often the most important victims in any battle state of affairs, and to disregard them fully whenever you in any other case present a lot sensitivity within the remedy of a fragile topic, is simply inexcusable. The marginalisation of girls was a difficulty with the director’s first movie too – Anuraga Karikkin Vellam gave extra display screen time to girls however didn’t enter their minds not like its male leads. Unda might have additionally finished with out the distant unique determine that Mani retains seeing in Chhattisgarh. If the thought was to convey a person’s fears translating into hallucinations, I want it had been finished with out enjoying on the stereotype of the Adivasi held by city-based viewers. It’s exactly as a result of there may be a lot to like in Unda that these points are disappointing. Anticipating the surprising is par for the course for Malayalam movie buffs, but it surely nonetheless takes a second to get used to Unda. Not as a result of its story, setting and remedy are distinctive (they’re), however as a result of Mammootty agreed to subsume his stardom in a task. It’s such a pleasure to see this nice artiste so completely inhabiting a task that a minimum of for the two hours plus of Unda‘s working time, he turns into a distant reminiscence as a result of S.I. Manikandan C.P. is all he’ll allow us to see. His ensemble of co-stars are equally credible and actual. Lukman as Biju, for one, is sheer perfection. And Shine Tom Chacko switches easily chameleon-like from the repulsive Alwin in Ishq only recently to the various shades of Unda‘s Jojo – depressing, fearful, unwilling to confess to his fears, likeable and unlikeable in equal measure. Jojo’s sketchy grasp of Hindi offers Unda one in every of its most hilarious scenes. Of all of the artwork lovers on this world, the Malayalam movie follower is very blessed. I can’t imagine my good luck that I dwell in an period when Madhu C. Narayanan’s Kumbalangi Nights, Aashiq Abu’s Virus, Manu Ashokan’s Uyare and Khalidh Rahman’s Unda have all come to theatres in.the.identical.12 months. 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[challengewriterssoul]

30 Writing Prompts Challenge

So my bestie and I are doing a Writing Prompt Challenge. It is one that I came up with. You don’t have to do it the same way, but as my bestie and I are wannabe writers this is how we did it.

Rules:

1. You and your friend compile a list of prompts for each other. Your list will go to your friend and their list will be yours. *Try not to sabotage your friend*

2. You have at most two days to complete each prompt.

3. You need to either post it online so that your friend can see it or email your answer to each other. 

4. The stories for each prompt can either be just a scene or a fully fleshed out story. 

5. Make sure you credit who the prompt originated from. 

**For an added challenge, you can try to have all the prompts in one giant story. This might be difficult to do, but you can try.**

Note: I gave my bestie four optional prompts that I created because some of the prompts that I thought were interesting might not fit in with what she writes. 

So here are my prompts from my bestie!

lots-of-ideas @ Tumblr

1.     It had taken a while before you’d realized that no one else could see them, and it had taken even longer to realize that they were ghosts.

2.     “All of humanity has bowed down to me, all except you. What makes you so different?”

3.     “No offense, but you’re a dick.” “Actually, that was kinda offensive.” That’s your problem, not mine.”

4.     “The murders, the fighting, everything that I remember. Is it real?” “No. We installed false memories in you. It was the only way we could ensure your compliance.”

5.     “Download all the data, then terminate her. I have no more use for someone like her.”

6.     “Oh! Oh, where am I? Where am I? I should be home, not here!” “You’re dead sweetie. You’re never going to go home.” “What?! No! That can’t be right. I don’t remember dying.”

 rarelyfunny.writes @ Instagram

1. You are the sole survivor of a famous serial killer. Years later, you pluck up the courage to visit him in prison and to ask the question that’s been plaguing you for decades… “Why didn’t you kill me?”

2. More people are rescued from the cave in Thailand than had originally gone into it.

3. You interrupt a group of demons who are in the middle of a summoning ritual. You are relieved that you stopped them, but the last demon looks at you and says, “You didn’t stop us. You’re here.”

4. An old, forgotten God is living his days peacefully in the suburbs. One day, he randomly receives a prayer. And he is going to do everything in his power to answer it.

5. You decide to prank your child by convincing him that Harry Potter is real and that he is a wizard as well. You fake a Hogwart’s letter, drive him to King’s Cross station and wait for the moment he crashes into the pillar. Instead, he goes straight through.

6. You are making dinner because you are about to meet your significant other’s Dad for the first time. All you have in the kitchen are cooked, frozen steaks. In walks your significant other and their Dad, Gordon Ramsey.

 writingpromptsdaily @ Instagram

1. Your guardian angel struggles daily. Write about why today was a really trying day for him/her.

2. If you give me a minute, I think I can make this worse.

3. Why can’t anyone time travel without messing things up?

4. The elders knew as soon as they saw it floating in the middle of the lake…

5. You wake up on the Titanic the day before it’s supposed to sink.

6. Packing for time travel

7. Superhero with an unusual superpower

8. A box is delivered to you and what’s inside scares you more than anything else. What’s in it?

 writing.prompt.s @ Instagram

1. After graduation everyone throws their caps in the air. When they soar back down everyone is holding a different cap that resembles an occupation. Some people hold army hats, others baseball caps, some fast food ones, even a helmet for a space suit. Yours, however, doesn’t come back down.

2. You are cleaning out the attic of your home when you find a dusty, old, leather-bound diary. The date inside is from 150 years ago. You start to read, and the author writes about strange things happening in the house; items moving around mysteriously, strange sounds, etc. The final entries describe seeing a ghost, in great detail, hair color, eye color, clothes. The description of the ghost matches you perfectly.

3. You and your friends decide to try and summon a demon at your sleepover. You are completely stunned when your mother appears in the middle of the room when the ritual is finished.

4. You and your best friend have very potent regeneration and spend many of your days trying to ‘kill’ each other in more and more ludicrous and unexpected ways for fun.

5. Children who die at a young age are given a very special role in the afterlife: they become invisible friends, assigned to other children you need them back in the living realm.

6. You were an embryo frozen for over 200 years until you were finally birthed. At this point, everyone else on Earth had been genetically modified to perfection. You are the last human with flaws.

7. “My domain is time,” said the genie. “Instead of 3 wishes, you get 3 decisions. Go back and choose again.”

8. One day, scrolling through Instagram, you decide to go to the Explore page. Upon doing this, you discover an account obsessed with you, with posts including everything you’ve been doing until a few hours ago.

 writers.block.s @ Instagram

1. You’re swimming laps in a pool when suddenly the ladder disappears. No matter how hard you struggle you can’t pull yourself out of the pool. When you look up, you see a floating green gem above your head.

2. At a very young age, you realized you were immortal. You did stupid things that would kill you just to have fun. Only now you realize that every time you were supposed to die, someone else does.

I can’t wait to start on this Challenge!!!! If you would like to take part just find thirty prompts that are interesting and follow the rules!!! 

Love,

S.G.

[comic-watch]

An inside look at the Key Collector Comics mobile app, one of the most innovative tools to be introduced for comic fans, collectors, retailers, and industry professionals, to-date!  Founder, Nick Coglianese,  gives us a peek inside, plus details regarding the recent partnership with Valiant Comics, and the confirmation of  partnership with Coffin Comics and the biggest update yet!

‘The Origin of a Better Comic Book Collecting Experience Starts Here!’

Key Collector Comics hosts over 7,000 key issue comic books extracted from the Golden Age of the 1930’s to today.  The Key Collector Comics Database© is a concise and comprehensive resource that isolates issues of significance from the clutter of uneventful comics.

Additionally, the Key Collector Comics mobile app is equipped with a simplified price guide to help you make informed purchases without being an expert in grading the condition of a comic.

Having the ability to catalog the issues you own and create a wish list of the issues you want makes the Key Collector Comics app the only thing you need to build a legendary collection.

‘The Man Behind Key Collector Comics, LLC, Founder – Nick Coglianese’

This is how the Key Collector Comics app is described on the Key Collector Comics website,  and due to my personal experience with the application, easily locating key issues, such as the first appearances of Moon Knight and Gwenom, for example, I found the Key Collector app extremely useful.

I decided to seek out the man behind the application and found myself speaking with its founder, Nick Coglianese, and after using Key Collector, being totally blown away by its functionality, and ease of use, I knew I had stumbled upon something that added value to my life, my collection, and it is totally free!  I thought it selfish to keep it to myself, thus finding it necessary to share our conversations with comic fans and industry professionals!

I asked Nick to tell me about himself and what led to the mobile app, and what follows is the story behind Key Collector Comics.

Nick:  “I’ve been collecting comics since 1989.  Like all kids, I’d imagine superheroes appealed to me, but it was when Tim Burton’s Batman came out in 1989, when I got really hooked.  It’s probably the same thing happening today to hundreds of thousands of kids which is why Key Collector Comics is so important, to give them a guide through 80+ years of comic book history.  I remember having the novel adaptation of the movie and reading through it two or three times.   Actually, it was before the movie even came out.  The trailer and commercials resonated so deeply with me, I didn’t even need to see the film, although I did, and loved it as much as I thought I would.  From there, I remember getting two graphic novels,  Batman Greatest Stories Ever Told and Joker Greatest Stories Ever Told, and it never abated.  I still have the same hobby as a 39 year old man that I did as an 11 year old boy.” Nick continues, “Unfortunately, I haven’t picked up a comic for the past two years, ever since I began building the database.  Funny thing is, I thought the database would take about 3 months and I’d be finished…here I am two years later and I’m still adding to it.  I don’t mean I worked on it here and there, over a two year period, I mean, not only have I not picked up a comic, but I haven’t turned on a television, or watched a movie!  People think I’m exaggerating, but I’m not.  I’d like to start hunting down books again but in the meantime, it’s really great to connect with people on social media and see what they’ve found with the app.  Honestly, it’s like collecting vicariously.  I truly get a lot of joy from seeing what my app is doing for collectors.”

‘The Conception of Key Collector Comics!’

CW: Nick spent two years completing the initial Key Collector Comics app, but it’s constantly growing, which means it is never really ‘complete’, as you are constantly updating the application with new key issues, but where did this idea come from?

Nick:  “I was always on the hunt for comics:  antique stores, flea markets, garage sales.  One day, I stopped into a used book store in downtown Milwaukee I had never been to before.  I didn’t even know if they sold comics, but the first thing that caught my eye was X-Men #221, 1ST appearance of Mr. Sinister for $1.00!  After returning a few more times and seeing fresh inventory, I asked if he had a decent amount of stock in the backroom.  He did not,  actually he had an entire basement filled with 30,000 comics at an off-site warehouse!”

“So I did what any comic collector would do and begged this stranger to bring me to this off-site warehouse, lead me into the basement, and request that he not kill me at any point during the process.”

“Truthfully it took a lot of time, going into the store, hanging out and establishing trust.  Turns out, we got along really well.  He’s a good and honest person and I find it easy to relate to people like that.  After a few months, we came to an agreement on how to split the profits of key issues I found, post to eBay, and sell.  He didn’t know much about which comics were worth selling, so I became valuable to him.”

“BUT, as much as I thought I knew, there was A LOT I didn’t know:  Sally Forth #4 – $100?!  Scud #1?! I had never heard of those books before, but discovered they were valuable based on a hunch, so I knew there had to be more gems that I couldn’t distinguish from the rocks.  I spent most of my free time, over an entire summer, down in that basement, which got tiresome after awhile, but I had an agreement with the owner and wanted to make sure that the trust this guy, who was now my friend, put into me, had a good result.  I found myself wishing there was a book, some resource that had JUST the key issues, ONLY the valuable stuff, without the clutter of hundreds of entries.  I hated searching each issue individually.  I just wanted to FLIP and SCROLL.  The whole situation got more mundane and I just wasn’t enjoying it anymore.  I figured I couldn’t be the only person who was in the same situation and might be turned off to collecting because of it.  So it just kind of hit me one day to create the database and put it on an app for total convenience.”

In case you are new to comic collecting or just not familiar with the term ‘Key Issue‘, the description per Key Collector Comics is:

What is a Key? First appearances, early appearances, origin stories, iconic cover art, classic stories and many other categories could be considered a “key issue”.  The truth is, it is up to each individual collector to determine what a key comic book is based on their own preferences.  Key Collector Comics mobile app offers a variety of different categories of key issues in order to be an effective sidekick for every collector.

‘The Functionality of the mobile Key Collector Comics App’ 

CW: This sounds like a dream come true, but I had to ask Nick to elaborate on how exactly the Key Collector App works? Nick:  “The app has 3 main search functions:  Search by Title – while you’re flipping through a series of multiple issues and if something on the screen matches something in the box, you found yourself a key issue.  For example, between the Amazing Spider-Man #316 (1st cover appearance of Venom) and #344 (1st cameo of Cletus Kasady who becomes Carnage), there are no issues listed because not much happens that we still see the repercussions of today, therefore the app will not have any issues listed.  Collectors can assume that these are $1 books and consider that in the valuation of a collection.  Some people like to catalog every single book they own but it’s time consuming, so why not just catalog the comics that matter?”

“Search by Character – reveals the history of any of the thousands of characters in the database, from 1st appearance, to where they are today and the milestones that happened in-between, to define who they are.  For example, Wolverine, with Key Collector Comics, you’ll know when his berserker rage was first introduced to the mythos, when he was first called Logan, his first fight with Sabretooth, and the first time the words “I’m the best there is at what I do” appeared on the page.”

“Finally, Browse by Category – is really more for fun than anything, but also for the newest users who want to find a recommended classic story-line or want to see 100 Iconic Superhero Covers.  There are currently 75 or so categories to browse by.  Admittedly, I’ve been so overwhelmed by the response to the app that I haven’t been able to give that browse option the attention it deserves, but I will very soon.  For now, in that section, you can also see what new keys are added on a weekly, sometimes even a daily basis.” “Collectors can also catalog the issues they own and assign a grade to it and also build a wish list for what they want which is hugely important because if you’re like me, anytime I go to a convention or walk into my LCS, I go brain-dead. [This resonates so much with me, as when I come upon a treasure trove of comics, all of the sudden, I can’t think of anything I’m looking for and the Key Collector app has saved me in these situations!] The wish list will provide a reminder for the issues fans will want to seek out specifically before they browse.  The beauty of it all is that its all bundled together in one app.  In the past, you’d open your notes app to look at your wishlist, then you might check eBay pricing, or maybe you’d google a character to find out their 1st appearance,  and then you’d catalog whatever you may have purchased.  That’s 4 apps you have to open, and now, you open Key Collector Comics and everything you need is available to you, in an intuitive interface that requires zero learning curve.”

‘Key Collector Comics Partners With Valiant Entertainment’

  CW: On December 13th, Valiant Comics announced a partnership with Key Collector Comics, how did this happen?

Nick:  “I was able to secure a table at the NYCC last minute.  Someone had dropped out, and I dropped in.  I barely had anything as far as promotional materials go.  A couple computer screens on a loop and some fliers.  Needless to say, getting people’s attention was a struggle, but Dinesh*, being the kind-of-guy he is, inquisitive, passionate about the industry, humble – walked the aisles, shopped for comics and eventually came across my booth.  Again it was bare-bones and I didn’t fault anyone for whizzing by me, but Dinesh asked ‘What do you have here?’  I gave him the extended explanation, just like you’re getting, and he immediately grasped the concept, knew what the intention was, and wanted to see it succeed, because as he perfectly stated, ‘This is really good for the industry!’.  I was thrilled, he said exactly what I was thinking, validating what my intention was for building the app and being at the NYCC.”

“We had a few conversations in the weeks that followed.  I presented the Valiant Key Issue portal that connects fans directly into the dynamic universe of Valiant (which I can honestly say has the most creative stories, the diverse universe and incredibly beautiful art of any books that are on the market) and Dinesh accepted.  They help me with exposure and credibility while I familiarize the growing legion of Key Collector Comics members with the Valiant books in a non-invasive way.”

*Dinesh Shamdasani is the current CEO and Chief Creative Officer of Valiant Entertainment, and one of the most creative, ingenious marketing and creative minds in the comic industry.

According to Valiant Comics Media release,

Valiant Entertainment is proud to announce that it has joined forces with Key Collector Comics – currently available for iOS and Android – for their first official publisher partnership!  The free-to-download mobile app aims to make collecting the most seminal single issues from across the renowned publisher’s 25-year history easier than ever before with a complete list of Valiant’s biggest and most sought-after milestones!

Using the dedicated first-of-its-kind “Valiant Keys” button on the homepage of the mobile app, fans and collectors can access an extensive database full of information and pricing data for more than 100+ significant comic book issues published by Valiant, including first appearances, origin stories, gold issues, iconic cover art, rare variants, and more:

Harbinger #0 (1992) Pink Variant – a highly sought-after mailaway issue revealing the origin of the Renegades!

Eternal Warrior #4 (1994) – featuring the first cameo appearance by Bloodshot!

Quantum & Woody #3 (1997) – featuring the first appearance of Vincent Van Goat (aka “The Goat”)!

X-O Manowar#1 (2017) Brushed Metal Variant – Valiant’s first brushed metal variant cover printed via a special process on an actual brushed aluminum metal sheet!

Eternity #1 (2017) Massafera Variant – a rare 1:40 wraparound variant cover introducing the complete cast of the visionary new series by Matt Kindt and Trevor Hairsine, featuring fully painted cover art by Felipe Massafera!

Plus dozens more!

The Key Collector Comics app is a concise and comprehensive resource that isolates issues of significance from the clutter of uneventful comics.  It features information regarding over 7,000 key issue comic books, as well as a simplified price guide, robust search filters, and a cataloging system to determine the value of your own collection.

  CW: You mentioned a new partnership with Coffin Comics along with a new update to the Key Collector app? How did this come about?

Nick:  “My brother-in-law is in a band called The Rosedales.  They’re like a Rockabilly Monster band like the Monkees meet the Munsters.  The bassist and lead vocalist in the band is friends with Brian* out in Arizona.  That was sort of the connection that allowed me to be heard by a very busy, very savvy individual in the comic book industry.  Brian, like Dinesh, has been very gracious with his time and helped me understand things about the app and about the business that would’ve taken me years to come upon.  Also, both creators see the value in the app and what it means to the future of the comic book industry.  Embracing new collectors and innovation, technologically and new concepts, are the lifeblood of any business that seeks to have a place for itself in the future.  Comics are no different, but the secondary market collectible arena has been static with advancements, which is why the app is garnering the praise and attention it deserves.”

*Brian Pulido, is the former president of Chaos! Comics, announcing in late 2014, upon reaching an agreement with Avatar Press, he would be to taking sole ownership of the character, Lady Death, former publishing home of Pulido’s Lady Death since 2005.  Concurrently, Brian launched a new publishing entity, Coffin Comics, for all future Lady Death titles, as well as a new supernatural universe, in which Lady Death will play a major role going forward in 2015. 

A note to readers,  I was unaware that I had the first appearance of Lady Death, who first appeared in Evil Ernie #1 in December 1991, until I used the Key Collector app!

‘The Key Collector Comics Update’

CW: The Key Collector app update you mentioned, can you tell readers what they can expect?

Nick:  “With the next update, Key Collector Comics’ biggest update since launching October 2017 at the NYCC, I’m giving fans what they asked for!”:

Full expansion of the grading scale!

The ability to designate if your comic is slabbed or not, signed or restored!

Collectors can enter notes and take photos of the comics they own!

They can enter the price they paid for the comic and see what the current net worth is for their full collection and each issue individually!

There will also be an option to collapse the cover images, for quicker scrolling through a title if, let’s say, someone might be trying to flip through a lot of books at once!

Collectors can also enter their own value for the book they are entering into their inventory!

“As always there will be more key issues added to the database as they come out on the market.  The beauty of the app is that you don’t have to update it to download these new issues.  The changes are instantaneously retrieved from the server on the next query from the app.  In other words, I plug the comic into the database and its available to be seen, so that no collector will be in the dark about what’s new and hot.”

‘The Future of Key Collector Comics’

CW: What’s next for Key Collector Comics?   Can you mention any future plans for the app going forward?

Nick:  I have so many ideas that I would love to discuss, but to keep things exciting, I have to reveal them the closer I get.  There will be a Variant Cover portal added shortly that will allow access to a database specific to those books.  Since there are so many variant covers and so few in distribution, I want to maintain the initial concept of the app, which is to help identify keys quickly and efficiently.  Keys that are more likely available to be found.  Yet, I understand the importance and desire of variants to be included.   Also, a Creator search option has been in the plans since day one, so that functionality will be built out shortly.  Beyond that, I can sum it all up like so:  the Key Collector Comics mobile app is built by a collector, for collectors, therefore my intention is to make it the only resource necessary to obtain the comics collectors are passionate about owning.  I will maintain the integrity of the app in the way I would want it to exist as an end user, which means – no invasive ads and no freemium charges to unlock promised or already given features.  My Golden Rule in every decision I make regarding the app is asking myself, “would I be happy with this if I were on the other end?”  If the answer is no, I do what needs to be done to make it “yes”!

I would like to first, tell Nick “thank you” for taking the time out of his busy schedule to discuss the Key Collector Comics app with Comic-Watch, and I would invite him to keep us posted as updates are made to the app going forward!  As an avid comic collector myself, I find the Key Collector Comic app absolutely amazing, and I recommend it to everyone I come across on social media and at my local comic shop!  Please Download the app and share this article with as many as possible, as this gem, the Key Collector Comics app, is just waiting to make your comic collecting experience easier, more enjoyable, and provide you with a resource that meets all your needs, all in one place!

You can download Key Collector Comics mobile app at Key Collector Comics! It’s also available for download at

Google

Itunes

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                      Have you used Key Collector Comics app? Download and share your experiences! #comicwatch An inside look at the Key Collector Comics mobile app, one of the most innovative tools to be introduced for comic fans, collectors, retailers, and industry professionals, to-date!