#maybe i say this too modernly

[barnbridges]

richard might have compared the corcorans to the kennedys, but you cannot tell me that bunny isn't a joke about jeb bush

[unproduciblesmackdown]

similar to the greentext stuff - i was visiting with my neighbors and their grandkids were around, and I said to this eight year old, "Hey, you wanna know something cool? I was playing the game when the Endermen came out." and his eyes went wide, like this kid looked like i told him i landed on the moon. His grandma thought it was really funny, and she said she has no idea what i'm talking about, but her grandbabies do, and that's incredible to her.

oh that's fun lmao, when minecraft & that update's existed for more than your whole life, and yknow being that young and like Next Year fr is this huge time scale away, a couple of years is a quarter of your life thus far and like maybe nigh half of the part of your life you actually have longterm memories for....i was checking out this dev's blog's archives about a:tdd's release in 2010 & in one entry they compared the implicitly Roughly concurrent release of Minecraft and i was like hey whoah. forever primarily being a game i've Heard Of more than any more direct exposure so i had no precise sense of [before minecraft release] [after minecraft release] Year 0 there but it's like for sure back in thee day when minecraft was a new thing, huh

[rockethorse]

Eancie Apartments (CC-Free)

4 apartments on a 1x1 lot

Have you ever found yourself needing more room for Sims in one corner of your neighbourhood, but you only have odd little spaces left to fit lots? That's why I made these Eancie Apartments; four fully-functional, fully-furnished apartments on one neat 1x1 lot.

They come in rowhouse-style, like in the image above - which you can use to make it appear as if the apartments connect to each other/other lots in your hood/neighbourhood deco - and detached, where the buildings stand alone. Both versions also come with empty options.

More pics, floorplans, and download below - plus a secret surprise!

The first floor is a lobby/common area with a few amenities for residents to add a bit of value for your rental buck. There's a chess table, a nice bookshelf, espresso & hot chocolate machines, a toilet with a toddler change table, a dresser, and a communal computer (which I do recommend swapping for a CC laptop to look a little less out of place).

Each apartment has a small 1x1 balcony, which can be surprisingly functional. Recommended CC to make the most of this space includes a trampoline, some planters, a pet bed, or a toddler splash pool.

The first apartment is a modernly renovated one-bedroom one-bath flat, perfect for a working couple with no kids or a single Sim who likes to entertain.

The second apartment is a cozy retro paradise with two separate bedrooms, capable of housing two kids and their parents.

The third apartment (with my personal favourite layout) is perfect for two roommates, with an airy pseudo galley-style kitchen separating two distinct bedrooms.

And the last apartment makes the most of its space by opting for a studio layout. It's the perfect home base for a single artist and their feline muse.

But that's not quite everything...! Rumours say there used to be a fifth apartment up in the attic, which belonged to the first landlady of this property, Ms. Eancie herself. Ms. Eancie has long passed, and the apartment was deemed too expensive to renovate by the building's new owners, so the stairs to that floor were sealed; but sometimes at night, residents have claimed to hear the faint sounds of piano music...

Maybe if your Sim were able to explore for themselves, they could discover a secret trove of fancy tools and resources... but pff, how are they going to manage that? They'd have to know how to teleport or something!

The building floorplans between the rowhouse & detached versions of Eancie Apartments are identical, as below:

The "empty" versions retain the same overall floorplans but have neutral repaints and are stripped to basic utilities. The lobby and the secret attic room are the same as the furnished versions.

Each apartment has been playtested and everything should function as intended, even some of the oddly-placed furniture.

And this is what the detached/standalone apartments look like:

These are NOT packaged as Apartment Lots because you most likely WILL need to fix/change a few things before you start moving Sims in. Simple instructions are included in the zip file for how to convert these lots to functional apartments.

Download Eancie Apartments (CC-Free)

[hoodreader]

astrometeorology theories

astrometeorology is exactly what it sounds like: using planetary transits to predict weather & climate conditions. i’m new to it, but all of the coverage regarding the recent hurricanes (rest in peace everyone, i pray y’all get to safety in the affected locations) had me thinking… we should use astrology to protect ourselves during natural disasters or other dangerous weather conditions.

so this is part one. gradually, i hope to learn wayyy more! right now… we’re merely addressing different variations of weather.

sunniness strong sun. this doesn’t really need an explanation

wind the wind varies. mercury is wind, so i think u should read for aspects or conditions of mercury. moon to mercury will cause a chill. mars to mercury might cause a fast wind

rainless clouds saturn, being both dry and cold, obscures/blocks the sun without actually resulting in moisture… the gas giants overall might be able to be read for clouds anyways tho?

rain the moon is moisture. aspects between moon and other planets will determine the type of rain, for example, moon-saturn can be a drizzle. moon-jupiter/moon-neptune may be a downpour/heavy rain?

fog neptune is wet and obscuring so i think neptune itself is the planet of fog. i feel like saturn-jupiter or saturn-neptune is what indicates fog just bc saturn represents low things; things close to the earth & clouds are jupiter/neptune. neptune adds wetness & moisture… maybe moon-neptune or moon-jupiter can be an indication of fog

snow snow is both cold and wet. so moon (cold & wet) is indicated here. the weakness of the sun in the chart (sun as the sun aspecting malefics especially saturn, or being in detriment) can show snow (the heat of the sun is was prevents snowfall. lack of heat = snow). as snow is just frozen rain, the astrological conditions which correlate to rain can be read for snow however they must also have the conditions that cause frozenness. saturn freezes things, as it is traditionally the furthest from the sun. but u may also possibly read frozen things for pluto too, pluto is largely ice & it’s the only solid outer planet as well as it is modernly the furthest from the sun

rain storm we addressed that rainfall would be the moon. but a storm of rain would be read with uranus as a storm is an atmospheric disturbance and uranus does disturb. i can also see jupiter, bc it is known for its eternal storm. so moon-uranus or moon-jupiter can be read as a storm of wetness[?]. jupiter can be used to interpret the presence of thunder or lightning. i also see mars bc storms are defined as ‘violent.’ so moon-mars but with jovial influence nonetheless (like a moon-mars conjunction in pisces) but that could be read for any water related disaster

snow storm essentially, as i stated above, influence of uranus over what would indicate snowfall can result in a storm. mars as well, mars is also a cold planet in hellenistic however the condition of mars needs to cause coldness instead of warmth. uranus-saturn, uranus-moon in saturnian signs or with saturnian influence, etc

hail the indications are similar to that of snow. maybe stronger mars or uranus with saturn

floods flooding is going to be plutonic, neptunian, and lunar. as moon is what we read for moisture, read the moon’s conditions to understand the degree of moisture. uranus simply shows things we are unprepared for. pluto is where things are overbearing. neptune causes water disasters. jupiter causes abundance

tornado saturn and mercury maybe..? saturn is the planet of cycles and spinning things so maybe. i also see uranus and mercury. a tornado is a storm of clouds so that’s why i say that lol… tbh uranus will be read for any storm relating to wind. there’s a variation in temperature which causes the vortex so i think the sun is significant though i’m unsure how to connect that

tropical depressions, tropical storms, & hurricanes again, water disasters will be neptune. uranus is storms, especially storms of the sky.

tropical storms are no joke!!! so let’s stay together and stay educated: gofundme “how to help people affected by hurricanes” & gofundme for directly aiding helene victims! if you send a donation to the gofundme of a marginalized helene victim (at least $5USD) and send proof, i’ll provide a mini chart reading for u (word count: 1000-2000) 🤍 also, my general readings are open so if u want to just get a reading lmk, i’ll donate 25% to helene relief.

** marginalized people are the most disposed during the event of a natural disaster, war, or disease… so this is why i specify them. marginalization included but is not limited to blackness, queerness, and disability. **

please dm with inquiries! i hope this post was interesting.

[catierambles]

Null Ch.8

Pairing: Incubus!Charles Brandon x Anna Williams (OFC)

WC 1083

Warnings: None? but yanno Minors DNI 18+ ONLY

@brattymum96 , @ouroboros113 , @peaches1958 , @summersong69 , @henryownsme , @fvckinghenrycavill , @raccoon-eyed-rebel

Anna heard the door to her room open again but she paid no mind to it. The battery on her phone had died while he was gone, so it was currently on its charger and she was just laying in the dark.

“Anna?” Charles asked gently, but she didn’t respond, hoping maybe he would think she was asleep and leave her alone. “I got you the sushi you like and a large miso soup.” Damn him for remembering her favorites. She rolled over to face the door, seeing him standing in the doorway carrying the containers.

“Gimme.” She said and he gave her a gentle smile, going over to the bed as she sat up, reaching over and turning on the lamp on the nightstand so they weren’t in darkness. He set the hot soup container down on the nightstand after handing her the container of sushi and the chopsticks and sat on the bed as she opened it, separating the chopsticks.

“I won’t ask how you’re feeling.”

“Thank you.” She said, picking up the salmon roe nigiri and popping it into her mouth.

“After I left, I went and spoke to Ann.” He said, “I told her that what she had said to you was unacceptable and that she was no longer welcome in our home.”

“Okay.” Anna said around the rice and fish eggs.

“I may not know the full extent of what she said to you, but seeing the effect of her words, I can tell she hurt you.” Charles said.

“Nothing I haven’t heard before, just differently flavored.”

“You should never have to hear those words at all.” He said, “There is nothing wrong with you, Anna. You’re not a freak, or just something to be used and then discarded. You are who you are and I adore who you are. I’ve said it before, and I will keep saying it until you believe me. I’m not here, I’m not talking to you and fostering a relationship with you just because I want us to go to bed.” She didn’t say anything for a long moment, her eyes on the container in her lap but after a while she reached out with her free hand and took his, squeezing his fingers.

“Please don’t tell me you went to a Japanese restaurant dressed like that?” She asked and he snorted, smiling softly.

“No, I dressed myself modernly.”

“Okay, that I have to see.” She said, “Although, I have a feeling it would be a bit strange seeing you in modern clothes as I’m used to you dressing like you’re going to a renaissance faire.”

“I can show you if you’re really curious.” He said and she shrugged.

“If you want.” She said and he gave her fingers a squeeze before sliding off the bed and standing next to it. Clearing his throat, he adjusted the sleeves of the billowing shirt he wore, but when he pulled the open collar to adjust that too, it became a tailored pristine white button-up dress shirt with the top few buttons undone, his pants becoming tailored black dress pants. With a flick of his wrist, a black suit jacket appeared in his hand and he slipped it on with a flourish, tugging on the sleeves to straighten them before buttoning it closed. The obvious show made her smile and shake her head. “Do you want me to put a dollar in your waistband, is that it?”

“Just a dollar? Is that how little you think I’m worth?” He asked, “Please, I’m worth at least a fifty note, thank you very much.”

“Not bad, dude. Not bad.” She said, rolling her eyes with a smile. Taking off the jacket, it vanished and his clothes went back to normal. Well, normal for him.

“I would love to see you in period clothing.” He said and she snorted, picking up the soup container and taking the lid off, sipping at the soup straight from the container.

“I’d look odd in it.”

“I think you would look stunning.” Charles said and hummed thoughtfully. “Stand up.”

“What?” Anna asked and he took the sushi container from her lap, setting it on the nightstand.

“Stand up.” He said again and she flung back the covers, sliding off the bed to stand in front of him. Reaching up, he held her face gently in his hands before setting them on her shoulders. Sliding his hands down her arms, her hoodie and sweatpants turned into a deep red satin dress, the square neckline and corset showing quite a bit of cleavage that was only accentuated by the gold and garnet necklace she was wearing.

“How do you breathe in this thing?” She wheezed, looking down at herself.

“Up not out.” He said, “Watch me.” He breathed in, pulling in his stomach and expanding his chest upwards and she copied him. “Better?”

“Much.” She said and he smiled, his hands sliding over her waist tucked in by the corset.

“See? Stunning.” He said and she rolled her eyes again, a small embarrassed smile pulling at her lips and she felt her cheeks heat slightly.

“Costume shops must hate you.” She said, “Now change me back. This dress is gorgeous, but I like my hoodie.” Leaning in, he pressed his lips to her forehead and she was back in her normal clothes, heaving a sigh as it was suddenly easier to breathe. “Thank you.” She suddenly scowled, pulling out the neck of the hoodie and looking down at herself before reaching down the back of her sweatpants as well. “Charles! You forgot my underwear!” He barked a laugh at that and she swatted at him. “Small clothes! Now!”

“Okay, okay.” He said still chuckling and she shuddered a little as they came back under her clothing.

“Do not tell me you did that on purpose.”

“I did not do that on purpose. I don’t wear small clothing, so I tend to not think about it.”

“Really? You free ball it? Like, all the time?” She asked and he nodded. “That’s got to be uncomfortable in the summer time.”

“It’s quite freeing, actually.” He said, “You should try it sometime.”

“Nah, I have different equipment than you do that comes with its own quirks.” She said, “Underwear is kind of a must for me.”

“Fair enough.” He said, “How are you feeling now?”

“Better, thank you.” She said and he gave her a soft smile, touching her cheek with the backs of his fingers gently.

[danpuff-ao3]

Hi 🐍 can I request a sorting too if you're still doing it??🥺🥺 It's so cool!!!!!!!!

Oooh a whole chart to play with, goody!! I'm gonna narrow my focus, though. As much as I'd love to dig deep, I just did my first Astrology Analysis on Ko-fi which confirmed...yeah, looking at the whole thing is a lot. So I'll touch on a few details, look at little closer at others, but try to keep it simple.

(On that note, apologies for the lateness! I prioritized doing shorter, quicker Sortings and I was still unsure how to tackle this one until I did the Astrology Analysis, which sort of showed me how to go about this and where to put more of my focus.)

So...the signs have an element, and due to some historical associations between signs and houses, there is an idea of houses having elements, as well. So I'll treat the houses as sort of a "minor" house point, like I give the signs a major and minor sorting.

That said, the houses aren't specifically marked, but I have a pretty good idea of what they should be, so let's go!

So at first look we have:

By Sign:

Sun - Gemini - air - Ravenclaw

Moon - Cancer - water - Slytherin

Rising - Sagittarius - fire - Gryffindor

Mercury - Taurus - earth - Hufflepuff

Venus - Cancer - water - Slytherin

Mars - Virgo - earth - Hufflepuff

Jupiter - Aquarius - air - Ravenclaw

By House:

Sun - 7th - air - Ravenclaw

Moon - 8th - water - Slytherin

Mercury - 6th - earth - Hufflepuff

Venus - 7th - air - Ravenclaw

Mars - 10th - earth - Hufflepuff

Jupiter - 3rd - air - Ravenclaw

Though I usually can link a sign to 2 houses, 1 major and 1 minor, I will assign the house sorting as the minor sorting, unless a sign can strongly be argued to be in another Hogwarts house. You will also note I included Jupiter, which I don't always, but Jupiter is the chart ruler (per Sagittarius rising.)

Tricky to know where to start, so...maybe we'll start with the Rising and work backwards?

The planets are "what" is being represented, the signs are "how" it's being represented, and houses are "where" it's being represented.

Ascendant is how you react to the world, and how the world sees you. For you, that is Sagittarius, the mutable (changeable, adaptable) fire (energy, spirit) sign. Sagittarius is openminded, easygoing, free-spirited. Sagittarius is fun, chill, but also wise and moral. Sagittarius is very about finding meaning in the people around us, and our experiences. Quite philosophical and spiritual. Very Gryffindor, but also with Ravenclaw vibes for the focus on learning and creativity.

This also makes Jupiter the chart ruler. Jupiter is the planet of fortune, expansion, and excess. Here in Aquarius the fixed (stubborn) air sign (intellect, sociability.) Aquarius is the Water-Bearer (think of the water as being wisdom, and the Water-Bearer is sharing its wisdom and goodwill with others) and is ruled by Saturn (traditionally) and Uranus (modernly.) Aquarius is about humanitarianism, innovation, progressiveness, individuality, rebellion, and independence. Jupiter in Aquarius is all about the big-picture, big plans. Very creative and smart. Very independent, but also values connection. Very "I want people in my life, but I don't need them" energy. Also sort of says fortune can be found by behaving in Aquarius ways: by being innovative and unique and breaking the mold.

Jupiter is also in the third House: house of Siblings, Neighbors, Early Education, and Short Distance Travel. This is where we come from, but more on a community level than a familial level. Can imply good relationship with/or getting help from siblings and neighbors. This is also a more Mental House so again, an expansion of the mind in ways. Expanding one's network/building a team to help further those big plans.

Both Aquarius and the Third house are big Ravenclaw vibes for sure.

Mars is the planet of drive and action. It's in Virgo the mutable (changeable, adaptable) earth sign (stability, security.) Virgo is the Maiden and is ruled by Mercury. Virgo is very service-oriented, and seeks stability. How Virgo finds security in cementing its place as being useful, helpful, and by providing excellence. Virgo is very perfectionistic, critical, reliable, capable. Virgo is driven by the need to seek security, and also to make it. Very "if you want something done right you have to do it yourself" energy. Virgo is very meticulous (thanks to that Mercury rulership) and analytical and always has a game plan. They are very prepared, so even when plans go awry that adaptability kicks in and all of their skills and knowledge are put to good use finding alternative means of accomplishing their goals.

Mars is also in the 10th House, the House of Status. The Tenth House is all about reputation, public image, success, achievement, etc. About accomplishing things, but also being recognized and appreciated for those accomplishments. Mars here is very ambitious, has leadership potential, takes initiative.

Pretty Hufflepuff, yeah, for all that hard work and pride in their work. Virgo's want to help others is also very Hufflepuff. But there's a fair bit of Slytherin here, too, with that ambition and resourcefulness. I'd call this Slytherpuff, I think.

Venus is the planet of love, which covers romantic and platonic relationships, as well as self-love and self-care, and hobbies and interests. In Cancer the cardinal (forward moving) water sign (emotion, intuition.) Cancer is the Crab (hard outer shell, soft insides) and is ruled by the Moon. Cancer is very moody, sensitive, nurturing, protective, and compassionate and has big ties to the home and family. Very mothering in relationships (mom friend, anyone?) and might have hobbies and interests focused on the family (blood or chosen) and home. Scrapbooks, cooking, photo albums, family trees, family game nights, etc. Cancer is also pretty reserved, and defensive. Very loyal and giving once they've "chosen" people.

Venus is also in the 7th House, House of Marriage. This covers marriage, business partners, contracts, and open enemies. So of the relationship houses, this more implies serious and official connections. There is a draw to having very settled and secure relationships be it marriage or otherwise. This indicates a big value on others and relationships. Very creative, and probably inspired by ones relationships.

Hmmm. Another pretty Slytherpuff vibe. The Seventh House connection brings out more of Cancer's Hufflepuff side, I think, with that bigger focus on other people and giving them that loyalty and love. But Cancer is also pretty dang Slytherin with that self-preservation and resourcefulness and sense of fraternity.

Mercury is the planet of information (learning, thinking, communication.) In Taurus the fixed (stubborn) earth sign (stability, security.) Taurus is the Bull and is ruled by Venus. Very reliable, hard-working, but also sensual and romantic. Earth links to the physical world, which might imply a more hands-on type learning, learning by doing, or learning best through the senses. (Especially multiple senses, to like seeing + listening.) Might favor more practical subjects (as earth signs do) but also ones that can be enjoyed and have a creative lean. Also a bit clever and/or sarcastic when interacting. Taurus is patient and might be slow and takes the time to really think about things. Also Taurus rules the throat so Taurus Mercury often implies having a nice voice!

In the Sixth House, House of Health, Wellness, Routines, Odd Jobs. Sixth house connection to jobs might mean more communication style type jobs (teaching, writing, etc.) or anything focused on the mental realm. Might be good with organization and making lists. Really applying the mind to the arenas of one's wellbeing and one's career. Smart, hard-working, health conscious (can be physical and/or mental health.)

It'd call this Hufflepuff I think for all that big work ethic energy, but bits of Ravenclaw here and there too.

Moon...your moon is a fun one, I gotta be honest. Moon is our emotion and subconscious. It is domicile in Cancer, so it works at peak capacity with Cancer energy. We've already discussed Cancer energy below, but in the moon specifically this implies a deep emotional connection to one's family, history, roots, etc. Most comfortable and internally at peace at home or with loved ones. Very private about one's feelings. Very sensitive. Strong empathy for others.

The Moon is also in the 8th House, House of Death, Transformation, Taboos and Secrets, Sexuality and Intimate Relationships, and Inheritances. While the Seventh House is "official" relationships, the Eighth House is more about intense, deep, spiritual connections to others. With the moon, it's this big need to emotionally connect with someone. Very intense. Very sensitive. Can also imply emotional distress and overwhelm. The Eighth House was considered malefic by ancient astrologers. There's a lot of uncertainty, and potential draw to mystical subjects.

This is a very emotionally charged place imo. And for me, water signs often give a sense of fear due to the extremity of emotion, and more so here because of the Eighth House. So Cancer's defensiveness and reservation is probably amplified here. There is a big sense of self-preservation, looking after the self, and those one loves. Likely very clever and resourceful. Likely very loyal, too. The Hufflepuff is strong here, but the Slytherin is stronger.

Finally, we see the sun, our core and our ego, in Gemini, the mutable (changeable, adaptable) air sign (intellect, sociability.) Gemini is represented by the Twins and is ruled by Mercury. Very playful, charming, curious, clever. Likes variety. Likes to explore. Optimistic, very "bouncy" energy.

The Sun is in the Seventh House with Venus. So the Self in the House of Relationships. This is not the best place for the sun, as the sense of ego sort of clashes with the need for equality and connection to others. There is a potential to overidentify with relationships. Really able to learn about the self and express the self when with others. For me this is sort of the idea of how we can learn from others in general, but with the Sun this specifically relates to the self. This does indicate being socially skilled, and likely very diplomatic and good with negotiating. There is a desire for equality and harmony here. Genuine care for others and having good relationships.

All in all I'll call the Sun a Ravenclaw. I usually think of Gemini as leaning a bit Slytherin, but in the Seventh House gives me more Hufflepuff vibes (even if it is an air house.)

So now let's see:

Sun: Ravenclaw (Hufflepuff)

Moon: Slytherin (Hufflepuff)

Rising: Gryffindor (Ravenclaw)

Mercury: Hufflepuff (Ravenclaw)

Venus: Slytherpuff

Mars: Slytherpuff

Jupiter: Ravenclaw

So we see 2 major Ravenclaw points and 2 minor. Lots of overall Slytherpuff energy with 2 Slytherpuff points, 1 major and 1 minor Hufflepuff points, and 1 major Slytherin point. We can maybe pull the Slytherpuff apart to give Slytherin 3 major points and Hufflepuff 1 major and 4 minor points. Just for the sake of having a clear winner, however...

You have a Grand Trine.

That big blue triangle. Grand Trine. Grand Trines are when 3 planets trine each other (basically a happy relationship between planets) and usually happen within the same element. Here, you have an Earth Grand Trine. This is thought to be a very beneficial pattern to have in a chart. Capricorn Neptune trines Taurus Mercury. Taurus Mercury trines Virgo Mars. Virgo Mars trines Capricorn Neptune.

So if we look at the Slytherpuff points as being an equally major point to both. That gives us 3 major Slytherin points and 4 major Hufflepuff points, plus the Grand Trine. I'm more inclined to give this one to

HUFFLEPUFF

but with a strong Slytherin side, too.

[undercityrezident]

My Commentary on Pokemon Scarlet

Way back in—wait, when was it… April, May? February even?—whenever it was we saw the first trailer for Pokemon Scarlet and Violet, I was gobsmacked because I absolutely did not expect to see a new Pokemon game so soon. I was taken so by surprise by it that I was almost confused. I was thinking to myself, “Man, it feels so soon after just getting done with Pokemon Legends: Arceus that I’m still coming down from it. And there’s already another one coming on the horizon. Is it too soon? Did they even have enough time to make this game?”

Yes, as a Pokemon fan, I was asking myself: am I getting too many Pokemon games too quickly?

It feels like there’s some measure of absurdity in that, but having read and written work about crunch time in the video game industry (not on this blog, but for school), I feel like the cost for Game Freak putting out another game would be too high. And I don’t mean monetarily. I’m sure they’re raking in the green, but I’m talking about other costs: the costs to the sanity of developers and the costs to customers on the quality of game they’re getting for modernly full-priced triple-A games. I could also cite the cost of Game Freak’s reputation but I don’t know if that’s worth mentioning in the same breath as the former two. Plus, I’m starting to worry the franchise and the Pokemon Company no longer have the esteemed reputation they once had for putting out great quality games.

Okay, let me try and turn the tracks on this train before it becomes a full-on rant on my annoyances with video game industry standards and my tendency to wax on at length about where the Pokemon franchise is going. I’m here to review Pokemon Scarlet. Yes, just Scarlet. I’m only paying for one of these games. I’m a student and don’t have money to burn on both versions. Given what I saw, especially toward the end of the game, maybe there are some differences in Violet that make for a different tone in the story, but I won’t be able to account for that in this review.

I should also list out where I am in the game so that folks know exactly where I’m coming from when I write this review so I can get flamed in the manner of: “Oh Rez! You need to do this, this, and this to get the full experience of the game!” I do think I’ve completed most of the actual substance in the game to make what I feel is a legitimate review. But, like my other reviews, this is largely something for me to just get my feelings about the game on some medium so I can properly look back at it later and either cringe or feel some sort of justification for my struggles, frustrations, or feelings of accomplishment. At any rate, listed below are what I’ve done so far for context so that you, my few-and-far-between readers, can see the context from which I’m coming at this assessment of Pokemon Scarlet. Suffice to say, from this point on, there’ll be major spoilers:

·       I’ve completed the main three storylines.

·       I’ve finished the Area Zero arc that comes after the three storylines.

·       I’ve gotten about 320 or so out of 400 pokemon in the pokedex.

·       I’m still working on the four ghosts Professor Raifort tasked me with finding.

·       I still need to find another Sweet Herb Mystica for Professor Saguaro.

·       I did my victory lap with all the gym leaders.

·       I finished my first School Tournament.

·       I’ve peeked into just about every nook and cranny in Paldea’s huge map.

Ok? We good on establishing where I am? Ok, let’s get to the meat and potatoes of this review.

The World of Paldea

Pokemon, especially in more recent generations, has been notoriously slow to start their games and hook me in. Lengthy tutorials and exposition are the names of the game with Game Freak. I can’t entirely blame them, as they have to make introductions that help new fans integrate into the game while also cementing established or new features for veterans. That said, it takes quite a while for us to get to a point where we feel like we’re finally being unleashed on this promised open world.

Pokemon Scarlet has this problem too, unfortunately. Grant you, I’m an obsessive explorer who has to see everything available to me—side content and every little hiding spot on the map—before I push forward in the plot. Still, I think streamlining the introduction up through to when the treasure hunt starts would make the start of the game feel a lot less dull for me. My interest wasn’t truly seized until I finally found myself starting on the game’s three main quests.

That said, this world is expansive and, at least at a distance, pretty to look at. Paldea has some great vistas and I definitely wouldn’t mind settling down to live there if I had the chance. Compared to other open-world games that can feel quite empty, this one feels pretty lively from the differing environment types and the fact that pokemon… are… everywhere. You won’t go more than 20 meters before you see another lone pokemon, or even a swarm, that either draws your interest or force you to change course to avoid them.

On top of that, Paldea has a littering problem that certainly needs addressing. There’s a wealth of items both visible and less so scattered around the region. If you’re one to build up your stock of potions and other battle-item essentials, you’ll barely have to spend money at stores, as the world itself seems to provide it in abundance for the obsessive explorer such as myself. I usually only had to restock on pokeballs at stores, mainly due to my obscenely bad luck with pokemon catch rates.

And exploring has other perks too,  such as how I was able to catch my adorable ghost pupper, Greavard, early due to a Tera Raid Battle in the first area. That was a nice find and a treat to start with.

Beyond the starting area, the game offers a diverse landscape. From grasslands to a scorching desert to a, chilling mountain, Paldea mixes up its environments. Admittedly, it seems mostly green and grassy at the start, but the diversity comes when it’s needed: toward the middle and the end of the game. Sorry, no fiery volcano level for you fire-type lovers, though the fire types themselves aren’t absent in this game, so don’t worry.

Of course, there are barriers to this exploration. Compared to some other open-world games, you can’t just go anywhere immediately, at least not without consequence to you and your feeble starting team. While you can choose how you explore, either east or west from the main city, or both if you want to be like me and inflate your playtime, the pokemon levels in the zones increase from area to area. I had hoped that levels would scale with you and the number of badges, titans, or squads you’d bested, but sadly, that level of dynamic world adaptation was not programmed into this game. I think it would’ve greatly enhanced the fluidity of game completion if you were able to truly go about and do this game in any order you wanted, but maybe there were some logistical issues that I wasn’t aware of that necessitated the existing system.

Barriers also exist in the form of what capabilities your ride pokemon, the legendary Koraidon (or Miraidon if you’re playing Violet) is capable of. While I don’t recall anything essential to game completion being put firmly off-limits (except for the final titan requiring surf) by these mechanics, it does open up new, more convenient, and more fun ways to explore the landscape. Once you’ve unlocked the ability to dash, high-jump, surf, glide, and climb, the world really opens up to you and you feel like an absolute badass as you explore even the roughest, most remote regions of Paldea… even though it’s your ride pokemon doing all the work.

That said, for all my praise, there are a few issues I find with this world.

I would be remiss if I didn’t discuss one of the big things that have been on everyone’s mind when it comes to this game: the graphics. I’ll try not to dwell on it too long, as countless people on the internet already have. But, as I said before, the game looks great… at a distance. Get up close though, and that’s a different story.

Like in Pokemon Legends: Arceus, the textures leave something to be desired, and the framerates for characters, pokemon—or any moving object in the distance, such as a windmill—are absurdly choppy until you get close enough for the game to decide to start rendering them at an acceptable rate. While I’d thought Legends would be a tech test for this generation and thus would improve on its performance, I found the graphical quality and framerate issues to be even worse in this game. I would even caution those with any sort of epileptic condition to prepare themselves for flickering lights in places where shadows keep appearing and disappearing without apparent cause. I know I found it a bit of an eye strain at times.

Admittedly, I recognize a lot of these issues stem from the fact Scarlet and Violet are ambitiously large games and their zones aren’t rigidly segmented like in Legends, but we’ve seen other games from earlier in this console cycle perform much, much better—cough, Breath of the Wild, cough. Again, I chalk this up to the obscenely short development time on the game. There are clearly optimization issues and other ways this game could’ve been smoothed out if the proper time and care had been taken. But Game Freak seems quite obsessed with the idea of putting out a Pokemon game every year. And this isn’t the only part of the world that suffers as a result.

While there’s a diversity in landscapes in Paldea, there’s very little creativity in the naming of these regions. The towns and a few specific areas get names: Glaseado Mountain, Asado Desert, and Casseroya Lake just to name the ones I can recall off the top of my head. But the great majority of areas and regions don’t even have a name. Now, if this were an unexplored, unestablished region, that would make sense. But Paldea, as noted in the game’s own history class, is a region that’s been inhabited for thousands of years by a once-powerful empire and is now a modern country. You’d expect some great naming conventions for the areas in-game. Instead, all we get are descriptors along the lines of “South Province: Area One” or “North Province: Area Two.” While I understand the Great Crater of Paldea being named Area Zero for dramatic effect and the idea that it’s generally been a place humanity has not been able to colonize or explore until recently, I don’t think that naming theme did any favours outside of that forbidding place. I think so much character could’ve been added if they’d named these areas properly. And yes, I know we’re talking about a franchise that routinely names areas “Route 17” or “Route 22,” but this is a game that’s supposed to defy standard conventions of the franchise with its open-world concept. The naming of its areas should reflect that initiative as well. Again, this lack of polish in even the naming smells of the limited development time the game was put under.

That all said, I do think Paldea is an amazing place and I’m happy to have been able to explore every little cave and cliffside. Exploration of the massive landscape is even encouraged from an in-game perspective, with flight points gained from finding Paldea’s ten famous landmarks. From Cortondo’s Olive Fields to Glaseado’s Peak, the world is fun to explore, and I actively encourage you to do so, especially if your goal is to fill your bag with potions or to fill your PC with mons.

How We Play in Paldea

The gameplay in Pokemon Legends: Arceus gave us a new way of looking at how a Pokemon game could play—or even should play. It was tailored for a new paradigm and design philosophy that I hoped the franchise would take: give the players the choice in how they approach exploring the world and catch pokemon. You could chuck an endless stream of balls at pokemon after creeping around in the grass and luring them over with bait to ensure a better catch rate. Or you could dive into battle and capture them the conventional way. It was liberating to have the ability to choose.

In that regard, Pokemon Scarlet took a step backwards.

I will wholeheartedly admit, discovering couldn’t catch pokemon in the same way as I did in Legends put me off the game at the start, probably contributing to my dislike of the game’s introduction. Instead, I was forced to get into a battle, weaken the wild pokemon, and throw balls until I get it while my poor team members soak hits for every failed catch attempt—not something enjoyable as someone with shit luck when it comes to catch rates. Now, I won’t say that the system in Legends was perfect, but, thinking Legends was a tech test for this generation, I figured that the system would be improved upon. The fact it wasn’t implemented at all was disappointing, considering how they decided to iterate on the open-world concept that Legends brought to the table. I got over it as I played, but the wish for this more dynamic way of approaching how I filled out my pokedex was something that teased the back of my mind the whole time I played. At least quick balls are still in the game, thank Arceus.

One thing that I’m fine with being left in the misty past of Legends was the new battle system. It was intriguing and a nice departure from the main series’ methods, but I found it rather unpredictable, especially combined with the absurd power and tendency towards revenge KO’s that littered Legends. The traditional way of doing battles still seems more balanced to me, though I’m not opposed to Game Freak trying their hand at the other system again when they inevitably try to do another Legends-type game. Maybe they’ll refine it enough next time that I’ll like it over the current system. But, in the meantime, the main-line battle system works well enough, and I still enjoy it.

Imported, to some degree, from Legends, is the ride pokemon system. While you had several different pokemon that could help ferry you around Hisui’s landscapes, in Paldea, you have one legendary pokemon you get near the start of the game. As you complete tasks in the titan pokemon storyline, your legendary ride, Koraidon, gains the ability to dash, high jump, surf, glide, and climb. What’s more, it ties almost neatly into the story being told in the titan storyline, making it feel both rewarding and helping to cement your bond with your goofy lizard on whose back you’re on the majority of the game. I have and will continue to advocate for the riding pokemon model, as it’s far superior to the HM system from the days of yore and fits very well into world traversal in Paldea.

That said, crossing Paldea is not without its own set of pitfalls, and not due to the adverse weather conditions you’ll face—and believe me, with the majority of your battles, even gym battles, taking place outside, you’ll be dealing with plenty of that. I’m talking about, yet again, something that’s taken the internet by storm: the glitchy and scuffed way you interact with the world.

Now, I knew going into this game that it wasn’t polished, so I set my expectations low. I also knew that the internet has a way of blowing things way, way out of proportion. I’m pleased to say that I didn’t encounter anything game-breaking, nor any goofy character model glitches, and I had only full-on game crash (though plenty of slowdowns that had me spamming the save feature for fear that I was on the cusp of one). I didn’t even fall through the world once! But I did freak out when I saw a whole squad of Golduck come out of a cliff wall to try and assault me. And there were plenty of times I saw pokemon simply standing partly inside a wall, reminding me of poor Han Solo in his slab of carbonite from The Empire Strikes Back.

I wasn’t always completely fortunate in avoiding glitches and issues though. As battles tend to reposition your character for space, my character was placed on a slope that ended up having me slide ingloriously into the sea after the battle was done, and there were plenty of times I couldn’t even see my pokemon battle since it spawned into a wall as a part of the battle arrangement. And I can’t forget the time I skidded around Levincia City on Koraidon stuck in his downward falling animation until the game decided to black out and reset me. I’ll be honest, all these instances made me laugh out of the sheer absurdity of it. None of these glitches caused me too much delay or caused a loss of progress, but these are all things that could’ve been handled so much better and allowed me to immerse myself in the game that much more deeply if the game had been allowed to bake for another six months to a year.

Another thing that could’ve benefitted from that time is something I find a lot more damning and frustrating though: the user experience. What do I mean by this? Well, to start, menus were laboriously slow to load sprites of pokemon, particularly in the box menu. Considering how often I went into this menu, I feel like I could’ve shaved several hours off my play time for time spent loading the pokemon in the boxes. As well, I found myself rarely changing my look and clothing because my character model took twice, or even thrice as long to load as my pokemon in their boxes. I find myself confused by why menus are so slow, considering that they have nothing to do with the world, which I imagine is what takes up most of the processing power. Again, this might be an optimization issue that isn’t as easy to resolve without more time. Worse yet, sometimes menu elements would overlap in annoying ways, such as experience screens popping up over status bars in double battles, or prompts overlapping pokedex text when I’d caught a new mon. And then, on top of this, about 10% of the time I picked up a new item and it popped up a text box to explain what it was, it would disappear before I pressed anything else, leaving me no chance to read it and have to play a game of “What’s this new item that’s popped up in my inventory!” Not fun when your back is stuffed full of goodies already.

But another thing I should mention that frustrated me was how the world didn’t pause when you did. I found it interesting, and perhaps even charming at first, to bring up my menu to muck around with my team while wild pokemon wandered up to me and made their cute little noises as they looked at me with all their curiosity and wonder. But later in the game, I found it an absolute pain, since most pokemon were aggressive, and would actively camp your spot while you were paused, so that the moment you vacated your menu, you would be thrust into a battle you didn’t want. Heck, even during battles the world continued to move around you, which I have to admit, was kind of cool. I loved the idea of drawing a crowd of pokemon to witness our battles in the wilderness. But even that got tiresome as the fifth Tauros charged me immediately after I finished with its companion’s battle, leaving me in a chain of endless battles that, more likely than not, left my team a wreck as I tried and repeatedly failed to run away from them. In a sense, it almost resembled griefing from MMOs I used to play, and that didn’t leave a great taste in my mouth.

And you know how that problem was solved in Legends?

You could—quite literally—move your character in battle and run away physically. How amazing would that have been? This was another feature inexplicably absent from Pokemon Scarlet that I loved. Moving your character in battles, even to the degree you could have yourself being knocked over by standing in the way of moves, was goofy and fun: feelings I have and want to continue and associate with the Pokemon franchise. It would’ve likely solved most or all of the problems I had with griefing pokemon and the weird battle position issues.

But, all of this aside, the classic core gameplay of pokemon is still present and still works very well. But that’s the thing: it’s just the classic stuff. In terms of gameplay, we had something great on our hands in Legends, even if it was an unpolished gem. I had so desperately hoped it would be refined and made to gleam in this game. But alas, that is not what we received. I’m hoping, as time and the series goes on, that we can revisit these new ideas and implement them into the main games to help the series evolve beyond the standard that’s been repeated for nine generations now.

The Distinct Stories of Paldea

Much as the introduction of the game is mired by a slow start in terms of gameplay (i.e. the delay of the true appearance of the game’s open-world nature), I found the opening of the game’s story to be equally underwhelming. I won’t say that I ever expect much in terms of story from the Pokemon games. The series has never been too well known for that sort of thing, barring a few exceptions like Gen 5’s attempts to cast a shadow over the concept of pokemon battling and ownership with N and Team Plasma. That said, even from the first trailer explaining the concept of the school academy angle the story was taking, I was not a fan of the idea. Having finished the game, I’m still not fond of the school angle.

While it’s certainly possible that a school setting can make for exciting narrative works, it fell flat for me here, and frankly, I don’t think it’s a great fit for pokemon games in general. It worked to a minor degree in Pokemon Sun and Moon’s anime, but I still would’ve liked Ash to have just travelled around Alola more as opposed to resetting to the school all the time. But this isn’t about what Ash did in the anime. This is about what school means for these games. And I think it really was wholly unnecessary since we ended up leaving school for an independent study/journey anyway.

To me, the initial school arc of the story was fodder, and all it did was set the stage for us to travel around the region on our treasure hunt and introduce us to the characters. Setting the stage for our adventure and introducing characters are admirable goals, but we didn’t need all the lengthy pageantry that came with our enrolment in school to meet these characters. Hell, we met Nemona, our rival and precious battling-obsessed cinnamon roll, at her house minutes after we set foot out of our own house and we didn’t need much more than that to realize what her character was about. I would’ve been just as fine with meeting Arven through a sandwich shop that could’ve doubled as a good way to tutorial us through the picnic system and learn about the titan/herb mystica quest from there. As for Penny, it’s harder to integrate her storyline without the school setting. Maybe the school could be a resource used on the side rather than being forced through it and the Starfall Street quest line could’ve been what introduced us to the school as an option for additional tips and interactions. I do love that the school seems to function on post-secondary rules in terms of when and how you enroll and how you take classes. As such, emphasizing that quality by making interacting with the school an option rather than something forced and contrived would’ve felt a lot better and more interesting to me.

That said, I do love all the teachers at the academy. They’re all rich with personality and zest, and it was perhaps the sole redeeming quality of the whole school concept. Feel free to let me know which professor you liked the best, and why it was Professor Raifort.

But, once you’re past that nonsense and finally get the chance to travel Paldea, the school angle tends to fall a bit into the background. Yes, you’re still on your treasure hunt, but the school angle is played down on two of the three questlines. The school setting constricted us, but thankfully, the freedom of travelling for our independent study feels a lot more liberating. I just wish we’d gotten to it a bit faster.

But, as I mentioned, and as most of you have no doubt heard from trailers and the like, the game is split into three quests. Now, in the way I played the game, I chose to complete the challenges levied by each questline in batches based on their area and level range. I’m not sure if you could zip through a single quest line without rapidly falling behind on your required levels, but it seemed to me that completing these quests a little at a time and swapping to another seemed to be the best way of going about the game while levelling at a steady pace. Swapping also helped to pace out each story, since there wasn’t a whole lot to each one: there are eight gyms, five titans/herbs, and five gangs affiliated with Team Star. Not quite enough to make each one feel like a deep, rich narrative if you chose to hyperfixate on one to the exclusion of all others.

But that’s fine! I feel like the intended method was to space out these encounters so that you could take in Paldea one province at a time and dip into these storylines little by little. I think it’s very much to the benefit of the game’s story to have separated these ideas into three distinct narratives because it gives some much-needed focus on certain story elements. The previous iterations of the Pokemon series lost out on this opportunity due to these elements being subjected to a homogenized blend of badge collecting versus intermittent interference by the games’ villainous teams. It made each of these smaller stories a little richer for it.

“Victory Road,” the game’s quest for collecting badges, pits you versus the gyms as you have in most previous Pokemon games. It’s simple, tried and tested, and true to form. And you get to see the lovable Nemona time and time again. There were times I wondered if she was stalking me, and there’s even a one-off comment she makes that plays on that worry, which did make it feel pretty funny in the moment. But that doesn’t stop Nemona from being endearing and adorable and one of my favourite rivals for her sheer exuberance and energy. You also get to talk with her a lot more than most of your rivals historically, so that in itself helps make her a more relatable and enjoyable character to see grow with you. Or rather, she tends to watch you grow and keeps testing you along the way, given she’s already at the top of her game. It’s an interesting angle to take on a rival, and an actively supportive one compared to most friendly rivals in previous games, and one I enjoyed very much. Also helps she’s cute as heck.

As to the gym leaders themselves, I’m happy to say that Game Freak has continued with the tradition of making interesting personalities and main/side-gigs central to their characters. There are some big hits and small misses in my opinion though. Iono is a standout for me, with her gym challenge showing off her personality and her very transparent need to get more views and subs as a streamer. In her case, I’m not sure if she was written like that to be a reflection of what the developers think of people in that profession or as a parody, but she’s easily one of the most memorable gym leaders.

Though… Grusha… I love that man. He’s so cool… But no really, the fact his background has him lecturing you about being reckless as a trainer as a way to emphasize the lesson he learned after an injury led to the end of his snowboarding career—and subsequently being so cold about it… haha—really speaks to great characterization in my books. It’s especially apparent when you beat him a second time that it was a hard lesson for him to learn and something hard for him to overcome.

And if we’re talking about personality in a gym leader, we definitely need to mention Ryme, the MC of RIP! She’s fantastic but suffers from what Piers did in Sword and Shield, that is to say… she, and a lot of people in this game, really need some voice acting. Especially when it comes to these musical gym leaders and characters, there’s so much awkwardness in seeing character swing and lip-sync to a beat but with no actual sound or song to back it up.

On the other end of the gym leader theming spectrum, I found Tulip to be an odd choice for the psychic type. The link between her personality, motivations, and the psychic type didn’t stand out for me as much as that with other gym leaders. Also, I think Tulip might’ve been abusing her friendship with Professor Dendra to get her to run the psychic gym challenge, but I might’ve been reading into it a bit much.

Also, on a minor note, I felt some of the gym challenges lacked the depth they had in Sword and Shield. I know that isn’t saying much, but a few of them felt… almost tacked on compared to others. Again, I bet this was a problem due to the limited development time.

Of course, at the end of this storyline, we had to take on the Elite Four and the Top Champion: Chairwoman Geeta. This was an interesting challenge in itself because it started with an interview where you had to pick a gym leader you had the hardest time with. For me, it had been Larry, the normal-type gym leader. And guess who was the third member of the Elite Four: LARRY! I thought, for certain, this meant that your choice in those questions actively influenced whom you’d meet in the Elite Four as your third challenger. Suffice to say, I was crushed when I found out it was a mere coincidence. I thought it was an absolute stroke of genius that these questions might influence how your elite four fight went since it was so odd to have an interview before the battles. The idea of disguising that one choice with all these other questions seemed so clever to me, especially for a Pokemon game. But nope… it was just Larry all this time. Which is fine, I love the guy, but how brilliant would it be if they brought in the gym leader you had the hardest time with? Ah, well, for a little while, I was awed at the idea of Game Freak doing that.

As an aside, I do want to compliment Pokemon Scarlet on the idea of making champions a level of trainer, rather than a distinct, singular trainer in this region. I think it makes a lot more sense and I hope it’s an idea they carry forward into future games.

But this game doesn’t just have the gym challenge; next, we have “The Path of Legends” questline featuring Arven, a young man who I was decidedly not a fan of to start until we learned his secret. That secret: he’s a softie for his dog for whom he’s going on a whole mythical quest to save. There’s a lesson here in narrative: if you ever want to make a character more sympathetic and relatable, have them pet a dog. No, but seriously, the moment we learned about Mabosstiff and Arven’s dedication to that big, good doggo was perhaps one of the most tender and heartfelt moments in the game. And then we got more of that as our dark-type dog friend got more and more of its vitality back with each new herb mystica we found. On top of that, each time we found one, it felt well-earned because each of the titans’ fights felt pretty epic, or at least fun and well-earned. It definitely felt reminiscent, perhaps even a bit old-hat, as it felt like we were fighting a mix of an alpha pokemon and a totem pokemon. But the encounters added more variety to the world and the story itself. And learning about Mabosstiff merited enough motivation on my end to look past the gimmick central to this storyline.

Finally, we come to “Starfall Street,” the third storyline featuring Penny, our adorable friend with their eevee backpack. Now, never let it be said that pokemon did anything with any sort of subtlety. This storyline’s twist is easy to see from a mile away. After encountering Penny when she’s accosted by Team Star thugs trying to be a bit pushy about getting her to join, we get a mysterious call from someone named Cassiopeia who puts us on a quest to dismantle the various squads making up Team Star: five in all. We take on the extremely entertaining and goofy personalities of the leaders of these gangs (Mela, Giacomo, Atticus, Ortega, and Eri) to have them surrender their positions as leaders and essentially dissolve the squads one by one. As we go on, we learn an intriguing and, at times, touching story about a group of students who were victims of bullying who come together to fight their oppressors. As someone who was bullied, I absolutely loved this idea and could only dream of something like this happening. It turns out they succeeded, but at a cost that had their big boss—no not the one from Metal Gear—disappear on them and leave the squads to grow out of control and become something of a menace. We learn more and more about these five leaders’ precious friendships and, in the end, I almost felt guilty for having to continue along our path and end Team Star.

Now, remember that plot twist I mentioned earlier? As it turns out, Cassiopeia was their big boss. And in another big, though easily foreseen twist, Cassiopeia was revealed to be Penny herself. As a shy, computer-savvy type, we got to see her little by little over the course of the story as someone who gave you supplies during your quest to end Team Star. Given this character development, it was easy to see that she would’ve been Cassiopeia, but it didn’t make the story any less impactful for me. Her bond with her allies made the final battle with her all the more enjoyable and climactic. Also, an all-eeveelution team? Ballsy, but I like it! Goes nice with your backpack, Penny!

I have to say though, one of the standout moments of that questline was the incredibly transparent attempts of Director Clavell, the school’s headmaster, to disguise himself as an outrageously pompadoured student. The fact the game lets you poke at the disguise through dialogue options was a great touch.

Now, despite having these individual questlines, if you want to reach the end of this game and Area Zero, you need to complete all three. I like this because all these stories diverged near the start of the game, and I love the idea of them converging again to help finish it off. Moreover, the new friend group formed by your character, Nemona, Arven, and Penny, has some quirky clashes in personality and dialogue that makes me want to see all four of them go on more adventures together. It makes me want to go out and find fic for all four of them just being goofy on their off-time.

However, despite this high note of companionship, the story’s ending left me feeling a bit off. The revelation of Sada’s work in the crater bringing back pokemon from the distant past (the incarnations of those pokemon very are cool and I love them) using a time machine felt a bit jarring after everything leading up to it. It felt like a bit of tone and genre whiplash to me, especially when the game revealed that Sada we’d been interacting with was an artificial intelligence of all things, even going as far as to say in dialogue that we don’t possess that technology yet, but the resources in the crater made it possible for all these things to happen.

Again, I know not to expect too much from a Pokemon narrative… but really? This felt so… forced and contrived. I don’t know… like… someone was forced to write this under really tight time constraints? Oh right, just so many other things in this game. I should’ve expected even Pokemon’s writing would suffer under those conditions. Now, for those who played Violet, and got to see futuristic pokemon and Professor TRON MAN, I imagine that this seems more on theme for a story involving the future and advanced technology (assuming it had the same story beats, I have no idea if it did or not). But for Sada and the theme of prehistoric pokemon… this seemed way off base for me. At the very least, the clash between your Koraidon and the opposing Koraidon that ousted it from the crater had a heartwarming ending, especially with it getting strength from your companions’ encouragement. But overall, the final moments of the main story felt unfulfilling to me after so much hard work put in to recover from the terrible start the game had in its story.

Overall, the story had many ups and downs. Still, for the most part, especially concerning the titan/herb questline and Team Star, there was more to sink my teeth into than in a lot of previous Pokemon games. I’m glad I was able to endure the start of it to get those parts, but it’s just a bit sad that the ending flopped for me. But it’s not just the story we’re here for when we play these games, is it? It’s the pokemon!

The Pokemon of Paldea

So having 400 pokemon in this game’s pokedex seems like a pretty good haul to me, honestly. I haven’t been privy to any debates, so I don’t know if there’s a fuss being made online about how not all the mons are in it again like they did for Sword and Shield. Whatever the case I’m pretty happy with the lineup we got… except for no Heliolisk and Helioptile. I got lucky with them in Gen 8, so I guess I’ll be thankful for that and their presence in New Snap.

That said, I love a lot of the new variants and mons that we got in general. I won’t dive too deep into all of them because this review is already getting long enough as it is, but I’ll say that when I played, I went for all new pokemon that were added in this game for a variety in my final teams.

They were:

·       Skeledirge

·       Pawmot

·       Arboliva

·       Squawkabilly

·       Garganacl

·       Mabosstiff

·       Rabsca

·       Tinkaton

·       Veluza

·       Annihilape

·       Clodsire

·       Cetitan

·       Baxcalibur

Not only did I have fun using all of these, but I thought most of their aesthetics and designs were top-notch. But I used plenty of others throughout my journey and loved all of them too. I won’t mention them all here, but shout-outs to my new favourite pun pokenames: Capsakid and Scovillain. My favourite new designs and concepts (aside from the above) were found in Naclstack, Lokix, and Brambleghast. Overall, I loved all the new additions and variants. Except for the new Dudunsparse… I mean, I’ve seen so many fan-evolutions of it that looked so much better and more creative than making it bigger and adding more sections to its body.

The prehistoric variants were killer though, especially Great Tusk, Scream Tail, and Sandy Shocks (I always had wondered what the magneton line would look like before modern times, if they even existed). Also, have you ever heard of a more metal name than Roaring Moon? Probably not. And I’ll admit, I still think Koraidon and Miraidon look goofy to me, but given that I’ve formed a bond with Koraidon over the game, I’ve been able to overlook it.

The Music of Paldea

I always have to talk about music in new Pokemon games. It’s practically a genre unto itself for me and one of my favourites to boot. I do like how they tackled overworld music in this game. They made a theme for each of the four provinces and then had different remixes and reorchestrations of it in different regions of each province, including towns and named areas like the Asado Desert. Some might think this could be lazy or uncreative, but I think it was well-executed, such that I enjoyed most iterations of each province’s tune. Heck, even the wild pokemon’s theme in that area was adapted from those themes too, which made musical transitions so smooth. I loved it!

Except for the south province’s tune. I got tired of that one very quickly. And I could see how people could easily get tired of any of the ones I liked if they spent too much time there or had negative experiences associated with the zone.

That said, you cannot hate the West Province’s theme. It’s objectively amazing in all its forms and you cannot convince me otherwise.

Of all the gym themes from previous generations, this one took me the longest to warm up to. But I did, and I’m glad they kept the final crowd-chanting version when the gym leader’s down to one pokemon as they did in Sword and Shield. However, while there generally is a crowd around your gym battles, I feel like the crowd chanting suited the big stadium settings of Galar more than it did here, so it didn’t feel like it belonged as much. That said, it didn’t detract from the experience.

Meanwhile, the Tera Raid theme was a banger (and one of the ones that Toby Fox contributed, from what I understand), as were most of the battle themes throughout the game.

Overall, the array of music in this game was very solid and well-composed. While many musical pieces were derived from each other, they helped link the world together and made for a fantastic experience for the ear that synced up to what you saw and did.

My Final Thoughts on Paldea

So, we’ve been through it all. The gyms. The titans. The squads. The sandwiches. Admittedly, I didn’t do much picnicking, but that’s something I might do more of later, but the few times I did it were charming.

Actually, that’s what this game has in abundance: charm. And I don’t mean the fairy-type move.

This game has a lot of faults, I won’t even try to deny that, nor should I. The fact that Nintendo has been offering refunds for this game is a damning spotlight on the poor condition of Pokemon Scarlet and Violet on its release. I didn’t go into this game with much hype at all because, funnily, we have too many Pokemon games. Almost one a year it seems like. It’s way too much. There’s something to be said about building up anticipation. Hell, I don’t even remember seeing this game very heavily promoted, which might speak to how crunched they were to get this done. I imagine they barely had time to do anything to advertise it, let alone finish it properly.

But below all that scuffed, unfinished woodwork that makes up this game, seemingly teetering on the edge of collapse as you see it creaking and bending sometimes, there’s a lot of heart put into it. Every time I play a Pokemon game, I can see that the developers behind it love what they’re doing it shows in the soul of the game. From the goofy pics you take after every major game accomplishment—Kofu’s stands out to me in particular in my mind—to some of the more ridiculous dialogue that either had me facepalming or laughing hysterically, there’s a charm in this game that I can’t ignore.

That’s what keeps me coming back. That’s what makes me love these games and put up with the other nonsense I’ve ranted about throughout this review. It speaks to that child in me and makes me smile as I sit on a couch in these cold winter months looking for entertainment.

Is this the best example of a top-tier Pokemon game? No. Is this the best example of what a Pokemon game could be? No. Pokemon Legends: Arceus still holds that prize for me. But it’s part of what I hope are just growing pains for this franchise as it struggles to transform into something new and incredible. I wonder how much more fun I would’ve had if I could’ve played this game like I’d played Legends.

But I still did have fun while playing this game. I did my fair share of shouting at the game for bullshit too, and some eye-roll moments at some technical nonsense, but that’s nothing new for this franchise. Hell, it’s nothing new for me with video games as a whole. But in the end, I did have fun.

What I want is to have more fun. I want to see this franchise take what it’s learned from SV and Legends and make a truly stellar game out of it next time.

And. I. Want. Them. To. Take. Their. Time. Doing. It.

That’s how we’ll get the incredible, technologically impressive, open-world Pokemon game that so many people have been pining for. And I’m willing to wait for it.

[casspurrjoybell-31]

The Consort - Chapter 17 - Part 2

*Warning Adult Content*

Finn

"We're here, human. Wake up."

Cool mint washes over my face.

It's a decadent smell, the type you remember no matter how much time has passed.

It ranks above freshly baked cookies or even freshly cut grass before a summertime barbeque.

My eyes flutter open and Brayden's red eyes peer into mine.

He doesn't set me on the ground, though.

He holds my gaze, the intensity making my stomach bottom out.

"Th-that's good," I say breathlessly.

"Were there any problems along the way...?"

Brayden's lips crash against mine.

My mind goes blank. All I can hear is rush of blood pounding against my eardrums.

What's going on?

Maybe this is a mistake.

Or a dream.

Yes this must a dream and any second now he will pull away from me and I'll wake up.

Brayden's tongue slips into my mouth.

It slides and pushes against mine, lightly fighting for dominance.

Without breaking our kiss, his hands move along my back to guide me back on my feet.

My legs whine in protest and the aching stiffness in my joints is all the proof I need that is real.

I steady myself against his shoulders, sliding my arms around the nape of his neck.

Every inch of him is chiseled perfection.

His hand moves against the side of my face.

It's a cool and formal touch but there's a softness to it this time that makes it feel more real.

His index finger settles beneath my chin,and he angles my head to deepen our kiss.

Every one of my senses is heightened.

It's like I'm hyper aware of everything, including Brayden's free hand which is now settling around my hip.

His fingers dig into my skin and I moan softly at the pain.

It's a possessive and demanding type of touch and I can't get enough of it.

My hips reflexively rub against his.

The bulge straining beneath his pants is big enough to put mine to shame.

Brayden lowers his other hand to my waist.

He pushes my back against the wall and pins me there.

I struggle to breathe against the weight of his body, his kiss overpowering and never ending.

I'm too wrapped up in the moment to realize my next mistake.

I break the kiss and gasp for a breath of air.

My fingers intertwine with a fistful of Brayden's hair and I guide his lips to the base of my neck.

Like the other men who have kissed me here before, I expect to feel his lips gently run along my tender flesh.

Instead I feel the tips of pointed teeth grazing against my vein.

My eyes snap open and I try backpedaling but there's nowhere for me to go.

What was I thinking? I'm trapped.

My breathing becomes choppy and erratic.

I should be pushing him away from me.

I should be fighting what's about to happen with every bit of strength I have to offer.

But I can't.

It's almost as if the portion of my brain that registers fear is frozen.

I can feel the emotions but I can't act on them.

Even though I know I should try to escape, having him this close to me is intoxicating.

My mind is woozy from his smell. From his taste.

On some dark, macabre level, I want him to do it.

I want him to feed from me, to taste me and become consumed by me just as much as I am consumed by him.

His teeth press deeper against my skin.

I wince at the pain but don't stop him.

He's so close to breaking my flesh and tapping my vein... But then he's gone.

I blink in confusion, glancing around the foreign room and trying to catch my breath.

We're in a modernly decorated living room, one that reeks of overpriced, stale perfume.

Picture frames line the walls in an elaborate pattern but all of them are empty.

There are no couches or chairs.

Instead there's a fancy throw rug that takes up the majority of the floor.

It's a plush purple with golden tassels all along the edge.

A few throw pillows are gathered near the middle, each of them matching the color scheme of the rug.

"B-Brayden?" I whisper.

Silence.

I shiver and take a step away from the wall.

The feel of his hands and his kiss still dance across my skin, now just whispers of a stolen moment.

Silence.

I shiver and take a step away from the wall.

The feel of his hands and his kiss still dance across my skin, now just whispers of a stolen moment.

"I told you not to push me, human."

My head whips in the direction of his voice but he's still nowhere to be seen.

The double timbre of his words echo throughout the vaulted ceilings.

I swallow hard and my eyes dance to the stairs, trying to find where he is.

"I'm sorry," I say hesitantly.

"I wasn't trying to push you. I just wanted more."

More silence greets my confession.

I can't hear his breathing or his movement.

I can't even feel his eyes on me.

I don't feel anything.

My legs give out and I slump down to the ground.

It was stupid to let him kiss me.

He warned me not to push him,and there I was, just adding more fuel to the fire.

"Brayden?" I whimper. "Please."

'I'm scared'.

Normally when Brayden is around I can feel his presence.

Now I can't feel anything.

I lick my lips, looking around the room in desperation.

From the corner of the room, a sullen shadow slowly emerges.

I take a step forward in relief but then stop.

The vampire moving towards me looks possessed.

His eyes are black and glow with an unearthly type of darkness.

Elongated fangs glisten against the overhead light.

The desire pulsing through me turns to dread and after another beat of silence passes, the vampire lets out a sinister laugh.

It's not Brayden.

It's the vampire from the University.

He strides are long and purposeful.

I stutter out Brayden's name, wondering how I heard his voice just a moment ago but now he's gone.

Did he set me up? Is that why he brought me here?

Tears sting my eyes and I watch in horror as the menacing vampire approaches me.

There's nowhere to run.

There's nowhere to hide.

His hard fingers slide around my wrist, tightening like a sinister vice.

Memories from the day of the attack flash before my eyes, the way he sucked the life out of so many humans.

The fresh, bright blood staining his lips and teeth.

He smiles down at me, tilting his head in satisfaction.

"Hello Nirv," he whispers. "We meet again."

[civilotterneerredlines]

I've been an Arizona believer since day 1, but maybe I'm biased being an Arizonite myself.

Other clues that lend towards it being Arizona:

The city of Payton is aweful close in sounding to the real city of Payson

The Prescott Railway is very similar to a railroad commonly called Sante Fe, Prescott, and Phoenix Railway (or The Peavine Route modernly) that goes north-south, used to serve surrounding mines until they dried up, and happens to go through a real city called Prescott

The town of Nothing, AZ has a strangely familiar sign...

OP is right about the terrain and flora. As an Arizonite who's explored the regions generally south east and south west of Flagstaff, that's really the terrain that much of Echo's art shows.

OP is also right about the Navajo and the name "Begay". It's literally like the most common last name, there were over 10 kids with the last name "Begay" in my graduating class of 115.

Vulture City, ya say? Ya know, the town not that far from Lake Alamo? A suspiciously similar (if not too far away from Vulture City itself) lake to Emma Lake? Not too far from my Prescott area predictions? Hmmm......

I tend to hedge my bets on it being somewhere in the area near Alamo Lake (one of the few lakes in the area that also matches descriptions with Emma Lake). Terrain wise it makes sense. I tend to think the real Prescott was renamed to Payson as that would make it the nearby nearest city. Id also have to say, if there's a region of this state that feels haunted, it's the area near Prescott, that area can feel downright creepy sometimes. It's a touch farther away from the reservation (it's main damming point), but it's not hysterically far away and plenty of Navajo live in that area.

We've also got a ton of abandoned mines in those areas, too, with plenty of dried up boomtowns. You can make a career out of cleaning up old mine tailings piles, there's just so many.

Additionally, in many driving scenes, it shows these kinda red rocked cliffs, and there are a few shots that show red sandstone cliffs. While there are some of these in Utah, there's a lot of them going towards Prescott when coming from the city of Sedona (a tourist trap literally known for its red cliffed drives). These extend outwards and away in many directions, including towards Prescott.

Again, Arizona bias, but I'm free to be that way, lol.

I really need to plan an IRL road trip around those areas to take, like, inspiration photos and "Hey, this looks like X from Echo" photos. I live right next to where I believe it is.

Even with the confirmation of Echo's origins being placed in Vulture City, Arizona instead of Echo, Utah, where do your thoughts on the town's state lie? Is it in either or? both? a fictional state? I personally like to think Echo exists in the regal state of Utarizona

To be honest, I always found the idea that the town of Echo in Echo VN being placed in Utah simply based on the irl town of Echo also being placed in Utah to be a very weak piece of evidence. If there was more pointing to Utah, then I'd be fine with saying that Echo VN's town of the same name is set within that state.

However—as you can guess—I am certainly not fine with saying that. I have been an Arizona-placed Echo believer ever since I read the vn for the first time, as there is simply more pointing towards that being the case. To begin, the world of Echo VN is set in a very similar world to our own, with the layout and history being almost identical but with the main difference (besides anthropomorphic animals) being altered names: The United States of America is known as The United States of Columbia; Mexico is Sonora; The Netherlands is Batavia; Southland is Australia, etc. While this may suggest some large alternate history things going on, there isn't anything suggesting that these aren't simply just name changes. It is safer to assume that things happened in the Echo world identically to how they happened in our own—with the addition of Emma County and the town of Echo of course as this town is completely fictional.

With that said, one of the bigger pieces of evidence from Echo VN suggesting an Arizona placement over a placement in Utah is the Meseta Tribe and the town's proximity to their reservation. This Indigenous tribe is loosely based on the real life Native American Navajo people; With the Begay surname being derived directly from the Navajo word biye' (which I believe means "son" as in "the son of" but I do not speak the Navajo language so take my words with a grain of salt.) We know that Echo is located rather close to the Meseta Reservation as in Echo VN the town is close enough to drive to and back and not be considered a major trip. Furthermore, a fan-made map (pictured below) was later endorsed by McSkinny and Howly as an accurate layout of Echo and the surrounding area; To the point of even being used as the basis for a map that appears in The Smoke Room. If this is similar to the vision of the authors, then we can say that Echo is placed just to the west (and slightly south of the larger area) of the Meseta Tribe Reservation.

Now when comparing this to the real life Navajo Nation, while there are parts of it that are placed within the borders of Utah, an overwhelming majority can be found further south; If the layout and general size of the Meseta reservation is identical to that of the Navajo Nation—which again can be assumed through the general trend of "everything is the same but with furries and different names"— then for Echo to be placed to the west and slightly south of the reservation, it would be most definitely be located in northern/central Arizona.

Now, there are some places in Utah in which Echo could be placed for this to make sense. However I think it is much more likely to be to the west/southwest of the significantly larger area set in Arizona than the smaller, northern most bit of the reservation in Utah.

But maybe this doesn't mean anything. Could there be anything else suggesting an Arizona placement? Well, yes!

There are several statements about the ecology of the area surrounding Echo, including direct mentions of plants such as mesquite, saguaro cactus, and brittle-brush shrubs. Now all of these can be found across the southwestern US, however typically these plants don't overlap in natural habitat except for the central Arizona/New Mexico area. In fact, saguaro cactus simply does not grow in Utah at all. In a similar vein, Arches mentions the area being well known for its monsoon season. Which is centralized on Arizona and New Mexico; although again, Utah can and does get monsoons as well, though not as much as its southern neighbor. And for Echo to be in a location that is widely known for monsoons, I personally think it makes more sense for it to be in the hot-spot for such a thing rather than a location in which monsoons are a bit more rare.

Now, whether any of this means anything to you is out of my control; But I personally see all of this and think that Arizona makes the most sense, even without the Vulture City inspiration reveal and the writers saying that they like to think Arizona because "the desert looks nicer there".

What you believe is ultimately up to you; whether that be Arizona, Utah, a combined state of the two, or some curve-ball answer like New Mexico. But my own viewpoint is that Echo is in Arizona.

[ileftherbackhome]

Ok the comparison to the cat is what made the whole thing click for me, thank you. A female cat isn’t a woman because it is a cat; and white people didn’t see black women as women because they didn’t see black people as quite the same species. However, that means that the definition of adult human female WOULD work but only with the caveat that their understanding of human inherently means white. THEY themselves might have provided the definition of adult human female but WE can translate that into adult white human female because we know they thought human meant white. I’d be curious to know how womanhood was defined by people of color living in the US at the time. I’m a marine biologist so I don’t know much about this area of knowledge but I do know that the majority of information we have from the era was produced by whites people. If texts exist talking about the nature of gender from the perspective of people of color in the slave era US, I’d love to read them. Thanks for taking the time to help me understand

So, once again you are still coming at this with a modern lens.

You are asking me what black women thought about themselves and, if this sounds harsh, I'm sorry, but it quite frankly doesn't matter how black women defined themselves.

We are talking about returning to the original defintion of woman, which is what terfs want. They claim that this definition is inclusive to all women.

My point is that the original definition of woman excluded black women, regardless of how you try and justify including black women TODAY in the definition, it doesn't change history.

Historically speaking, the original definition of the white word, woman, excluded black women. That is why they were not protected from slavery and that is why they were treated so differently from white women.

Terfs are basically arguing "well we know that black people are human today so were going to ignore the part where human didn't mean black people" which is a case of special pleading.

Why should we change the original definition of woman just enough to include black people in it, but not enough to include what we know now about sex not being a binary nor about gender being a real thing biologically speaking?

That is the crux of the issue that transphobes seem to not be understanding. No matter what terfs want, we can NEVER go back to the original definition of the word woman.

That is why I said gender was originally defined by sex and race, because I automatically include black women myself in the word human and so does everyone else. In order to TRULY define the original word woman, you need to add the word white in there because that is how we are modernly defining the word.

It's inaccurate to say woman was defined as adult female human, because we now assume the word human means black people too and sure maybe white people did use this definition, but they excluded black women on that human aspect so for them it was defined as white female human, not even an adult because women were perpetual children which is ANOTHER issue with the terf revision of history.

Woman was defined as white female human-child and you cannot ask society to go back to the "original" definition of the word woman without taking in all the sex stereotypes of woman and the exclusion of black women altogether.

That's not even to mention the fact that terfs seem to accept the science behind race not being biologically real but refuse that same science that proves sex is not a binary nor is gender real. So quite frankly, they're trying to go back to the "original" definition of the word woman because they don't want to accept the science behind sex selection in homo sapiens being infinitely more complex than humans 800 years ago believed.

So, yeah, we know black women saw themselves as women. But we also know that it didn't fucking matter what black women said about their own gender, white people didn't see them as human and that is the point I'm fucking making. You cannot go back to "original" definitions of shit without accepting ALLLLLLLLLLLLL that comes with that original definition.

You can't cherry pick the parts you like and discard the rest and say "see ancient humans are so much smarter than us!"

We know previous generations of humans were stupid and wrong about everything, gender/sex will not be the fucking exception lmfao.

[kermiekermie]

okay if your friends wont send u their birth details i guess ill do it

March 7th, 2007

around 5 am maybe

South East Asia, southern hemisphere

infodump away king

THANK YOU ANON YOU ARE AMAZING (keep in mind im not like a professional at this im a teenager w a special interest)

im not gonna go thru the nodes, lilith, and chiron or anything because I'm not super knowledgeable on those

OKAY so heres your birth chart

gonna do a read more bc fhis is gonna get long

RISING: Pisces!

(since you said maybe im assuming you dont know your birth time 100%, so this and the houses your placements are in may not be completely accurate)

Your rising is YOU! your rising is how other view you, how you view you, and really everything to do with you.

pisces is ruled by neptune! which makes neptune your chart ruler (has more of an impact over your chart in general, but neptune is a generational planet so house placement is what matters)

pisces sising generally means youre probably a kind of "go with the flow" kind of person, since pisces is the kutuable water sign. you may not have a set direction you want to go in life and go wherever you end up. you may seem to change day to day. you probably dont like being pinned down or have a kind of "odd" way of organizing, and may enjoy escapism. youre probably very charming!

you might have very big or dreamy eyes, softer features (a "dreamy" look in general, pisces risings are known to look very ethereal)

pisces sun!! your sun sign is probably the one most people already know so i wont go too in depth on it since its really easy to learn about

the sun rules your ego, your self identity, your desires in life and how you want to exist

you are extremely adaptable and flexible, and read people EXTREMELY well! you have some sort of intuition that may scare others (and if used in the wrong way, can make you manipulative), pisces, being modernly ruled by neptune, can make you seem "confusing", sometimes even to yourself. pisces reflects others energy, so people may not like you for what they THINK is you, but is actually them having their own insecurities reflected back to them. in traditional astrology, pisces is ruled by jupiter, which id the planet of growth and luck. this means you may struggle with setting boudaries and your personality may not seem to be "contained" in any way.

sun in the 1st house

the 1st house is the ascendant - all things about you and your identity

with your sun in the 1st house you dont put on a image for others. you are truly your authentic self with everyone you meet and you feel like it. you have a stronger sense of individuality. people notice you! youre bold, and even if you struggle with confidence, you dont seem like it. you mold your persona to the situation youre in- but since you seem so confident nobody notices, and you may not even need to do that! you probably get along fairly well with others, or people may be intimidated by you.

Moon in Libra

The moon is your emotions, your inner world and subconcious, how you nurture others - represents the mother

Libra is the cardinal air sign, and is ruled by Venus. Libra is the sign of harmony and balance.

the first thing most people say about libra moons is youre very indecisive! you prefer peace and harmony, and may be very avoidant of conflict. you may feel like its your responsibilty to fix conflicts, even if you arent involved. you might prefer having a partner around rather than dealing with things alone. being an air sign and a cardinal sign, the moon in libra may make you very intelligent when it comes to winning arguments, as you will know how to get people where it hurts. you may struggle with taking criticism harshly.

Moon in the 8th house

the 8th house rule death, inheritance, sex, shadows, and secrets

you may be interested in things ithers consider taboo or forbidden. you may look for sexual relationships when feeling emotionally insecure (unless ur asexual, just going off what ik here) and you may be a jealous or possessive person. you are however, deeply loyal and passionate. you want to have a deep understanding of yourself and your emotions, and may be interested in things like psychology and astrology because of this. you feel the most emotionally secure when you find this understanding. with the moon in the 8th house, you become someone who is very nurturing to others, as you things that others dont, like mental health. you also may find this in not feeling understood by others or not being seen. you understand how it feels to be wounded.

Mercury in Aquarius

Mercury is the planet of communication, intellect, and how we think.

Aquarius is the fixed air sign, and is modernly ruled by Uranus (traditionally by Saturn). The sign of progress, nostalgia. in traditional astrology, rules the past and the future.

Aquarius placements can often be seen as "alien"- really, their ideals are often way ahead of their time! Mercury here makes you very good at communication, and makes you really want to fight for progress. you may be interested in protesting or may be interested in politics. Can either be very talkative or very reserved and quiet, although the quiet ones know how to make themselves be heard. VERY INTELLIGENT! with aquarius being a fixed sign and ruling the past and present, no matter how much mercury here wants to make progress, they will still take into account the past and their nostalgia. They may miss how things were bdfore but they know progress is needed to keep moving foward. You probably enjoy debates! you analyze people a lot and know how to win arguments. you have a very refined mind, and may have anice speaking voice.

Mercury in the 12th House

the 12th house is your subconscious, the unknown, hidden enemies, institutions, solitude

12th house placements are known to be be very difficult placements to have. With this placement, you are misunderstood and people dint seem to want to listen to you. They may talk about you behind your back. Your words are often taken out of context and misinterpreted. You may not even be able to understand your own thoughts sometimes. You are however, gifted in abstract thinking and when you cant communicate with words, are great at communication through images and art, which makes this a good placement to have if working in the film industry. You may be able to communicate and find your self when alone, usually through dreams or your subconcious mind. let your intuition guide you!

Mercury in Retrograde

Reteogrades mean a planet is moving backwards in the sky - this can mean you life may feel turned upside down. Mercury goes retrograde very often, so this isnt super significant, although you may feel more understood during mercury retrogrades whereas others feel the opposite.

Venus in Aries

Venus is the planet of love, beauty, marriage, what we attract and who we are attracted to - represents the wife

Aries is the Cardinal Fire placement and is ruled by Mars and represents passion, individuality and selfishness, confidence

What you want in a parter is someone who helps you find yourself and your confidence. Venus is in detriment in Aries, which can make this a difficult placement. you may feel like love is something to be "conquered" or "won". You are extremely passionate and may love the thrill of the chase, which can cause you to lead many people on, as once you get what you want you tend to lose interest. This placement can either make you extremely loyal or the complete opposite. You either are fought for, or you fight for others. you want to win someone's affection. You fall fast, but don't like people who are overly clingy and prefer people who are independent. You show people you like them by showing off, even if you are a very show-off type of person.

Venus in the 2nd house

the 2nd house represents posessions, money, values, your belief system

Venus here is a generally good placement, although it has the potential to bring gold-digging tendencies. You search for practical and financial security in your partners. This can also make you a little posessive. You have expensive taste, in everything from fashion to how you decorate your personal space, and you enjoy the finer things in life. you may find luck in money and recieving gifts (especially from lovers!)

Mars in Aquarius

Mars is the planet of passion, energy, war, your anger, your motivation and drive

See mercury for aquarius!

Mars here makes you REBELLIOUS! you have a strong belief system adn that motivates you to make the changes you want to see in the world. Being told what to do is a big pet peeve. When you're angered, however, you arent a physical fighter, you fight with words and logic. Youre very rational. In conflict, you may start out emotional, but once you reach your boiling point, you can completely intellectualize that anger, althought this depends on your moon placement. Aquarius, being a fixed sign, is very stubborn. You will always make sure to get the last laugh and will refuse to back down. You may not want to hear other people out. Sometimes to the point you can't be reasoned with. Can be kind of intense. You focus and dedicate your energy to one main thing youre passionate about, although you tend to neglect your other responsibilities to do this.

Mars in the 12th house

see mercury for info on the 12th house

I find mars in the 12th house to be an extremely interesting (although challenging) placement to have. With this placement you may internalize a lot of anger and then have outbursts when you cant bottle it up anymore. You may have a lot of hidden motives. You may self-sabotage a lot and rather than going out and doing, may just think about what you want to pursue. This placement can also hint towards anger issues. This placement gives you tons of intuition and you always know when something is fishy.

Thats your big 6, aka you personal planets. Those will have the largest impact on you. Moving onto jupiter and saturn, which are the last planets in traditional astrology, and uranus, neptune, and pluto, the generational planets. all of these are the same for everyone born around the same time, the only thing changing being the house placements (based on rising sign)

Jupiter in Saggitarius

Jupiter is the planet of luck and manifestation, growth and expansion, prosperity, and religion - Represents the husband

Saggitarius is the mutable fire sign, and is ruled by Jupiter. It represents Journey and travel, running away and growth.

This is an amazing placement to have. Since Jupiter is Saggitarius' ruling planet, Jupiter feels very at home here. Jupiter is highlighted and reaches its full potential here. You may have a very strong faith if you are religious, usually because you are extremely lucky! luck is always on your side. You can trust yourself to follow your heart in whatever you do because of this. You have a lot of luck to pass around and are very generous.

Jupiter in the 10th house

The 10th house is your midheaven and represents success and fame, goals, career, and your reputation.

Again, your jupiter is placed amazingly. Jupiter here makes you very lucky in your career and you will likely find sucess in whatever you do for work. You have a good reputation among your peers and get along with your boss (if you have one!). This placement could make you good at running a business depending on your mercury and mars placements (with your mercury and mars i think it might go well!) and people naturally respect you. You're a great leader. This doesnt mean you don't have to work thought, Jupiter will bless you when you put in hard work!

Saturn in Leo

Saturn is the planet of karma, limits and boundaries, wisdom, time, restrictions and delays. Is the lessons you are taught by the universe. Can represent the father along with the sun.

Leo is the fixed fire placement and is ruled by the sun. Represents energy and light, positivity

Saturn in Retrograde

with Saturn in retrograde, you may struggle with setting boundaries or doing hard work and taking responsibility, and you may struggle with rules and authority. During saturn retrograde, you may feel more at home when others do not.

Saturn is usually viewed as a big scary monster in astrology beqcause of the topics it deals with. It is what ounishes you in life and can deal with past lives. With Saturn in Leo, you may struggle with you self confidence, and through this Saturn teaches you to love yourself. Saturn will make you struggle in this area to teach you this. You dont need to hide, and one of your biggest assests in life will become your personality and how you shine. When you overcome the timidness that comes with this placement, you become unstoppable. Your passion is what drives you. You struggle in standing up for youself and need to learn how to speak for yourself. You dont like being the center of attention, but need to let yourself enjoy it. You may not have recieved much attention or were shut down a lot as a child.

Saturn in the 6th house

The 6th house represents health and fitness, your needs, daily life

You may be a bit of a workaholic, or might use work as a method of escapism. Having a balanced diet and being healthy is important here, as you can easily be thrown off balance. focus on your health. You may have not recieved praise or recognition for your hard work, but with this placement you work until you do recieve that praise. Saturn enjoys being placed in the 6th house and this placement will make you very disciplined in all areas of life.

Time for the generational planets!!!! these are gonna be shorter because these planets stay in signs for a long time, so they dont impact things quuuite ad much.

Uranus in Pisces

Uranus is the planet of change and progress, the collective conciousness, society

Pisces is the mutable water sign and is ruled by Neptune (traditionally by Jupiter) And represents dreams, the subconcious, and change

Uranus in pisces as a generation is bringing change and revolution in how the world views spirituality and psychic ability. With this generation comes a rise in spirituality and things like psychics and intuiton being seen as less taboo. you may be a spiritual person. this can also deal with things like psychadelics and dreams as ways of connect to other realms.

Uranus in the 1st house

You are very unconventional and rebellious and you like going against societal standards. This could be through fashion, ideals, or behavior in general. You get bored easily and are eccentric. you may come across as detachted from reality and in your own world. youre connected to the universe. When you do things, it may seem to others that nothing is being done until everything around them as changed.

Neptune in Aquarius

Neptune represents Spirituality, dreams, the subconcious, drugs and altered states, magic, psychics, illusions, delusions, and confusion

see above for aquarius meaning

Neptune in aquarius generation (anyone born after 2000) is innovating spirituality as a collective, whereas neptune in capricorn was working on innovating spirituality as individuals. Neptune in aquarius is interested in improving society as a whole and tearing down the structures that hold back progress (similar to pluto in aquarius, aka anyone born after pluto enters aquarius in 2024).

Neptune in the 12th house

again see above for 12th house info

this placement is one of the most interesting in astrology to me because while all 12th house placements are difficult in their own way, neptune is somewhat related and connected to the 12th house. With this placement you may have a hard time accepting reality, and are extremely connected eith your subconcious. You may be very intuitive and even have psychic abilites coming to you through dreams. You have gifts that you either dont know about or dont know how to use. You could struggle with substance abuse.

Pluto in Saggitarius

Pluto is the planet of chaos, death, rebirth and rebuilding

see jupiter for sag meaning

Pluto in Saggitarius is all of Gen Z (1995-2008, although most definitions include 2009 and 2010 in gen z which i do too, in astrology though they are not)

Pluto can seen scary from the outside, as it represents endings and death, but rebuilding and rebirth is plutos main message. With each pluto generation we see major historical events that mark each generation. Pluto in Saggitarius is going to tear down structures built by the previous generation and rebuild it to fit their ideals. We already see this as Gen Z organizes protests and moves into government positions and other positions of power. Saggitarius wants freedom and to do what they please, and having pluto here brings a generation fighting for their rights to freedom and self expression.

Pluto in the 10th house

With pluto here, you want power and recogntion. You want influence over others and your peers. You couldve had a controlling father. You will find your power in your career and your reputation among peers. self-improvement and work ethic are important to achieve this power. Can be a major indicator for fame.

AND THATS A WRAP i soent a really long time on this and really enjoyed it thank you :) idk if its like 100% accurate because i am not professionally trained or have actual education on this, this is all info from like 4.5 years of being obsessed with astrology but just take what resonates!

[furiarossa]

I was curious too, so I did my research!

I read somewhere that this movie has a 12th century setting, so... maybe there's a reason for which they didn't show who destroyed and pillaged his land XD

So, here's what we have as informations:

The setting is around the starting of 1200

The Kingdom of Rosas is on an island south of the Iberian Peninsula. This is confirmed in The Art of Wish, where it is stated to be in the Mediterranean Sea.

Magnifico was probably born in Al Andalus, Iberian Peninsula (aka, what we modernly called Spain), and at that time, the southern part of the Peninsula (from where, we have reason to believe, he fled to find the desert island) was controlled by the Almohad.

The Almohad Caliphate or Almohad Empire was a North African Berber Muslim empire founded in the 12th century. At its height, it controlled much of the Iberian Peninsula (Al-Andalus) and North Africa (the Maghreb).

So, maybe Disney didn't want to show us who destroyed Magnifico's home, because those people looked a lot like... Asha? I do understand this choice. For kids, it would look like Asha's people took everything from him, and then, much later, when he created a new place for himself, Asha took everything from him again XD

(Of course we adults know that Asha and his family in particular are not responsible for what happened, but they tried to... not villainize them to the eyes of the viewers, anyway, I think?)

Asha is, we know from the art book and some interviews, an Amazigh. Historically, we know them as Berbers (Arabic: بربر) or the Berber peoples, while contemporary they self-name Amazigh.

Several Berber dynasties emerged during the Middle Ages in the Maghreb and al-Andalus. The ones that we are interested in, for understanding better this movie, are the the Almoravid dynasty (Morocco and al-Andalus, 1040–1147), the Almohads (Morocco and al-Andalus, 1147–1248).

They're Amazigh, like asha! People who pillaged and destroyed Magnifico's land, they look like the protagonist of this movie. Not all the ancient history mimics the same power dynamics of modern ones, and "race" issues were critically different back then.

Story is much more complicated than a lot of people expects...

The culmination of the Reconquista (By Reconquista we mean the historiographical construction relating to the period in which the progressive conquest of the Muslim Moorish kingdoms of al-Andalus took place) came in 1492 with the fall of the Nasrid kingdom of Granada to the Catholic Monarchs.

During the time of the movie Wish, around 1200, this was the situation:

Here you can see the Islamic Almohad dynasty and surrounding states, including the Christian Kingdoms of Portugal, Leon, Castile, Navarre, and the Crown of Aragon, c. 1200.

The reconquista was underway, so the kingdoms continued to fight (and the small villages, the lands, the common and non-common inhabitants, like the Magnifico's family, ended up in the middle all the time).

But, of course, King Magnifico wasn't born exactly in 1200, right? He was born, we say, about 50-60 years before (how old does he look to you? 40? 50? 60? We'll go with 50!)

So we have to see what was the exact situation of Al-Andalus in 1150!

Hmm... not much different, right?

Probably (given his appearance) Magnifico lived within a Christian kingdom, and during a battle between Christian and Muslim armies, his village was sacked by Almohad soldiers.

Read more: http://historyworld.net/wrldhis/PlainTextHistories.asp?ParagraphID=ecf#ixzz8JmqApR9K

Oh, and of course (since it's pretty interesting!) here's a map of the expansion of the Almohad Empire:

Some useful sources:

Rosas (from Disney Wiki)

Almohad Caliphate (from Wikipedia)

Al Andalus (from Wikipedia)

History of Spain (from History World)

Berbers (from Wikipedia)

P.S.: Sorry if something isn't written very clearly! I'm Italian and sometimes it shows in the way I write in English XD.

I just want to know where Magnifico came from. Like what do you mean this white man had his land pillaged and destroyed? Usually it’s the other way around

[bxckybarness]

Back in the Fight

summary: Bucky reaches out to an old friend for help

word count: 1300+

a/n: i’m back!!! is this even good? I don’t know. if you want a part 2, let me know. or if you have other ideas - let me know that too. thanks for sticking around while I took my seriously long break. life gets busy and it’s nice to come back to this little corner of the internet

read part II here

“I know someone.”

“How very vague of you - who is he?” Sam retorts.

“She,” Bucky says, emphasizing his correction, “used to work as a spy. We met in Bucharest.”

“An ex-spy? And you think she has intel about the Flag Smashers?” Sam says, not believing that Bucky has a connection that could end up being helpful - especially considering he didn’t seem to talk to anyone else in his free time.

“I do. Just trust me.”

“Whatever you say robo-arm.”

Bucky walks up to a sleek looking apartment building that’s neatly nestled into a quiet corner within the bustling streets of New York City. He stops at the door and glances back at Sam, who’s only a few strides behind. Sam is quick to notice when Bucky pushes the only call button that doesn’t display a name and it seems fitting - a spy doesn’t want to be found when working, maybe they don’t want to be found when just living either. A few seconds pass without a returning noise from the doorbell system causing Bucky to eye Sam nervously.

“You’re sure this is the place?” Sam questions, raising his eyebrow with interest.

“Do you have to question everything I do?” Bucky shoots back.

“Always so gruff.”

Sam laughs as he hears the intercom pick up by the door. He hears a quiet female voice come through and looks to Bucky to make the next move. Bucky nods at Sam before turning his attention back to the door.

“It’s me,” he says to the intercom.

There’s silence for another moment before the pair hears a laugh from the intercom. “Well, if it isn’t my favorite man with a metal arm! Come up.”

The intercom cuts off and Sam lets out a laugh, knowing he and this mysterious ex-spy friend of Bucky’s could easily become good friends. Especially if they both were able to tease the ex-assassin together. Bucky glances over at Sam and rolls his eyes playfully, before opening the now unlocked door of the apartment building. The pair ascend the stairs and stop in front of yet another door. Bucky quickly knocks and takes a step back before once again, glancing at Sam. Sam nods in reassurance and turns his attention back to the door.

It quickly swings open to reveal you. You’re dressed casually and look like just an everyday, average person - hardly a spy, at least in Sam’s opinion.

“Hey Buck!” You say jovially, “Long time no see.”

Bucky lets out a small chuckle and gestures towards his partner, “This is Sam. The Falcon, ya know.”

You nod and reach your hand out to welcome him, “So good to meet you!”

Sam smiles and shakes the hand of the girl in front of him, “You too.”

Following introductions, you turn and gesture for the boys to enter your apartment. It’s a quaint little space - modernly decorated and very homey. The windows that grace your wall are big and overlook the city. It’s peaceful in the way that only New York can be.

“Anyone care for some coffee?” You ask, now standing behind the kitchen counter, pouring yourself a cup. With some nods from your guests, you pour two more and distribute them before sitting on the couch. With a small laugh, you speak again, “Make yourself comfortable, guys. You both look tense as hell.”

Bucky moves from the hall by the door to stand in front of the windows. He stares at the expanse of the city for a few seconds before turning to face you, a sigh leaving his lips.

“We have a reason to be tense.”

You take a sip of your coffee and nod, bringing the mug to rest on your left thigh, “I had a feeling this wasn’t just a friendly check-in.”

The room grows quiet and the sheepish look on Bucky’s face is enough for Sam to know he hasn’t spoken to this girl in awhile. He clears his throat awkwardly and chooses to break the slightly awkward silence, “We can get into that later. For now, I’d love to hear about how the two of you met. And you’re a spy?” He gives you a curious look, and for a moment you think he looks like a kid in the candy store.

You shrug and look over at Sam, who is intently waiting for your answer, “Spy, undercover agent, whatever you want to call it.”

Bucky finally moves to join you and Sam, sitting on the lounge chair in the corner of the room. He lets out a breathy laugh, “How about babysitter?”

“Babysitter?” Sam questions with a laugh of his own. “Okay, I gotta know what that’s about.”

You’re smiling now and you shake your head at Bucky’s comment.

“Well,” you start, placing your mug on the coffee table in front of you, “When the bionic brain over here went into hiding, I was hired to track him down and keep an eye on him.”

“We met in Bucharest,” Bucky adds, fiddling with the mug in his own hands.

“So I guess the term babysitter kind of fits,” Sam says, a smug look on his face.

You roll your eyes once again and look at Sam with a hardened look of your own, “Hydra doesn’t hire babysitters.”

Sam’s jaw drops and Bucky quickly moves to run a hand over his face.

“Okay one, that was intense. Two, you were hired by Hydra?!” Sam practically shouts.

Now it’s your turn to let out an incredulous laugh, “Oh man, you should’ve seen your face, Sam!”

It takes you a second to calm down before you can catch your break and explain, “To be fair, I didn’t know I was working for them at first. And a paycheck is a paycheck.”

The conversation continues for a while and you tell Sam about your days as an agent for hire and how you eventually got roped into Hydra’s business. Back then, you needed the money and you were good at hiding in the shadows both online and in-person. You started with small odd jobs.

When bigger cases started rolling in, so did the eyes of the various higher ups of the world - including Hydra. They had hired you under the guise of being a high-tech German company that needed surveillance on a potential security threat. You didn’t think twice about the assignment and took it - more than happy to go on the hunt for someone for the price they were offering. Once you had found Bucky, though, and realized what Hydra had turned him into (and that you were working for them), you stopped taking jobs for them and moved on with life.

Which is how you eventually ended up in New York.

“So,” you say. “I’m sure you didn’t come here looking for my babysitting services. What’s up?”

Bucky stands, immediately becoming tense again. “The Flag Smashers.”

You glance between the people in front of you, letting silence fall over the room. You place your mug on the table in front of you and stand quickly, “Come with me.”

The two men follow you through your apartment to a back room with no windows that is empty except for a desk and computer. You sit in front of the laptop and open it, pulling up a security scanning application in the process.

“I figured somebody would be needing my help with this at some point,” you say with a chuckle. “And before I tell you what I know - I have one condition.”

Bucky lets out a playful scoff, “This oughta be good. What is it?”

“Let me in on the fight.”

Bucky nods and smiles at you. He can’t believe he hasn’t come to see you sooner. Sam laughs and comes around to stand behind you, clapping a hand gently on your back in comradery. He can’t believe Bucky has been hiding you from him all this time. And your smile gives away your thoughts - you’re excited to get back to what you do best, especially if you’re doing it alongside your two favorite avengers.

[everafterhighxreader]

Please don't stop posting. I really like THIS soooo much. You don't know how hard and how long i need to search for anything close to genderbend fairytale x reader. I usually end up with yandere!prince in my search, but not the fairytale that i search for. Usually it's the prince and king type of fairytale where you are the maid or something like that and NOT the 'classic fairytale' that i search for or familiar with. Or a fairytale AU. Or twisted wonderland (plus yandere).

I almost went mad. And need to give up several time because i don't think anyone has written genderbend classic fairytale. Or yandere genderbend fairytale. I still have not seen any, actually there is but only very little old scraps. Actually there is one story with genderbend classic disney fairytale characters but.... too much ocs that i do not know (not related to any of the source or anything that i am familiar with and too modernly magical(?). Also somehow the y/n know disney but also conveniently forget about it? It's weird imo) and the y/n is not my taste. So i skim it and because of it the story doesn't make sense to me. Not that i want to bash that story. Just not my cup of tea.

So pleaseeeee.... don't stop. This is good stuff in my book. And my cup of tea, up to my taste.

And i accept any new decent-good writing of any genderbend fairytale character. (I am so desperate that i read any 'bad' writing. The pharagraph and spacing is awful, lots of OOC, the y/n.... let just say they are not realistic and lots of pick-me type, probably wrote by 10 or 12 years old. They probably will cringe at their writing. At least there are rooms for improvement. This also include Monster High writing. The fandom for it kinda small.... i shall not say it.)

This is also genderbend Ever After High, which is exceedingly rare. Probably rarer than genderbend Monster High. Wait.... they are probably in the same rare category, since they are scarce. So this is a win-win in my book. I got genderbend Ever After High (plus yandere) and i can satisfy my craving for genderbend fairytale (plus yandere).

Anyway what i want to say is keep up the good work. If you know any other decent genderbend EAH or MH (plus yandere) writing, please tell me. Or at least what keyword i should use because maybe sometime they don't show up. It's like hunting for bigfoot.

Sorry if i am annoying or offend you in anyway. I do not intend to offend or annoy you.

Oh, I love when people like my work! It really does make my day. You're not offending or annoying me. If you want a genderbend ever after high, here's some I wrote on Quotev, though I'm not quite sure how good they are lol.

A FairyTale Love: Ever After High

Happily Ever After: Ever After High

Monster Life: Monster High

A Girly Girl: Monster High (Lesbian/Not Genderbend)

I will try and update more, but my birthday is tomorrow so that's been on my mind. I'm glad you enjoy my writing so much, tho, I love entertaining and writing for people!

(I actually personally don’t know many yandere versions if any genderbend of Ever After High or Monster High, hence why I made this blog)

[dramarising-replacement]

While I do enjoy that the writers for the lore decided to take a more familial approach to the deities as having them as siblings - I find a lot of issues in how certain aspects of the lore are set up. As a note before I start my spiel — this is not in defense of any incest shipping or irl incest or whatever, I for one am not personally invested in the lore to care enough about what people do with these characters off-site, it’s just not my problem at that point; but, I will say I don’t personally care for the incest shipping or shipping the deities because I’m not as invested in their individual characters to seek enjoyment of that and the implication of incest is yes - a deterrent to me. This “rant” isn’t against any group of people it’s just me observing the personal issues I have with the lore using my skills in narrative, mythological, and metaphorical literacy (which isn’t a college degree level or anything it’s just my basic understanding of literature). That being said; I agree with this needing to stay offsite for the reason alone that things will get extremely hostile fast with this sort of stuff, and as creators of the site, if they feel uncomfortable with certain things on their site are allowed to keep it off site - if you like this you can still create and view content of them OFF site. While maybe not the best solution it’s better than the amount of vitriol this would spew from both sides of the argument. That being said, nerd time.

So from the beginning we can infer a very sibling esc relationship with the first four - not only is it heavily implied through the very beginning of their stories, but (though I wouldn’t blame or belittle anyone for not seeing it or interpreting it this way) when the Deities bicker about what should be done with their new planet, reminiscent of sibling rivalry. To quickly draw our attention back to the very start, you could infer their relation to eachother from their overall creation; all four Gods are borne of magic imbibed within Sorneith, the magic within the planet or celestial body itself being the Parent in this case to the four. In many mythologies this metaphorical “birth” of primordial beings in its most basic attributes is common; from chaos or nothingness comes forth the first major Gods, deities, spirits, etc. and often in these cases, if multiple are born at this point they are counted as each others siblings because they share the same creator. Now that we’ve got that settled, this is generally where the problem begins.

After the Deities begin to scuffle between eachother, two other Draconic beings are directly formed from each pairs elements combining, the Icewarden and Stormcatcher are born from the pairs of siblings — but they are simply referred to as their siblings too. Now, this doesn’t make sense to me, and while I can generally argue that the other gods after this point are a lot more vague as to their creation and thus their relationship with the four, Icewarden and Stormcatcher aren’t; they have, in some form, parents due to how the story has them come to be as more of a direct outcome of two individuals interactions with each other.

Generally, in mythology, and in modern media as well, when an individual or more creates something they are assigned a paternal role, while their creation is their offspring. We modernly do this with inanimate objects, concepts, etc. and in ancient times this was no different, for example, in Egyptian mythology Ra created Sekhmet from his severed eye and she is thus referred to as one of his children. While their creation is not typical, a similar relationship of parent and child is given to them, even when said “child” isn’t humanoid or even alive. So when I read this even if they are canonically siblings — it just doesn’t read that way. It reads like Tidelord and Windsinger are fathering the Stormcatcher into existence due to how the story places them specifically as responsible for the birth of this new Deity, the same going for the Earthshaker and Flamecaller with the creation of the Icewarden. This isn’t necessarily a bad or even uncommon thing though - specifically from a purely mythological standpoint, may I emphasize, because commonly, we can see this throughout many different myths - especially the creation myth.

To use Greek mythology this time, within the Hesiod version of the myth, Chaos is the first being to exist and they do so in complete obscurity until they form Nyx, the goddess of darkness from the shadows all around them. Afterwards, Chaos and Nyx, parent and daughter, create Erebus, and Nyx and Erebus, mother and son, take each other as husband and wife and bring forth Aether and Hemera. Technically, we can argue that Nyx is not genetically related to Chaos, they did not literally birth her, her creation is spoken of as a more literal action of them forming her like a sculpture, but that does not remove them as her parent and this is done afterwards in many other myths with the resulting Gods still being seen as their creator’s child. So, to me, no matter how you choose to view it, or the story attempts to direct you towards another outcome, the story overall implies that Wind and Tide fathered Storm (goes for earth flame and ice too I just got lazy) since these concepts do not exist within a vacuum, and it might be more so due to the focus on Wind and Tide than the elements at hand. How the story is told puts too much emphasis on them being Storms ultimate creators when it is implied slightly at the beginning that technically; this magic was always out there in existence, it’s just that it needed a push to be awakened. An easy solution to this is simply adding an easier “parent” or source to all of the deities which seems to be Sorneiths essence(?) as it is, I feel like if they downplayed or didn’t emphasize the first four’s hands in the creation of storm and ice, people would be less likely to make the connection of that being their parents - because even though the incest may be uncomfortable, to me what is more bothersome (as someone who has no life) is how the story and writers insist sibling-hood when that’s not discernible outside of the insistence.

I also have an overall issue with how the deities interact with one another seeming generally either reductive of siblinghood or ignorant of it, while when deities do interact like siblings occasionally it is very engaging. I love the Earthshaker in personality when it comes to all the deities, but I honestly perceive his role as paternal more so than sibling esc, and honestly it might solve the overall issue? But even then I feel like that’s more headcanon-y than it is an actual solution. I feel like the deities need either more interaction as siblings or their relationships with eachother should be further explained - tell us what siblinghood means to them on some level, because while the Plaguebringer and Gladekeeper are more obviously siblings out of all the eleven, it’s mainly cause we get to seem the interact in a way that is familiar. If how they behave is alien to us, the viewers, it should be at least somewhat explained what sibling relationships or titles mean to them — lore wise it would even translate as to how dragons might view eachother day to day. Like, the deities could’ve been made from the same source, but due to them being inhuman and not thinking on our terms, they thought absolutely nothing of it and didn’t care what it might imply - that’s a possible way to view this, but the source material does directly tell us they are related at the very least via the same “creator”. I just think that if they want to better solidify this sibling bond they should alter how ice and storm are born because it conflicts with what they’re telling us, and I do like the sibling angle a lot because of how funny it is that the deities are all just having a really shitty family get together — only a few of them stay in contact with eachother and at least four of them actually wanna kill eachother. Earthshaker just wants his family to get along for long enough to actually set up the silverware for the love of god - as a concept it’s great, but it has problems in its execution that can be easily repaired and I hope these specific issues are if they ever edit or revamp the lore. It just sticks out to me in a way that breaks some of the immersion is all. With that said, my stupidly long rant about digital dragons is over and I’m sorry to anyone who had to read this before actually sending it out there — this has been sitting in the back of my head for two weeks through sickness and health and I just needed to scream into the void.

[okiekp13]

Ecstasy -3

To say you were living with your head in the clouds would be pretty accurate. Since the deal with JK your magic was on a completely different level, no more were you blowing up your couldron, potions were finally turning out as they should and on top of that your magic was stable not shaky or weak. Finally you felt like a full witch. Did you go blabbing your mouth about it to any witches you knew? Yea no; that would be far too much attention put on you and that was the last thing you needed or wanted. Granted its been rumored that if you are part of a coven and link together in a magic circle it helps to stablize magic among all within the coven, but a functioning coven wasn’t very common anymore. Most witches were solo and would only occasionally work with other witches when needed. 

The connection with your spirit guides was stronger as well. Before their voices were faint and you had to really focus to understand what they were saying; now it felt like they were talking right in your ear sometimes loud and clear. One said spirit guide being a very sassy little ol’ soul from the 1930’s named Evelynn who preferred to go by Evie and appeared to be in her 20’s. Although her sass was usually pretty comical she could be abrasive at times making you want to refer to her as Evilynn. Sitting with your herbal tea you used to relax; you sat in your garden watching the breeze brush against your plants, fragrances of flowers lingering in the air. 

“You know darling…this demon you are tied too.” Evie started as she sat by you drinking her own (ghostly) tea. “Do you think he has any friends?”

Snorting to yourself you entertained the idea of her trying to flirt with a demon like JK. Would that even work? Kind of hard if you don’t have any substance no?

“Seeing as how I don’t know him yet I can’t say.” You smirk.

“Oh the way he appeared like a dark horse out of that portal…it would make any sensible woman shiver in delight.” Evie giggled. 

“Oh my god you are terrible. Explain to me why you literally ghosted me right then I thought I was going to die.” 

“I can’t babysit you all the time my dear you have to grow up sometime and solve your own problems. I won’t be around forever I mean when I get bored I might just crossover then what will you do?”

“Psssh what ever you just wanted to be a creeper didn’t you?” You accused

“Well he was quite the sight I must say, perhaps I was just too focused on such a fine creature I forgot my purpose at the moment. I have been dead for some time you know but I still have wants and desires. I most certainly wouldn’t mind tangling up with a man like him anyway.” 

You couldn’t help it you died laughing, ribs aching, abs burning & wiping tears from your eyes. Evie laughed to herself as well; collecting yourself you enjoyed her company as the sun set making her appearance more clear around her silhouette.

“Now be honest dear…this contract you are tied to. When does it begin when it comes to payment? It has been nearly two weeks already has it not since JK was here? Surely you will have to pay up soon.”

“I don’t know. It all happened so fast we didn’t set a schedule or really talk about how things were going to go. But he did say he would start off slow so maybe he’s just bidding his time so as to not frighten me? I don’t know.”

“Well speak of the devil! I don’t think you will have to worry about that very long.” Evie gasped.

Following her line of sight out to your garden you see a billow of smoke appear with a very sinful JK walking out of it with his hair slicked back, ears adorned in silver hoops, the piercings in his eyebrow and lip glinting in the remaining sunsetting light, honeyed skin glowing in the rays. He was dressed more modernly this time, a black button up shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows displaying more of his sleeve tattoo, black fitted jeans that greatly show cased his thick thighs and small waist. Completed with black leather shoes. Evie disappeared into thin air leaving you alone to deal with this demon on your own. Taking a sip of your tea for courage you get up to meet him halfway in the garden, a smile playing on his lips as you approach. 

“Hello little witch.” He greets.

“JK. It’s been awhile. What brings you out tonight?” You ask cautiously.

“I have been a bit neglectful haven’t I. After our first meeting it took some…thinking to figure out the best way to approach our trade. More importantly I would like to know how you have been effected?”

“My magic? Beyond expectation…I have never felt this comfortable before. I have been practicing my magic with no issues and certainly better than I had anticipated. Is there something wrong?”

“Oh definitely not. I was directed by an elder that perhaps the trade is offset between us; I wanted to fix that but apparently you are effected just as much as I have been. Would you mind if we went inside?”

Nodding your agreement you lead him into your home; butterflies erupting in your stomach feeing his presence behind you. With your eyes flitting around your home you catalog everything that is left out or cluttered on the counter; thankful your home is presentable you offer if he would like a drink. Settling on a tumbler of whiskey for him and a glass of wine for you; you join him in your living room a decent distance away from him on the sofa. Taking in the vision before you; each movement is being memorized, the act of sipping his whiskey and releasing a content sigh does something to you. You can feel a tug of attraction; the pull of chemistry just being near him. Sipping your wine you try to clear your head. His dark eyes catch yours; there is a silent pause for a moment. 

“The contract we made is a powerful one. Not something I have experienced before…which is saying something. Perhaps planning out the approach to begin our trade is in order. Do you agree?” His voice had a sultry edge to it which was making your mind foggy.

“How would you suggest we start?” 

“Why not start by simply touching? See where it goes.”

Jk sets down his glass; taking yours from your hands to place next to his. Lightly grasping your wrist to draw you closer to him. Flush againt his side he releases your wrist to caress your cheek; you can’t help but lean into it, his skin warm and inviting. Leaning closer to you his lips tease at your ear. 

“You like this feeling don’t you? Your trembling.” 

Shivers roll down your spine, you can hear the smirk in his voice. He doesn’t back away as you expect instead he uses his hand on your cheek to trap your chin and tilt your head so he can have access to your neck. A light touch to just under your ear has goosebumps running along your skin, he kisses your neck delicately…following his own path down the column of your throat, to the junction of your neck and shoulder only to lightly nip you there. Your body cannot help but respond pressing further still against him, a gasp leaving your lips. 

Jungkook is fighting a growing fire within; the pull to touch, devour, seduce & ruin you is building at an alarming rate. He had intended to be a bit more cautious; not a very easy thing for a demon his misceviousness got the better of him. The taste of your skin already had his senses reeling, your soft skin like silk in his hands and the moment you let a gasp escape your lips is when he lost control. Releasing your chin he leans forward only to grab your hips and pull you on to his lap where he could lock you in his arms against his chest. 

“J-JK!” is all you could manage. 

The devilish smirk on his face with his dark eyes had your core tensing; feeling him under you was magical in its own right. His thick powerful thighs supporting you like you were made of air; his heat radiating sturdy chest thumping under your fingertips. He was eager; that you could atleast gather. You should be surprised right? Sitting on the lap of a stranger? But where is that fear? Where is the uncomfortable feeling of being near this stranger? It wasn’t there if anything you felt the need to touch, the need to taste, the need to savor the being under your hands. Was this the appeal of an incubus? Thats right Incubi have powers of seduction or control over their phermones? Who cares that can a problem to solve later. Grabbing his shirt you unbutton it down to just above his jeans, your hands splay across his chest feeling the honey colored skin yourself, digging your nails in slightly as instinct tells you too, a rich deep groan radiates from his chest. Its addicting you need to hear it again. Locking eyes with him you watch as he holds your couch hostage; one hand still on your hip as you venture a hand up to his jaw, tracing it back until your fingers can lace into his hair and pull his head back. Seeing his throat bared; his eyes watching you in anticipation made you feel so powerful you could feel it in the air. 

“Go on little witch.” Jk encourages.

Sure you wanted to get primal and bite his neck, the urge was pretty prevalent but instead you wanted to taste him. Sitting up on your knees you lean above him to bring his lips to yours…it was like falling into the abyss of the sun. Power surged through you both making all the light bulbs shatter in your home, a shock wave emanates from you sending furniture across the room. Your mind was out in the galaxy you were in such a euphoric state; Jk shook under your body, the one hand holding your couch shredding through the fabric, the hand on your hip in a death grip to keep himself grounded. Pulling back for air you can see he is struggling to regain his composure, chest heaving for breath, eyes heavily lidded, eyebrows pinched as he tries to focus on you. 

“What was that?” You ask just as breathless.

“E-Euphoria.”

“Do you feel that everytime?” You question.

“No. That is…the first time.”

“Do you want to stop?” You ask concerned his features hadn’t relaxed yet. 

“I just need a moment. That was unexpected…I’m trying to process it.”

“Then…touch me.” 

Bringing one of his hands up to your cheek you lean into it watching him come down from his high. Which was good; it allowed him to ground himself…he didn’t know how to explain how he felt. The level of euphoria he consumed could feed him for decades; he could feel the magic in the air and as much as he hated how his body was reacting like this was his first meal, feeling you on his lap and touching his skin was torturous in the best way. He was really playing with fire; if he kept going surely he would go insane with an euphoria overdose…should he stop here? No there is more to explore.

“I’m fine…thank you.” He smiles boyishly.

“What happened there?” 

“Lets just say I took on more than I could chew…figuratively.”

A playful smirk played on your lips; you could tell he wasn’t done the dangerous feeling seeping back into his voice, his body. It was exciting feeling his muscles move under you, stuck in his gaze like prey, troubling your lip as you waited for his next move. Only slightly roughly since you seemed to like it that way did Jk pull you against his chest, taking your lips with his and trapping you in a chaotic spiral of lust & need. Losing your grip on what was happening you did know you needed him, grinding against him to translate so. He growled through his chest, bucking his hips against yours making you mewl. Breaking from his grip only for a moment to catch your breath. 

“Not here…room.” You vaguely motion passed the sofa. 

Jungkook takes control of your legs around his waist; hoisting you up with little to no effort, walking through your house in search of your room, your nails digging into his back as his pheromones reak havoc on your senses. Finding your room he all but fell with you onto the bed caging you to the mattress. 

“Last chance little witch…if we go on I cannot promise control. If we stop here I will respect your decision. What will it be?” Seriousness dripped from his voice that commanded your attention. 

Focusing on him in a moment of clarity you give your consent with intention, this was what you wanted to do. Satisfied with your answer; Jk took pleasure in using his brute strength to rip the clothes away from your body like paper. The pure power only building the fire in your core that already threatened to become a whirlwind of primal lust any moment. Jk growled at your body before him served up on the bed just like he had imagined only better, your neediness making your body dance before him searching for release. His hunger to consume and ruin you returned in full force. A snap of his fingers and his clothes disappear before your eyes, leaving you in awe with the sight of his honeyed skin unrestricted down to the hardness you had felt while on his lap. A moan leaves your lips; he was not average at all you nearly worried if he would even fit inside you, yet the temptation to find out won that argument. 

Falling on his knees; Jk crawls up your body until he reaches your core, grabbing your legs only to toss them over his shoulders, locking gazes with you as he sinks down to your core to swipe his tongue from your core to clit enjoying the squeal of want that soared out of your mouth. You had figured he would be skilled he is an incubus after all but even that didn’t prepare you for it. Languid swipes of his tongue teased, while his thumbs spread you open for him to devour. Sucking on your clit until you nearly lost your mind only to pull away and tease your core with his tongue that was suspiciously long. Your fingers had long ago tangled in his hair unsure weather to pull him closer or push him away, his groans only sent vibrations up your spine pushing you closer and closer to the precipice of orgasm. Your toes were curling before you could fathom the momentum of what was to come, screaming his name you came undone on his tongue and he seemed only too eager to devour it. 

Feeling like you were floating on air you watch as Jk sits up wiping his lips with the back of his hand in triumph. You were no fool and could tell he was getting cocky. But who cares when you saw him swipe his fingers through your folds to collect some of your essence to use on his length as he gripped it, stroking it to prepare further for his main course. With butterflies rocketing in your stomach you got ready for what he would want; expecting him to have you move to a certain position or something you were surprised when he instead grabbed one leg to balance on his shoulder. Positioning your other leg to the side while he fit inbetween them. 

“Now that I have you tight as hell lets go.” He smirks. 

He lines up and sinks into you; the stretch around his girth nearly painful but it felt so good, you could feel the ridge around his head sink farther and farther inside you as his length thickened further once you reached the base. He was so far up against your cervix you were surprised he didn’t sink into that too if there was room. The growl that fell from his lips as he bottomed out made you clench so hard on him it neary knocked the breath out of him. Unable to stay still you play with your breasts to get some kind of stimulation going. 

“JK…Move” you plead.

That seemed to motivate the demon; he pulls back his hips and snaps them against you impaling you on his length in the most delicious sense. The feeling of him ramming against the confines of your core had you seeing stars, calling his name and babbling nonsense. You just wanted more and then some using your free leg to push his ass to go deeper, harder until you were starting to see white bursts. Jk was on a high he had never felt before; the power of your walls squeezing down on him making him nearly explode he wanted to feel that with you…feel you fall apart on his dick, screaming his name, he wanted to fill you up to the brim just destroy you on the inside marking you as his. He wanted it so badly he immediately used his thumb to rub your clit in cirlcles enticing a delicious scream of his name from you, pumping into you harder and faster until he could feel your walls start to twitch and your body shudder as you got closer. He lost it when he saw your back bow off the mattress crushing him with your walls a groan of your name falling from his lips as a tidal wave of euphoria crashed over him drowning him in darkness. Who knows how long he was there time was meaningless in this abyss of euphoria, it was only when the soft thumping heartbeat caught his attention did he return to reality. 

Opening his eyes he was laying on your chest confused on how he got there. Trying to move; his limbs felt numb. Never had he felt like this, it was concerning yet you seemed fine and didn’t mind his weight atop you. Your fingers were combing through his hair, it felt nice, comforting even so he continued to lay there until feeling would return to his limbs. 

“What happened?” He croaks. 

“You blacked out.” a slight chuckle mixes in with your statement.

“Well that’s not very impressive for a demon.” He groans. 

You laugh lightly as you adjust the pillow better under your head. Amused at a demon being embarrassed from passing out from an orgasm…an orgasm you gave him by the way. You were expecting to feel awkward after sleeping with this demon yet you were comfortable in your skin, perhaps it was from his pheromones still in your system. Feeling his weight on you felt calming and comfortable. Jk finally regained enough feeling in his body to roll off yours on to his back to stare at the ceiling fan which was giving off a slight breeze. 

“I think I almost died.” Jk deadpans. 

“What?” You burst in laughter.

“The overload of euphoria…I was so lost in my headspace that I was sure I was going to go insane.” He confesses.

“Is that possible?” You grow concerned.

“In humans yes absolutely. In demons? Theoretically its possible. I have never been that far before to find out. But it was worth it…im stuffed.” Jk explains rubbing his stomach.

Again you laugh; shaking your head you roll to the edge of the bed and with wobbly legs that made you feel like bambi you venture to your bathroom to clean up. Stepping under the hot water to wash away your activities you relaxed into the stream. Once you were starting to shampoo did you feel his warm body behind you; the touch of a loofah caressing your skin washing away the filth yet stirring up another fire inside you. The strong chest that pressed against your back as he helped to clean your body from head to toe. Nipping the shell of your ear you feel Jk push you forward against the shower wall. 

“I need dessert.” He demands.

Using his foot to widen your stance he pulls your hips back to him only so he could line up and push up into you again. The friction making both of you hiss; his approach this time was softer, slower but just as deep as before. Building the fire between you both slowly until you were clawing at the tile on the wall asking, begging for release. The pleading in your voice the last straw needed for Jk to ram into you harshly running toward that edge to fall over in euphoria again. You can feel the coil within you getting tighter and tighter until you scream. 

“There! Right there! JUNGKOOOK!”

All Jk could do was release a roar that rumbled the walls around you as he came undone. Spent yet again he leans against the wall with you ragged breath passing by you ear. The cool tile the only thing keeping you grounded as you come down from your high. 

“You are going to be the death of me,” Jk confesses.